Saturday, july 4, 2015 binder1

SATURDAY Saturday, July 4, 2015

Sanctity of Truth

Vol. 2 No. 450

/newtelegraph

OGE KIMONO

N150

@newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com

OOU BUS TRAGEDY

It’s nobody’s business the } 10 way I dance } 20 with my dad

}

I was hoping my daughter would be a } 10 judge - Father

APC CRISIS WORSENS

} 4, 48

OSINBAJO, TINUBU, AKANDE ABSENT AT PARTY’S NEC lTinubu not obliged to be at meeting - Lai Mohammed lTony Momoh: Even if every legislator in N’Assembly were PDP members, they’re no threat to Buhari ABIA NORTH

Tribunal consolidates petitions for Senatorial zone’s election }4

KALU, EX-ABIA STATE GOV.

Boko Haram executes LAGOS BOAT MISHAP ‘disloyal’ members in How we were rescued, by survivors Borno town }5 }5

2

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Contents | 04.07.15 CONVERSATION

A Septuagenarian’s Tale Seventy-three-year-old Mobolaji Adenubi took an early retirement as an assistant director at the Federal Ministry of Education in 1991 to devote her time to writing.

It’s a decision she hasn’t regretted.

}13

SHOWBIZ

Waiting to Exhale Kunle Ogunrombi (K-Peace), winner of the Nigerian Idol Season 5, relives the thrill of the music reality show and the anxious wait for his cash prize.

}19

INVESTIGATIONS

Joys and Pains of Aging A Saturday Telegraph correspondent visits an old people’s home in Lagos and reports that their bitter-sweet stories mirror the experiences of the elderly across Nigeria.

}23

SPORT

Slam Dunk Queen US-based Nigerian basketball icon, Mfon Udoka, speaks about winning FIBA African Women Championship trophies in 2003 and offers to help revive the national team’s dipping fortunes.

}30

HEALTH

Saving Lives Peeved at how ignorant teens tend to be even with regard to basic first aid, Funmi Adegbola, an occupational health and safety expert, launched a health club in Lagos recently to promote knowledge among youths.

}34

DESTINATION

Alluring Bulawayo A tour of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city otherwise known as the city of kings comes with many discoveries and surprises of alluring nature.

}42 Plus: Street Diary 10 | Perspectives 52

SATURDAY

Comment

Protecting President Buhari

T

here is just something between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Secret Service,whether as the Nigeria Security Organisation or the Department of State Security[DSS], originally known as State Security Services[SSS]. Barely one month into his presidency, there is unhealthy security rivalry in Aso Villa.

Last week, President Buhari’s Aide de Camp (ADC), Lt.Col Muhammed Lawal Abubakar, issued an order distancing the DSS from the inner parts of the Presidential Villa. The operatives have also by that directive, ceased to offer personal protection to the President and his family.

Instead, military bodyguards will now form a new network around the country’s leader.

While it is safe to assume that under the new dispensation, change is no more a slogan but the way to go, it is also dangerous to allow change to be turned upside down. The personal security of President Buhari no doubt should bother his ADC. It becomes worrisome when the officer undermines protocol in the discharge of his duty.

SSS operatives, by the nature of their engagement are better trained in handling personal security than soldiers. Beyond defending our territorial intergrity and going to war if need be, soldiers are more useful in conventional combat methods.

There is the Military Intelligence, no doubt. However, that branch of the Army does not do exactly the job of the Secret Service.

There are many ways to defend the president. It is not only about carrying machine guns and service pistols. “ The SSS is also charged with the protection of the President, the Vice President, the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, state governors, their immediate families, other high ranking government officials, past presidents and their spouses, cer-

tain candidates for the offices of the President and Vice President, and visiting foreign Heads of state and government.”

While we believe the personal security of Mr. President must take precedence over other considerations, it is our strong belief that there is no need to create disaffection among the different services. There is a reason for the armoured limousines and SUVs operated by the SSS. They are for the safety of the President, Vice President and visiting dignitaries.

President Buhari is a democratically elected president, he is not a military dictator and this country must not be reminded of the days of jackboot impunity. The SSS have their role spelt out, the army should also respect protocol. There are so many duties beyond our borders and within, calling for attention. We should also give unto Caesar what is Caesars.

There are rules of engagement and functions are clearly spelt out. The SSS does not have the capacity to defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity. In the same vein, the army under the present internet dispensation, does not have what it takes to play the dual role of defending the country from external aggression and offering high-tech protection to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic.

It would be a great risk to send the police air wing to Bama or Monguno, to engage Boko Haram fighters simply because they have pilots. In the air, we know the Air Force will never be at sea. The Navy have warships but no strategist will move them to Lake Chad simply to create a sea battle.

In this era of change, we demand that things be done properly. Less politics should go into governance. All the services complement each other.

President Buhari needs to fasttrack some key appointments to run his administration before personal dictates override his positive Action Plan.

DAILY TELEGRAPH PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief

Funke Egbemode

Editor n Yemi Ajayi

Managing Editor n Suleiman Uba Gaya

Editor, Saturday n Laurence Ani

Editor, Sunday n Emeka Madunagu

Deputy Editor, Saturday n Waheed Bakare

Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz

Bureau Chief, Washington DC n Marshall Comins

Editorial Coordinator, Europe n Sam Amsterdam

Ag. Bureau Chief, Abuja n Onwuka Nzeshi

News Editor, Saturday n Ndubuisi Ugah

Business Development Manager n Taiwo Ahmed

Sales/Circulation Manager n Oyebanji Abiodun

Head, Graphics n Timothy Akinleye

Head, Admin. n Robinson Ezeh

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

3

4

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Revealed: Why Osinbajo, Tinubu, Akande stayed away from APC NEC meeting Johnchuks Onuanyim and Anule Emmanuel

F Abuja

resh facts yesterday emerged on why the leaders of the party from the South-West, including Vice-President Yemi Osinbanjo; the former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu and former interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, failed to attend the meeting of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) in Abuja.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who briefed journalists at the end of the meeting which was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, APC state governors, National Assembly members, said: “Invitation to the meeting was at the discretion of the National Working Committee (NWC) on who to invite or not to invite and it is not out of respect to question why they are not here but the bottom line is that neither of them are members of the executive of the party.”

Mohammed, who was clarifying the absence of the leaders on the sideline that the crisis rocking the party had prompted the three leaders to shun the meeting, said there was no ill-feelings on the part of the leaders to shun the meeting.

Although Mohammed said Tinubu was absent because he was not a NEC member, it was also alleged that some former governors and elders of the party had risen from a meeting to kick against the position of Tinubu as the national leader of the party, a position they said was not in the party’s constitution, claiming that it might have been the main reason for the crises rocking the party, especially at the National Assembly.

Tinubu and Akande had at separate fora expressed their dissatisfaction with the National Assembly leadership election held on June 9, which eventually plunged the party into crisis, eliciting verbal attacks and cold war amongst leaders of the party.

The National Assembly crisis centres around the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President and Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker, House of Representatives and the appointment of the principal officers of the Assembly on the platform of the party.

Speaking further, Mohammed said: “NEC has provided an enabling environment to look into ways

l Let’s put our house in order, Buhari tells party’s leaders l NEC passes vote of confidence on Odigie-Oyegun, others

L-R: Deputy National Chairman (South-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Segun Oni; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki in a handshake with President Muhammadu Buhari and APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, during the arrival of the president to the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja...yesterday PHOTO: Timothy Ikuomenisan

of resolving the National Assembly lock jams. Later in the day, the governors will be meeting with the speaker and the senate president in a further attempt to find a lasting solution to the lingering lock jam at the National Assembly.

“Also, it is important to let you know that everybody in the party is united on two issues which are party supremacy and the need to ensure that this government delivers its campaign promises.”

When asked whether the leadership of the Senate and House would now consider the position of the party on the selection of principal officers in the both chambers of the National Assembly, Mohammed said: “I have told you that the NEC has provided a platform to resolve this issue and part of the resolution is the meeting that will be held today between the governors, the Senate president and the speaker of the House of Representatives.

“The president said he believes in party supremacy, we have a problem on our hands and we must

find the best means to resolve it. One thing I can assure you is that, this house (the APC) shall not fall.”

Asked to comment on when to draw a line between party’s supremacy and the sanctity of the party’s constitution in the selection of principal officers at the National Assembly, he said: “The less we talk about this logjam the better it'll be not only for this party but the whole nation.

It is for the interest of everyone who voted for change.

I would not want to go into the knitty-gritty of what the resolution will be because as I speak for now I don't know.

When you talk about party’s supremacy, it is derived from the constitution.”

However, the NEC meeting, which is the second highest decision making body of the party aside from President Buhari, also had in attendance Saraki, Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Lasun, Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume.

Also in attendance were Governors Abubakar Sanni Bello (Niger), Simeo Lalong (Plateau), Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa), Ibrahim Geida (Yobe), Ibukunle Amosun,

(Ogun), Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Abdulazizi Yari (Zamfara), Rochas Okorocha (Imo).

Other persons in attendance at the NEC were Deputy Governors of Bauchi, Nassarawa, Borno, Kwara, Oyo and Benue states.

Also, the former National Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu; Senator Chris Ngige, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje and members of the APC National Working Committee were in attendance.

But President Buhari, who arrived the party’s secretariat at 11a.m. in his remarks, emphasised on party supremacy, stressing that he was produced by the party and therefore believes in the superiority of the party.

Addressing members of the NEC on the party's victory and the National Assembly crisis, he said: “The APC has won the battle but has lost the war.”

In his speech delivered extempore, President Buhari, who was addressing the NEC for the first time as the President, said: “The elections have come and gone, the APC has won the battle, but lost the war.

This is the paradox of democracy, and we shall see how we can manage it going forward.

“I have already addressed you through the chairman, through the leadership of the party, through your excellencies, the governors and through our Senators and House of Representatives members.

“The APC must not disappoint its constituency, that is the nation state. We have to convince our various constituencies that we are individually worthy of the sacrifices that they have made.

“They stayed awake day and night, travelling all over the country and made sure as a party, we emerged victorious. What subsequently happened is human, and as human beings we are not perfect, but let our collective actions in this party prove that we have won the elec-

Tribunal consolidates Abia North Senatorial Election Petition Igbeaku Orji UMUAHIA

T

he National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, has consolidated the petitions filed by a former Governor of Abia State and senatorial candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in the last election, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu and Dr. David Ogba Onuoha-Bourdex of

the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Mao Ohuabunwa.

Ohuabunwa was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The matters were consolidated yesterday by the tribunal after listening to the submissions of the

counsel in the petitions.

Announcing the consolidation, the tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, said it was done in the interest of speedy dispensation of the two related matters given the limited time frame of the panel and assured all parties that there would be no miscarriage of justice.

In an interview, counsel

to Kalu, Mr. Kelvin Nwufo (SAN) and that of Onuoha-Bourdex, Mr. Chodozie Ogunji, said they were comfortable and satisfied with the development and expressed confidence in the ability of the panel to effectively dispense justice in the matters.

Meanwhile, the matter was adjourned to July 6 and 7 for continuation of proceedings.

tions, the battle and we will win the war.

“As for me as a president, I have to clearly understand the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the constitution of the APC, and having tried three times and successfully lost three times and successfully ended up at the Supreme Court, I think I have tasted the bitter disappointments and the sweetness of success.

“What happened to APC the glory must be given to God almighty. The opposition party, has ruled the country for 16 years, with all the treasuries, literally in their pockets and all the coercing forces and their command, under their command they still meekly conceded defeat. We congratulate them for that.

"The way the opposition parties realised, agreed and accepted that the only way through which we can be in the system is for us to come together. The ACN, the ANPP, the CPC. APGA and DPP wanted to come to participate fully in the negotiation, but they have court cases at various levels, and we suspected that if we allow them to participate actively in the negotiation for merger, there being in court can cause either delay or deny us registration."

Earlier, the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had said it was unfortunate the first NEC meeting was convened hurriedly as an emergency meeting.

He said: “The main item on the agenda is the ratification of aspects of members of the BoT.” Commenting on the outcome of the meeting, the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, said: “Many people think that there will be problems between APC members at this meeting.

But I am assuring Nigerians that we have met and discussed what affects all of us and we have understood ourselves. We have also reiterated our support and loyalty to our leadership.

“We are also going to meet on the issue of the National Assembly crisis and it will be resolved amicably. So, I can confidently say that the crisis facing the party is almost over now.”

Meanwhile, NEC of the APC yesterday passed a vote confidence on OdigieOyegun.

In another development, Akande has canvassed for the dissolution of the Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC.

4 JULY 2015

Survivors of Lagos boat mishap narrate ordeal

YENAGOA JTF alerts public on new antics of kidnappers

l Operators: How we rescued pupils Muritala Ayinla and Camillus Nnaji

T

he mood was morose as very few of the residents were ready to speak with visitors. It was all sobs and lamentation over the shattered dream of the young kids, whose parents’ hope perished in the river on July 1. There houses were made up of thatched roofs. The walls of the building were also made of thatched roofs.

That was the atmosphere of Igirra, Olomo Meta and Ajigbo communities and their environs yesterday.

The communities lost six of their children to the boat accident.

Fourteen pupils left their homes for schools located at Irewe Community, Irewe Primary School and Irewe High School. They all paid N20 each for the canoe operator to ferry them across the water but they never made it to the community when the tragedy occurred.

Unfortunately none of them put on the safety life jackets.

While their parents were too sad to speak with reporters, some of the few survivors of the ill-fated wooden canoe spoke with Saturday Telegraph and narrated how they miraculously escaped death.

Narrating the incident, Michael Agbefu, 14, said all efforts to draw the attention of the fibre boat proved abortive as the boat hit them despite the alarm raise to prevent him from coming to their direction.

He said: “The tragic incident happened when were on our way to school, we were on the water when we saw a fast moving boat approaching us. We shouted Hey! Hey! Hey! but the boat operator did not hear and the boat hit ours.

“The two boat men didn't see us at all but we saw them. Few us escaped death while others drowned.

Among those we could not find immediately were my friends Jonathan, Josephine, Patience, Nathaniel, and a Senior school student.”

Asked how many of his friends survived, he said further: “Immediately it happened, we all screamed and suddenly they were drowned, we couldn’t find them. They were all my friends. If the tragedy had not happened, we would have been playing together by now. We paid N20 to the operator and while coming back we also paid N20. So, we paid N40 daily to cross the water while going to school.”

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as EBERECHUKWU RITA MUONEKE, now wishes to be known and addressed as EBERECHUKWU RITA ONUBOGU. All former documents remain valid. CAC and general public should take note.

Saturday Telegraph gathered that those who died were people that were badly hit by the flying boat as the fan of the boat mutilated the passengers before they were drowned. Investigations also revealed that the wooden canoe was hit in the middle.

For Bamidele Adamson, who also narrowly escaped by not choosing to remain at home on the tragic day, the fibre boat was speeding and could not control his speed or nor manourvre to avoid hit the canoe which led to the death of the pupils.

“I was at the Igira Shore when they left for school at Irewe High School. I was waving to them to bid them bye. I was still waiting at the shore when I saw all of them standing up screaming. I saw a speed boat approaching them will full speed,” he said.

Saturday Telegraph learnt that until their tragic death, Jonathan and Nathaniel were stars in the community young footbal team called Igira young football team.

Although she sustained injuries, Evlyn Mensah, 16, who was another survivor, who attends Irewe High School, said they all stood up to call draw attention of the two men in the fibre boat but their last minute efforts proved abortive.

“When we saw it coming with full force, the man who was paddling our boat, stood up and waved to alert the oncoming speed boat on the need to maneuver. When the pupils realised that the oncoming boat failed to heed their safety call, they all stood up, hoping that their number our number will easily attract attention for the oncoming boat.

"The boat was fast approaching us and we were still standing when the boat came to hit us. In no time I found myself in the water I didn’t know how was able to sustain in the water until someone came to hold my hand and drew my hand and pull me out of the water. Thereafter, I was taking to Igando and where I was later discharged."

Meanwhile, some of the boat operators, who spoke to our correspondents, said they had to double their efforts when some parents of the victims jumped into the river to rescue their children.

One of the operators, Mr. Fagbemi Oluwafemi, said, "It was an experience I did not want to repeat.

As we were rescuing the pupils, some of their parents jumped into the water to join in the rescue effort.

This created a lot of problem for us. As we were trying to rescue the pupils, we were also trying to help their parents so that they don't get drowned."

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

NEWS IN BRIE F

ST

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, on Friday alerted the public on the new tricks deployed by kidnappers.

The JTF also urged the public to be security conscious and be wary strange movements around them.

In a statement issued by the spokesman for Operation Pulo Shield in Yenagoa, Lt.-Col. Isa Ado, said kidnappers now dress in military uniform, describing such act as mischievous and dubious.

According to him, the hoodlums who abducted the wife of exBayelsa acting governor recently dubiously and mischievously claimed they were sent by the Commander of the Joint Task Force.

5

APAPA OWERRI NSC, NPA to negotiate tariffs at ports Okorocha lauds ECOWAS The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) yesterday over Court of Justice called for negotiation with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to achieve a reduction of tariffs at ports.

The Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr. Hassan Bello, made the call in Lagos during a courtesy visit to NPA's headquarters in Lagos.

Bello said the negotiation would involve dialogue and constant meetings with the authority to proffer solutions to tariff increase at the ports.

“There is capital improvement in dredging of channels which indicates that the Nigerian maritime services are moving gradually to be the hub in West Africa. NPA should consider multiple access roads while contracting out access roads leading to the Lekki Deep seaport, so that the constant gridlock happening in Apapa and Tin-Can ports will not persist at Lekki,” he said.

Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday described the ECOWAS Court of Justice as a landmark achievement in the history of the subregional body.

Okorocha made the remark in Owerri when a delegation of ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, led by its President, Justice Maria Do Ceu Sylva Monteiro, paid him a visit.

He said the law court was very vital for the unity of ECOWAS. “I believe that this is the time for Africa. The days we have suffered from colonialism and neo- colonialism are over. African must look inward and leaders of Africa must show quality leadership,” he said.

Boko Haram: We’re winning war against terror, says Buhari Ibraheem Musa, Ahmed Miringa and Anule Emmanuel

l Sect kills 29, executes disloyal members in Borno l PDP condemns attacks

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said Nigeria was progressively winning the war against Boko Haram under the auspices of the multinational forces with neighbouring countries.

The claim came despite Tuesday and Wednesday’s attacks on Kukawa and Monguno Local Government Areas of Borno State, where at least 145 people were killed by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

Apparently not deterred by the killing spree it waged during the week, no fewer than 29 persons were reportedly killed yesterday when suspected members of the Boko Haram sect attacked Mussa village of Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

Also, the Boko Haram insurgents yesterday killed 11 of their members who were alleged to have denounced their membership of the sect and are taking refuge in Miringa town of Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.

But Buhari in his speech

as special guest of honour at the graduation of 174 Senior Course 37 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State, said the importance of harnessing the strengths of multiple security actors, demonstrated in the fight against terrorism.

“Under the auspices of a Multinational Forces, forces of neighbouring countries and our own forces are progressively winning the fight against Boko Haram,” he said.

The President, who was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, expressed confidence in the quality of training received by officers in the institution which according to him, has adequately prepared the military to confront current threats to national and global security.

He, however, cautioned the officers to be mindful of the “distracting and diversionary” nature of today’s highly sensitive media environment.

“Some of you will be deployed in crisis-prone areas, for either internal

P

Kaduna/MAIDUGURI/Abuja

security or peace support operations outside your country; giving that, we live in a common global environment, you must be conscious of your actions,” the President told the graduands.

On the global scene, Buhari said Nigeria remains firmly committed to the maintenance of international peace and security.

In another vein, President Buhari has called on the international community to unite and forge a stronger worldwide consensus for more effective action against global terrorism.

The President in a condolence statement to the government and people of Egypt on the recent murder by terrorists of the country’s Attorney General, Hesham Barakat, and the killing of about 70 Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula.

However, the Chairman of Mussa Youth Development Association (MYDA), Sunday Wabba, while explaining how the sect killed 29 persons, told journalists in Maiduguri on the telephone that the terrorists stormed the

area around 1 p.m.

He said: “Another disaster has befallen us today because the terrorists have attacked our village and killed everyone they sight.

They operated till around 3pm before they left”.

“So far, we have counted the bodies of 29 people and many others sustained injuries. This is the fourth time they are attacking this year.

They came in broad day light and opened fire on innocent people. We are now preparing to recover corpses from the bushes but so far, 29 people have been confirmed dead,” he said.

One of the women, who lost her husband, said: “Today is a sad day for me. My husband, Sama’ila Bade, was a harmless man but the terrorists killed him without any just cause.”

Meanwhile, the acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday condemned the continued terror attacks, particularly the mindless killing of over 145 Nigerians in Borno State on Thursday.

L-R: Mrs. Esther Damishi Sango, former Director General of the defunct Nigeria Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Amos Adamu; his wife, Mary; former Abia State Governor, Dr. Uzor Orji Kalu and former Minister of Sports, Mr. Damishi Sango, at the 60th birthday celebration of Mary at their residence at Asokoro, in Abuja…yesterday

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

6

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

ASABA CBN offers lifeline to customers’ complaints

N EWS I N BRIEF

ST

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given potency to the complaints of bank customers as domiciled in the apex bank’s Customer Protection Departments (CPD).

Besides decrying the attitudes of some commercial banks to the grievances and suggestions of their clients, the apex bank urged customers with genuine protest not to hesitate to lodge it as the CPD after two weeks, if their banks refused it.

Speaking at the customers’ engagement forum, tagged, Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development in Asaba, the Director (Corporate Communications), Ibrahim Mu’azu, said such complaints constitute the lifewire of banks’ stability, hence they should be held sacrosanct.

18%

The percentage of access to sanitation linked to a sewage system in Asia.

Source: Unesco.org

IKEJA CALABAR NLNG opens up on UCTH resident doctors commence indefinite strike $1.5bn Dock yard project About 400 members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) chapter, have commenced an indefinite strike over their working conditions.

President of the association, Dr. Ukweh Ikechukwu, said the strike was sequel to a 21-day ultimatum which ended on July 1.

Speaking at an emergency general meeting organised by ARD at the hospital in Calabar, Ikechukwu said the association was compelled to embark on strike after several appeals to management of the institution yielded no positive response.

He said: “The purpose of the strike is not to punish the patients, but to press home some legitimate demands."

Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) yesterday opened up on the controversial $1.5 billion dockyard project, refuting claims that it was an investor in the multi-billion dollar project.

The gas multinational firm stated in a statement on Friday that it was only a facilitator of the $1.5b Dockyard proposed to be built in the country and not an investor in the project as earlier reported in some media.

General Manager, External Relations Nigeria LNG, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, in a statement made the clarification when the President Rivers Entrepreneurs and Investors Forum, Mr. Ibifiri Bob-Manuel, and his team paid him a courtesy call at his office.

Eresia-Eke said NLNG was only involved as a promoter of Nigerian Content.

4,714,725

The total number of votes scored by PDP in the South South zone in the presidential election of Nigeria in 2015.

Source: Un.org

1.42m

The total number of active Fixed Wired/Wireless lines in 2009.

Source: Ncc.gov.ng

Plateau cholera death toll rises to 26, 48 hospitalised Musa Pam

C Jos

hairman of Langtang North Local Government Council of Plateau State, Mr. Dan Dul, has confirmed that over 11 persons have died of suspected cholera outbreak in the area in the past one week, making the total 26.

Dul who spoke to journalists on the telephone in Jos yesterday, said 48 people were also hospitalised while some had been treated and discharged from the hospital.

It would be recalled that the news of the outbreak was broken by the member representing Langtang North Local Government Area in the state House of Assembly, Godfrey Lamdip, during plenary during the week.

“The cholera outbreak in the local government was noticed on Monday this week and has killed

at least 15 people so far with several other victims hospitalised. I have to bring the issue before the House of Assembly so that prompt action can be taken to save lives.”

After deliberations on the incident by members of the assembly, the house resolved that the health committee should liaise with the state Ministry of Health to take immediate action to curtail the spread of the outbreak.

Most members agreed that unless the outbreak was curtailed, the neighbouring local government areas were not going to be safe.

However, Dull said the assembly’s Committee on Health and the state Epidemologist had visited the council with a view to accessing the situation.

He said the council had equipped all the Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) in the area in order

to tackle the problems.

Also in Jos, a personnel of Nigeria Prison Service (NPS), whose name was withheld reportedly died, following constant vomiting and stooling before he was rushed to the hospital.

The prevalence of the outbreak has been recorded in two villages-Kantam and Filam in Langtang North Local Government Area.

In another development, Dul has visited the two villages affected by the outbreak to condole with the villagers on the death of members of the communities.

The Medical Director of Langagng General Hospital, where the victims were receiving treatment, Dr. Adenyika Mathew, said: “Those in the hospital are responding to treatment, we are doing all we can to save lives.

But there is need for strong awareness campaign on ways to prevent the spread of the outbreak.”

However, some residents of Maraban Foron in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area have fled their communities, following the invasion of soldiers alleged to be members of the Special Task Force (STF) deployed to restore law and order in the community.

A source who spoke to Saturday Telegraph alleged that some soldiers suspected to be members of the STF had invaded the communities and started breaking homes, beating up members of the communities and terrorising people with gun shots.

The source said: “As I speak most of our villagers have fled to neighbouring communities because of how the men of the STF have terrorised us.

"We cannot continue to remain and get tortured by the military. Also, most of my relatives have relocated to Kuru, we are calling on the state government to intervene.”

Ambode assists abandoned mother of triple twins

R

Muritala Ayinla espite yesterday came the way of the woman, whose husband abandoned for giving birth to twins for three consecutive times as Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday directed his deputy, Dr. Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, to effect the immediate rehabilitation and provision of welfare assistance.

Mrs. Ruth Uche, 34, had stormed the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja with her six children on Thursday, saying that her husband, Mr. Benjamin Uche, 39, fled their living home following the discovery that she was carrying five-month-old pregnancy of another set of twins.

She lamented that nobody was there to cater for her needs and that of the six children, especially the two-month-old set of another twins.

Ambode in a statement

Disengaged SURE-P officers protest at Lagos Assembly Wale Elegbede

H

undreds of disengaged officers of the Federal Task Force under the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE- P) and Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) programme of former President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday marched to the Lagos State House of Assembly to protest the non-payment of their salaries and allowances for over three years.

The protesting task force officers also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to recall them to work or find an alternative for them to earn a living.

The former officers, who lamented death of some of them and loss of pregnacies by others, complained of non- payment of their train-

Abuja

T

PHOTO: NAN

ing allowances and salaries for the three whole years that the programme lasted and, therefore, appealed to Buhari to use his good offices to effect payment of such.

The protesters displayed various placards containing different inscriptions like “Federal Task Force officers seek for justice”, “Inhumanity will lead to terrorism”, “Injustice is a threat to democracy”, “We need our job and our salary for three years”, “Buhari, Federal Senators, Saraki, House of Reps, Dogara rescue us”, “Exploitation, Exploitation, Exploitation, uniform: N3,7500, Form: N50,000, Polo and Cap: N40,000” and “Change has come, Federal Government must give us our right, three years of training, no salary, no allowance” among others.

South-West APC chairmen shun meeting with Saraki Chukwu David

Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF), in the Niger Delta, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe (left) and Bayelsa State Commissioner for Special Duties, Hon. Alamene Williams, at the inauguration of a water project donated by the JTF to Koluama community…yesterday.

signed by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Habib Aruna, ordered immediate provision of assistance for the distraught woman.

Saturday Telegraph gathered that governor’s directive followed newspaper publications which narrated the ordeal of the woman, who spoke with reporters during her distress visit to the Government Secretariat, Alausa on Thursday.

It was also learnt that the governor who was visibly touched after reading the plight of the woman and her children, noted that as a responsible government, the well-being of the people of the State irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political affiliation is paramount to his administration.

He assured that his government will continue to provide good leadership that will guarantee adequate protection of lives and properties of all Lagosians.

he state chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC), from the South-West geo-political zone yesterday in Abuja, shunned a meeting of the party's state chairmen with the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki.

This was as the chairmen of the party from other zones who attended the meeting, urged the President of the Senate to uphold and help preach the supremacy of the party, on which platform they operate.

The state chairmen gave this urge when they paid Saraki a courtesy visit in his

office at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

Twenty-seven state chairmen of the party were in attendance including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. One person also came as the APC chairman from the United States of America.

However, no single APC chairman attended the meeting.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the chairman of the APC state chairmen and chairman of the Kano State chapter of the party, Mr. Umaru Dogowa, urged Saraki to uphold and preach to others to abide by the supremacy of the APC as contained in the party's constitution.

4 JULY 2015

Airtel sells N299bn assets in Nigeria, others

B

Bayo Akomolafe harti Airtel has sold off its tower assets in Nigeria and other four African countries for over $1.3 billion.

Other countries are Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda and Congo Brazzaville.

It was learnt that the sale, was necessitated by a need to reduce the $10.64 billion debt the company had incurred to run its operations on the continent.

Airtel has reportedly not made any profit since it began operating on the continent and the company is set to sell off 12,500 of its towers in Africa to companies including Eaton, American Tower Corp and IHS. The sale of the assets comes after the company had announced that it would divest its tower assets in 13 African countries to different tower companies.

It was revealed that the company would move on to sell off in six more Af-

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

rican countries as discussions over its tower assets in two others have lapsed.

The company in a statement on Friday explained: “We hope to have the finality in the coming few months on the transactions proposed, subject to availability of all approvals and completion of the conditions precedent.”

Meanwhile, Facebook has opened its first office in Africa to further the company’s commitment to help businesses connect with people and grow locally and regionally.

It was learn that the company would initially focus on growing its business in anchor countries in the major regions of Sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya in the East, Nigeria in the West, and South Africa for the Southern areas. Other supported territories include Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique and Ethiopia.

CALABAR Tribunal affirms Ayade as Cross River governor

NEWS IN BRIE F

ST

The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, has affirmed the victory of Senator Ben Ayade in the April 11 election as the governor of the state.

The petition was filed by a former Executive Secretary of the National Planning Commission (NPC), Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo, who contested the governorship election on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in the state.

In a five-minute judgment by the tribunal chairman, Justice Aliyu Mohammed Maiyaki, alongside two other judges, the tribunal reviewed proceedings during the trial and dismissed the petition.

IKEJA Buhari will soon release ministerial list –Mohammed

National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has denied saying that President Muhammadu Buhari will release his ministerial list “in a few days.”

In a statement issued yesterday in Lagos, Mohammed said: “This is a distortion of what I told journalists on Thursday at Oro, Kwara State, during the 9th Lai Mohammed Ramadan Lecture.”

Clarifying issues, the APC spokesman said: “What I said was that the delay in the release of the ministerial list was caused by the unprecedented transition of power from the ruling party to the opposition and the fact that the handover note was not given to the Transition Committee set up by the incoming government until four days to the presidential inauguration.

179.97m

The total number of connected mobile (GSM) lines of Nigeria in September 2014.

Source: Goal.com

7

CALABAR Cross River, Silverbird sign contract

The Cross River State government and the Silverbird group have signed a four-year management contract for the hosting of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) as well as Miss Africa Beauty Pageant.

The contract, which was signed on Thursday by the state governor, Senator Ben Ayade, for the government and Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce, is meant to put to use, the Calabar International Convention Centre (CICC) built by the immediate past governor, Senator Liyel Imoke.

Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony in Calabar, Ayade said Silverbird had the capacity and expertise to manage the centre as well as organise the pageants because “the company is the nation's number one in the entertainment industry.”

99

The sex ratio of women to 100 men of Cuba in 2012.

Source: Un.org

0.95%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Benin Republic in 2004.

Source: Itu.int

Tambuwal probes suspect’s death in NSCDC custody Umar Abdullahi Sokoto

S

okoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, has directed the state Human Rights Agency to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of a 38-year-old man, Jamilu Abdullahi, in the state's command of the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

It would be recalled that the Commandant of the NSCDC in the state, Mr. Bello Musa, had confirmed the death of the deceased after he was arrested by operatives of the corps at the Sokoto-South Local Government Area Division, following a complaint lodged against him by his neighbour, Amina Muhammad.

The governor said the investigation would unravel the circumstances that led to the death of Abdullahi and recommend appropriate steps to be taken to avoid a reccurrence.

A statement by the governor’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said Tambuwal expressed sadness over the unfortunate situation, and vowed that the state government would get to the root of the matter.

Our correspondent reports that the corpse of the suspect which was rejected by his family was currently being kept at the morgue of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto.

Also, it was gathered that the suspect died on May 29 after he was referred to UDUTH from the Specialist Hospital, Sokoto, on May 26.

CBN resolute in face of naira weakness

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) believes the 22 per cent depreciation in the naira after it scrapped the official foreign exchange window “is optimal at this time”, given the risks to inflation from a weaker currency.

The apex bank said in a statement yesterday that its job was to ensure policy stability, that it does not panic and would not take desperate measures because the naira has fallen on the parallel market from the pegged interbank rate.

“The CBN believes that the 48 per cent decline in oil prices may not be transitory and made bold policy changes including closure

of the subsidised official FX window, which resulted in a 22 per cent depreciation in the currency, the naira,” CBN spokesman, Ibrahim Muazu, said in a statement.

He said: “Because the Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on imports and the exchange rate pass-through to inflation is high, we believe that this adjustment is optimal at this time.”

The CBN scrapped its bi-weekly currency auction in February and pegged the naira near to where it was trading on the interbank market at the time, resulting in a de facto devaluation and curbing speculation.

L-R: President of Entertainment at Silverbird Group, Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce (2nd left) and Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade, at the signing of a four-year management contract for the hosting of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) as well as Miss Africa Beauty Pageant in Calabar…Thursday

PHOTO: CLEMENT JAMES

NLC alleges plan by Aregbesola to ‘slash’ workers’ salaries by 50% FURORE

Two state governments announce plan to cut workers' salaries and cost of governance by 50 per cent.

Adeolu Adeyemo and Dahiru Suleiman

O

Osogbo and DUTSE

sun State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday said that it had uncovered plans by the state government to come up with a policy to reduce workers' salaries by 50 per cent.

But it vowed to resist the move.

In a related development, Jigawa State Government has also slashed the cost of governance in the state by 50 per cent.

Chairman of the union, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, who

l Jigawa cuts down cost of governance by 50% made this known at a press conference in Osogbo, said Osun State government would start implementing the policy from January 2015.

The union leader, however, described the development as inhuman, callous, wicked and unacceptable to the entire workforce in the state.

“Never will the workers accept this as the situation the state government found itself was a product of its systemic failure and any attempt to cut the salaries of workers in the state by one per cent will be vehemently resisted and will lead to unimaginable chaos,” he said.

He lamented further that: “The entire labour bodies in the state condemn and reject the reduction of their salaries to 50 per cent.

This is satanic, wicked and unacceptable to the workforce in the state.

“It is wicked, satanic and suicidal for any government to arrive at this position after it had failed in its constitutional responsibilities for the past eight months.

“As a result of government failure to fulfil its constitutional right, we had lost a couple of workers to the cold arms of death, while the chairman of pensioners in the state at a meeting with the government on June 26 confirmed that 350 deaths were recorded among pensioners in the last four months."

However, efforts to get the media aide to the state government to comment on this proved abortive.

Meanwhile, Jigawa State Deputy Governor, Mr. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, said cost of governance has been reduced while receiving the Nigerian Union of

Journalists (NUJ) officials on courtesy visit.

He said in order for the state government to maintain effective monthly salary payment in the next three months, it had to borrow an additional N440 million monthly hence the need to slash the cost of governance.

Hassan said: “Going by the present economic depression affecting both states and the Federal Government, we were constrained to cut down government expenditure by 50 per cent.

“Due to inherited empty treasury from immediate past regime of former governor Lamido-led PDP government, we have no option than trimming some ministries and merged some agencies according to our strength for efficient service delivery.”

8

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

FCT KANO Kwankwaso shortlisted for Hajj Commission African achievers award announces hajj fares

N EWS I N BRIEF

ST

Former governor of Kano State, Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso, has been nominated for the 2015 African Achievers Award by Achievers Award by a South African body, which is scheduled for July 25 in Johannesburg.

In a joint congratulatory letter to Kwankwaso, the Advisory Board of the African Achievers said the recipient was among the few selected as finalist out of the 1502 nominations submitted under the category from 36 African countries.

It further explained that, the independent panel comprising community leaders from South Africa and United Kingdom, including past recipients, found Kwankwaso worthy of the award.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced this year’s Hajj fares with a call on relevant bodies to speed up the process of collecting and remitting the fare to the commission.

A statement signed by the commission’s Head of Media, Alhaji Uba Mana, in Abuja, said early collection and remittance was imperative to facilitate early conclusion of arrangements.

According to the statement, the northern departure zones are: minimum fare N758,476.59 (with $750 Basic Travel Allowance (BTA); medium fare N798,476 (with $1,000 BTA); and maximum fare N897,476 (with $1,500-BTA).

The southern departure zones include: minimum fare N766,556 (with $750 BTA) , medium fare (with $1,000 BTA) N806,556 while the maximum fare was put at N905,556 (with $1,500 BTA).

21.46%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Bahrain in 2004.

Source: Itu.int

PORT HARCOURT Grey Velvet opens Port Harcourt store tomorrow

A retail shopping outfit, Grey Velvet will tomorrow launch its first boutique in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Grey Velvet Port Harcourt will officially open its door to offer fashion enthusiasts a new shopping destination equipped to meet assorted style requirements.

The existing Grey Velvet stores in Lagos specialise in everything needed in African fashion, and the Port Harcourt boutique will offer much more. The new branch will feature a carefully curated, yet extensive selection of clothing and accessories from some of the best designers that Africa has to offer including Ituen by Ituen Basi, Ejiro Amos Tafiri, Isi Brown, Frankie & Co, Ada

by Alter Ego, Iamisigo, Xclamations, Wana Sambo, Amede, Odeva, OSC, Bland2Glam, TWC Accessories, Kene Rapu, Mak Nisy and Adeysoile to mention a handful.

4.23m

The total population of Congo in 2012.

Source: Itu.int

$27.1m

The total pay (including salary/ winnings & endorsements) of Peyton Manning (NFL) for 2014.

Source: Forbes.com

Don’t sabotage my agric policies, Okowa warns farmers l Decries payment of workers’ salaries with bank overdraft Dominic Adewole ASABA

D

elta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has threatened to institute legal action against those who intend to sabotage his agricultural policies and programmes.

The governor said such persons or group would not go unpunished but be made to face the full weight of the laws.

Speaking during a consultative forum with Commodity and Farmers Cooperative Societies on modalities to benefit from state government’s empowerment programmes, Okowa warned that it would amount to an act of criminality for farmers’ and commodity co-operatives to receive tractors, fertilisers and other tools from government at highly subsidised rates and fraudulently sell them to unsuspecting users.

He said: “We want true farmers, not political farmers, we want to give support to those who really need them, we do not want a situation where an association gets a tractor and sell it, it is unfair that an associa-

tion get a tractor and sell it, I will go after such person with the full weight of the law, they will be prosecuted.

The programmes are starting now, we don't want anticipatory programmes, everything should be properly documented.”

A commissioner-designate and chairman, Ad hoc Committee on Job Creation, Dr. Kingsley Emu, said the governor had rolled out six empowerment programmes to empower different categories of Deltans.

He said: “We need to be very sincere in our approach to the issue of empowerment, there is nothing that is as bad as having a good programme which did not work out because people are not sincere.”

Meanwhile, Okowa has said his administration will engage in regular interface with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for wealth creation and increased productivity in the state.

The governor, who called for a robust working relationship to promote industrial harmony, said he was set for improved welfare and quality working condition for over 60,000 civil servants in the state.

Ogoni: MOSOP denies financial gratification allegation Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (left) and Chairman of the state Ad hoc Steering Committee on Job Creation, Governor’s Office, Dr. Kingsley Emu, at a consultative forum with commodity associations’ and farmers’ cooperative societies in Asaba…yesterday

Emmanuel Masha

T

PHOTO: GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ASABA

‘Nigeria’s airline operators lose over $180m to bird strikes yearly’ LOSS

Airline operators lament impact of bird strikes to the aviation sector.

A

Ndubuisi Ugah irline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has claimed that its members lose over $180 million (N41.4 billion) to bird strike incidents at airports in the country yearly.

AON Chairman, Capt.

Noggie Meggison, who said this while speaking at the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI) Safer Skies Forum in Lagos, said the operators lose engines to bird strike yearly and aircraft engines now cost between $40 million and $70 million, depend-

ing on the aircraft.

Meggison, who spoke on the topic, “Aviation Safety: Operators’ Perspective”, also attributed over 70 per cent of airline crashes in the country to oversight deficiencies of regulatory agencies.

He said: “We need to start looking at landing aids and landing areas at airports because over 70 per cent of air crashes in Nigeria are linked to negligence on the part of aviation parastatals and oversight deficiencies of regulatory agencies.

“For instance, the ADC crash was due to air traffic control issue; Wings aviation crash due to wrong charting by Nigerian Airspace Management Agency while Associated Plane was on the ground for 24 months before it was taken to the skies.

“We need to look at the issues and not sweep is-

sues under the carpet in Nigeria. We have issues ranging from bad drainage runway surface to failure of air traffic controller to properly monitor runways, among others.”

Also speaking, Director, Consumer Protection Directorate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Adamu Abdullahi, identified aging workforce and paucity of funds, amongst others, as challenges facing the sector.

Abdullahi said Nigeria was investing heavily on manpower development, adding that government was also revamping the Nigerian College of Aviation, Zaria, for personnel training in critical areas.

On his part, Managing Director, IRS Airlines, Mr. Yemi Dada, said airlines were not making profit in Nigeria due to problems ranging from inadequate infrastructure, insecurity and operating a dollar based system.

Port Harcourt

he Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has dismissed the report that it is awaiting billions of dollar from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) that would be shared among Ogonis who suffered environmental degradation.

MOSOP said the report has forced many Ogonis to rush to the offices of the National Identity Card Commission along Port Harcourt/Aba Expressway, Port Harcourt for issuance of the card in readiness for the reparation.

The group said the UNEP report does not have a section that focuses on the compensation of individuals, but the restoration of the affected areas, pointing out that the report was in-

fluenced by the compensation of Bodo community by Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC).

But MOSOP, which stated this in a statement signed by its media officer, BariaraKpalap, said some fraudulent persons had been circulating fake forms in local communities for employment.

Kpalap also said the suspected fraudsters were selling recruitment forms into the Nigerian Armed Forces and environmental clean-up contract and collecting the sum of three thousand naira (N3,000) each, in return from unsuspecting citizens.

He said: “It is regrettable that in spite of our earlier warnings regarding the spurious report and the activities of the fraudsters, our people have failed to heed the warnings and are now victims of the criminal tendencies of these 419ers."

NECAN’ll check excesses of DISCOS –Akingbogun Andrew Iro Okungbowa

P

resident of the newly formed Nigerian Electricity Consumers Advocacy Network (NECAN), Chief Tomi Akingbogun, has assured consumers that electricity distribution companies (DISCOS)

will no longer shortchange them through “dubious charges”.

Speaking to Saturday Telegraph on the problems facing the body, which is to act as an interface between the public and the DISCOS, Akingbogun urged consumers

to come together to stop overpricing of electricity, fixed billing and profile billing, among others.

Akingbogun who is the president of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), also expressed displeasure with the

chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, for reneging on the commission's commitment to setting up DISCOS and funding it for about two years before the public can take over its affairs.

SATURDAY

Voices Should you keep your ex's old letters, number and cards? p.12

Street Diary SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2015

9

Ilemobade’s children

We lost our Father Christmas on Father’s Day

I

t was as if he had the premonition of his death during the celebration of the Father’s Day on June 21 as he danced to the rhythm of the songs provided by choir of Anglican Church, located the premises of the Vining School of Theology, Akure, the Ondo State.

Like before, Prof Albert Ilemobade, a former vice-chancellor of Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), danced to the rhythm of the church choir, dropped his cheque for the hosting of the conference of Anglican Bishops to be hosted by Akure Diocese of the Church and also dropped his tithe.

On getting home later in the day after the church service, he called his children and wished them happy celebration. He also received calls from his children who called to appreciate the roles he played in their lives as a father. Both the Venerable of the church, Dr. Ayodeji Fagbemi and his first son, Adesola, said Ilemobade was an extremely happy man that day. Fagbemi said it was if he knew that that was going to be his last day on earth.

The vicar of the church said Ilemobade and his wife came forward for the family thanksgiving, danced to the rhythm of the song provided by the church’s choir and donated to the church’s programmes.

He said the professor was indeed at peace with his creator. It was shortly after he spoke with first son that he was killed by his domestic aides.

Reports said Ilemobade was killed on the night of the celebration of the Father’s Day when his former driver, Olayemi Bamitale, alongside his gateman, Daniel Effiong Ita, allegedly tricked him out of the house and killed him. Having strangled him, the suspects were said to have dumped his body in an abandoned store in his house.

One week after the dastardly act was perpetrated, the culprits were arrested and subsequently led the police to where the decomposing body of the 79-year-old professor of veterinary medicine was kept. Also, the police said the suspects had confessed to the crime and were now facing a five-count of conspiracy and murder.

Adesola who is also a professor like his father said he did not that the June 21 conversation he had with his father during the celebration of the Father’s Day was going to be the last. He said his father was particularly happy that day and he had to inquire from him why he was extremely happy.

“Our last conversation we had was on Sunday, on Fathers' Day and that was the night he passed on. He had a good day, I celebrated him and called him to wish him happy fathers' day and he told me that he was very excited that day, he told me 'I am happy and I don't know why I am happy.’ We believe that God gave him such a good day as a way to transit him. He said to me several times that 'I am so happy today and I don't why' and within an hour of that conversation he passed on,” he said.

Describing his father, Adesola said: “He was a great man. I am his first son a civil engineer and a professor. Where I am today my father had even reached there

The family of the late Prof. Albert Ilemobade, a former vice-chancellor of Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), was expecting communication from the ‘kidnappers’ who they thought had abducted their father on June 21, a day set aside for the celebration of fathers across the world.

However, they found out that their father had been gruesomely murdered by his domestic staff. Despite the manner of the death, his children who spoke with Babatope Okeowo, said he would continue to be celebrated

Suspects

Prof. Adesola, Tolulade and Adeseni, children of Prof Albert Ilemobade

and done more at my age. The last time I saw him in Johannesburg, I told him if I get to where he got to, I will be proud.

I will miss a man who always encouraged me and boosted me that you must not stop. You must not stop learning; you must continue to be the best you can be.

I will miss him.”

Adesola, however, said irrespective of mode of his exit, the family would still celebrate him.

Speaking further, he said: “We are grateful for the life he spent and his heritage. He taught us to pray and as a family we pray together, either you like it or not you must be at the family altar and not only the family but everyone who is a part of the family, biologically and nonbiologically by 6am you must pray with the family.

“During Christmas we had a Father Christmas who gave gift to all the children in the house on Christmas Day. It's a tradition that's happening in our home.

He was a Father Christmas as far as children are concern.”

Similarly, the third child, Adeseni,

said he knew death was the end of every mortal but never imagined that his father would die a gruesome death.

He said the family would continue to celebrate their father, noting that the last time he saw him was in April during the Easter Day celebration.

“The last conversation I had with my dad was on Sunday, Father's Day, 21st of June. He was so excited when I spoke with him, he told my brother that he was excited and didn't understand why he was exited and the last thing he told me was that Seni, ‘I know you're going to be a very good father’ and he said ‘I already see what you are doing.’

“The conversation we had before then was during Easter. For a very long time, my father and I never had a discussion like we had that day because he actually called me to his study. ‘I needed to have a discussion with you’ he mentioned it about two times in the day when I arrived Akure and he told me that he was very proud of me.”

He said his father was a loving and caring father who would always call his

children to advise them.

“He would call you to give instruction on how to live life. He was a very gentleman, he will advise you, he will tell you the right thing to do,” Adeseni said.

He said he saw his father during the last Easter celebration when his driver took away his car.

“I don't live here, I stay and work in Lagos. So, I arrived in Akure on that day with my family and when I arrived he went to the church. When he returned, we had an informal discussion, yet he insisted on having a private discussion with me. When he said this several times, I knew he had something important to tell me. And he said he just wanted to tell me he is very proud of me,” he said.

Recalling how Olayemi first stole the car, he said: “My father was a chief in his church in Ondo town. So, he preferred to attend that church at least twice in a month. On Easter Sunday, he asked the driver to take him to the church in Ondo. As soon as the driver dropped him, he drove away the car. After the service, my father could not find him and he was stranded.

“He alerted the police in the town immediately. He called me and I went to pick him and brought him back to Akure. On our way, we also lodge complaint at Ijapo Estate Police Stateion, Akure. I was very furious because I knew the driver was trying to play pranks but my father felt otherwise.

“On Monday, I travelled back to my base. But before I travelled neither the car nor the driver could be traced. However, I learnt that on Wednesday, the driver drove the car back to Akure and was eventually arrested by the police after he confessed.

“It was after my father’s death I learnt that he was the one who secured the bail of the driver because he said it did not feel good that he was being detained.

“That was his nature. My father saw no need in charging the driver to court.

He never told us the end of the story, he just told us that the car had been found and I kept on calling him to get the full story but he kept the better part of the story from us, it was one of his staff in the office that told us that daddy actually went to bail him.

“The driver was sacked after he was released from police custody, I heard my father gave him some money to go and take care of himself but told him his employment had been terminated.

I would believe it was revenge and the fact that he still wanted money.”

Adeseni agreed with his father that the family would ‘say good bye’ to him in a very big way.

He said justice is in the hands of the judiciary, adding that since the culprits had been charged to court, they would want the law to take its cause.”

His daughter, Tolulade IlemobadeOzigbo, described her father as a strict but compassionate person, saying: “He was a disciplinarian, he did not take nonsense but my father was a good man, he never forced a decision on us.”

10

Street Diary

Adams

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Ogunnoiki

Akinbo

Pampam

I had thought my daughter will become a judge A

– Father of OOU student killed in auto crash

t 7/9, Kolabusari Street, Adalemo area of Sango-Ota, Ogun State, Pastor Benjamin Ashade laid on the couch when Saturday Telegraph crew entered his living room. Slowly he got up, welcomed his unfamiliar guests and exchanged pleasantries.

As we identified ourselves and conveyed our condolences to him, a woman emerged from an inner room.

Ashade and the woman, whom we subsequently discovered was his wife (Ruth), both sat down and entertained our questions.

The duo had just lost their 24-yearold daughter, Christiana Ibukun Ashade. She was one of the victims of last week's accident along SagamuBenin Expressway where a truck laden with container crushed some students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye. Twelve persons died in the accident while one person, a 300-Level student of Chemistry Department, survived.

“It would not be wrong for me to say she was my hope. Each time I see women judges on television, my prayer is that my daughter is going to be one. That was always my prayer.

That was my hope. But God knows more than every one of us. It is painful but then, what can we do?” a softspoken Pastor Ashade told Saturday Telegraph in an interview.

According to him, Ibukun had great admiration for the legal profession, prompting her to enroll for a Law degree at OOU after obtaining National Diploma in Mass Communication at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta. She was in 200-Level when her life was suddenly cut short. The last child of the family of six, she would have celebrated her 24th birthday on July 7.

On the ill-fated day, Pastor Ashade of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Chapel of Christ Bride, Kolabusari Street, disclosed that his late daughter was expected back home ahead of a family function. She was billed to play active role at the planned event. When she didn’t show up on

Last week Friday, 9 students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, died in a fatal road accident. Our correspondents, KUNLE OLAYENI and TAIWO JIMOH, who visited two of the parents write on how they received the death of their children.

Asade

Dairo

Should this kind of calamity befall me? A child that I’ve spent millions of naira on his education!

the expected date (Friday June 26) and her mobile lines were switched off, the worried parents suspected that something could be wrong.

The father said, “She (Ibukun) had three lines and all were switched off. I

started wondering because there was no way Ibukun’s phones would be switched off. I just asked my wife to let us wait till the following morning.

But I zeroed my mind that it’s either an accident or she was kidnapped.

“So, by 4am (on Saturday), I called one of my friends who has a friend at the FRSC to find out whether there is any information about any accident along the road. So, he called one DPO at Abeokuta who said we should wait till 8am; that every information would have been available by that time. I asked my wife to go and sleep, that we will go to the park by 8 o’clock and enquire if there is any accident on the road.

“But my wife just remembered that she has one of her (Ibukun) room-mate’s phone number. She now called. That one had got the information. When she saw my wife’s number, she didn’t pick it out of fear. Mummy

called many times but she didn’t pick.

I think mummy got the wisdom and now used another number to call her.

“When she picked it up and realised that it’s mummy’s voice, she spoke.

‘Where is your friend?’ She said she escorted her to park yesterday (penultimate Friday) and that after two hours, she got an information that there was a road accident. Mummy then said what happened. She said ‘Small lawyer is gone!’”

“Small Lawyer” was Ibukun’s nickname. The cleric, who described his daughter as “ambitious and hardworking,” lamented the tragic road accident. “If I had died, one-quarter of the crowd that came here wouldn’t have come. She was the connector between the families. She was social. She was even the one to read letter on the wedding day. We have already bought clothes for the event.

“What compensation am I asking for? What compensation will bring back my daughter? So, we have accepted our fate; we just hope the government will think about the remaining people. Those who have gone cannot come back but the rest – your own children, my own children, the young ones that would still come up,” he said.

Ashade, who was into the transport business before becoming a pastor, appealed to the government to fix all the bad roads in the country. According to him, the deplorable condition of roads has led to many avoidable accidents.

He urged the Federal Government to hand over road construction, maintenance and management to state governments.

He said, “The only thing I want government to know is that they are taking lives of people. It is not Boko Haram alone that is taking lives. Everyone that has been given a contract to do the road but didn’t do it, is a murderer.

“May God help us to let things change in this country. Everything has been politicised. They say the worst democratic government is better than the best military government; democracy is the worst. Can all the lawmakers fighting in the House be doing that

4 JULY 2015

under military government? What example are they setting?

“This has happened, we have nothing to do about it. Ibukun has gone!

The pain is that she was a promising child who struggled to become what she wanted to become. But the dream has been cut short. It’s painful but as a pastor, I preach that God does not take your good except He wants to give you the best.”

The victim’s mother, Mrs. Ruth Oluwakemi Ashade, who sells Bible in Sango-Ota area, also urged government to put in place stringent measures to check the excesses of truck drivers on the highway. “Go to Ilaro (in Yewa South Local Government Area) and see the damage truck drivers have done,” she added.

Also, the same atmosphere of gloom pervaded 7b, Mosalasi Street, Johnson Market, along Adedokun School, Sango-Ota. A crowd of sympathisers thronged the house to condole with Mr. Adeleke Dairo, and his wife, Christianah, over the loss of their son, Olatunji.

Olatunji, who studied Physics Electronics at the OOU and finished last February, had gone back to the school to rectify an error on his mobilisation letter ahead of call-up for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

He didn’t come back alive.

Giving his own account, the 51-yearold father of the late student claimed that his son did not die immediately after the fatal crash. Adeleke, a tailor at Somolu area of Lagos State, cursed those responsible for the sad incident intermittently. He further decried the harrowing experience the family was subjected to by both the police and hospital staff that kept the accident victims.

He said, “Olatunji used to stay with his elder brother in Lagos. When he called me, he said he wanted to go and collect his call-up letter but when he checked it on the website, he discovered that only Physics was written for him instead of Physics Electronics. I then sought to know how he planned to correct it. He told me they demanded N3, 000 at his school to rectify the error. I called some of his colleagues and they said the correction can only be done at the school.

“He came home that Saturday, he slept here, he even had malaria and was not feeling fine. He said Tuesday (June 23) was the deadline for the correction. On that Tuesday, I called him to find out whether the error had been rectified but he said not yet. He asked me to send some money and I ordered one of my apprentices to go and transfer money at the bank. On Thursday, I called him and he said it rained heavily and he won’t be able to come back. He promised to come home Friday (June 26).”

When they could not hear from him that Friday, the family began to panic and thought he could have been kidnapped or had an accident. “I went to the police station and they asked me to check at the school. When we called him repeatedly and his number was unavailable, we called a number that he also sometime used to call.

“We then called the number and a lady picked it. We asked after Tunji and she said they both got to the motor park together in the morning before parting ways. On that Friday, his mum went to vigil to pray so that we can find him. On Saturday morning, I went to the park and was told that a bus had an accident, that a truck carrying container fell on some students. That’s how I lost my child until I found him at the mortuary.

“People at the accident scene that saw him said Tunji did not die on the spot; he only sustained injuries on his arm. May be he struggled to come out

Street Diary

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

Aribiola

Ayoola

What compensation am I asking for?

What compensation will bring back my daughter? So, we have accepted our fate; we just hope the government will think about the remaining people

Odubanjo

of the wreckage. Other parts of his body were intact. Those at the scene said policemen just packed the victims together, claiming they would take them to the hospital.

“The next thing the police did was to take them to a private hospital called Fakoya, located at Sabo, Sagamu, and dumped them on the ground there. They did not give them any first aid treatment there; instead of them to take them to OOUTH (Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital) which was near the accident scene. When we wanted to secure his corpse, the hospital staff demanded N35, 000 before releasing the body.

“When we went for police report, the police collected N5, 000. It was at

Adeleke Dairo...lost his son

a police station around Iperu junction.

The police collected N5, 000. The students of the school stormed the place and threatened not to pay any money to secure the corpses, they also went to the police station to demand why they collected N5, 000. But they discovered that the policeman that actually collected the money had run away. Should this kind of calamity befall me? A child that I’ve spent millions of naira on his education!

“There are policemen patrolling the highway and yet, some motorists would be driving against traffic. If the driver did not drive against traffic, that accident wouldn’t have been such devastating.”

“Look at me now; have they arrest-

Ruth

11

ed the driver?” the father asked our crew which answered in the negative.

“What about the owner of the truck?” he further asked. “It seems that one has been identified,” we replied.

Mr. Dairo continued: “Can I quantify my effort to send him to school? Is it days that I would have to go hungry in order to save some money to fund his education? A boy that went to school for five years without encountering any problem?

“He once said when he wants to go for youth service, I would be giving him money for feeding so that he can save his NYSC allowance and use the money to study one professional course. He said once he completes the course, he would be a hot cake and would get job easily.”

He described his late son, who was the second child in the family of four, as “very hardworking.” Recounting his fond memories of the deceased, Mr. Dairo said: “When the boy wanted to learn the installation of DSTV, I sold the television in my living room to balance the fees of his boss. The boy suffered and struggled. There were days he would tell me that he climbed ladder to install cable and inverter on sixstorey buildings.”

The father wondered why the school imported error into his son’s mobilisation letter. “What reason did they have to put Physics there instead of Physics Electronics? Why? He has done his last exam since February but their results are not out till today. He wouldn’t have gone to that school if not for the portal where the error would be changed because at least, he can still print his mobilisation letter here? And it was his friends that said don’t let them cheat you on that because Physics Electronics is more presentable than ordinary Physics.”

Saturday Telegraph observed the distraught mother of the deceased. She sat in one corner of their bungalow house while sympathisers surrounded her.

Olatunji’s elder brother, who gave his name as Olanrewaju, described the deceased as “very industrious. “He was my confidant, he was wise and very industrious. He was so talented.

Within few months, he learnt how to install satellite cable. He went to do IT (industrial training) at where they do solar inverter; and he has started working for people.”

Corroborating his father’s allegation, Olanrewaju said the policemen demanded money to release police report. His words: “I was so surprised.

They collected N5, 000 from us and issued a police report which we in turn used to secure the corpse.”

Ashade and his wife (right) lost their daughter

SATURDAY

Voices SATURDAY 4 JULY 2015

12

Should you keep your ex's old love letters, number and cards?

Old things should pass away For me, old things should pass away. Keeping old love letters will not do you any good. If you were both matured enough to end the relationship for whatever reason, you should do away with all things that reminds you of what you had. However, that does not mean you should be 'enemies'. That is my take.

– Bridget Obeatta Ogbeifun, self-employed

No letters and cards It is advisable not to keep your ex’s old letters and cards. But you can still keep number for business purpose I think.

– Bunmi Eretan

Just for reference purpose

An ex remains that An ex remains one except on critical issues which have to be agreed by both parties. Asides that no reservations.

– Kalejaiye Omowunmi,

I keep it for reference purpose. When I am bored, I just do a throwback. I try to remember how happy I was when I was dating the person.

–Olisa Ebube, student

caterer

It will bring back

No need to keep them

memories

No, this is because it will keep taking you back to memories you want to forget. Going back is not an option, so there is no reason having those details anymore.

– Ogbu Ebuka, businessman

It is like keeping your failed JAMB exam result in your file. Some guys were never truly a boyfriend to the girl even when they were dating. It is like what they were into a hit and run relationship.

– Abidogun Peter, student

Edomwonyi, teacher

It’s no big deal Yes, I can Yes I can keep all these things because she is still alive and I might have some things to work out with her.

– Osigwe Chike, model

groomer

Not necessary No, it is not necessary.

Inasmuch as both of you are no longer dating, I think it is best to do away with each other's contact. Unless your ex is also your co-worker or business partner, then I think that can be the only reason you can still keep his/ her contact.

– Debola Adefowokan, fashion designer

It’s temptation No. I am of the opinion that it might remind me of the past and this can lead to wanting to go back to him.

– Bola Kareem, journalist

Keeping your ex's cards and love letters shouldn't be a problem. You might also need her help someday, so, you should keep her number. Keeping them are just one of those things that let you know how better you have grown when counting your blessing.

So, it doesn't matter. One should just leave a good memory behind.

– Mosis Omobulejo, student

It’s not a bad idea Having your ex's number is not a bad thing. The way in which you broke up will determine if you should keep his/her number. Keeping your ex's number may be alright with your partner, but keeping love letters and cards may cause problems thereby giving your partner reasons to believe you are still dating or have interest in your ex. This may lead to break up. Keeping your ex’s contact is not a bad idea because he/she may be in a position to help you with something important in future.

– Sunday Nwachukwu, graphic artist

compiled by

ANGELA DAVIES, chinyere onah and adebola adekunle

Good for those who love to cry You can if you love crying. I do keep it though because I smile each time I read them again. And for some guys, it is a super make up plan.

– Ikushika Dele, student

He might be helpful Yes, I believe he might still be of help in the future, and also remember the good time and fun.

– Justina Nwoko, diplomat

It is not necessary

No! Your new lover may think you still love your ex. You should do away with everything that will remind you of that person especially when it was your fault that the relationship didn’t work out. Keeping things that will remind you of that person is like a torture.

– Ozioma Kenechukwu, student

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2015

SATURDAY

WeekendDelight 13

C o n v e r s at i o n

Instyle Coloured crystal cocktail rings p.17

MOBOLAJI

ADENUBI

I wish men would appreciate all what we go through

TV & Radio

When Kids Say The Darndest Things p.34

Love & Living ’He stole my virginity on my birthday’ p.35

Hospitality

Dee-Danielles Hotel and Suites: The next-door hideaway p.41

If I had a lot of money I would have gotten a driver. I haven’t received my pension since September 2012

Many, including her husband, didn’t find it amusing when Mobolaji Adenubi aka Mama Agba (literally grandmother in Yoruba) announced her decision to retire early as an assistant director at the Federal Ministry Education in 1991 to dedicate the rest of her life to writing. But the founder of Splendid Literature and Culture Foundation had already made up her mind regardless. In this interview with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS, the 73-year-old writer recounts fond memories and the pain of losing her son who inspired the award-winning book, Splendid.

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Do you still write?

Yes, I do. I don’t usually tell people titles; I just tell people I am working on some stories. When I get tired of one, I go to another one or do something entirely different such as washing dishes and cleaning the house. Writers experience block, a state where one is short of ideas. I don’t waste time fighting that. As soon as I get disinterested in what I am working on, I just move on to something else.

It’s remarkable you still drive at 73.

Necessity is one of the reasons I still drive myself. If I had a lot of money I would have gotten a driver. I haven’t received my pension since September 2012. So, I have to be very prudent with money since there is very little. I am not the only one affected. My neigbour across the street collected hers last in 2009. She’s been deprived longer than I. We’ve been

on this for a while. Anytime we go to the pension office at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, all they do is to tell us that they are working on it. This year, I have not been there but I call the man in charge regularly. He told me when the elections were over. Elections are over now, yet we didn’t hear any development.

What was your background like?

We were 19 children, but there was no time we all assembled to-

gether. My mother had five of us, but she had two children before she married my father.

She was formerly married to my father’s uncle who later died.

She was his youngest wife and the family members decided to marry him off to my father. My father’s name was Folorunso, while my mother was Safu. She was a bit older than my father. It is a tradition in Ijebu Ode (Ogun State) and they still do it. The same thing happened to the typist that worked with me before I left job. She lost her husband and she married his brother. She wanted her son to remain in the family and she was preserving his right. When they suggested this, she quickly accepted it because the son has a position in that family. They expect the person to take care of the children, wife and have children with her if he likes.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

14

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

‘Soyinka helped secure a publisher for my CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

When did you write your first book?

I started writing while I was a student in England and I kept sending them to different places. I sent one called Strange Encounter to the BBC and it was accepted. I got money from it too. That story, in 1965, was broadcasted all over West Africa and East Africa. Though it was everywhere, including the newspapers, my father didn’t get to see it for some reasons. People were always congratulating him, so he made serious attempts to see the story. All these I found out in the letters he wrote to me. My first ac-

cepted book was Splendid, which I wrote between1994 and 1995. It was the first time I got money from a book.

How was it like schooling in England then?

I went to England in 1959. I was in a school for two years to prepare for my A Levels examination before I got admitted into Reading University, Berkshire, United Kingdom. I studied General Subject; I did History, Geography and English. Along the way, Sociology was introduced to Reading University and our adviser asked if anyone was interested. I showed interest and dropped

Mobolaji and her husband, Ayodeji

Mobolaji with her first child, Olukemi who is now married

English for Sociology. I did Sociology to the level that even my teacher told me “I shouldn’t pay all your attention to the subject”. I sent the papers to my father and he also said the same thing. I later proceeded to Swansea University, Wales, for a post graduate programme in Applied Social Studies because I was so interested in sociology.

When did you return to Nigeria?

I returned to Nigeria in 1966 and worked in the then Child Guidance Clinic at Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba, Lagos. I was the school social worker and it was under the Federal Ministry of Education. Children who had learning difficulties were sent there from schools all over Lagos and its environment. I later left there when my husband was about going to Stanford University, California for his Ph.D. I just had my first child and I said if I should follow him I should study too. He got an application form and I filled in teacher education. I was admitted into Stanford too for my master’s and studied further because his degree took him more years to complete. I took all kinds of courses, including two-unit course in swimming. So, when my husband finished we moved back to Nigeria. I returned from England in 1966 and I went to America in 1969.

We retuned finally in 1972. By the time I came back, the Child Guidance Clinic had changed hands. When states were created, the institution went to Lagos State. So, when we returned, I applied to the Federal Ministry of Education to teach in a teachers’ training institution.

I got the employment and I was sent to the then National Technical Teachers College at Yaba, Lagos. That was how I went into education and it was fun.

Would you say Splendid was your most successful book?

I have written 10 books; nobody have read or bothered to read them. The first one because it made that big impact is supposed to be the best book and the only book she had written that is of any worth. When you write something that is different and new, it hits. Everybody said it should be a bestseller. I am always introduced as the author of Splendid and no other. I published five books in 2012, including Sister, If Only You Know; From Here There, I’ll Fix Man, Just Different and Wishing Stone and Other Stories. Two are for adults, while three are for children.

I have been writing them, hoping that opportunities would come to publish them. Suddenly, some amount of money came in from my father’s estate and I didn’t just see reasons why I should buy

...exchanging marital vows

clothes or anything than to invest it in books. I quickly gave my manuscripts to an editor and took them to a printer. The books ended up having errors that I am so ashamed of anytime I look at them now. A writer doesn’t want to see any error in his or her book. Just Different is a full length story and I would pick it as my favourite. It was the one I recently felt alive with.

How were you able to get a publisher given how challenging it could be for new writers?

When I wrote Splendid, I was on the council of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Chief Simeon Adebo, the former administrator, lawyer and diplomat, was on the council too. So, when we met at a meeting he requested to know what I did for a living. I told him I write. Since I retired, whenever I told people that, they translate that to me being stupid. He was obviously not satisfied. He later asked to see something I had written and I said I wasn’t published yet. As soon as I got home, I printed the entire manuscript and send the driver with it to Abeokuta. I had a printer and desktop. The next time I heard from him, he wrote a two page letter, congratulating me on the book.

He loved it so much and said beautiful things about the book. I was so excited because it was the first time anybody outside my immediate friends and family will see the work.

The manuscript later found its way to the hands of Soyinka. In the book’s foreword, Soyinka admitted that he reluctantly read the manuscript. At the next meeting in Abeokuta, I asked the driver to take me to Soyinka’s office. I didn’t see him and I was told to come back the next day which I did. On getting there, I was asked to go inside a room. I opened the door, hoping that it was a waiting room. As I entered, I saw two chairs and seated on one was Soyinka. The instant I introduced myself as the author of Splendid, he said, “That story is full of love and courage”. I was so shocked; I took my glasses off as if I needed it to hear well. He then told me he had given it to a publisher and that he would give it to another once they didn’t indicate their interest in two weeks. Also with me was the letter Chief Adebo wrote about the manuscript. I showed it to him and he went through so fast with a smile on his face. He gave the manuscript to Spectrum and I visited them. But I had an accident along the way and it was the period someone came from Spectrum to inform me that the book was published. The person also

15

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

book about my late son’

Lovers’ rock... serenading her husband

came with a copy. While I was still on sickbay, my family members encouraged me to do a launch which we later had at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, in 1995.

How much did the book generate?

My first royalty was in 2000. The book hasn’t sold very well. I bought most from Spectrum and gave out or sold to people myself. I told them that I retired to write, which means I intend to make a living from it and the money wasn’t enough. They told me it was a lovely book, but cannot explain why it wasn’t selling well. They were ready to allow me to withdraw my contract. I later went ahead to do the second edition of Splendid myself. I deliberately kept all Spectrum’s letters as a proof in case they wanted to take the matter to court. But they didn’t even bother; they just stopped paying me loyalty and that was it. I still haven’t made any money from books, but I keep writing because I enjoy writing. It gives me so much satisfaction that money cannot buy. I am not rich, but I am happy because I write.

In 1995 you won an award with the book; how did you feel?

I won the Christopher Okigbo Prize for Literature which was instituted by Wole Soyinka. I wasn’t even the one who entered the book for the prize; it was Spectrum. I was supposed to receive one thousand dollars, but I didn’t get it till today. Before that time, it was announced that Soyinka who was supposed to give the cash prize had gone into exile in the newspapers. The man wasn’t around when I won the prize and I thought it would be inappropriate to go meet him years later. I have seen him since then and people told me why I didn’t ask.

Were there other factors that inspired Splendid other than the death of your son?

The book is simply his story. Before I retired I started writing a book whose title was, So You Want To Teach? It was supposed to be a book for teachers. I took a two-week break from work at a point because I could not write while I was working, which was why I eventually left job. Those days were beautiful. I would just wake up, take my bath, eat breakfast and write. Once I was tired of writing I would go swimming. I wrote three chapters while I was on break. Of course, my resumption to work ended writing. After retirement, I brought it out but you know I was retired 1990 and my son died few years before that (1986). I was home for just a week after he died. In that one week, five people came to visit me that had no children at all. I reflected on this. I had three children, then one died and I was

falling apart. How about these women who never had one? So, I got up and returned to work. I said to myself that my loss wasn’t that great. Wole was battling with life and we were always going to the hospital before he finally kicked the bucket. He became epileptic and he couldn’t walk well too. He was 10 years old when he died. He was so confident of himself.

If he was here he would have engaged you in discussion. He was a very cheerful person and everybody remembers him for that. Some people always pitied him, but once he started talking one would forget his disabilities.

You were the pioneer president of Women Writers of Nigeria; how did it begin?

I was the president of the Women Writers in 1991. The first Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) convention I attended was in Abeokuka and Ken Saro-Wiwa was the president at that time. He introduced me to ANA when I took my manuscript to him. He was supposed to publish Splendid, but it didn’t later happen. He told me he liked the story, but I shouldn’t end it the way I did. In the manuscript, I went on to Wole’s burial. He urged me to stop where he died. That was his contribution to the book. It was at ANA’s convention some young women writers came to me. They told me that they were thinking of starting a writers’ association for women and they took our names and addresses. So, they kept in touch and we were always talking about it. Later, I was asked to draw up a constitution along with three other women in1997. Since I had worked in the ministry, I was helpful. I looked at various constitutions and prepared one for us. I was later appointed the president, which I reluctantly accepted. We were winning literary prizes during the convention and we encouraged more women to write. So, when young girls are winning all these prizes now, I keep saying it was our doing.

How did you meet your husband?

We were married on December 17, 1966.

Interestingly, I saw him on the day I was leaving Nigeria for England. My father was their family doctor, but I didn’t know them.

I was traveling when my father saw Chief Adenubi, a headmaster, at Apapa Wharf (Lagos) and he queried him. He said his son was traveling and he introduced him to my father. We went on board and when the ship started moving far away I started crying. Suddenly, this person said, “Oh you will soon be back and they would be here when you return.” I went to a girls’ school, so talking to boys was out of place. I was cross and stopped crying immediately. I was like who asked him. But he kept on this interest throughout the journey. When we then got to Liverpool I think he went to

...reading from one of her works at a writers’ gathering

look for my luggage and got the address of my guardian. That was how he started writing.

How have you been able to stick together for so many years?

In marriages, you go through phases.

My books, Empty Arms and Sister have to do with marriages. Compromise and sacrifice are those things you would have to do in a marriage. There would be a time you would let the other person lead and vice versa. From the time I gave birth to my first child to the last, I didn’t have to get up at night to look after a child. My husband took care of that. He did that until they all grew up, but as soon as it was morning the man behaved as if he didn’t know them. He was helpful. He did the dishes whenever I was busy preparing the children for school.

He was not the type that would be reading newspapers while I do all the cleaning, cooking, among others.

How would you describe motherhood?

It is great fun. When I look back now and I see other people going through it, I pity them. They get so distracted and worried. I tell them that it would pass; that my youngest child is 40 years old. At a time, the responsibility becomes so huge. But you have to deal with it; you don’t even think about it. I wish men would appreciate all what we go through. When a woman is at home they conclude she is enjoying herself.

What informed the establishment of your foundation?

I retired to write and I was going to ANA’s meeting like I mentioned. I saw these young writers who continued to read from their works in progress and they were enthusiastic about it. While the first ones are yet to be published, they

would start another and they don’t feel depressed about this. When I started writing, I now experienced the frustration of a writer who had finished his work, but no means to publish it. I thought it was so destroying and I felt somebody needed to do something. I tried to persuade the women writers and ANA to take this up, but for none of the bodies made it happened. So, I still felt bitter about people writing and not getting published. The idea of the foundation came up and I thought children needed it most than the old ones who are working. And by that time, I was already writing for children as well. Splendid Literature and Culture Foundation was launched in December 2011 to mark my 70th birthday at the MUSON Centre, in Lagos. The foundation aims to publish works by young writers (11 to 21-year-olds). We continue to buy foreign books for our children because we can’t find good books for them written by Nigerian authors. Parents complain when we accuse them of not patronising works

by Nigerians writers. Foreign story books for children are admittedly attractively produced, with colourful covers, inviting illustrations and sharp and clean print.

Aside from writing, what other things do you do?

For 20 years, I have been telling stories to visually and hearing-impaired children at the Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted and Wesley School for the Hearing Impaired, Lagos. It is a very interesting experience reading to, and discussing with these special kids. I take them the same day but at different times. My interest in people is in their brain. I am not asking for qualifications; it is how you used your brain, how you talk or your imagination. So, I like to watch these children using their imagination.

16

Instyle

C

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Comfortable and chic culottes

Angela Davies

ulottes also called gaucho pants have been re-invented to give a trendy chic look.

They are pants that pass the knees in terms of length, which could make them a bit tricky to get the right look.

Majority of culottes feature widecropped hems and a tiny waist. Culottes come in a variety of widths, lengths, fabrics and patterns, meaning they are flattering on most body types.

With so many incredible iterations of the gaucho pants from straight-legged, baggy versions to pairs with hemlines that fan out like circle skirts, you can make your choice for a bold and appealing look.

The wide-legged pant style can look sophisticated when worn right, offer-

ing the elegance of a mid-length skirt.

To be the cynosure of all eyes you can wear culottes with crop top, shirts and blouse of your choice depending on the fashion statement you want to make.

With a flattering hemline and versatile shape, there are infinite ways to style this billowy with heels for a formal look or flat shoes for a casual look.

Tips • Wear with a crop top that will draw attention to your waist and midriff. Also flaunting your skin will break up the look in a flattering way.

• Since culottes are wide legged, your top should fit to balance the outfit.

• If you are wearing a patterned fabric, there are two ways to pull it

Zina Anumudu

fashion etiquette

off without much effort. You could go simple with a solid top or stick with matching separates.

• Wear with a fitted top to the office – To wear it to the office, pair with a fitted or sleeveless top and throw in a jacket for a professional look. This can add a chic edge to your look.

• For a casual look, simply tuck in your t-shirt or shirt and pair with flat sandals. You can also wear with a crop top for a chic look.

• Play around with colours, prints and texture, hence, opt for culottes that are bold and attention-grabbing.

• Wear with fabulous heels, flats and accessories.

Culottes deal more with height and body shape, so wear one that fits. However, the key is to balance them out with

Stella Uzo

High-heel mistakes to avoid

S

hoes add finishing touch to any outfit. High heel shoes especially complete the look with a special bit of personal flair that can instantly change the mood of what you are wearing.

Although, high heels make every woman’s gait elegant and exude confidence as well, but, wearing the wrong pair can also cause discomfort and pain.

To avoid pain and discomfort, and also ensure that you don’t end up hurting your feet in the process, you must not wear a shoe size smaller. If you love a particular high heel shoes that is not your right size, then you should ask if it is available in your size. If it is not, it is advisable to let it go as you are likely to see shoes in other designs that would fit perfectly.

If you buy a size smaller trusting that it will expand after a while, then, you will only end up with unnecessary blisters and pains that should have been avoid from the beginning.

Also, avoid wearing over- sized high heel shoes as this can cause blisters and you could strain your muscles trying to prevent the shoe from slipping. If it is just a little bit bigger, you can wear them with shoe pads.

But if not, let the shoe go so that you don’t end up with blisters.

Toun Ajibade Folake Kuye Huntoon

Patricia Bright

Wearing tight high-heel shoes causes blisters

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Accessories to live for

Colourful crystal cocktail rings Crystal cocktail rings are definitely a statement piece. They are absolutely striking and give your hand the absolute makeover it deserves. ANGELA DAVIES writes.

C

ocktail rings no doubt add some oomph to the hand and outfit. However, crystal cocktail rings are beautiful and flattering piece of accessories to help spice up any look. They sparkle and shine in style because of the different type of stones they are embellished with. And they are perfect for adding subtle shine and colour to any ensemble.

This cocktail ring design could be embellished with Swarovski, diamond, amethyst, topaz as well as other colourful stones. Crystal cocktail rings could also be large, small, clustered or vintage inspired. They equally come in varied eye-catching colours, designs and sizes. Your choice

depends on your personal style.

Crystal cocktail rings radiate in splendour and are perfect for day as well as evening outing. For an evening event, you could pick a large or vintage crystal cocktail ring colour to match your outfit or even select a lovely complementing colour that will draw attention to your hands. For a day event, it is appropriate to don a smaller but stunning crystal cocktail ring to add glam to your finger and overall look.

So, women who like to dress up, but does not want to think too hard about how to jazz up their outfit should make a fashion statement by donning classy and sparkling crystal cocktail ring for their next event.

Instyle

17

18

Instyle

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Fashion on the go

MY STYLE

For Nollywood actress and producer, Queen Blessing Ebigieson, there is hardly any fuss when it comes to dress sense. Her choice is mostly on-the-go outfits. ANGELA DAVIES writes.

How would you define your style?

I will define my style as simple and stylish.

Signature perfume I love Lady Million by Paco Rabanne and Pure Poison by Dior.

What determines the kind of outfits you wear?

The occasion determines what I wear.

What kinds of shoes hold a special appeal to you?

High heel shoes because they give every woman confidence as well as a wonderful balance.

Which outfits take up the most space in your wardrobe?

They are easy wears. By that I mean simple clothes like gorgeous tops and leggings.

Is there any outfit you’re unlikely to be seen wearing?

That will be outfits that are too tight because they make me feel uncomfortable.

Do you consider any fashion item indispensable?

Silver hand chain.

Most expensive fashion item ever bought It is my waist chain.

What is your ready-to-go outfit?

It is leggings and simple but beautiful tops. I am a very busy lady so I like to look smart at all times.

What fashion rule do you live by?

I must feel comfortable in anything I wear at all times.

What kind of jewellery appeals to

you?

Costume jewelleries.

If you were a fashion item, what would you be?

I would like to be a lipstick.

Best designer I love Forever 21 because their outfits always make me look simple, young, nice and sexy.

How do you love your hair?

I braid and also fix weave-on.

However, most times I love to leave my hair down or style to suit my dressing.

How do you love your makeup?

I love my makeup light and simple. In fact, too much makeup makes me ugly instead of beautiful.

Best colour They are royal blue, red and black.

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

Blue lace aso ebi

Ebigieson

Facts

Siblings Darlene and Lizzy Okpo are the brains behind William Okpo label. They started the label because of their common interest in the fashion industry. When it comes to their individual style, Lizzy is the ‘trendy old lady’ while Darlene is ‘simple and comfortable’. Their pieces can always make statements on their own even without pairing with other pieces or accessories.

Stilettos are a sexier type of heels but they may not be suitable for all settings.

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel and her brand are most well-known for costume jewelry, two-tone shoes, quilted bags, and simple suits made of tweed or jersey.

During fashion weeks, MAC has 3,810 wands of mascara and 800 sets of lashes on standby each year.

Waje

T

he fashion face-off this week is between musician, Aituaje Iruobe popularly known as Waje and ex-Big Brother Africa Nigeria representative and on-air-personality, Vina Longpet, simply known as Vina. And the outfit in contention is blue lace aso ebi, which both ladies wore to the same event.

Waje wore a fitted blue lace dress to the traditional wedding of Tinsel stars, Gbenro Ajibade and Osas Ighodaro, which held on Saturday, June 20 in Benin City. The dress, which high-

Vina

lighted her silhouette featured cap sleeves while the down part, was elegantly garlanded with soft blue net fabric to add glam to the outfit.

She styled her look with diamond drop earrings, cuff bracelet, cocktail rings and bangle.

She completed her beautiful look with silver box clutch, pointy-toe heel shoes and blue headgear stylishly tied to frame her face.

And her subtle makeup was beautifully done.

Vina attended the same wedding in a blue lace bow mono

sleeve dress. The pleats from the waist down were bedecked with chiffon fabric to add grandeur to the outfit. She accessorised her look with stud earrings, black leather wristwatch and blue single strap high heel sandals. Her makeup was subtle but dramatic and she completed her appearance with blue headgear that also framed her face.

Even though both ladies rocked the same fabric in different styles, who in your opinion wore it better? Was it musician, Waje or on-air-personality, Vina?

SATURDAY

Oge Kimono The way I danced with my father is nobody's business p.20

Notes from Fela’s granddaughter Rolari’s wedding

p.44

ShowBiz SATURDAY 4 JULY 2015

19

‘I'm still expecting my cash prize as Idol 5 winner' At the recent Nigerian Idol 5, Kunle Ogunrombi aka K-Peace never stopped amazing the judges with his fuji inspired rendition of songs which later earned him the title, King of Originality and Fuji. The singer who later went on to win the competition tells OLUSHOLA RICKETTS about his humble beginnings and experience on the show

K-Peace with his car prize

How did you come about the name K-Peace?

I was in a group called the Peace Makers and I happened to be the K-Peace of the group. Though the group is no more, I still maintain my name.

What led to the group’s collapse?

I think everybody went their separate ways and into other businesses. We were four, but I am the only one still doing music. One is a radio presenter, another is a civil servant and the other is working with a construction company. But for me, music is the only thing I have and that explains why I stuck to it.

How long have you been doing music?

I have been doing music for 17 years now. I started when I was 15 years old; I used to be in the church choir.

Was Nigerian Idol your first reality show?

This was the first time I would enrol for Nigerian Idol, but there was a particular one, Musicality, I went for sometime in 2009 at The University of Lagos where Yemi Alade was a participant too. I emerged the winner.

It is now about three weeks after the show; how would you describe life after the show?

It is a very good feeling because it has given me a new story. I have moved from nothing to something. Before now, only few people knew me and I have been struggling to make my music heard. Right now, everyone is watching out for K-Peace.

Did winning Idol come as a surprise to you?

Actually, whenever I want to do anything like this, I have full belief in myself.

This was why I performed the song, Fuji

All of Me. It felt somehow for one to come out and perform a song you used at the audition, but I believe in what I do. Although, I was astonished at the response I got from people when I performed the song because I felt that a lot of people don’t listen to fuji. I used to think fuji music was just for people on the street.

which affected their commitment to music.

People see music as fun, but it could be hard as well. Music is like working as a bricklayer and you need to know how to relate with people to be at the top. Also, it would get to a stage one could be frustrated. I have been doing this for 17 years without a major breakthrough; this should tell you that I would have dropped it if not for the love.

What do you think gave you the edge?

There were a lot of things I did. Talking about stage management, I didn’t joke with that. Also, I would say the infusion of RnB and fuji made me different from others on the show. I did every performance like it was last of me.

So, how were you surviving all the while?

I knew that there was nothing I could do but music. So, I went into every aspect of music. I did back-up for artistes like Dammy Krane, Yemi Alade, Skales, Patoranking, Niyola and a host of others. I did juju music too. At a time, I sold Pure Water and Gala in the traffic. I also worked in a factory where the pay was N120 per day. We resumed by 7am and closed 5pm. If you were interested to do “overtime” they would pay you N30 extra for two hours. I was also doing music in the midst of all these struggles. But my experience in life made me a better artiste and it also helped on the Idol show.

What were those things you learnt?

I used to think I knew everything about music before I went to Nigerian Idol, but it was a different story. I realised that there were a whole lot of things needed to be learnt. I learnt how to work under pressure because you get like three songs to deliver in two days. Normally, I do songs in two to three weeks.

Who did you see as a threat?

Actually, I didn’t see anyone as a threat from day one. I started seeing Dolu as a threat when we got to the top three and everybody was talking about her. She also gave a good account of herself, but I have always believed that we all have our style.

She has her own style and I have mine too; she has her fans and I have mine too. However, due to the love people showered on me, I had it at the back of my mind that I might just be the winner.

The previous idols haven't quite made any impact in showbiz; what would you say to that?

I think most of the people who passed through Nigerian Idol earlier were not fulltime musicians. I feel they do other things,

Do you intend to release a single soon?

I am in the studio working. I just recorded the fuji version of All of Me by John Legend and people seem to like it. I recorded another song recently too. I am witnessing love everywhere, so I intend to use it to my advantage. I would be releasing singles and some videos in a short while.

It was alleged that previous winners didn’t get all they were promised. Have you collected your car, money and other benefits?

I wouldn’t say anything about that right now because I am new. I got my car already and gadgets. For record deal, sometimes it's a longer process. They have to settle down and do things they need to do. I haven’t seen anything yet, but I am sure it would come up. I am yet to get my cash prize, but I was told I would get it this week.

What do you intend to do with the money?

I produce songs, I paint and I draw. I also have a sound equipment company, K-Peace Entertainment, though yet to be registered. I plan to register it as soon as possible because I want to make it bigger. I would also love to explore the opportunity in real estate.

How would you describe the competition?

This is a very good gesture because a whole lot of young people are jobless but talented. I happen to be one of them who had no opportunity before, but the story has changed now. I have no excuse because I have been empowered by Nigerian Idol.

I would suggest more companies come up to empower the youth because we have many whose talents are wasting.

What it is like combining music with academics?

I am no more in school. I studied fine and applied arts at the Federal College of Education, Akoka, Lagos. Though I still plan to go back to the classroom, it is all about music now. I was doing music while I was in school; that was when I took part in the UNILAG competition. I was a student of FCE between 2007 and 2011.

How did your parents feel about you triumph?

My father is dead, may his soul rest in peace. We are five children; I have two elder sisters, a younger brother and sister.

My mother and siblings felt good because they knew the struggle and how I started.

What are your future plans?

I see myself reaching out to people on the street. I want to pick people up and support them to grow. That’s all I would do. My status has changed; everywhere I go now I am noticed as the guy who won the Nigerian Idol. I have more followers on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms.

20

Showbiz

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Oge Kimono: The way I danced with my father is nobody's business

Ogechukwu Onwubuya (or simply Oge Kimono), first daughter of reggae artiste, Ras Kimono, discovered her love for reggae music at 15. Since then, she has worked with some renowned reggae artistes before returning to Nigeria on a mission to revive reggae music, she tells ANGELA DAVIES. daughter. He kept his family away from the eyes of the public and media. But that fateful day, he just showed up with his band and his truck had his name boldly written on it. Everybody in school was surprised to see Ras Kimono in school and they started wondering who he was looking for. Immediately, my principal sent for me and when I got there, I walked passed him and went straight to the principal. Surprised, the principal asked me if I had greeted my father and I frankly said the school said we should not greet our parents if it is not visiting day and it is not visiting day. Immediately, he ordered me to go back and greet my father and I did. I was so shy but, of course, those were fond memories.

Oge

Why did you relocate to Nigeria?

For me, living in Germany was more like gaining exposure while doing music. I worked with a lot of reggae musicians and after the whole experience, I decided to come back to Nigeria because the trend of reggae music was not like it was back in the days. There was a vacuum and having the likes of my father moving back at that time as well was also a good move. So I decided to come and join this new movement to resurrect reggae music.

Who are some of the artiste you worked with in Germany?

I worked with the likes of Ova Banta, one of the biggest roots reggae artistes in Germany, Nigerian duo, Two Clan and Ade Bantu. I worked as Ade Bantu’s backup singer and dancer for a while.

I also had the privilege of working on a song with Ova Banta and Luciano. I also did a song with Beenie Man. We went on tours as well. It was a great experience.

But do you think reggae music still has a huge fan base in Nigeria?

Reggae music is 100 percent relevant in Nigeria because if it is not relevant, we won’t have young musicians like Shaydee, Patoranking and Cynthia Morgan jumping into reggae music at this time. They are not doing roots reggae but dancehall which is a sub-genre of reggae music as well. Reggae is a big genre of music, we have roots, lovers rock, dancehall, raga, dub and ska. That is why I call myself reggae and dancehall artiste since I do the lovers' rock, roots and dancehall sub-genre of reggae music.

What is the first thing you see when it comes to music?

The first thing I see is to make people happy because for me music is everything. Music can actually change your mood, when you are sad and you listen to some kinds of music, it lightens you.

Music speaks to you in a way that no

other thing speaks to you.

What kinds of songs did you listen to while growing up?

I grew up in the east with my grandmother and she was more of the country music kind of person. She listened to Dolly Parton and Temptations while I listened to a couple of RnB. I never took time to listen to reggae music as a kid. I remember while growing up that when kids used to have their birthdays, they will play my father’s songs but on my birthdays it’s not that way. You will hardly hear my father’s songs playing on my birthday because I wasn’t really into reggae music. I felt like the tempo was rather too slow and I didn’t understand what they were saying especially because they were singing in Patois. But I started listening to reggae music when I was 15 years old because that was when I had one-on-one connection with reggae music.

Would you say you are riding on your father’s name?

No, I will not say I am on riding on my father’s name. To be honest, when I released my first single titled Drum and Base and printed my cds it was just "Oge" that was on it, there was no Kimono. My dad and I actually had a little misunderstanding about that. He was angry that I printed my cds without putting "Kimono" and I told him that he has made his own name and I am trying to make my mine. In fact, what made me add "Kimono" to my name was because a radio presenter called me from Ghana and for over 30 minutes gave me reasons why I should add Kimono to my name.

How does it feel being Ras Kimono’s

Everybody is entitled to their opinion. What people saw on stage is the relationship I have with my father

How did that happen?

It was when I went to Akwa Ibom State to complete my secondary education. Over there, people loved reggae music a lot. Of course, I listened to my father’s songs, but at age 15, I started listening more to the lyrics of reggae artistes like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and other Jamaican born reggae artistes. I discovered that reggae music actually made sense because they are talking about life and it sounded like something I would like. That was where the interest started and here I am today.

What are some of the fond memories you have of your dad while growing up?

The first one was when he came to Aba to perform and they took me up the stage to meet him. I think I was about six years old or so. I still remember vividly because I was so scared when I saw the large crowd and I started crying on stage.

My dad immediately told someone to take me down. The second fond memory was when he came with his whole band to my secondary school in Aba. Nobody in school knew I was Ras Kimono’s

daughter?

I am privileged and honoured to be Ras Kimono’s daughter. People might think I have it easier because I was born into the entertainment industry, but on the contrary if you check, I probably work harder than the regular musicians.

Being a female coupled with the genre of music that I do, it is very challenging and taxing. It is triple the work that a regular afro-pop or hip-hop musician would do.

How would you describe Ras Kimono the father and Ras Kimono the artiste?

Ras Kimono the father is loving, caring, troublesome, down-to-earth and very free. He plays with his kids like he is a kid.

We go swimming together, play snooker, fight and make up as well. Then Ras Kimono the artiste is strict. The first time I had the privilege to perform on stage with him as his backup singer was at Ikoyi Club. While singing, I mistakenly held the microphone and it shocked me. So I pulled his hair just to get his attention and he turned around, he didn’t even wait for me to say anything and he slapped me. Fortunately, nobody saw it because it was perfectly and sleekly done. When we eventually went back stage, I explained what happened and surprisingly he told me that next time if the mic shocks me, I should shock it back and warned me not to distract him when we are on stage. I kept malice with him for one week. As an artiste, he is very disciplined and strict. He doesn’t compromise with his rehearsals.

You recently performed with your father and some have described the way he held you on stage as inappropriate.

Does that bother you?

Everybody is entitled to their opinion. What people saw on stage is the relationship I have with my father. It is sad that in Africa children are scared of their fathers and they call it respect. But being afraid of your father does not mean respect. I am happy, lucky, blessed and privileged that I grew up with a father that I didn’t have to be afraid of. I respect my father totally and he respects me as well but the kind of relationship we have is amazing and I would love to have that kind of relationship with my own kids as well. So, anybody who says anything negative, that is their own opinion.

Is there anything new about you?

Yes, I am working on a couple of things. Hopefully I am looking at dropping my LP sometime in September or October. I am also looking at putting up a performance, a sort of "Oge Kimono and Friends" and I’m planning to bring in a guest artiste from outside the country whose name I will not reveal.

What are some of your songs?

Drum and Base, Addicted, Safe and Mine, a song that I was featured in with a Port Harcourt-based artiste.

Oge and father, Ras Kimono, on stage

How would you describe your style?

My style is easy, relaxed and laid back. I am my style.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

I've forgotten how to woo a lady —TMJ

Young Thomson Makolo Jnr. is a promising singer from Dekina, Kogi State. In this interview with DEBORAH MAKOJI, he speaks about his career and romance.

Nigerian singer, Aituaje Iruobe popularly known as Waje, has announced a tour this month, comprising 3 East African countries. As part of the tour, she will perform in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The singer made the announcement on her Instagram, confessing it would be her first visit to the region.

Nominations open for Future Awards

Which are the major events ever featured as an MC? As a young MC trying to build a brand in that sector, I have featured in Royal wedding of Attah Igala’s son, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) end-of-the-year party annually, Zenith Bank end of year party, co MC of the maiden edition of the Arise Igala Leadership Award at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel and a whole lot of other events in and outside the country.

by my parents and other close relations of the beautiful past that I never felt. It became worse when my father died just a year after my secondary school. From that time till now it has been the grace of God and lots of hard work to provide for myself and my siblings. Worst was it when my mum died four years after the death of my father. I remembered how sick and helpless I was just few days after my father’s death but I now thank God for everything.

Can you share with us some of the movies you have featured in?

I have featured in movies like Makafan, Married to Myself, Ononojo, Blood and Romance, Omayokwu, End Game, Olobo Ene, Pushed, Ile One, The Necklace, Occultic Dream, the Americana, Wonder Man, King Akabueze, Nostalgia and others.

Who do you look up to as a role model?

My role models are Ramsey Nouah, RMD and Brat Pitt in Hollywood.

What is your personal style?

My personal style is me TMJ. I do what others don't do, as an actor and Mc. I don't copy, I create mine, I believe in originality.

Will you say that you are meeting your fans’ expectations?

I am trying; I’m human like the fans

TMJ

too, but I’m trying the best I can to make them proud. It’s not easy though, God is faithful. I am living up to expectations because I’m getting good compliments from them.

What is your philosophy?

Live, work, help and make a mark.

Wish others as you wish them to wish you. Do good at all times; it pays.

What do you think government should do for the industry?

Government should provide an enabling environment and make good laws that will guide the industry.

What will you never be caught wearing?

Skirt and bra.

What is your first line of expression in wooing a woman?

I don't know how to toast a woman. I have forgotten because I have not done that in years now. Well, a compliment may be a better place to start from.

'Majek, best husband any woman could ever dream of'

R

Fashek

Akpororo vs Akpororo

Busy July for Waje

What inspires your various creations?

As a producer, my inspiration comes from life experiences and history.

Rita

O u t &A b o u t

21

Nigerian comedian, Akpororo, is set for his event tagged Akpororo vs Akpororo on July 19 at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. It would feature Chioma Jesus, Frank Edwards, Timi Dakolo, Sammie Okposo, Midnight Crew, Henry Soul, Wonder J, Solomon Urete, Pita, Prince Iyke, Ojo Mass Choir, Xplicipt, Dance Switch among others.

When did you realise you are going to become an actor/MC? Acting for me started from the primary school, in the late 90s through secondary school. My talent in acting became obvious giving my participation in debate, news casting and drama, an act that made me a very popular student in school then. I never saw myself as an actor because I was a science student and my late father was bent on me studying medicine in other for me to carry on his business as a pharmacist. The passion for art was so high then, upon completion of secondary I met some few like minds while we were still waiting for results and admission into the higher institution. We founded sensational theatre group and we did great exploit with many stage performances. Death took my father in 2004 and few things changed. I met a friend then in theatre department, we both went to Makurdi to join the AGN and that is where it became clear that I was heading in that direction and here we are now.

What was growing up like?

Growing up was a mixed feelings, I was born with silver spoon, but did not grow with it. Things changed and the unexpected happened, I was told

Showbiz

eggae exponent, Majek Fashek’s failing physical and mental health has constantly kept him in the news lately.

His wife, Rita, had to finally disclose that she does not really know what went wrong along the line but noted that he’s long lost to substance abuse.

Rita stated that things became worse for the singer when they had their second son, Seun. He would leave the house and return terribly messed up.

Recalling the good times they once shared, Rita explained that Majek was

the best husband any woman would always wish to have as he had it all as a man especially the love and attention he gives to her but things went soar when he took to alcohol and drugs.

“Majek was the best husband any woman could ever dream of. He was the best husband to me. He was (a) charming, affectionate man that blessed me with great attention then.

But his alcoholism and drugs addiction denied us his love, care and humanity. I am tired!” she lamented in a recent chat with NETng.

Organisers of The Future Awards Africa (TFAA) have called for nominations for this year's award. The awards seek nominations from the public, for people between the ages of 18 and 31 who have been able to create incredible impact and well documented accomplishments within their community or globally last year. These achievements should revolve around their results, potential for growth plus the ability to inspire other young people in Africans.

The categories include- The Future Awards Africa Prize in Education; Agriculture, Advocacy, Technology, Public Service, Community Action, Tony O. Elumelu Prize in Business, Entertainment, Enterprise Support and African Young Person of the Year.

MAMA for July 18 The MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) will return to the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on Saturday, July 18.

According to the senior vice president and managing director, Viacom International Media Networks Africa, Alex Okosi, they are thrilled that the MTV Africa Music Awards will be returning to Durban and KwaZuluNatal on 18 July, a date famous for being the birthday of Nelson Mandela.

“What better day could there be for staging this inspirational celebration of African achievement and creativity that showcases Africa’s best talent on the world stage,” he stated.

Lovebirds Tinsel stars, Gbenro Ajibade and Osas Ighodaro are currently in the United States of America. They had previously held their traditional wedding in Benin City, Edo State on Saturday, June 20. The wedding will hold today. Friends and family members joined them during the week.

TV & Radio with Angela Davies

When kids say ‘the Darndest Things’ on TV

STV

Saturday @ 9:30 pm

The programme is for people seeking to put their events on television. It also features what’s trending, fashion and style, news (events) and vox pop.

Poise on radio (City 105.1 FM) Tuesday @ 6:15 am The show teaches etiquette and soft skills from a Nigerian angle with a global perspective to inspire agents of change in the Nigerian corporate landscape.

TELEVISION

TVC

Saturday 8:00 Nickledeon 9:00 Brights 10:00 Smallville

K

Events Diary (TVC)

22

This weekend

ids Say the Darndest Things reality television show is a reality based, impromptu, variety event format for television with the original format adapted to the Nigerian market. The Nigerian version is to showcase the Host Tony Okungbowa with some kids during the show talent, smartness and wittiness in Nigerian children, as well as their ideas player is right.” Shawn added that account holders to enable them to collect money from the ATM. Unon various issues. his best game was when he played in The premise of the show is that the Brazilian team against Argentina like Shawn, she added that, “You the host talks and relates to the kids team in his school where he played the put money in the bank account so between the ages of two and 10 by position of a striker and scored two that you can save it because it is asking their opinions on everything goals. When asked how much he was not magic.” At this point, Shawn from politics, dating, banking, gov- paid, Shawn explicitly said, “I don’t accused Orinayo of talking like an American girl to the surprise of evernment, life at home with mum and get paid in my school.” And Orinayo eryone. dad and other assorted topics in an asked Okungbowa, “Did you actually effort to gauge their perceptions of mean to say that? Well, he doesn’t get The hidden camera segment issues about life. paid, it’s his school and they pay his featured two cute boys who talked The interesting thing about the school fees. They don’t pay him beabout football. One of the boys show is that these kids usually re- cause he is not an employee.” showed his dislike for Chelsea supspond in a humorous manner and Okungbowa then turned to Vicporters, failure of the Nigeria team straight from the heart. It clearly toria and said he felt she would be a to win the African Championship shows that the kids give unrehearsed great president for Nigeria since she and the possibility of him getting answers and reactions to whatever is great at presentation in school. But citizenship of Brazil, England or the host asks or says to them, just as she quickly stated that, “I don’t want Germany. The other boy showed the host too offer some humour. to be president, I want to be a banker.” his dislike for Manchester United as The key objective of the show is This led to the topic of the day, bankhe accused the club of always winto deliver a top-quality family en- ing. When asked what a banker does, ning. He added that he suspects tertainment. Hence, there are dif- Victoria innocently said, “They open everybody.

It is dramatic and hilarious with ferent segments like a live studio account and store money for people.” series tagged “The panel segment” However, she does not know the proa lovely studio set. However, it for three kids and host, talented kids cess of opening an account. would be appropriate to also disand “hidden camera.”

Shawn who excitedly said he play names and ages of kids in the In the last edition, the panel seg- knew the process of opening an achidden camera segment for proper identification as well as other segment had the trio of Orinayo, Shawn count kept everyone reeling with ments. and Victoria who thrilled the studio laughter with his explanation. For audience and viewers with their hu- him, part of the questions you will be So, if you want to see kids do the morous responses and facial expres- asked is how long the bank account impression of their mothers, their sions. Probably feeling a bit bored, would last and when it would expire. real and unrehearsed speeches, reOrinayo asked the host what they He added that you do not have to action of parents and more, then, should talk about because she had no put money in the account but you don’t miss the next episode of Kids Say the Darndest Things. The show idea about what she is supposed to can withdraw from an Automated talk about. Shawn added that he too Teller Machine (ATM). Although is hosted by Tony Okungbowa, had no idea and this shocked Tony Victoria agreed with Shawn, howformer resident disc jockey for the Okungbowa, the host. ever Orinayo disagreed with them.

Ellen DeGeneres show. It airs on Immediately, Okungbowa turned She enlightened that after filling the African Independent Television (AIT) on Sundays at 7pm. to Shawn and told him he heard he form, a credit card would be given to wants to be a football coach and not a footballer. But Shawn quickly FACE BEHIND THE VOICE said, “Soccer coach is wrong, soccer

Programme summary

SATURDAY 4 JULY 2015

I

fedayo Olarinde popularly known as Freeze is half-Nigerian and half-Romanian.

He started off with a three month stint with Radio Galaxia, Romania, while on holiday there in 1996. Later that same year after he returned to Nigeria he auditioned for, and got a job with BCOS Ibadan where he worked for five years.

Freeze joined the Cool family in 2001 as a broadcaster and production officer. He

Listen, here's Mr Freeze

Freeze

is currently the host of the Road Show Cool FM's evening drive show from 4pm to 9pm.

He loves what he is doing. In his own words,

“It’s not a job anymore; it’s a way of life. Put a microphone in front of me and I’ll start talking.

Broadcasting is what I do.”

Freeze as a compere has also hosted a string of music, comedy shows and Nollywood premieres in Nigeria, Ghana, London and Manchester. As a television personality, Freeze has hosted numerous game shows and live television broadcasts.

11:00 Crack In The Wall 11:30 UAC Soccer Lafflines 12:00 Music, Video and More 12:30 Voices of Isoko Community 1:00 Indomitables 1:30 MBGN Diary 2:00 Adam’s apple 3:00 Unspoken 3:30 BoomTown 4:00 Local Movie 5:30 Two Sides of a Coin 7:00 News 7:30 Secrets And Scandals 8:00 My Wedding Story 8:30 Fanz Championship 9:00 Local Movie 10:00 News Sunday 8:30 Brights 9:30 Gospel Rhythms 10:00 St. Dominics 11:00 Gospel Symphony 12:00 Walking with God 12:30 Revival In The Land 1:00 The Advantage 1:30 Love, Dating And Marriage 2:00 Mountain Top Life 2:30 Impact Today 3:30 Singles and Married 4:00 Chapel of Uncommon Grace 4:30 Elevation Church 5:00 Reel Infotainment 5:30 Gospel Rhythms 6:00 WWTBAM 7:00 News 7:30 Hour of Salvation 8:00 Local Movie 9:00 Entertainment Weekly 9:30 BoomTown 10:00 News

Saturday 9:00 The Big Issue 10:00 News 10:30 Indomitables 11:00 On The Town 11:30 Sports Week 12:00 News 12:30 Video Fashion 1:00 Nollywood Yoruba 2:30 Fireworks 3:30 Golden Chance Lotto 4:00 News 4:30 Sports Week 5:00 Fanz Championship 5:30 Jendo 6:30 Project Your Poise Show 7:00 The Teju Babyface Show 8:00 BoomBox 8:30 Sports Week 9:00 Silent Noise 9:30 Events Diary 10:00 News 11:00 Play On Repeat Now Sunday 7:00 Hosanna Hour 8:00 Nollywood English 10:00 News 10:10 Nollywood Yoruba 11:30 Sports Week 12:00 News 12:30 Warning Bell 2:00 Relentless 2.0 2:30 Hour of Salvation 3:00 Chapel of Grace 3:30 Golden Chance Lotto 4:30 Excellent Leadership

5:00 Hitlist N Cruzin 5:30 Vivid View 6:00 Stand Point 7:00 The Ungrateful Soul 8:00 WAEC Infobox 8:30 The Valley Between 9:00 Pastor Chris Teaching 9:30 Ogun State 10:00 News

RADIO

Smooth FM 98.1

Saturday 6:00 Breakfast in Bed 7:30 Venus Rising 8:30 Soul Food 9:00 Bite Size 9:30 Entertainment News 10:00 Smooth Book Review 11:00 Total Football 12:00 Metro Life 5:00 Luxury Soul 09:00 Late Night Blues

Sunday 7:00 10:00 12:00 4:00 6:00 10:00

Smooth Motivations Music Mix Sunday Brunch Music Mix Soulfully Yours Music Mix

Radio Lagos Saturday 06:00 World News 07:15 Asayan Iroyin 09:00 Lin Lin Gigo 1:00 Oyin Momo 2:30 E Da Wa Lohun 4:00 Oba Orin 6:00 State News 8:30 Ohun Enu Yoruba 10:15 Music 11:00 Iroyin ni soki

Sunday 06:00 World News 9:00 Lin Lin Ledo 11:05 Mukulumuke 12:00 World News 2:00 Orita Aje 3:00 Iroyin Ni Soki 7:45 Music 9:30 Igbalaye 10:00 National News 11 :00 Ironyin ni soki

Investigations SATURDAY TELEGRAPH 4 JULY 2015

23

Old age

The joy, the pains The 10 residents at the Holy Family Home for the Elderly, Mushin, in Lagos State, could aptly be grouped into the living and the dying. Most of them are barely aware of night and day with their dwindling existence regulated by hourly nursing checks.

FLORA ONWUDIWE, who just returned from a tour of the home, reports

T

hey are old, fragile and behave like babies in most instances.

From their looks, it is obvious they needed the closeness of their family members and other loved ones who they are long separated from. Old age, it seems, has taken them away from the age long affinity of the African culture, which is bound by strong love. This is why their present condition may have been the least of their wish before joining their ancestors.

They start their day shortly after six when nursing staff begin hoisting them from their beds, remove their night clothes, wash them with a sponge, dress and transfer them to their day room. One by one, 10 elderly people, who have seen better days, arrive to sit together at the central table they occupy every morning in their new abode: The Holy Family Home for the Elderly own and managed

by Regina Mundi Catholic Church, Mushin in Lagos State.

Incidentally, traditional care for the elderly appears to be fizzling away.

However, every society treats their aged differently. But generally, old age comes with wisdom and its peculiar challenges. While they are revered in some societies, they are seen as a burden in others. Yet, there are methods that accompanies certain cultural roles and privileges with distinct periods in life.

Mrs. Maria Onwuka, in her 70s, is fondly called Mama Ikem. She hails from Agbor in Delta State. She is not only old but also has an age-related speech impediment. She is believed to have mental challenge as well. She is unable to walk unaided, unlike some of her peers in the home. As she walked towards her visitors she had to be held by his caregiver, a young maid.

Onwuka has lived in the Holy Family Home for three and half years now. She said in barely coherent voice: “They are taking good care of us here.

They washed our clothes, and we eat balanced diets. Rev. Sister Anthonia Adebowale is a good mother; she employed workers who wash our clothes and Iron them.

Isioma madike

Editor, INVESTIGATIONS isioma.madike@newtelegraphonline.com © Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

The elderly: At home, away from home

Buhari

“I divorced my husband more than 20 years ago. I had five children, four boys and a girl; all graduates for him.

Some of my children studied abroad.

They are all with me when I divorced my husband until I became mad with rashes. They took my children back to their father while I was still living at Ikate Surulere in Lagos. I am a member of Evangelical Church of Yahweh.”

Onwuka, it was gathered, was cured of her ailment but one year later her health deteriorated nessitating her return to Uselu Psychiatric Hospital in Benin, Edo State, for her mental prob-

She did not stop there but said, “When it comes I hear many voices.

But, anytime Sister Adebowale prays for us, I feel better. Sometimes when I see my children, I will not recognise them. Madness is not what people should pray for.”

Mujidatu Buhari, though from Lagos State, spent greater part of her life in Jos, Plateau State capital, where she raised all her children. She is a Muslim and speaks Hausa fluently. She is popularly known as Iya Jos in the Home.

Just like Onwuka, My brothers are Buhari is weak with speech impairment. rich but hardly She spends some time get anyone to repeating herself to get clarity of her words. send to me in She has been with the the village. I was Holy Family Home for lem and the skin the past one year. She in perpetual rashes. is over 80 years of age.

“I had traced According to her, hunger the cause of my “We all lived in Jos madness in vain. before we relocated to This is why I told my children not to Lagos. My children brought me here. worry about me any longer.

My daughter lives in Mushin with her “I had been to Uselu seven times children. My children do not want me without much improvement. My chil- to suffer, that was why they brought dren come around to see me and they me here. I like the place because there are doing well. My husband worked is no one to take good care of me that with Dizengof Company and was was why they brought me here. My transferred to Kano where he remar- children and grandchildren come to ried and had four other children,” she CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 said.

24

Investigations

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

‘I offered a Rev. Father money C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 3

visit me. Though, if my daughter decides to come and take me back, I will go with her.

“My husband is late. I am a Muslim.

They take care of us here and I like the food they give us. But because I am not in my home, I cannot make a choice of food, I just have to accept anything they offer me. If I am in my own home I would then think of choice. We pray for Rev. Sister Adebowale to live long because she is very kind,” Buhari said.

For Mrs. Cyrina Onwunali, an indigene of Ezinihitte in Mbaise, Imo State, life was a bit nasty before coming to the Holy Family Home. Her husband died 17 years ago, three years after her only son died without any child.

Onwunali, the eldest in her family, had nobody to look after her. “There was nobody with me, only my siblings (two males) from our mother. I am the eldest daughter in the family. My brothers all live with their families in Lagos.

I had no one to look after me since the death of my only son,” she told Saturday Telegraph.

Her “miserable” pension at the end of the month was never sufficient. “My brothers are rich but hardly get anyone to send to me in the village. I was in perpetual hunger. That was why they brought me to Lagos to stay with them.

They brought me here believing it was better than keeping me lonely at home.

Though, I didn’t like the idea but what can I do?

“At a time in my life I wanted to commit suicide. I was never happy even when they gave me new clothes and treated me like a baby. That was the time I went to meet one Rev. Father Cajetan in Mbaise; I offered him money to hold a Mass for me to die, but he reacted angrily, saying, ‘if you commit suicide, God will not let you see Him. He will not take you as His daughter; God will condemn you’.

“Today I still thank the Rev. Father for persuading me against such cruel thought. Here, Sister Adebowale treats me with special care. Sometimes, though, I feel like visiting my village. I am occasionally home sick,” Onwunali confessed.

Ave Maria, who is shy at discussing her life in the new home with people, is a Liberian. Her older mates revealed her real name as Catherine. Her best companion is the Holy Bible, and she loves praying with the Rosary, a sign that she is a Catholic.

Hers is a pathetic story. The war that broke out in her home country during the reign of Charles Taylor changed her life. She was forced, during the over three years’ conflict, to go through several countries in West Africa in search of a new life. What she encountered then has today become a nightmare for her.

“The war brought many of us as refugees to Nigeria before peace returned in my homeland. But, it was difficult to go back after the conflict,” she said.

Ave Maria lost all her children and her husband and had fallen from a storey building trying to escape at the heat of the war. She fractured her bone in the process and now walks with crutches.

The Liberian has a sense of humour in her Creole accent. She equally speaks French fluently.

According to her, “the mother of Jesus Christ inspired me to learn to speak French. She glitters, shining in blue ap-

Ave Maria

Inmates in the Home during a visit by Good Samaritans with various gift items

Onwuka

They treat me with special care in this Home.

Sometimes, though, I feel like visiting my village Holy Family Home for the Elderly, Mushin Lagos

parel but always distance Herself. She appeared to me often,” she said convincingly, adding, “She appeared severally to me both in Liberia and here in Holy Family Home. Each time she appeared to me she does not say a word; she will just stare at me and stayed as long as she wanted before fading off.”

But, the Home is not about old women alone. There are men too. One of the two men in the midst, Raphael Oyelere, from Kwara State, is a staunch Catholic. He joined the Home last year and has been a widower for more than 10 years now.

On how he came to the Home, he said, “I always attend Mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Idumagbo. I became weak that I seldom go to Mass.

The Parish Priest noticed that I was not

regular again and came to my house to find out why. When he saw my health condition, he took pity on me and persuaded me to relocate to the Home so I could be better taken care of.

“Though, the Home is good and the Sisters, wonderful but I miss my environment dearly. If I were in my home town in Kwara State, I would have been taking a walk to places of interest, visiting my friends but here you can only go for Mass, you cannot go out. It’s a kind of prison to some us because we are not used to this type of regimented life. It’s an alien way of life,” Pa Oyelere, in his late 90s, said.

Oyelere was a mechanic driver in his younger years. He stayed in Jos where he had two children. He said, “My first wife, who is from Jos, refused to come

with me to Lagos. I was a traveller in my youthful days; I conveyed people’s goods to different destinations. I also worked and retired from First Bank of Nigeria as a mechanic driver. My children and grandchildren rarely come to visit me here.”

Mrs. Folashade was widowed since 1991, when her husband, Aedul-Salam Bashorun, joined his ancestors. She is from Ijebu Ode in Ogun State. She is the eldest daughter of a family of seven.

Incidentally, all her siblings were women and had died leaving behind their children who are married. Though, she has nieces and nephews overseas and in Nigeria, they rarely remember her.

“I came through Rev. Father Kehinde of St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Ikeja. My husband willed a

SATURDAY 4 JULY 2015

SATURDAY

FREE

Sport Splash

Athletics

I'm ready for Okagbare, Brume, says Golden League winner p.27

Interview

I always wanted to be a Tigress – Udoka p.30

Copa America

Messi’s Argentina target Copa glory p.31

Lifestyle

Adaeze Yobo: I want my husband to give me a hot slap p.32

25

Shift from wing play as bane of

Nigerian football

T

The Team

Vincent EboigbelAssistant Editor Ajibade Olusesan l Correspondent

he sight of Segun Odegbami and Finidi George galloping down the right wing like a galleon on full sail and of the elegant Humphrey Edobor, making those never errant crosses from the left flank, are some of the most enduring and exhilarating spectacles in football history.

Before those three and even afterwards, Nigeria produced wingers of high quality like Baba Otu Mohammed, Kunle Awesu, Adokiye Amiesimaka, Clement Temile, Friday Elaho, Benjy Nzeakor, Ndubuisi Okosieme, Emmanuel Amuneke, among others.

But over the years there has been a shift. A move away from the traditional wing play that was associated with Nigerian football. At what point did this shift occur? In other words, “when did the rain start to beat Nigeria?” What led to it and how has it affected Nigerian football?

Today’s offering provides an indepth look at these issues through the eyes of some of these protagonists from the past and other stakeholders to make an exciting read.

SEE STORY ON PAGES 28 & 29

Charles Ogundiya l Correspondent

© Daily Telegraph Publishing

Odegbami

26

Sport

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Nigerian League Rendezvous Time for clubs to leverage on influx of fans

Top Scorers

SHORT TAKE

8 GOALS Bright Ejike Heartland

Dolphins, Sharks still struggling Despite the payment of the backlog of salaries owed the players of the Rivers State-owned clubs, Dolphins and Sharks, the two clubs are struggling, currently sitting at the base of the table.

Sharks sit last on the table after 11 points from 15 matches, while Dolphins are not faring better, currently occupying 18 position on the table with 13 points from 15 games.

The two clubs will be home this weekend with the hope of recording a victory to improve their chances of survival.

S

7 GOALS Chisom Chikatara Abia Warriors Ibrahim Shuaibu Giwa FC 6 GOALS Tunde Adeniji Sunshine Stars 5 GOALS Esosa Igbinoba Nasarawa Utd Ibrahim Mustapha El-Kanemi Ocheme Edoh Giwa FC Gbolahan Salami Warri Wolves

Abia Warriors set to end Enyimba's unbeaten run Enyimba last experienced defeat in a 2-0 away defeat against IfeanyiUbah FC during the Matchday 7 league matches, the club has since played eight matches without defeat.

Sister club, Abia Warriors, ambush the coach Kadiri Ikhana led team, with the intention of ending their unbeaten run.

Last season, Abia Warriors defeated Enyimba 1-0 in the same fixture.

4 GOALS Mfon Udoh Enyimba Mohammed Usman FC Taraba Ubong Ekpai Kano Pillars Yusuf Jaiyeola Sharks Junior Ajayi 3SC Ugochukwu Leonard Nasarawa Utd Rabiu Ali Kano Pillars Godwin Obaje Wikki Tourists Segun Alebiosu Kwara Utd Adamu Mohammed Kano Pillars Markson Ojobo Enyimba Ifeanyi Onyeali Abia Warriors

Kwara United coach runs out of time Things are not going well for Kwara United coach, Abdulrahman Tunde, as the club continue to drop points in the Nigeria Professional Football League.

The most recent was the 3-2 home defeat against Enyimba in one of the midweek games on Wednesday.

Another loss away to struggling FC Taraba this weekend might spell the end for coach Sani as the boss of the Harmony Boys.

NPFL LEAGUE TABLE

No.

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

PTS

1

Sunshine

15

9

2

4

24

13

11

29

2

Enyimba

15

8

5

2

18

10

8

29

3

Wikki

15

8

4

3

20

12

8

28

4

Giwa FC

15

6

7

2

19

13

6

25

5

Heartland

15

8

1

6

21

16

5

25

6

IfeanyiUbah

15

7

2

6

18

15

5

23

7

Rangers

15

7

2

6

17

16

1

23

8

El-Kanemi

14

7

2

5

14

17

-3

23

9

Kano Pillars

15

7

1

7

18

16

2

22

10

Warriors

15

7

1

7

17

18

-1

22

11

Nasarawa

15

6

3

6

15

17

-2

21

12

Wolves

12

6

2

4

16

10

6

20

13

Shooting

14

4

5

5

11

11

0

17

14

Lobi Stars

15

3

7

5

11

16

-5

16

15

Kwara Utd

14

4

3

7

13

19

-6

15

16

Akwa Utd

15

4

3

8

9

17

-8

15

17

Bayelsa Utd

15

3

5

7

10

18

-8

14

18

Dolphins

15

2

7

6

13

17

-4

13

19

Taraba FC

15

2

6

7

14

21

-7

12

20

Sharks FC

15

1

8

6

11

19

-8

11

Matchday 14 June 28 Dolphins vs Wikki Tourists Giwa FC vs Heartland IfeanyiUba vs Shooting Sharks vs Nasarawa Utd FC Taraba vs Kwara Utd Enyimba vs Abia Warriors Bayelsa Utd vs Warri Wolves Lobi Stars vs Sunshine Akwa Utd vs Rangers

Kano Pillars' Theophilus Afelokhai vying for the ball against Rangers' Razaq Adegbite

photo: lmc media

Osho tasks Kogi fans on support Stories by Charles Ogundiya

N

ewly appointed Technical Adviser of Nigeria National League side Kogi United, Fatai Osho, has called on the supporters of the club to back it as he works out how to get the team out of relegation trouble.

Osho joined the team currently bottom of the Division A2 table with six points from six matches during the week and

promised to pull them away from relegation waters.

“It is going to be a collective work if we are to achieve our aim and objective,” the former Supreme Court coach said.

“We have two weeks of serious work because the club is currently in a very precarious position on the league table.

“I worked with the players in the past and the most important thing is for them to understand our situation and rise up to the challenge when league resumes after the break.”

ince the signing of Gbenga Ogunbote as the Technical Adviser of Shooting Stars, fans have been trooping into the stadium in Ibadan in large numbers to watch the team.

During the 0-0 draw against Enyimba, the 15,000-capacity stadium was filled up with some fans sitting on the walkway to watch the game.

In Akure, the performance of the stateowned club, Sunshine Stars, has endeared the team to the citizens of the state as the Akure Township Stadium always experiences massive turnout of fans every match day.

The same thing applies to other venues like Kano, Aba, Enugu, Ilorin and some other centres in the country, but the question now is has the clubs taken advantage of the massive turnout?

For example, if the 15,000 fans that watched Shootings Stars against Enyimba in Ibadan paid N100 each, the income for the club would amount to N1.5m. With minimum of two home games monthly, then they can realise about N3m monthly.

Match venues now family recreation centres

T

he serene atmosphere at the various league centres across the country has continued to impress fans and encourage more families to turn up for league matches every Matchday.

Akwa United played their first league match inside the Nest of Champions in Uyo at the weekend with about 10 families watching inside the stadium.

A fan, Mr. Tony Saviour, came with his wife and two sons to cheer the home side who played a 1-1 draw against Warri Wolves.

Another mother, who came with her two sons to watch the game, was seen shouting at the top of her voice to spur on Akwa United players during the game.

Recently in Ibadan, a nine-year-old Heritage Oladipo was

spotted inside the Lekan Salami stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, the home ground of Shooting Stars, with his mother.

According to Heritage, he had been going to the stadium to watch his beloved Shooting Stars since he was seven.

In other centres already visited this season by League Rendezvous, like Enugu, Ilorin, Aba, Abuja, Onitsha, children were seen in the company of their parents watching league matches.

Mr. Remi Odus, an avid supporter of Shooting Stars, said the football artistry displayed by players and the level of security at the venues since the beginning of the season, serve as an encouragement to fans, hence the number of families coming to league venues. Tony Saviour came with his family to a game

photo: lmc media

Sport

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

27

I'm ready for Okagbare, Brume, says Golden League winner Charles Ogundiya

W

inner of the second leg of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria-organised Golden League in Women’s Long Jump, Euphemia Edem, has said she is ready for the challenge of Nigeria's queen of the tracks, Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor and Commonwealth Games champion, Ese Brume.

Edem who won the Long Jump with a leap of 6.48m in the absence of the two established stars told Saturday Telegraph that she would be ready for the duo anytime their paths cross.

“I am not scared of anybody, all it takes is just one jump and that’s it,” the Calabar born athlete said.

“I’m not scared of competing, even if it’s my coach that wants to jump against me at the competition, I’m ready. I’m not scared of jumping with anybody because I’m not competing with anybody, I’m competing with myself.”

She recently won the NCAA Division II women’s long jump championship with a school and venue-record leap of 6.56 meters (21 feet, 6.25 inches) for her school, Tarleton State University, in Allendale, Michigan, USA. She said she had competed against established long jumpers like Brittney Reese, and she was not scared.

The Lone Star Conference Female Field Athlete of the Year said: “If I start thinking about competing with other people, it actually makes me nervous, and being nervous, I won’t get what I want.

“One thing with long jump is that if you are scared of the people you are competing with, you can never make it. I am not scared of anybody. I have been training hard lately, and I believe this is my year.”

S h e f u r ther said her target would be to win World Championships and All Africa Games medals, while also ready to excel for Nigeria at the Olympic Games in 2016.

Edem

Mourinho

Mourinho supports Cech's move to Arsenal

C

Ezeli teaches American kids at basketball camp

N

Ifeanyi Ibeh igerian-born basketball star, Festus Ezeli, who recently won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors, during the week, paid a surprise visit to 127 youth, aged between 7 and 15, attending a Warriors Basketball Camp at Granada High School in Livermore, California.

During the visit, the 6'11" centre talked about the importance of basketball fundamentals, his journey to the NBA and his experience playing for the reigning NBA champions.

Ezeli's own story tells of an unusual route to professional basketball. Born in Benin-City, Edo State, he had never played basketball, concentrating on football. When the family moved to the United States, the basketball coach of the high school he attended school didn't try to recruit him for the team, despite his height. A visitor pointed out that Ezeli was tall and could run but the coach, according to Ezeli, replied: "He doesn't know how to play."

He was nevertheless invited to join

Ezeli

the team. But he recalled that his debut basket was scored for the other team as he had no idea that baskets were assigned to each team, and switched at the half.

However, after his initial teething problems, Ezeli’s skills developed to the point where he was offered scholarships at many schools, including Harvard. He however chose Vanderbilt because of its basketball programme.

"My mother was disappointed that I didn't become a doctor," said Ezeli, who took time to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the youngsters in attendance.

Ezeli, who is hoping to feature for Nigeria at the upcoming Africa Nations Cup (AfroBasket) in Tunisia, is sometimes matched up against taller players at the centre position. For example, in the NBA finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he went head on with 7'1" Timofey Mozgov. But through hard work and teamwork, he and the Warriors were able to overcome obstacles such as taller players and LeBron James to capture the NBA championship.

Bouchard gets violation for wearing black sports bra E ugenie Bouchard basically followed the Wimbledon dress code. She wore a white dress over a white sports bra and stood in white tennis shoes.

But the 21-year-old Canadian also wore a black sports bra underneath the white sports bra, and there's no getting a small detail like that past the notoriously strict All England Club.

The straps of the black bra barely peaked out on her shoulder blades, and that was enough for chair umpire to slap the 2014 runner-up with a dress-code violation. The rules were

updated in 2014 to clarify that: “white does not include off-white or cream” and allowing only “a single trim of colour no wider than one centimetre.”

The almost-all-white rule now explicitly covers caps, headbands, bandannas, wristbands, shoes and even “any undergarments that either are or can be visible during play (including due to perspiration).”

The club doesn't turn a blind eye for anyone: Roger Federer was banned from wearing tennis shoes with an orange sole in 2013.

Bouchard

zech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech's transfer from Premier League champions Chelsea to local rivals Arsenal has been backed by the west London club's manager Jose Mourinho.

Cech was Chelsea's first choice for 10 years but lost his place to Belgium's Thibaut Courtois last season and joined Arsenal on Monday.

Mourinho said he would have preferred Cech, 33, to remain with Chelsea this season but with the player no longer number one choice and wanting a move, supports the decision.

He also thanked Cech for his part in the club's success.

"Petr has been a great servant for Chelsea for 11 years and helped this club to win almost everything there is to win," Mourinho told the club website.

"I always said I wanted him to stay but I understand Petr needed to move on to play first team football every week.

"Sometimes you have to respect the wishes of someone who has earned so much respect with his service and actions for your club. I support the owner's decision to honour the player in this way," Mourinho added referring to Roman Abramovic.

"It is very rare in football to make a decision like this and for that reason I am proud of my club for making it. There are not many clubs in the world big enough to be able to make that decision.

"Petr's success at this club will always to be remembered and we thank him for everything he did."

NBA star agrees $95m deal with Bulls

J

immy Butler has agreed to a five-year, $95 million maximum contract to re-sign with the Chicago Bulls, league sources have revealed.

Butler's deal will include a player option after the fourth year of the deal.

Butler was a restricted free agent, and Chicago could've matched an offer sheet and retained him.

Butler's agents with Relativity Sports, Happy Walters and Steve McCaskill, negotiated the deal with Bulls general manager Gar Forman.

Butler, 25, had rejected the Bulls' offer of a four-year, $44 million contract extension in October with the belief that a breakout season would enhance his value on the restricted free-agent market this summer. He averaged a career-best 20 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists, developed into a dependable 3-point threat and was named the NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year.

"It came down to me deciding that I want to bet on myself," Butler told Yahoo Sports in October. "It was about me believing that I put the work in this summer to become a better player with the hope that my improvement will give the Bulls a better chance to win a championship."

28

Sport

SATURDA 4 JU

Are Eagles flying without wings?

T

Vincent Eboigbe he ball had been spread wide to the right and it was the defender, Joseph Yobo, an unlikely presence at that position, who sprinted down the right flank and lofted into the area. All Julius Aghahowa needed to do was to connect with that little swish of the head and the ball nestled in the low corner of Swedish net. The striker didn’t have to put too much effort into the header because the energy and curl was already on the ball.

That was the only goal Nigeria scored in the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, and it came from the right wing. The fact that it was Yobo, who played from the right back in that match, that made the cross is illustrative in a striking way: Given the evolvement of the game and the fact that the classic winger was becoming something of an anachronism, that it was a Yobo who appeared at the right channel showed that that approach could have been developed further with variations. Was the defender’s appearance fortuitous or it dovetails perfectly into former Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde’s argument later in this piece about the need for coaches to vary and adapt rather than have a fixation on a rigid approach?

It would seem that rather than find a way to modify the traditional philosophy and adapt it to modern trends in the game, the easier route of abandonment of the wing play for an “alien’’ emphasis on the midfield play appeared more appealing especially as the high tide in the larger football world flowed in that direction.

Temile

ST

INVESTIGATIVE Series

Finidi

Yet between 1980, when Nigeria became a real force on the continent, and 1994, the Eagles appeared in five African Cup of Nations finals. But when the shift became complete over a decade later, the Super Eagles were not only struggling to qualify for AFCON, their outings in the competitions proper were largely forgettable.

Even the 2013 triumph in South Africa seemed more like a fluke, as many pundits have argued, rather than a function of methodical planning and execution.

When and where was wing play abandoned?

Whether the system was stumbled upon as some have posited or it was by design, no matter how peripheral, it had become Nigeria’s football identity or heritage, but over the course of the last two decades there has been a progressive shift until Nigeria’s style is now not recognisable.

One of Nigeria’s greatest footballers of all-time who made wing play look so pleasing to the eye with his gazelle-like canter down the right channel, Segun Odegbami, provides insight not only into where the shift began but what led to it, insisting that wing play is not a dinosaur or fossilised relic even now.

He says: “This is a technical issue, but let me start by saying that certain exceptionally-gifted players have played on the wings for Nigeria over the decades and it was when we played from the wings that we achieved our greatest feats in football. I cannot tell you how and when it took root but what I can say is that when we went for the AFCON in Ethiopia in 1976, Nigerian players were voted as the best left winger (Kunle Awesu) and right winger (Baba Otu Mohammed).

“But looking beneath the surface wing play necessarily involves having dribbling skills, speed and crossing ability, the latter recalls the British

style. The Nigerian winger was naturally gifted in these three areas and when you have this combination you have a great winger. That is what we had, and like I said the period we had such wingers coincided with when we had our greatest successes.

“Unfortunately after the (Clemens) Westerhof era they brought all sorts of coaches like (Phillipe) Troussier, (Bora) Milutinovic and other pretenders including some of our own who introduced all manner of technicalities and the use of the wing became diluted; they now talk about the wing half or the midfielder who converts to a winger as play dictates. But the upshot of all this is that our style, whether it was developed by accident or in whatever way, that came to us naturally, was diminished to the extent that it is no longer recognisable.”

Another equally brilliant winger, Clement Temile, agrees no less with Odegbami. The tear-away winger who, in his heyday, would meet a high ball and seemingly begin to move with it while air-bound, notes that the problem is really with the inability of Nigerian coaches over the years to understand the dynamics of the game and respond accordingly.

He points out that the classic wing play adopted by Nigeria in the past in the form of the 4-2-4 system with four defenders, two wingers and four midfielders, had since become outdated, but that coaches these days have found ways to exploit the wings without necessarily having wingers stationed there.

“The truth is that as time goes on new developments come up, new formations and other happenings take place in the game, we must be abreast of these innovations. In our days we adopted the 4-2-4 formation with two wingers but the modern game is different. When the right back overlaps now he becomes the winger, what happens

Musa, seen as a modern-day winger

in such a situation is that the holding midfielder drops into the right back's position and covers for him because he can’t run back quickly enough when he loses possession. He, in turn, would drop to the midfield because it is easier for him to do that before moving back to the right back position.

“If you watched the Enyimba versus Dolphins in the Federation Cup final two years ago that is exactly what happened, it was the right full back that destroyed Dolphins with his constant runs down the wings, in that sense he had become the winger. Even though most teams don’t adopt the classic wing anymore most of the goals still come from the wings because when the play is spread wide it disorganises the defence. So the secret is to find a way to adapt,” Temile argues.

Sport

AY TELEGRAPH ULY 2015

29

ST

INVESTIGATIVE Series

Amuneke

Is it failure of coaches to adapt or dearth of great wingers ?

Over and over again, teams that have retained a semblance of wing play in their game have shown that when the middle of the pack becomes too constricted especially when arrayed against a side that deploys five midfielders, the best way to open up play is through the wings.

Using the wings in such situations stretches play and allows the forwards to sprint into the area for crosses. It also has another advantage as opposing defenders backtracking to intercept do so facing their own goal and could inadvertently deflect the ball into their own net.

Nigeria’s abandonment of the wing play also mirrors Brazil’s shift from the jogo bonito pattern that not only threw

fear into opponents but thrilled the world immensely. The great Brazil side of Pele, Tostao, Gerson, Rivelino and Jairzinho in 1970 and the 1982 team epitomised by Socrates, Zico, Falcao, Eder, are now distant memories.

Long gone is the expansive all-out attacking approach that denied opposing teams access to the ball. The period from 1970 up till 1994 when Brazil could not win the World Cup led to a tremendous soul-searching and ultimately the incorporation of elements of European strictures and control so much so that Brazilian football is now almost unrecognisable. The final coup de grace and unraveling came on home soil when the Selecao were humiliated by the European side, Germany, at the 2014 World Cup. A former Super Eagles coach and long-standing CAF and FIFA instructor, Adegboye Onigbinde, argues that the focus in the modern game is not so much about system as functionality.

He notes that the emphasis is on possession and keeping it for 90 minutes and the ability of coaches to responds to various situations.

He clarifies: “The emphasis is on functional football now, on possession and retaining it but that is not possible because that is also the aim of your opponent, but the point is to have more possession and when you have that it means you are attacking and now it is not only the strikers that are involved but the 11 players become attackers.

“Now if the opponents are attacking from the left for instance and my defenders face that side of the field and then the opponents swing the play to the right there is obvious trouble so the right winger will switch and he becomes a defender and no longer a winger. That is what I have been saying for years about development. Our coaches have not been trained in that

I don’t know how it came about but the wing play could be said to be Nigerian culture regard and do not have the knowledge of the modern trends.

“It is not about systems so much anymore. If we develop a national tactical approach the right full back from Abakaliki will play the same way as the right full back from Modakeke, so if you invite them to the national team they already know what to do and there will be consistency. Right now if you engage 10 coachers in a year you are likely to have 10 different conflicting approaches.”

Friday Elaho, nicknamed “Elastic” by late radio commentator, Ernest Okonkwo, for his mazy dribbling and dazzling runs down the left channel for the Super Eagles, insists that the problem arose when the majority of Nigerian coaches abandoned the traditional Nigerian style.

“I don’t know how it came about but the wing play could be said to be Nigerian culture. That is what we met as players; even during the (Clemens) Westerhof and (Manfred) Hoener eras that is what we were playing.

“But the whole shift came about when our coaches started copying the European style and they came up with such names as right midfield and left midfield and the whole thing just went on from there until what we have today. It is really sad because the way we used to play created many chances and therefore increased goal-scoring opportunities.

These days the Eagles struggle to create clear chances; so to say the shift has affected our game is stating the obvious,” laments Elaho Odegbami expands it further. The former Green Eagles captain insists that most of the coaches who came after Westerhof basically destroyed the fabric of Nigerian football.

“Westerhof saw the strength in Nigerian football and exploited it to our advantage, but the coaches who came after lacked the technical and intellectual capacity to appreciate our natural inclinations

and make the most of them. It’s not about not having good wingers anymore. We still have (Ahmed) Musa, (Victor) Moses though he is not an out-and-out winger and then Osaze Odemwingie who was essentially a winger. I was a winger but in the history of Nigerian football I am the second highest goal scorer. Again, how have our coaches used the speed of these players in creative ways in that area where you have the largest space on the field?

“I don’t also agree that wing play is dead. Look at Barcelona they have two of the best full backs (Danny Alves and Jodi Alba) in world football and they function as wingers. (Phillip) Lahm, the Germany captain, plays often as a winger even though he is defender. That is also the way Roberto Carlos ,(former Real Madrid left back), played.

“The point in all this is about how coaches are able to adapt and vary to make use of that largest amount of space on the field. What strategic and tactical coaches have done is to find a way to use the wings whether as wingbacks or as midfielders.

“These days you see (Lionel) Messi playing from the right and (Cristiano) Ronaldo playing from the left. Ronaldo is basically a winger who plays from the left or right but finds himself in the front of goal often. These coaches have found inventive and ingenious ways to use the wings and that is the difference.”

Temile picks up the thread.

“When I was doing my UEFA A badge I did my attachment with Chelsea and Arsenal and I had the opportunity of being with their reserve teams and got to learn about how they spread play, recover, attack and the rest; they will show you these things on the screen with a real match situation to illustrate what they are teaching.

“Look, the truth is the trends in coaching change practically every two years and our coaches need to know this and go for refresher courses often to keep abreast of latest developments.

Anytime (Super Eagles coach) Stephen Keshi is on holidays he travels to the United States and that is all. I don’t know if these coaches watch European leagues or try to secure attachments with these clubs. That is what they need to be doing and it is not difficult as the clubs are ready to accept them for a period of time and this would help them immensely to appreciate the trends in the modern game.”

Elaho

30

Sport

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

I always wanted to be a Tigress – Udoka

United States of America-based Nigerian basketball icon, Mfon Udoka, was a member of the great D’Tigress team that won back-to-back FIBA African Women Championship crowns in 2003, in Mozambique, and on home soil in 2005. She was recently in Lagos and spoke with IFEANYI IBEH about these feats, the problems bedeviling the growth of the sport in the country and sundry issues.

Excerpts...

We have the talent and I think the youth that are coming up are even more talented than we were

lack of support; there are people all over that wanted to offer support, but for whatever reason, instead of looking at us as allies we are always looked at as threats. If everybody can just get on the same page and get past their egos and are willing to work together, there’s nothing that couldn’t be accomplished. But it’s going to take people putting their pride aside, offering and asking for help and getting the help that they want, and realise that it is something that cannot be done alone; you don’t build a programme alone; you do it with the past, the present and the future leaders and athletes. But you all need each other.

What has Mfon Udoka been up to recently?

I live in New Jersey now and I am coaching kids basketball. I have been doing this for a while and it’s now a part of me.

You were a member of the last Nigerian side to win the FIBA African Women Championship title. That happened a decade ago, and since then no Nigerian side has been able to conquer Africa. What do you think is responsible for this?

Unfortunately, the leadership is what you should look at because when things fall apart it doesn’t start from the bottom, it starts from the top. For whatever reason, people just haven’t seen the importance of trying to build a programme and keep things going the way they work because we had two back-to-back championships, and I would think that that was something you’d want to build on. But instead we have gone the opposite way, and it’s not because of lack of talent; it’s not because of lack of players because you can find players all over the world – in America, Europe, Nigeria. Wherever they are, they are willing to play.

It’s just that we haven’t had the right support and programme to get us moving forward.

Could you proffer likely solutions to these issues you just mentioned?

I think we just need a president (in the Nigeria Basketball Federation) who is capable of being organised and can prioritise basketball at the national team level. Again, I think everybody knows that Nigeria has the potential to be a world power at some point because we have the talent, but we don’t have the organisation, and the preparation is always lacking. It just has to become a priority at some point because we can sit here and talk about all the plans we want to do, but if there is no plan and no action then those words really don’t mean much.

Why did you opt to play for Nigeria so many years ago even though you weren’t born here?

It was interesting because in 1999

4 JULY 2015

Udoka (left) in action for Nigeria at the 2004 Athens Olympics

I received an invite and I was injured at the time. But that was something I never really knew about as I never knew there was an option for me to play for Nigeria. But it was always at the back of my mind, for it was something that interested me, and a few years later I played for Nigeria and we had some great success, winning back-to-back AfroBasket titles, the All-African Games gold and participating at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

It’s unfortunate that we haven’t been able to build on it but I don’t think that it is a dead point. I think

that we have the talent and I think the youth that are coming up are even more talented than we were. It’s just a matter of putting a programme together to help them succeed.

If you’re called upon at any point in time to offer help and advice would you be willing to come back home to help?

Absolutely! You never want to say no to something like that. Unfortunately, right now the person in leadership, we don’t really see eye to eye. So that probably won’t happen at this point in time. But it’s not a

You have a programme in New Jersey, USA, which involves the young ones. What motivated you to go to the grassroots?

There are certain parts of the city and intercity that do not have the support and programmes, but they have the kids that are willing to learn and play sports. So it was something that I wanted to do. It’s the same thing as we have back home in Nigeria. We have all these kids around that don’t have anything to do, then you come in and build a programme and start them out when they are between the ages of eight and 10. Then you never know what kind of national team you can build or opportunities you can provide for these kids to become professionals. But it doesn’t start when they are 16-year-old; it is too late by then. So, it was just a matter of wanting to provide something positive for kids to do, and you never know where it can take you.

When I started playing at 11, I never knew I would be an Olympian but those things happen when you have opportunities. So it is just about providing opportunities.

Any chance of you replicating this programme in Nigeria?

It could be done but you need proper support. I mean I could come in here with the programme but if we don’t have the facilities and the people that are willing to learn how to teach then it doesn’t really work out. But, absolutely, I would love to have a programme like that here in Nigeria.

4 JULY 2015

31

Global Football Special

NEW TELEGRAPH

www.newtelegraphonline.com

Copa final 'not war' says Mascherano

TRANSFERs Real Madrid defender set for Bolton move

A

rgentina star Javier Mascherano has called for calm as the countdown to this weekend's Copa America final against fierce rivals Chile got under way.

Two teams desperate to succeed will collide in Santiago on Saturday with hosts Chile aiming to end nearly a century of failure by winning a major tournament for the first time in front of an expectant home crowd.

Argentina meanwhile are burning with desire to win a first title in 22 years, determined that one of the most talented generations of players the country has ever produced does not suffer another disappointment.

The high stakes will carry an additional edge thanks to the historical rivalry between the neighboring nations, who in the past have been at loggerheads over various territorial and diplomatic disputes.

But Mascherano was adamant that politics should not poison what is expected to be a highly charged sporting encounter.

"I hope that people can understand that football is a sport, not war," Mascherano said.

"The past is the past. We must not put sport in the middle of politics. Chile and Argentina are brother countries, we have to show mutual respect," the defensive midfielder added.

Mascherano

C

hampionship side Bolton are set to complete a deal for Real Madrid defender Derik.

The Spain Under-21 international has never made a firstteam appearance for the Spanish giants, but has plenty of experience in their youth and reserve ranks.

Man City step up De Bruyne chase

Argentina's Lionel Messi sandwiched between Chilean players in a previous encounter

Messi’s Argentina target Copa glory

I

t’s the final thought most likely ahead of the competition and the one most neutrals will have desired: hosts Chile, seeking a first ever international title, will take on the pre-tournament favourites, Argentina, for the Copa America trophy in Santiago on Saturday. And the pressure for both to deliver the silverware will be phenomenally intense.

For Chile, it surely represents their best ever chance to end their long wait for glory.

Not only are they playing in front of a passionate home support, but they have a great generation of talent

How Chile can beat Argentina – Portugal coach P ortugal boss Fernando Santos has provided some tips to Chile on how to beat Argentina in the Copa América 2015 final.

The 60-year-old guided the Selecção to a 1-0 victory over Gerardo Martino's side in an international friendly in November 2014, with Raphaël Guerreiro's strike in second-half stoppage time settling the fixture.

Since then, Argentina have gone eight games without defeat, only failing to win in their Copa opener against Paraguay in La Serena, while they advanced past Colombia in the quarter-finals on penalties following a 0-0 draw.

Being the last coach to get the better of the South American giants, he was asked for his thoughts on how Chile could go about doing the same in the showpiece event on July 4.

"Argentina is a very strong opponent, they have great players. To win, you have to play the perfect match and have a little luck," Santos told El Mercurio.

He believes that the key to play-

Sport

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

ing the perfect match lies in not focusing all attentions on Albiceleste captain Lionel Messi.

The 28-year-old has only scored on goal so far in Chile but was impressive in Argentina's semi-final with Paraguay - providing three assists.

"You cannot mark [Messi] man to man, because the only thing you gain is a problem. He is so good that he always finds a way of having more freedom," Santos added.

"It is better to use zonal marking ... you have to prevent him from receiving the ball."

Santos

at their disposal. Included among that is a spine of the team excelling at some of Europe’s biggest clubs -Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo, Juventus’ Arturo Vidal and Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez.

But, while that trio has been influential, Chile’s success, and in particular run to the Copa America final, has been helped massively by players of lesser reputations producing their best in the colors of their country.

Having lost last year’s World Cup final to Germany after extra-time, this could be the last great chance for a brilliant generation to finally de-

liver some senior silverware and end Argentina’s own drought, which, improbably, dates back to 1993.

So much of this final depends on how both sides handle the occasion and the pressure. Will Chile be inspired by the home support and the chance for national immortality, or will they continue to show the edginess on display in their semifinal? On the opposite side, will Argentina now play with freedom after finally getting among the goals, or will the fear of losing another major final stifle their attack?

Women World Cup final: Japan set for US onslaught T he United States and Japan will square off for the second FIFA Women’s World Cup final in succession on Sunday, adding an intriguing dimension to what’s already a hugely prestigious affair.

Reigning champions Japan edged past England in the semi-finals in the most dramatic way possible to secure their place in the Vancouver showpiece, while the United States were ruthless in downing pre-tournament favourites Germany to get this far. But all of the effort expended so far will count for nothing unless they’re victorious on Saturday evening.

There were few expecting Japan to oust the United States in the Germany final four years ago. The USWNT were the most formidable team on the planet going into that World Cup, and although the 2011 winners come into this one as reigning champions, there’s a similar feel about this game.

Japan, after all, were

pretty fortunate against England. The Three Lionesses knocked them out of rhythm with some astute pressing and conjured the clearer openings in the game. But a hugely fortunate Laura Bassett own goal in stoppage time saw Norio Sasaki’s team progress Japan do deserve credit, though. They stood up to the pressure England put them under, clung on in the contest and, eventually, got the stroke of luck that every team needs if they are to go on and seize major tournament glory.

Nonetheless, they are going to have to raise their game against a United States side that is beginning to build up steam.

Once again, Jill Ellis’ players where functional rather than fluid in their match against Germany, but they were clinical in precarious moments and, in the end, thoroughly deserved their victory.

M

anchester City are beginning to accept that they face an uphill battle to persuade Paul Pogba to leave Juventus and snub the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea, but are confident that they will be successful in their pursuit of Kevin De Bruyne.

Reports in Spain claim that Pogba has already verbally agreed to join Barcelona in 2016 once the Catalans’ transfer embargo is lifted, but Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport contradicted those reports by revealing Juventus have turned down an €80m offer from the European champions.

Sunderland eye duo

S

underland are in talks with Zenit Saint Petersburg and Dynamo Kiev over the respective signings of Nicolas Lombaerts and Jeremain Lens, according to Sky sources.

It is understood that Belgium international defender Lombaerts, who was signed by Dick Advocaat for Zenit in 2007, would cost a fee in the region of £5m.

Dutch forward Lens, meanwhile, has 29 caps for the Netherlands and could fetch up to £8.5m

Langerak relishes Stuttgart challenge

A

ustralia goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak says he is relishing the fight for a starting place at his new club VfB Stuttgart following his transfer from Borussia Dortmund.

The 26-year-old Socceroos shot-stopper spent five years at Dortmund, but made just 22 Bundesliga appearances as under-study to Borussia's Germany squad member Roman Weidenfeller.

Langerak finished with winners medals when Borussia won the 2011 and 2012 Bundesliga titles and German Cup in 2012, when he came off the bench to play his part in a 5-2 win over Bayern Munich, but wants more regular football.

Having won six caps for Australia, Langerak completed his transfer to Stuttgart on Monday and jumped straight into training at his new club's pre-season camp in Austria.

32

Sport

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Lifestyle

Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.

- Jack Canfield

Scherzinger

Former Fulham flop finds love with Scherzinger

F Rihana

Rihanna's friends doubt Benzema's love for pop star

F

riends of hip hop star Rihanna are reported to be concerned about her quickly blossoming romance with Real Madrid soccer star Karim Benzema.

Star Magazine reports the 27-year-old Benzema has a "dark past" that makes him every bit the risk her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown ever was.

According to several media outlets, back in 2010 the French-born soccer star was indicted on the charge of having sex with an underage prostitute and stood trial for the offense four years later.

"Karim didn't deny sleeping with the woman," a source told the magazine. "He

daeze Yobo, wife to former Super Eagles captain, has revealed that she wants her hubby, Joseph Yobo, to always slap and abuse her in order to prevent her adding more weight.

Ada wrote: “I need to hire someone who will follow me around and just knock the unhealthy food out of my mouth. Or just slap it out my mouth, I tell my husband to keep calling me fat and keep insulting me which works till 12 midnight when I start licking Jayden’s baby milk and snacking on frosties while watching Wendy spill the tea. I need a hot slap at that moment.

birthday.

Kasami had done better in finding love than producing good performances for the West London outfit as he scored just three goals during his three seasons at the club.

The one bright spark was his goal of the season contender against Crystal Palace in the 2013-14 campaign at Selhurst Park, but the Whites were relegated that season and Kasami left to join Olympiakos last summer.

However, with Scherzinger now by his side, it’s clear that Kasami is the real winner.

Wawrinka, Krieger bare all for 2015 edition of The Body Issue

easily could have gotten three years in prison, but he lucked out." The charges were dropped after the girl refused to cooperate with prosecutors.

Meanwhile, sources add Rihanna insists she trusts her new man, even though he reportedly was publicly spotted with her rival Karrueche Tran earlier this month.

Tran also happens to be one of Brown's exes. Also somewhat similar to Brown, Benzema is reported to have a child whose mother he is still close with.

"No one would be shocked if they still hook up," a source added of Benzema and the mother of his child. "Rihanna should keep her eyes open."

Adaeze Yobo I want my husband to give me a hot slap A

Adaeze

ormer Fulham midfielder Pajtim Kasami is certainly over the woes that he encountered at Craven Cottage to find himself a Premier League quality WAG. Six months ago pop star Nicole Scherzinger announced that she and Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton had split and to be fair to Kasami he respected ‘the code’ and waited to make his move.

The new couple were spotted looking cosy on vacation in Greece according to Express as they celebrated Nicole’s 37th

F

Wawrinka

Krieger

rench Open champion Stan Wawrinka and United States women's defender Ali Krieger are the latest sports stars to get their kit off for ESPN The Magazine's The Body Issue.

Wawrinka, and Krieger bared all for the 2015 edition of the publication which will hit the newsstands on July 10.

Full back Kreiger, 30, who is currently representing USA at the Women's World Cup in Canada, posed naked with a golden ball at her feet for the annual edition of the magazine.

Wawrinka joins tennis stars Venus Williams and Tomas Berdych on the list of sportsmen and women to feature in The Body Issue and is pictured playing tennis strokes.

The 30-year-old Swiss won his second Grand Slam at Roland Garros in June after winning the Australian Open in 2014, but he concedes he is still a long way behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Stories courtesy Dailymail

Investigations

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

33

to hold a Requiem Mass for me’

The writer interviewing Bashorun

Oyelere

Mrs Magaret Babalola

house to my daughter. The house is on a street around the high court area in Lagos Island. I wanted to reclaim the property since my daughter was dead but couldn’t because the will is with a lawyer. I came to this Home practically with nothing except my few clothes. I think a lot here, which sometimes affects my appetite,” Folashade narrated amid tears.

She developed strong relationships with people in the neighouring West African countries during her numerous trips in her early days as a business woman.

“I want to travel to Sierra Leone to look for somebody that can help me to fight for my daughter’s will because that is where I have reliable friends.

I was preparing to leave Nigeria for

there rather than die in this Holy family Home. Johnson Mensah, a Sierra Leonean friend had wanted to assist me retrieve my daughter's property, but he too is too weak to come down to Nigeria. He then advised me to come over to Sierra Leone so he can help me secure a good job to enable me raise money with which to fight for what belongs to my daughter,” she revealed.

Meanwhile, the coordinator of the Holy Family Home, Reverend Sister Adebowale, told Saturday Telegraph that the Home has one major challenge. “It is how to solicit for assistance to buy an 18-seater bus to convey the old people within and outside Lagos

whenever they are going for relaxation,” Adebowale said.

She listed the criteria for accepting inmate in the Home to include sanity and age bracket of not less than 65 years.

“We absorb those that are sane and their age should be 65 years and above.

We do not take people that have health challenges. But if they take ill while here, we would invite doctors to treat them. We don’t discriminate. We take some of them that are not Christians and live happily as one family.”

Does she sometimes see herself as another Mother Theresa of Padua? No, she replied, adding, “I am not doing the same work as Mother Theresa. It’s just that I don’t like seeing old people suffer; we need to comfort them for them to see God. These are people, who in their younger days, contributed in their little ways to the development of this country.

“Some are retired bankers while others have their children abroad. I was sent here. Though, this is my second coming, having been here first in the 80s. They are old women and men staying alone with nobody to care for them.

"We take them out for party sometimes and occasionally invite a physiotherapist to help them. We also allow them to stroll around the premises and to keep little chores like breaking of melon, wash their plates or remove maize from the cob. These help them to relax,” Adebowale said.

This Home is like a prison to some of us because we are not used to this type of regimented life Sierra Leone in December 2014, when my grandson, who was in a seminary school died of Kidney problem. The death destabilised me to the extent that I could no longer make the trip.

“I still nurse such plans so as to be among my old friends whom we grew up together. I’d prefer to die

An inmate taking a nap on a wheelchair

photos: tony eguaye

SATURDAY

Health SATURDAY 4 JULY 2015

34

'The average teen should be able to offer basic first aid' Funmi Adegbola’s drive in life is to save lives and inspire enduring legacies. The United Kingdom-based health and safety practitioner recently launched a health and safety club for Nigerian youths called Young Life Savers Club. At a training session at Ikeja, Lagos, the managing director of Combined Training Solutions Limited speaks with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS What do you do as a company?

We are based in the United Kingdom, but with offices in Nigeria as well. We are a health and safety firm and we do consultancy and training.

How long have you been doing this?

It is about eight years now. We normally train corporate firms, but we decided to extend it to the children recently because if you could catch them young it transforms their minds, rather than conforming it tomorrow. When they become adults tomorrow, they have to be trained in doing this but it becomes useful for them once it is imbedded now. The gesture (Young Life Savers Club) is not free, but it is heavily subsidised and there are life saving skills that stay with them for life. It is a 12 weeks programme and it is taking place at Ikeja.

The object really is to educate the younger generation with life saving skills so that they can impact their generation, society and immediate families too. This initiative is the first of its kind in Nigeria as a matter of fact. The impact of such programme on kids cannot be quantified, as first aid is a transferable life saving skills that will not only benefit the children, but everyone around them. It is a way of giving back to the society. The reason we attached small fees to it is psychological. If you attach value to something, people will take it seriously. If parents know they are paying N15, 000 they would want to send their child there, but if it is strictly free they would not appreciate it. The motive behind it has nothing to do with making profit. When you compare what we do and the fees appropriately, you will know that it is a small fraction we charge.

What kind of skills are you talking about exactly?

Like I said, it is life-saving skills and they will be taught signs, symptoms and treatment on various medical conditions such as asthma, stroke, heart attack, seizure, choking, severe bleeding, burns and CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).

Each child will be awarded a badge of competency on successful completion of each medical condition and a certificate at the end of the programme. There won’t be any better time than now to secure our tomorrow by enrolling our children under this laudable initiative since it would end up as a preventive measure and save us the trauma of emergency.

How have you been able to put these children together?

We went to schools; we tried to speak with them at PTA meetings. We are targeting children in the primary and secondary schools. The club is a creative and dy-

namic club that equips children between the ages of seven and 17 years with the knowledge needed to render assistance in the case of medical emergency. We started first weekend in June, precisely June 6.

In the UK, learning life saving skills is a natural thing for them because it is part of their education system. To me, I felt we can achieve the same thing in Nigeria too and I saw that there was a vacuum.

Are there plans to extend this to other parts of the country?

The vision for this programme really is nationwide, but because we are based in Lagos we started the pilot edition here.

However, we are looking to extend it to other areas. The idea is to train these children and turn it into an academy. We are also looking at introducing healthy interstate competitions too just to enhance the skills they acquired. If they don’t use it, then it becomes dormant. The competition is to engage them to continue to use what they’ve been taught and put it into practice. We would also offer scholarship to people to attend the academy as time goes on. All what we do is self-funded, no sponsors.

What are you trying to achieve with the club?

I have three children, one is 13, the other four years old and the last is one-yearold. My 13-year-old can deliver first aid treatment well, but I feel this is possible because it is my field. How about people outside whose parents are not into health and safety? They’ve lost their parents as a result of not knowing what to do or not knowing that daddy was suffering from stroke or heart attack. They are orphans today because they had no knowledge of what to do or how to remedy the situation. So, I thought we should equip and educate them on how to identify these life challenges and how to be helpful. This may not be the most significant thing, but it is part of the things needed for survival.

If you catch them young, it becomes a societal thing. Right now, it is not part of our culture. An average Nigerian in his or her 20s probably doesn’t know how to save a life; the common reaction is to scream for help. But if we are able to educate the children now, it is easier to make Nigeria a safety play to live in when they grow up.

How do you operate in the UK and Nigeria in a way that one is not affected?

That is a good question. I travel quite a lot; six weeks there, six weeks here. I thank God I have a very supporting husband and he believes in my vision and calling. He supports me 100 per cent. My eldest son is in a boarding school abroad,

Adegbola

so I have the flexibility to travel with the youngest ones. I go with the youngest ones each time I come to Nigeria.

Coming from the UK, how would you rate the health and safety industry in Nigeria generally?

I don’t want to condemn it because I like to always see the positive in things, but it is not where it should be compared with international best practices. The reason it appears so is because we don’t have any legislature in place and even if we have, it is no enforced. So, a lot of people are still getting away with murder cases. Why would you have employers who hire people and don’t have first aid in place? There is need for improvement; it still seems like a virgin market and we have health and safety practitioners at the moment that can drive this change. We are trying to make noise about it, but we can only make the loudest noise without the support of the government. They should make sure it is compulsory for employers to conform to safety laws because it reduces death or casualty rate.

Was this your dream as a child?

I initially studied forensic science and later went into law, but I decided I didn't want to do any of the two professions. So, I went to study occupational health and safety. These are three different things. I have professional qualifications as well.

Was it that you didn’t know what you wanted in life at a time?

I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I didn’t find fulfilment doing it. I always wanted to do something that relates to saving lives and I thought I should become a doctor. At the long run, I couldn’t

go through the long period of medical school. So, I decided to study forensic science which deals with dead bodies and still has something to do with helping people. But after having my child, I decided that you need to have strong tummy to strive in that industry. I couldn’t detach myself away from work or what I studied, so I went into law. Based on the fact that I have a gift of the gap and my younger sister was studying it, I felt I would do well as a lawyer. However, I later saw that it was too boring. It wasn’t for me and I was not ready to do it forever. Since I love to help people and save lives, occupation health and safety came to mind.

How would you rate your performance in the past eight years?

I have not been training students much, though we have been affiliated with school clubs in the UK where we go to help out and it has been about three years now. We engage them and this is something we don’t have in Nigeria. Though it could be a bit challenging to work with children, it is fun as well.

What have been the challenges operating in Nigeria?

It is the fact that there is no legislature in place. We all know that when you commit rape, you are going to be heavily penalized but we have nothing like that for health and safety. People know that there is no watchdog, so they are not interested in investing in health and safety and they see no reasons. It is challenging trying to tell people that it is not until someone dies before you do certain things. Life of your employee or colleague is very important and you need to put provisions in place for that.

SATURDAY

Dear Love Doctor, ‘My friend’s husband raped me'

p.37

True Story

'I married her because I was broke'

p.38

L ve&Lv ng SATURDAY 4 JULY 2015

35

‘He stole my virginity on my birthday' Confession Don't be scared, I know you are a fresher. Just feel free to come to me anytime you need help.

I’m a 400 level computer science student by the way

In this story, a young and naive girl is charmed by the deceitful antics of a goodlooking young man. She failed to realise that all that glitters is not gold until he raped her on her birthday...

Lilian Okafor

I

t was a beautiful, cool Monday morning, already packed, waiting to be taken to school, so excited and my face glowing with joy and happiness. This was the day I had always dreamed about ever since I was in secondary school.

My name is Mary, a girl from a strong Christian background, whose dad is a deacon in Christ Apostolic Church, in Ijesha, Lagos, and Mum a prayer band leader.

I grew up knowing God at a very tender age, knowing fully well who God is and what he still is. I learnt a lot from my parents and "Virgin Mary" was my second name.

I got admission into the University of Lagos immediately after secondary school. I was very joyous and glad about it because I couldn't imagine myself spending another year at home.

My parents were so happy for me and assured me that they would do everything possible to see me through my education.

As we all know, when one gets admission into the university, the first thing a good parent will do is to sit the child down and give him/her good words of wisdom and advice.

That same Monday morning, when I was ready to go, although my parents had talked and told me different stories about girls who were good at home but went to school to lead a wasted life. I listened and gave them my full attention.

"My daughter, I hope you know the daughter of who you are. Never follow bad gangs, and remember God, never put him last," said my dad.

He held me close and hugged me for the last time before he left for work.

Tears welled in my eyes as I took out my handkerchief and dabbed them.

I bid my siblings farewell and all my loved ones. My mum took my luggage and headed towards the car.

As we were going, she gave me Bible verses to read that would keep me going.

"My dear, even though you are now entering the higher institution, don’t assume you are no longer in the care of anyone, you are still our child and my last born for that matter. Always be good and don’t forget God," my mum said as we got down to the school gate.

She helped with my luggage and bid me farewell. I stopped myself from crying because I always wanted to be in the university and here I was. I looked into

my mum’s eyes and assured her that I would be good.

I took a deep breath and said: "Mum, I promise I will be good, just keep praying for me and I won’t disappoint you and dad."

These were the last words that came out my mouth as I hugged my mum and immediately released myself from her embrace.

As I stood and watched her leave, I couldn’t control my fears and the tears any longer, but all I could do was pray to God and never forget their words.

As a fresher and naïve girl who I was, I took my bath and made plans to go through the school and know the different departments before lecture starts.

I never made friends and my roommates weren’t friendly as such. I put on my best clothes and ensured that I looked as beautiful as I could, even without any cosmetics.

I carried my bag and left without saying a word to my new roommates.

As I set out to my destination as

planned, alone with my mobile phone, walking on the lonely road of the University of Lagos. I couldn’t look left or right or even forward to know if someone was behind me or not.

I kept recalling the words of my parents as I walked briskly on the lonely road.

I heard a voice as I was about to fall into a pothole. "Hey girl! Watch out," he said as he held my hand, which actually prevented me from missing my step.

At first I didn’t look up to see the face because I was still in shock. All I did was open my mouth as I stared at the deep pothole. And I thought to myself: "What could have happened to me if this gentleman hadn't held me."

At last I was able to look up and the next thing was a hand outstretched and a smiling face. "Hey pretty! I am Tony by name,’’ he said as he held my hand without letting go.

I was able to mumble a word as I stammer reel: "My...my...my name is Mary," I said as I withdrew my hand immediately. I shifted backwards so as

not to have close contact with him.

He smiled as he asked me to move away from the road. I immediately heeded his words as if I was being controlled.

"So where are you off to this early morning?" he queried me with a one sided smile on his face.

"I am off to nowhere, because I don’t even know my way around this place, so I just want to go my way without any disturbance, if you could please excuse me!’’ I said boldly without even realizing what I did or said.

As I was about to leave, I felt a strong hold on my hand. I was out of words.

I said to myself; "God! What’s this guy up to." I went back, trembling. There were many words I had in mind to say but I couldn't talk. I was just thinking all to myself.

He took a deep breath, looked at me and said; "Don't be scared, I know you are a fresher. Just feel free to come to me anytime you need help. I’m a 400 level computer science student by the way, so I know the in and out of this school.’’

I felt a bit of comfort within me and relief, knowing fully well that there was someone I could count on. I didn't have to feel the loneliness of being a fresher anymore.

We exchanged phone numbers. That was how our friendship started with no feelings attached. I felt a sense of belonging within me that I had met a nice godly guy as a friend, who was ready to help me without asking for anything.

Tony and I became very close as if we had known each other for ages. We talked almost every day, we prayed when things weren't working fine, we did virtually everything together, and people even assumed that we were dating.

One fateful day, I received a call from Tony, asking me to come outside my apartment that he wanted to see me and it’s very urgent. I thought that an omen had fallen upon him.

I quickly grabbed my clothes without looking in the mirror. I saw him standing, with his hands crossed behind him. I rushed to him, breathing heavily as I looked in his eyes and asked; "Tony, is everything alright?’’ continued on page 36

36

Love&Living

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

‘Now, I wish I never met him' continued FROM page 35

He looked at me with sincerity in his eyes and said; "Yes, everything is alright.

It's just that I have been having this funny feeling lately and I can’t control it any longer. It's high time I let it out." He managed to spill those words.

Finally, he was able to tell me why he called that late, putting fear in my mind.

I looked at him with a smile on my face and said; "You don’t need to worry about anything or be scared of losing me because I believe you have what it takes to be a man and secondly, you are Godfearing as well.’’

I said so without thinking twice because within me I also felt something for Tony. We stayed out a bit late, and talked and laughed as new lovers do.

As days went by, days became weeks and weeks turned into months and months years. We were inseparable. Tony never for a day asked me to engage in sexual immorality with him.

I became aware of my feminity unlike before. Tony always told me how beautiful I am and that made me feel more confident.

I began to lose my path, my direction, everything I did centered around Tony.

He, being my first love and the first guy I had ever dated, I began to forget the daughter of who I was.

My prayer life became lifeless, and even my roommates noticed the change in me. Nothing mattered to me anymore, absolutely nothing except Tony.

One of my roommates noticed that I had been going out with Tony and called me one day and said to me; "Mary!’’

I managed to answer; "Yes!’’ She continued, and I knew fully well what she was up to. "Mary, you are losing you path, that Tony guy you think is Mr. Right isn’t whom you think he is. Please do everything possible to detach yourself from him before you lose everything finally," she said as she left me pondering on those words.

After thinking and thinking, the only thing that I said to myself was; "Well, people can say things in order to get you out of the way. Maybe she is just jealous." I said that to myself trying not to feel her words.

It was a cool Tuesday morning, a day I didn't have to go for any lecture. I was still on my bed sleeping soundly. Immediately my phone rang, I picked it up and it was my parents.

"Happy birthday, my beautiful angel," they both chorused. I was dumbfounded.

I totally forgot that it was my birthday.

You can imagine!

"Thank you mum, thank you dad," I said without hesitation. I pretended as if I knew it was my birthday.

After my parents dropped the call, few other friends called me to wish me a happy birthday. The least I could recollect, my eighteenth birthday was celebrated at home with my family members, and my birthday was always an event I always looked forward to.

I mumbled to myself; "God how come I forgot my birthday of all, what is happening to me, even my parents remembered my birthday but I myself couldn't.

Hmmmm! God have mercy on me o!’’ I mumbled these words as I got down the bed to clean myself up.

The last phone call I had that day was from Tony. He called at the right time, the time I was all dressed up, like a new bride waiting for her groom. I quickly picked the call, without any hesitation.

He said: "Happy birthday babe! I wish you long life and prosperity. Just dress up and come over to my apartment. Today is a big day for us."

I danced round my room as I thought about Tony and his sweetness. My roommates were all staring at me, because they

were all tired of talking about the case of Tony and I. Talking to me was like pouring water on a rock. I sang and grabbed my handbag and other things and of course my cosmetics.

"Hey guys!, see you all anytime I return. You all know today is my day, and you don’t need to ask me who I am going to see," I said as I walked majestically out of the room, blowing them a kiss.

I got to Tony’s apartment within 15 minutes. He opened the door, and we hugged and gave each other a welcome kiss.

He ushered me into his domain with his hand stretched forth into the air and his head lowly bowed gracefully by saying: "Your majesty." I felt like Queen Elizabeth. I walked into his room majestically, still blushing.

He gave me a seat to sit on and he sat next to me. We started talking and chatting away the time. We laughed and I felt on top of the world, having a nice, tall, caring, fair and handsome guy as a boyfriend.

This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. After some minutes, he asked me how we were going to celebrate my birthday. "You are in charge today.

Anyway, we are good and I am good too," I said without hesitation.

After some minutes, he ushered me into his bedroom. At first I declined but after much pleading from him, I obliged.

We entered into his bedroom. I sat on

Mary, you are losing you path, that Tony guy you think is Mr. Right isn’t whom you think he is

his bed, waiting patiently for him to ask me what I wanted to eat, and he came back with a glass of wine in his left hand, and in the other was the already opened bottle of wine.

He offered me the drink and I took it without even asking how he got the money. All I knew was that the drink was quite expensive and of course it was my birthday.

After I took the first gulp, I felt something strange within me. I felt dizzy and couldn’t even see the objects around me clearly, including Tony.

After some minutes of struggling to stay awake in vain, I slept off and that was the last thing I could remember.

I woke up, thinking I was in my room, not knowing I had slept in Tony’s apartment and in his room, alone with him. I didn’t have any idea what had happened.

I came back to reality; truly I had slept over in Tony’s room.

I felt weak and lost within me, even though I had no idea what went on the previous night. I saw myself in a pool of blood. I looked left and right, the white neatly spread bed sheet I had slept on the previous night was scattered and soaked with my blood.

I looked up. I saw Tony walking into the room with no remorse on his face, and I looked at him for an explanation and answers. I couldn’t utter a word at that moment. I looked at him to know if he would at least tell me what had happened to me.

"Tony!!!!!" I screamed on top of my

voice, as I cried out. "Tony! What have you done to me? What did you do? Please answer me, why is blood all over me?

What did you give me last night that made me spend the night here?"

I searched his eyes for answers, but could not find any. To my surprise, Tony walked slowly toward me, sat on the bed, looked into my eyes and held my hands and said: "I just did what was right. I took my own piece of cake from your birthday.

I couldn’t wait anymore and asking you was like asking a child to stop sucking his mother’s breast. I don’t ask before I take it. This is how I operate baby girl. This is my birthday gift, your virginity.’’

He winked at me as he stood up, leaving me helpless on the bed.

I looked at myself once more, remembering my last birthday with my family members, and the white sparkling cloth my mother bought for me on my eighteenth birthday was what I had worn. I screamed, shouted, cried like a woman who had just lost her husband, as the memories kept coming. I managed to stand up, still stained with blood, my own blood. ‘’God!’’ I screamed. I was shattered, misplaced and broken. "God! I need you, I am shattered, I am broken." I keep on repeating those words without pausing. I couldn't do anything other than to pick myself up and keep going, although I had lost the most precious thing in my life, my virginity.

I went back to my apartment, looking shattered and misplaced, looking like a puppy that had just come in from the rain. My roommates looked at me with disgust because I had neglected them.

I didn't even have a friend to lean on.

Tony had finished my life; I thought he was the one for me. They didn’t say anything to me, knowing fully well that something had happened.

For the first time ever since I met Tony, I took my phone and called my parents.

They were happy to hear from me because I rarely called them. I sounded like a puppy, and they knew something was wrong from the sound of my voice.

They were so inquisitive to know what had happened.

I just told them that I was alright but within me, I needed someone to talk to.

They didn’t know that their good girl was no longer the innocent girl they used to know. I had gone far from God, without realizing it.

A week later, I didn’t hear from Tony.

I was strong enough to go through that.

Sometimes I felt like committing suicide, but I thought to myself; "What would I gain if I commit suicide.’’

I went to the hospital after I discovered some changes in my system and body. I was told that I was a week and two days pregnant. I cried all day, and all night, but still not a single person knew what had happened, not even my roommates. I kept everything to myself.

I have no one to blame, not even Tony because I was carried away by his charm even though many people warned me about him, but I didn’t listen, and now my dream of becoming a first class student is shattered.

I can’t even run back home. I don’t know what to do but to dance to the music. I wish I never met Tony but this is a lesson for everyone, especially girls who are naïve and don’t know when God is speaking to them.

I have truly brought shame to my parents and this child of mine, I consider him as a gift from God. I can’t continue my education until I give birth to this baby because abortion is not what I can do. And Tony, I don’t know where he is up till now. But I know God has forgiven me, and my life is new again.

Love Songs

Bonnie Tyler

Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit lonely And you're never coming round (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit tired Of listening to the sound of my tears (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit nervous That the best of all the years have gone by (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit terrified And then I see the look in your eyes (Turn Around, bright eyes) Every now and then I fall apart (Turn Around, bright eyes) Every now and then I fall apart (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit restless And I dream of something wild (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit helpless And I'm lying like a child in your arms (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit angry And I know I've got to get out and cry (Turn around) Every now and then I get a little bit terrified But then I see the look in your eyes (Turn Around, bright eyes) Every now and then I fall apart Turn around, bright eyes Every now and then I fall apart And I need you now tonight And I need you more than ever And if you only hold me tight We'll be holding on forever And we'll only be making it right 'Cause we'll never be wrong Together we can take it to the end of the line Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (All of the time) I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks I really need you tonight Forever's gonna start tonight (Forever's gonna start tonight)

Love Poem

Joanna Fuchs

I Never Knew

I never knew about happiness; I didn’t think dreams came true; I couldn’t really believe in love, Until I finally met you.

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

Romantic Joke

The Perfect Shot

A guy stood over his tee shot for what seemed an eternity; looking up, looking down, measuring the distance, figuring the wind direction and speed.

Driving his partner nuts. Finally his exasperated partner says, "What's taking so long? Hit the blasted ball!"

The guy answers, "My wife is up there watching me from the clubhouse. I want to make this a perfect shot."

"Forget it, man! You don't stand a chance of hitting her from here!"

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Relationships & Love Advice Dear Love Doctor, I’m 42 and life has been difficult lately. I divorced my husband after 10 years of marriage when I found out that I would never be able to have children because of my fertility issues.

I have this friend who recently celebrated her 40th birthday. I’m not much of a drinker but that night in my friend’s house, I wanted to forget about my problems.

I was out of my head by the end of the night. I remember wandering out to the backyard for somewhere quiet to lie down. I fell fast asleep and woke to find myself alone with my friend’s husband in the middle of the night.

He had his hands down my top and was feeling my breasts. Then he kissed me. I tried to stop him but he just carried on. Then I was down on the floor, my dress was pulled up and he was having sex with me.

It was horrible. I pushed him away, shouting: “Get off me!” He went away in the end and I managed to stay awake till morning and find my way home.

I felt so sick and revolted I went straight to bed and stayed there all day. I feel terrible now as I’m not the sort to sleep around and certainly not with a friend’s husband. I feel sick at what happened but I can’t talk to anyone as we’re all in the same circle of friends and I can’t tell my friend.

I can’t stop crying. I feel so guilty and I’m petrified that my friend will find out.

From Tina.

Blackberry Connection Nkechi, 29, from PH, a graduate and beautiful, wants a man of 32 to 35 years for a relationship that will lead to marriage.

He must be a Christian and working or businessman in the East. BB pin: 293AE0D5.

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

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

Love&Living

37

Odd News ‘My friend’s does your selfie husband raped me' What say about you? ...Camera angle, location and pout reveal key personality traits, study reveals

Y

Love Doctor’s Advice: Dear Tina, The truth is that this wasn’t your fault. You had too much to drink but that isn’t a crime. You were in no state to consent to sex and he took advantage of that.

That means it was legally rape.

Ask yourself how you would react if a friend said this has happened to her. You’d feel outraged

at him taking advantage of her.

But I know that bringing such a charge against a friend’s husband, when it would be his word against yours, is scary to contemplate, especially when you’ve already had to cope with so much recently. So please try to put this bad experience behind you and move on with your life.

H♥♥K UP...find your heart’s desire Women SEEKING relationship/ marriage

MEN LOOKING FOR RELATIONSHIP/ MARRIAGE

♥ Tosin, 43, from Kwara, a Christian, works, 6ft, AA genotype, needs a man between 44-50 years for marriage. 08137398286.

♥ Sani, 49, from Bauchi, needs a responsible, working or business woman of 25-55 years from any part of Nigeria; Muslim or Christian.

08021365991.

♥ Ifeoma, 45, single mother of one, needs a God fearing, comfortable, working widower or single man between 45-57 years for immediate marriage. 08068164088, 08035209738.

♥ Cyril, 43, from Adamawa, based in Abuja, needs a responsible Christian or Muslim woman for marriage. 09026554435.

♥ Uchechi, 35, a graduate, tall, fair, from lmo, in PH, needs an evangelist or God fearing Igbo man for marriage. 08052366993. ♥ A lady, 34, single mother of two, business woman, needs a mature man of 50-55 years for marriage. 08134634943. ♥ Precious, 25, from Imo, sexy, pretty, needs a man above 30 years for intimate relationship and care. 08170325210.

♥ Emmy needs a loving person in Lagos as his online business partner. Text 0704 510 6540 or 08131161840. ♥ Uche, 32, HIV positive, from Abia, wants a very fair, pretty, slim, working girl of 18-24 years who works with any federal establishment. +234 8107968407. ♥ Kingsley, 36, businessman from Anambra, living in Edo, needs a God fearing working or business lady of 23 to 34 years for marriage.

08039318878.

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

A girl whose number is 09098192687, is asking

all men: "Why do some men want to marry virgins, and who will marry those girls they deflowered?" *Call Mike: 07031028714 to send questions or issues.

ou might think it’s just a photo - but the way we take a selfie can reveal a lot about our personality, according to psychologists.

The pose we make, the location we take the picture in, and even the angle from which we take them reveal aspects of our character, the researchers found.

‘We identified cues in selfies that are related to selfie owners’ degree of agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness,’ said the researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

‘These cues included facial cues such as duckface (a facial expression made by pushing lips outwards and upward to give the appearance of large and pouty lips) and emotion, and contextual cues such as background location.’

Psychologists define agreeableness as a person’s tendency towards being cooperative and compassionate while conscientiousness is their tendency towards being organised, selfdisciplined, and dependable.

Neuroticism is their tendency towards experiencing unpleasant emotions such as anxiety and anger, and is a measure of emotional stability, while openness is the extent to which a person is willing to try new things, and is curious or imaginative.

For the study, more than 600 users of the social networking site Weibo - dubbed the ‘Chinese Twitter’ - answered a detailed personality questionnaire.

Their answers were then correlated with their profile pictures by the researchers.

‘Agreeableness was associated with emotional positivity (i.e. smiling in photos),’ the researchers wrote in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour.

‘It was also negatively associated with camera height, suggesting that more agreeable individuals are more likely to take pictures from below.

‘Conscientiousness was negatively correlated to private location, suggesting that more conscientious individuals are less likely to reveal their personal space in the background.

‘The avoidance of showing personal spaces reflects conscientious individuals’ characteristics of being cautious and concerned about their privacy.

‘Neuroticism was related to duckface, suggesting that neurotic individuals tend to make duckface in their selfies.

‘Openness was related to emotional positivity.’

The researchers added that selfies are more indicative of personality than standard photos taken by another person because the individual has more control over them.

‘Compared to other types of photos, selfies give individuals more freedom of controlling their face visibility, emotional expression, and camera position,’ they said.

The selfie phenomenon has been fuelled by social media and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, who recently published a book of her own self-portraits, entitled Selfish.

Selfie was even named word of the year in 2013 by the Oxford English Dictionary.

Courtesy: Daily Mail.

38

Love&Living

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

True Story

'I married her because I was broke' When you’re seriously considering marriage, should money ever come into it? It had never crossed Chrisa’s mind, but then he met Katie...

K

atie was fun, quite attractive and easy company. I met her a year ago on a night out and it was clear she was really interested in me, so I suggested we meet up again.

I probably wouldn’t have asked her out if I’d known how much older she is than me – I’m 27 and she’s 39 and very keen to settle down - but within a couple of dates I knew exactly what her connections are and that changed my mind. If I told you her surname it would instantly ring a bell - her father’s very high profile and extremely wealthy and his darling daughters are the main beneficiaries.

Katie has her own luxury flat “no mortgage”, a substantial trust fund and a clothes shop, which is like an extension of her own wardrobe and full of designer gear.

She works when she feels like it, which really just means popping into the shop a few times a week and chatting to her manager there. The rest of her time is spent looking after herself - going to the gym, getting her hair or nails done and shopping with friends.

When Katie described her car as a little grey thing and then picked me up for a night out in a silver Porshe. I really started paying attention and realised that while she tends to go for an understated look in clothes and jewellery, everything is the best quality and price is simply never a consideration.

It didn’t take long to realise that life is completely different with a wealthy and generous partner. All my previous girlfriends worked and I have a reasonably good job, but there was always those few days at the end of the month when we couldn’t afford to go out or had to juggle the bills.

Katie has had the sort of life most of us can just dream about and although my job as a sales manager earns me a decent salary, it’s never going to get me a huge house and a luxurious lifestyle.

She’s quite desperate to settle down and feels time is running out to have a family, so it’s almost a question of whether or not this seems like a rea-

sonable deal, in a way.

I pay for nights out but sometimes I wonder if that’s just an investment in a very comfortable future. If Katie and I got married her parents would buy us a big house as a wedding present and any kids we have would go to an independent school - paid for by her dad - and have a great start to life.

For Christmas, Katie’s main present to me was a ski-ing holiday in France, staying in a luxury hotel in Courchevel 1850, which cost over $40,000. Her other presents were ski gear - not just clothes but skis - a signed first edition of my favourite Harry Potter book and a Cartier watch.

Last year, she took me to New York for my birthday and she’s already talking about going to St Lucia for a summer holiday next year. I’m starting to get used to this sort of lifestyle and I don’t want to do without it.

This sounds truly awful, but when her parents die Katie and her sister Susy will get the lot, and it really is a lot. Katie keeps bringing the conversation round to marriage and I am very tempted, especially when she suggested that I could change jobs.

Wedding Traditions

Flowers to ward off evil: Sweden

S

weden is a country which has several interesting marriage traditions that have managed to last through the centuries.

One of these marriage traditions is the tradition of carrying flowers with very strong scents. In Sweden, the bride's bouquet was typically made of the strongest smelling flowers to ward off trolls and other evil creatures.

During the wedding, the bride and groom typically entered the church together and the head of the household was determined by whoever stepped over the threshold first or said "I do" the loudest.

Her idea of the perfect honeymoon would be spending three months going round the world and when I said that I would never be able to take that much leave she suggested taking a break from work for a while and thinking about getting into something I really enjoyed.

That’s almost the biggest temptation - my job bores me senseless and trying something completely different without worrying about money would be brilliant.

Recently I went out for a drink with Richard, Katie’s brother-in-law.

He works in finance, but as Grandad pays all the school bills and Susy has her trust fund income his wages are like pocket money.

While we were out we bumped into one of Richard’s colleagues and the two of them obviously got on brilliantly. She’s a stunning looking woman with a great personality and after she left Richard got absolutely pissed and told me that she’s the biggest regret in his life, because he never imagined that he would meet someone like that. This girl is everything he ever wanted, but there’s no way he would rock the safe boat he’s in just now.

And for the moment, that’s what’s stopping me proposing, because meeting that girl made me realise that Katie is a bit dull.

I wouldn’t miss her the way I’d miss all the things we do and the life she’s shown me.

The sex is ok but not brilliant and my porn habit is already increasing, which is a bit depressing after just a year together, but I could never liven things up by suggesting she watches it with me.

She looks good for her age but although she’s nice and safe she’s a little colourless.

If she wasn’t so wealthy the idea of marrying her wouldn’t have crossed my mind, but she’s also the ticket to a fantastic lifestyle.

I know this all makes me sound like a right pig but it’s not that simple. When I meet other women who appear to be great fun or really lively it makes me wonder what I’m missing, but if I give up Katie to pursue some mystery women and it doesn’t work out what’s the chances of meeting someone this rich again?

If I stay with Katie, she gets a husband and hopefully a family, while I get a lifestyle most people would kill for. It’s a reasonable deal, so why can’t I just get on with it?

Courtesy: nine.com

LOVE EDUCATION

What is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)? continued from last week

I

t was noted in one study that 10–40% of untreated women with N. gonorrhoea develop PID and 20–40% of women infected with C. trachomitis developed PID. Diagnosis Symptoms in PID range from subclinical (asymptomatic) to severe. If there are symptoms, then fever, cervical motion tenderness, lowerabdominal pain, new or different discharge, painful intercourse, or irregular menstrual bleeding may be noted. It is important to note that even asymptomatic PID can and does cause serious harm. Laparoscopic identification is helpful in diagnosing tubal disease, 65–90%positive predictive value in patients with presumed PID.[3] Regular Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing is important for prevention. Treatment is usually started empirically because of the serious complications that may result from delayed treatment. Definitive criteria include: histopathologic evidence of endometritis, thickened filled fallopian tubes, or laparoscopic findings. Gramstain/smear becomes important in identification of rare and possibly more serious organisms.

Upon gynecologic ultrasound, a potential finding is tubo-ovarian complex, which is edematous and dilated pelvic structures as evidenced by vague margins, but without abscess formation.

Prognosis Although the PID infection itself may be cured, effects of the infection may be permanent. This makes early identification by someone who can prescribe appropriate curative treatment very important in the prevention of damage to the reproductive system. Since early gonococcal infection may be asymptomatic, regular screening of individuals at risk for common agents (history of multiple partners, history of any unprotected sex, or people with symptoms) or because of certain procedures (post pelvic operation, postpartum,miscarriage or abortion). Prevention is also very important in maintaining viable reproduction capabilities.

If the initial infection is mostly in the lower tract, after treatment the person may have few difficulties. If the infection is in the fallopian tubes or ovaries, more serious complications are more likely to occur.

Complications PID can cause scarring inside the reproductive organs, which can later cause serious complications, including chronic pelvic pain, infertility, ectopic pregnancy (the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in adult females), and other dangerous complications of pregnancy. Occasionally, the infection can spread to in the peritoneum causing inflammation and the formation of scar tissue on the external surface of the liver (Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome). Multiple infections and infections that are treated later are more likely to result in complications.

Fertility may be restored in women affected by PID. Traditionally tuboplastic surgery was the main approach to correct tubal obstruction or adhesion formation, however success rates tended to be very limited. Call the fertility doctoron 07025350586 if infected.

Source: nhs.uk; en.m.wikipedia.org.

SATURDAY

Travel &Tourism SATURDAY 4 JULY 2015

Travel Personality Nico Bezuidenhout: Africa is a huge potential market for aviation p.40

Hospitality

Ree–Danielles Hotel and Suites: The next-door hideaway p.41

Destination

Bulawayo: The allure of the city of kings p.42

39

CHEF'S CORNER

Go for the sweetness of Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey Vanilla Yogurt

I

t may be hard to vouch for the freshness and healthy state of the fruits and yogurt to which you treat yourself and the family at the next café, but you could delight the family with some homemade sweet and fresh fruit salad with honey vanilla yogurt this weekend. This recipe offers vital tip: Honey Vanilla Yogurt Sauce Ingredients: • 2 cups plain yogurt • 2 tablespoons good honey • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract • Seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean, optional • 1/2 orange, juiced • 1 banana, sliced • 1/2 pint fresh blueberries • 1/2 pint fresh raspberries • 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half • 1 bunch seedless green grapes, halved Preparation: Combine the yogurt, honey, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds in a bowl and set aside. Combine the orange juice and banana slices in a separate bowl.

Add the berries and grapes and gently mix the fruit mixture together. Spoon the fruit into serving bowls and top with the yogurt.

Courtesy: Foodnetwork.com

Fruit Salad

TRAVEL BEATS

Dubai emerges ninth most expensive city for int'l travellers Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been cited as the ninth most expensive city for international travellers according to recent annual TripIndex report released by TripAdvisor. What this means is that travellers visiting the emirate this summer are likely to spend about $1,523.82 or Dh5,500 in three days, higher than what they would spend in many other holiday destinations in the world.

According to the list Cancun, Mexico, is the most expensive city in the world followed by Zurich, Switzerland; New York City; London, UK; Punta Cana,

Global Links Travel’s Dubai summer offer

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Global Travel Travels, one of the country's leading tour operators with offices in Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt is offering an all inconclusive package (return tickets, visa, accommodation for five nights, two tours and airport shuttle) to Dubai this summer for various categories of travellers with Emirates Airlines as the carrier.

Package include a two-star hotel for N450, 000; three-star hotel for N498, 000, four- star hotel for N500,000 and five-star hotel for N503,000.

Also available are packages on Ethihad and RwandAir. Contact: info@globallinkstravels.com

Dominican Republic; Paris, France; Tokyo, Japan and Toronto, Canada while Singapore placed 10.

The index helps travellers discover destinations that offer the best value for their money by comparing the cost of a threeday trip during the summer in nearly 60 key tourist cities around the world.

The index factors a four-star hotel stay, an organised tour or activity at local attractions, a round-trip taxi ride, as well as lunch and dinner.

However, Hanoi, Vietnam, is rated the cheapest where a three-day stay can cost only $732 (Dh2,688). Warsaw, Poland is the second cheapest city to travel to, with a three-day vacation estimated

Aerail view of Dubai's iconic attractions

to be around $739.38. Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, is the third least expensive city to explore during the summer, as a threeday stay will likely cost around $820.26.

Bangkok, Thailand, is the fourth cheapest city, where a traveller on a budget will spend around $822.36, nearly half of what they would spend in Dubai. The fifth spot is occupied by Mumbai, India, where lunch will cost around $20.88 per day or the overall three-day spending will be approximately $846 on average.

Lisbon, Portugal, is the sixth city followed by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Marrakech, Morocco, Manila, Philippines and Berlin, Germany.

Nigeria is not featured in the ranking.

Chile tourism targets $50 million from Copa America Chile, host of the ongoing Copa America football event is looking to reap well over $50 million from about 70,000 tourists expected to visit the country in the course of the football event. This fact was disclosed by the country’s Minster of the Economy, Development and Tourism, Luis Felipe Cespedes.

This target was revealed by the minister while introducing the 10 commendments of the good tourist, which seeks to promote responsible among both the nationals and tourists who are savouring the best of football artistry on display and the country’s tourism offerings. The event, which commenced on June 11 is expected to end today.

According to Luis, "this Copa America is a tremendous opportunity that will bring us a 30% increase in foreign tourist arrivals compared with June 2014. These visitors will spend money and benefit the local economies in all the host cities. And that is why we expect an increase in visitor spending of $50 million, or even higher."

40

Travel & Tourism

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

TRAVEL PERSONALITY Could you share with our readers how South African Airways plans to expand its routes?

Our new focus on South African Airways is to connect Africa. As a member of Star Alliance, we have been able to move forward with this aim by tapping into the largest airline network in the world. We are determined to bring our premium service to more and more destinations in Africa.

Our goal is to increase our revenue in the region by 30 per cent in the next 12 months. Africa is a huge potential market for aviation, and as Africa’s legacy airline, we want to see the continent contribute to more than the current three per cent of global aviation.

What new routes can travellers look forward to in the near future by SAA? SAA is already strengthening its position in West Africa with the launch of a new service between Accra, Ghana and Washington, DC, in the United States. Starting August 3, 2015, SAA will be providing the only non-stop flight between Ghana and Washington, DC, as well as the only Skytrax 4-star-rated airline service with world class quality from the entire West Africa region to North America.

True to our promise to improve inter-connectivity on the continent, SAA has entered into a bi-lateral codeshare agreement with Africa World Airlines.

This airline partnership will offer SAA customers from Washington and Johannesburg seamless connectivity via Accra to other destinations in Ghana such as Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale as well as to Lagos, Nigeria.

Besides new routes, what other goals is South African Airways working on?

We are working very hard on improving our performance ever since we completed our 90-Day Action Plan. To date, we have seen a material year-onyear improvement noticeable in the current financial year, which for SAA commenced in April 2015. The plan included major cost-cutting initiatives and network optimisation, which led to significant savings. South African Airways is now ready to boost its capacity and focus on its African routes.

In the first quarter of 2015, a lot of effort went into stabilising our airline and we achieved significant milestones.

We now want to continue to grow our capabilities.

Right now there is a war of sorts between US airline carriers and Gulfbased airlines. What can you tell us about SAA’s new partnership with Gulf-based carrier Etihad Airways?

Our partnership with Etihad is extremely important and brings new connectivity to our airline. We are very much committed to Star Alliance, and at the same time we welcome this partnership with Etihad. As the South African National Flag Carrier, SAA has a specific and important role to play as an enabler for tourism and a driver of economic growth through trade. The movement of people and goods by air is more important than ever before and our partnerships and efforts in meeting aims of our 90-Day Action Plan support economic growth and tourism in our region.

Tourism has always been and remains an important catalyst for growth in South Africa. It supports one in every 12 jobs in South Africa either directly or indirectly.

What other areas are the different arms of the SAA Group involved in?

The SAA Group supports tourism through an integrated offering. SAA is a Skytrax four-star-rated domestic, continental, and inter-continental airline, and

Nico Bezuidenhout: Africa is a huge potential market for aviation The acting chief executive officer of South African Airways (SAA), Nico Bezuidenhout, who was at the recently held Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Miami, Florida, US, speaks on the operations of the Southern Africa country airline, which is one of the leading airlines on the continent of Africa with its wings spread across major cities of the world.

Bezuidenhout

Mango, our Group’s Low Cost Carrier (LCC) is one of the most successful LCCs on the continent, profitably serving primarily domestic routes and Zanzibar.

Voyager, Africa’s leading airline loyalty programme, SAA Cargo, Air Chefs - our catering arm, and South African Airways Technical, the leading FAA-accredited maintenance facility in Africa, are all doing their parts to boost the economy.

The tourism numbers are staggering.

An Oxford Economics study estimates that approximately 615,000 people are directly employed by the tourism industry while a further 451,000 jobs are indirectly linked to the sector and 312,000 people are directly supported through the household spend of tourism workers.

It is no surprise then that tourism is one of the six key drivers of the South Africa 2011 National Growth Path Framework. It is a key sector for growth, and from a tourism baseline of R 189.4 billion in 2009, the contribution of tourism to South African GDP is expected to exceed R 500 billion over the next decade.

Will you share with us more about SAA’s 90-Day Action Plan?

The tourism numbers sound appealing, and forecasts are rosy and bullish.

So while the merits of forums such as Indaba are undeniable, it is clear that a general responsibility for positive growth falls on the airline industry. It is for this reason, that the Board of SAA late last year approved the 90-Day Action Plan.

It was not a quick fix plan, but rather, an instrument to return the business to a stable point for full implementation of a Long-Term Turnaround Strategy.

In March this year, SAA successfully completed the plan and the company has achieved significant milestones during that time. Loss-making routes such as Mumbai and Beijing were culled, but as important sources of tourism, SAA expanded its code reach in these source markets, now providing more than 10 points in India alone through codeshare operations. SAA’s new service into the United Arab Emirates delivers a presence in one of the busiest air hubs in the world with

Africa is a huge potential market for aviation, and as Africa’s legacy airline, we want to see the continent contribute to more than the current three per cent of global aviation forecasts indicating that beyond the stemming of losses in our business, the actual potential for growth in tourism through this move is exceptional.

Going forward the focus is less in culling routes and more in growing from a stable base and platform. SAA plans to grow capability to better connect South Africa with its key trade and tourism partners. By achieving business stability and continually being mindful of managing costs, a strong foundation is set to gear for growth in a measured way.

What are SAA’s top five priorities over the coming six months?

We plan to implement our route network and fleet plan, as already accelerated through the 90-Day Action Plan.

Over time, an airline stands the risk of inadvertently injecting inefficiencies into its network plan. Following an extensive study of the current plan, SAA has found that there is a wide range of improvement opportunities identified, with a projected positive impact of R 2.5 billion in annualised earnings.

This will significantly curb losses and position the airline for future growth.

SAA will also continue to focus on partnerships. No airline is able to service every route with its own aircraft and, through effective partnerships and codesharing, SAA’s reach will continue to grow, as was the case with our expanded Middle Eastern operations which added

26 additional destinations and source markets to the SAA network.

Our next area of focus will be revenue gain. This includes addressing several commercial areas, including much tighter revenue management as well as developing a new distribution strategy where SAA closely embraces and leverages travel agency and TMC partners.

To optimally cast SAA’s revenue net and claw back past inefficiencies, a cohesive approach is required which will see SAA’s internal efforts supported by aligned marketing and communication activities, using powerful owned channels such as Voyager, to effectively communicate its value proposition.

A key focus area will also be cost compression, whereby our business will continue to seek optimised efficiencies throughout every aspect of the company. Ongoing savings initiatives will be implemented without compromising the quality and reliability of our product, and in this regard, in excess of R2bn in initiatives have been quantified, ranging from labour cost management through to supply-chain re-engineering. Growing the revenue line while simultaneously managing to keep costs down, not through a programme but through instilling a particular cost-conscious culture, is the quickest and most sustainable way of ensuring sustainable bottom-line results.

SAA will also continue to strengthen its governance, risk management, and optimisation of the group structure, representing our next area of emphasis, where matters to be addressed include how our group companies inter-relate to each other, how is each one is set up to best service its chosen markets, and whether or not we have a best-practice control environment that pro-actively manages the inherent risk present within an aviation group.

Finally, clear drive towards performance excellence has been taken on by SAA, notably within the human capital arena, completing the near-term area of our focus. Beyond the performance excellence envisaged for the SAA business as a whole, this translates into individual accountability.

4 JULY 2015

HOSPITALITY Since opening to the public, Ree–Danielles Hotel and Suites has remained an enviable touchstone in the hospitality business in the Ogudu GRA, Lagos, leading the pack with its brand of facilities and services, writes ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA.

Travel & Tourism

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

41

REE–DANIELLES HOTEL AND SUITES

The next-door hideaway

F

or many years, Ree – Danielles Hotel and Suites, remains the only hospitality home in the sprawling neighourhood of Emmanuel High Street servicing the entire area of Ogudu and Ogudu GRA which has over the years become heavily populated. The hotel is certainly the market leader and has continued in the last two decades of its existence to reinvent itself and stay competitive, with residents seeing it as their hideaway for leisure and entertainment.

It is an enduring legacy that the hotel's operations manager, Mr. Chukwu Okoro, is very proud. ‘‘It is not just a hotel, it is a business complex,’’ he says, adding that the hotel boasts a handful of facilities which make it a rich enclave for people seeking the best of the hospitality world.

"Ree – Daniellles remains the best of its kind in the Ogudu GRA axis with regard to facilities and services and personnel who are professionally trained and acquainted with the rudiments of delivery excellent and professional services. ‘‘What is different is the entertainment that we offer and, also, in terms of our facilities as no other hotel around here has the level of our facilities, especially our gymnasium, which is quite unique, fully equipped with the best and most modern of facilities with professional managers attending to the needs of guests."

The welcoming ambience and aesthetics of the hotel are both intriguing features consistent with Okoro's description of the facility as a dream world: ‘‘Ree-Danielles Hotel and Suites welcomes you to its dream-like world of hospitality services. The uniqueness of our location projects us as an ideal place for those who truly seek privacy, security and espouse sublime peace. Our pride is in knowing that we combine hospitality, economy, flexibility and entertainment to hold the guest enthralled seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day.’’

Rooms The hotel has 46 rooms of different categories – Business suite, Standard Deluxe and Executive – all fitted and furnished with a number of amenities for the comfort and relaxation of

One of the rooms. Inset: Hotel's facade

guest. These include TV set, fridge, bed, work desk and chair, shower and a bath and internet access.

the day. ‘‘Our fitness equipment are a symbol of modernity. While our annual membership subscription fee is pocket-friendly, we welcome walk-in clients,’’ says Okoro of the gymnasium

Winning/dining Its restaurant offers both African and continental dishes with a little emphasis on local delicacies, which are uniquely prepared and served while its bar services are of different categories offering delightsome and colourful sceneries for relaxation and entertainment. The bars are the Bush Bar, Regular and Exclusive bars as well as VVIP Bar. The Bush Bar daily plays host to entertaining event and it is actually the place to catch fun with music and live entertainment, a lot to eat and drink with sharwama, grill meat – suya and fish (the popular point and kill).

Sports enthusiasts also have a place here with a giant screen for live matches and other sporting events during the week.

Fitness/wellness This is one area where Ree –Danielles is most sought after by residents and visitors to its neighourhood because its gymnasium is uniquely styled and equipped with cutting edge fitness facilities. Besides the general fitness rudiments, its professional manager and trainer take the guest through high impact aerobic classes, low impact aerobic classes, massage sessions, stress management and kids sports training sessions.

Others include abdominal training (machine driven), stationary cycling and slimming programme. Walk-in guests are welcome to any of the packages while an open air section is held at the bar section for the general public at no cost with a physical instructor assisting with the aerobic exercises for

Conference The hotel also ranks high in conferencing and events hosting with its conference hall which sits over 250 deployed for hosting different events while The Club and restaurant both double as event venues too depending on the nature of event and the number of people.

Entertainment The hotel offers a rich blend of entertainment packages which makes it not just the toast of the neighourhood but of visitors from different sections of the city as its packages are legendary and it is this aspect of it services, which has not only kept it in the market over the last two decades but has given it an edge over others.

Besides the daily entertainment, special packages for the week starts with the happy hour on Thursday holding at the bush bar from 8pm till the next day.

According to Okoro, this is event is very popular with the residents of the area who visit with family members and friends from other parts of the city and country.

Then there is the Friday Nite club session, which holds at the regular, exclusive and VVIP bars. It has proved a huge favourite of clients from the corporate world for whom it was actually conceived.

Other events include DJ and ladies' night on Wednesday. Although yet to be make its debut, Okoro explained that both would launch soon.

NEW TELEGRAPH PARTNER HOTELS B E N E F I TS There are lots of benefits to derive as one of our partner hotels. For enquiries and details on how to join the programme, please contact Andrew Iro Okungbowa: 08023152195 (sms only), e-mail: iroandy@ymail.com or Chinyere Opara: 08063768131 (sms only) e-mail angela_ curtis-2@live.com

ABA

FESTAC, LAGOS

LAGOS

REE DANIELS HOTEL AND SUITES

ABA

Panda Hotel Suites & Lounge

42 Travel & Tourism

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

DESTINATION

Bulawayo: The allure of the city of kings A tour of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, which is otherwise known as the city of kings, comes with many discoveries and surprises of alluring nature that would make a visitor hunger for more, writes WOLGANG H. THOME

Bulawayo City Hall

E

ven for me, an arguably widely travelled individual who reads up on destinations before embarking on journeys of discovery, my visit to Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, aka the City of the Kings, came with some serious eye-openers.

Travelling with a group of journalists and tour operators, all of whom had attended the just concluded Sanganai Tourism Expo in Harare, courtesy of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), were site visits to hotels and lodges in and near Bulawayo arranged.

To be honest, the last thing I expected to find was anything which I could categorise as an architectural treasure or a hidden gem but it goes to show that no one is infallible, no one knows it all and that there is always more to be learned when travelling the world.

Ever heard or read of Nesbitt Castle?

Well, today you will as I intend to share my own surprise, if not an outright dropped jaw, after visiting this castle in the air brought down to Terra Firma.

Opened in 1990 as a boutique hotel with only 10 suites, is the castle itself considerably older. It was one Thomas Albert Edward Garde, who was later to become known as Thomas Holdengarde, who, over a period of nearly 30 years starting around 1910, built his dream castle, and apparently without

any architectural drawings, but also without plumbing and electricity.

His wife Maude, or so the story is told, used one of his business related absences to install electric lighting in the sprawling fortress, but indoor plumbing was only added after Thomas had passed in 1948. Maude and the rest of the family continued to live in what must have been the only English castle in the whole of Zimbabwe but certainly in Matabeleland before eventually moving away and leaving the estate sliding into disrepair.

Fast forward to 1988 when one Digby Nesbitt, together with his friend John Osborne, bought the property with the aim to renovate it and turn it into a fancied five-star hotel. Little did the two know what was in store for them, but like Holdengarde they too displayed a fair amount of stubborn insistence and resilience and eventually, after spending a few tons of money, reopened the castle under its new name Nesbitt Castle, now a fivestar luxury hotel.

After being given the red carpet tour by general manager, Amy-Leigh Rudolph, I counted myself lucky not to have gotten lost in the maze of nooks and crannies, narrow corridors ending in sharp turns, staircases up and down, precisely as one might imagine a castle

Bulawayo City centre

in England or Scotland, except for the ghosts, of course.

In fact when I return I will make it my mission to hunt for ghosts, looking for double walls, hidden rooms, dungeons deep below, trap doors and secret passages and not to forget, also check under the bed, in the wardrobes and behind the shower curtains. Perhaps, when the word ghost is mentioned, more people will drop their reluctance to come and visit Zimbabwe and who knows, professional ghost hunters may yet discover the real thing?

Attention to detail in the furnishings of the suites, each with a different colour scheme and a different theme, show the level of attention the owners gave to implementing their dream and turning it into reality.

Today, this must be Bulawayo’s most fancied hotel, sitting pretty amid extensive gardens and on arrival having, no doubt in my mind about that, guests stare at the structure with their mouths wide open, before the initial shock gives way to a pleasant surprise.

Outside and inside the building do guests find an array of tidbits, collections and artifacts, collected no doubt over many years and displayed to add that genuine castle touch and the sense of yesteryear to the impressions visitors take home with them. Most strik-

ing is Nesbitt’s act as Knight in Shining Armour, which no doubt inspires the sense of security in any damsel displaying signs of any distress, or their male companions for whom the word bravery and chivalry may be a lost concept.

Add to this the reportedly excellent food served in the Coach House Restaurant, and I must rely on TripAdvisor reviews read, not personally experienced – something I intend to rectify at a future return to Zimbabwe – and one gets a competitively priced package at a castle in today’s Zimbabwe, where few would think this possible.

Ranked as Bulawayo’s best restaurant is the Coach House, a place for good wine, fine dining and silver service, while the ground level Dragon’s Den offers more informal settings and what can best be described as Pub Grub, a choice of hearty snacks and meals taken with a pint. Clearly it is possible and tourists, as the next chapter will further confirm, do have some great choices of locations and accommodation, belying what is often suggested in the global media about this country.

Enter part two of eye-opening revelations in the wider Bulawayo area.

Some fourth kilometers outside the city, located inside a UNESCO World Heritage Site area, is what literature describes as a "Wilderness of Granite".

Huge, no massively huge boulders of granite rock make for some amazing formations and nestled right in the middle of it sits the Amalinda Camp, a very luxurious safari camp which measures up to the best seen elsewhere.

Artfully blended and inserted into the rising rocks are six rooms and three suites awaiting the guests who make the effort to get away from the maddening crowds and seek out open spaces and places where they can still experience nature pure. Many of the walls actually are pure rock face and under thatched roofs can some luxurious accommodation be found, all with en suite bathrooms and some with outdoor showers, entirely private and not overlooked by anyone but birds.

All the materials used are local and their colours of course make a perfect fit when combined with the rock formations. Several small lounges offer resting places when the huffing and puffing is getting too much as guests go up and down the boulders along small paths and steep stairs hewn into the rock.

The Matobo National Park is known for the large concentration of leopard but also for its rhinos and apart from game drives many visitors partake in rhino trekking. Cave paintings are also found in the park, a reminder of how our human forbears lived in days long gone, sharing the landscapes with big

Travel & Tourism 43

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Tips on sleeping in the airport (II)

It’s sometimes better to arrive than depart

The Arrivals lounges are sometimes more comfortable than seating near the ticket counter area. It’s amazing how different the two areas can be in some airports. Of course airport logic seems to be that people who are departing immediately go to their gates, they don’t sit around the ticket counters for hours. The arrivals lounge aims to make all those family members, who are waiting for your flight to finally arrive after a four-hour delay, a little more comfortable until you and your bags finally show up.

Dress for the occasion

Zulus, Ndebeles and Xhosa cultural dance

game, which in those days was more populous than humankind. Guests are either doing the conventional 4x4 safari with open top land cruisers or else go hiking with the guides and rangers to track rhinos and learn some bush craft like reading spoors.

Going by what has been heard, and seen, there are nowadays few and far between tourists from overseas and those who bucked the trend and signed up for a Zimbabwe safari, or a combined Zimbabwe and Zambia, or Botswana or Namibia or Mozambique safari will not regret the choice they made.

Key urban centres and safari parks are connected from Harare by air and road and from several days experience these main roads are in decent shape, potholes fixed and making it reasonably comfortable inside a safari 4x4 or mini - van to travel by road across the country. One thing is certain, visitors are safe in Zimbabwe and whether travelling individually or in a tour group, they will meet friendly faces and a warm welcome wherever they go.

It is obvious that Zimbabwe wants their former tourism arrival share in the wider region back and is going out of the way to accomplish that.

Parks, hotels and safari camps seen so far would suggest, that the quality of accommodation is there, combined with some spectacular sites and monuments like the Great Zimbabwe Ruins – the largest pre-colonial structures ever built in sub Saharan Africa.

It is a country with a great history and many stories to tell, just waiting for the tourists to be back to have enough people to tell those stories to.

Profile Bulawayo, which for the people of Zimbabwe is the pride of the Matabeleland as many of its inhabitants or population are traditionally of Ndebele ethnic group extraction – one of Zimbabwe’s nationality the other being the Shone – is the second largest city in the Southern Africa country after the capital city, Harare. It is believed to harbour less than a million population.

Located 439 kilometres southwest of Harare, it is a separated provincial area from Matabeland, which capital city is now Lupane while Bulawayo is accorded the treat of a power provincial area and city in the scheme

Balancing Rocks in Matopos National Park

Dress in layers. Have clothes that will make you comfortable if it is unbearably hot or arctic-cold in your airport.

Pack a hat, gloves and fleece blanket in your carry-on! You may think it sounds silly now, but the airport can be a cold place day or night.

Single travellers listen up

Travelling solo can be a pain especially when you are an airport sleeper. Remember that in the airports where few, if any, other people camp out, you will have to take your luggage with you wherever you go. Even though you don’t have to worry about people stealing your belongings, you can’t just leave your stuff sitting there unattended. If you do you may see the bomb squad taking apart your bag by the time you return from the washroom.

Think of others

Be considerate of your fellow airport sleepers! Just because you can’t sleep, that doesn’t mean others shouldn’t be able to as well. Take a hint when sleepers raise their heads off the floor and look directly at you with their death stares. You’re too loud! Keep it down or move!

Perks of being a stranded traveller Game viewing at Hwange National

of things.

In the local parlance, Bulawayo is known by various names and you are certainly going to hear the locals in your talk with them about the city proudly reel out these names in an emotion laden and nostalgic manner.

These names being the "City of Kings," "Skies," "Bluez", "Bulliesberg" or "KoNtuthu ziyathunqa" – a isiNdebele phrase for "a place that continually exudes smoke." This name is said to have been birthed historically from the city's large industrial base. You will found a lot of industries in the city.

Because in the history of the country Bulawayo was regarded it the industrial centre while the city served as the hub to the country's rail network with the National Railways of Zimbabwe headquartered there because of its strategic position near Botswana and South Africa. It is the nearest large city to Hwange National Park, Matobo National Park and Victoria Falls.

All three are major attractions of the country and form part of the seven wonders of Zimbabwe.

The city sits on a plain that marks the Highveld of Zimbabwe and is close to the watershed between the Zambezi and Limpopo drainage basins. Bulawayo features a humid subtropical climate (Cwa), though it is a drier version of the climate.

As with much of southern and eastern Zimbabwe, Bulawayo is cooled by

a prevailing southeasterly airflow most of the year, and experiences three broad seasons: a dry, cool winter season from May to August; a hot dry period in early summer from late August to early November; and a warm wet period in the rest of the summer, early November to April. The hottest month is October, which is usually the height of the dry season.

The city is served by Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport which has been expanded a number of times to cope with the influx of visitors into the region. The Edgars clothing stores are headquartered in Bulawayo. The Rovos rail run luxury train, Pride of Africa makes a stop in Bulawayo for pick up and dropping off passengers. Bulawayo is situated along the Trans-African Highway network important trade route of Cairo – Cape Town Highway. Most of the city's industries are privately owned, especially in the transport sector. *Professor Wolfgang H. Thome is Eturbonews Africa correspondent

Did you know that some airports have a supply of cots that they bring out for stranded travellers during snow storms and other weather delays? Some will even throw in a pillow, blanket, toiletries and food vouchers.

Lounge around

You no longer need to be flying first class to receive first class service and comfort. There are now some wonderful pay-in lounges that economy ticket travellers have access to – for a relatively small fee. The fee includes buffet style meals, drinks (including alcohol), wifi, showers and comfortable chairs. Some lounges even offer massages.

A few lounges are open 24 hours, but most are open early morning. One thing to keep in mind is that most lounges (even the pay-in lounges) have a dress code, of sorts.

Showering

After a night in the airport or a long travel journey, you may not be feeling so fresh. Fortunately, there are a few ways to freshen up the next morning before boarding your flight and stinking up the plane. First, there are actually a few airports that have shower facilities. Most of these facilities can be used for small fee that will cover the cost of the towel rental and shampoo/soap.

If your airport doesn’t have its own shower, head over to the airport hotel attached to the airport to see if they will let you use their gym/pool area for a fee. Again, in our airport guides, we list hotels that are attached to the airport and whether they offer showers, pool and gym facilities for a fee. Another option is to use a pay-in lounges. Some of these lounges offer shower facilities, so for a reasonable fee you can shower and have a good breakfast before boarding your flight.

The early morning wake-up call

As sleeping in airports becomes more popular, the airports are becoming less tolerant about traveller’s sleeping on floors and prime airport seating once the airport starts up in the morning. We’ve received reports of airport security doing the rounds to wake-up overnight sleepers around 5:00AM when travellers start to arrive for early morning check-in. If you are sleeping on the seats or if you are in the way of airport traffic, you should expect to receive an early morning visit from an officer who will ask you to get up.

Have your credit cards ready

While one of the objectives to sleeping in the airport is to save some money on hotels, there may come a time when you will just want to bite the bullet pay for a room. Sure a hotel will be more comfortable and you’ll get to take a shower, but where is the adventure in that? Before you go, it is good to know where the nearest airport hotels are located.

If you decide to book a hotel room, you will save some money by booking it online rather than just showing up at the hotel and asking for their rate. During snow storms, some hotels get greedy, so if you are in line at the hotel’s front desk pay attention to what people in front of you are paying. If you have a laptop or “smart” phone start shopping for the best rate while you are in the terminal or as you are sitting in the airport shuttle on the way to the hotel.

By Nuwan Kamaragoda, Lead Aircraft Projects Engineer at Cathay Pacific Airways SleepingInAirports.net

44

Showbiz

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

LANRE ODUKOYA

SHOWBIZ TODAY

08059296445 lanre.odukoya@newtelegraphonline.com

Notes from Fela’s granddaughter Rolari’s wedding Dreamlike...

Femi Kuti's band serenading guests at the wedding of Rolari Kuti and her husband (top right)

L

ast Saturday, the Afrika Shrine, in Ikeja, Lagos, played host to eminent personalities who swarmed the venue for the wedding of Rolari, the granddaughter of late afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Yeni Kuti had Rolari with late master-ofceremonies, Femi Segun who died on March 27, 2014 after a power-bike accident that caused a severe spinal cord injury. Yeni’s failed marriage to Segun didn’t put a strain on their relationship, so till his death, the estranged couple remained friends.

Rolari (Yeni Kuti’s only child) got married at the Shrine to a British author, Benedict Jacka.

The colour theme for the event was white and sunflower yellow and same were employed in transforming the music stage into a glitzy centre. The traditional wedding was modest in every sense of the word and it was a strictly-by-invitation affair which made it impossible for a lot of uninvited but nonetheless well-wishers to gate-crash.

One of the highpoints of the shindig was when Femi Kuti’s Positive Force band transformed into a party ensemble at the wedding - it was an enchanting spectacle as the band churned out assorted party melodies from juju to highlife and R&B to the admiration of all.

Away from their familiar play style, afrobeat, the band succeeded in performing other genres of music impressively.

Rolari would be returning to the UK with her husband any time soon according to a family source.

Jacka, Rolari’s husband was born in England and attended the City of London School. He later attended Cambridge University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and met his editor Sophie Hicks from Ed Victor Ltd. His first novels were three children's fantasy novels which weren't published.

That honour went to a children's non-fantasy novel, a book called To Be a Ninja. From 2000 on, he developed a fantasy setting for which he wrote four books, whose main characters were teenage elementals.

None of the four were published. In 2009, he decided to try again with an adult character and a more information-based ability. Three years later, in 2012, he published the first book of the Alex Verus series, and two more followed the same year. In December 2013, an audio version of Fated was released in the US and the next three books followed.

Don Jazzy’s 'kids' seal Glo endorsement deal

T

he lines are falling for Don Jazzy in pleasant places. With the recent announcement of his sign-ons, Korede Bello, Dija and Ricardo banks as Glo ambassadors, the C.E.O of Mavin Records has set a near-impossible record to break. With just one successful single and in one year, Don Jazzy made stars from greenhorns. So the boys and their girl, Dija have gone to meet D’banj where he once reigned (he’s still a Globacom ambassador). Though there are no details of the financial worth of the deals yet to know how much every ambassador gets - Don Jazzy is elegantly leading but with his tent pitched MTN, an arch-rival to Globacom. The label owner, singer and producer tweeted: “Congrats to my 3 Mavin kids @Reekadobanks @KoredeBello @AphroDija on their new endorsements. Welcome 2 d multi-million side of life. #SMD”. In his congratulatory message to his proteges, Don Jazzy proudly said his label not only builds artistes but also builds brands. It is difficult to argue with him on that point.

L-R: Reekado Banks, Di'ja and Korede Bello

Tiffany Amber, Diamond Woman launch Women of Vision

O

n October 11, 2014, Tiffany Amber Nigeria launched its Women of Vision campaign in partnership with Diamond Woman (an initiative of Diamond Bank), to commemorate the brand’s 15th anniversary in the fashion industry.

The campaign, which featured 15 inspirational women, all leaders in their respective fields, was conceptualized by the brand’s artistic director, Folake Coker, as a way of encouraging young women to follow their dreams.

Tiffany Amber Nigeria had an online open call for young women between the ages of 18 – 35 to apply to be mentored by one of the 2014 Women of Vision. After receiving over 600 entries, 60 applicants were selected based on their strengths to attend a pitch session/oneon-one interview with a panel. Commenting on the Women of Vision Mentorship Programme (tagged #WOVMP), Coker said, “the importance of mentorship cannot be overemphasized; it is key to the growth of an individual.

If only I had an older me, mentor the younger me in the early years of being an entrepreneur, I would have definitely made less mistakes.”

According to Diamond Bank's divisional head, corporate communication, Ayona Trimnell: ”the programme is more profound than just having evenings of awards, the recognition of the Women of Vision was to identify the women within the community that can encourage and inspire younger women, the second part is the mentorship and the most important. We are aware that youths are about 60percent of our population and we know they’re the future. If we don’t invest in their mentorship especially for women- we’re emotional people, we want to see what other women are doing and learn from them. That’s why we’ve identified these 15 distinguished women to show them how to go.

We want this to be annual and grow organically.”

The programme is designed to shortlist one mentee for each Woman of Vision. It’s a six-month mentorship programme aimed at fostering a platform that enables the younger generation of African women meet highly accomplished women who have a desire to nurture the girl child to be extraordinary. Using this platform, the young women will gain direction, development and growth as it concerns their careers or various journeys to womanhood. The mentees are expected to gain invaluable learning and/or working experience from the Women of Vision. The mentors are given the chance to inspire a younger generation with their well-earned efforts being celebrated at the next Women of Vision event.

In achieving its goals, mentors shall devote a minimum of 48 hours during the six-month period to their mentee, which is a weekly meeting of at least two hours.

SATURDAY, 4 JULY, 2015

SATURDAY

Politics COVER 45

Bola Ajibola

Politics

Fear, anxiety as 47 Boko Haram prisoners arrive in Anambra p.47

NIGERIA'S FINANCIAL RECKLESSNESS AMAZES OTHER COUNTRIES

Cover Xtra

Even if every legislator in the National Assembly were PDP members, they're no threat to Buhari – Tony Momoh p.48

Bola Ajibola, 81, elder statesman and legal luminary, has staggering credits to his name, including former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; former judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague; former Nigerian High Commissioner to United Kingdom; ex-President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He speaks with KUNLE OLAYENI on sundry national issues.

Nigeria is confronted by a myriad of challenges. Which one should President Muhammadu Buhari tackle first?

The president should, first of all look inwards. Looking inwards, it will, still, necessitate two main problems; how to settle the National Assembly situation, that is Senate and the House of Representatives. It is the National Assembly crisis that needs to be tackled together with the issue of Boko Haram. The Boko Haram needs a lot of military and political solution; he must look for all that within and outside and that he’s already doing. But apart from that, the present unsettled situation in the Senate and the House of Representatives calls for concern because whatever he intends to do, he must be able to carry along the Senate and the House of Representatives. That is the problem that he is facing. One is absolutely internal and has to do with the government that he’s running and the other one is the perennial problem of Boko Haram still doing a lot of terrible destruction all over the place.

Politics

Ignorance is fuelling insurgency, says Lawal p.53

Do you think the president, seek the assistance of National Council of States and other eminent Nigerians in resolving the impasse in the National Assembly?

You see, whatever may be the decision on how to approach the problem, it must also still be a matter that should be taken along the line of democracy. It should be the issue of the majority party which is preponderantly the APC, and looking into it from that perspective, they should put their house in order. They must be able to invite those ones that are in the National Assembly to sit down at a meeting with Bukola Saraki, Yakubu Dogara and the rest of them and see that they can get the whole matter resolved within their political party, to start with, and then, put that across to resolve the matter, otherwise the problem will get worse. Already, we heard that Saraki had a problem of being nearly lynched by some people trying to abduct him. So, they must not allow it to deteriorate. They must call their own members in the political party and resolve it within the political party.

There are indications that the new Buhari administration would probe the immediate past regime of former President Goodluck Jonathan in a bid to recover allegedly © Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Ajibola

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

46

Cover

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

'The so-called full time legislative should be scrapped'

Ajibola

CONTINUED from PAGE 45

looted funds. What is your reaction to that?

Even that is not the issue at the moment. My own idea is to try to see how best we could retrieve all the money that have allegedly been stolen and make sure that they are back into the purse of the government. The way I look at it is that if they are not able to bring in all those things through negotiation, then they should face the consequences of their act. But if we go about prosecuting, that would involve a lot of people and time and, four years, may not be enough to carry out that type of assignment. In order not to become an exercise in futility, they should all be advised to come around and give account of their stewardship and get all the money where it has been established to be siphoned.

Many states are currently unable to pay workers’ salaries. Do you support the Federal Government assisting them?

That is a problem in which those states may not be able to fend for themselves and the best way out, for the time being, is that if the Federal Government is in a position to assist them and get enough money to pay the salaries of all those workers in the states, the better for the time being. They may enter into an agreement somehow on repayment; deductible possibly from their allocations. But something has to be done in order to bail out the states from the situation they found themselves. It is very sad and unfortunate. The only thing that occurred to me on this matter is the fact that our decadence, our ruthless and reckless spending had alarmed a lot of other countries in the world

who are part of the buying cartel of our oil and they are of the view that our excesses are becoming abnormal and the kind of madness the way we spend money. While we are still facing all this, Boko Haram issue and the rest of our problems, just a limited few people are walloping in all these excesses and wealth while the majority of the people in the country are already wallowing in penury and poverty which is sad. Because the whole thing is now permeating into ordinary individual civil servants who ought to be naturally paid their salaries at the end of the month. And they now found that it would no longer be so any longer.

There is increasing agitation for reduction in the cost of governance.

What is your view about this?

The cost of governance in the country is excessive. In fact, it’s now obscene and immoral. The socalled full-time legislature should be wiped off. There is need now for us to go on part-time basis. There shouldn’t be all this full-time idea again because all these allowances are excessive; nine times higher than their salary is criminal. It shouldn’t be. They should now think of a means of allowing the legislators to go on part-time and not to have a full-time practice of taking so large sums of money. With this, a lot of them will find their way back to their jobs and they will just be paid allowances when they sit.

But the National Assembly said it has reduced its budget from N150billion to N120billion and even some state governors said they have reduced their salaries and cut down the number of their ministries to save cost. Do you think these measures are enough?

It is not enough, they are just still

The cost of governance in the country is excessive.

In fact, it’s now obscene and immoral

scratching it. It is cosmetic and window-dressing. They should reduce the whole thing drastically and whether they like it or not, it’s bound to come. The situation will soon come because what we had all the time been selling is oil and if nobody is buying the oil again – if the cartel made up their mind not to buy from us again-, we shall definitely be in problem.

We shall go from that top down to the end of our time because there will be nothing left again. We will be left with confetti – the paper that is worthless and then, you’d find that you want to buy a loaf of bread for one million because it’s just ordinary paper. It will be a sad thing. Unless we stand up and do something now and reduce the spending by all these politicians to the barest minimum, we will get into trouble and the trouble is gradually rearing its head. We must have seen the escalation of gangs of robbers, going about disrupting places – in Lekki, Ikorodu, Ijebu-Ode and things like that. It’s coming when people will now start to take the laws into their hands. Unless we find the means of stopping it absolutely and bringing it down; even saying that they have reduced it to certain billion is not the issue now.

They have to reduce it drastically.

As a renowned law officer, would you support the merger of both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC)?

Of course, definitely. Because keeping them separately is just wasting money. The merger is absolutely advisable because they are virtually doing the same thing.

They can merge the two; EFCC and ICPC must be merged. And again, all these our states and federal governments having so many ministers, assistants, special advisers, so many corporations, they should curb all these excesses. You see, where you spend a lot of money in administration of a country as big as Nigeria, doing nothing about the infrastructural development, there is no doubt that we shall always continue to be backward. It will spell nothing but backwardness.

It’s not advisable at all.

Professor Attahiru Jega’s tenure in INEC has ended. What would you recommend to the president in terms of replacement?

If he is to be replaced, they should look for someone with like-mind and spirit and the way of executing a programme like elections similar to that of Jega because he did a lot, he worked well. There were so many forces against him but what he did about this PVC was great and that standard and system must be invariably followed because it helps to ensure that the election process is taken out of the corruption of rigging. It has reduced that idea of rigging effectively and whoever is going to be chosen now as the chairman of the commission, first of all, I will advise that he should come from a minority state, that is not from the heavy north or south; just a minority group. And he should learn a lot from Jega. There are some good aspects of what Jega did. It is important that he should learn from him and do something, maybe better but Jega did well.

• This interview was conducted before Jega's replacement was announced.

Politics

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

47

Pamela Eboh

O Awka

n June 27, residents of Anambra State were jolted with the news that the Federal Government had concluded plans to transfer some of the prisoners of the outlawed Islamic sect, Boko Haram, from prisons in the North to Ekwulobia Prison in the state.

The news, which started as a rumour at 8a.m., later culminated into a peaceful demonstration with traders in Awka, Onitsha, Ekwulobia and Nnewi carrying placards with different inscriptions calling on President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to revert the decision.

Few days after the bubble burst, Saturday Telegraph gathered that 47 suspected members of the sect had already been admitted into the Ekwulobia Prison amidst heavy security protection.

While reports had it that the prisoners were to be distributed to the various prisons in the state, it was later gathered that they were indeed sent to the prison facility in Ekwulobia, which is a semi-urban town housing a medium security prison of about 85 inmates.

During a visit earlier by Saturday Telegraph to the prison, it was discovered that the facility was congested with 135 prisoners.

A visit to Ekwulobia Prison, however, did not reveal that there was something amiss as the environment was as serene as ever with a few warders seen milling around in absolute calm.

The head of the prison, who spoke to journalists, refused to disclose his name, saying they were yet to receive any security signal on the relocation of the Boko Haram prisoners.

“I don’t have any idea of the transfer because we have not heard any word from anybody yet and we are here. We wait to see what happens,” he said.

President General of the state Amalgamated Traders’ Association (ASMATA), Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo, who spoke to journalists during the protest, wondered why the Federal Government should move such prisoners (Boko Haram) to the state, instead of keeping them where they committed the offence.

“The decision to transfer these Boko Haram suspects to Anambra State is unacceptable to us and we will not relent until government rescinds the decision,” he said.

Some residents, who were irked by this development, told Saturday Telegraph that while the traders were busy carrying placards to register their displeasure, the Federal Government had already concluded plans to move the Boko Haram suspects to the state, specifically to Ekwulobia Prisons.

While some of the residents queried why the Federal Government chose the state out of the other states, others claimed that there were allegations that the state Governor, Willie Obiano, may have been in the know of the plan to relocate the prisoners. But his media aide, James Eze, clarified the situation, exonerating his boss from the deal.

In his statement titled: “The planned relocation of Boko Haram convicts to Anambra Prisons -setting the records straight”, Eze said: “The attention of the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has been drawn to the mischievous speculations on the social media that the planned relocation of some Boko Haram convicts to some prisons in Anambra State was done with his tacit approval and endorsement.

“I wish to categorically dismiss these speculations, hearsay and beer parlour banters as fundamentally untrue and should be disregarded by Nigerians.

“The fact is that when Obiano got wind of the planned relocation of these high risk prisoners to the state, he quickly swung into action and contacted the relevant authorities to seek clarifications on the matter, after which he raised several objections to

Residents protesting against the relocation of detained Boko Haram members to Anambra State. Below: The Ekwulobia Prison

Fear, anxiety as 47 Boko Haram prisoners arrive in Anambra � Ohanaeze Ndigbo wants detainees relocated � Obiano responsible for Boko Haram prisoners’ relocation - Peter Obi the plan.

“Obiano’s many objections, among others, are that the state is one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria in the past one year and that the arrival of these radical elements in any part of the state would disrupt the peace and lead to a new regime of a different kind of fear in the state; “That Ekwulobia Prisons is not a Maximum Security Prison and not suitable as holding place for convicted terrorists because experiences show that terrorists and terror suspects are kept in strongly fortified and isolated places.

“That Ekwulobia Prisons has a capacity to hold 85 inmates and at the moment there are 135 inmates in the prison; therefore there is no space for new prisoners."

Eze said Obiano’s efforts to establish understanding and achieve a speedy and peaceful resolution of the matter were presented to the authorities at the federal level, adding that he was given assurances that the matter would be looked into with a view to resolving it with dispatch.

Apparently uncomfortable with the relocation of the inmates from the NorthEast prisons to Aguata Prison in Ekwuluobia, Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Chris Eluemuno, called on President Buhari to rescind his decision in the interest of peace.

Eluemuno is demanding the immediate relocation of the inmates in the interest of peace and tranquility in the country.

Speaking with journalists at his country home, Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Elemuno said: “Our position is that it is not acceptable to us having them here, if what President Muhammadu Buhari has to give us as dividend of democracy is Boko Haram terrorists, it is very, very unfair.

“Aguata Prison in Ekwulobia is not a maximum prison, it is an ordinary prison and if the Federal Government meant well for us, the Igbo, it is not terrorists that they will bring to us, it is not acceptable to us and we are asking them to think again and look for a better place and send them there.

“Let him build a camp and put them there if there are not enough accommodations in the North East prisons, the prison in Ekwulobia does not have maximum

security, there are maximum security prisons all over the country.”

Commenting on the development, President of Aguata Zone of the Amalgamated Traders Association (AMATAS), Chief Emma Ozoemenam, said it was gathered that the detainees were already in Ekwulobia Prison and that their peaceful protest was to make it clear to the Federal Government that they didn’t want them (prisoners) in the state or in any part of the South-East.

He said: “We are protesting the relocation of the Boko Haram detainees to the prison in Ekwulobia and we are saying that we don’t want them here. They should take them back to where they came from.”

On his part, the Chairman of Aguata Local Government Area, which is the area where the prison is located, Mr. Tony Iwuoji, said: “The transfer of the Boko Haram prisoners to the place was politically motivated and an attempt to

interrupt the development of the SouthEast from Anambra State.

“I must tell you that this development will chase away intending investors to Anambra State, thereby setting back the wheel of progress of the state."

Also, a lawmaker representing Aguata II Constituency, Mr. Ikem Uzezie, appealed to the authorities concerned and President Buhari to as a matter of urgency relocate the Boko Haram inmates to a prison with maximum capacity and facility.

“The development calls for concern because the relative peace we have been enjoying has been interrupted,” he said.

Meanwhile, former governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi, has expressed shock over Obiano’s claim that the transfer of Boko Haram prisoners to Ekwulobia prisons in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, was concluded in 2012 under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

The former governor described it as a blatant lie.

Obiano had on Thursday said that the transfer of Boko Haram prisoners to Ekwulobia prisons was concluded in 2012 while Obi was the governor of the state.

Reacting to the claim that Jonathan and Obi were behind the relocation of Boko Haram terrorists to Anambra State, Peter Obi, speaking through his media aide, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, said he was shocked that Obiano would personally sign such a release laying claims to what appeared nauseating and childish.

Obienyem said such a claim would only end up proving to the people that there were more to the relocation than they already knew.

Describing the claim as a blatant lie, Obienyem wondered how an action or a plan concluded by a man who left office almost 16 months ago was being implemented now.

He said: “The governor is clearly looking for an alibi for an action that was against the people. He should look elsewhere and not in the direction of Mr. Peter Obi, who, since he left office, had opted to stay away from Awka and not to distract the present government in any way.”

48

Cover Xtra

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

'Even if every legislator in the National Assembly Is Bukola Saraki's rebellion a northern conspiracy against Bola Tinubu or the ACN/Yoruba bloc in the APC? How would I know? I'm not in the Saraki camp. I'm also not in the Tinubu camp. But I know that Tinubu is a key leader of the APC. Tinubu is one of the promoters of the APC. I also know that Saraki and the five governors came in (with due respect to them) with Tinubu's campaign to go APC. Tinubu's group, ACN, and the CPC, Buhari's group, were the original groups, along with ANPP. Those were the original three groups that formed the merger. But later a faction of APGA joined. Later, these five governors from PDP came in with Atiku Abubakar and with Saraki. And I can assure you that it was with maximum effort that we grew APC through such solid leaders who are leaders in their own right.

So, you had groups like ACN, CPC, ANPP, a faction of APGA, Atiku and the PDM, and Saraki and the New PDP senators that came in. All these groups came in, not as groups but as individuals because of the merger. So Tinubu, Atiku, Saraki, Buhari, Buruje, Tony Momoh and others are all members of the APC as individuals. Anybody who enters APC today will have as much right as Buhari, Tinubu or any other member because of the waiver that APC gives, which says that anybody who wants to join the party today is free to contest for any position after joining today.

So, if you have Saraki and Dogara in the National Assembly and wanting to be leaders in the National Assembly that is legitimate because they are members of the APC. But if you ask why all these problems and you look at the ambition that everybody has to make it, you will now begin to understand why these problems arise. But the problem in office seeking has always been there.

In 1999 it was there. In 2003, 2007, 2011 it was there. The latest one in 2011 was when we had Tambuwal who defied PDP and used other members of the House to become Speaker of the House. PDP was unhappy with Tambuwal coming. So, if you now have Saraki and Dogara coming, not chosen by the party, then the party must show concern.

But that does not mean he has no right to come.

Prince Tony Momoh, lawyer and journalist was a former Minister of Information and Culture during the General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime. He tells Michael Uchebuaku in this interview that 17, 400 Nigerians spend more than half of the country’s budget today among other sundry issues.

Excerpts: have even beaten Saraki. Yes. And let me tell you, if every member of the National Assembly today is a PDP member, they are not a threat to Buhari, because the constitution is clear. The constitution defines what the National Assembly should do - make law; and what President Buhari should do - execute the law.

tional Assembly is not a threat to Buhari. The role of the legislature is to make laws and they will make laws on bills sent by the President or bills initiated by themselves. The constitution is very clear. And if for instance they make a law and it is rejected by President Buhari, they can take it back to the National Assembly and pass it by two-thirds majority. There is no way the PDP can make two-thirds majority. PDP does not have majority in the Senate.

PDP also does not have majority in the House of Reps too. So, the question of impeaching does not arise.

Would it not be right to say that the PDP has taken advantage of the division in the APC to grab power in the sense of grabbing the position of the Deputy Senate President?

Which power did they grab? The Deputy President of the Senate and even the Senate President can be PDP. If PDP had played their part well that day, David Mark would have even become the Senate President, because with the number available to vote, perhaps, Mark would

Would you say that the APC has too many ambitious people?

Anywhere you have politicians, politicians craving for power, is as a result of ambition. Anybody who wants to be a politician must crave for power. There was an American Congressman who was accused of fraud and when he was about to leave parliament they told him to apologise to his colleagues. But he said to them: “I will not apologise.

I only exercised my prerogative as a politician to tell lies.” So, you see, lying, deceit, manipulations are all associated with politics.

Some say the emergence of a PDP member, Ike Ekweremadu, as the Deputy Senate President is a threat to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Would you align yourself to this assertion?

People are ignorant. The Na- Momoh

If PDP had played their part well, David Mark would have become the Senate President

Why is President Buhari so slow in picking his ministers?

Who said Buhari is too slow?

Buhari will send his ministerial nominees when he is ready. You know that the handover of the transition papers was done by the former president about two days to the inauguration. And then they had to be given to the transition committee set up by President Buhari. That committee studied the report and then they made recommendations concerning some ministries. When their report is studied and it is approved, if we are going to have 20 or 24 ministers and so on and so forth as the case may be, then we can talk of min-

isters to man those ministries. Do you put the horse before the cart or the cart before the horse? So, there is no slowness. How long did former President Jonathan take to forward names to parliament, when as a matter of fact, he was even a sitting president who won election? It took about six weeks before he sent ministerial nominees to the National Assembly. Again, go and find out the agitations in ministries that were going on because of what has been happening.

There are indications that President Buhari intends to reduce the size of the federal cabinet to cut cost. Will the president face a constitutional crisis if he appoints less than 36 ministers?

How can he have a constitutional crisis when he has not worked against the constitution?

You are asking me to comment on guess work. Let us see if he won't have as many ministers as there are states in the country, when you know that there is no money; when you know that all these ministers have to be paid.

When you know that all these ministers have advisers, senior assistants, assistants, even junior assistants and all sorts of things attached to them. How can you start overloading the polity?

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Cover Xtra

49

were PDP members, they're no threat to Buhari' The APC failed as a party to endorse members for key positions at the National Assembly. Do you see that as a sign of unpreparedness on the part of the party to govern?

Was PDP ready to govern in 1999 when Evans Enwerem whom they did not endorse emerged as Senate President? What of Okadigbo? What of Tambuwal? Did Tambuwal's coming as the Speaker of House of Representatives mean that PDP wasn't ready to govern? The National Assembly makes law and the Executive implement the law. And governing belongs more in the Executive than in the National Assembly. So, how can somebody say that just because there was problem in the National Assembly because of what APC suggested, therefore, it means Buhari is not ready to govern?

Buhari is a member of the APC but he is not the chairman of the party. He is not a party executive; the party executive looks after the affairs of the party. But the president has the country to run, and he is running the country. The problem of the National Assembly is a storm in a teacup and it does not dislocate any operation. In a new parliament, they always struggle like this. It has always been there since 1999.

Some people believe that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has an overbearing influence on your party. Why is the APC allegedly under the grip of one man?

Give it to Tinubu. Tinubu is a digital politician. Tinubu is a proactive politician. Tinubu is an organiser. Tinubu is a mobiliser. You can say that Tinubu is a leader of leaders. But the fact is that if there is anything to compete for, if Tinubu competes for it and gets it, is that the fault of Tinubu or the fault of others who didn't win or refused to compete? So what is happening now that Tinubu seems to be an issue is that there are many leaders in the party who are leaders of groups in the party. It is not that the party is divided. But there are leaders who have support within the party and they are entitled to assert their presence in the party and vie for anything within the party. That is what has happened.

So, if you look at the soul of the Tinubu group in the party, you can find the so-called Tinubu group in the party itself; in the National Working Committee, and the party organisation. But the fact is that in the National Assembly there are a lot of people you can say belong to the so-called Tinubu group. But it just happened that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House belong in the so-called New PDP Group. But the so-called New PDP Group are not PDP people, they are APC people. And Tinubu group are not ACN people, they are APC people. So, it is a legitimate struggle within the party. In other words, all the contending parties are APC people. They don't belong to the parties they are coming from. So you cannot say that because Tinubu came from ACN that Tinubu's people are ACN people. You also cannot say that because the New PDP people came from PDP they are PDP. They are not.

Their parties have been dissolved and they are now in APC. So what

Momoh

is happening now is APC internal affair which like I have said, manifests in the struggle in the National Assembly and is a storm in a teacup which will soon blow over.

There is talk in some quarters that this internal struggle in the APC is all directed towards 2019. Are Atiku Abubakar, Saraki and Tinubu a threat to Buhari?

I don't understand the kind of question you're asking. You're in politics for a purpose. For instance, many of them contested to be the flag bearer of the APC in a free and fair election. Buhari came out and when he won, all of them congratulated him. So in 2019, God-willing, the same issue will play out. Anybody who is interested will come. If Buhari is interested, he will come.

He is entitled to two terms. In 2019 he can ask the party to give him the ticket again, and if the party likes, they can go ahead and give it to him the second time. If anybody likes, they can go and contest with him at the party primary and whoever emerges will be supported by the party. So, why are people giving the impression that individuals within the party cannot express their ambition or say what they want? They are reading meaning into everything, which may be true or false.

So, we haven't even started work yet, and they are already talking of who wants to be president in 2019.

But Buhari will deliver. And on the basis of delivery, Nigerians will vote for him. But if he doesn't deliver, Nigerians won't vote for him.

Is there an age limit for the president in the constitution?

There is no upper limit. You can be 90, you can be 100 as long as you ask for their vote and they vote for you.

Tinubu is a digital, proactive politician.

An organiser, mobiliser and a leader of leaders

In 2012, Senegal abolished its Senate to save cost. Do you see such happening in Nigeria?

Is it the Nigerian Senate that licks up all the money? Didn't you hear the report of the Central Bank spending more money than the National Assembly and the NNPC and others? Do you think that because the NNPC spends so much more money than what it takes to run the government that the NNPC should be wiped out?

The fact is that the issues should be addressed frontally. Left to me, you may have seen my publication entitled: “To save Nigeria, let's talk�. I gave my proposal to the National Dialogue and I said, look, to reduce the cost of governance, instead of having the 36 federating units, let the federating units be six, that is the six geopolitical zones. Then the powers of the National Assembly, which are about 93 now, reduce them to one and a half a dozen, and then place the powers in the regions. But the states, if they remain, should reside in the regions.

Then I said that the Legislature which is now full time should be part-time. And the Local Government Areas should be wiped out. Let the regions decide if they want local governments and fund

them. The local governments are a conduit pipe for siphoning money from the federal government to the states. When you decongest the political space, economic deregulation becomes automatic. The regions will now contribute to running the federal government. And then, instead of competition, there will be cooperation.

Now, everybody ignores what they can get and depends on oil.

But within the next few years, oil will no longer be very useful. I said all these things. So, you don't just say cancel the Senate because there is no money. Assess all the areas of waste and see what can be done about it. 17, 400 Nigerians spend more than half of the budget of Nigeria today, when we have more than 170 million people to attend to.

Look at the area globally. Create the environment for people to be what they can be, and decongest the political space. That's all. You shouldn't look at one place in isolation and say cancel the Senate.

No! The former CBN Governor, Chukwuma Soludo recently reportedly said the NNPC should be scraped.

What do you think should happen to the NNPC? If you scrap it what happens?

The fact is that there are issues. There are proposals of what should happen in NNPC. And I trust that President Buhari, having been a minister there before, will attend to them.

50 Features

I

Geoffrey Ekenna t is a business deal gone awry. When Chief Innocent Chukwuma, a businessman based in Nnewi, Anambra State, started business transactions with the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), many years ago, all was rosy and chummy.

But many years down the line, what started as a business deal for importation has turned to a dispute that is now a subject of serial litigations. While GTB claims that it advanced a loan of N2.4billion in February 2010 to the man popularly known as Innoson to import motorcycle, parts and plastic making raw materials, which the businessman refused to service, Innoson on the other hand is claiming not only a judgement debt of over N10billion against the bank, but a refund of an excess charge of about N560 million, illegally deducted from his account by the bank. Thus, the two parties are engaged in bickering, mudslinging and outright dirty fight with claims and counter claims in tow.

According to the bank, the N2.4billion loan given to Innoson was secured with shipping documents covering the imported goods by Chukwuma and his Innoson Company, in addition to legal mortgage over properties located in Calabar, Enugu and Nnewi and a personal guarantee by Chukwuma himself. The bank also claim that Chukwuma and his company failed to meet the obligations of the loan but were going behind the bank to clear the imported goods, thus forcing the bank to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in May 2013 to investigate the matter. Chukwuma was detained and allegedly committed himself to some terms to repaying the loan on a monthly basis. The bank also claims that Innoson has failed to meet the terms agreed at the EFCC. By its argument, rather than face the repayment of the loan, Chukwuma and his company have resorted to court actions to stall the deal; a situation the bank said led it to file a suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos as a last resort to recovering the debt. The suit led to a Mareva order which froze all Innoson accounts in all banks in Nigeria in September 2014. The order was only lifted in June this year. Thus, according to the GTB, Innoson has become a bad customer, who refused to pay his debt.

But what the bank has not said publicly is that Chukwuma and his company, had through a forensic audit of the said account at the Nnewi branch of the bank

by Multiwings Consulting Firm of auditors discovered that between March 2004 and December 2011, the bank had deducted excess charges to the tune of N538, 482, 849.54. The auditors also discovered other unconfirmed / ambiguous debits of about N249, 109, 178.10 in the same account, totalling to N786, 205, 955.99.

In a judgement delivered at The Federal High Court Awka on Thursday, May 16, 2013, Justice M.T. Salihu, after going through the evidence presented by Chukwuma and his company had ruled that GTB had tacitly admitted that it deducted excess charges on the account. He also said that that there was nowhere the bank admitted to the reversal of the charges and crediting same to the account, even though the report of the audit report was forwarded to it. The case with suit number FHC/AWkCS/ 139/2012 was brought by Chukwuma and his three companies- Innoson Nigeria Limited; Innoson Technical and Industrial Company Limited; Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited against GTB, EFCC and one CSP Kwabbai Ilyassu. “In its letter of September, the 1st Defendant (GTB) alleged excess charges and agrees to accept lower amount in satisfaction of the total sum in the spirit of amicable resolution” In the suit, Chukwuma and his companies has filed a motion on notice praying the court to make an order” entering final judgment in the sum of Five hundred and fifty-nine Million, three hundred and

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Innoson vs. GTB: But what the bank has not said publicly is that Chukwuma and his company, had through a forensic audit... discovered that between March 2004 and December 2011, the bank had deducted excess charges

Chukwuma

Segun Agbaje...GTB Managing Director/CEO

seventy-four thousand, seventy-two Naira nine kobo in favour of the plaintiff/ applicants against the 1st defendant per the admission of fact contained in the 1st defendants letter dated 26th September”, the judge said. Chukwuma and his companies also sought that 22 per cent interest be paid on the admitted sum from March 1, 2004 until the judgement and at the same rate

until the satisfaction of the judgement debt. That is in addition to GTB paying a penalty amounting to 100 per cent of the amount involved “provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Policy on Guideline for Fiscal year 2012/2013” and any other order the court may deem fit.

In the suit, the GTB admitted that it

petitioned the EFCC because of some fraudulent acts of Chukwuma in the facility granted to it.

In his judgement, Salihu granted all the prayers of Chukwuma, insisting that the motion on notice and the case was not an abuse of the court process.

“It is on the strength of the foregoing that I enter final judgement in the sum of Five hundred and Fifty-nine million, three hundred and seventy four thousand and seventy two Naira, nine Kobo (N559, 374, 072. 09) in favour of the plaintiffs/applicants against the 1st defendant as per admission of the facts contained in the 1st defendant’s letter of September 26 marked as Exhibit MM with a 22 per cent interest on the admitted sum to be paid from 1st of March 2004 and at the same rate of 22 per cent till satisfaction of the judgement debt.

Again, the first defendant is to pay a penalty of 100 per cent of the amount as provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary, credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Policy Guideline for Fiscal Year 2012/2013(Circular No39 of January 2012)” He justified his action by saying that although the letter from GTB did not contain the word admits, “But the entire reading of it shows that the bank in reconciling its account, discovered to have deducted the excess charges on the account of the 1st plaintiff with it. Thus, amounting to admission that requires no proof (See OSENI v Dawodu(1994) 4 NWLR(Pt 339) 390” Following the judgment, Chukwuma and his companies went back to the court with a Motion Exparte on May 23, 2013, seeking a garnishee nisi order against GTB to pay the judgement debt.

By its calculation, the total amount following the Salihu order amounted to Four Billion, Seven Hundred and thirty Nine Million, Thirty Seven thousand, Seven Hundred and twelve Naira, Sixty Eight Kobo(N4, 739,037, 712, 68k). That was before Justice Salihu again, who had ruled on the case on May 16 of the same year. Chukwuma and his companies also wanted the court to order GTB to appear before it and show cause why it should not pay the judgement debt. They also asked for the leave of the court to serve the garnishee order in GTBs offices outside Anambra State, in Abuja. Salihu again granted all their prayers, ordering GTB to pay the sum(due to the judgment creditor pursuant to the judgement delivered on 16th May, 2013”. He also granted all other reliefs sought by Chukwuma and his companies.

GTB was not satisfied with the judgment and appealed it at the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal. On December 8, 2014, the Court presided over by Justice A. Sanusi, ruled that GTB should pay the judgment sum, now “N5, 936, 126, 219.01k(Five billion,

Features

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

51

A business deal gone sour Nine Hundred and Thirty Six Million, One Hundred and Twenty six Thousand, Two hundred and Nineteen Naira) to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court within 14 days from today.”

He also ordered that the Deputy Chief Registrar deposits the money “in an interest yielding bank account in a reputable bank other than Diamond Bank PLC or Mainstreet Bank pending the determination of the appeal” “That the said judgment sum plus the accrued interest shall be paid to the party who wins the appeal.” The case number of the appeal is CA/E/288/2013.

Meanwhile on June 10 this year, Justice Sailu Saidu of the Federal High Court in Lagos had in a suit brought by GTB against Innoson Nigeria Limited in Suit Number FHC/L/ CS/1119/14 set aside the exparte order he made which froze all accounts of Chukwuma and his companies in the suit brought

by GTB. He set aside the writ of summons of the case, arguing that GTB did not obtain the “leave of this court before the issuance of the writ on the defendant in this case” In another judgment in suit number CA/I/ 258/ 2011 on February 6, 2014 at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan before Justices M.B Dongban Mensem, Chidi Nwaoma Uwa and Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio, the court had held that GTB was liable to pay Innoson Nigeria Limited, the sum of N2, 048, 737, 443.67( Two billion, Forty Eight Million, Seven Hundred and thirty seven Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-three Naira, Sixty-Seven Kobo).

In a lead judgment read by Uwa on February 6, 2014, and endorsed by Mensem and Daniel-Kalio, the court held that the appeal

by GTB following a ruling

by Justice Shakarho of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan on July 29, 2011 for the payment of the sum to Innoson Nigeria Limited was without merit.

The High Court had ordered GTB and two other banks to release the sum to Innoson from the account of the Nigerian Customs Service Board following the confiscation and sale of his imported goods by the Customs. The judge had ordered the banks to pay the sum of N700, 220, 000.00 plus 22 per cent interest rate per annum on the judgment debt from the date of the commencement of the suit to the date of satisfaction of the judgement debt. But GTB appealed the ruling, claiming

that the Custom Board had only N468.50 in its account.

But Innoson’s lawyers had faulted the claim, insisting that what GTB brought to the court did not contain the actual money in the Customs Board’s account.

Rather, they had contended that the board had over N10billion in the account.

Despite arguments by the GTB’s lawyers to the contrary, Uwa noted that the bank did not deny the fact that the board had at least N5billion in the account,

from which it could have paid the judgment debt to Innoson. He said “It is the law that where affidavit evidence is unchallenged and uncontroverted as in the present case, concerning the credit balance of over N5billion in the account of the Nigerian Customs Services of whom the 1st judgment debtor is liable for its action and the deposition that as at 3rd march, 2011 when the Appellant was served the order Nisi, the 1st Judgment debtor had

up to N10billion credit in an account maintained with the Appellant Garnishee, the court is bound to accept facts contained therein as deemed to be admitted by the opposite side” He went further to say that the argument of the bank that even another N4.2million in the board’s account belonged to the Federal Government was not tenable as the government did not lay claims to the money.

He concluded thus: “I cannot see any reason to fault the order of the learned trial Judge at Page 73 of the printed record of appeal making the order Nisi absolute in the release by the Appellant from the 1st Judgment Debtor’s account in satisfaction of the judgment, which stood at N2, 048,737,443.67 as at the date of the order. I endorse same, the respondent having satisfied the conditions for the grant of the order absolute.

“In the final analysis, the order absolute is hereby affirmed. The appeal is without merit, I dismiss same.

The ruling of the trial judge J. Sakarho of the Federal High Court delivered July 29, 2011 in suit FHC/L/ CS/ 603/2006 is hereby affirmed” The judgment was endorsed by both DongbanMensem and Daniel-Kalio . the case has taken the two parties to the Police, the EFCC and other places. Yet, the battle rages.

52

Perspectives

T

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Boyz II Men, Men II Boyz

he quintet of Nathan Morris, Marc Nelson, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman and Michael McCary otherwise known as “Boyz II Men” is regarded as the most commercially successful R & B group of all time. The group was formed in 1988 at Philadelphia’s High School of the Creative and Performing Arts. This indicates that it was formed by secondary school boys.

Although the reason for choosing ‘Boyz II Men’ as the group’s name is unbeknownst to me, I think the boys must have projected that within a short time, they would have grown from being boys to men. If my presumption is right, with their incredible successes in the ‘90s the boys have indeed grown to become men.

As children, we start our lives with great exuberance and we play childish pranks. But like ‘Boyz II Men’ we project to become men in our thinking and character in our adult life. This is why it is a cause for concern when adults throw tantrum that should be primary school pupils’ preserve.

I saw a bit of pupils’ tantrum and theatrics during the leadership crisis that engulfed the Upper Chamber but the theatricals was bigger when the House of Representatives staged their own theatre of absurdity. It was highly amusing to see a female lawmaker at the Senate spread her five fingers to the face of an opponent as they made uncouth noise outside the chamber. Children hardly do that nowadays. But I remember some of us did that as children when we fretted over toys or kites.

At the House of Reps, a member had his cloth torn to shreds. You can see why they should not get wardrobe allowance.

They probably had the premonition that they will tear one another’s clothes, hence, they want N9billion as wardrobe allowance. Asking for such amount is driven purely by narcissism.

It is quixotic to think that they will change. The lawmakers have morbid fas-

Waheed Bakare on Saturday 08124877036 (sms only) waheedbakare2003@yahoo.com cination for greed and one can presume that there will be more free-for-all in the house of commotion. Like they did last week, it is just a matter of time before they wrestle one another to the ground, throw their law books at perceived enemies and tear one another’s clothes.

They are uninspiring and lack political dexterity that can give us good laws.

Theirs is about infinite avarice. They will never share the values and goals dear to the common man because they now have patrician hearts. They have elevated themselves above the electorate and we will not matter to them until after four years when they will come cap in hand seeking our votes.

However, we need to open our eyes like Argus, a god in Greek mythology, who had over 1,000 eyes, most of which were opened at all times to enable it to see far and near. We need to know those who are enemies of our democracy. We should from now look out for the “bench warmers” who went to the National Assembly to just add to the number. Once we identify such lazy lawmakers, our business will be to chase them out with our votes. It is just a matter of four years.

The 469 lawmakers comprising 109 senators and 360 House of Reps members cannot be the best in a nation of about 170 million. If Nigeria will spend billions of naira on them in form of annual salaries, allowances and quarterly payments, it will be bad business if they prioritise their selfish interest and jettison the myriad of problems besetting the country.

It was highly amusing to see a female lawmaker at the Senate spread her five fingers to the face of an opponent as they made uncouth noise outside the chamber Now that they have dissolved like a travelling circus leaving the town after their performance, the lawmakers should use the period of their recess to radiate love not hatred, show humility not arrogance or disdain. We need more of conduct worthy of adulthood and not puerility at the National Assembly.

The barbaric attack on Olomofe Last year, at least 66 journalists were killed in different parts of the world while covering conflicts. Although the figure, which was released by the France-based Reporters Without Border, a non-governmental organisation that promotes and defends freedom of information and freedom of the press, was five lesser than the 2013’s, the beheading of James Foley and Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State was horrific and nauseating. One can imagine torturous experience of the

journalists in the hands of those men with evil hearts before they were killed in such a bizarre manner. The sin of Foley and Sotloff was that they were journalists of Western extraction.

As we await the report of 2015 -since it is a yearly thing- it seems some hoodlums curiously want Nigeria to be included among countries where journalists are killed this year. It is incontrovertible that those who attacked Otunba Yomi Olomofe, a journalist, had a mission to kill him and he only survived through divine intervention.

According to reports, the Customs at the Seme border had on June 25 invited Olomofe probably to see what could be done on a story being done by a correspondent of Tide Magazine on smuggling along the border.

“I never read any meaning to my invitation. After the meeting, I came out to see over 15 hoodlums led by one Alhaji Momoh also called ‘Basket’. He asked his boys to attack me, saying after killing me, other journalists would see it as a deterrence not to do some stories on smuggling activities at Seme border,” he narrated.

He alleged that the Customs looked away as the hooligans pounced on and battered him. As at the time I wrote this, the Customs had yet to explain the role they played in the vicious and callous attack that almost claimed the man’s life.

The psychopathic brutality meted to Olomofe should be investigated by the police especially when he alleged that the Customs who invited him looked the other way as he was being beaten black and blue. If the Customs indeed invited him, did they also invite the hoodlums?

This is one of the mysteries that the police should unravel. However, my fear is that the journalist could be easily blackmailed.

Asking the police to investigate the matter is not about camaraderie of journalism but because Olomofe is human.

As the journalist go through what I think will be a long and painful convalescence, I wish him quick recovery.

AMCON, Delta Steel and Aribisala’s basic instinct Uchendu Melah

A

jibola Aribisala who on 26th February, 2013 was stripped of his title as Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) following allegations of fraud and flagrant breach of professional ethics, is on the prowl again. The Management of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on 4th February, 2015, sacked Aribisala from his position as Receiver/ Manager of Delta Steel Company, again on several allegations bordering on personal integrity, including “refusing to account for all the funds disbursed to him by AMCON since 2012 for the purpose of the receivership,” as well as his “abrasive and oppressive actions on the relevant stakeholders of the steel company town/host community, which has led to a breakdown of the working relationship between him and the said stakeholders.”

But rather than leave with his baggage, Aribisala is laying claim to the powers to sell Delta Steel Company, even after his sack, on a rather ridiculous ground that the letter terminating his services mentioned Delta Steel Company Limited instead of Delta Steel Company Plc, and as such, that he is still the Receiver/Manager of the company.

As if that is not enough, Aribisala last week, published a two-page advert in some national dailies wherein he made unsubstantiated allegations of fraudulent intention against the Managing Director/CEO of AMCON, Mustafa Chike-Obi.

In paragraph nine of Aribisala’s "Rejoinder" published on pages 64 and 65 of The Guardian of Monday, 22nd June, 2015, he alleged that “Notwithstanding the huge indebtedness of the Company, as stated above, Mr. Chike Obi, would rather want the assets to be sold for a lesser sum of N28 billion out of which he was coercing me, the Receiver/Manager, to take out N5 billion for his personal purpose and now expect me to declare only N23 billion in the books of AMCON as the sale proceed. However, I refused, vehemently, to accede to Mr. ChikeObi’s request.”

What Aribisala is saying on the pages of newspapers is that Mustafa Chike-Obi asked him to divert N5 billion into his private coffers? It's baffling that such claim could be made by someone who is supposed to be a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)?

The federal government on August 2010, appointed the Board of AMCON with Aliyu Belgore as its chairman while Mustafa Chike-Obi was appointed the Managing Director/CEO. Other members of the board include Howett Adegboyega, Muhammed Abbas Jega and Mofoluko Benedicta.

AMCON under Chike-Obi’s management appointed Ajibola Aribisala as the Receiver/Manager of Delta Steel Company. By definition, a Receiver is “a person appointed by a bankruptcy court or secured creditor to run a company for a short period of time in a manner that will ensure as much debt is paid back to creditors as possible.”

In a letter dated February 4, 2015, AMCON said Aribisala was terminated pursuant to his deliberate non-compliance with the provisions of Sections 396 (2) and 398 of the Company and Allied Matters Act. Apart from refusing to account for funds, other allegations against him include refusing to remit electricity bills of Delta Steel Hospital, D.S.C Technical High School and the steel towns to the power authority even where the residents of the towns have paid the bills to the collective account for onward remittance to the power authorities; delays in approving needed funds to run the crucial non-core departments of the company; suspension of the Head of Delta Steel Hospital and interference with the management of the hospital in such a way as to affect the smooth running of the hospital; arbitrary reduction of DSC Technical High School teachers' monthly salary; and refusal to pay the teachers' salaries as at when due; unilaterally increasing DSC Technical High School fees, which have caused the exit of students of the school to other schools and also reduction of enrolment into the school; seizure of the control of the school's funds, and refusal to account for the expenditure of same; arbitrary termination of the appointment of the school principal without due process; refusal to pay the electricity bills of the school which has resulted in non-supply of electricity to the school. This has forced the school to run on generators thereby increasing over-head costs.”

It would be recalled that Aribisala was stripped of his title as Senior Advocate of

Nigeria (SAN) on February 26, 2013 by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) following “allegations of flagrant breach of professional ethics and professional misconduct,” made against him, including bills charged Fidelity Bank deemed to be excessive professional charges contrary to ‘Rules of Professional Conduct in the legal profession.’ Even when the SAN was restored to him, it was with a caveat of serious sanction should he be found in such acts in the future.

A statement by the Secretary of the LPPC and the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr. Sunday Olorundahunsi while restoring his SAN added that “Furthermore, the committee hereby declares that any future act by Chief Aribisala that runs foul of paragraph 22 of the LPPC rules shall attract a stiffer sanction.”

That Aribisala has chosen to hide under the ‘court’ as a way of laying claim that he's still the Receiver/Manager of Delta Steel Company is not new. It is not surprising also that Aribisala is making wide allegations of corruption against a well-respected technocrat like Chike-Obi. Even in the so-called rejoinder he published last week, Aribisala still styled himself as the Receiver/Manager of Delta Steel Company Plc, claiming that the case is in court and therefore he is the right person to sell the company. Can anything be more ludicrous than this?

• Melah is an Abuja-based journalist and public analyst. Email:uchekwube101@ gmail.com

Politics

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Ignorance is fuelling insurgency, says Lawal

53

Gbolahan Lawal, former commissioner in Lagos State explains to DOMINIK UMOSEN some of the factors underpinning the protracted insurgency in the country How true is it that some nations are profiting from Nigeria’s security challenges?

You know, when it comes to conflicts, there are proxy situations. For example, if you have war next door, there is every possibility it might spill into your domain. In a situation where Mali has a serious security situation, involving the Tuaregs and the rest; in a situation where Libya is enmeshed in conflict, there is every likelihood that the northern part of the country has every access to arms and ammunitions from these flashpoints of conflict.

You can not also rule out the possibility of mercenaries from those places coming to partake in the Boko Haram conflict(as some mercenaries were hired

from South Africa by the last administration). Wherever there is a lootable resource, there is every likelihood that conflicts can be fuelled, especially by proxy.

All the parameters that point to conflict-fuelling are there- you have war just across the border, there is widespread youth un employment, you have lootable resource and you can not agree less with those that propounded the theory of the instrumentality of proxies to civil wars. This reinforces what Paul Collier said in his book, ‘Grief and Grievance’ that in a situation where you have a very large population of youths that are not literate and in a situation where you have war next door; in a situation where you have a lootable resource, it

Wherever there is a lootable resource, there is every likelihood that conflicts can be fuelled

Lawal

is difficult not to find conflict in such areas. That is my assessment of the situation.

Recommend a solution to the situation The way forward is for the government to reinvent its intelligence-gathering machinery because if you check Yobe, one of the states most affected by the

insurgency, the literacy level is less than 4 per cent. So you can see that literacy is very important, not only for the individual concerned not to get lost or be mislead in an increasingly-complex world but also to enhance national security since it is easier to manipulate an illiterate population as clearly demonstrated in the Boko Haram conflict.

Jega bows out in a blaze of glory Dominik Umosen

T

he television footage, especially the aspect of former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega promising to return to the classroom to continue teaching did not quite impress Michael (not real name) and other listeners watching that aspect of the evening news.

‘With all the money he must have made as INEC chairman, why does he need to return to the hassles of teaching?

‘That is the problem with you Nigerians. What is wrong in returning to the classroom to impart the experience he has acquired?’, another listener querried no one in particular.

Just as in real life, the Kebbi State-born professor of political science evokes controversy, either in his radicalism or worldview. But there is no controversy, however, in the fact that Nigerians will forever remember the dexterity and dazzle with which INEC, under Jega’s watch, midwived the 2015 general elections.

If for no other reason, they will always that it was Jega who introduced technology into the business of conducting elections in the country through the permanent voters card which will go down in history as a radical departure frlom the traditional way of doing elections in the giant of Africa.

Jega may have been overulled by the ;powers-that-be from handing over to his

prefered successor, Ambassador Mohammed Wali from Sokoto State but that bureaucratic blunder notwithstanding, compatriots are in unison with him that his era was indeed illuminating and eventful.

At the colourful bowing-out ceremony in Abuja last week, he expressed gratitude to staff of the commission and to the generality of Nigerians who assisted him to render a most satisfactory service to the fatherland.

‘We feel great; we thank God Almighty for the opportunity to serve the country.

The future is bright for the commission and the country’, he told the cheering crowd, some of who could not hold back tears as the black SUV drove away the radical who held sway at the INEC for the past five years.

Jega was born January 11, 1957 in Jega, Kebbi State. He attended Sabon Gari Town Primary School, Jega between 1963 and 1969 and Government Secondary School, Birnin Kebbi and The Ahmadu Bello University Zaria's Bayero University College, Kano in 1974, graduating in 1979 with a Second Class Upper Division BSc degree in Political Science.

He was a teaching assistant at Bayero University before winning a fellowship at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois in the United States (1981–1984) where he earned a PhD in Political Sciences. He returned to the Political Science Department in Bayero University in 1984 as a lecturer Other appointments include visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Nigerian

Jega

Institute of International Affairs, Lagos (March 1992 – March 1993), visiting Research Fellow, Department of Political Science, University of Stockholm, Sweden (1994), Deputy Vice-chancellor (Academic), Bayero University (1995–1996) and director, Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Bayero University (2000–2004). Jega was appointed ViceChancellor of Bayero University in 2005.

[2] Jega is a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and was a rabid opponent of the Babangida military junta in the early

1990s. Politically left-leaning, as ASUU President he aligned closely with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and continued that connection throughout his career.

On 29 April 2010 he was guest lecturer for the NLC May Day celebration where he presented a paper on 50 Years of Nationhood: Challenges of Good Democratic Governance, Credible Election and the Working Class.

Jega was appointed a member of the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Committee, which submitted a report on 11 December 2008 with recommendations that included establishing commissions to deal with Electoral Offences, Constituency Delimitation and Political Parties Registration and Regulation. The committee also recommended proportional representation and that the INEC head should be appointed by the judiciary rather than the President.

On March 28, 2015, under his leadership, elections were conducted in what Nigerians and the World describe as free, fair and credible which declared the APC Presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari as winner defeating the Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.[5] During the campaigning for the 2015 Nigerian general election, Jega was fiercely criticised by both the opposition and the ruling party. Nonetheless, on March 23, 2015, an article in Vanguard newspaper said that "most experts believe Jega will seek to declare an accurate result as quickly as possible, regardless of any political interference he may face."

54 Sport Extra

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

Nadal doubts Wimbledon future

Sport Slaming

R

afael Nadal says he may not be able to rekindle his former Wimbledon glories after a shock second-round defeat by German qualifier Dustin Brown.

The 14-time Grand Slam winner, now the world number 10, lost 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4 as his miserable run at SW19 continued.

The Spaniard, 29, has been beaten by players ranked outside the top 100 in each of his last four appearances.

"I don't know if I will be back to the level of 2008 or 2010," said the two-time men's champion.

"My motivation is try to be back to that level. But I've got to keep working.

"If I don't make that happen then I've played five finals and taken the trophy back home two times, so that's not bad."

MAX AIR emerges official carrier for AAG

T

o ensure an efficient airlift of athletes and who are to compete in the forthcoming All Africa Games in the Republic of Congo, the National Sports Commission has solicited the partnership of Max Air as the official carrier for the Games.

Speaking at a meeting with the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Max Air, Alhaji Dahiru Bara’u Mangal, in Abuja on Friday, the Director General, National Sports Commission, Alhassan Yakmut, said “I have been observing with keen interest the support you have been giving to develop sports such as football and polo in Katsina State and I am sure you will be interested to partner and sponsor Nigerian contingent to the forthcoming All Africa Games in the Congo by using your airline to airlift our athletes to the games”.

Adekunle Salami

Keshi

adekunles@yahoo.com 08050498539 (sms only)

Bring Eagles back to Lagos

faces NFF’s wrath

M

Adekunle Salami

ore facts have emerged on the ongoing saga between the Nigeria Football Federation and the Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, over whether or not he applied for the national coach job of Cote d’Ivoire.

Our correspondent on Friday learnt reliably that the Disciplinary Committee in charge of the case has been able to get some documents which were contrary to the claim of the Big Boss.

Keshi has maintained that neither he nor his agent applied for the Elephant of Cote d’ivoire job.

Dependable sources told Saturday Telegraph that the fact finding committee has confirmed that the coach not only applied for the job, he also wrote another letter

S seeking for a withdrawal of his application.

“Keshi should have been bold enough to tell the committee the truth. The way it is now, he has played into the hands of the NFF and he is going to be severely punished or fired,” our source revealed.

However, Disciplinary Committee head, Chris Green, confirmed to our correspondent that the body had completed its assignment on Keshi.

“We were given a task and we have presented our findings to the NFF. We appraised all our finding at a meeting on Thursday and we expect the NFF to take a decision on the issue,” Green said.

Keshi was also said to have travelled to the United States on Thursday after he received news that there were documents against his claim on the application for the Ivorien job.

Tiger Woods cards best round of 2015

F

ormer world number one Tiger Woods carded his best round of the year with a four-under-par 66 on the first day of The Greenbrier Classic.

It was Woods' lowest score on the PGA tour since March 2014 as he shot seven birdies in West Virginia.

The 14-time major winner has struggled for form in 2015 and is currently ranked 220th in the world.

He missed the cut in the US Open at Chambers Bay with his worst score

Woods

in the event.

The 39-year-old has also recorded three scores in the 80s in his last six tournaments and last month shot the worst round of his professional career with a 13-over-par 85 at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

But on Thursday, Woods broke 70 for just the third time his year and the first time since the third round of the Masters in April.

"I felt like I wasn't that far away," said Woods. "I know people think I'm crazy for saying that, but I just felt like I wasn't that far. I just had to make a couple little tweaks, and I felt like I pulled that off."

USA's Scott Langley was clubhouse leader on eight-under with England's Brian Davis two shots of the leader on six-under.

TRANSFERS

Chelsea announce Falcao loan deal

C

helsea have confirmed the season-long loan for Radamel Falcao, with the Monaco striker making a swift return to the Premier League following his dismal spell with Manchester United.

Falcao was a deadline day signing for United last summer, but despite his high-profile arrival exciting fans not just of the Manchester club but of the Premier League as a whole, he only served to disappoint after scoring four goals in 2014/15.

Fenerbahce switch for Nani

M

anchester United winger Nani is close to completing his transfer to Fenerbahce and is set to have a medical in Istanbul on Sunday morning, according to the Daily Mail.

The two clubs are still negotiating over the payment structure, which should see the move completed within the next few days.

The Portuguese winger spent the whole of last season out on loan at Sporting Lisbon as part of a deal that saw Marcos Rojo go the other way.

Obi joins Torino on four-year deal

T

orino confirmed they have completed the signing of Joel Obi from Inter Milan for an estimated €2.4 million fee.

The 24-year-old has put pen to paper on a deal which is set to see him reside at the Stadio Olimpico under Giampiero Ventura until 2019.

"Joel Obi has completed a medical before signing a four-year deal to join Torino on a permanent transfer from Inter Milan. Obi will be join his new team in preseason training on July 8,” a statement from Torino read.

hortly after he assumed office as the Director General of the National Sport Commission, Alhassan Yakmut, was at the National Stadium, Lagos for an inspection visit. It was not a pleasant one for the former national volleyball player who shed tears because of the poor state of the edifice which for many years hosted major national and international events. The stadium is now an eye sore of sort especially the football arena which is yet to host any game in the past 13 years. The entire complex is more known for relaxation as drinking joints are all over the place for Lagosians to enjoy themselves. Yakmut is not pleased with this and has vowed to make more athletes be seen at the complex more than socialites. A national monument like this cannot be neglected this way. The journey of the stadium started with the 1973 All Africa Games. It hosted the Africa Nations Cup in 1980 and also hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1999 before Nigeria co-hosted the Africa Nations Cup with Ghana in 2000. The final took place in Lagos.

Government will have to revive the stadium. What does it take? Re-grass the main bowl turf and refurbish the stands. I recall there was a time, the National Stadium Abuja had over-grown grass on the football pitch, there was outrage over the development and within days, the stadium wore a new look. Deliberate steps should be taken to bring back the national stadium, Lagos, to what it used to be.

This becomes more crucial now that former players, coaches and administrators are calling for a return of the Super Eagles to Lagos. The current generation of players is yet to play at the Surulere national stadium. Eagles former Captain, Sunday Oliseh, noted that the fear factor was key for the national team to play in Lagos. He argued that it was important to have a permanent base for the team. “For over 10 years of my career in the Eagles colours, we played in Lagos and did not lose one match. The fear factor works for us as players because we strive not to disappoint the fans who could sometimes turn against us if we are not playing well. The fear factor also makes opponent to give up even before matches in Lagos. We have to return to Lagos,” Oliseh said.

Christian Chukwu, a former captain and former coach, also added his voice stating that it was important for the team to get used to one venue. “If we continue to move round, there might be no difference between the team and the opponents. Government must take care of the facilities at the Lagos National Stadium,” he said.

The national team has moved round the country such that in the past two years, the team has hosted matches at the U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Akwa Ibom Stadium, Uyo, Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna and the National Stadium, Abuja.

Vice-President of the NFF, Seyi Akinwunmi, gave reasons the Eagles do not have a permanent venue but he was unconvincing. He blamed it on the body’s financial disposition and the availability of a standard pitch for grade A games. His defence was feeble because any venue to be used has to be well taken care of. The governors of the four respective states hosting the Eagles in recent time have been footing bills and also maintaining the stadia in their states.

The maintenance of national stadia is the job of the NSC. Yakmut should match words with action. If the Abuja Stadium can receive attention within four days due to public outcry, rapid rehabilitation of National Stadium, Lagos, should not be a problem. NFF is broke, we hear that often but the body has a sponsor in charge of national teams. The NFF needs a sole sponsor for just the Super Eagles with enough money to fund about 10 games in one year. If there is fund for all games, there won’t be any need for the NFF to go cap in hand before governors before every game.

We cannot neglect the National Stadium that means so much to top super stars in the country’s history. Henry Amike, Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya, Yusuf Ali will always have a story to tell about the main bowl in Surulere.

Same goes for Oliseh, Austin Okocha, Stephen Keshi, Peter Rufai and a host of others. We need the stadium back in full gear.

Faces 55

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

4 JULY 2015

The Lord’s Chosen Maza-Maza region set for God’s Time Crusade in Lagos

A two—day Holy Ghost International Crusade of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries titled “IT IS GOD’S TIME”, will take place at the Lord’s Chosen International Headquarters, 10, Odofin Park Estate, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Ijesha Bus-Stop, Lagos, on Saturday July 4, and Sunday July 5, 2015, at 8:00am daily, science writer, STANLEY CHIBUIHEM AMALAHA writes on the significance of the crusade

A

nother tremendous power of God will be witnessed at the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries at its crusade taking place at The Lord’s Chosen International Headquarters on Saturday July 4, and Sunday July 5, 2015, at 8:00am daily. The event titled ‘IT IS GOD’S TIME’ will witness outpouring power of God as of old.

According to Pastor Lazarus Muoka, General Overseer of the ministry, ‘The title of the crusade is taken from the book of Genesis chapter 18 verses 10 and 14. ‘IT IS GOD’S TIME’ We are inviting everybody to come and experience the supernatural power of God. Sinners will be saved, the sick will be healed and succor will be given to all. No matter what your problem is, as you come expectantly, this will surely be your set time of blessing.

Brethren rejoicing as a mentally challenged (in chain) was healed at The Lord's Chosen crusade in Enugu

Pastor Lazarus Muoka, General Overseer, The Lord's Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries

A Chosen saved from accident

A Chosen sister with fertility problem gives birth to a baby girl (standing is the matron of hospital in Lagos)

Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (middle) glorifying God at the Lord's Chosen crusade in Enugu

A sign post of The Lord's Chosen, Jesus Village branch in Maza-Maza region

The Lord's Chosen, Festac branch and Chosen Int'l Secondary School Festac staff with the principal, Mr Okeoma (right)

A sign post of The Lord's Chosen, Oluti branch in Maza-Maza region

The Lord's Chosen, Maza-Maza branch with Pastor Prince Umunah (sitting middle)

DESTINATION

Bulawayo: The allure of the city of kings

P.42

SATURDAY

Perspectives

Sanctity of Truth

Boyz II Men, Men II Boyz

N150

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2015

p.52

Copa America final

Messi, Argentina battle final jinx TIME: 9:00PM

L

Ajibade Olusesan ionel Messi has won everything in club football with Barcelona but he is yet to win over some critics who believe he has to win trophies at international level before he could be considered one of the greats of the game. The 27-year-old can win these doubters over if he leads Argentina to victory in the final of Copa America against Chile today.

Messi’s Argentina lost 1-0 in the extra time of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil to Germany and this is another great chance for La Albiceleste to end their trophy drought of 22 years. The two-time World Cup winners have not won any major international title since 1993 when they won the Copa America title but Messi can again help them land this one and achieve his immortality.

Before the competition had even got underway, people were expecting him to be the star of the show in Chile.

While the captain hasn’t shone at the Copa América like he did for Barcelona as they stormed to a famous treble this season, he has still produced some fine moments.

He has not been prolific, in fact his only goal in the tournament came from the penalty spot in their group stage opener against Paraguay but the 28-year-old has been at the heart of everything for his side.

His dribbling has been typically excellent, he has completed 85 percent of his passes and cre-

ated 13 chances.

Messi didn’t get on the score sheet in their 6-1 demolition of Paraguay in the semfinal but directly assisted three of their goals and also had a hand in another.

The lack of goals does not trouble the four-time Ballon d’Or winner who said it is more important for the team to win but Messi believes his feast day could come in the final day.

“It really doesn’t bother me that I am not scoring. Hopefully my goal will come in the final,” he said.

He has continued to be the nightmare for the opponents in this tourney; his run in between the line usually creates space for his teammates to do the damage. It is difficult to man-mark him and this is a fact Portugal coach, Fernando Santos, alluded to. The coach who masterminded Portugal’s 1-0 defeat of Argentina in an international friendly last year said that any team that set out to mark Messi will only create more problems for itself.

"You cannot mark Messi man to man, because the only thing you gain is a problem.

He is so good that he always finds a way of having more freedom," Santos said. "It is better to use zonal marking ... you have to prevent him from receiving the ball."

If Messi clicks, no team can stop his side. Although Chile are desperate to land their first Copa America diadem in more than 60 years, it will be difficult to stop a star-studded Argentines, most especially the master blaster: Lionel Messi.

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: (Lagos 09029281425), (Abuja 08055118488) Email: info@newtelegraphonline.com Website: www.newtelegraphonline.com ISSN 2354-4317 Editor: Laurence ani.