Saturday, may 28, 2016 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

Small Kuramo:

I won’t allow Yunusa see my grandchild –Ese’s mum Pg.7

Sanctuary for crimes, drugs and sex Pgs.24.33

SATURDAY Saturday, May 28, 2016

Vol. 3 No. 829

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N150

Avengers: we will shock the world ...demand sovereign state To the Indigenous Oil Companies (IOCs), watch out something big is about to happen and it will shock the whole world

Pgs. 3,4

I videotaped Nimbo killings to show my relatives –Herdsman ●Attacks created 25 years Pgs.9,10 backwardness in Benue –Ortom

Man slits wife’s throat in Lagos lFive policemen missing after ambush in Rivers

Ex-JTF commander, others to be arraigned for N19.7bn fraud

Pg.5

Pg.6

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

SATURDAY

Comment

The beauty of testimonials T here is joy in bowing out with head held high especially after devoting time in service of club, community or country. In the military, generals look forward to their last parade when they are pulled out in an open Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) with their wives by their side. In football, legends feel on top of the world when friends, mates and even foes gather to give them a befitting farewell. Joseph Yobo is in that world now savouring the love of fans and the football community following his testimonial yesterday at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt. How time flies. The boy who followed the footsteps of elder brother Albert eventually progressed beyond expectations. From being a Flying Eagle, Joe ended up as captain of the Super Eagles. There is every reason to celebrate this overlapping defender whose first major international tournament, the FIFA U-20 Championships, Nigeria ‘99, ended in national disappointment. As he progressed to the Eagles things began to look up. Three World Cup appearances, six Nations Cup outings and action in the English Premiership, that is a rich resume. And he played 101 times for the big national side. In 2013, he captained the Eagles to Nations Cup victory in South Africa thus joining legends like Christian Chukwu and Stephen Keshi in that special class of victorious leaders. The Testimonial in the Garden City took place at a ground that also reminds followers of the exploits of another great player from Rivers State. Many who served the country meritoriously did not have the pleasure of retiring with parting accolades like a testimonial or places named after them. Even Amiesimaka did not pull out

through a testimonial. Chukwu, Emmanuel Okala, Segun Odegbami and Aloysius Atuegbu just left without ceremony. Those like Yobo, Keshi, Jay Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu who were so honoured have friends and state governments to thank. Some of them also spent money from their resources to pull through such games. Not many have such clout and resources to flaunt. We think Testimonials in this part of the world should be able to attract corporate sponsorship. Soccer is a crowd puller and fans are willing to pay their way to the stadium to watch their retiring heroes. Soccer authorities perhaps have to find a way to merge the interest of followers with the deep purse of the corporate world. In this way, players are saved the headache of having to bear more responsibility than they should. More state governments should also follow the examples of Rivers and Delta. Governor Nyesom Wike has shown that leadership is not just about politics and militancy. In the immediate past, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan did the same. It is largely due to his love that there is a stadium named after Okocha in Ogwashi Ukwu. Today, the ex Eagles captain is Chairman of the Delta Football Association. Those who are playing for the country today will feel proud of themselves and country when they realise that there is honour waiting for them in form of a Testimonial at the end of service. We hope more of these parting games will follow in quick succession. Take a bow Yobo, the young man who so frustrated George Oppong Weah in Port Harcourt in 2001 on the way to the Korea/Japan World Cup that the Liberian legend described him as ‘a troublesome small boy with no respect for seniors’.

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Contents | 28.05.16 Agbada’s in

INSTYLE

Agbada is an African apparel that has gained so much attention in the Nigerian fashion world and it is now worn by both sexes. Ladies are not taking it easy on ‘slaying’ this outfit and men are not relenting either

}15

Amadi’s style

Mystyle

Adeaze Anastasia Amadi, the Public Relations/Corporate Officer of Temple and AegeanDas Limited, talks about the disparity between style and fashion, love for modelling right from when she was eight, fashion events and much more

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Rustic furniture

Interiors

Natural is the watchword these days; everything is going back to its natural form and interiors is not left out. The craze for something cool, natural and appealing to the eyes has brought about the types of furniture that were used in days gone by

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Awurum’s comedy

SHOWBIZ

Comic actor, Charles Awurum’s profile is on the rise and he speaks about this, how he handles his female fans, marriage among other issues

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Alphonsus’ athletics strides

SPORT

Anikeme Alphonsus, who is a product of the Mobil Schools Athletics Championships and a medallist at the last Commonwealth Junior Games in Samoa, talks about her passion for athletics, plans for Worlds and the Olympics

}27

THE ARTS

‘Ghana Must Go’ The much anticipated movie ‘Ghana Must Go’ is about the challenges two young lovers from Nigeria and Ghana faced when they wanted to get married. It is produced by the award-winning Ghanaian-Nigerian actress, Yvonne Okoro, and premieres in cinemas across Nigerian in June

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SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

LAGOS: THE METAMOPHORSIS

Pictures that tell stories

Old Broad Street, Lagos

agos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 states. Prior to this, Lagos Municipality had been administered by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos

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City Council (LCC) governed the City of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas (Colony Province) of Ikeja, Agege, Mushin, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry were administered by the Western Region. The State took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital. However, with the creation of the

Federal Capital Territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos Island ceased to be the capital of the State which was moved to Ikeja. Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12 December 1991, Lagos Island ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos remains the center of commerce for the country.

New Broad Street, Lagos

Ndubuisi Ugah, Adeola Yusuf, Babatope Okeowo, Ola James and Flora Onwudiwe

Avengers: We’ll shock the world

arely 48 hours after Chevron’s Escravos terminal located at Abiteye in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State was attacked by suspected militants under the aegis of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the militants late Thursday night simultaneously bombed several pipelines operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) around Batan community in Warri South West Local Government Area of the state. The latest attack meant that the 2016 budget had been hit by a deficit of $35 million daily as the total attacks on oil facilities by the militants sank the country's production by over 700, 000 barrels per day. Dependable source said a lot of people were gripped with fear, following the degree of the explosions that sent the villagers hiding in bush. It was also gathered that the damaged pipelines were operated by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), both subsidiaries of the NNPC. However, investigations revealed that the attacks occurred near a military checkpoint, while an industry source described the attacks as devastating and heinous. The source said the affected lines were strategic to the country’s oil production saying the nation’s oil production would greatly deplete due to Thursday night's attacks. Saturday Telegraph gathered that the attack further implied that Nigeria, which has a projection in the 2016 budget to produce 2.2 million barrels everyday during the 2016 budgetary year

had for days been left with daily production of less than 1.4 million barrels, which meant that the output of the hitherto biggest producer in Africa further has sunk. Confirming the attack, spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr. Eric Omare, said: “There were two simultaneous attacks on (state oil firm) PPMC and NNPC pipelines.” The confirmation by Omare, who is an aide to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, came as the militant group tweeted later that they had blown up a gas and crude pipeline near the town of Warri that was protected by soldiers and operated by the NNPC. “At 11:45pm on Thursday @NDAvengers blew up other #NNPC Gas and Crude trunkline close to Warri,” the group said on its Twitter feed. The Avengers had rejected a meeting recently convened in Abuja by the Federal Government, warning of its readiness to carry out an attack that will “shock the whole world.” The group in its tweet yesterday said: “The Niger Delta stakeholder’s meeting is an insult to the people of Niger Delta. What we need is a Sovereign State and not pipeline contracts. To the Indigenous Oil Companies (IOC) and Nigeria military, watch out something big is about to happen and it will shock the whole world.” The militant group had claimed on the same platform an attack on Chevron’s main power feed in the Delta, which shut down the United States firm’s onshore operations, according

…demands sovereign state l Blows up NNPC pipeline l Ijaw stakeholders’ meeting holds today l Kingsley Kuku group urges dialogue with militants to a company source. “We warned Chevron, but they didn’t listen. NDA just blew up the Escravos tank farm main electricity feed pipeline,” it said further. Similarly, the Avengers, which had given oil firms until end of the month to leave, said they want independence for the Delta and have intensified attacks in recent weeks, pushing oil output to its lowest in more than 20 years and compounding Nigeria’s economic problems. The militants said the oil facilities were sabotaged following attempts by Chevron to carry out repairs of main Escravos crude oil pipeline it blew up earlier. A spokesperson for the group, Mudoch Agbinibo, had earlier this month warned the Nigerian government of further attacks if their demands were not met. It would be recalled that the group had launched many attacks on oil and gas infrastructure since February 2016, demanding a sovereign nation of the Niger Delta people. However, when Saturday Telegraph sought the opinion of prominent Ijaw leaders on the likely implication of the attacks, a dependable source who declined to comment on the attacks, hinted that an emergency meeting of all stakeholders had been fixed for today. The source stated that the reason for the meeting was hinged on the fact that the stakeholders were expected to review the latest uprising in the oil-rich Niger Delta with a view

to reviewing some of the demands of the militant group. The source also added that the fallout of the meeting was expected to be the focal point of what would be the position of the stakeholders at the end of the meeting. “We are holding a stakeholders meeting tomorrow (today), where we are going to take a more proactive decision that will look at the issues on ground holistically,” the source said. The country is now producing less than Angola and well below the 2.2 million bpd assumed in the budget. Based on a benchmark of $38 per barrel, the expected surplus of $12 per barrel due to $50 pb new price of crude could not be felt as a result of the slide in production.

FG should negotiate with Avengers, Kuku Support Group

Commenting on the development, a member of Kingsley Kuku Support Group (KSG), Mr. Kennedy Peretei, yesterday said the Federal Government hadthe capacity to end the threat to oil facilities in the Niger Delta region by the NDA if it desires to do so. Peretei said the Federal government should negotiate with the militants before they shut Nigeria’s oil production completely and should bring on board those who could help the government end the crisis in the Niger Delta irrespective of political party affiliation. Speaking on whether

Kuku who was the immediate past Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of Amnesty Programme would be ready to help the government in negotiating with the militants, Peretei said there were competent people in President Buhari’s government and party who could be of help. He said: “I am not in a position to speak for Kuku on whether he would be willing or unwilling. However, where he is, is known to the government. If the federal government genuinely wants to reach out to him to come and help, he should be willing to tell them or not. “I am also aware that the federal government is reaching out to people like Chief Timi Alaibe, who is a member of APC, even though in matter of national security, party affiliation may not be of any particular interest. The important thing is that can this person deliver? In recent history, Kuku is a young man who has shown that he can hold the area together because of his connection with the boys. “We don’t know those behind the Avengers, but if Kuku leverages on his network with the boys in the creek, he may be able to know one or two who he will be able to reach out to and bring about semblance of peace in the area. What they are asking for is clear. They have put it in clear terms, they have website where they have uploaded what they want. “It is my view that if a person like Alamieyeseigha

is no longer there in Niger Delta, people like Dr Goodluck Jonathan apart from being the former President of Nigeria is also respected in Niger Delta. He is voice that can be leveraged upon everywhere in world.” Peretei said it was obvious that the NDA could shut the entire country because they had been achieving their target without loss of lives to the military or civilians. He said those talking in Abuja did not know how the creeks look like, adding that the Federal Government should engage those who know the area to help negotiate with the militants.

Army chief vows to crush militants

In the same vein, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Tukur Burutai, has said the military is poised to crush the insurgents in the North-East, militants in the Niger Delta and killer herdsmen across the country. The COAS spoke in Lagos, when he inaugurated some buildings as part of his first official visit to the 81 Division of the army. He was hosted by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the division, Major General Isidore Edet. Burutai said: “We have communications vehicle which the Nigerian Army Signals have procured which are due to be deployed in the North-East and other operations across the country, this is just one aspect of our efforts to improve on our operations and a number of equipment have been procured in the North- East and your colleagues there are doing Nigeria proud.” continued on page 4

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SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Buhari won't dictate to EFCC, ICPC —Osinbajo CLARIFICATION The president has said he won't dictate for anti-graft agencies Anule Emmanuel

V Abuja

ice-President Yem i O si nbajo yesterday said President Muhammadu Buhari would never dictate to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security agencies on who to investigate or release in the course of the ongoing anti-corruption war. He said the present administration had given the agencies the independence to use their discretion in carrying out their duties. Osinbajo said President Buhari had constituted a special presidential panel for the prosecution of high profile corruption and criminal related cases in the country. The decision, he said, is to give bite to the anti corruption war being fought by the present administration. The panel is headed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami. Vice-President Osinbajo, who inaugurated the committee yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the panel known as the National Prosecution Coordination Committee, (NPCC) has been put in place by the government for effective prosecution of high criminal cases. Osinbajo said Buhari has assured that he was not interested in tele-guiding the anti-corruption agencies or other prosecution authorities in handling such cases. "When you look at the way that the EFCC and other law enforcement

continued from page 3

Bozimo: Tompolo will surrender if…

Former Minister of Police Affairs, Chief Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, has said the only way the former militant commander of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Mr. Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), could surrender himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) for prosecution is for the Federal Government to “engage him in peaceful” dialogue. Bozimo, who was a former minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said the reason why Tompolo had not turned himself in for prosecution having been declared wanted by the EFCC was because he felt he could be betrayed by

agencies have acted in recent times you will notice that they are not under any kind of direction of influence of the President. “They are given the independence to act; they are given the authority and backing to act on their own and to use their own discretion appropriately at all times. You don’t get any situation where the president says go get that person or back off that person. "All of us know that the president is completely committed to fighting corruption and economic crimes and terrorism", he added. He said such external influence does not exists under the current administration, as the agencies are given the full authority to act using their best judgment. According to him, both himself and the president expect anti graft agencies to use their powers with fairness, devoid of any prejudice. The Vice-President said the same responsibility had been given to the newly formed NPCC to bring justice to the people. Addressing the 20-member committee, the Vice President noted that, "that

is the sort of responsibility placed on your own shoulders as well, the responsibility to exercise prosecutorial power independently and without any direction except of course from the learned Attorney-General who is the constitutional and prosecuto-

rial authority in the country. “It is a very serious responsibility because it also involves making sure that people are treated fairly or that people are not pursued by reason of bias or any other such consideration,” the VP said. He stressed that it was

important that everybody observe "that the system is fair and that the system works in the interest of the Nigerian people. When the system is fair everybody buys into it and it is not difficult for people to relate with it and support it."

Ex-NIMASA DG appeals five-year jail term Akeem Nafiu

jailed former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Raymond Omatseye, has appealed the judgment of a Federal High Court in Lagos which sentenced him to five years imprisonment for N1.5billion fraud. The court presided over by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia found the former NIMASA DG guilty of enriching himself to the tune of N1.5billion while in office. Sequel to the appeal, he has also filed an application at the Federal High Court seeking for bail pending the outcome of the decision of the appellate court on the matter. It would be recalled that

Justice Ajumogobia had on May 20 convicted and sentenced Omatseye to five years jail term having found him guilty of 24 out of the 27 counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC). In the application, Omatseye argued that given the number of years it takes to prosecute appeals, it is likely that he could have finished serving the prison term by the time the appeal is determined. He disclosed further that he is a father of four children, one of whom is very ill and suffers from “severe medical conditions of epilepsy. He said his wife stays full time in London with the sick child to enable him get proper medical attention and

that in his wife’s absence, he has been providing parental care to the remaining three children in Nigeria. He said he was always in court during trial, adding that he was granted bail after his arraignment on self-recognition, having been a lawyer for 28 years. However, the EFCC, in its opposition to the application, said the issues raised by Omatseye ought to be determined by the appellate court. The commission argued that the reasons for the post-bail application “are based on appeal to pity and extraneous circumstances.” The anti-graft agency further argued that bail after conviction is only granted on the basis of very special and exceptional circumstances.

L-R (Front row): Life Patron, Newspaper Publishers, Alhaji Ismaila Isa; Managing Director/CEO, Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited, Mrs. Funke Egbemode; Mr. Ray Ekpu; Publisher, Vangurd Newspaper, Chief Sam Amuka; Publisher, THISDAY Newspaper, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena; President Muhammadu Buhari; Senior Special Adviser on Media to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mr. Garba Shehu, and other media executives, during a meeting of the newspaper publishers with President Buhari, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Avengers: We’ll shock the world the government. Speaking exclusively to Saturday Telegraph, Bozimo said: “The truth is that if there are charges against him he should come out and defend the allegations. However, I believe that Tompolo is willing to come out provided certain conditions are meant. But, going by what I read from the newspapers, he doesn’t believe he can get justice because, according to him, all the odds are targeted against him. Besides, I also read that he has gone to Appeal court to try to set aside the arrest warrant.” While nothing that Tompolo has nothing to hide from, Bozimo said he expected the former MEND leader to “come out and defend the allegations”,

stressing that: “I think that is the impediment, it is not that he totally refused to come out provided he gets Justice and there is level playing field and once the order is lifted he can certainly go back and make his case. Infact, that is my assessment of the situation.” On President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corrupt, the former minister said: “As far as I am concerned, Mr. President is perfectly entitled to fight corruption because it is one of the mandate upon which he was clearly elected. I will also like to caution that he should do it with level handiness but a situation where it appears that only the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) members and

their leadership is being attacked, it doesn’t quite look level handed because the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a political party also contested elections, so no political party will conduct election without spending huge sums of money. So, what is good for the goose, is also good for the gander. If he is probing fund for parties not just only the PDP.” While nothing that the recent bombing of oil installation by suspected Niger Delta militants, Bozimo said: “It is extremely regrettable and every right thinking Nigerian should condemn this atrocity.” On his recent face-off with the judiciary, Bozimo said: “My first reaction is that a lot of those issues should not be

made known publicly. The Judiciary is an arm of government. Also, the executive which Mr. President leads is another arm of government. I think that it is not wise for him to publicly castigate the judiciary. “In fact, from what I read in the newspapers was that President Buhari is blaming the Judiciary for not winning election in his earlier attempt to be president. However good or bad a case is, you must prove it in the court but if it fails, one must not blame the judiciary for that. You must look inward and know whether your case was presented properly. “Secondly, I believe that we have a good judiciary in the country but, the judicia-

While stating that every prosecuting organ or agent had the responsibility to put in place a system Osinbajo said: “The selection of the committee members took into consideration not only their legal skills and learning, but also their integrity and strength of character in order to chart a new course in the nation’s criminal justice system.” He said although legal background was important, particular consideration was given to those who have courage and would not allow themselves to be cowed or influenced by tribe, religion, and friendships. “Given the nature of economic crimes and the enormity sometimes of the money that is involved and the influence of those who may have to be prosecuted, you need more than legal skills. You need men and women of strong character and courage who will not only be able to turn down inducements of any kind but also act without consideration for tribe, friendship, religion or any other parochial considerations,” he said. In his remarks, the Attorney General and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said the committee comprised 12 ex-officio and eight external members of proven integrity and competence. “The aim is to ensure effective investigation and prosecution of high profile criminal cases in Nigeria,” the minister said, adding that the committee was not a duplication of the existing anti-corruption agencies but would collaborate with such agencies for effective service delivery. The event was attended by several government functionaries including the National Security Adviser, BrigGeneral Babagana Munguno (rtd), and heads of the ICPC and the CCB among others. ry in Nigeria does not exist in the moon, so, the element of corruption you find in the Nigeria state, you will find these elements in the judiciary. “In fact, condemning the Judiciary is dangerous because it will make Nigeria loose respect internationally and we will also lose foreign investment in the country. I tell you if the civilised world hear that the judiciary is useless, they cannot invest here when they are not sure of Justice. “Those are some of the things Mr. President should be careful of because some of these statements will turn back to haunt us. You saw what the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said about Nigeria on corruption. Sadly, our president has no choice than to accept it because he too is fighting corruption."

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SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Biafra actualisation conference takes place in Ghana Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

he All Biafra Conference organised by the Organisation of Emerging African States (OEAS), was held yesterday in Accra, Ghana, with participants told to maintain a common front that would lead to the actualisation of Biafra Republic. The conference, which is the first Biafran conference and convened by an independent and neutral international organisation affiliated to United Nations, had some Biafra groups in attendance that include the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Biafra Liberation Council, Ekwenche Organisation, Biafra Liberation Crusade, Biafra National Youth League, Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and

some representatives of Niger Delta Ethnic groups. Secretary General of OEAS, Dr. Ebenezer Akwanga, after the registration and accreditation, briefed the participants on the reasons for the conference, emphasising on the unity and oneness of mind towards Biafra actualisation and restoration irrespective of the different groups’ ideology, interest or modus operandi. It was gathered that the reason for the conference was to strategise mutually on building synergies towards Biafra actualisation through establishing a common Biafra platform that would bind the divergent Biafra groups together. Also, the second reason is to re-strategise effective ways of securing the release of Biafra detainees in Nigeria and in the Diaspora.

Odigie-Oyegun faults calls for APC campaign funds probe

he national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, has faulted calls for investigation into the funding of the party’s 2015 presidential campaign, which brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power. Buhari won the March 28, 2015 presidential election defeating Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The funding of the presidential campaign of the PDP is currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The commission has since filed a case against the former National Security Adviser, Col. Dasuki Sambo (rtd), for allegedly sharing $2.1 billion originally meant for arms purchase to fund the campaign of Jonathan to some party chieftains. Speaking on “The Encounter with Constance Ikokwu,” a programme on WeFM 106.3, OdigieOyegun, said that it was wrong to ask the EFCC to investigate the sources of funding for the APC campaign because unlike the PDP, his party did not use public money to fund its presidential election. He said: “You are comparing apples and grapes. It is the people’s money. You can’t use the money of the people to run parties and so the APC today is suffering from that basic incorrect policy decision. But campaign funds cannot come from the money that belongs to the generality of Nigerians. “Individuals can donate and companies can donate

subject to limits that the law provides. We are not touching those. But where you take money meant for positioning troops in the North-East to fight against Boko Haram to fund parties (and) the most recent – when you take our crude, gave unregistered crude to exporters, repatriate the proceeds and use them to finance your political campaigns – that is wrong. That is impunity at its worst. So they are not comparable.”

L-R: Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Muhammad Malami; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; member, National Prosecution Coordination Committee (NPCC), Mr. Dipo Okpeseyi and Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Mr. Sam Sabaas, during the inauguration of the NCPP, at the State House, Abuja… PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Gana: Why I opposed Sheriff Uchenna Inya ABAKALIKI

former Minister of Information and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Jerry Gana, yesterday said he opposed Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the acting National Chairman of the party because he wanted to protest against the flaws in the party. He stated this in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, during a visit to Governor Dave Umahi, where he expressed confidence that the crisis rocking the party would soon be history. Gana said his action and that of the party's concerned stakeholders which led to the sacking of Sheriff was not aimed at dividing it as being insinuated in some

Man slits wife’s throat A

nother case of a spousal homicide was recorded yesterday when a certain Jafairu Sogei from Itsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State allegedly killed his wife by slitting her throat. The couple had eaten dinner together and gone to bed in their residence at Araromi Street in the Oshodi area of Lagos State yesterday. The suspect was said to have cut the wife’s throat when she was asleep at night. He was seen pacing around by neighbours after he had allegedly committed the crime. The suspect was said to have accused one of his sons of killing the mother afterwards. After the discovery of the crime by family members and neighbours, Jafairu, who tried to escape, was then apprehended and the matter reported to the police. Jafairu and the deceased, Rose Sogei, had been married for years with five children and had been living together

before the incident occurred on Friday night. The late Rose who was said to be the bread winner of the family was a successful trader at Ijora Market in Ajegunle and was living with her husband, who is jobless. Saturday Telegraph visited the room and parlour selfcontain apartment of the Sogeis located on the second floor of the two-storey building in the Oshodi area, but the traders there refused to comment on the sad occurrence. Commenting on the incident, The Deputy spokesperson, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Damasus Ozoani, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the suspect had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation. “It was a murder case and the husband was suspected to be under the influence of drug. The case has been transferred to the SCID and investigation has commenced,” he said.

quarters but to further strengthen the party for the task ahead. The former minister said he wouldn't have been a party to destroying a political party he laboured with other stakeholders to build. Gana, who admitted he was in Abakaliki because of the crisis acknowledged the efforts of governor Umahi in resolving the impasse. “I am very confident that the crisis will soon be over. Let me also acknowledge the efforts of your own governor in resolving the crisis. It is part of the reasons that I am here. Of course you know I am one of those leading the Abuja Group. We did not lead that group to divide the party. That is not the point. We did not join this party;

we formed it, so we can't destroy it,” he said. He said as founding fathers, they couldn't have watched while things were going wrong in the party. “The main thing is that we are protesting some fundamentals which were going wrong. As founding fathers we can't see and watch things go wrong,” he said. He said there won't be imposition in the party, adding that at all times the people will be allowed to prevail as that was the essence of democracy and the principle for which the party was formed. “The PDP was built on a very powerful principle of power to the people and that is the essence of democracy; let the people choose

and when they choose you respect their will. You don’t impose, there should not be impunity, you don't manipulate,” he said. He said the party did not want to repeat the kind of mistakes it made in 2015. He urged members of the party, including Modu Sheriff, to embrace peace. “That is the point and the point has been very well taken. The problems have been identified and the National Assembly Caucasus of our party, the Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees and the concerned stakeholders, which I am part of the leadership, we all have met and agreed that the resolutions reached in Port Harcourt must be implemented.

FG to issue Islamic bond this year —DMO Tony Chukwunyem

he Federal Government is finalising plans for issuing a debut sovereign Sukuk (Islamic bond) this year and may also sell a Eurobond, the Director General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, said yesterday. He said that the DMO was yet to determine the size of a potential Sukuk deal and was working with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian

Stock Exchange (NSE) to build capacity. Reuters quoted Nwankwo as saying that: ‘‘We are definitely going to issue a Sukuk this year. We may also likely issue a Eurobond this year. We are working hard to put together the necessary framework." Following the steady decline in oil revenue, the Federal Government has set up a committee to advice on the amount to be raised from the Islamic bond sale, the timing and jurisdiction of issue, either domestic or foreign.

The government has said it plans to borrow as much as $10 billion (N1.84 trillion) from debt markets, with about half of that coming from foreign sources, to help fund N2.2trllion budget deficit worsened by the slump in oil prices that has slashed revenues and weakened the naira. The Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the government plans to access concessionary sources to fill its funding needs, adding that any shortfall would be covered through the capital markets.

Five policemen missing after ambush in Rivers

ivers State Police Command yesterday declared five policemen missing after an ambush by unknown gunmen on Wednesday at Okujagu waterways in Okrika Local Government Area. The command also announced the arrest of 53 suspects in connection with the missing policemen. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ahmad Muhammad, said in a statement that the missing policemen were part of a

team that were on a routine police inquiry when they were attacked before they could disembark from the boat conveying them. Muhammad explained that six policemen, comprising two inspectors and four other officers were initially missing while Inspector Aferuan Imoukhuede was rescued a day after. “The Rivers State Police Command has announced that five policemen who along with other colleagues were

ambushed in the early hours of Wednesday 25/05/2016 at the Okujagu community, Okrika Local Government Area, were missing. “The policemen went to Okujagu community on a routine police inquiry when they were ambushed by unknown gunmen before they could disembark from the boat that ferried them and were bombarded with a barrage of heavy gunfire which forced them to scamper for cover."

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

EFCC to arraign ex-JTF commander, others over N19.7bn fraud Akeem Nafiu

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will on June 3 arraign a former Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Major General Emmanuel Atewe and the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Maritime and Administration Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Patrick Akpolobokemi, over an alleged N19.7 billion fraud at the Federal High Court in Lagos. Their arraignment, which was earlier fixed for yesterday was stalled owing to an objection raised by Akpobolokemi to the reading of the 11-count charge on the

grounds that he was never served with the charge and the proof of evidence. The two were charged alongside Kime Engozu and Josephine Otuaga, over alleged conspiracy, fraud, stealing and fraudulent conversation of the sum of N19.744, 041, 556 to their personal use. At yesterday’s proceedings, Akpolobokemi informed the court that he was not aware of his arraignment before the court. Akpolobokemi whom the presiding judge described as “notorious defendant,” due to multiple criminal charges hanging on his neck, said he was just coming from the hospital to attend his trial in another criminal charge

Ortom: I am struggling to pay workers' salaries Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

enue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday said he was grappling with the challenge of paying salaries of workers in the state owing to the drop in the state's share of the federal allocation and high wage bill. Ortom, who stated this while addressing journalists in his office to mark this year’s Children’s Day celebration, said the state had the highest salary wage bill among the 19 northern states of over N3 billion, while the overhead of pension was over N500 million. He said despite the challenges, he would continue to address the yearnings and aspirations of the people while placing priority on workers welfare. The governor added that due to paucity of funds, he had decided to cut down his trips abroad to save cost. The governor who presented a catalogue of his achievements in the last

one year in all sectors, noted that he had decided with his deputy to trim down their benefits by N500 million. He reiterated his administration’s readiness to continue to provide security to the lives and property of citizens of the state, and added that his amnesty programme has not failed as being alleged in certain quarters. The governor condemned the recent killing of his security aide by yet-for -the identified gunmen, saying already he has directed security operatives in the state to launch a manhunt for those behind the dastardly act, adding that anyone found culpable would be made to face the full wrath of the law no matter how highly placed. On the conduct of the local government elections, the governor said he had already directed the State Independent Electoral Commission, BSIEC, to draw up the time table for the exercise, adding that funds have also been earmarked for the smooth conduct of the exercise before the end of July.

Wike, Ekweremadu inaugurate projects in Rivers Wale Elegbede

arking his first year in office, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has called on investors to key into the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Project, assuring them that his administration will provide conducive environment for their investments. Speaking yesterday while inaugurating the corporate headquarters of the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority, as part of activities marking his first year in office, the governor said the state as a haven for investors is safe for business. The governor, who

alongside the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, also commissioned other projects including roads, said the objective for setting up the Authority, was to expand urban development in line with global standards. “This project is critical to the development of our state and we shall need the support and collaboration of Public Private Partnership for us to achieve set objectives,” the governor said. While pledging to maintain prudence in the management of the state resources, Wike said he would not play politics with projects but would continue to deliver quality service to Rivers people.

before another court and as such he was not aware of the new charge. He further informed the court that neither his lawyer nor he was briefed about any arraignment. However, in his response, the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the accused person had never made himself available

to the commission since the last adjourned date at Justice Buba's court. Oyedepo added that both the charge sheet and proof of evidence had been served on the accused lawyer’s firm, Dr. Joseph Nwobike & Co., which was received by one of the lawyers in the firm. However, based on the argument put up by

the former NIMASA DG, the court adjourned the arraignment of the four accused persons till June 3, when all the accused persons would have been properly served with the charge sheet and proof of evidence. The anti-graft agency alleged that the former JTF Commander and the other

three accused persons had between 2014 and 2015, in Lagos, used six companies, namely: Jagan Trading Company Limited, Al-Nald Limited, Jagan Limited, De-Newlink integrated Services Limited, Paper Warehouse Limited and Jagan Global Services Limited, to commit the alleged acts.

U.S lauds Buhari for hosting security summit Ndubuisi Ugah

nited States Alternate Representative to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs, Ambassador David Pressman, yesterday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for recently hosting a regional security summit in Abuja. The commendation came on a day Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, advised the Federal Government to extend the town

hall meetings to other states in the country. Pressman in a statement said the U.S. Government was encouraged by President Buhari’s decision to host the security summit for leaders committed to ending the activities of Boko Haram. “The United States is encouraged that under Nigerian President Buhari’s leadership, a Security Summit of regional leaders, committed to carrying out a “sustained, comprehensive approach” against Boko Haram was organised. “This, coupled with

rights-respecting security operations and civilian efforts to restore stability, promote governance and economic development to break the cycle of violence in all countries where Boko Haram is active. “The UN system, including the Special Representatives for West Africa and the Sahel and Central Africa, should continue to assist the Lake Chad Basin region to implement such a comprehensive strategy,” it said. Meanwhile, Sule, who gave the advice at the town hall meeting held at the

Government House, Kano, yesterday, said the advice became necessary so as to enable Nigerians, particularly the common man, to express their minds on the achievements or otherwise recorded by the government. NAN reports that the meeting was organised by the Federal Government as part of activities to commemorate the one year anniversary of President Buhari. He said: “You can destroy within a short period of time but reconstruction or rebuilding the structure can take a long time.''

L-R: Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa; Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Chairman, Technical Committee on Railways Reform Bill, Mr. Chris Okoye, during the committee’s visit to the Senate President, in Abuja… yesterday

Court orders Alamieyeseigha, wife to vacate property in Bayelsa

he Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has ordered the late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieseigha, and his wife, Margaret, to vacate a piece of land measuring 5336.919 square metres at Ovom area of the state. The court order is contained in a judgement delivered by Justice Theresa Ngolika Orji-Abadua in an appeal instituted by Stodie Ventures Limited against Alamieyeseigha and his wife, Margaret. The late former governor and his wife are enmeshed in several cases of alleged land grabbing, including a dispute involving a choice parcel of

land located at the Government Reserved Area layout along Otiotio Road in Yenagoa metropolis. Stodie is a company owned by Dr. Bolere Ketebu, former President of the National Council of Women Society, former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ireland and erstwhile member of the House of Representatives. The case was filed for the firm by Mr. Doueyi Fiderikumo, the Managing Solicitor, D.D. Fiderikumo & Co. The company had dragged Alamieyeseigha and his wife to court in a 2011 suit filed in the state High Court challenging their occupation of the said land and praying the court to declare it (Stodie)

the rightful owner of the land. Stodie also prayed the court to restrain the late former governor and his wife, their servants and agents from committing further act of trespass on the parcel of land and demanded N100m damages for trespass. But in 2012, the High Court dismissed the suit on the grounds that Stodie failed to prove its case by credible evidence as required of it by law. But the company filed a notice of appeal on March 29, 2012 asking the court to set aside the judgement of the lower court and to uphold its prayers. The appeal court panel comprising Justice Theresa Ngolika Orji-Abadua, Jus-

tice Stephen Adah and Justice Bitrus Sanga, declared that the trial court erred in its judgement. A copy of the judgement which was read by Orji-Abadua, said: “It is thoroughly reprehensible that the first defendant who was the governor of Bayelsa State as of the time the said compulsory acquisition was made seemingly for an overriding public interest, later allocated the said land to himself and his wife, who was then First Lady of Bayelsa State. “No government or individual has any right to acquire land compulsorily and alienate or transfer it to another private individual or body for his or its private use."

Okorie to Sheriff: Drop feelings of hurt in PDP

he member representing Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Linus Okorie yesterday appealed to the former Acting

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, to drop all feelings of hurt, forgive and forget in the greater interest of the party and Nigerian democ-

racy. In a statement issued yesterday, Okorie noted the dark clouds that enveloped the party we're fading away with a stronger and more united party emerg-

ing. “The lesson for all of us should be that no one person, group or interest; no matter how strong and influential, can take over this national asset.

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Ajasa-Command Road, another promise kept —Ambode

agos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday inaugurated the 2.481km Ajasa-Command Road, Ijasa in Alimosho Local Government Area, saying the delivery of the road was another fulfillment of his promise to run a government of inclusion that would leave no community behind. Ambode, who performed the commissioning ceremony at an event that witnessed a large turnout of residents of the area, said he would spare nothing to make life more comfortable for the people of the State. He said, “During my electioneering campaign, I

promised to make life easier and more comfortable for our people through the implementation of people’s centered policies and provision of first class infrastructure. I promised a government of inclusion; that leaves no community behind. “In fulfillment of this, we commenced work on the construction of this road five months ago,” he said. The governor recalled that the rehabilitation became inevitable after he paid an unscheduled visit as a follow-up to the complaints received from the people of the Ajasa Command community on the deplorable condition of the road.

Graft: We don’t chase innocent people —Magu Ndubuisi Ugah

hairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has said the anti-graft agency does not chase innocent people, stating that there is no one who would “come out clean” after honouring the invitation of the anti-graft agency. Speaking on Question Time, a programme on Channels Television, Magu said the commission carries out thorough findings before inviting suspects to honour its invitation. He denied the allegation that the EFCC had turned into a tool for political witchhunt, saying the commission is only after “thieves.” “We don’t chase innocent people; we investigate people before we arrest them. We follow the money, we trace when you received the money, and we also investigate how you utilised the money.

“That’s why anybody who is invited here will not come out clean, because we do our homework before we invite you. We may investigate for a year or six months and the person would not know,” he said. Magu, according to TheCable, said the agency does not select those it prosecutes, adding that once there is any evidence against suspects, the EFCC goes after them. “There is no sacred cow, we will go after anybody who has stolen the resources of the people. We have no reservations. “We fight corruption both within and outside. We don’t go after innocent people for political reasons, we are going after the thieves of state resources,” Magu added. He described London as the “headquarters of money laundering,” alleging that Britain’s capital had created a haven for stolen money.

L-R: Representative of Senator Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Olufemi Pedro; Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari and Emir of Gummi, Justice Lawal Hassan, during the inauguration of the township roads in Gummi town… yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

I won’t allow Yunusa see my grandchild —Ese’s mum Pauline Onyibe Yenagoa

l Over 100 girls offered scholarship in Sudan

rs. Rose Oruru, the mother of Ese Oruru, who gave birth to a baby girl on Thursday at the Government House Clinic in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has said God forbids if she allows Yunusa Dahiru to see her grandchild, describing him as a bastard and an armed robber. Speaking to Saturday Telegraph on the telephone yesterday, Mrs. Oruru wondered who gave Yunusa a wife that he now has the right to see the baby. “What kind of question is that? Who gave Yunusa a wife that he has to come and see the baby? Yunusa is like an armed robber who raped my child. Why should you ask me that kind of question? You are a woman, you know how it is. I and Yunusa don’t have any thing together let alone having access to the baby,’’ Ese’s

mother Oruru fumed when asked if Yunusa would be allowed to see his baby. Also, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Asinim Boswat, said the police were no longer holding Ese’s family, adding that although they were still under police protective custody, they were free to go any time they wanted to. He said any day they desire to go, they would be allowed to leave. Asinim said Yunusa could not see the baby since he is in prison custody. Ese was allegedly abducted by Yunusa, who took her to Kano State and forcefully married her after converting her to Islam. Ese was, however, brought back to Yenagoa, following publiwc outcry while Yunusa was arrested and brought to Yenagoa to face trial for his offence.

CALABAR

Firm reiterates health benefits with product repackaging Andrew Iro Okungbowa

onsumers of Hollandia Soya Milk now have something to celebrate following the various health and nutritious benefits that come with the repackaged product, which has returned to the market. Sporting new look, size and design, it has been endorsed by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, “as a rich source of Calcium and Vitamin A with no Cholesterol,” adding that naturally soya based foods or drinks help lower cholesterol levels in the body. It is also said to help avoid further cholesterol build-up and keep the heart healthy while offering protein power, Calcium and Vi-

tamin C and D. It appeals to every Nigerian who is health conscious and desires active lifestyle and a healthy heart. Speaking on the relaunched product, the Managing Director of Chi Limited, Deepanjan Roy, said: “We know that health is one of the biggest motivating factors in consumers’ decision making process, so we decided to give them a healthy soya drink that has absolutely no cholesterol leading to a healthy heart and active life.’’ This is clearly amplified on the pack, which features a strong blue colour combination and an assortment of small icons that typify various sporting activities that connect with the health conscious consumers.

NAOWA donates food items to orphanage

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Nigerian Army Officer Wives Association (NAOWA), Cross River State branch, on Friday donated food items and toiletries worth thousands of naira to the Uwanse Orphanage in Calabar, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. The items included 20 cartons of indomie noodles, 50 tubers of yam, one 20 litres keg of groundnut oil, one bag of millet, five cartons of tissue papers and soap among other materials. Presenting the items, the Coordinator of the association in the state, Mrs. Fatima Mohammed, said one of the objectives of the association in providing for the less privileged and needy in the society.

The life expectancy of women at birth of Dem. Republic of the Congo in 2010-2015. Source: Un.org

Yunusa has, however, not been able to meet his bail conditions. Meanwhile, over 100 girls from different parts of Borno State are to be given fresh scholarship to pursue degree programmes in various disciplines at Ahfad University for Women, which is the longest serving private University in Sudan. It has been in existence since the last 50 years in Khartoum, capital of Sudan. Spokesman for Governor Kashim Shettima, Isa Gusau, said in a statement yesterday that the scholarship followed an agreement reached between Shettima and President of the university, Prof. Gasim Badri. It would be recalled that Shettima had led a delegation to the school in Khartoum, on Thursday with demands for slots for female citizens of the state. The university, which

belongs to a family with a generation of scholars in Sudan, is a non - profit institution, which has been awarding scholarships to female citizens of over 20 countries, the state said. Gusau explained that after persuasions by Shettima, highlighting challenges faced by the state as a result of the negative impacts of the Boko Haram insurgency, which has adversely affected the educational sector, both parties agreed that 100 female citizens of Borno State are to be admitted into the school in the next academic session on 50-50 scholarship basis. On his part, Badri announced the award of scholarship to 50 female citizens of the state to pursue different degree courses while Shettima announced that the state government will sponsor another 50 women to pursue degrees in medicine at the university.

FCT

FCTA seeks investment in potable electricity generation

NGO tasks govts on child abuse

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it will encourage investment in potable power generation options using renewable energy to address epileptic power supply in the territory. FCT Minister, Mallam Mohammed Bello, spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday. Bello, who spoke on the achievements and challenges of his ministry, said that government was determined to put an end to poor electricity supply in the country. “A number of investors have come to us for investment in power sector. We are not interested in adding power to the national grid, but to create clusters of potable power generation options using renewable energy,” he said.

39%

The estimated percentage of the antiretroviral therapy coverage (range) of East, South and South-East Asia in December 2010. Source: Who.int

Reclaim Godly Values Foundation, an NGO, yesterday urged education authorities to commence nationwide investigation into the level of compliance to educational best practices in schools. Mr. Ayodele Edwards, the Executive Director of the organisation, said this at a press conference on Advocacy Against Child Sexual Molestation organised by the group in Abuja. Edwards said the conference was organised to draw the attention of the media and the public, especially parents and school administrators, to the prevalence of child molestation and sexual abuse in schools. He said it was also to draw attention to a recent act of sexual molestation and rape of an eight-year-old autistic girl by her teacher.

The number of fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of developed countries in 2005. Source: Itu.int

News

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

MAN, LCCI: Increase in price of diesel puts pressure on businesses Isioma Madike

…insist job loss imminent

recent survey by Saturday Telegraph has revealed an unofficial increase in the price of diesel across Nigeria. Before now, the product is officially sold for between N125 and N130 per litre, but most filling stations visited by our reporter yesterday have adjusted their pump prices and are selling diesel for between N150 and N160 per litre. With this gloomy picture, most business concerns, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), will have no option than to further downsize their work force. “The situation is putting more pressure on industrial concerns and we fear it could further compound the already bad situation. It may soon lead to loss of jobs if not checked. “These days, manufacturers and other businesses run on private generators for almost 24 hours daily and that is impacting negatively on their income. With this new unofficial increase in diesel price, companies would have to spend more on power than they had in a long time. Don’t forget that most of these business

concerns use diesel. “If the price has actually moved up by any margin at all, it will obviously affect the bottom line and the activities of the manufacturing and other businesses. Although, we haven’t conducted any survey to determine the number of people thus far retrenched by companies, but I can tell that more businesses are laying off their workers because of the hash operating conditions in the country currently,” said MAN president, Chief Frank Jacobs. However, Jacobs is hopeful that in the foreseeable future, in view of the recently approved budget, which is christened budget of hope and giving the amount proposed for capital projects, things might look up soon. Also speaking on the issue, Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, said any price increase in diesel now is bad news for manufacturers and other energy intensive sectors. He said: “Already we have had all sort of challenges; challenges of decline in consumer demand, high cost of production and

exchange rate. So, it’s going to be multiple jeopardise for those who are in business but we are hoping that government will do something quickly to arrest the situation. They too know that the biggest problem in the country today is high energy cost. “Because the public power supply in spite of the tariff review has not been functioning, it’s actually been deteriorating. So, even for small businesses, many of them still have to rely on petrol which price has gone beyond their reach. It’s a lot of pressure couple with the fact that consumer buying power is declining by the day.” Although, he said some of these things are dynamic, he, however, said: “If you have improvement in supply of electricity, people would still continue in business. If there is improvement on power generation, some companies can pass the cost to consumers. “But there are some you can’t pass because consumers are rationalising on what to buy and what not to buy. That means that some businesses will definitely go under. And

CHANGE AND CONFIRMATION OF NAME

chinedu-onuoha

I formerly known and addressed as MISS UDEOGU, CHISOM FORTUNE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHINEDUONUOHA, CHISOM FORTUNE. All former documents remain valid, general public take note.

olaniran

I formerly known as Alhaja AMINAT OLASUNKANMI IRAWO ASHIRU, now wish to be known as ALHAJA AMINAT IRAWO OLANIRAN, All former documents remain valid, general public, please.

nwoko

I formerly known as OPARA VIVIAN TOCHI, now wish to be known as NWOKO VIVIAN TOCHUKWU, All former documents remain valid, general public, please.

oluropo

I formerly known and addressed as ADEGBAJU SAMUEL ADEBARE,now wish to be known and addressed as ADEGBAJU OLUROPO ADEBOYE. All former documents remain valid. Diamond Bank Plc and the general public please take note.

chukwu

I formerly known and addressed as MISS FRANCISCA OGECHI NWACHUKWU now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. LAFRANCA MIRIOMA CHIMA CHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. First bank Plc, Sterling bank Plc, Arms Aggresive Fund and the general public should please take note.

tarilabo

I formerly known and addressed as AYAMAH EZEKIEL now wish to be known and addressed as AYAMAH TARILABO. All former documents remain valid. Zenith bank Plc, First bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

akinwale

uyaiabasi

I formerly known as MISS BAKARE SHAKIRAT OMOLOLA, now wish to be known as MRS. AKINWALE SHAKIRAT OMOLARA, all former documents remain valid, general public,

I formerly known and addressed as DOPSE JIM IBANGA now wish to be known and addressed as UYAIABASI NSIKAK UDONKANG. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

ovbude

ofoka

I, formerly known and addressed as NKECHINYERE ANDREW OVBUDE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. NKECHINYERE LOVE OVBUDE. All documents bearing my former name remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS DORIS BRENDA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. DORIS OFOKA. All former documents remain valid. Access bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

mohammed

I formerly known and addressed as MISS FREDRICK VIVIAN UZOEZi now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. MOHAMMED ANEESA VIVIAN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

muleboh

I formerly known and addressed as MUSINGHAN NONTIN now wish to be known and addressed as MULEBOH EZEKIEL PERES. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

muleboh I formerly known and addressed as MUSINGHAN DEGBE now wish to be known and addressed as MULEBOH DUPE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take

okio I formerly known and addressed as OBI ADIAMOLOGI DALINE now wish to be known and addressed as OKIO ADIAMOLOGI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

orunimighen

I formerly known and addressed as GEORGE IBOBRA now wish to be known and addressed as ORUNIMIGHEN CORNELIUS. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc and the general public should please take note.

kurobiri

This is to confirm that GANA SUNNY KUROBIRI is the same person as SUNNY KUROBIRI with which my Diamond bank/BVN was registered and SUNNY GANA which appears in my Skye bank account. That henceforth I now wish to be known and addressed as GANA SUNNY KUROBIRI. All former documents remain valid. Diamond bank Plc, Skye bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

udoh

I formerly known and addressed as IMOH STEPHEN UDOFIA now wish to be known and addressed as MONDAY BENSON UDOH. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

nwamma

I formerly known and addressed as NOMEH CHUKWUMA STANLEY now wish to be known and addressed as CHUKWUMA NWAMMA NOMEH. All former documents remain valid. Fidelity bank Plc and the general public please take note.

you know what follows when that happens. That is the reality on ground now.” Since one year into the life of the present administration, customers seem to have continued to endure long spells of power outage or irregular supply in Nigeria. It does appear that the power situation, according to many, has gone from bad to worse across the nation. This virtual total collapse in power generation and distribution has, indeed, plunged the entire nation into almost darkness. There seems to be little hope, as it stands today, of improvement in the immediate future, forcing many, including businesses to rely heavily on generators to power their homes and companies.

Delta PDP to chairmen: Work to unseat Buhari in 2019 Dominic Adewole ASABA

elta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday charged its newly inaugurated council chairmen to start working to produce a president of the party’s extraction. The party said since the change agent in Aso-Rock had become “so negative, so deceitful and so unpopular” for the country’s economy, PDP intends to replace him in 2019 with a change the change agent. While the party warned the 25 chairmen to shun all forms of divisive tendencies, bribery and corruption in the discharge of their assignments, it charged them to increase their awareness on the increasing tempo of political sophistication to sustain contacts, reconciliation and mobilisation. Addressing the chair-

men at the party secretariat in Asaba yesterday, the state chairman, Kingsley Esiso, in companywith Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and other top government functionaries, urged them to continuously sensitise members of the party and keep them informed on the build up to 2019 general elections. He said: “We will not only return our miracle working governor in 2019, but by the grace of God and the goodwill of the Nigerian people, we intend to produce a president of PDP extraction in order to change the change that is so negative, so deceitful and so unpopular. “I do not need to remind you of the need to always operate an open door policy and in dealing with our party men and women and always be fair, be just and equitable, and make sure that at every given time, your decisions are in the best interest of the party.”

Niger to reduce workers’ salaries by 70% —Investigation Dan Atori MINNA

ollowing the continued drop in the amount received from the Federation Account in the last couple of months, the Niger State Government is set to reduce the salaries of its workers by a minimum of 70 per cent. Investigations by the Saturday Telegraph has it that the decision to cut the emoluments of workers was from the Office of the Head of Service. According to the findings, government has had to borrow from commercial banks and other organisations to augment what it received from Abuja and its internally generated revenue to be able to pay staff salaries making capital projects to remain on the drawing board. Further findings showed that government claimed that the amount it received from the Federation Ac-

count for the month of April was a paltry N600 million after all deductions while the IGR of the state was just N480 million. Our correspondent gathered that the decision to cut salaries of workers had been put before the joint negotiating council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state which vehemently opposed the policy. As a result it was gathered that a meeting between officials of government and those of the organised labour was held in Minna yesterday with the NLC maintaining its ground. Among the options presented it was learnt that if labour insisted that workers’ salaries should not be cut they should be prepared for a drastic reduction in the workforce or that government should pay ministries monthly or on rotational basis. Another option was that all the senior staff from

grade level 12 above would forfeit their pay for unspecified period to enable government to settle the pay of junior workers. When contacted on phone, the chairman of the NLC in the state, Comrade Yahaya Idris Ndako, confirmed that a meeting between the government and Labour on the issue was going on as at the time of filing this report. He said: “We have not taken any decision; I will get back to you please.” However, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Jibrin Ndace told the Saturday Telegraph that government's stand is based on the reality on ground. He said: "All that the government want is an understanding between it and labour because what we are facing presently is not caused by the present administration and government knows the role of civil servants."

NAPTIP rescues 152 victims of human trafficking

he Lagos State Zonal Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr. Joseph Famakin, yesterday said the agency had rescued 152 victims of human trafficking. CONFIRMATION OF NAME

godwin

This is to notify that the names AWO CHINEDU GODWIN and AWO CHINEDU IDUMA refer to one and same person. That henceforth I now wish to be known and addressed as AWO CHINEDU GODWIN. All former documents remain valid. Zenith bank Plc and the general public should please take note.

Famakin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on the sideline of a five-day training for the agency’s prosecutors and investigators that the rescue took place between January and April. He said: “Under the new law, punishments are bench-marked, they are more stringent; there are fines imposed and now, strictly imprisonment with no option of fines to fight human trafficking. “As I speak to you, we have successfully sent over 276 Nigerians to prison and

in Lagos State Zone we have presently 51 cases in the federal and state high courts. We have seven cases in the Court of Appeal and two cases in the Supreme Court. “The statistics of victims that are rescued and brought to Lagos, in 2014, we had a total of 316 victims rescued. In 2015, we had a total of 417 victims and this year, as I speak we already had 152. “So, that tells you the extent to which we are carrying out our operations to rescue victims from the clutches of traffickers."

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Hold APC responsible if Buhari fails, Okorocha tells Nigerians

•Attacks created 25 years backwardness in Benue –Ortom Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

mo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has said Nigerians should hold the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government responsible should President Muhammadu Buhari fail to deliver on his promises to the citizenry. Okorocha, who is the chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), stated this while fielding questions from journalists in Makurdi airport, after he led other governors on a condolence visit to their Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, over the killing of residents by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Also, Ortom said that attacks by Fulani herdsmen had robbed him of his ancestral home, lamenting that his home town was not only sacked by the armed herdsmen but that over 50 of his kinsmen had been killed with over 200 hectares of his rice farm set ablaze.

However, Okorocha, who expressed confidence that the present administration would solve the nation's problem, said most of the governors were passing through difficult moments and struggling to pay salaries of workers due to dwindling allocation from the federation account. “The APC government is in charge and if there is any failure, Nigerians should hold us responsible and we are not making any excuse for failure, we are very serious and we believe we can fix the nation right. “We are just passing through very difficult moments, but shortly after these difficulties, Nigeria will be cruising on a better level,” Okorocha said. In the same vein, Ortom, who spoke while receiving the PGF, led by Okorocha cried out that the destructive activities of the Fulani herdsmen in the various communities had created 25 years backwardness in the state. “The mercenaries invad-

ed my village, killed over 50 persons and destroyed over 200 hectares of my rice farm. As I am sitting here, I have no ancestral home. “They killed children, old men and women in my community. The mercenaries come to Benue not just to graze but to steal, kill and destroy the livelihood of the agrarian people, after which they take possession of the land knowing full well that all we have here are our farms. “These attacks have brought a major setback to the people, especially with our declining revenue from the federal allocation, which was about N7 billion before I assumed office. But this month stood at N1.3 billion, while our monthly wage bill stands at close to N4 billion,” he said. Meanwhile, Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, who also spoke to journalists during the visit on the security situation in his state said, he is currently battling with the issue of kidnapping to safeguard the lives of his

people. Bello stated however that relative peace had returned to the state following recent attacks on the people by suspected Fulani insurgents. “The situation in my state is calm, we have had our own share of farmers/herders clashes but we have been able to curtail it, we are talking to them and hopefully we will find a lasting solution to the problem,” Bello said. Bello maintained that there is not enough land for grazing in his state, saying as things stands, ranching remains the best option for grazing considering the increase in the population of the state. “There is not enough space for open grazing now, I strongly believe that ranching is the best option. We should note that our population is increasing and because of that the number of farmers is also increasing, so the land that was available 40 years ago is no longer available,” he stated.

Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu (left), at the Children’s Day celebration in Birnin Kebbi … yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

€52m

The estimated transfer value of Marco Veratti of PSG in 2016. Source: 101greatgoals.com

IBADAN PDP chieftain backs Buhari's anti-graft war

Anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday received a boost when a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko, canvassed masses’ support for the administration. Addressing journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Akin-Deko, said: “All and sundry need to support the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari in seeing that corruption and corrupt practices are brought to their knees. No nation can progress in an atmosphere of filth and unrighteousness. The President has good intention for Nigeria.” The PDP chieftain also called for the creation of a new PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) “that excludes any individual whose integrity is in question and who does not share any founding members' vision of Justice, Integrity and selfish service.”

49.97%

The percentage of individuals using the internet in Belgium in 2003. Source: Itu.int

SOKOTO

Sokoto Govt., firm sign 24-hour loan for workers

Sokoto State Government yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Credit Direct Limited, for issuance of loan to civil servants in the state within 24 hours. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that under the agreement workers in the employ of the state government will get loans of between N20, 000 and N950, 000, depending on their grade level. The state’s Head of Service, Alhaji Bature Shinkafi, and the Accountant-General, Alhaji Aminu Umar, signed on behalf of the state government while the Northern Regional Head of the Lagos-based company, Mr. Achioutu Abidiye, signed on its behalf. Shinkafi said the loans would be advanced to the beneficiaries within 24-hours of completing the processes. “Each beneficiary must not be having another previous loan tied to his salary, while the loan would be repaid between three months and one year,” he said.

£72.85m

The total aggregate payments received by West Brom for the English 2014/2015 season. Source: Goal.com

BADAGRY Customs impound N23.9m rice

The Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Lagos State yesterday said it had seized 2,131 bags of smuggled rice with a duty paid value of N23.9 million. The Controller, Mr. Victor Dimka, said in statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry, a border post between Nigeria and Benin Republic that the seizures were made through intelligence gathering. He said: “The bags of rice were smuggled into the country from Benin Republic through the Ere creek in Ikoga and they were stored in an uncompleted building in the area. “Officials of the command got wind of this and moved in to make the seizures; the seizures were made without hitches. They came in through the water because the road leading to Seme border has been ‘fortified’ against smuggling by officers of the command,” the statement said.

News 9 President’s emergence saved Nigeria’s economy from collapse – Lai Mohammed

inister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as the President in 2015 saved the country’s economy from imminent collapse due to mismanagement and unbridled corruption. The minister made the remarks in Kano yesterday during a courtesy visit to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, shortly before the commencement of the Hausa language town hall meeting in the ancient city. “For the fact that God loves this country, if any other political party had won the election, there would have been no economy to talk about. They wouldn't have the courage or discipline to manage the economy,” he said. Mohammed said through prudent management of resources and the introduction of creative ideas to block leakages,

the President is gradually reviving the economy, and assured Nigerians that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel. “This government, more than any government, has been working very hard because this is one government that genuinely believes in the people; it is one government that really cares for the poorest of the poor. For the first time we have a President whose integrity is actually driving the country,” he said. He also appealed to Nigerians to be patient as the change they voted for was a gradual process, noting that the past one year had been spent in laying a solid foundation for the country. While describing the Kano town hall meeting as unique because the medium of communication is an indigenous language, the minister said the idea of the town hall meetings is to communicate directly with the people and also feel their pulse on government policies and programmes.

Fayose, Mimiko are ‘liabilities’, says PDP chieftain Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

mmediate past Chairman of the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, yesterday described Ekiti Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose and his Ondo State counterpart, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, as “liabilities to the party in the South-West.” Olaoluwa, who stated this while speaking with journalists in Osogbo, alleged that the two governors had not added any value to the development of the party since they emerged as their respective states governors. Olaoluwa said: “They are rejected in the zone by all and sundry and they are not our leaders but could be so in their controlled states.

“They are not leaders in the south-west as they claim but self-fish politicians with inordinate ambitions. “For instance, look at the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party made use of its resources in Lagos State when Fashola was the governor to wrestle power from some PDP controlled states but in the case of Fayose and Mimiko, they have never assisted any state in the South-West with their positions but instead use it to cause confusion in the zone. “They act against the precepts of the party and yell at party members as if they are in a conquered territory all in the name of immunity but they should remember that their immunity would come to an end one day."

Emmanuel performs groundbreaking for Delmar Petroleum Tony Anichebe Uyo

kwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has performed the groundbreaking for a Petrochemical Company, Delmar Petroleum and Jetty, located at Itak Idim Ekpe, Ibeno Local Government Area of the state. The event, which is part of activities to mark the governor’s one year in office, has opened the window for the influx of oil and gas investors to the state. He lauded the company for the choice of the state for the investment, saying he had begun negotiations

with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and ExxonMobil for the supply of gas and crude oil for the take off of the project or they grant access for the sourcing of the product within the marginal field to feed the plant. He explained that besides the government's support, the coastlines would also play host to several industries, including fertilizer plant. The governor said the firm, which is an oil and gas trading company, would have access to the deep sea through a conventional Bonny Mooring System for loading and discharging large capacity product tankers from 30kt to 100kt.

Voices

What is your assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari's first year in office? p.12

City & crime update

SATURDAY, 28 MAY 2016

Why I videotaped Nimbo killings –Herdsman O Juliana Francis

ne of the suspected Fulani herdsmen, Mohammadu Zurai, who attacked the Nimbo Community in Enugu State, killing over 40 people, including women and children, has revealed in chilling details how he and his colleagues carried out the gruesome attack. Zurai said that the attack on Nimbo Community was a revenge mission. He claimed that six Fulani herdsmen were killed in the past by members of the community and that the government and leaders of the community allegedly did nothing to fish out the killers. According to Zurai, more than 100 armed Fulani herdsmen from Taraba, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna States took part in the attack that witnessed the killing of many. They also destroyed buildings. Zurai, 24, and four of his accomplices, namely: Ciroma Musa, Sale Adamu, Suleiman Laute and Haruna Laute were arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, for the killings. Zuarai, a native of Garba Shehu town, Taraba State, said that he was born in Enugu State. Recollecting how they planned and carried out the attack, Zurai said kolanuts were shared among Fulani leaders, who rear cows around Nimbo community. The kolanuts served as an invitation to join in the attack.

Suspected herdsmen

He said: “Our people responded by sending representatives to support the attack. Our meeting was held in Ameke town, Kogi State, two days before the attack. It was actually in Kogi State that we fine-tuned our plan on how to strike.” Without mincing words, Zurai said that he was the person that took time to video record the killings because he wanted to show the video to his rela-

Trafficked girl who carried out 320 abortions for Nigerian girls, dies

Juliana Francis

ne of the girls who was trafficked to Libya by human traffickers has died. The girl, identified simply as Abigail, was a 26-year-old orphaned nurse. Abigail was among over 500 girls trafficked to Libya for prostitution by a Nigerian syndicate led by a couple, Alhaji Muritala Sanni and his wife Alhaja Lateefat Sanni and Mrs. Bankole, Lateefat’s mum. Bankole was arrested and charged to court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP). But her daughter and son-in-law are still on the run. Like many other victims, Abigail was tricked to Libya. She was told that there were vacancies for nurses in Libya. But when she got there, she was held and forced to carry out abortions for other Nigerian girls held captive by the couple. Bankole’s job in Nigeria was to recruit unsuspecting girls and send them to Libya to her daughter Lateefat and her son-inlaw, Sanni. The couple would hold them prisoners until they engage in prostitution and pay 10 times the money used in transporting them to Libya. Saturday Telegraph had earlier reported how Abigail confessed to having carried out over 320 abortions for Nigerian girls held captive in Libya by the couple before she was rescued. Abigail was among the last three girls, rescued by a Human Rights Group, Alliance of Rights Defenders, ARD. Abigail and the two other rescued girls returned to Nigeria, sick. They looked pale and had rashes all over their bodies. Abigail, who had spent three years in Libya,

tives at Ashoka Village, Kogi State, where he lives. Zurai was arrested when the gory footage of the killing was discovered in his phone by the police in Kogi State. He was arrested and subsequently transferred to IRT, where he was interrogated. He confessed to having participated in the Nimbo attack. He mentioned the names of the leaders of the groups

that took part in the attack as Alhaji Suddi, Alhaji Kuriya, Alhaji Dula and Ardo Dula. Zurai said all the names he mentioned are residents of Enugu State. He further said: “Mallam Adamu, Alhaji Chiroma, Adamu Sarka, Alhaji Botdo, Alhaji Iro Kogi, Alhaji Fanya and a certain Buba, all came from Kogi State to join in the attack. In fact, they were the ones that invited me to join.” He continued: “A few days before we attacked Nimbo Community, one of my friends, Buba, called me. He said there was trouble and that Fulani people were gathering in the bush. He said they were sharing kolanuts. I left my cows and joined them. Our people had been killed in that community in the past and nothing was done about it. “We entered Nimbo through the bush path. On our way, I met a man who had been butchered. He lay dead on the ground. I used my phone to video record the scene. I told the dead man that ‘your people had the gut to kill Fulani men, now you are dead.’ Don’t you know that the Fulani own Nigeria? On the way to Nimbo community, I saw an Igbo man who is my friend. He often gave me food whenever I was around the town. I told him to leave the community immediately because Fulani men would slaughter him if they see him. We went through the bush path.”

said she was glad to be home. Abigail had recounted her story: “These girls were forced to sleep with men as old as 50 years without protection. I got beaten whenever I refused to abort for the girls. Lateefat would use the stick part of a mop

Abigail

to hit me mercilessly. I have aborted over 320 pregnancies. The teenage girls also told me they used cucumbers to deflower them before they were forced to sleep with men.” Abigail further said: “I’m an orphan, living in Bayelsa State with my siblings. I’m the oldest child. My parents are dead. After my parents died, the responsibility of taking care of my siblings fell on me. Sometime in 2013, my sister's friend, a nurse, came to our house in Bayelsa. “She promised to introduce me to people that would assist me financially. I was interested. She took me to see Lateefat and her husband Sanni. They told me they could help me to make good money as an auxiliary nurse in Italy. They assured me they had connections in Italy.” The Chief Executive Officer of ARD, Ojay Akinwale, expressed sadness over Abigail’s death and urged government to take human trafficking seriously. He said Abigail died on April 5. Mr. Tunde Oshokoya, a private investigator, who worked with ARD, had to travel to Libya, to investigate the prostitution ring, leading to the rescue of some victims, including Abigail. Oshokoya said: “She died after being sick for a while. She came from Libya to Nigeria with the sickness. We took her to hospital for treatment, but she gave up

the ghost. ARD, an NGO, took up the responsibility of rescuing and rehabilitating trafficked victims without any assistance from the government.” Abigail was trafficked to Libya in 2013 after she was lured there to work as an auxillary nurse. Abigail had earlier expressed fears that she would die if she exposed the Libya human trafficking syndicate. The rescued victims were transferred to NAPTIP. The agency had since charged some accused to court for the roles they played. Abigail was yet to give evidence in court before she died. During her chat with journalists after her arrival in Nigeria, Abigail had said: “They locked us up in a room with 50 other girls. We were not allowed to go out and they beat us mercilessly if we attempted to escape. “It’s sad that I didn’t come back with anything to show for my three years labour in Libya. They took my money and put this sickness in me. I became very ill after I told Sanni in January that I couldn’t continue to work for them. He refused to pay me my money. I got help from a church through the assistance of Alliance of Rights Defenders (ARD) to come back to Nigeria. I and two other girls were brought back by air on March 11. We are very ill and need government help."

City&crime update

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Our Correspondents s Nigerian children yesterday joined their counterparts in other parts of the world to celebrate the annual May 27 Children’s Day, President Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and some state governors have expressed determination to stop violence against children in the country.

Buhari urges end to child marriage

Buhari has called for an end to all forms of abuse and exploitation against the child, including abduction and forced marriages. The president, who made this call during the National Children’s Day Celebration at the Eagle Square, Abuja, said there was urgent need for all stakeholders, including parents and communities at all levels to protect children against any form of violence. Buhari who was represented at the occasion by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, said the Federal Government was resolute in its efforts at rescuing all the missing Chibok Girls. He cited the recent rescue of Amina Ali Nkeki and Sarah Luka of Chibok town, Borno State as evidence that government was unwavering in its resolve in that regard. The president said, no child or indeed any other Nigerian should be put through the brutality of abduction, violence or forced marriage in whatever form, stressing that every girl has a right to education and choice of life.

Saraki backs Child’s Rights Act

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, called for judicious implementation of the Child's Rights Act. This was as he and some of his colleagues spent the whole of yesterday celebrating children of various ages, as part of activities marking the Children’s Day. Some school pupils and secondary school students had arrived the Senate at 9am and took a tour of the hallowed chambers. Saraki later received them in his office and thereafter read to them from a story book, titled: 'Ngozi Comes To Town', written by Fatima Akilu and published by Cassava Republic. Saraki admonished the children to read and take their studies seriously so as to grow to become great leaders, just as he also presented packs of gifts, consisting of reading materials to the children.

Children’s Day: Buhari, Saraki, govs, others seek end to child abuse

After the reading session, Saraki and other Senators held another session for secondary school students. At the session with the students, Saraki presented them each with a 'Children's Handbook on Nigerian 1999 Constitution' and advised them to read it as a preparation towards playing important roles in the society in future. “I want to first of all reassure you that we believe the future belongs to the children and there is no society that can flourish if the future is not better than the present and for the future of Nigeria to be better than the present, we want all our children to have a greater future and that is our own responsibility,” he said. Ambode declares war on

kidnappers

Governor Ambode of Lagos State reassured children in the state of his commitment towards ensuring that anyone who engages in any form of abuse and violence against any child shall be appropriately dealt with under the Law. The governor who was represented at the occasion by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, said, “violence against children; be it physical, sexual and psychological as well as deliberate neglect and above is becoming a norm than an aberration. The most confounding being rape of minors, kidnap and child trafficking. These are heinous crimes that

are not acceptable in any civilized society and Lagos would not be an exception.”

Ahmed raises voice against child abuse

Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, has called on Nigerians to stop Child Abuse and other forms of violence against children. The governor in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, noted that a society that subjects its youngsters to abuse is in jeopardy. Ahmed, who noted that the theme of this year’s event, 'Protect the Right of Children in the Face of Violence and Insecurity: End Child Marriage', was apt, called for more commitment by various stakeholders for proper upbringing of children and, especially in the areas of values of respect for self discipline and dignity.

Building children is our key agenda –Ayade

On his part, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State said his administration would continue to give priority to children’s welfare through provision of quality education and moral uprightness. Speaking in Calabar, he said the state had initiated a 'Finance the Children' programme to train kids who excelled in their academic studies.

“It is my belief that all of you standing here are the future leaders of tomorrow. Children are great leaders of tomorrow, as I greet you today, I see doctors, lawyers, engineers, senators, governors and others,” he said.

Ajimobi: Law banning female genital mutilation underway

Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, also assured female children of protection against genital mutilation, declaring that a bill to prohibit the practice is before the state House of Assembly. He said the bill to outlaw Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was part of the efforts to protect the future of Nigerian children and to encourage and bring joy to all children by drawing the society’s attention to the key issues that touch all and sundry. “We are also committed to ending the scourge of female genital mutilation,” he said.

Enugu to pass Child Rights Act

Speaking at the event, Governor Ugwuanyi said the Enugu State Government would pass the Child Rights Act in the state, even as it reiterated his commitment towards the proper intellectual and social development of children in the state. He noted that through the state Ministry of Gender Affairs, the gov-

ernment had achieved a significant reduction in the incidence of child trafficking and other illegal practices that negatively affect the rights and development of children. “The Enugu State Child Rights Act is now before the State House of Assembly and when passed, will provide important legal support for our efforts in this direction.”

Lagos Speaker wants more protection for children

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has called for improved efforts at protecting children's rights as well as putting in place, measures that will enhance their welfare. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Musbau Rasak, to commemorate the Children’s Day celebration, the Lagos Speaker also called on children to do away with crimes and violence. He reminded the young ones that shaping their character and preparing themselves for the challenges of nation building should be paramount rather than engage in activities that would hinder their development. Obasa stated that the realisation that children are future leaders makes it imperative for individuals, government at all levels and corporate organisations to put all hands on deck and improve on activities aimed at protecting the rights of children.

Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (centre) with some children who visited Government House, Enugu to celebrate the Children’s Day with the governor… yesterday PHOTO: Enugu Government House

Aworis seek peaceful resolution of Ado-Odo land dispute

he Aworis in Soki-Ere in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State have pleaded for the peaceful possession of the land dispute in the community. The piece of land in dispute is at Soki-Ere village via Ado-Odo town in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State and has survey plan No. AB/546/ OG was drawn and signed by A.B Apatira, a registered Surveyor and dated April 27, 1981. In a chat with journalists over the matter, the Baale of Soki-Ere, Chief Jimoh Akinola, appealed to the Egun, who were on the land

as tenants, to adhere strictly to a judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on July 13, 1990, which pronounced that the Arilegbolorosi Family, comprising of the Baale of Soki-Ere, Chief Jimoh Akinola, Chief Benedict Adekunle and Chief Mufutau Dosunmu, were the original owners under customary law of the land in SokiEre, and that the Eguns were their customary tenants. He further added that there was also an order in the Supreme Court judgment that the customary tenancy had been forfeited and a further order of injunction restraining the Eguns, who were

the defendants/respondents in the matter, from going to the land for whatever reason. According to him, for a court order to recover possession of the piece of land in dispute, the SokiEre community took the matter to the High Court of Justice, Ogun State, in the Agbara Judicial Division holden at Ota before Justice O.S. Olusanya under suit No. MT/13/14 and judgment was again delivered in favour of the Baale of Soki-Ere, Chief Jimoh Akinola, Chief Benedict Adekunle and Chief Mufutau Dosunmu, who were the claimants and representatives of the community.

He averred that the court further ordered that their land be given back to them and should not be tampered with by the defendants and unknown persons. Part of the judgment pronounced by Justice Olusanya reads: “I am persuaded that the claimants have deposed to their title in the subject matters of this suit and I see no reason why they should not enjoy the fruit of their labour, more so when the judgment of the Apex Court is final. The application of the claimants has merit and ought to be granted and it is hereby granted.” “Judgment is hereby entered

for the claimants and it is hereby ordered as follows; that the claimants are entitled to recover possession of the land in dispute herein situate, lying and being at Soki-Ere village via Ado-Odo town, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State,” he said. The Baale of Soki-Ere, who described the Egun people’s disregard for the order of the Supreme Court and an Ota High Court as an assault on the nation’s judiciary, berated the Egun people for flagrantly flouting the court order in an attempt to cause crisis in the community.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Voices

What is your assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first year in office? Buhari’s government is a failing experiment

The worst Nigerians have seen in years Well, there is no need to talk much. His administration is the worst Nigerians have ever experienced.

—Kate Benjamin,

kitchen manager/cook

Buhari is not a listening president, you can't perform a surgery on a patient without anesthesia, APC is a failing experiment but I will never regret sending Jonathan away. —Habib Omachile, entrepreneur

It is all failed promises Buhari government came with lots of promises but midway denied many and still struggling to fulfill just one after spending over 365 days in office. If I'm to rate this government using WAEC standard, I will score Buhari F9. Why? The Nigerian economy was relatively stable and full of hopes when his government took over but one year down the line all they have succeeded in doing is mismanaging the few achievements of his predecessor. The way out is for the government to strengthen its economic team and stop telling poor Nigerians to tighten their belts while government officials are busy spending frivolously. Who is deceiving who?

—Sunday Ohwo, photojournalist

There is nothing to assess

There is nothing to assess because his one year is a failure in all aspects of it. —Johnson Musa, civil servant

He lacks creative capacity on economy I know him before now for almost 12 months in government; I will say he has failed the Nigerian masses. The Buhari that I know does not have creative capacity on economy and international affairs. He also lacks the capacity to bring the right people on board. I can tell you how terrible his government was in 1984 and 1985 and how it is now.

—Okanyi Enemali, civil servant

Not much result to show Although not much result to show for his works but he is trying his best to restore sanity. He is living up to my expectation.

—Daniel Akoji, Health Safety and Environmental Officer

He has fought corruption to a standstill

The major problem we have in this country is corruption and he has fought that to a standstill. Buhari is the first president to take a critical decision of removing fuel subsidy and it will go a long way to help Nigeria economy.

—Sandra Joseph, teacher

Failed promises The only reasonable way to assess the present administration in my opinion would be to judge through fulfillment of campaign promises made. Now, let's list a few that readily comes to mind: N5, 000 stipend to all unemployed youths; free lunch for all primary school pupils; reduce fuel pump price from N86 to N45; stabilise the naira and make it trade at N1 to $1; diversify the economy and end over dependence on oil; create one million new jobs within three months in office; improve security and end insurgency by end of 2015. Tell me which of these promises have been fulfilled?

—Etta Jay, civil servant

compiled by: DEBORAH OCHENI

The economy is in a bad shape Security wise he is doing well but in the economic sector he is failing woefully because it has already been announced by the Central Bank Governor (CBN) governor that it will go into recession by June. We can't be fighting corruption and allow every other things to go down, my grouse is that he is not even communicating to Nigerians rather he prefer going outside the shore to address issues that concerns Nigerian. Look at the issue of fuel hike, he did not even deem it fit to address the masses. I have never witness the kind of hardship we are facing now, he should look at what he can do to reduce cost of living for the masses.

—Jude Idimogu, lawmaker

Not much has been achieved Not much has been done due to the situation he met. He was overwhelmed by some negative factors, by that I mean the level of corruption and most especially the fall in the price of oil. We do hope that things will turn out right as time goes on. —Felix Okolie, banker

He is a blessing to us He is 60 per cent fine, he is a blessing to Nigeria and that of our economy because you and I know that Nigeria economy was at the verge of collapsing before God brought him to us. The immediate past government milked and mismanaged it. —Shehu Ismail, graduate

He is on the right track Buhari is on the right track, he is productive in the aspect of the economy. Our economy is taking shape now. —Elias Enejo, banker

WeekendBliss

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

N O P U E S O CL U (YAW) STEVE ON

WHY I CAN’T DO WITHOUT STAGE PLAYS The efforts of Steve Onu popularly known as Yaw and others have made Wazobia FM 95.1 a leading radio station in Nigeria. The Theatre Arts graduate of the Lagos State University, in this encounter with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS, speaks about challenges, tomorrow’s show, ‘Shalanga’ and a lot more. Is Yaw the same person on radio and in reality? Steve Onu is quite reserved, but only a few people know this. I am the shy type, which explains why I like to be left alone sometimes. Left to me, I want to be at home counting money and then go to bed. But for the sake of Yaw, I must be outgoing. I must attend events, I must be on red carpets and I must interact with people. This is Steve Onu speaking now because Yaw doesn’t speak English; only Steve Onu speaks English. Steve Onu and Yaw are two totally different people, though some things are still similar. I can’t run away from the humorous side of me. Apart from that, I just prefer to always be in my house. I don’t like going to parties and clubs. Don’t you think you are more of a radio personality than a comedian? Comedy depends on what aspect you are looking at it from. We’ve got stand-up comedians, comic actors and radio comedians. For me, I do anyone that comes my way. If it’s to act, I act and if you call me for stand-up comedy I do it too, but I see myself as a total entertainer. Also, a comic actor is not necessarily a stand-up comedian and not all stand-up comedians can act. You might just like acting for the first one or two minutes, but later you would prefer to stick with stand-up comedy. Where I come from, they say: “you don’t stand in one place to see a masquerade. If the masquerade goes this way, you must follow if you want to enjoy the spectacle.” Being a theatre person, you must be versatile; you must be able to do a little of almost everything. Do you plan to venture into music someday? I did a song with 2Shot and Rugged Man in 2006, and I equally did another one with my brother Koffi and X-Project. It was released, but I don’t intend to do more of music. continued on page 14

Instyle

The Arts

Hospitality

TV & Radio

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Looking dapper in agbada © Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Nkem Owoh, Kofi Adjorlolo, Helen Paul, regale as ‘Ghana Must Go’ premieres

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Sunday Politics: PDP leadership controversy

Close Up

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

'Many people don't care what happens to Nigeria' C o n t i n u e d f r o m pa g e 1 3

What went wrong with ‘Yaw’s n Myn’? ‘Yaw’s n Myn’ is on hold at present, but we would go to locations for more episodes. It is quite expensive to record a sitcom since we don’t have a sponsor and it is our duty to take care of all our cast and crew members. Before the end of the year, it would be back. Fans have been asking for it; so, immediately after the ‘Shalanga’ show production will start. Also, my team and I have been working tirelessly to come up with new ideas. Tell us about your forthcoming show, ‘Shalanga’ ‘Shalanga’ which is otherwise known as pit latrine is a play written by Femi Branch. I did ‘Po’ stage play in 2008 alongside Kofi, which mirrored the society in a satire manner. I discussed with Branch that I wanted to respeat the play again and he told me he had another one that I would love. This gave birth to ‘Shalanga.' The audience would enjoy a recap of what has happened in the country from the beginning of the year till date. It revolves around politics, entertainment and other areas. Everybody just comes from nowhere and all we do is to deposit poop; it’s none of our business. We deposit it, both the hard and watery ones. We just drop anything inside Nigeria and we don’t care about the outcome. In all fairness, most times people don’t care about what happens in the ‘Shalanga’ because we just drop and go. We are all government officials; it’s not just about those in Aso Rock (Abuja) alone. We must contribute our own quota and not wait till everything is bad before we start complaining. The country would only be better if we are all united and that is what we are trying to pass across with ‘Shalanga.’ This is the eighth edition of different plays, but with the

...strutting his stuff

We must contribute our own quota and not wait till everything is bad before we start complaining

same theme where we talk about the government. It’s just a recap of what you and I know. People just come to watch and laugh about it. Satire is like a rubber sword, you pierce someone with no intention of spilling blood, but you inflict pain. At the end of the day, you could laugh but go home to think about it. Why do you mix music and comedy for your shows? I did drama in school and I am a proud Theatre Arts graduate. From the days I started putting out plays in the university, I said to myself that I would continue the trend. Back then in school, I always called on stars like Omo Baba, Jedi, Sound Sultan and Rugged Man. I just want to do something completely different. Also, I am first a trained actor. I decided to combine music and comedy because a lot of people like it that way. It’s a standard I have built overtime; I can only improve on it. What informed your decision to act alongside with AY in ‘Shalanga’? I have acted alongside Funke Akindele, Koffi, Okey Bakassi and many others, but last year AY approached me that he would love to be part of the next edition. Sound Sultan and Akpororo have indicated interest too, so for the next three years I have people to act with. For AY, he is also a Theatre Arts graduate who has done well in the comedy and movie industry. I love his craft and style; I know we can always pull through together. The stage play would thrill the audience, and the message we are trying to pass must get across to people.

Yaw in the studio

...with Cossy Orjiakor

What are those things that would make this edition exciting? Expect the best at the show. Talented musicians and comedians, including Olamide, Phyno, Ycee, Lil Kesh, Vector, Humble Smith, SolidStar, Reminisce and others have been confirmed to appear. There are also surprises like last year when we had an old school performer. After I finished my show, a lot of people started using old school musicians. The total show package is what makes it different and I always try to do something different. Are you not worried that the current economic hardship could affect your show? Last year and two years ago, there was fuel crisis. It happens every time unfortunately. So if you followed the edition I did with Julius, we played a part where we had the fuel pump in front and then people queuing up to buy fuel. Even when I did the edition with Funke Akindele, it was almost the same thing. I am not bothered because it would come and go. If people stay at home from now till the day of my show, they would get tired of saying at home and that would make them come out. It seems your target is the rich and mighty given the venue? I target everybody; don’t forget that the plays I do talk about Nigeria generally. I believe that if we start from the bottom to teach people the things that are right, it goes a long way. So it’s for everybody: from the rich to the middle class and to people who are still struggling. When we decide to encourage community theatres, we would then take these plays to places like Ikotun, Oshodi and Egbeda. But we don’t even have

the venues if you want to do plays for people there. If I decided to do my play in Ikeja for instance and people didn’t attend, how do I make money? Staging a play is really expensive, that’s why I say sponsored community theatre allows you to move from one place to another and touch more lives. Security is also essential; most people find it hard till date to go the National theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, because of security related issues. I would not risk investing my money into having a show at the place because I know that people are scared of going there. When they do plays at the theatre, people only attend when they are free. For proper shows, people don’t come. We shouldn’t forget the government factor also. When you hear of or face certain things, you get annoyed and wonder why you should have plays at the National Theatre. What are the challenges of stage plays in Nigeria? It is all about finance, and gone are the days when you get sponsors for stage plays. Another thing is that is we don’t have a proper structure to put things in the right order. What makes a good script? It’s all about the style, plot and then the end because nothing is new. If you want to shoot a film or stage a play, it is not new. The key is how it is written and the use of words. Those are the things that you must look out for. You should also pay attention to people who are actually behind it, especially the director. The producer does not really matter in Nigeria for now; the most important people are the director and co-actors.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Look dapper in

agbada Deborah Makoji

an there be anything more comfortable and airy than agbada? It is one African apparel that has gained so much attention in the Nigerian fashion world and worn by both sexes. Ladies are not taking it easy on slaying this apparel and men are not relenting either with the dapper look they create wearing agbada. Agbada is no longer an exclusive preserve for rich old men; young men now rock agbada for red carpet and it needless to say how they look in this exquisite African traditional attire. With its recent infusion into modern fashion, agbada is now a staple in celebrities’ wardrobe now. The younger folks have taken the fashion of agbada to a whole new level and we have to admit it’s more than awesome so much so that agbada is now worn to dinners and many other formal events. They look absolutely dapper in this elaborate and well embroideried apparel, it flatters all body size and hides many

flaws that shirt and pants cannot hide. The thing about this outfit that has sleeves that hang loosely over the shoulders and has embroidery round the neck and pocket is that they help you achieve that ‘big man’ look in an instant even though it doesn’t make you look older. Who would have thought agbada would become this fashionable?

Tips ·Depending on individual choice, agabda can be made with brocade, ankara, aso-ake and any fabrics of choice. ·You can never go wrong pairing coral beads with a well-starched agbada ·For a super dapper look, try matching your shoes with the cap ·Agbada is obviously incomplete without traditional cap, you can go a step further by matching you cap with the colour of the agbada’s embroidery. ·Try accessorising with an oversized sunglasses and maintain clean shave. ·For more a dramatic look, opt for contrasting colours of embroidery.

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16 Instyle

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Acc e s s o r i e s to l i v e f o r

Bridal beaded cap: B

Deborah Ocheni

Simply alluring

rides turning out in coral beads is something fascinating! Coral beads are the first gemstone choice for most Nigerian brides for their traditional wedding. Statement beaded cap is a must-have bridal fashion accessory for every Nigerian bride who is preparing for her traditional marriage and engagement ceremonies. These alluring pieces have for long been accepted by those from the Niger Delta as they wear these elaborate fabulous pieces to complement traditional outfits. Beaded jewellery is more or less a huge part of the culture of most Nigerian and African tribes; when paired with traditional African ethnic fabrics such as laces, aso-oke, ankara prints and George, the beaded cap transforms the bride’s looks into both regal and elegant. Coral beads come in different sizes, shapes and colour. Some parts of the Niger Delta make a complete outfit from these beads for their brides while some tie George fabric wrapper round her chest and then wear coral beads caps. Tips ·Ensure you opt for your size and allow the beaded cap to sit firmly on your hairstyle. ·Brides that rock coral beads with exquisite coral neck beads on their complete blouse and double wrapper outfits look more elegant. ·For a more sophisticated and regal look, move away from the norm by wearing white coral beaded cap. ·Beaded cap will adorn natural hair well; Keep hairstyle simple; natural updo hairstyle is perfect for the beaded cap. ·Pair beaded cap with beaded accessories like bracelet, necklace and earrings. ·Depending on the look you want to achieve, both subtle and loud makeup go well with beaded caps.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

MY STYLE Adeaze Anastasia Amadi is brains plus beauty which gave her the confidence to contest the 2016 Miss Nigeria beauty pageant. In this interview with Deborah Ocheni, the Public Relations/Corporate Officer of Temple and AegeanDas Limited highlights the disparity between style and fashion. What informed your decision of going into modelling? I have always loved modelling from when I was eight. I love attending fashion events but because the Nigerian society expects you go to school first before doing anything else, I decided to put the modelling desire on hold because I knew I will be distracted if I combined modelling and schooling. Is that to say you went to school just to fulfil all righteousness? Not at all, education is important; modelling can come anytime so I had to do the right thing at the right time. Education with modelling is good and that is why I decided to complete my education first. I modelled as a student and I am now better equipped as a graduate; my experience so far has given me an edge over my peers. Apart from modelling, is there any other business you are into? I read Mass Communication, and I am practicing what I studied in school; I am the Public Relations/Corporate Officer of Temple and AegeanDas Limited. Modelling is just something that I do to fulfil my passion. Miss Nigeria is one of the biggest contests in Nigeria and I am really prepared to face any challenges that will come along the way. Modelling is more than taking good photograph, it has to do with intellect and I have this ‘I can do spirit’ and I believe I will come out of this in a good way. I have great ideas to develop other people and

Decent but spontaneous

Instyle 17

the ability to create new things that will help a lot of people. I am from a home where we strive hard to be the best, and I want to keep that flag flying.

What does fashion mean to you? Fashion means a lot to me, but style means much more to me. Fashion is what we see daily but style is the way you combine and carry fashion. My style is simple and classy, I don’t believe in wearing a lot of accessories; I believe the little you wear should be classy and chic. I believe in decent dressing but I am also spontaneous. What determines what you wear? The occasion determines what I wear. I am not a suit kind of person but I like decent outfits that can match any event I am going for. Which outfits take up most space in your wardrobe? Casual wears. What is your ready to go outfits? Jeans and top Do you consider any fashion indispensable? That should be my jeans; I can wear jeans in a corporate and chic way. I love shoes too; I wear any kind of shoes. Which fashion item catches your fancy while shopping? I love shoes and dresses a lot because you can never go wrong in dresses. What is your idea on colour combination? I love combining colours, not ‘colour blocking’. I love playing with colours in as much as I like going on plain black and white. Whenever I think of other colours, yellow, red and purple come in handy. It makes the eyes pop. How easily do you get fashion accessories in Nigeria? I have some shops where I get my things; it’s not difficult getting what I want around. I am not a heavy shopper, I shop lightly.

Beauty

Goth inspired purple lips Deborah Ocheni

t appears that all styles and hues of purple lips look hip! A Goth inspired purple lip is the fall of the moment; purple lips were first spotted on the fall winter 2013 to 2014 fashion week runways. Purple lips suits everyone, it’s just down to the right shade. Blue based purple grabs more attention than muted plum purples. If in doubt, you should generally go for darker shades to find something that goes well with different looks. This look is dramatic and it’s up to individual to go minimal or heavy on the eye makeup when wearing purple lipstick. Purple is a neutral colour in the makeup world. This shade has a hard-to-wear reputation that isn't deserved, but as long as you choose the best purple lipstick for your skin tone, wearing it can be easy and

gorgeous. Purple is a versatile colour because it can be worn anytime, any season, and on any skin colour. It can be bright, vampy or neutral, so whatever your makeup and beauty comfort level is purple lipstick is in comparison and you can make it work for you. Tips ·The key to making a purple lip work for you is keeping the rest of your makeup monochromatic, yet understated. · Reddish plum purples are very safe and officefriendly, so if you are unsure of what shade would suit you or if a purple would look too off on you, choose a plum shade. · Balancing purple lips with natural flush and blacker-than-black mascara will really make the colour pop. · If you're intimidated, but want to nail the look, go with a berry shade lip. This is a paler, softer approach to a purple lip that will complement your skin tone. · Choose a colour that is cool toned and maybe even lavender or lilac for a more subtle look.

Amadi

How do you love your makeup? I love simple but neat makeup; I am not comfortable on heavy makeup. Which hairdo holds special appeal to you? Simple, but I can go on any hair colour. What is the most expensive accessory you have ever bought? Wristwatch, necklace and a perfume. What will you never be caught wearing? Tying wrapper on the street. Do you have a signature perfume? I am spontaneous, I love trying new things. Which fabric do you cherish most? Leather and soft cotton, I like anything that is cool. I am not a blinks kind of person. What is your advice to the government especially now that oil has failed the economy? Entertainment is really good; we don’t have to depend solely on oil to create revenue for us. Do you think tourism is strong enough to attract revenue? Our tourism is strong but we are not maintaining it well; you don’t need a dash of rainbow to attract people. Simple and little things are what make a country grow. We have so many important things in this country that we are not paying attention to. Our culture alone is unique enough because we are the only country with over 250 ethnic groups with different languages and cultures and that alone is a thing to behold.

18 Interiors

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Deborah Ocheni

atural is the watchword nowadays, everything is going back to its natural form and interiors are not left out in this craze. The desire to crave something cool, natural and appealing to the eyes has brought about the types of furniture our forefathers used in those days.

Rustic furniture, providing distinct personality to interiors

It is safe to say the slogan ‘old school’ has gone into extinction as people are on the look for creative ways to reinvent those things that trended in the past. Rustic décor is so “in” right now and they can be used in dining, sitting room, bedroom, kitchen and toilet. Rustic furniture has a way of fitting in beautifully in any space and the list to what you can find in rustic design is endless. Rustic furniture has an appealing roughness around the edges that is capable of drawing attention, so join the move and bring in this beautiful trend into your home décor if you are not there yet because whatever your dream for vintage looks is, I bet you will not find anything more unique than rustic wood furniture. Rustic wood furniture employs logs and sticks for natural, lovely and inspiring looks. They are elegant, ornamental and provide distinct charming soft contours to interior as well as exterior styles. Tips

·Rustic colours look as though they might have been appropriate in pioneer days. That's not to say that you can't update the palette with a few lighter and brighter touches, but do this in moderation. ·Keep patterns should be traditional, that is, from plaid to patchwork. ·You could smooth the sides of logs as well as branches or leave the individual personality. ·Start by bringing in rustic furniture in pieces if you are not a fan of vintage and try mixing it up with modern furniture made of glass and wood.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

When reality hit Chocolate City Music

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Comic actor, Charles Awurum’s profile is organically on the rise and he speaks about this, how he handles his female fans, marriage among other matters in this interview with LANRE ODUKOYA. At some point you veered from playing serious parts into comedy roles in movies. What explains this transition? I came out of the university as a versatile actor. I hate being stereotyped into a particular character. So at a point when comedians were really doing some great work, I told them that I could do it. When I came into this industry I was acting serious movies, action movies, I call them Rambo, but I told them I could act comedy. But they said with your hard face, you act as a detective, how can you act comedy? But I told them I am an actor. A comedian must not be deformed. You mustn’t be misshapen to make people laugh. As an actor, you can play any role. It was by force that I got into comedy. Then I had to get my friend, Sunny Nnaji, I pleaded with him to give me a comic role during any production. Then he asked, ‘how much am I going to pay you now?’ I said, ‘anything’. I want to show people that I can do this. The title of the movie was Long John. He gave me a two-scene character which I played. I told him how I was going to play it. He agreed but then the executive producer said no, no, but he insisted I should go ahead and play it that way. And I did it. After that, they started giving me comedy roles. I did A Million Madness, Under Fire, and Walls Apart. Since then it’s been comedy movies. Before you joined the big league comprising comedians like Mr. Ibu, Nkem Owoh, Victor Osuagwu, did you have any fears? I don’t have any fears in acting. When I used to do stage production, the crowd was my motivation. When I did Obiora, I was taken from nowhere to somewhere to play the lead as Obiora. I came from Imo, when I got to Lagos, people were gathered, stars were gathered, but I was not afraid. That was why I was able to carry the character. Even at the National Theatre then, people were waiting to see who the person was. What was he going to do? People were waiting for my downfall at the rehearsal but when they saw what I did, I made friends with everybody. They liked me. That was when some executive producers called me and said, “Charles, don’t you want to come to Lagos and stay?” Meanwhile, I had lived in Lagos before I went to Imo State. I was born in Lagos. I grew up in Lagos. I stayed in FESTAC for a long time. I schooled in Ansarudeen High School before I went to Calabar. We had a house in Lagos, a place to stay was not my problem. I went to the East for something else. I had no fears. And till now I do not have any fears. Even if I were to act with Arnold Schwarzenegger tomorrow, I would not have any fears because acting is my career. What has always been people’s reaction when they first meet you? When I got into this place you saw how a guy shouted, that is how most people react. Some scream, some say Jesus, so many things. But when you grow in a certain industry, you get used to all those things. Those people are your fans. They are the ones that make you who you are. When

Showbiz

Entertainers speak on President Buhari’s 365 days in office

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I became comic actor by force –Charles Awurum you see them that way, it makes you feel that people appreciate what you are doing, and that’s what makes you happy. I go through so many gates because of what I do. Doors open for me because of what I do. People are happy seeing me. I am used to crowd. Before I entered the movie industry, I was on stage. I have been part of so many stage productions before I went to school in Calabar and read Theatre Arts. So I am used to people.

How often do you get embarrassed due to the comic roles you play? Many times; there was a time I was coming back from Onitsha, a girl saw me and she said, “chicken thief. See am, he go steal fowl.” They call you all sorts of names. That’s why most of the time; I don’t blame our celebrities who try to shy away from people because it is when somebody greets you and you respond that’s when he or she has the opportunity to tell you what he or she wants to tell you. People can just see you and the next thing they call you, ‘Hey! Come, come, see my girlfriend, come do am make she laugh.’ And it’s not funny because most times, these are people you are much older than. Some people are very disrespectful; without thinking twice, they tell you words that will not go down well with you but you just look at them and go your way.

How long have you been married? It’s getting up to 10, 11 years. What’s the secret of being married for almost a decade? First, is that I love my wife. Second, I took her away from the public eye. Most people don’t even know her unless I show her to them. And the third is that I have control over my family and also make them feel happy. Another thing is that I have told my God I don’t want to have a broken home. And I don’t think anything can make me break

up with my wife. I don’t like breakups because it is the children that suffer. Have you always wanted to be an actor? Yes, I wanted to read Law or Theatre Arts. There was a time I wrote to 'Village Headmaster' (producer) that I wanted to be part of the crew. I was very small then. My happiest moment in life was when they sent me a letter with NTA letter-head paper, inviting me to come. I didn’t go because I was young; there was nobody to take me there. So, I kept on doing church drama. Drama and debating society in school, I was part of everything. I watched Langbodo in FESTAC 77, and one person that impressed me was Sam Loco Efe, from then I made up my mind to be an actor.

How do you handle your female fans? I am a man, whether television or not, we interact with women and you know women show more love and in showing you love, they can do certain things that would turn you off but you look at them and make sure you don’t make them feel bad. I try not to make anybody feel bad, no matter how they look because I didn’t create myself and they didn’t create themselves. I embrace everybody that comes my way whether man or woman but I know where to draw the line and when it gets to that point, I take myself away from that environment. Are you married? I am married and has three boys. Once I’m not onset, I go back to my house. If I finish a production now, say at night, the next day I’m going back to my house. Once I’m not working I make sure that I’m with them. I think I have a happy family. I have a good wife. And one thing you have to know is that a wife makes the home.

Awurum

20 Showbiz

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

When reality hit Chocolate City Music Chocolate City Music called what looked like an emergency press conference on Monday to address ‘crises’ rocking the label, including Ice Prince’s revelation that he was not signed to the ticket anymore. Olushola Ricketts writes about the ongoing development in the music company.

ude Abaga known as MI, Panshak Zamani aka Ice Prince and Jesse Abaga aka Jesse Jagz, have come a long way. While MI and Jesse Jagz share the same blood, Ice Prince became a brother after years of friendship. Although MI who is the CEO of the record company (Chocolate City Music) at a recent press conference insisted that things were normal at the label, things could only be normal if his brothers (Ice Prince and Jesse Jagz) were not leaving him. When Ice Prince announced on a radio programme last week that his contract with Chocolate City had expired three years ago, it didn’t make so much sense to people. But it sent out a wrong signal. Since he was the vice president of the label, it was expected that he shouldn’t have any contract issues. It was expected he would be happy with the label. After holding back for a few seconds as he prepared to address journalists, MI said: “There have been serious problems between Ice Prince, myself and Jesse and we’d like to talk about the issues on ground. This conversation we are having today is three years in the making. When Ice Prince made a comment that he had not been signed to Chocolate City since three years ago, he was saying the truth. I personally don’t have a contract with Chocolate City for about the same period of time. But we’ve always been like a family in Chocolate City. Today we are here for Ice Prince and Jesse. While we’ve been having the conversation throughout this year, we were not ready to relate with the public. We are here to support these guys as they venture into the unknown. One thing we should know is that the music business is growing. I was very happy when Lil Kesh announced that he was leaving YBLN. As the industry grows, we have to be inventive and create new ways of doing things. This is the same route we are taking. We are happy Ice Prince and proud to be here today.” He said the reason they called the press conference was to launch Ice Prince’s Super Cool Cats and Jesse Jagz’s JagzNation. “We are excited about it. Labels in Nigeria have a short lifespan and

the reason is that when a Jesse has an idea it looks as if the label has been torn apart. I think Chocolate City has evolved to the point where it supports its artistes. When I said I wanted to do Loopy, the label supported me. “Ice Prince became the vice president last year, but his desire for his own label has grown. Jesse already has a label, but he later came back to the family but we continued the conversation to know how we could work together. We’ve decided that this is the best way for us to move forward and it is a big step for Chocolate City. We are really a family here; I have known Ice Prince since he was 16 years old and Jesse since I was a kid,” MI stated. According to him, it felt bad when people started writing stories about Ice Prince on Friday and they had a press conference on Monday. “People are worried about how I would feel if my brothers leave me. But I started Loopy Music first, so it is not something new. I want to hold the media responsible for the sake of our industry. You should do research on how labels are formed because our industry needs information. As far as I am concerned, the only record in Nigeria that won’t break up if all the owners say they don’t want to talk again is Chocolate City. MI, however, insisted that it was easier for them to work together as Choc Boiz Nation than to do anything else, noting that the new development didn’t mean the end of them. “Ice Prince has a distinct vision about how he wants to affect culture and the music he puts out

while same applies to Jesse. It has always been like that since we ventured into music. I have a vision in the corporate capacity to work with Chocolate City. But for Choc Boiz that love has never changed and it can never be changed by God’s grace. Though it is almost pretentious standing in front people to say we are cool, three of us have some exciting things we doing together and it is easier to step out and do things for ourselves. Our focus in Chocolate City now is to sign movement, to help artistes get to a point where they can stand alone.” From all indications, Ice Prince’s decision to start a record company and make his own music has been in his mind for some years, but something kept holding him back and he was unhappy. When Saturday Telegraph’s correspondent asked Ice Prince why it took him this long to pull the trigger, he responded: “I have paid my own service to Chocolate City. Like I said on radio the other day, my contract expired three years ago. But you know the way it is in Nigeria. If I had come out three years ago to say I was leaving Chocolate City, the way people would put it could be very bad for the label and my brothers too. It took me a while because I was trying to fashion out the best way to do it without people talking. I guess I was just trying to play safe because it affects record label business in Nigeria.” He said he was already working with a female musician, Ruth, but he would have loved to start with male artistes because women were too expensive “Part of the reasons record labels prefer men is that women are very expensive to maintain. When the company becomes big, you can then invest on a woman. It is a lot cheaper for me to start with a male artiste; that is the honest truth,” he added. Ice Prince noted that Chocolate City

had many artistes already, stressing that establishing his record label would even make things better. “If I have three artistes on my label, Jesse has three and the other three are in Chocolate City, it encourages growth. Every label has different things they do; I am into fashion, music and arts. While informing that he was the only artiste on the label right now, Jesse described his label as a movement. He shared: “When I first left Chocolate City to establish JagzNation, it was solely a two-sided thing and on me. The decision to come back was less of a record label thing; it had to do with brotherhood. We’ve spent some years studying two of the greatest Nigerian label CEOs (Audu and MI). What I am bringing to my label is still the same thing I do with my music, different approach to music and the way I do things. Being an artiste under a label doesn’t give you that platform.” Similarly, MI emphasised that since Chocolate City had its own vision, it could no longer drive their (Ice Prince and Jesse) personal visions. He said: “Jesse as a producer has made hit songs for both of us here. There is a way he wants to do music; when he started JagzNation, it was completely a turnaround from what we were doing before. I remember him bringing ideas to us at the label meetings and we were trying to understand what he was talking about. It took him leaving Chocolate City and having those conversations before we saw and heard his music. There is no one in Chocolate City that would have approved the music he put out then. At some point, artistes would have a vision of what they want to do personally and the best thing is to reason with and support them.” He maintained that as a label they had no intention of reducing their artistes, adding that his target is to have 30 artistes in development and seven label brands. “I spent excessive time last year, meeting with different people and labels. We want more because the real music business cannot be tied down to the Chocolate City brand. We have been around for 11 years and a big player in the music industry. We would never stop signing artistes and investing in music. We hope that the media catches up with the new ways we are looking at music,” he pointed out. Reacting to why Milli left the label, he said: “Nothing happened to Milli, he is healthy and sound. I would allow him and his new situation answer the question because that is what we agreed on. They have something in the pipeline and it is amazing. I signed Milli not with the intension that we were going to the same place. He was clear on what he wanted but he had no resources then. So where he is now is the best place for him. We didn’t drop him; it was a mutual agreement. The difference between Milli and the situation here is that Chocolate City is involved in Super Cool Cats and JagzNation; it is like we just gave birth to a twin. I know the answer to your question, but I would allow him and his new team to speak. He is the future, watch out for him.” As if he knew that Nigerians would easily conclude that the label and the parties involved were deceiving the public as to whether there was really peace in Jesse Jagz their house, he quickly pleaded: “all that had been said is not political; it is the truth. It doesn’t matter what people believe, it is an unveiling and we are here to support them.”

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Showbiz 21

One year after

Buhari:

Entertainers speak on President Buhari’s 365 days in office Showbiz top personalities have released their scorecards for President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the celebration of his 365 days in office (which would be tomorrow). LANRE ODUKOYA collates the divergent assessments of the Burahi-led government as it affects the Nigerian entertainment industry. The Nigerian Entertainment industry like many others is adversely affected by the austere times occasioned by the economic crush the nation is currently experiencing. And because the industry isn’t living in isolation, there’s a considerable outcry from practitioners some of whom are still holding hope for an improved economy.

O u t &A b o u t

‘Masked May Ball’

A non-profit organisation, the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (FNSB), will be holding her annual ball tomorrow at the Muson Center, Onikan, Lagos. The theme for this year is 'Masked May Ball' with activities such as a fashion show by Bumi Deju and a celebrity auction featuring Sola Sobowale, Funke Akindele, Fathia Balogun and Stephanie Okereke-Linus. FNSB is established for the rehabilitation and training of adults and adolescents living with vision impairment in Nigeria. The main aim is to restore lost hope, ignite confidence and raise champions who can live productively, independently and contribute to the socio-economic growth of society.

2016 Discovery for Youths Conference KENNETH OKONKWO I think Nollywood is one of the lucky industries that started without any assistance from the government. And you will discover that the government apathy towards the industry doesn’t affect the operations of Nollywood even when assistance from the government would have helped immensely. So, Nollywood is still moving on. But as you know, this government hasn’t started anything, it just signed the budget and there’s no provision that takes care of the industry specifically. So, there’s nothing the government has done to impact on Nollywood. As regards advancement, we’ve been advancing without the government.

RUGGEDMAN

PMB’s first year has been tough on us and the citizens in general. First, the delay over the budget passage made a lot of investors hold back. Then the rise in the dollar is causing havoc for some of us, entertainers, who import and export materials. I pray this is the storm before the calm, because if this continues for too long only God knows what will happen. It is sad that Nigerians seem to be weak or scared to genuinely protest like we used to.

ARA He is one president I don’t envy at all because he inherited loads of problems but we must know that when positive change would happen, it always doesn’t feel comfortable. He’s trying to do something to turn the lives of Nigerians around for the best and that may not be achievable even in four years. The situation is taking a lot of toll on my industry but it’s just a matter of time. When I discussed this with some of my colleagues, a lot of them share similar thoughts on his government.

As part of her commitment to raising a new breed of dynamic young leaders in Nigeria, the Discovery For Youths (D4Y) team in partnership with Entertainment Konzult Limited, will be holding a national conference tagged ‘Raising Champions’ on Monday at the Aieda Hall, Ogba, Lagos. The Media Relations Executive for D4Y, Willie Workman Oga, said: “This event is organised largely to connect, empower, inspire, re-awaken dead dreams and impart the ‘can do’ spirit to all that would be in attendance at this conference. Inside every man is a continent of untapped potential, and this event is specially designed to help you unlock these potentials and live an effectively fruitful life as opposed to simply existing till you pass on.” The National Youth Conference 2016 is a pedestal for empowerment specially organised for Nigerian youths.

Lagos Reggae Festival YINKA DAVIES I think Nigerians should start to ask what they can do for their dear country Nigeria and not what the country can do for them. This is what I sincerely feel.

FIDELIS DUKER

I will give the government a pass mark of 50% because they have shown some level of interest in the sector. For the movie industry they are trying to regulate and structure it through MOPICON. In other areas, there has been a summit on the need to revitalise the culture and tourism sector. However a lot needs to be done in the area of the economic policy of government as this has an effect on the culture and tourism industry. They have fared badly in one year considering the level of interest and their understanding that the sector is a major alternative revenue earner for the government. It is my considered opinion that they will use the next one year in consolidating on the milestones recorded by the previous government when the entertainment sector reflected as a major contributor to Nigeria's GDP.

SANI DANJA The industry relies on the economy of the country too for survival and when everything is moving well, the industry also enjoys. There are lots of challenges; the fuel price increase, naira devaluation and the rest have affected purchasing power of everyone regardless of your industry. I’m feeling it like every other person, if things are not difficult the government wouldn’t have come out to address it and appeal to everyone to be patient.

It hasn’t been very rosy and you know if it’s tough in the country, it would definitely be tough on the movie business as well. We only hope things pick up and get better.

BUKKY WRIGHT

DJ JIMMY JATT

There are two ways to look at it. I think it’s a period when one needs to have an understanding that things are being adjusted. It might look like the entertainment industry fared better under the last administration but I don’t believe that. They would tell you that based on handouts to some people, it wasn’t that the industry was doing well. The handouts were enjoyed by those who had connections with some people in the government. Nothing was in order, your works were not selling, they were being pirated, and the few people benefitting were those who would say that they’d gone to one state to visit one governor who had given them money. And other times were when politicians needed to use entertainers for campaign purposes, that’s not how to support an industry, that was just merely using people. But that may not happen under this administration because it’s trying to tidy a lot of things which if eventually sorted out every industry would find a saner environment to operate.

There are no new policies that I can see yet. But I think in the area of finance, this government is doing better than the previous government. It has made the Bank of Industry grant loans for productions. This government has done more for the movie industry than any government in the past.

DEJUMO LEWIS

Lagos Reggae Festival is set to tomorrow at Freedom Park, Lagos. Reggae artistes billed for the stage include, Ras Kimono, Black’rice, General Pype, Rymzo, Captain Blazee, Benny Paladin, Saint Peters, Dqueen, Rhuffman, Ediro, Big Bob, Empress Marimba and a host of others.

Prince Hezekiah's comedy concert

After the success of the premiere edition of ‘Prince Hezekiah The Funny King,’ a music and comedy event held in Port Harcourt last year, ton Entertainment is set to hold Grafanother edition tagged ‘Prince Hezekiah, The Funny King - 2nd Impression’ on July 30. The maiden edition saw the likes of I Go Dye, Gordons, Chigurl, Mc Abbey, Igos, Arinze Baba, Dan De Humourous and artistes such as KCee, Cynthia Morgan, Mr. 2Kay, Duncan Mighty and others. It was the first sold out concert in the city, as series of other events registered low turnouts last year. Led by Nigerian and Port Harcourt born comedian, Prince Hezekiah, this year’s edition promises a more exciting and breathtaking show. Hezekiah said: “The second impression of Funny King will be one of the best events in Nigeria this year as there will be loads of surprises. I am not only going to have a comedy concert, I will also be showing a little preview of my forthcoming comedy series titled, Tales Of The Funny King.”

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Social Media Craze

Trending

Gist

Photos Controversies

With Olushola Ricketts

Fayose and his plenty dramas

overnor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, is full of drama. When everyone thinks he has gone to sleep, he comes up with something else. Despite being a governor, Fayose constantly demonstrates that he is for the masses. The governor during the week was spotted buying bread and beans close to the gate of St. Theresa’s Nursery and Primary School, Ikole Ekiti. Fayose was on his way to Oke-Ako Ekiti and he was seen serving food himself. However, certain people felt it was too unbecoming of him after pictures of him serving himself food at a local joint went viral on the Internet. Femi Ayo on his Facebook wall wrote: “Is this what Ekiti people voted for? A man dishing food by himself? In Yoruba- land we know what we call that.” Dhiyaulhak Sani shared: “I swear this guy

knows how to decieve Ekiti people.” Lawal Abdullahi Giza said: “Ekiti people don suffer. Haba! Why una elect this joke as a governor.” Solomon Nwayemiken Okoh stated: “Does he not know dat he cannot do certain things again as number one citizen? Eating in public under camera. It confirms what I am told about him.” Dansadi Zaram Malam reacted: “Stomach infrastructure!!! These PDP governors are very polish.” We should also recall that last year the governor was spotted with some of his aides eating amala (a local delicacy) at a local restaurant in Ajilosun in Ado-Ekiti. Meanwhile, Nigerians had commended Fayose’s decision to ban cattle grazing. On twitter, Olusegun Atolagbe @AtolagbeOA, insisted: “If u don't support Fayose on this rampaging herdsmen, then tell ur loved

PHOTO OF THE WEEK PHOTO: FACEBOOK

ones to start grazing in Ekiti too... They will kill dem danudanu.” Andy Obuoforibo @andyRoidO commended: “Gov Fayose's ban on herds & grazing is extreme & grandstanding, but it is better than the inaction by FG, which controls army, DSS & NPF.” REALONE @Itz_Realone said: “Fayose

banning those Fulani Herdsmen from grazing is something worth emulating. They need to own their ransh and stop terrorising farms." Folukemi Ogundiran @FolukeOgundiran shared: “U think Fayose is wrong to ban public grazing in Ekiti? Wait till u can no longer sleep peacefully@ night cos ur afraid of being slaughtered.”

Tonto Dikeh praises Stepmother

ollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh Churchill, is talking again. This time she is singing praises of her stepmother for her role since she put to bed. The actress while analysing how wonderful some mothers are, didn’t hold back her joy and appreciation for her stepmother who took care of her after her mother ’s death. Tonto said her stepmother had changed her perception about stepmothers. According to the actress, she doesn’t and ready to protect a child that is not her own. She shared: “My Woman crush goes to my wonderful step ma. She hap-

When the pastor declares tomorrow for fasting

Peter Okoye unveils Kaffy's husband

ew months after Peter Okoye parted ways with his brothers, Paul and Jude Okoye, the music star has released a new single. Paul Okoye later signed two new artistes to his Rudeboy Records. Peter has done the same too by signing his first artiste Joe Ameh to his record label, P-Classic Records, on Tuesday. He shared on Instagram while posting a cover of Joe’s new single ‘4 Get Your Level,’ featuring himself and Selebobo: “Yes peeps he just got signed!!! Y’all know he is so talented. It’s @papiijameh ft MrP and @selebobo1 #4GetYourLevel PAPII J DROPS NEW SINGLE UNDER P-CLASSIC RECORDS.”

pens to be the best mum ever. Never judging and ever ready to protect, pray and love. Her devotion to the family is next to none and in a country where stepmothers are far from great she stands out heavy. I love you so much Mrs. Dikeh Aka Big mummy/Mama. Thank you for playing the motherly role with a heart of gold and wanting nothing other than greatness for all of us. Thank you for giving me the best brother any girl could ask for (Pastor Tonye aka Boss). Thank you for sharing your husband with us and taking good care of him. I believe my mum appreciates you too. Love you and God bless you continually in Jesus name, Amen.”

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

OddWorld

For world records, Indian removes teeth, gets over 500 tattoos

n Indian man obsessed with setting Guinness world records got 366 flags tattooed on his body and had all his teeth removed so he could put nearly 500 drinking straws and more than 50 burning candles in his mouth. Har Parkash Rishi, who claims to have set more than 20 records, now calls himself Guinness Rishi. Born in 1942 in a cinema hall in the capital, New Delhi, Rishi first got into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1990 when, with two friends, he rode a scooter for 1,001 hours.

The passion to get his name in the record book led him to perform some bizarre acts, including delivering a pizza from New Delhi to San Francisco and gulping a bottle of tomato ketchup in less than four minutes. He even got his family involved as his wife, Bimla, holds a 1991 record for writing the world's shortest will: 'All to Son'. While it is the tattoos on his body, more than 500 in all, that brought him fame, Rishi, an auto parts manufacturer by profession, says the toughest one was stuffing the straws in his mouth.

"I am the world record holder of 496 straws in my mouth ... For that record, I needed space, I had to remove every tooth so that I could put maximum straws in my mouth," Rishi told Reuters Television before re-enacting the feat on camera. He is now getting images of global leaders tattooed on his body to add to images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Barack Obama, Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India's independence movement. Source: Reuters

UK group unveils Trump’s painting kissing ex-mayor

giant painting of US’ Republican presidential aspirant, Donald Trump, locked in a kiss with former London mayor, Boris Johnson, in the style of a legendary Soviet-era image has been unveiled by a group campaigning for Britain to stay in the European Union. Painted on the side of a building in Bristol, southwest England - home of the celebrated graffiti artist Banksy - the image reprises a 1979 photograph of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker kissing, which was later turned into a mural on the Berlin Wall. It was commissioned by pro-EU campaign group "We are Europe" as what they call a warning of things to come if Britons vote to leave the 28-member bloc on June 23, as advocated by both Johnson and Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate in November's U.S. presidential election. Johnson is the "Out" campaign's best-known leader and Trump has said Britain would be "better off without" the EU, which he has blamed for Europe's migration crisis. The 15-foot (4.5 meter) mural is accompanied by the slogan "Not #IN for this?" and a plea for people, especially the young, to register to vote by a June 7 deadline.

The man who paints cows

Children have always used Lego to make weapons – no big deal S omething odd has been happening in the toy business, as a short wander down the aisles at local Toys R Us will reveal. The first clue is that the place might seem almost empty. The second clue is that the toys seem to be largely absent as well. Yes, there is a smattering of board games, some villages of Sylvanian creatures, and other crafty things to do with wool and paper. But the vast acres of these warehouses seem largely to consist of film and TV tie-ins. If your imagination extends as far as a Star Wars light sabre or a minion from Despicable Me, then the toy manufacturers of the far east can oblige you. Beyond that, well, nothing much. And at the same time, the real world of children’s play has been hollowed out by the virtual world, most games instantly downloadable without reference to the high street or the out-of-town shopping centres. The boxes of Lego have to help pay fees to Hollywood franchises, and have been allowed to creep up in price

The boxes of toys at home are out. In their places are the massive Xboxes, Nintendo Wiis and PlayStations that will enable your children to kill 30 or 40 people a session using virtual automatic weapons. A new divide has descended in parenting – not the breast versus the bottle feeders, or the disciplinarians versus the liberals – but between those who worry about this trend and those who don’t. There are those of us – and I’m one of them – who fear that constant exile to the shiny, perfect world of online gaming is a kind of addiction, and one that can sooner or later lead to depression (in fact, you can play games that are supposed to help depression these days). There are those of us who worry that removing access to online gaming from their children will lead to a reaction a bit like Bilbo’s when deprived of the ring. Also, alongside the virtualisation of children’s play has come the militarisation, shaped by what

the futurist John Naisbitt once called the military-Nintendo complex – the peculiar but still unproven sharing of resources between the two worlds which has resulted in games like Call of Duty. Source: The Guardian UK

ritish painter John Marshall has spent the last decade restricting himself to just one subject: the humble cow. The paintings are big, around 2 meters and, Marshall claims, each bovine has its unique characteristics. "So, if the cow is soft and nurturing that's how I will paint it and if the cow is sort of angry and startled then I'll try and treat that in the temperate. So, they portray a different thing and it's the thing that is keeping them unique, keeping a sense that each one is different and it's kind of more of an emotional portrayal than a photographic one," said Marshall. In the past 12 months he has sold around 40 canvases, which can go on sale for up to £6,000 (8,500 U.S. dollars) each and many of his paintings find their way to urban dwellers who look for a rural look in their city homes.

Terrifying video shows 'possessed' little boy sparking panic on coach - but it's not all as it seems A terrifying video claims to show the moment a young boy is 'possessed by the devil' while on board a bus sending passengers screaming. But it's not all as it seems, because the clip is actually a viral video created for a new horror television show. The clip, created for TV show Outcast for Spanish-speaking audiences, begins with CCTV -style images of passengers boarding a coach in Chile. But a cryptic message, writ-

ten in Spanish, then appears that says: "They believed they were travelling out of the city." Passengers can be seen from another camera angle making themselves comfortable on board and another message saThe CCTV images then show the bus moving with many of the travellers falling asleep in their seats. The driver then stops after being flagged down by two people at the side of the road - a man and a child wrapped

up in a hooded jacket. After a brief conversation with the driver, he agrees to allow them on board and they settle into seats at the back of the bus. But almost as soon as they have sat down the man, who is becoming increasingly agitated, asks the child: "Nacho, what's up? Nacho, Nacho! Does anyone have an aspirin please?" Source: Mirror UK

Investigations

Small Kuramo is a sprawling neighbourhood of about 20,000 people of mixed ethnicity in the Jakande/ Ajah axis of Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. It brims with all manner of people and has somewhat become a refuge for thieves to hump up their criminal activities. ISIOMA MADIKE, who spent some days combing the ‘jungle’, reports that the ‘ghetto’ is also an offering haven for flourishing brothels, which enjoy a unique explosion that give gorier face to an old trade

ccessing this ‘ghetto’ is not very difficult. It is situated adjacent to Jakande Housing Estate Bus Stop along the Jakande/Ajah axis of Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. Right opposite the entrance at the other end of the expressway is Shoprite and Chicken Republic positioned a little to the right and Mobil Filling Station which is on the left. The Elegushi Ultra-Modern Market shares boundary with the slum at the foot of the bumpy road that divides the ‘jungle’ into two. While a typical Lagos Street market jostle for space with pedestrians at the mouth of the lead way also. Small Kuramo took its name from the once popular Kuramo Beach that bordered the fledging Bar Beach, now host to the new Atlantic City. The densely populated slum is a mixture of many tribes from different parts of the country as well as the Egun-speaking nationals of Benin Republic. Many of the inhabitants of this ‘ghetto’ had found it a convenient abode to settle in due to its similarity to the original Kuramo slum. Incidentally, many of them intermingle and share an eight-by-10 foot room together. Most of the houses are constructed with wooden materials in a rectangular format, and squeezes seven or eight people into single, mosquitoinfested rooms. Other occupants manage the wobbly bunks or the floor, along a narrow corridor of opposing chambers. A compound in this arrangement that is known as “face me I face you” usually contains 35 persons or more, making the people to coexist awkwardly. Rainy season is bad news for most residents of this community. Worries increases not only for inhabitants but also for visitors who swarm the slum to catch

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

SMALL KURAMO

Sanctuary for crime, drugs, and sex what they consider as undiluted fun. After the rains of last Saturday, residents had to roll up trousers to walk on the rough streets to avoid being smeared, and motorists as well as Okada riders had to also wade through waterlogged routes. At junctions of feeder streets are heaps of used water sachets and debris percolated by shallow floods that found inadequate avenue of normal flows blocking the waterways. Some are overgrown with weeds; others filled with refuse heaps. In virtually every open space in and around this ‘jungle’, heaps of faeces literally jostle for space with human beings. From the homes, faeces wrapped up in newspapers are launched from windows, scattering into a spatter mess. It piles the streets as though they are articles of ornament. Yet, no one seems to bother about it. The road that leads to the community, apart from being riddled with huge potholes and gullies, has been narrowed to single lane at several points due to the mammoth refuse congealed by rain water whose passage is inhibited by blocked drains. Whenever it rains, the flood sweeps the refuse to the middle of the road, making movement of any kind difficult. It often turns to a mini-swimming pool each time it rains. Flooding here is so severe that many vehicles get submerged in it. It is a puzzle that major epidemic has not broken out in this environ. Almost every house in this community is a beer parlour and brothel. The houses are offering haven for prostitution. This is somewhat a dangerous trend that flourishes, enjoying a unique

explosion with new styles being constantly introduced to remould the old trade. Night and day, you would find one form of activity or the other in this ‘jungle’. Though in the day, the patronage is skeletal, but the nights often present a gamut of club activities. A walk around the community at night revealed a lot. Besides call girls who hang around, some with only pants and bra and other provocative dresses to get men hooked to their game, a long queue of bar shops permeates the vicinity. The community plays host to all man-

ner of people; the good, the bad and the ugly. Doctors, lawyers, bankers, business people, police, soldiers, students, drug addicts, urchins, orphans, destitute, prostitutes, bus conductors as well as criminals are common faces here. In fact, just about every kind of person comes here to relax. All there is to savour is mixed freely with drinks and marijuana, which are sold without any inhibition. There are occasional pick-pockets and other pranks while stick meats, kebab (suya), peppered chicken and assorted pepper soup add to the delicacies consumed with beer,

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Musa, Iheanacho, Iwobi in season of mixed fortunes for Eagles stars p.28

Sport Splash

Buhari:

25 Champions League final: Real, Atletico light up San Siro p.31

One year after

Scrapping NSC, Buhari’s biggest mistake so far – Adamu

One year after the assumption of office of President Muhammadu Buhari, stakeholders evaluate the sports sector so far in this report by EMMANUEL TOBI.

grammes for sports and that has being going on for decades. There are a series of advantages for mass participation in sports Amos Adamu and the current regime must make good ports in Nigeria in the last one year has not been so imuse of these opportunities. They have pressive. Why is it not impressive? Why have they not advantages to the economy, social life been performing very well? It’s simple. It is because of of the masses, crime prevention and lack of funding. If you don’t fund sport, then you cannot other sectors. I hope the government expect athletes to get you the results. will be proactive on these aspects beToday, we don’t have a National Sports Commission. It has cause we don’t know the plan of this been scrapped and that is the biggest mistake by the current current administration for sports. government. What happens to the group of professionals that In the past weeks, I have been hearare there in that department? ing about plans to reintroduce sports as Athletes need to go into camping, coaches need to be trained a serious matter in primary schools. It and updated with the lasted developments. All these are not is a good move but the only issue I have happening and yet we want to achieve results? Most of the against that, is that should not be about coaches have not gone on refresher courses in the organising competitions in pripast five years and sport is very dynamic. There are mary schools. changes every year, every quarter in rules and regulaThat is not the first stage; it is like If well developed, we can tions. If we have a coach that doesn’t know the new climbing the tree from the top. The first use sports to empower the regulations, then how do the athletes come out sucthing is to develop because competition is cessfully in qualifiers? Many sports are based on high youth and create better supposed to be used to assess the level of detechnicality and regulations. velopment. We have to develop first before we healthy citizens. If we look Coaches have been neglected for a long time in this organise competitions to assess the level of deat achievements, how country. We don’t invest in coaching and that is one of velopment. the areas that we must work on if we intend to move much of it do we have? If well developed, we can use sports to emsports forward in this country. Of course, coaches are power the youth and create better, healthy citisupposed to develop themselves, but in a situation zens. If we look at achievements, how much of when you don’t have professional coaches, we just it do we have? We have been winning junior get coaches from everywhere and sometimes, we just use the tournaments like the U-17 World Cup we won last year but local coaches at our disposal. we need to move forward. If we get anyhow coaches, then they cannot give us the deSo far, I hope the new administration will look into this sired results. They cannot do more than their ability and their area and come up with a definite plan for sports in Nigeria. results will be limited. There have been some little achievements but as a person, Moving forward, the Federal Government must make delibI’m never satisfied with one achievement. I always believe erate plans for funding because the private sector too is strugthat there is room for improvement. The scientists have gling with finances. also proven that the sky is not the limit as we do say Adamu, is a former DG Sport Ministry in the past, so our ambitions should not have a limit. Onigbinde is a Former CAF instructor and Super No sport agenda yet – Onigbinde Eagles coach Apparently, this government inherited a lot of problems from the last regime. For a long time, we have not been thinking Sports needs more investment seriously on sports. –Akpeyi The focal point in sports administration is to develop the I believe we have recorded some successes games but we don’t have any meaningful developmental proin sports generally in the past one year but sincerely we have a long way to go. We cannot achieve great results or success in sports if the Federal Government continues The Team to pay lips service to sports development in Ajibade Olusesan Nigeria. l Co-ordinator In South Africa where I play professional Charles Ogundiya l Correspondent football, all the athletes for the Rio Olympics

CONTINUed on PAGE 32

Okagbare

Sport

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Nigerian League Rendezvous BY CHARLES OGUNDIYA

NNL kicks off this weekend T

Enyimba's captain, Chinedu Udoji (left) vying for the ball with Heartland's Julius Ubido

Expulsion: W

Clubs target Giwa FC players

ith the transfer window already opened by the League Management Company, clubs have started scrambling for top players in the league to beef up their teams, with players from the expelled Giwa FC top on some clubs list. With the club already thrown out of the league, the LMC said the players of the club would be given waivers to sign for clubs of their choice. Some of the players who spoke on condition of anonymity said they have been receiving offers from clubs but they don’t know what to do. “Since the verdict, I have received calls from about four clubs, but I don’t know what to tell

“If we can be consistent at home and also pick a few points away, that should be good enough to move to the next stage.” Yarmalight are grouped alongside Sokoto united, Kaduna United, Kogi United, Shekarau Babes(Kano), Katsina United, Mighty Jets and Jigawa Golden Stars in Group A1, and will begin their quest for promotion with a home game against Katsina United. For Go Round FC, it is going to be battle to finish according to the coach of the team, Ngozi Elechi. He said: “We have prepared well and we believe we can have a good start against Akwa Starlets, when the league starts. “Winning our Federation Cup game against Yobe Stars was a big boost to us. Now we have crossed that hurdle, we are poised to gain promotion. And we hope to start with this game.” With eight teams in each group, the battle for promotion will be keenly contested as only the best will be good enough for the Nigeria Professional Football League next season.

them,” a player said. “The truth is, the chairman (Chris Giwa) has not spoken to us since the beginning of the crisis, so now we don’t even know what will happen to us.” Another player who also craved anonymity said they are tired of the whole issue and want a way out. He said: “Nigerians should please help us appeal to the chairman to let us go because we cannot continue like this. “He should try and consider our career. We all have families that rely on us for sustenance and he should not because of his own personal interest endanger our future.”

Enyimba eye title defence

efending champions of the Nigeria Professional Football League, Enyimba, are targeting another glorious run to the title after an indifferent start to the season. Speaking on their ambition, the captain of the team, Chinedu Udoji, said they want to get back to the top of the league table before the commencement of the group stage of the CAF Champions League. “We didn’t start the season well, but we all know it is going to be a long season,” he said. “A lot of changes before the start of the season affected our rhythm, I expected such a slow start, but now that we are all getting to understand ourselves, the result are there for all to see. “We want to get to the top of the table before the beginning of our games on the continent and I belief we can do that with our three outstanding games. That confidence of leading your league will help us to play better on the continent. Defending the title is not going to be easy, but I believe we can do it.”

he much awaited 2016 Nigeria National League will finally kickoff this weekend after suffering so many postponements. According to a release signed by the secretary of the body, Lawrence Katken, there is no going back on the date of commencement, with 16 matches expected to be played between Saturday and Sunday. Some of the clubs are already looking forward to picking up a promotion ticket at the end of the season with one club each gaining promotion from the four groups in the abridged league. Some of the club officials who spoke with League Rendezvous are optimistic of their chances in the season. “It is very painful that we are out of the Federation Cup, but it may be a blessing in disguise as all our efforts will be put on gaining promotion,” the proprietor of Yarmalight FC of Gombe, Farouk Yarma, informed our correspondent. “We are not underrating any of the other teams in our group, but we believe we have what it takes to get the needed victories for our promotion quest.

The captain added that the challenges would be enormous, but surmountable for himself and his team mates. Adding to the confidence of his captain, the coach of the team, Paul Aigbogun, despite not being ready to make any prediction, said the team would achieve this season. The former Warri Wolves coach said: “I don’t want to make any prediction, but like you all know, Enyimba are fond of winning trophies, so I don’t want to take them below where they finished last season. “Playing away from our normal home ground at first gave advantage to our opponents, coupled with the fact that we started the season with up to eight new players including the coach. “It took time for the players to gel together as a team, but now that we are getting the results, we don’t want to relent.” Enyimba are currently eighth on the table with 27 points from 15 matches, four points behind Rivers United albeit with three outstanding matches.

Giwa

NPFL LEAGUE TABLE Team

PTS

1 Rivers Utd

2 Kano Pillars

3 Rangers

4 Wikki

5 Lobi Stars

6 Sunshine

7 Akwa Utd

8 Enyimba

9 Abia Warriors

10 MFM FC

11 IfeanyiUbah

12 Warri Wolves17

-1

13 Tornadoes

-4

14 Heartland

-4

15 Nasarawa Utd18

-7

16 Plateau Utd

-7

17 El-Kanemi

-6

18 Shooting

-14

19 Ikorodu Utd

-18

20 Giwa FC

Internal crisis affecting our performance – Friday

oach of Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Christopher Friday, has said the poor performance of the team in the league has more to do with internal wrangling. Speaking after the team won their Federation Cup Round of 64 matche against Wikki Feeders, the coach said they have been able to identify the problems and working on how to resolve them. “We had internal problem that did not necessarily have to do with the government,” he said. “We’ve been having serious problems in camp, but we are beginning to identify them and trying to solve them one after the other. “When we resolving all the issues, I am sure the team will start winning matches that will take us away from the relegation zone.”

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

I am not into athletics for money – Alphonsus Aniekeme Alphonsus, was a product of the Mobil Schools Athletics Championship, and a medalist at the last Commonwealth Junior Games in Samoa. In an exclusive interview with Saturday Telegraph's CHARLES OGUNDIYA and AZEEZ IBRAHIM, she said there was need for more investments in athletics in the country. Excerpts… How would you describe your career so far? It has been going well for me, at least I have been improving tremendously. The most important thing for me is to continue to get better every day with each competition. Why did you feel disappointed after your 100m final at the Olukoya trials? The time I returned was very bad compared to what I did in the heat. I was looking forward to dropping my time from 11.3secs to like 11.1secs or worst 11.2secs, but finishing 11.57secs was a bad return for me. When I look at the timer, I was ashamed of myself, but I know I will bounce back. I have to continue working hard to get my set target as an athlete. I am still very young and has a lot of years ahead of me. You have represented the country at different events in the last one year, would you say you are living your dream? Foremost I have to give glory to God Almighty for taking me this far in the last two years. I have to appreciate my coach also, who saw a lot of potential in m e and worked hard to bring the potential out. I am happy for how far I have gone in my career, but this is just the beginning. What prompted you to go for athletics and why short sprints? I actually started since when I was in primary school, but just for the fun of it until a coach saw me and asked me to try and give it my all. According to him, I have the potential to become great in athletics. So, I took to his words and started training with him and that was how the whole success story started. I also decided to concentrate on 100m and 200m because I am good at both. I don’t have stamina for 400m or longer distance, so I continue to use my energy for the short sprints. You won five medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games last year in Samoa, after a good performance at the African Junior Championship in Ethiopia, what really gave you that confidence? I will say the level of training I went through before the two competitions. We were in camp for a long time in Sagamu before the competition in Ethiopia, while we were in camp with top athletes preparing for the World Championship in Port Harcourt before we travelled to Samoa. Although the treatment was not up to standard, we the athletes were determined to make name for ourselves and the hard work paid off with so many medals for the country in the two championships.

Alphonsus

You have been competing with the senior athletes since the beginning of the 2016 season, do you feel intimidated? Training with them has helped me to im-

prove seriously, but sometimes while lining up with them on the block, I am kind of scared. I tried to focus on my race and I am happy that gradually, I am getting used to racing with them. How have you been coping with athletics and your studies? It has not been easy especially in this country Nigeria where education is placed as top priority. I usually wake up as early as 6am to start my training and later go to class for my studies. Sometimes I have to double my training instead of spreading it because of the limited time, but I am trying my best to merge the two. Why did you chose University of Port Harcourt? Most schools in the country don’t have the facilities for training but Uniport is different. They have good tartan tracks and good trainers. The High Performance Centre is also located inside the stadium, so all these put together swayed my decision to pick the school, and I don’t have any regret doing that. I am just in my first semester and I can say I am enjoying my time there. What has been your parents' reaction to your chosen career? They have been of great support, maybe because my daddy was an athlete too during his days. So I didn’t have any problem with them putting more energy into athletics, although they keep telling me to give enough time also to my education. Is your decision to go into athletics paying off? I will say yes because it has taken me to so many places while also meeting top people that ordinarily I wouldn’t have met as just an ordinary individual. What have you achieved money wise from athletics? I didn’t go into athletics for money, I took up athletics because of the passion I have for the sport and I know very soon it will take me to the top where the money will start flowing without struggling for it. I love doing it and nothing else. Who is your role model in athletics? I look up to Blessing Okagbare from Nigeria. She

I have a target for myself not to be a local champion, but to win at the world level

Sport

is someone I really love especially her achievement for the country and I hope to reach up to that level in my career. And from the international scene, Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, one of the best in the world. Can you compare the country’s athletes to the foreign ones? We have good and talented athletes around the country, likewise coaches, but there has been no encouragement for us in Nigeria. When I look at some of the athletes I was privileged to compete with in some international championship, I felt bad with what we are going through in Nigeria. Seriously we need a lot of investment in athletics like it is done in Europe and America. If we can get some top companies investing in athletics, we can easily beat some of these top countries because we have the talents, just for it to be harnessed with proper training and good facilities. Despite all the challenges, what has been keeping you going? I will say the interest. I have a target for myself not to be a local champion, but to win at the world level. Sometimes I find it difficult to eat or get enough funds to go for competitions, but because I have a target, I tried to push along until I reach my goals. I want to set a world record, so I have to train hard, I don’t want to care what I am going through or the type of environment, I just want to get to the top. People from your state, Akwa Ibom, looks up to you as a millionaire due to your poster littering everywhere in the state, are you really a millionaire? The state was using my poster without a penny coming to me. According to them, it was a way to show the world that I have done the state proud within and outside the country, it is part of their Dakkada project (chant of motivation for every son and daughter of Akwa Ibom). But there was news that the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, gave you scholarship and money, what happened to them (scholarship and money)? The governor announced the sum of N2m for me when I came back from Samoa and also a scholarship to school and train in the US, but till now, I am yet to get anything. Whenever I contacted the state Commissioner for Youths and Sports, it has always been the same story that everything will be sorted out soon. But till now, I am yet to get anything. What are your targets for the World Championship in Poland in July? I am going there to win medals for Nigeria, likewise my teammates and that was why we have been training hard. I know most of my colleagues are ready to make the country proud too. Nigeria won only one medal at the last championship in the US, but this time, we all want to right the wrongs of two years ago. Do you think you can make the Olympic Games also? It is possible, but I want to take it one competition before another.

Aniekeme Alphonsus (left) with Abolaji Omotayo after winning silver and gold medal respectively in 100m at the Commonwealth Junior Games in Samoa in 2015

Ndidi

he fair-skinned defender had a season that was blighted by injuries but still managed to prove himself in his first season in the Bundesliga. He played 21 times for Mainz, 17 of them as a starter. The 25-year-old managed a goal in the campaign with just four yellow cards to his name.

Leon Balogun (Mainz, Germany)

Iwobi

e took the EPL by the storm after racing to 14 goals in the first half of the season for Watford. He had helped the team to the top division with his 20 goals in the Championship and many had thought the former Granada of Spain star would struggle in the top division but he shocked the world with his blistering pace and excellent finishing. Although the second half of the time was not as glorious as the first, the ex-Udinese man still managed 15 league goals

Odion Ighalo (Watford, England)

he former Flying Eagles defender is certainly the future of the national team. He is gradually becoming one of the best youngsters in Europe after another stellar season for the Belgian side. The defender was in action for the entire matches of his side in the regular season; he played 36 games totalling to 3,053 minutes and was cautioned just four times. There is something special about his game and his ability to score goals. He had four strikes under his belt and one of them was even voted the best in the division.

Winfred Ndidi (Genk, Belgium)

Balogun

t looked like Iwobi was set for a long time on Arsenal bench when manager Arsene Wenger refused to let him go on loan like other youngsters. However, the French coach showed his belief in the 19-year-old and the precocious talent ultimately repaid his manager’s faith with excellent run. He played 14 times for the Gunners and provided a ray of hope in Arsenal’s underwhelming season. He scored two goals for the side and his performance in UEFA Champions League against Barcelona showed that he is the man for the future.

Alex Iwobi (Arsenal, England)

Musa

uper Eagles vice-captain had another successful season with the Russian club as the capital side clinched the league title. The former VVV Venlo scored 13 goals in 30 league matches for the club. He experienced a goal drought that extended to about 10 matches during the season but shrugged that off in time to emerge the club’s highest goal scorer. He has become a subject of an intense transfer talks between CSKA and Leicester City, with the English champions expected to splash whopping €23 million on the 24-year-old.

Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia)

he Super Eagles captain enjoyed a mixed campaign, after enduring frustrating inactivity in the first half of the term under Jose Mourinho, he re-emerged strongly when Guus Hiddink took over from the Portuguese coach last December . He did well to force his way into the team’s starting 11 once again and became the steel the side needed to move gradually away from relegation and finished in the top 10. He played 25 times bagging six yellow cards. He is expected to continue to compete for regular playing time under a new manager, Antonio Conte.

Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England)

Ideye

Emenike

Mikel

he Super Eagles striker rediscovered his form in Greece after a disappointing stint at West Brom. Ideye arrived West Brom from Dynamo Kyiv on a € 10 million transfer but largely failed to justify that huge investment as he was shipped out to Greece last summer. He regained both his confidence and form at the Greek club scoring 10 goals to lead the side to league title. He also gave a good account of himself in the UEFA Champions League and was on the verge of leading the side to a domestic double but for a loss in the final of the Greek Cup. He is back in the national team set up after three years of absence, all thanks to his new-found form in Greece.

Brown Ideye (Olympiakos FC, Greece)

rrived at West Ham United in January as the club sought a second-half-of-season boost in order to secure a European spot. They might have missed out on the Champions League, but the Hammers have impressed, even if Emenike did not have as much influence as he’d like. Two goals in the FA Cup reminded Nigerians of his enduring menace—on his day—but he failed to find the net in the EPL and it would be a major shock if he is retained.

Emmanuel Emenike (West Ham, England)

eope last weekend and Saturday Tel The 2015/2016 season ended in Eur nces of in this piece reviews the performa graph’s AJIBADE OLUSESESAN son. oad and their prospect for next sea Nigerian players for their clubs abr

i b o w I , o h c a n a e Musa, Ih d e x i m f o n o s a in se s r a t s s e l g a E r o f fortunes 28

Sport SATURDAY

28 M

e is still regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The Lille goal minder was even nominated for the best goalie in French football but narrowly lost out. He was in goal for 35 matches and would have manned the net for the entire season if not for the red card he collected along the line. He made 93 saves and recorded 17 clean sheets in the course of the campaign. He helped his side to the final of the Coupe de France and played a pivotal role as the side secured a ticket to play in the Europa Cup.

H e is back in the national team set up four years after he got his first callup but the former Flying Eagles defender thoroughly deserved his invitation after a splendid performance in the second half of the season for his Turkish side. Arokoyo played 15 times for the club and scored one goal.

Gbenga Arokoyo (Gaziantepspor)

Simon

Shehu

he young defender is gradually coming to his own in the national team and his position was greatly helped by his performance for his side last term. He played 2,282 minutes of football for the Portuguese side, he started 26 of the 28 matches he played in and got a red card as the club failed to survive relegation.

Carl Ikeme (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

keme enjoyed more playing time at the just-concluded season than the previous one. He was in goal for 33 league games, one FA Cup and one Capital One. The Super Eagles first choice goalie made 90 saves in all but his side failed to make the cut for promotion to the English Premier League.

Samuel

e was a success in China before he moved to CSKA on loan. He scored in his first start for the club, managing two goals in just seven games. His overall performance and partnership with Musa in the capital club’s attack could earn him a permanent stay in Moscow.

Aaron Samuel (CSKA Moscow)

he 19-year-old exceeded expectations this term since that eye-catching performance against AS Roma in one of the pre-season games. Although he had played about 15 minutes of EPL football before he was introduced in the 88 minute in City’s clash with Crystal Palace, on September 12, the youngster seized the opportunity to score his side’s winner. He has not looked back since then and today he is regarded as one of the world’s brightest prospects. He has one of the best goal ratios in the world after managing 13 strikes for the Citizens. Man City will welcome the sight of Pep Guardiola on the technical bench next season, but perhaps more exciting than that is the prospect for Iheanacho. With more playing time next term, his star is most likely going to shine more brightly.

Arokoyo

Iheanacho

Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City, England)

Oboabona

lthough the 28-year-old is no longer one of the most important players in the Scottish champions squad but he is still racked up descent number of matches. He played 21 games, eight of them from the bench amounting to 1,480 minutes.

Efe Ambrose (Celtic, Scotland)

Omeruo

Ikeme

e was ever present in the starting line-up of the side and 2,820 minutes of football is a testimony to that. He missed just two of the club’s 34 league matches with 31 of them from the start of the whistle. He also managed one goal and collected nine yellow cards. He was never sent off.

Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor, Turkey)

Ambrose

he Chelsea player had an impressive loan stint at the Turkish side. He was bought by the Blues some three seasons ago but yet to get an opportunity to wear the blue jersey of Chelsea. He’s had stints at Middlesbrough and now Kasimpasa since he signed and he made good of his time in Turkey last term and could be tied down to a permanent deal after playing 25 times, all of them as a starter.

Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa, Turkey)

he Nigerian striker's 11 goals in the league have been very important for a Werder Bremen team that struggled to avoid relegation all season. Despite the experience in their side, Werder battled against the drop but took solace in the fact that Ujah’s goals have helped matters. Brought in from FC Koln in the summer to help add goals, he has done so and the side will be glad to remain in the top division.

Anthony Ujah (Werder Bremen, Germany)

MAY 2016

Enyeama

Onazi

Vincent Enyeama (Lille,France)

he glut of stars in Lazio has greatly limited Onazi’s playing time at the Capital club. The player managed just 15 Serie A matches, although 14 of them as a starter. Meanwhile, he enjoyed more playing time in Europe after playing eight games in Europa Cup with two goals to his credit. He has been linked with a move away from the club but it is very unlikely the 23-year-old will leave the outfit this summer.

Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio, Italy)

imon’s first full season at Gent was not as impressive as when he joined the club midway through the previous term. The Nigerian scored seven goals in just 17 games for the side two seasons ago but managed just three in 33 matches as the side failed to successfully defend their Belgian league title last term. He has been linked with a move away from the club and might likely join other Nigerians in the English Premier League.

Moses Simon (Gent, Belgium)

lthough he showed promises during Chelsea pre-season programme, the winger did not do enough to convince the then Blues manager, Jose Mourinho who loaned him out to West Ham. He started brightly for the Hammers but soon lost his spine due to injury. He managed 21 EPL matches with that superb strike against Manchester City last September the only goal. He also has another to his credit in the FA Cup. He is likely going to return to Chelsea where he is expected to be shipped Moses out on loan to another club.

Abdullahi Shehu (Uniao da Madeira, Portugal)

in the campaign to become one of the most sought-after stars in the EPL.

Victor Moses (West Ham, England)

Ighalo

Y TELEGRAPH

Sport 29

Lifestyle of Sportsmen

Sport

2. John Terry

entre back and Chelsea team captain John Terry is no stranger to controversies. His history of scandal is well documented. Racial abuse, assault, and illegal gambling are just the tip of the iceberg. Add to that list that he slept with his teammate’s wife and it is plain as day that Terry isn’t always a great guy. Wayne Bridge, Terry’s friend

and teammate, had apparently just ended his relationship with his wife Vanessa Perroncel when Terry weaselled his way in. When the affair became public, a media circus ensued. Bridge was furious and refused to shake Terry’s hand in the pre-game line the next time they faced each other . He also refused to play for England in 2010 due to the affair.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

TOP 8 FOOTBALLERS WHO SLEPT WITH TEAMMATE’S WIVES

There are certain rules, both written and unwritten, that players must follow. Don’t throw your teammates under the bus. Be reliable, committed, and be respectful. But one of the golden rules in sports is that your teammate’s wives and girlfriends are strictly off-limits. No ifs, ands, or buts. Nothing will divide a team and ruin the clubhouse atmosphere like an affair with a teammate’s wife. Here are top eight footballers who slept with a teammate’s wife.

1. Mesut Ozil

3. Jordan Ayew

ston Villa striker Jordan Ayew was recently given a red card, fined, and suspended for three games for elbowing a West Ham player in the face. That might be exactly what he needed to shift the focus away from his four-year affair with Ghana national teammate Afriyie Acquah’s wife. Acquah’s wife Amanda was

recorded on tape talking candidly about the extramarital activities. The tape was somehow leaked onto YouTube and the media have had a field day. Acquah could have had his suspicions all along. In the tape, Amanda states that Afriyie would get furious whenever he saw Ayew and Amanda ‘having a chat or hanging out’.

esut Ozil and Christian Lell aren’t club level teammates, but they have both played for the German U21 national team. In 2014, Lell, who was playing for Levante at the time, accused German national team and Arsenal footballer Mesut Ozil of ‘muscling in’ on his woman. Lell apparently accessed his girlfriend’s cell phone and discovered the infidelity despite her attempts to erase the evidence. Ozil and his girlfriend, Mandy Capistro, appear to have weathered the storm but Lell’s relationship with his allegedly cheating girlfriend, Melanie Rickinger, is definitely not going as well. Police arrested Lell in January 2014 following a complaint that was filed by his wife.

Stories courtesy : Dailymail

6. Thibaut Courtois

hat goes around comes around. Nobody knows this better than Belgian national team and Manchester City’s midfielder Kevin de Bruyne. It seems that Kevin got caught with his lady’s best friend. So, what is a scorned wife to do? Well, Caroline Lijnen sought revenge in a very serious way. She allowed herself to

Ayew

be wined and dined by de Bruyne’s teammate, young stud goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. She then took it to the next level by sleeping with the young Belgian star. It had the intended results. De Bruyne was ‘devastated’. Mission accomplished. Courtois and de Bruyne have reportedly patched things up and continue to both play for the Belgian national team.

4. Mauro Icardi

his isn’t the first story of a good friendship falling apart over a woman and it won’t be the last. Mauro Icardi was a close friend and teammate of Maxi Lopez who was married to Wanda Nara. Yes, Wanda is hot, and yes, Wanda and Maxi’s marriage was on the rocks but that does not excuse Mauro from making his move while the married couple was on the outs. To top it off, Mauro quickly married Wanda and is constantly touting his love and admiration for his new wife on social media. Lopez and Icardi now play for different teams and have played against each other. Lopez has refused to shake Icardi’s hand during the pre-game ritual. How can anyone blame him?

7. Jose Altafini

Altafini

5. Christian Keller

onas Borring recently announced that he would not be playing another game for Superliga’s Randers FC despite recently extending his contract with the team. He probably has a good reason in light of the fact that his teammate and team captain Christian Keller was dating his wife. Now, the fact that Borring and his wife were separated might make this a little less scandalous, but there’s more to the story. Despite being separated, Borring and his estranged wife still live in the same house where they are raising their two children. Either way, Keller should have known better. Getting involved with the current or ex-spouse of a teammate is never a way of promoting solidarity in the locker room.

Courtois

egarded as one of the most complete strikers and greatest players of his generation, Jose “Mazzola” Altafini played for both the Brazilian and Italian national teams during his remarkable 22year career. Altafini also gained notoriety in the 1960s when he bedded the wife of Napoli teammate Paolo Barison. Not only did he do the dirty deed, Barison’s wife actually left him and moved in with Altafini. The '60s was a time of ‘peace and love’ but this crossed the line. The Italian media had a field day with the controversy and even 50 years after the fact, this story is still widely talked about and will likely never be forgotten.

8. Jean-François Larios

Keller (right)

n 1973, at the tender age of 17, Jean-François Larios signed with Saint-Etienne. After hitting his stride and finding a spot on Saint-Etienne’s roster during the 1979 season, Larios was teamed up with Michel Platini and Johnny Rep to form the fearsome and talented core of the Saint-Etienne squad. Larios’ star was on the rise but it crashed and burned prior to the 1982 World Cup with allegations that he was canoodling with Platini’s wife. This didn’t just affect Sainte-Etienne, it also affected the French national team that was expecting Platini and Larios to be an important part of. After Platini issued a “me or him” ultimatum, Larios was sent packing and played out his career as a soccer nomad.

Platini

Sport

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Players to watch

Gareth Bale

areth Bale has yet to score in this season's Champions League but thrived in the final stages of the Spanish league, scoring four goals in the final four matches as Cristiano Ronaldo was sidelined because of an injury. Bale proved to be decisive in the previous finals he played with Real Madrid, scoring when the team won the Champions League, the Copa del Rey and the Club World Cup in 2014. "I don't know what the secret to it is," Bale said. "In a final everyone looks to give the best of themselves and I hope on Saturday I can get a goal and it's enough to win the title."

Time: 7:45pm

hey still sing about the Champions League final of 2014 at the Bernabeu. Every home match without fail the Real Madrid faithful pose the question to their cross-city rivals "Atleti, tell me how it feels to have lost the final?". They would have gone on singing about it for decades had fate not given Los Rojiblancos a chance for revenge. Twenty four months after the first ever city derby in the final of the world's premier club competition, the two giants from Madrid return, with Diego Simeone's men looking to make amends for Sergio Ramos' 93rd minute header. Of course, the Atletico manager and his players will not speak about revenge. For them, it is more about making history and being crowned champions of Europe for the first time in the club's 113 years of existence. Speak to their fans however, and getting even with the rivals who have dominated them for decades is very much at the top of their priority list. That dominance however has dissipated somewhat since the arrival of Simeone in the Spanish capital, with the Argentine ending a 14 year wait for a derby win by beating Los Blancos in the final of the Copa Del Rey at the Bernabeu in 2013. Since then the two sides have met 15 times in four different competitions, with Real Madrid winning just three of those meetings in 90 minutes (and of course claiming a fourth win in extra time in Lisbon). Atletico have not quite become Real Madrid's bogey team, but they do know how to play against their more illustrious rivals and sticking to their rigid game plan has often proved successful. Nevertheless, Atleti remain outsiders and in truth that is how they like it. They were outsiders against both Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the previous two rounds and produced a magnificent team effort to progress.

Italy ready to host ninth Champions League final

Previous finals on the peninsula have seen a high number of penalty shootouts, with four of the nine matches going the distance and another lasting into extra-time The 2016 Champions League final will be the fourth held at the San Siro in Milan, and will see both sides of Madrid fighting for the crown. In doing so, the city of Madrid will become the most successful city in European competition, having won 11 cups and reaching 17 finals. These figures will both be records, taking the Spanish capital ahead of, coincidentally, Milan.

Zidane eye Cruyff, Ancelotti ‘s record

Zinedine Zidane will join an exclusive list of men to have won the Champions League

Fernando Torres

Champions League Final

Real, Atletico

light up San Siro as both a player and a coach if Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Since the inception of the European Cup in 1955, only six individuals have enjoyed success both on the pitch and in the dugout in the continent's most prestigious competition. The first was Miguel Munoz, who was the captain of the Real Madrid team that won the first two European Champion Clubs' Cup competitions in 1956 and 1957 before guiding them to two more titles as a coach in 1960 and 1966. His feat was not repeated until 1985, when Giovanni Trapattoni followed up his two victories in the competition with AC Milan in 1963 and 1969 with a winning campaign in charge of Juventus. Seven years later, Johan Cruyff's Barcelona were the final winners of the European Cup before the change in format to the Champions League. The Dutchman had won three in a row as one of the world's best players with Ajax. Carlo Ancelotti played in midfield in AC Milan's back-to-back triumphs in 1989 and 1990 and is one of only two managers, along with Bob Paisley, to be crowned a European champion three times as a coach (in 2003, 2007 and 2014). Barcelona ended their 14-year wait for another title in 2006 under Frank Rijkaard, who was a team-mate of Ancelotti's in Milan and also won the Champions League in 1995 with Ajax. Pep Guardiola is the group's most recent inductee, winning the competition once with Barcelona as a player in 1992 and twice as a coach in 2009 and 2011. Zidane won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2002 and will become the first person to win the competition as a player and a coach in its new format if Madrid are victorious at San Siro.

Simeone vs Zidane

Diego Simeone battled with Zinedine Zidane unsuccessfully on various occasions when the Atletico and Real Madrid coaches were players at their respective clubs, with the

latter coming out on top almost every time. But on the only occasion they have clashed as coaches, Atletico's wily Argentine emerged triumphant. It was Real Madrid's first defeat since Zidane took over from Rafa Benitez at the start of January, with Atletico winning 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on February 27. Many said Simeone had 'ended the Zidane effect' and that's exactly what he must do again if Atletico are to avenge their 2014 Champions League defeat by Real and win their first European Cup in Milan on Saturday. All-time top scorers S/N Players Nation 1 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal 2 Lionel Messi Argentina 3 Raúl Spain 4 Ruud van Nistelrooy Netherlands 5 Thierry Henry France 6 Alfredo Di Stéfano Argentina 7 Andriy Shevchenko Ukraine 8 Zlatan Ibrahimović Sweden 9 Eusébio Portugal 10 Karim Benzema France 11 Filippo Inzaghi Italy

Goals 93 83 71 56 50 49 48 48 46 46 46

Results of some past finals 2014-15 Barcelona v Juventus 3-1 2013-14 Real Madrid v Atlético 4-1 2012-13 B/Munich v Dortmund 2-1 2011-12 Chelsea v Bayern 1-1 (4–3) 2010-11 Barcelona v Man United 3-1 2009-10 Inter v Bayern 2-0 2008-09 Barcelona v Man United 2-0 2007-08 Man United v Chelsea 1-1 (6–5) 2006-07 Milan v Liverpool 2-1 2005-06 Barcelona v Arsenal 2-1 2004-05 Liverpool v Milan 3-3 2003-04 Porto v Monaco 3-0 2002-03 Milan v Juventus 0-0 2001-02 R/Madrid v Leverkusen 2-1 2000-01 Bayern v Valencia 1-1 1999-2000 Real Madrid v Valencia 3-0 1998-99 Man United v Bayern 2-1 1997-98 Real Madrid v Juventus 1-0 1996-97 Dortmund v Juventus 3-1 1995-96 Juventus v Ajax 1-0 1994-95 Ajax v Milan 1-0 1993-94 Milan v Barcelona 4-0

veteran of three World Cup final and three European Championships, Fernando Torres is used to the big stage. He scored a goal in the final both times that Spain won the European title, in 2008 and 2012. The 32-year-old Atletico striker finished the season well and scored goals in the last two league games. "I have ahead of me the most important games I will play in my life," Torres said.

Cristiano Ronaldo

ristiano Ronaldo has another Champions League record in his sights as he looks to become the first player to score in three finals when Real Madrid face Atletico Madrid on Saturday. The Portuguese is the all-time top scorer in the competition's history with 93 goals, beating Lionel Messi's current tally of 83, and became the first player to reach double figures in the group stage with his 11 strikes this season Ronaldo, who is gearing up for this fourth final appearance after two with Manchester United and winning on his only outing with Madrid in 2014, can match his record return of 17 in a Champions League campaign with another goal against Atletico.

Antoine Griezmann

rance forward Antoine Griezmann is enjoying his best season and has scored seven of Atletico's 16 goals in this season's Champions League, including three in the team's last three matches. He scored both goals in the win over defending champions Barcelona in the second leg of the quarterfinals, and the decisive one that allowed his team to advance past Bayern Munich in the semifinals. "I've had a great season and hopefully it'll end on a high note," Griezmann said.

Sport

Buhari:

One year after

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28 MAY 2016

We can use sports to empower youths – Onigbinde CONTINUed FROM PAGE 25

know their training schedules/programmes and they have been on it immediately after the London 2012 Olympics. The national athletes are the responsibility of the Central Government in power and funds have been allocated for their training and general well-being but the same cannot be said in Nigeria as we don’t even know the government plan for a great championship like the Olympics. Our athletes cannot participate in Olympics qualifiers because of lack of funds; table tennis players sponsored their trips to qualifiers, the coaching crew of the U-23 football team had to sustain the team during Rio Olympics qualifiers. We still don’t have a definite plan for athletes’ welfare, and it is worrisome that the same problem we encountered many years back are still reoccurring. Daniel Akpeyi is Chippa United and Super Eagles goalkeeper

Wrestling, Boxing, Basketball, Table Tennis stand out Chukwumerije

Daniel Igali has done very well with wrestling, maybe because we have an Olympian and world champion at the helm of affairs. Boxing did very well at the All Africa Games but it

Adamu INSET: Onigbinde

was unfortunate they did poorly at the Olympics qualifiers based on bad officiating. Apparently, that means we should also strive for positions in Africa to also flex our continental muscles. Basketball has done well too on the continent, both male, and female and there is more to develop in the DSTV Men's League and the Zenith Bank Women’s League. Table Tennis has been impressive because of the leadership of Enitan Oshodi. We have seen that even without Federal Government funding, Wrestling, Boxing, Basketball and Table Tennis Federations have done well in the past one year because of good and visionary leadership. We had a fair result in the past one year in Taekwondo. We had the All Africa Games, the Olympics qualifiers and African Championship. We should have done better at the All Africa Games if we had trained enough. We didn’t camp our athletes long enough and I’m not blaming the National Sports Commission for that but the leadership of the Taekwondo Federation led by George Ashiru. He waited too long for the NSC and he didn’t involve other board members. We recorded great success in refereeing development with success recorded by Margaret Elizabeth, Emmanuel Peters and Ferguson Colin at the world stage, while we recorded successes in coaching with the coming of two new coaches which also opened doors to improve coaching. From the athletes’ point of view, more than 65 percent of national team players changed but I don’t think we are quite there in terms of quality compared to other African countries. We have failed in the development of athletes in the past one year. We need to do more of official engagements with the schools to discover and develop tall athletes. We need to follow them through the processes of taekwondo basic training. Chika Chukwumerije is an Olympian and Taekwondo board member

LMC to announce You have to be more serious, NTTF league sponsorship boss charges women players in June Ajibade Olusesan

•Plans to change league structure Charles Ogundiya

he chairman of the League Management Company, Shehu Dikko, has disclosed that the company will soon announce a sponsor for the Nigeria Professional Football League. The league has been without a sponsor since the termination of the deal with Globacom, and the latest development will gladden the hearts of the local league stakeholders and fans. Speaking on the deal, Dikko said the LMC was not short of sponsors, but was taking its time before agreeing on any deal. “The LMC is financially strong at the moment so we are not ready to take just any partnership,” he said. “What people don’t understand is the TV rights deal is the biggest, other sponsors are just additional support. Every league in the world benefits more from TV rights than sponsorship. “If we can improve on our current TV deal, then we are good. If other Dikko sponsors ar-

rive, we are going to look at what they are bringing to the league before agreeing to any deal.” Although the Nigeria Football Federation Second Vice President failed to disclose the name of the sponsor, a source close to the LMC however said it was the Star Beer deal that was abandoned sometime ago. Meanwhile, Dikko has hinted on a shift in the calendar for the NPFL so as to favourthe country’s club playing on the continent. The current calendar of the league begins from February and runs through November, and the chairman said they might be looking at starting the league before the end of the year.

resident of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Waheed Oshodi, has said women table tennis players will get far more support if they can become more committed like their male counterparts. There has been some kind of evolution in the male table tennis in the country with Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun, Ojo Onaolapo, Jide Omotayo and Kazeem Makanjuola providing hope about the future of the game in the country. However, apart from Funke Oshonaike and to an extent Edem Offiong, women tennis players have not been able to hold their own. The NTTF had been accused of focussing more on men table tennis but in a chat with Saturday Telegraph Oshodi said that the men get more attention and support because they were more committed and serious. He said his body would definitely support any individual with incredible commitment regardless of sex, insisting that it is important for the ladies to prove themselves. “I will have to be blunt with you; we spend individual money, members’ money not government’s funds to support the players to go on pro tour and things like that. So

Quadri

you don’t expect us to put such resources on players who are not so serious. “We are so committed to the development of the game and we are doing our best, whoever shows that commitment and seriousness will be supported regardless,” he said.

Edo FA, Esmas Ventures sign MoU

he Edo State Football Association and Esmas Ventures have signed a Memorandum of Understanding ahead of a football tournament to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the creation of Edo State. The signing ceremony, which took place inside the boardroom of the football association at the Sam Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, had board members of the association and rep-

resentatives of Esmas Ventures in attendance. Chairman of the Edo State Football Association, Frank Ilaboya, signed on behalf of the association while the Chief Operations Officer of Esmas Ventures, Smarts Ebhodaghe, signed for his company. Part of the agreement terms in the MoU was that Esmas Ventures would source sponsorship and also provide logistics support to the association for the smooth organisation of the tourna-

ment billed to hold in August. The exercise tagged Edo at 25 Football Tournament would feature a team each from the eighteen local government areas in the state, playing the preliminary round in their respective senatorial districts to qualify to the state level. Speaking on the occasion, Ilaboya said the anniversary tournament was part of the ongoing efforts by his board to revamp the fortunes of football in Edo State.

Investigations 33

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28 MAY 2016

can do so unchallenged. It is easily noticeable that the sex market within the community is highly competitive. Beckon on one of the girls to come and you might get like three or four briskly walking towards you, asking that you check them out. When they dashed towards this reporter, the girls mistook his surprise for a difficulty in making a choice; a fair, slim young one said “I’ll treat you well.” The prices for services rendered also vary. During the peak period which is between 8 pm and midnight, short time service might go for as much as N1000 while for all night, customers sometimes have to part with as much as N2, 500. When market is dull however, short time might go for as low as N300, even less sometimes, depending on the customer’s bargaining power. One of the girls who spoke to this reporter disclosed that they pay as much as N800 for their bed spaces per night. Their rooms also serve as “chalets” for sex. The sex hawkers here do not call themselves prostitutes; the name for their trade is “hustling”. They see themselves as “hustlers for men” and charges N500 for short time at day time. In small Kuramo, commercial sexual exploitation of children also occurs in all the corners of this ‘jungle’. They are virtually everywhere; at street corners, behind residential homes, inside schools, in front of bars, shops, restaurants and other open spaces. They charge as little as N500 for short time inside their rooms or N300 for a quick ‘stand at a nearby block or behind a parked car. When night is well spent, they lure you into taking them for whole sale at N1500,” said a resident who identified himself as Ade. As you traverse the streets, what seems to be prevalent is nothing but love songs, which fill the air. Lovers either locked together romantically or seated with each other only waiting for passionate moments. The fear of the

Ogogoro and other strong spirits. There are open bars overlooking the Atlantic Ocean too. Live bands and stand-up comedians are common place at the ubiquitous bar joints. The bars play host to strip dancers who entertain fun seekers to all genres of music. The cool breeze from the ocean waves, the cacophony of assorted music - rock, reggae and calypso that waft from the beach side also garnishes the whole fun. While some indulge in wide and crazy pastimes such as musical gyrations, others bath themselves in bottles of liquor in an orgy of ecstasy. At such moments, exotic meals, suya barbecue and choice brandy flow endlessly. The destitute are exposed to harsh weather conditions, malnutrition and some hawk ganja as a means of livelihood. The boys usually go out in the day to hustle and return at night to hang out till daybreak because they cannot afford to pay for accommodation. Many of them reside at the beach side where they smoke, drink and prostitute. In this community, old men and women are not left out of the fray. At the entrance of the adjoining Lekki Beach are some of them displaying breads, detergents, soaps, herbs and all kinds of dry gin. “We make brisk business here,” one of them who identified herself simply as Toyin agba proudly stated. Narrating further, she said, “my child takes some of the wares and hawks around the bars and the beach. Sales are good. Sometimes, we sleep here.” How can she raise children in that kind of environment considering the negative influences they could be ex-

posed to? She simply said, “don’t disturb me. I am attending to my customers. Na your children?” Several such cases abound in this ‘jungle.’ The Lekki Beach has changed from being an ordinary beach to a place where drugs and sex are the major business items. It was also found out that a category of people are attracted to the beach because they find the atmosphere conducive for weed smoking as well as the use of other illicit drugs since they

It is a puzzle that major epidemic has not broken out in this environ

dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is not, however, enough to deter them. Day and night, these young girls shamelessly parade the neighbourhood hawking their bodies to any willing buyer. The ubiquitous bars that adorn the vicinity boast of huge population of these child whores engrossed in theatrical advertisement of their flesh. Clad in hot pants and brief tops that leave little for imagination, the little “angels” bombard the eardrums with pleasing mantra of, “I have all the styles and I’m small but mighty in bed.” Going by the way they chant the refrain like bats of the night, one would think there is a honey depot in the area. They fall over one another to secure patronage, shouting, “na me first come,” the same way groundnut hawkers do in traffic jams. Rich patrons that come from outside pays a bit higher, about a thousand naira after a steamy session on back seat of their cars. The deal could also be consummated in any of the secluded areas of the ‘ghetto’. Apart from prostitution, the sprawling neighbourhood is also a retreat for daredevil robbers, according to residents. Robbers, they said, bare their fangs on a daily basis unchallenged, especially in the early hours of the morning. They usually leave their victims in emotional trauma, with some sent to early graves. Aside the robbery attacks, the neighbourhood had, before now, according to one Okada man, who introduced himself as Tayo, assumed notoriety for crime and criminality, making many to believe it has become a sanctuary for thieves. This is usually accompanied by higher than normal rates of murder and burglaries. There are also occasional outbreaks of clashes among cult gangs, which some residents described as the handiwork of faceless criminals engaging in a systematic attempt to undermine the stability of the community. “Each street comes with its own tale, mafia and fiefdoms,” said another resident who craved anonymity. However, there are occasional police raiding of the area, but not usually from the nearby Jakande Estate Police Station. It was gathered that police from the neighbouring station do not bother about questioning or arresting anyone because “they also mix with others to catch the unending fun in the community.” Photos: Suleiman Husaini

34 Showbiz

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I won’t trade love for my talent –Boboh Burgeoning songster, Hariri Boboh Kassim whose stage name is Boboh, plays RnB, Afro-Pop and Afrobeat. He was formerly signed to SQN label where Chuddyk was a label mate. Currently signed to Kings Entertainment, Boboh’s a half-caste with blood ties to Lebanon and Nigeria. The undergraduate of Business Administration at the Sikkim Manipal University, Accra, Ghana, speaks about his career with LANRE ODUKOYA. What was your earliest influence into music? I think it’s the deep love and appreciation I have for music as a form of art, a means of self-expression and a tool for communication. What were you doing before music? I was focused on my education and had interests in other performing art forms as hobbies. At that time I played the drums, sang and also taught dance for a bit before I discovered my core musical talent as a performing artiste What stands you out in the fiercely com-

petitive industry? My God given talent and my name "BOBOH" are enough to stand me out. I believe your observation about competition has some sort of truth in them, but I also believe there is room for more talent. That being said, I believe my unique selling point and what stands me out is the fact that I am a quintessential artiste. That could be because of my mixed heritage, or maybe because God was extra kind to me. My brand is very unique. I can sing almost all genres, my voice is unique, I'm a pretty decent dancer and I am multilingual. I play more than one musical instrument (which is more than many other artistes as only very few can play ANY instruments at all), I have a solid background in music, I'm not bad looking, plus the mental discipline and exposure that comes with education. That's eight qualities that stand me out. A lot of other artistes have all these qualities but only a few have all eight of them; that's the edge I have. When was your most fulfilling moment on stage? The feeling of fulfilment on stage is something I sometime feel only a performing artiste can understand. Once I’m on stage I’m always filled with so much joy at the opportunity to connect with my fans, feel the pulse of the crowd and the satisfaction, feeling of fulfilment when the response is overwhelmingly positive. It's almost addictive, this feeling of euphoria. My most recent was during my Ibadan club tour, I was asked for an encore, the audience just couldn't get enough. Who are the artistes you’re looking to work

A FAN DID TO ME –Dele Odule

he craziest thing was when a fan of mine poured me sachet water.

I just highlighted from the car and she splashed the water she was drinking on me. I had to hold myself b ec au s e I was really angr y. She even asked why I was angry, that he did it out of the love for me. I told her t hat if it were to be acid or pepper, she would have done the same t h i ng. I ju st ign o r e d her and moved on. But I was so embarrassed that day, I must confess.

with and why do you prefer them? That's a tough one because there so many great artistes, but if I had to choose, I'd pick Niyola, Efya and Jhene Aiko. They are all soulful singers. How many songs have you written and how many are released already? I have written quite a number of songs, and I have an "EP" out already titled "Black Print" and I have got a few more coming your way soon. Is music already paying your bills? Yes, it’s starting to pay the bills. For that I am grateful to God. Would you like to share some information about your management and what deal you signed with it? I’m signed to Kings Entertainment company owned by DJkessyking and I’m happy where I am, thank you very much.

Boboh

What has been your greatest challenge? I am an optimist by nature, I don't usually see obstacles. I see possible stepping stones to the next level. Bring it on is what I always say, I stand tall, I stand strong, "Oluwa lo cover me". I am an optimist by How did your parents react to your decision to pursue music? Like most parents they are very supportive, so far my education does not suffer and my grades are good.

nature, I don't usually see obstacles. I see possible stepping stones to the next level

If music stops paying, what’s your plan ‘B’? Everyone has a backup plan, hence the education I am getting, but I don't see that happening any time soon. I got all it takes to keep winning and they are love and support of family, a great management team and a label that is like family; all is well. What projects are you currently working on? I’m dropping my video for the song ‘Oluwa-lo-cover-mi’ soon and after that, I’m looking forward to shooting a video for ‘Sugar banana.’

What’s your biggest fear in the industry? Another me I guess. Many of your senior colleagues complain of distraction from women, how are you dealing with

that? My philosophy is just keep heading straight, don't waver and you will definitely reach your goal. I am not easily distracted. Would you sacrifice your career for the love of a lady? I am a very goal oriented person, and a man is defined by his vision, goals and plans for the future. They are all part of the roadmap to success. Any woman that wants to be with me should also understand that my career, my vision and goals are also part of me, it comes with the terrain.

Showbiz 35

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28 MAY 2016

LANRE ODUKOYA

SHOWBIZ TODAY

08059296445 lanre.odukoya@newtelegraphonline.com

Grace Amah lashes out at Crystabel Love meets art in Simi’s Goddy for insulting Ibinabo ‘Love Don’t

few weeks back, embattled Nollywood actress, Crystabel Goddy, who had a rough time with fellow actress onset had stated in an interview that Ibinabo Fiberesima was suffering because she passed a wrong judgment on her during the issues she had. Crystabel had bit off flesh from co-actress, Princess Chineke's thigh while on a movie set and this led to public outcry with many airing their various displeasures. But rather than get a response from Ibinabo, actress, Grace Amah, has chosen to fight for Ibinabo, as she made it known to Crystabel that the former AGN president was acting based on rule of law and not on her own will. She said: ''Recently, I read a statement credited to Crystabel where she allegedly said that the travails Ibinabo Fiberesima, President AGN, in the court was as a result of what the President did to her (Christabel). Christabel had alleged that Ibinabo wrongly passed judgement on her by banning her from acting in line with the rules of AGN after Christabel was found guilty for fighting and biting a colleague at a movie location. I have said it several times that every profession has its own rules and guidelines or code of conduct. AGN cer-

Care’ video S

Grace Amah

tainly has its own rules one of which is the fact that colleagues are not allowed to fight at locations and where such inevitably happens, whoever is the culprit should be punished accordingly. Rather than apologise for her wrong doing, Christabel took to the media to chastise Ibinabo and started insinuating that her travails came as a result of the punishment given to her for misconduct. While it would ordinarily not be necessary to join issues with Christabel

TURNING P INT Chioma Omeruah aka Chigul

omedy was never in my plans; I just went through the door that was opened to me. I guess I have always been funny all my life and I saw an

opportunity to venture into the comedy industry after releasing a vote note that went viral in 2010. I create characters all the time and Chigul is one of my characters. Since people had come to love the character over the years, I continued to work with it. You can never know how fulfilled you are until you get to the highest height. I am still climbing, but it is a good road I am on and I am just trying to do my best. A n admirer named m e Chigul. H e started calling m e Chigul a n d people g o t used to it. He gave me the name in 2010.

over her reckless and shameful comments, I feel it is important that we recognise that a leader does not represent himself or herself when holding public office. The leader represents the people and is guided by the rules made by the people. Ibinabo didn't seem to have any personal issues with Christabel. In discharging her duties as the president of AGN, she was only carrying out a mandate conferred on her by the members of the Actor Guild of Nigeria (AGN).”

igned to X3M Music label, Simi’s meteoric rise in the industry emphasises the label’s reputation in building music superstars. Again, Simi wows her fans with her artistic talents in the new music video of 'Love Don't Care'. Released this year, on Valentine's Day precisely, the love ballad speaks of a love that soars above tribal and social prejudices. Since its release, the ballad has received massive airplays due to its compelling narrative and beautiful harmony of the traditional instrumentals. Known for her comedic storytelling lines with evocative messages, Simi showcased her artistic taste in this video. The use of space and African prints in the video perfectly balances the folktale imagery of the song. The video starts with Simi lying on a bed. Another character playing her mother is also seated on the bed making a call while Simi beautifully sings. The video follows similar narratives, carefully making the characters glued to their part without direct communication with the singer. The video ends with Simi returning to her bed.

RMD, Yemi Sax headline ICOC Men’s Forum

igeria’s foremost screen king, Richard Mofe-Damijo and Yemi Sax, City and Style bespoke Saxophonist are set to thrill participants at the 2016 Ikeja Men’s Forum and Seminar organised to deliberate on the gross importance of integrity. The event is to be held today at the Mission House, 1, Jobi Fele Way, Alausa Ikeja, Lagos. The event themed: “Against the Tide: Integrity in All Things is Possible” is targeted at professionals, businessmen, government officials and the discerning public. The key goal of the seminar is draw people’s attention to the need to cultivate integrity as a virtue of life. According to the Chairman of the forum, Mr. Uwamai Igein, “Nigerians have grown lethargic to the fundamental issue of integrity, and this has reflected in and affected our lives in every way including professional practice, personal relationships and governance. As a group, we considered it appropriate to speak to Nigerians on the need to keep integrity in dealing with one another and in every aspect of our professional endeavour.” Emeka Okechukwu, an Evangelist and a member of the team said: “Some people think it is impossible to keep integrity in our dealings in Nigeria; this is why we say that against the tide of doubt, integrity in all things is very possible. We will like people to attend this event and learn for themselves how this can be made possible for the good of all and to the glory of God.” The group has assembled a team of credible young Nigerian professionals to discuss the topic designed in three parts: Integrity in the public sector," "integrity in the private sector" and integrity in social and spiritual life." Olusegun Odubela, former Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and

Technology will speak on integrity in the public sector, Ken Aghoghovbia, Deputy Managing Director/COO African Re-Insurance will speak on business or private sector, while Emmanuel Emeh, an evangelist, will speak on integrity in social and spiritual life. These papers will be discussed in details by a team of panelists consisting of enlightened young professionals in various fields including, Emeka Anolefo, a lawyer; James Agama, a pastor and a marketing and brand strategist, Osa Director, a lawyer, journalist and human rights activist, Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), actor and former Commissioner in Delta State, Lanre Ogunbanjo, CEO of a private company and others. As part of the activities heralding the seminar, the group donated laptops and printer to Alausa Police Station to kick-start its CSR initiative in the community.

RMD

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28 MAY 2016

with Deborah Ocheni

Sunday Politics: PDP leadership controversy

unday Politics is a political programme that x-rays recent significant developments and activities in the world of politics in and around Nigeria. Political perspectives of national issues are captured and analysed. This edition of the programme focused on PDP leadership controversy as leaders are engaged in battle of supremacy. Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa and Political Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, aired their views on the topic. It is aired every Sunday at 8:30pm on Channels Television (254) and anchored by Seun Okinbaloye. Okowa while responding to some of the questions on the crisis facing the party said dissolving the national working committee was the best thing for the party to do, adding that the caretaker committee will come up with an elective convention in 90 days. He said: “In legal cases, we give it to court to make some consideration and to also consult some senior lawyers like we did in the past and that is the best option to adopt. Actually, I heard of the convention and it was supposed to be an elective convention where we were to elect our officers but with the kind of injunction that we had, we are also lucky there was no injunction stopping the convention, we were only asked not

Okinbaloye (Host)

to contest positions of national officers until the discharge of that injunction. Looking through the issues surrounding the scenario, the best thing to do as a party was to formally dissolve all national positions at the convention and the convention has the power to do so. It has the power to elect and remove officers at any convention. For one reason or the other we had to remove all of them and after the removal, the only possible thing to do at that time was to set up a caretaker committee to plan for a new convention. Yes, that will cost us, moving people around in a short while because we give ourselves 90 days for another convention to take place but with the care taker committee we cannot directly be said to have infringed on the directives of the court.”

Programme summary

Real Woman Foundation

The Osasu Show AIT Friday @9pm

It is an interactive talk show that features professional women counselling one another on family life and societal issues.

It is a highly informative and innovative programme that provides a friendly and comfortable environment to enable guests to get their message across to viewers.

STV (252) Sunday @ 8pm

Wazobia FM’s Omotalk

mojevwe Kingsley popularly known as Omotalk is a talented On Air Personality with Wazobia FM. Omotalk brands himself as the talking machine of Wazobia FM. He is the first child in a family of three; he is a native of Urohbo from Agbaroh in Ughelli North in Delta State. Omotalk was born and brought up in Warri. He went to Tidal Gedibar, and then Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu State, for his higher education. He has been doing stand-up comedy for over six years now. He is a God fearing person, lover of people and a very friendly on air

personality. Omotalk co-hosts the Saturdays and Sunday morning shows with Akas Baba in the morning (Wake Up Show), weekdays with Porico (Go Slow Yarns).

Kingsley

Okowa added that the caretaker committee members were now supposed to plan for the new convention and to guide the party for the maximum of 90 days and it was made very clear that the caretaker committee members will not be allowed to contest at the next convention; they would just conduct an elective convention where new national officers will emerge. Speaking on the way forward for PDP on this matter, Gulak said: “it is clear the national convention has the power to elect and remove officers but the national convention is not in a position to violate a court order. The national convention cannot be seen to violate a court order, the subsisting court order both in the Lagos Federal High Court and FCT High Court is to the effect that there are 18 officers whose tenure must continue to run till 2017. So, this is a clear court order and forming a caretaker committee is a clear violation of this court order. A national convention has the power to elect officers but it doesn’t have the power to violate a court order that says 18 of the national officers whose tenure must run till 2017 must be seen to remain valid until upturned by a court of competent jurisdiction. As it is today, the party knows that there is a subsisting court order which recognises that the tenure of 18 officers will continue to run until 2017. What the party ought to do is to file an appeal to challenge this court order and upturn it rather than using any gathering to violate the court order. What we are saying is that, once there is a subsisting court order, whether it is right or wrong, unless and until that court order is upturned on appealed, it remains valid and any action in violation of that order is clear contempt of court.” Gulak gave his counsel: “My honest advice for my party is for all the stakeholders to come together and give this problem a political solution, they must sit together and proffer a political solution for the way forward, so that those cases in court can be addressed whether to legally withdraw them or get the plaintiff to agree to a political solution.

This weekend TELEVISION

WAP TV

ONTV

Saturday 06:00 Wap-Alaffs Report 06:30 Popular Songs 07:00 Kookoorokoo 09:30 Indomitable 10:00 Sport Arena 11:00 Awokogbon 12:30 Nnena and Friends 01:00 D Beat Zone 02:00 Destiny River Report 02:30 Reel Naija Spare my Life O4:30 Teju Baby Face Show 4:00 World News 4:30 Turning Point 5:00 Personalities Places and Events 5:30 Our Ladies Our Pride 6:00 Hitlist & Cruzing 6:30 Making of a Chef 7:00 The Valley Between 8:00 AIT News Hour 9:00 Tales of Eve 10:00 Taste of Love 12:00 Sunday Homily Sunday 06:00 Wap-Alaffs Report 06:30 Turning Point 07:00 The Relevant Church 07:30 Kookoorokoo 09:30 700 Club 10:00 Awokogbon Kogbodeye 11:30 X2D 12:00 Indian Series Omnibus 01:30 The Benjamins O2:00 Video Fashion 02:30 Thousand Laugh Xtra 04:30 Reel Naija Spare My Life 6:00 Igbo Series 6:30 Clinic Matters 7:00 I Love Nigeria 8:00 Knorr Taste Quest 9:00 Tales of Eve

Saturday 6:30 Crocadoo 7:30 The Indomitable 8:30 Pocahontas 9:05 Arambara 9:30 Village Square 11:05 Snakes and Lizards 12:00 Soundcity Top Choice Videos 1:00 Hitz 1:30 Pavitra Rishta 2:35 Village Square 4:10 Movie 5:35 Los Rey 6:20 Spice Most 7:00 Headline News 7:10 Footprints 8:00 Pulse 234 8:30 Spider 9:00 Spice Specials 9:30 Soundcity Party Mix 10:30 Omnisport Sunday 8:00 Hutos 9:05 Arambara 9:35 Village Square 11:05 Snakes and Lizards 12:00 Soundcity Global Count down 1:00 Hitz 1:30 Pavitra Rishta

2:40 4:10 5:35 6:20 7:05 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:25 10:50

Village Square Movie Los Rey Glam Mamas Before 30 Saints Sunday Paparazzi Show Spider On The Couch Omnisports Movies

RADIO

Lagos Traffic Radio (96.1) Saturday 6:30 Regular Traffic Updates 8:00 Sports Programme 8:30 Your Side Mirror 11:00 Automedics 12:00 Lunch Time Waka 2:00 Bosenlo 4:00 Return Trip with Regular Traffic Update 6:00 Traffic Update 8:00 Music and Traffic Update 9:00 Night Wave

Sunday 6:30 Regular Traffic Updates 8:00 Sports Programme 8:30 Your Side Mirror 11:00 Automedics 12:00 Lunch Time Waka 2:00 Bosenlo 4:00 Return Trip with Regular Traffic Update 6:00 Traffic Update 8:00 Music and Traffic Update

Nigeria Info (99.3) Saturday 5:00 Rise to Wisdom 6:30 Newspaper Review 7:00 This is the News 7:45 Vox Populii 8:00 News Update 8:30 The Celebrity 9:00 Business News 9:30 World News 10:05 Sports Drive 10:30 Headline News 10:35 The Situation Room Sunday

5:00 Rise to Wisdom 6:30 Newspaper Review 7:00 This is the News 7:45 Vox Populii 8:00 News Update 8:30 The Celebrity 9:00 Business News 9:30 World News 10:05 Sports Drive 10:30 Headline News 10:35 The Situation Room 11:00 News Commercial and Music

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

The Arts

28 MAY 2016

Prelude to Jos Festival of Theatre 2016 gets Grand support Tony Okuyeme

he Jos Repertory Theatre as part of its 2016 programming will host the prelude to the 10th Jos Festival of Theatre 2016, with a weekend of three plays. The show which is supported by Grand Cereals Limited will be held from Saturday (today) to Monda, on the premises of the Alliance Francaise, Jos. The Grand Cereals Limited which has always supported the Jos Festival of Theatre from inception in 2004, is supporting two new playwrights in the premiere of their plays within the festival, the Artistic Director of Jos Repertory Theatre, Mr. Patrick Jude Oteh stated. He added that the plays to be featured include Akolo James Anthony’s “Late Pam”, Umoren Ubond David’s “Bullion Stride”, and Miguel de Cervantes’ “Rinconete and Cortadillo” which had its Nigerian premiere in Abuja on April 20 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, as part of activities by the Embassy of Spain to celebrate 400 years of the death of the Spanish playwright, Miguel de Cervantes. “All the plays selected for the prelude to the main festival will be addressing issues of youth restiveness and unemployment and what youths do with themselves while waiting for the promises that are still in the pipeline. There would be raffle draws by Grand Cereals Limited at the opening and closing ceremonies of the minifestival,” Oteh said. Grand Cereals Limited is coming to the assistance of the Jos based theatre group after the initial cancellation of the 2016 festival due to lack of funds.

Jos Repertory Theatre in Wale Ogunyemi’s Queen Amina of Zazzau

A scene in Ghana Must Go

Nkem Owoh, Kofi Adjorlolo, Helen Paul, regale as ‘Ghana Must Go’ premieres

Tony Okuyeme he much anticipated movie ‘Ghana Must Go’ produced by the award-winning Ghanaian-Nigerian actress, Yvonne Okoro, will premiere in cinemas across Nigeria in June, 2016, Desamour Production Company has announced. Directed by multiple award winning filmmaker, Frank Rajah Arase, the movie “Ghana Must Go” stars Yvonne Okoro, Kofi Adjorlolo, Ik Ogbonna, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Helen Paul, Ada Ameh, and Nkem Owoh popularly known as Osuofia. Set in Accra, Ghana, the comedy revolves around two young lovers who

are of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin. Okoro plays the role of Ama, a London based Ghanaian lady who brings her Nigerian boyfriend, Chuks, played by Blossom Chukwujekwu home to meet her parents resulting in all hell being let loose. Ama’s parents especially her father refuse to give their blessings to their relationship, citing historical happenings between the neighbouring nations as reason for not accepting Chuks. The series of events that play out test the love of the young lovers in the most hilarious and unexpected ways. The film shows Nkem Owoh, Blossom Chukwujekwu, and Helen Paul in thrilling encounters with Adjorlolo,

Ada Ameh as they seek to define and understand issues thrown out in the though-provoking story. ‘Ghana Must Go’ is the second feature movie from Desamour Company Limited after the 2012 box office success of ‘Contract’. ‘Ghana Must Go’ was released earlier in 2016 and has already enjoyed box office success in Ghana. According to Desamour Company Limited, the Nigerian premiere is scheduled to take place on June 3, 2016, in Lagos, Nigeria. “FilmOne Distribution Company will be taking the movie to cinemas across the country from June 10, 2016,” it stated.

I decided to become an engineer after going to studio many times –Meaku Moses Kadiri

hibuike Franklyn Omeaku's (aka Meaku) journey into the music world started when he could not find a suitable studio engineer to mix his song to suit his taste. But today, Meaku does not only function as a studio engineer; he has also carved a niche for himself as a singer, songwriter, making waves in the music scene. He recalls: “I decided to become an engineer after going to the studio several times and engineers could not mix the song the way I envisioned it. So I went to school to learn sound engineering. I create my own music sound, and I also use the same skill to help other artistes capture the exact sound they are looking for in their songs.” And ever since he began a career in music over seven years ago, to make positive change, he has not looked back. His latest single, titled, Baby Oh!, which is enjoying air play in radio stations is a “testimony to hard work and time spent in the studio”. Baby Oh!, is an Afro beat love song-

where the singer dwells on marriage issues. Featuring Ugandan music star, Eddy Kenzo, the duo preach love, and how a man should love his woman. "The song will make you long for your partner to be," Meaku said. Produced by Fliptyce, Meaku disclosed that when it comes to love songs, everyone has their own perception of love to that ideal woman. "Everyone has their own perspective when it comes to love; mine epitomises the value of my ideal woman who is worth the chase," he added. Apart from his latest single Baby Oh! Meaku has released singles in Nigeria such as "Test and See" featuring Dekumzy, "American Boy" by Storm Rex, featuring Me, "Missing You", "Study Your Body", "Identical to Heaven" featuring Niniola, "Love Is Real", "She Like it" featuring Glasses Malone among others. The artiste who has worked with popular acts like D'banj and other well-known music stars in the Nigerian mainstream

music industry said it is awesome when people appreciate his kind of music. "I have worked with both local and international artistes and it is just humbling when your music and craft is appreciated by artistes of such calibre." Meaku, who attended Cal State University of Dominguez Hills, where he studied journalism, law, but completed with sound engineering at Pinnacle College, ranked the Nigerian music industry as the most booming in Africa. "The music that is being created on a daily basis has raised the bar rather high for other countries in Africa to follow. You have artistes like Wizkid, Davido, Mc Galaxy, Ice Prince, Wande Coal, D'banj, among others who have helped gain fame for US/ international artistes to appreciate the sounds that is coming from home (Nigeria).” He projected that Nigerian music will become the most sought after in all of the world. “Music produced by Nigeria makes you feel good, makes you happy, and places you in a dancing mood,” he said.

Meaku

FRED NWAOZOR

“S

ir, you were spotted in Canada a few weeks ago,” asked Miss Vanessa during the interview. “Please, can you tell us what prompted the trip?” “I was invited to deliver a public lecture,” the interviewee, Prof Nkrumah responded. “In the University of Michigan.” “What was the theme of the lecture, sir?” “The role of a leader in continental development,” Prof Nkrumah said. “The Ghanaian perspective.” He landed. Prof G.O. Nkrumah, an astute and veteran 53-year-old Ghanaian professor of the Department of International Relations in the University of Accra, Ghana, was indeed the dream of every young and focused Ghanaian student that he was widely celebrated in every nook and cranny of the country. Everybody wanted to hear him speak whenever he was being interviewed on the radio or watch him speak in the case of a television broadcast. The young and agile academic was to say the least highly adored owing to his exemplary proficiency in issues relating to public sphere. There and behold, he was, as usual, being interviewed on one of the most reputable Ghanaian television broadcasting firms – StarCool TV. “Sorry for deviating,” the anchor Lady Vanessa proceeded. “Can you tell us a bit about your family?” “Well, I have a loving and lovely woman as a wife,” the renowned professor began his family analysis. “Dr. Mrs. Ann Nkrumah, of course everyone knows her.” He exaggerated. The presenter nodded pleasantly. Though his wife, Dr. Mrs. A.D. Nkrumah who was also an academic, in Psychology precisely, was a famous personality but her popularity could not be equated with his (Prof’s) that could be attested to by even a-day-old child. “I would say,” Prof Nkrumah rode on. “I’m that imperfect man that got married to a perfect woman.” He boasted. The chocolate skinned Lady Vanessa who clad in ash suit, ash plain trousers, coupled with black shoes couldn’t hold her smile. “How many children?” She enquired. “By His grace, I’m blessed with three wonderful children,” he replied. “My last child who is the only male among them is 18 at the moment.” “Do you mind talking about them?” She said cheerfully, hastily adjusted her transparent specs. “My first daughter at 22 is presently on her Master’s degree programme in London Graduate School; her younger sister who’s 20 will conclude her first degree this year in Dundee University, Scotland,” the dark complexioned academic who dressed in black suit, black plain trousers alongside black shoes answered. “My son Dennis who is studying Law in the Manchester University, also in the UK, is currently in 200 Level.”

ShortStory Power of destiny

“At 18?” “Of course,” he said. “He left secondary school at the age of 16.” “Interesting.” The 33-year-old spinster applauded. “What you have to know is that children of nowadays are very fast academically,” the notable Prof asserted. “It’s not like during our time.” “Apart from law,” Vanessa continued. “Would you have allowed him to go for any other profession?” “Sure,” he said succinctly, nodding. “The choice is his.” “As your only son,” the Ghanaian trained journalist punched again. “Would you have allowed him to venture into acting?” “Why not?” He replied. “Actors are great people in the society today.” He added, paused. “Even as a lawyer, he can still become an actor tomorrow.” “But you and I know that there are so many distractions in the movie industry,” Vanessa went on. “And I’m of the view you would like him to be addressed as a Professor someday.” Prof. Nkrumah smiled. His hands seemed tied going by the nature of the logic being utilised by the seasoned mass

communicator. Obviously, the interview was gradually arriving at a hot zone unannounced. “Even at that,” he managed to utter. “All I know is that, he can still attain to that height even as an actor.” “So, in other words,” she hinted. “Any profession is okay by you?” “Definitely,” the bearded Prof. said. “It’s a matter of choice.” He reiterated sceptically. The weekly programme entitled ‘Meet your role model’ which invariably came up every Saturday on StarCool TV lasted for an hour as the tradition requested. “Beautiful outing,” the Prof’s beautiful wife applauded, kissed his cheeks the moment he arrived home. “Darling, you spoke very well as usual.” “Thank you, my dear.” Prof Nkrumah appreciated. Dennis, their only son was meant to be in his Ghanaian home that very day. The Manchester University undergraduate had earlier called home to notify his parents – Prof. and Dr. (Mrs.) Nkrumah. It was in March, 2003. Within a twinkle of an eye, the awaited chap finally arrived home as expected at about 6:45pm

(GMT), “Oh dad and mum,” he exclaimed as he was about separately hugging his parents who had stepped out of the house to welcome him. “You are all looking good.” He added frantically. “Welcome son.” His mum said as they hug each other. “Welcome, my boy!” the ever vibrant prof reiterated as he grabbed his own hug instantly after his wife received hers. The three hurriedly moved to the sitting room and had their seats while the house-help took the luggage to the apt quarter. The couple sat very close to each other on the only three-in-one upholstery chair in the room whilst, their son Dennis sat directly adjacent to them on a separate single upholstery chair. “I know the semester hasn’t ended,” the Prof hastily said. “So, why are you home?” The wife assented via a nod. “Dad, you’re right,” quoted Dennis. “We’re still in second semester.” “So?” the anxious academic interrupted inquisitively. “Dad and Mum,” the chap called. “I have something very crucial to discuss with you.” “We are listening, my son.” said the Prof, wondered what

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

frednwaozor@gmail.com +2348028608056 Follow: @mediambassador

could be the matter that he couldn’t discuss on phone. “I want to go to a seminary school,” the 18-year-old Dennis informed hesitantly. “I want to be a priest.” “You would like to become a priest?” the renowned academic who was also a devoted Catholic uttered confusedly. The wife shook her head, which bore long plaited hairs, with dismay, seemed depressed. “Yes dad,” Dennis responded calmly. “I’ve already made up my mind.” “Meaning?” His parents chorused. “I’m done with the University.” “What!” the Prof shouted. Mrs. Nkrumah looked at him (Dennis) in awe. It was as if the female journalist, Vanessa who hosted the Prof. few minutes back foresaw the incident. “Are you out of your mind?” the Prof. ranted. “Do you realise you are my only son?” “Dad,” the chap called. “I never said I’m about to die…” “Dennis…,” his mother interrupted loudly. “What has come over you?” “You must be mad.” The Prof overreacted. Perhaps, he had abruptly forgotten so soon what he told the TV presenter awhile ago as regards choosing a career. “Besides, who says a University graduate can’t become a Reverend Father?” He rode on furiously. “Where did you cull that from?” The wife calmly clapped her hands, indicating her optimum surprise. Thereafter, the altercation continued for several days to no avail until Prof G.O. Nkrumah decided to give the thought-provoking issue a second thought owing to his wife’s importunities. Consequently, Dennis left the University for a Senior Seminary School in Ghana unconditionally. Ceteris paribus, many years later, in 2013 to be precise, Dennis Nkrumah was ordained as a Holy Ghost Catholic Priest (CSSP) at 28 having successfully undergone rigorous missionary trainings as the ethics demanded. On that fateful and remarkable day, his beloved parents felt fulfilled for having sacrificed their only son. Immediately after the ordination, the young and handsome priest - Rev Fr. Dennis Nkrumah promised his parents that he would surely become a professor someday. Sincerely, if you were in the shoes of the academics, would you have allowed Dennis to proceed to the seminary school? Think about it!

• Nwaozor novelist, playwright and poet, is Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research & Career Development - Owerri

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Travel & Tourism

CHEF'S CORNER

Shrimps with tomatoes sauce

creation of French, which is known as Crevettes grilles ala kerkenn aise, Tomato sauce is commonly served in Tunisia and it is a kind of soup with heavy Mediterranean touch and doused with olive oil and tomatoes sauce. It is a delicious and healthy meal and can be easily prepared and served. Ingredients: • Two cups of shrimps (pealed) • Half cup of olive oil • Five large tomatoes (chopped) • Two fresh pepper (crushed) - Fresh parsley • One clove garlic (mined) • One lime cut into five wedges • One onion (chopped)

Preparation: Wash and toss the shrimps with olive oil, cover until the shrimps turn pink. Remove from heat and set aside. Then make a dipping sauce in bowl by combining the remaining ingredients and add some olive oil to make a perfect North African dipping sauce. Place the shrimps on a large serving platter with the lime edges and serve with the sauce.

Hilarious

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Ethiopian Aviation Academy, an arm of Ethiopian Airlines, has been certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as its training centre of excellence for Africa following a rigorous assessment of the training organisation, training and procedures manuals, facilities, training processes, qualification of staff and quality system. The recognition allows Ethiopia to develop and host ICAO Training Packages (ITPs) in addition to ICAO recognised Standardised Training Packages (STPs) of its own. Besides improving the quality of training, by making it more of material dependent than instructor dependent, the ITPs and STPs can also be exchanged with all ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS members and generate revenue. The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) EO Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said the academy is dedicated to empowering African youth: “We believe education is the greatest equalizer in the 21st century and our aviation academy has strategically positioned itself to train the African youths in the latest aviation technology and latest aviation skills to own, manage and operate their own indigenous home grown African Airlines to lead safe, economical and reliable aviation industry with global standards. “This recognition is the result of the continuous heavy investment we are making on human resource development, a critical pillar of our Vision 2025 strategy. We have invested more than $100 million to expand both the scope of the training and the in-take capacity of the academy.

with TADE OGIDAN Tade Ogidan is one of Nigeria’s most respected and sought after directors and producers in the movies business with many years of experience and uncountable credits. In a chat with LANRE ODUKOYA he recalls a cooking escapade at age seven

Hospitality

Fairmont the Norfolk Hotel: Nairobi’s jewel

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Destination

Nigeria Tourism: A dimmed hope

p.42

ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA Editor, TRAVEL&TOURISM iroandy@ymail.com

Ethiopian Aviation Academy earns ICAO’s recognisation as regional training centre

COOKING BLUNDER

Travel Personality Hellet Morgan: My aspiration is to make Bolton White number one hotel in Nigeria

TRAVEL BEATS

Ogidan

’d be seven years old and I cooked a stew waiting for my mother to return. Normally when I’m coming from school, my parents have this arrangement for supply of the foodstuffs they would need. So, they’d now just give them to me. I just wanted to impress her. So, I cooked. When she came back, I was very excited and I was telling her that I’d done the cooking. I’m sure she wasn’t hearing me well because that certainly wouldn’t make any sense. She just got back from work and was very tired obviously. So, I repeated myself like three times. Then she snapped back. ‘You cooked what?’ I answered in Yoruba, ‘mo ti se obe yin’ literally meaning ‘I’ve made your stew.’ She rushed to the kitchen, tasted the stew and asked, ‘who did this?’ I said ‘it’s me’. She said ‘haaa, iwo lo se ni tooto’, ‘yes, you were indeed the one who cooked this.’ She responded that way because obviously there was too much salt in the stew. I actually cooked it with fire-woods, though we had a retinue of staff of cooks and stewards but we all just enjoyed ourselves.”

The newlycreated tunnel

Switzerland unveils world’s longest train tunnel A historical feat by Switzerland will be unveiled on June 1 as the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is said to be the world’s longest and deepest tunnel, goes public. Extending 57 kilometres to a depth of up to 2, 300 metres below the Gotthard massif, the tunnel will serve to improve connectivity between the country and its neighours, cities and regions north and south of the Alps, making train service quicker, easier and more convenient. The project, which began about 17 years ago, will permit highspeed travel through the Alps in only 17 minutes. The new flattrack route will not only cut travel time through the Gotthard, but also facilitate transit travel for longer and heavier trains. After 17 years of challenging building work, constructor AlpTransit Gotthard Limited will hand over the completed tunnel to the Swiss Federal Railways on time and on budget. Switzerland's internationally acclaimed public transport system - already the densest in the world - has perfected another pioneering first.

The best way to discover Switzerland

The Gotthard Base Tunnel will enter into regular operation on December 11. The shorter travel times will bring neighbouring countries, regions and cities closer together. The dual-track tunnel will enable passengers from near and far to spend more time discovering the many delights of Switzerland north and south of the Gotthard.

40 Travel&Tourism

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

HELLET MORGAN

My aspiration is to make Bolton White number one hotel in Nigeria Hellet Morgan, is the general manager of Bolton White Hotels, Abuja, he speaks with YEKEEN NURUDEEN on the Nigerian hospitality sector and his quest to take his hotel to the zenith How would describe hotel business in Abuja? Basically, I think Abuja is fine but compared to Lagos at the same time in the area of hospitality, I would say Abuja is still lagging behind. Lagos has an edge over Abuja in terms of hotels and hospitality business but I believe with time that Abuja will get to where Lagos is. Lagos started long before Abuja. Lagos still has that edge in terms of service. When you say in terms of service, are you referring to the quality of service or the number of hotels? Services comprise so many things. The quality of hotels, the quality of standard of operations and service itself which you render are quite different when you compare Lagos and Abuja. The standard of hotels in Lagos when you compare with those in Abuja is far higher. Why I'm saying this is this: Take the big hotels in Lagos for instance, Radisson Blu, InterContinental, Eko Hotels and Suites and Sheraton Lagos Hotel. Now, if you mention Abuja you can only mention Transcorp Hilton, Sheraton Abuja Hotel, Bolton White and few other ones. Comparatively, you would realise that Lagos hotels are performing extremely well compared to Abuja hotels. What stands out Bolton White Hotel if you say it is in the league of standard hotels? When I talk in terms of standard service, like I mentioned earlier, Transcorp, Sheraton and Bolton White Hotels, what it means is that as compared to Lagos, the three hotels are really of standards compared with hotels in Lagos in terms of services and the quality of facilities they have. I believe that at Bolton White Hotels we have what it takes. We have won several awards over the years as the Hotel of the Year and in other different categories. We are presently rated by the United Nations (UN) as the Best Security Hospitality outfit in Abuja from the recent survey they conducted in Abuja. How has your hotel been able to adjust to the challenges of the economic downturn? It is a very big challenge but we are trying to cope and see how we can adapt to the system that we are in now. It is a bit challenging in terms of increase in the price of everything in the system as diesel prices have shot up by over 300 percent while food stuffs have shot up as well by over 300 percent. Everything has gone up by over 300 percent. What we are also trying to achieve is to make sure that our service is up to standard so that we can be able to cope with whatever challenges

TRAVEL PERSONALITY we are going through so that we can remain in business. We are trying to cope with what we have to make sure that we keep on training our staff to be on top so that we don't lose any of our clients. Basically, that's what is helping us to survive in the business. Has the increase not affected the hotel rates? Definitely, it has affected some of the rates because there's no cash flow in the system. One of the complaints we are facing is that people say there's no money in the system. â&#x20AC;&#x17D;We are finding it difficult to increase prices as well. That's one of the challenges. The in-flow of guests to the hotel has also reduced compared to last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Most of their businesses depend on foreign cash flow and they find it difficult to transfer money and all that. These are things that are really affecting our business especially our foreign guests. Most of them find it difficult to transfer money while few of them that are working in the country also find it difficult to transfer money back home. They are finding it challenging. It has really affected our patronage. But we have good news, the budget has been signed and the president said he is going to pump N350billion into ongoing projects. Yes, that is good news. I believe that things will change. Let's pray that it would move as it should be so that it would attract a lot of investors to start coming in because that's what is holding a lot of investors back from coming into the country. I believe when they start coming the country would start boosting its revenue.

Morgan

UN rated your hotel as the best in the area of security, which means you put in place certain measures during the challenging security period in Abuja. What was the experience like? Yes, the patronage as I said earlier on based on the challenges in the country now really affected patronage but with that challenge, we also tried to put certain things in place to make sure that we remain in business with a few guests that are still around, so that no matter what they would come

BACKGROUND Hellet Morgan is a Ghanaian whose engagement with the hospitality sector spans 19 years and a thoroughbred professional who has had the privilege of posting a stint in the different departments of the hotel ranging from the front office, food and beverages, account, marketing and operations before raising to the position of a general manager. Before moving over to Nigeria, Morgan has worked in a number of hotels in Ghana, including Golden Tulip Hotel, La Palm Beach Hotel, Africa Regent Hotel and Alicia Hotel. In Nigeria, he has served as general manager in four different hotels, namely; Three Arms Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, Royal Damgrete Hotel, Umuahia, Abia State, â&#x20AC;&#x17D; Best Western Hotel, Ikeja and currently Bolton White Hotel, Abuja. He has spent five years in the hospitality business in Nigeria, two of which he spent at his current employment, Bolton White Hotel.

to Bolton White. What we did basically was to tighten our security system. There's no single floor where there's no CCTV, we always have update of security information in the country and explain such to our staff and strategise with our security personnel. We also make sure that we empower our security staff to make sure that they do what they are supposed to do. We have security staff on each floor to make sure we are alert on each situation especially on security threat both internally and externally. I think that's what is working for us. In terms of service delivery, how well are your personnel motivated? We have been motivating our staff. We have been doing that over times and we organise a lot of training for them weekly. There's no single week that we don't have training. We train each department personnel and also keep them abreast of what is happening in the economy and to know what they need to do or what they ought to be doing to make sure that we keep this business going because we believe that each person has a role to play to make sure the business keeps going. We make sure that they are well motivated in any area that we need because they are the key people to make sure that the business grows. Basically, we don't joke with our staff, we motivate them in key areas, in terms of training, in terms of incentives and all that. What is your future aspiration for Bolton White? The future aspiration is to make sure that the hotel is known worldwide and should be number one in Nigeria. That is our vision, to make sure that wherever you are you hear of Bolton White and that's why we are working towards having more branches everywhere across Nigeria and outside the country. We have another one that is coming up. We are working on it and I believe that soon we would have a large ground. The hotel is eight years now with two branches. As a Ghanaian living and working in Nigeria, how would you describe your experience? My family is not here with me. My family lives in Ghana. I'm fine and enjoying my stay here. Abuja is very quiet and serene compared with Lagos. Not too crowded. It is more like I'm in Ghana.

Travel&Tourism

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

HOTEL factfile

FAIRMONT THE NORFOLK HOTEL

Nairobi’s jewel Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel is Nairobi’s poster hotel, writes ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA who spent some nights at the plush and luxuriating hotel

ne checked into the hotel straight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on this fateful night in February this year. The butlers and receptionists enthusiastically welcomed one to the cozy reception/section and within few minutes the check – in formalities were completed and one of the butlers led the way to my room at the Lord Delamere wing of the hotel. Tired and weary from the long trip; Lagos via Addis Ababa to Nairobi, the next thing on one’s mind was to have a warm bath and then go to bed and not in the mood to appreciate the room and the facilities though they made quite an impression on one. Unfortunately, one had some difficulties with the warm water facility and after so many trials gave up and ended bathing with cold water. It was the next morning that one began to appreciate the beautiful scenery of the hotel. A serene and befitting enclave of some sort, exuding a natural serenading flow with lush greens and garden – like appeal spiced with a blend of sophisticated facilities. Elegance and opulence played on your sensitivity and sensibility as you take in the entire setting of the quadrangle house – like hotel structure; from the outdoor to the indoor, the fact remains that for the few days one spent at the hotel, one couldn’t really have enough of it, very appealing and rich in content. It is sophistication at its best with plush and luxuriating facilities starring at you in any angle of the hotel that one decides to explore. The rooms are spacious, well polished and stylishly fitted as well as lavished with the best of facilities. You have the feeling that you are in a princely alcove. Judging by the mood here and the level of patronage from both foreigners and the locals, you get the feeling that Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel is Nairobi’s poster hotel, a jewel fit only for kings and queens. The hotel management knows this for a fact and so don’t compromise on the high standard that the hotel has set for itself over the years. The hotel personnel are quite courteous and enthusiastic, attending to every of your needs with courtly smile and uncommon personal touch.

Rich history Built in 1904, it has a rich and enduring history and it is easily one of the architectural landmarks of the city, a colonial heritage of sorts. It is located off the University Highway, within the central business district and easily accessible from any part of the city. It has been part of the city’s evolution since it first opened for business, serving as home to the high and mighty visiting the city then. A creation of Major C.G.R. Ringer, it has also over the years undergone a number of transformations to the present stage that it is today. Managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, the hotel could be described as Nairobi’s best rendezvous spot or play ground for the rich and royalty, evoking pride in every citizen especially the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), my host on the trip, which proudly promotes it as one of its first class and high brow facilities to visitors. Facilities/services It boosts about 170 rooms (offering 280 beds) including such categories as Fairmont Rooms; Deluxe Rooms; Junior Suites; Karura Suites, 1937 Suites; and Signature Suites; a heated outdoor swimming pool, health club, sauna and steam room; day spa with treatment rooms, tropical

Downtown Royal Hotel Is one of Lagos’ plush hotels with inviting scenery, boasting sophisticated facilities and devoted to catering for both business and leisure travellers, offering standard and professionalised services with a tinge of personal touch.

landscaped grounds, and a range of restaurants, which include Tatu - contemporary American steakhouse featuring dry-aged premium Kenyan Angus beef cooked over sustainable wood, array of coastal seafood and the finest Kenyan produce; Cin Cin - a wine bar with elegance setting overlooking the lush courtyard. Others are the Tea Room – exuding the colonial ambience of the hotel, it welcomes guest to amazing Kenya’s tea and coffee offerings; The Pool Bar – offers beverages and light snacks and outdoor lunches; and In-room dining – serves rich blend of continental and African delicacies within the comfort of your privacy. While for business conferences and other social events, it offers one of the best and most sought after facilities in the city, the Lord Delamere Terrace, which is the city’s most famous meeting place. There is also a fully equipped business centre offering secretariat services with internet as well as a gift shop with rich variety of items on display. You can also enjoy city tour packages among others at the hotel. With its array of facilities and rich dining spots, night life is a colourful exiting affair at the hotel for lovebirds, family and groups desiring a taste of nature blended with high taste and classical offers.

Facilities/services zz Stylishly furnished and fitted guest rooms of different categories and boasting different amenities zz Exquisite restaurant and bar offering African and continental dishes with wide selection of drinks and relaxing ambience at the bar zz Conference hall and meeting rooms for different business and social events zz Free WI FI service zz Daily complementary newspaper zz Swimming pool with bar zz Gymnasium fully fitted and equipped zz 24 hours power supply and security guaranteed zz Complementary tea/ coffee zz Located in Oladipo Bateye Street, GRA and Dpeolu Street, off Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos and easily accessible from any part of Lagos

The inner recess of the hotel display its garden like courtyard

One of the rooms with classic and exquisite setting

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Travel&Tourism

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

DESTINATION

Muhammadu Buhari era igeria tourism is a fledging industry with every successive administration exacting little or no input in its development due largely to what many observers of the sector regard as lack of understanding of the nature of the sector, lack of vision and the political will to muster the right policies and personnel. In terms of appointment of ministers for the defunct tourism ministry, which was created in 1999 by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, it has witnessed a high level of turnover of ministers, including permanent secretaries, therefore, making it impossible for stability and record performance. However, the last four years of former President Goodluck Jonathan, saw stability in the ministry with the minister then, Edem Duke, serving four years. He came with a rich disposition and experience in the sector as an investor and hotelier making him a stakeholder in the sector. The expectation was that with him at the helm of affairs, tourism would witness a turnaround and accelerated growth especially given the fact that he was close to The Presidency. However, four years after his tenure, opinions are divided as many believed that the minister under performed as he did not quite meet the expectations and yearnings of the sector and its operators. Merging of the ministry with Information and Culture With the coming on board of President Muhammadu Buhari and the change mantra, expectation was high that the sector would be given a new lease of life and made to perform as other sectors of the economy. Taking over at the time when the oil economy was on the downward trend and the government seeking alternative source of boosting the economy, optimism was high that the government for the first time would be forced to place proper emphasis on tourism and latch unto it as the next oil field of the country given its huge potential, multiplier effect and ability to employ more people. But no sooner has the government settled for business that operators in the sector got the shocker of their lives when the ministry of tourism was scrapped and merged with the resurrected Ministry of Information and Culture. Many described this development as the death knell of tourism in the country as the sector once again was consigned to the backwaters just as it was before the coming into power by former President Obasanjo when it was subsumed under the ministry of trade, industry and commerce. Appointment of Lai Mohammad As the operators mourned the relegation of the fledging sector to a mere department in the Ministry of Information and Culture with its two parastatals – Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation

Buhari

Revellers having fun during 2015 celebration of Carnival Calabar

Nigeria Tourism: A dimmed hope

As the President Muhammadu Buhari administration celebrates one year in office, ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA, x-ray the tourism sector with the conclusion that the sector is still tethering on the precipice

Buhari: (NTDC) and National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) still retained, the Federal Government announced the appointment of the former Director of Publicity of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as the minister for the ministry. Aware of the damage that has been done to the sector by scrapping the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the overwhelming apathy from those in the tourism sector, and the agitation for the ministry to be restored, the minister quickly moved to pacify them and restore confidence in the new administration by announcing that tourism is not dead and that it is one of the areas of priorities for the new government, which is focusing on the diversification of the economy. High sounding words but no

One year after motion One year into the new administration, observers say that there is nothing significant to celebrate in the sector as it has witnessed more of sounding words and promises on the part of the government rather than concrete achievements. What the minister has done since assuming office in November last year is more of holding talks and consultations with various units within the arts, culture and tourism segments both in the public and private sector with a view to feeling their pulse on the repositioning of the sector. Mohammed had said: “This administration is diversifying the economy away from oil, which for many years has been the mainstay of our economy. Among the sectors that have been identified as veritable sources of revenue for the nation are the Arts, Culture and Tourism sectors. This is why we in the Ministry of Information and Culture are working hard to move these sectors from the margins to the mainstream and ensure that the rural poor in particular are factored into the sector's architecture.”

Also, the minister outlined details of some of the engagements by him to include: “Working with various local and international partners, including the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the British Council, we are mapping our creative arts, by which we mean pottery, weaving, dyeing, sculpturing, etc, with a view to reviving them massively through capacity building for those involved and the provision of loans. “We believe this will not only create hundreds of thousands of jobs, thus keeping our people meaningfully engaged, it will also become money spinners for the economy and stem the ruralurban migration. We are not re-inventing the wheel, since the creative industry has always been with us. What we are doing is to breathe life into the industry and allow it to become a major player in national development. “We are doing the same thing for culture and tourism, training festival managers so they can be fortified enough to take their events to the next level, and involving the local communities, as critical stakeholders, fully in our efforts to bring the sectors into the mainstream. “We are aware that culture drives tourism, hence we intend to leverage heavily on our numerous cultural festivals in our efforts to boost tourist arrivals. That is

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Mohammed

ism sector that is charged with development, promotion and marketing of the tourism sector and the executing arm of the ministry devoted to implementing government’s policies on tourism. As noted by observers, the perennial disconnect between the ministry and the parastatal continued unabated with the ministry singing a different song from the parastatal while the activities of both arms were uncoordinated due largely to lack of synergy and understanding of their respective responsibilities and the interdependent nature of one on the other. NTDC was last year enmeshed in internal wrangling with the staff at loggerheads with the director general of the corporation. With the fall out later resolved, the Director General, Mrs. Sally UwechueMbanefo, continued doggedly with what she considered as her main focus, domestic tourism, by embarking on series of visits to state governors and traditional rulers as well as occasionally showing up at some of the cultural festivals. Observers lament the fact that those visits have added no value to the sector as there is no concrete pillars of achievements recorded over time. They also pointed to the disconnect between the corporation and the operators in the sector while most of the promotional activities of the parastatal, especially at the international level, were jettisoned. National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) The National Institute for Hospital-

UwechueMbanefo

why we are currently compiling a list of the top 10 creative arts and cultural festivals in each state of the federation, with a view to creating a year-round calendar of such events. This way, those willing to attend such events can plan ahead.” What would also appear to be the policy direction of the ministry as revealed by the minister in many of his speeches and meetings is that of using culture to promote tourism and one of the ways harped on by him is that of promoting Nigeria festivals. It is also to be noted that the minister has shown his understanding of the difficult nature of the task that he has been saddled with when he declared that “we are not naive enough to believe that repositioning these critical sectors will be a walk in the park.” National summit on culture and tourism The minister hosted a national summit on culture and tourism in Abuja between April 27 and 29 with many operators and culture workers offering divergent positions on how best to engage arts, culture and tourism. At the end of the three days meeting, a comprehensive communiqué was issued with a committee set up to review the communiqué and make recommendations and action plan with time lag within one month for consideration by the operators. For the time being, it would appear that the sector is in a state of inertia as it awaits the recommendations of the committee. However, the minister made a commitment to the effect that the summit would make a difference: No cheering news from the states Across the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) the situation is not any different as there is no concrete development in tourism. Just like the Federal Government, a few of the states rationalised government ministries, agencies and departments by merging tourism and culture with

information and other departments. Many of the states had a celebratory moment in December with the staging of festivals, cultural events and carnivals with Cross River State, which is known for its tourism activities and economy holding on strongly. However, since then tourism activities in the states have been stagnated with no activities to celebrate. Besides Cross River State that has continued to work on its tourism agenda, Delta and Ogun states raised the bar of tourism in the course of the year with Delta State Tourism Board in collaboration with private firms organising the first ever International Hospitality, Tourism and Eco-sustainability Forum (IHTEF Delta 2016) in Asaba in March, while the Ogun State Ministry of Culture and Tourism debuted with Nigerian Drums Festival last month. Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) It is the main parastatal in the tour-

Many tourism businesses facing bankruptcy The tourism sector as well as other parts of the Nigerian economy has been facing many problems such as lack of energy (electricity), which means we now rely on diesel to generate electricity for days. This has increased our costs but the public are unable to take any price increase. So tourism products are under-valued and prices are falling daily. We hope the economy will get stronger soon, as many tourism businesses are at the brink of bankruptcy. Hundred per cent increase in electricity tariff within the last 13 months is not welcomed by everyone especially the tourism industry. This has further eroded all business profits.

*Tomi Akingbogun, president, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN)

ity and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), is the second parastatal under tourism and is charged with the training and development of manpower for the sector. The institute, according to observers, went underground for most part of last year, a development that the director general of the institute described as tactical and strategic approach as it was undergoing internal transformation, reviewing its operations and retooling for enhanced performance in the days ahead. However, one of its major events this year was the hosting of graduation ceremony for many of its graduates covering many years while last month it held a workshop for the validation of the National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF) for the purpose of the National Occupational Standard (NOS) for which the institute has been empowered to offer training for the tourism and hospitality sector. Private sector The private sector is the driver and engine room for developing the tourism sector. The level of motion in the sector has been mainly due to the effort of the private sector, which has invested hugely in the different aspects of the sector ranging from hotels, which has been on ascendancy in the country, tour packages, tourism related events and businesses, ticketing, ground operations to aviation. One other area were the private sector impact has been felt over the years is that of advocacy and developing network among the various players in the sector through the various tourism associations. Advocacy within the last one year, observers say has not been on the high side with many fingering the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), which is the umbrella body for the different tourism associations, has not living to its billings and failing to muster its members and resources towards achieving a desired end for the sector. Many of the associations under the federation were also said to have under-performed but for the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) and Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) that seemed to have raised the flag of activism higher. NATOP held a national tourism conference and annual general meeting in Calabar in February, using the occasion to lay a direction for tourism while pledging its commitment to the building and promotion of Nigeria as a tourism destination. On the other hand, NANTA held its annual general meeting in Ibadan in the month of April and also used the occasion to promote its agenda for the travel industry.

No profound tourism roadmap By the complexity of its creative multi-sectorial and multi-disciplinary nature, there has been huge knowledge gap as to getting Nigeria’s tourism industry to perform to global standards and expectations. So, with the new order as additional handicap, it is likely to be more difficult to surmount the challenges of tourism development. However, no Nigerian government has so far come into office with a profound tourism roadmap, along with clear Action Plans for tourism development. Without identifiable pilot schemes to be driven on a sustainable basis, what prevailed has been more of a sham, considering the complex processes needed to attain the critical take-off momentum for tourism development. In the present circumstance, if not a case of forgotten homework what business would have

warranted a search for a roadmap almost a year into the life of the current administration in the recent convening of a National Summit on Culture and Tourism? Such roadmap should have been clearly evident at the stage of selling the party’s manifesto and campaign promises, as it only points to the fact that they could not have hit the ground running. Former president Olusegun Obasanjo tried to set a good foundation for Nigeria tourism by making it a full fledge ministry, in addition to procuring a national tourism master plan, along with a framework as the Presidential Council on Tourism. However, these were not built upon by former president Goodluck Jonathan administration, which not only eroded most of these gains but frittered away huge resources allocated to this

sector. So, while still looking for a roadmap, with a ministry now subsumed under other equally strategic departments, coupled with the huge knowledge gap in the tourism sector, these cannot add up to confidence building and hopes for attaining any quantum leap in tourism development in the near future. In the absence of proper focus on a clear, viable and sustainable tourism roadmap as yet, the lingering paucity of vision becomes a recipe for unmitigated embarrassment. Just as in the saying that you cannot give what you don’t have (or don’t know), Nigeria’s tourism might as well be heading nowhere fast. *Andy Osa Ehanire, is of Ogba Zoo Benin City and Association of Nigerian Tourism Practitioners (ATPN)

44 Showbiz

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Celebrity RÈsume Name: Jane Michael Ekanem Nickname: Jane Michael Biggest influence: God and my father Mentors: Oprah Winfrey and Pastor Paul Adefarasin First major work: MTN Project Fame while first person I styled was Chidinma Reaction of parents to career: They didn’t have a choice than to support me. Disappointing moment: Anytime I feel disappointed I know something good is coming and I challenge myself Memorable moment: It was when I did Moment With Mo. They called a stylist and she couldn’t deliver and we had less than 24 hours to do it. Favorite song: ‘Pillow Talk’ by Zayn Best actor: Mofe Damijo Best item: My car but I am attached to things generally Turn off: I have many but I try to accommodate people. I don’t like clumsy people because they spoil a lot of things State of Origin: Akwa Ibom Best colour: Black and army green Favourite holiday spot: A quiet island Zodiac sign: Taurus

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

FaceOff: Buhari has made enormous strides –Sen. Abdulahi

p.46

45 FaceOff: Even president's staunch supporters are disappointed –Hon. Shawulu Kwewum

Politics

p.47

Govt shouldn't provide ranches, grazing is personal business – Gen. Ikponmwen

There is this resurging violence and militancy in the Niger Delta. How do you think this crisis can be handled? We saw these things coming. It is because people don't want to be realistic and they don't want to believe that things have to change from the way they were in the past. The truth is that no government will sit back and watch a segment of the society hold it to ransom. We need peace. The resources in the Niger Delta are not meant for only the people of that region. The benefit must accrue to every citizen because we are one nation and profess unity in diversity. Whatever good we have, we have to enjoy it together. But that is not to say that some people should hold the government at the centre to ransom. This blowing up of strategic oil installations is a new dimension directed at frustrating the government at the centre which is doing everything to get us out of the doldrums. I think that it is also right to go after the people that are causing all these havoc in the Niger Delta.

Fulani herdsmen have been ravaging farmlands and killing people across the country but it appears the government is handling the issue with kid gloves. President Muhammadu Buhari is concerned about these developments and that is why he gave marching orders to the military to go after the armed herdsmen. I do not believe that we must militarise everywhere. The military has its own role but the president is not happy about the killings and destruction of lives and property hence he deployed soldiers to checkmate it, however, let him realise that overstretching the military will boomerang. For now, he has no other option than to call in the military to do routine police work. I have never believed in using military to do police work, I have always advocated that the civil security organisations should be trained and equipped to face their challenges. But everybody has a role to play on guaranteeing security. Information and intelligence are crucial ingredients in ensuring proper security. If herdsmen are found carrying firearms, what stops the civil security organisations like the police from arresting them? Why did they allow the situation to degenerate beyond the level of the civil security agencies?

Brigadier General Don Idada Ikponmwen, a retired soldier is a former Provost Marshal of the Nigeria Army and a one time Director, Legal Services of the Nigeria Army. In this interview with ONWUKA NZESHI, the soldier-turned-lawyer addresses topical issues. Excerpts: ing, it is obvious that they are of the same stock as the terrorists. I have not been anywhere they are operating but from what we hear, herdsmen having AK47 rifles and unleashing terror on communities, is condemnable and I think that is why the president has given orders to the military to deal with the situation. It is an indication that government is serious and committed to tackling this aspect of terrorism. But beyond the deployment of troops, I think that the government needs to tackle the problem decisively. This practice of herdsmen moving from the North to the South with their cattle is no longer going to work. It is going to lead to more clashes between the farmers and cattle rearers and that means more bloodshed. We have reached a level in this country where we need to look at what is happening in other parts of the world. We are not the only country that produces cows. What is fashionable across the world now is for those involved in animal husbandry to do their business in ranches. The herdsmen must find a safer way to feed their animals within the ranches and not to be moving from place to place with all the dangers associated with it. We should encourage the establishment of ranches by the cattle owners. It is a busi-

ness. It is just like a man who has a fish pond or a man who as a cocoa farm or ground nut farm. I don't think it is government's responsibility to provide ranches. To that extent, not only must we deal with the criminality perpetrated by the herdsmen but also work towards a workable solution to the challenges of animal husbandry in this country. We have been to other countries like Botswana where they have cows and even export beef. They don't move cows about on the streets, they keep them in ranches. It has been the trend across the world for many years and I think we should not remain in this old style of nomadic livestock rearing. We discussed this at the 2014 National Conference and agreed that ranches should be developed to resolve these issues once and for all. As a delegate to the 2014 confab, are you comfortable that the decisions taken at that conference had been thrown into the dustbin? No government can do away with the issues that were discussed by a wide variety of Nigerians cutting across all professions and all classes. There can be no substitute for it. The longer the decisions of the confab are kept in the wardrobe and

There are fears that the herdsmen are Boko Haram terrorists fleeing the North East. It is definitely a sad development and there is no preferred terrorist. All terrorists are the same. The way that they are operat-

OLALEKAN OSIADE Assistant Editor 08033076969 lekanosiade@gmail.com lekanosiade@yahoo.com

The president is not happy about the killings and destruction of lives and property hence he deployed soldiers to checkmate it, however, let him realise that overstretching the military will boomerang

Ikponmwen

left to gather dusts or rot away, the worse it will be for this country. I think that advisers to Buhari must continue to impress it upon him that the confab did a good job and government as a duty to implement those decisions one way or the other. The confab made recommendations in respect of the constitutional changes required in Nigeria. It also gave recommendations on obsolete laws and statutes as well as recommendations on policy matters. There is no running away from the resolutions of the confab. If we set up another twenty fresh conferences to look at the problems of Nigeria, they are likely to come up with the same thing. I believe that what government should do is to try and look at the report of the confab and implement its resolutions. What do you make of the nationwide strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress in protest over the increase in the pump price of fuel? I am not insensitive to the plight of the average Nigerians. I do well know the hardship that Nigerians are going through as a result of many years of misrule, bad leadership and lack of the will to do the right things. We have gotten this far and no miracles can be expected; nothing can just change overnight. I think that Nigerians need to be tolerant, show understanding and trust in the government of the day. I think that the strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is ill-advised because I don't think that the Trading Union Congress (TUC) and other labour unions have already pulled out even before it started. I don't think the NLC has any business calling out Nigerians to embark on strike over the removal of subsidy especially when it is known that over the years, subsidy has never been to the benefit of the average Nigerian. Subsidy has been there for the benefit of the cabal that imports oil and we as a nation cannot continue to enrich a few people to the detriment of the majority of the population. Why did NLC not call people to strike when fuel aw selling at between N200 and N300? There are many things that labour should concern themselves with but they should be labour-related matters and trade disputes. There is a government headed by an elected president having a wide bandwidth nationwide. There is also a National Assembly that is responsible for lawmaking and oversight functions and there is a judiciary for judicial matter. Let me emphasise that in this system, unlike in the parliamentary system, there is division of labour, specilalisation and independence of the three arms of government. Each arm has its own specific responsibility, it is the president and his executive down the line that has the responsibility of dealing with issues like fuel subsidy. It is the responsibility of the executive to decide where to keep the nation's wealth, how much to allocate to infrastructure development and other lines of expenditure. We must not run this country as if we don't know who is responsible for what. The trade union is not a government and must not CONTINUed on PAGE 48

46 Politics

Buhari:

Have we truly overcome security challenges? Imagine what this country looked like a year ago; bombs were coming out everywhere in every public space, in the motor parks, in garages, in markets, mosques, in churches, even at the headquarters of Nigerian Police. The moment you come out of your house, you are not sure that you are going back. If you leave Abuja to Kaduna, you meet nothing less than 10 police and military checkpoints on the road. A journey of one hour will take you three to four hours to complete but this is no more there. I am a road traveller; I travel from here to my village which is about 900 km and I don't meet a single checkpoint. The only problem I have is that the roads are bad. Now, we are trying to make investments and build infrastructure in the country. In terms of security, you find out that apart from the resurgence of insurgency and destruction of oil-related infrastructure, which has made power problematic, we have virtually crippled the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, and economic life is normalising; structures of governance are coming back. Only few days ago, you heard that three emirs from three emirates in Borno State went back to their palaces. Their palaces have been reconstructed; reconstruction of police posts is also taking place, so governance is returning to the area and within the shortest possible time, insurgency in the North-East will be a thing of the past, and then the attacks in the Niger Delta and the herdsmen incursion and rural banditry are also being tackled. So, the government has been tackling the security problems in the country with appreciable success. What can you say about the anti-corruption war? On the issue of corruption, nobody read newspaper since this government came to power without seeing one revelation or another about how the commonwealth of this nation has been appropriated by so many people either in the name of politics or in the name of other underhand business. And most of these

28 MAY 2016

FaceOff

The Muhammadu Buhari administration will clock one year in office tomorrow, CHUKWU DAVID looks at opposing sides on the performance of the APC government What is your appraisal of President Muhammadu Buhari-led government? When you want to judge people as to whether they have failed or succeeded, the most important thing to do is to judge based on what they promised the people. This government came on three platforms. The first one is security of lives and property; fighting insurgency and other acts of insecurity, securing the nation and building the foundation of peace. Peace is the major foundation upon which any country can move. The second objective of the administration is to ensure that it fights corruption; because corruption has been the cankerworm eating the resources of the nation. That is why the fight against corruption is one of the cardinal principles of this government. The third one is to rebuild the economy so that we can create all these foundations: fighting corruption, securing the nation and then you can come in and make investments in the economy; create jobs so that the teeming unemployed population, particularly educated young men and women in the country can find meaningful jobs to do, particularly by investing and securing the private sector. So, you can see the government came in on a tripod.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

One year after

Abdulahi

Buhari has made enormous strides â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Senator Yahaya Abdulahi cases, investigations are going on, and a lot of the cases that have been uncovered and are in various courts for prosecution. People are making all sorts of allegations that there is a witch-hunt; if there is a witch in the house, of course it should be hunted. It is only when there is a witch that it should be hunted. So, if you are a witch and you are hunted, it is legitimate for people whom you are about to kill to hunt you if you are really a witch. The only problem on the anti corruption platform is the judiciary because of the way they have been going about handling corruption cases in the country. Thankfully, before Jonathan handed over power, he signed the Administration of Criminal Justice Act into law, which prevented a lot of lawyers and judges from applying for perpetual injunctions and orders and other technical means of stalling crimes against people, particularly financial crimes. With that particular position, things are going on. We hope that the judiciary will step up and do the right thing so that we establish proper accountability, so that everybody who is in public office knows that if you abuse public trust, that abuse is going to catch up with you. And unless Nigerians are aware and people in public service are aware that they will pay for transgressions against the people, these things will continue and we are going to be worse for it. But the economy seems to be in distress? The country is going through a very tough economic period, nobody expected that the petroleum price will come down from 100 and something dollars per barrel to about 28 dollars per barrel or slightly above. Imagine that you were getting about N100 and now you are getting N30, the entire thing that you are used to will collapse, and you have not saved anything. When you were earning N100,

you were just spending the money like nothing will happen again, and suddenly there is a downturn. And you know that we are still relying on one product which is oil. Of course, there are a lot of hardships and a lot of problems that are going on in the economy but the government has come up with a budget to refuel the economy to make sure that we start with infrastructural projects, rehabilitate our rails, rebuild railways. Government intervenes in any economy to be able to get economic activities on stream. So, this government is going to put money in the hands of construction companies to create public wealth so that employment will generated. We want to see that we have enough resources at hand for implementing the budget and maybe by the end of the year, we'll start seeing what impact it is making on the economy. So, on the whole, if we sit down to really make an objective assessment, you will discover that this government has made enormous strides. If this government has not come with its anti corruption fight; with Treasury Single Account (TSA) to prevent financial crimes, and making sure that we collect all the national resources and with some level of sanity in public expenditure, this government would have collapsed. But the government appears not to have a solution to the problem. Everybody is aware that in a period like this when there is economic hardship that people are suffering, particularly people in the middle class, which this government has come to salvage. We are aware that there is a lot of scarcity and that prices are rising, and things are generally getting very hard for people. But also, we have to look at it from this side; that this country has been depending over the years on imported items including food because we had a lot of money to import everything we wanted. But now,

the government does not have the money to undertake those kinds of import. Now, if you are having that kind of money, if you had saved when you were earning substantial income, you could have cushioned the foreign excess reserves, so that you can maintain a certain level of consumption before you are able to diversify the economy from oil. That is the main problem that has undermined the capacity of the government itself to provide a buffer to reduce the hardship of the people. The government has no money to import those items that we are used to. If the price of oil is about 90 dollars a barrel, you could provide a buffer, so that you can maintain people's level of consumption, and find time to restructure the economy. So, this government is very unfortunate that it came at a time when the previous government left nothing but debt, and found the entire reserves depleted. That is why we have this problem. I was a head of department of Agriculture-Economics, so I know some economics; I taught in the university for over 20 years, together with economics and everything, l know how companies are run, I know micro economics about government finances; if you prepare a blueprint and say this is where you are going, such economic proposals are full of assumptions about your revenue and where you want to put the money. There is no blueprint you can make about any economy outside its budget. The budget is the main economic statement of both law and actions of government because if the government does not implement the budget it is also disobeying the law, and that can even lead to the impeachment of a president because he was sworn-in to uphold the law and he has refused to implement appropriation law. What I am telling you is that there is no better blueprint than the budget of the nation; and we have a budget. All the previous governments had economic team: Obasanjo, Yar'Adua and Jonathan had economic teams. What was the performance of the economy under them? What is your advice to both government and Nigerians in the midst of the present situation? My advice is that Nigerians should give this government a chance. We are paying; even members of this government are also paying. The kind of luxuries the people in government were getting before are no longer there, because the government is also trying to tighten its belt. But I will appeal to Nigerians to be patient and give this government a chance. I also want to appreciate Nigerians for the kind of confidence they have shown in this government, particularly in the way the last strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) fizzled out. The action of Nigerians in the last strike sent a message to the government that, yes, we have confidence in you but you also have to look at A B C and D, so that you can give us succour. That is a great vote of confidence in the government. If the people know that this is a government of squandermania and graft, they wouldn't have given it the confidence they have given it. Jonathan wanted to do the same thing; he couldn't succeed because people didn't have confidence that the resources that we're going to come to the government were not going to be stolen. That's the major reason why the crisis then escalated into public protests and occupation of public spaces. But here, the government has been given a benefit of the doubt, that for the time being, we trust that you are honest, and that you are going to do what you say you will do.

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Buhari:

FaceOff 47

One year after

Even president's staunch supporters are disappointed â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Hon. Shawulu Kwewum The All Progressives Congress (APC) government is one year in office. Can you give an appraisal of the administration? First of all, we assess the government from the promises it made, and also we need to consider whether the assessment of Nigerians was even correct in the first place; whether the promises made would have solved the problems. And I think on all counts, without any fear of contradiction, I think that Nigeria has regrets; sadly so because President Muhammadu Buhari is not a new person in government. He was governor of the North-East, he was petroleum minister; he was military Head of State and he has been contesting election to become the president of this country since 2003. He contested in 2007and 2011 but in 2015, God in his infinite mercies gave him the victory. We would have thought that Buhari was one of the most prepared persons to become the president of Nigeria. Unfortunately, Nigerians are regretting, not only those of us in the opposition but his hard core supporters are very disappointed. Don't you think one year is too early to judge a government? I think that they did not understand Nigeria, and so they did not have a programme to solve the problems that Nigeria has. We were talking about withdrawal of fuel subsidy; that is an action the federal government wanted to take in 2012. When you are taking a hard decision in the country you don't take it when the conditions are hard; you take it when the conditions are still better to help people adjust. So, the best time to have removed fuel subsidy was when Jonathan wanted to do it; the time that money available to create palliative programmes, but the APC people turned it upside down that it was because we had so much money we should have frittered it away, and then when there is no money we withdraw subsidy; turning logic upside down. They promised Nigerians that a naira will be equal to one dollar. Any person, no matter how illiterate the person was would know that it was not achievable but they did promise. And now where are we today? The naira has never been as low as we have it now since Nigeria became a country in 1914. They said they would not devalue the naira, now they have officially devalued the naira. What do you mean by officially devalue the naira? When the Minister of State for Petroleum said that in calculating the new price of oil, they used the black market rate. What he meant was that they have now accepted that that is the rate that will be used. And what followed, that same day, naira dropped. Dollar rose from N320 to about N380. Then it dropped up to last week. Now with the announcement yesterday that the N197 fixed exchange rate had been scrapped, as at today, a pound for instance, which was N470, N480 last week is now N500 in the market. And when they said that you can go and get anything you want, it means that anybody importing anything into this country will have to import it at the value of the naira in the market. That means that if you have not bought anything yet, when you go to the market to buy, you are going to buy it at a price that is higher. And you can't blame the people who are doing the retail because if they sell it at the price of last week they will not be able to go back to their wholesalers to buy. So, these are the

economic problems that they have created.

Do you agree that the government is improving the economy through stringent measures? On the issues of the economy, they have no business trying to slow down the amnesty programme; trying to give the impression that they were going to scrap the programmes that brought calm to the Niger Delta. And that is why you have the upsurge in the tension that you have there. They have no business and should not have, because the problems that the person in the Niger Delta faces, we that do not live in the oil producing areas don't face them. They face ecological problems with such magnitude which those of us living outside don't face. So, they generated tension in the country. They want to prosecute people who are corrupt and the only people who are corrupt are PDP as far as they are concerned. If you decamp to APC you are a clean person. How will anybody believe the fight against corruption. They said that they had found 200 billion dollars in Dubai. At the rate of N200 to a dollar, 200 billion dollar equals N40 trillion. If they have found this money then why do we have to borrow. How was this money stolen out of the country because the budget that former president Goodluck Jonathan had before the 2015 budget was about three trillion naira; it was in the 2015 budget that it went to four trillion naira. So, it means that every money that Nigeria got was stolen out of the country even more than was declared. How possible is that; you don't rule by deceiving people because an end will come which is why people are making light of the anti corruption fight which is why people say in social media, "give us back corruption" because under corruption we could buy gari and other needs; now there

is no corruption and there is integrity we can't buy them. This is because the APC people are making a huge joke and mockery of fighting corruption by declaring outrageous, outlandish figures that have no substance. If they have found 200 billion dollars, why are we having crisis in our economy. They said the former Minister of Petroleum, Deziani had returned 90 billion dollars; for God's sake, if that is true, why do we have to borrow money to fund the economy? So, this APC government is ruling by deceit; it doesn't have a programme. You see how long it took them to appoint ministers; almost four months or more. And who are the ministers that were brought? These ministers could have been appointed because everybody knew that they were going to be appointed, so what was the point keeping Nigerians waiting for so long before appointing the ministers? Look at the crisis we had on the budget. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, budget got missing, budget came back. Now we passed the budget, they said no, it was padded; the figures were wrong. Now, what are we hearing again, there are two versions of signed budget flying in the country. Are we sure that these guys are ready to rule this country. These are the questions I think we need to ask. If you go to the streets, the people that voted for this government to be in power, if you ask them to vote freely, they are not going to vote for this government again because nobody is sure whether they know what they are doing, and the funny thing we have is that everything they promised that they would do, they are denying that they did not promise. How true is the rumour making the rounds that the budget you approved is not what the president signed? That is a very sensitive question that

Kwewum

is still sensitive in the National Assembly today because most of us have not seen the signed budget. So, we are not even in a position to say that what we passed is what is in the budget. I haven't got a copy of the budget so I don't know what is in the budget; I can't even comment on it. But I want to tell you that the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria gives the power of appropriation to National Assembly; it says that all monies of the federation should be paid into the consolidated revenue account, and that no money may be spent in any manner except as may be prescribed by the National Assembly. So, how can you come and tell the National Assembly that has the power to appropriate; that is the power to add and reduce, that it does not have the power to add and reduce. If the National Assembly does not have the power to add, reduce and change items, there is no reason why National Assembly should exist. We should abolish it and let the people who know it continue. But let me tell you, the legislature arose from the need to separate power to ensure that the monarch, that is the king, does not wage war without the consent of the people. That is to say that before you wage war, the parliament must agree. Before you raise new taxes, before you make any expenditure the parliament must approve. Are you satisfied with electoral process so far? When Jonathan was in power, he said that he was not going to sacrifice any Nigerian for his election, and you will recall that even when his opponent won election, he congratulated them. There was no election that was inconclusive. In Rivers State, we have had elections for three months and the results have not been declared; under what law are we having inconclusive elections. It was because of the electoral reforms that enabled them to be declared winner; why will they not allow the electoral reforms to work so that things are done properly. The most open countries where things are open and transparent are the ones that have developed most across the world. The countries that don't follow rules and regulations are the countries that have monumental crises all over the world toady. So, when you don't respect the rule of law; when you don't respect the right of people, you are setting up yourself, you are setting up the whole system for catastrophe, and it is very unfortunate that the person that is most prepared, the elderly person like Buhari will be presiding over the denigration of democracy; destruction of our social system in the name of fighting corruption. I believe that any person that has stolen any money should account for it but there are rules, and must be followed. You cannot change the rules of a country; you cannot go through a wrong means to a tight way, it doesn't work that way. If Dasuki and the people like him have committed crimes, court orders must be obeyed; you cannot refuse to obey court orders. And he is sending dangerous signals to the country, which is why the National Assembly will pass a resolution that the police should seal up Kogi State House of Assembly until there is peace and the Governor of Kogi State, who did not contest election because you cannot inherit votes, will go and sit down with five members of the House of Assembly out of over 20 members, to pass a budget. It is very dangerous. I want to advise the president and the people who are advising him, that they should stop these acts of lawlessness.

Politics

Buhari:

One year after

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Plateau: One year of broom revolution

here was wild jubilation across the seventeen local government areas of Plateau State on April 12, 2015 when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Simon Lalong of the APC as winner of Plateau State governorship election. The jubilation that erupted in the state may not be unconnected with the fact that the electorate had determined to end the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as epitomised by the then governor, Jonah Jang, who was accsued of imposing his nephew late Gyang Pwajok as the PDP gubernatorial candidate to succeed him. The people of the state claimed to have suffered untold hardship under the Jang's administration; ranging from non-payment of civil servants' salaries for almost a year, discrimination in location of projects, and intimidation, among other injustices that alot of people believed was responsible for the series of crises the state witnessed. These were among reasons the electorate for the very first time rejected the PDP and opted for an opposition party with Lalong as its gubernatorial candidate. Lalong on assumption of office on May 29, 2015, made it abundantly cleared that he will run an all inclusive government and will be fair and just to all manner of people in the state where all ethnic, religion groups and individuals irrespective of their political affiliation. During the last administration, Plateau State was engulfed in series of crises such that hardly a day passed without communal clashes to the extent that business activities in the state crippled with alot of people relocating from the state to other states which has negatively affected the economy and image of the state. Apparently realising the negative effect of that administration on the state, the electorate took advantage of the broom revolution and stopped the continuation of PDP administration. A chieftain of the APC, Hon. Alex Kwanope commended the Lalong for not disappointing the electorate who risked their lives by rejecting the last government openly and pitched tents with him, saying one great thing that the people should celebrate in the state is the return of peace. On the hunger and silvery that civil servants were subjected to due to non payment of salaries for nine to 13 months depending on the ministry and establishment, it is on record that Lalong has cleared up to seven months out of the many months of salaries

Tomorrow, May 29, makes it exactly one year that the administration of Barrister Simon Lalong was sworn into office to govern Plateau State, NANKPAH BWAKAN weighs the pros and cons of the All Progressive Congress (APC) government on the Plateau. backlog arrears he inherited and has been prompt in the payment of salaries despite the economy challenges. This has helped in restoring the dignity of the workers and has naturally made them to own the administration as their personal project. Lalong emphasised the priority of his administration to work for the good of the people who gave him the mandate to pilot the affairs of the state, saying that was why when he decided to clear the backlog of salaries owed civil servants by the last administration. He gave the disclosure this year's edition of Kiim Tehi annual cultural festival at Tunkus in Mikang Local Government area where he assured the people that as soon as things take proper shape they will be happy with the administration and they will not regret voting for him. Lalong was represented by the Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Town Planning Mr. Festus Fuanter, who solicited the support of all and sundry in the state to enable administration to surmount the problems inherited from the last administration. Lalong again demonstrated his determination to right the wrongs of

the past administration, by reinstating the sacked Vice Chancellor of Plateau State University, Bokkos Professor Danjuma Sheni. The High Court in Jos had ordered the state government to reinstate Sheni and the National Universities Commission also wrote the state government to reinstate him but the Jang administration refused to obey the court order and the NUC's decision. Lalong on assumption of office without any further delay obeyed the court and the NUC's position by not only reinstating the Sheni but asked him to liaise with NUC to secure accreditation of courses in the university and to ensure that previous sets that graduated are mobilised for their one year mandatory National Youth Corp Service. Another case was the refusal of the Jang administration to swear-in Hon. Dan Dul of the opposition Democratic People's Party (DPP) as the duly elected Chairman of Langtang North Local Government area of the state who won in court but instead, Mr. Nanmwa Kuzing of PDP was recognised. Seeing the peaceful disposition of Lalong, the Chairman did not only dumped his party and joined APC but he is very supportive of the government. Another challenge that the Lalong's was confronted with was the abandonment of projects started by the last administration such as the new government house, old air road, state secretariat

Lalong

flyover, Bukuru-Rayfield road which he inherited and mobilized contractors to sites to complete the projects. In addition to the abandoned projects he inherited, Lalong has in the face of the economy difficulties awarded contracts for the construction of other roads, such as Lowcost road, DogonPlateau Specialist Hospital road, Bauchi and Apata roads. The Director of Press and Communications to the Governor, Comrade Samuel Emmanuel Nanle said the idea behind the contracts was to link one community with the other to foster peace and unity in the state. He said some of these roads were completed and very soon the good embark on many projects that are captured in the budget saying very soon the people will start witnessing unprecedented transformation of the state. Nanle said the roads constructions and other projects that the present administration is embarking on will further boost the revenue profile of the state, create job opportunities for the teeming youths and will attract both local and foreign investors to the state in order to boost the Internally Generated Revenue of the state. On the issue of Certificate of Occupancy, about 200 certificates are to be issued to various property owners which has not been done in many years in the state until Lalong broke the jinx. With the new development a lot of property owners in the state have applied for the Certificate of Occupancy and even the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Town Planning are encouraging people to approach the ministry for their CoO. Apparently, in keeping to his promise to ensure probity, prudence, transparency and accountability in governance and management of the scare resources, Lalong has introduced a quarterly town hall meeting with stakeholders where he briefs on the financial status and expenditure of the state and thereafter, the stakeholders are allowed to ask the governor questions. The media aide of the governor, Nanle, said it is a way of directly being accountable to the people saying the forum also provide the stakeholders, not only opportunity to ask questions but make suggestions on how best to govern the state. "This kind of a thing has never happened in Plateau State whereby the governor will brief stakeholders who are from different political parties on the financial status of the state and allow them the opportunities to ask questions and even suggest better ways that the state can be govern. I can assure you that the Governor will continue to host this meeting", he said.

'Overstretching military for internal security will boomerang' CONTINUed from PAGE 45

be allowed to constitute itself into a parallel government. But labour unions have always mobilised Nigerians to resist policies of government perceived not in the interest of the masses? No two situations are exactly the same. Times change and peoples view also change. The more we get familiar with how we are supposed to be governed, the more we know our functions in this society. My emphasis is that we have a

government that is elected by the people. The present administration was elected by popular mandate. If the government doesn't do well, the people have a choice not to re- elect the man or his party. We must not allow labour to take over governance, dictating what government must do and what it must not do especially in matters that are purely executive functions. Neither the trade unions nor the National Assembly that expects the executive to come begging for approval for their pleasures is correct. We must let the right organ do the right job and if they fail, they face the wrath of the people. A lot of our people

don't even understand the mechanics of government and so they became easily amenable to the whims and caprices of the so called labour leaders. Where have these labour leaders been all these years? Where were they when the situation got to where it is in Nigeria? Have they not always been there? What has all the strike actions of the past achieved? They push people to go on strike, at the end of the day they pass behind and are settled while the condition of the workers remains as it was. The solution to our problem as a society lies in having a good government and not on strike.

Do you share the view that the fuel price hike was not done properly? I agree that the government may not have handled the issue very well. I think that they should have laid a firm foundation before announcing the change of the pump price to N145. At least there should have been a platform to reassure the people that the government has their interest at heart and that the policy would benefit the people on the long run. They should have lined up some palliatives for the people.

28 MAY 2016

Young Telegraph with DEBORAH OCHENI

Simple leadership

TOPIC

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

What I miss about Jonathan’s administration

I miss money

I miss his leadership style (simplicity) …He carried people along, he involved people and listened to suggestions.

I miss money, everything is tight in this administration but it was not so during Jonathan’s time. I miss everything about Jonathan's administration MIRA ATTAH

JOHN ODE

Underutilising the opportunity

I miss low price of fuel

I only missed buying my laptop at N86,000. The laptop that sold at N86,000 during Jonathan’s administration is now selling for N160,000 the last time I checked. I did not utilise the opportunity well.

The price of fuel was not this high during the time of Jonathan; everything is on the increase. Imagine the price of rice and tomatoes now? MANETTI FARUNA

BENJAMIN EDOS

I miss nothing

Nothing. I am enjoying Buhari I wish he would complete his second tenure; I am too busy with the good things Buhari is doing to think of Jonathan's administration that was a failure.

I miss nothing

He was a flop. He milked our economy dry. I miss nothing about him. SHEHU ISMAIL

CHARLES WOO

I miss a leader

I miss insurgency

ECHERENWA AMARA

HADIZA ADAMU

I miss a leader, I miss constant light, I miss job opportunities, most importantly cash flow.I also miss my Dame Patience.

I miss true democracy

I miss Boko Haram and our grammatical mama, Dame Patience. I miss the humour his wife brought to governance.

Brazen circulation of corrupt money

I miss true democracy. No one objects to government decisions anymore, because we have a ruler not a leader.

I miss so many things about his administration, I miss the brazen circulation of corrupt money.

SIMON WADA ODAUDU

SULEIMAN ADAMA

50 By David Reavy

The Problem ull-ups are one of those ubiquitous tests of strength, but a move that can humble even the toughest of men. Most who are unable to do this particular feat think the answer lies in more weights. And while your lats, biceps and traps are doing work during this move, the real answer lies in your serratus anterior (SA), the muscle that holds your shoulder blade against your rib cage. If your SA isn’t working correctly, you are setting up the other 17 muscles that attach to your scapula to fail. When the scapula is out of position, you are putting yourself at a mechanical disadvantage. In other words, it’s not strength, it’s positioning. As a physical therapist, I am always amazed to see how much strength is trapped in the body because bones are out of position. When I put the bones back in to the right position, the muscles are at the right length, and all of a sudden, the body moves better. You may be strong, but you are always stronger in balance and in alignment. This is especially true for the strength and balance required to do a pull-up. Put the scapula in the right position, and your lower trap, biceps, and lats will work much better. With the scapula out of position, you are asking your teres major and minor (which are tiny muscles) and only a portion of your lat to lift your entire body. No wonder you can’t get your chin up to the bar. The Solution You need to start releasing muscles that attach to your shoulder. Modern life is about texting, working on the computer, and stuffing oneself into airplane seats built for 12 year old kids. The result is a forward head and rounded shoulders and ultimately, a shoulder blade that is constantly drifting forward and up. Gravity exacerbates the situation, pulling you down and further out of position. Here's what you need to do. Get a lacrosse ball and then get to work. First release your pec muscles, then the teres (those little guys on the outside of your scapula that are working so hard to get you over

Dad's Corner

“H

e saved me,” said 13-yearold Gracie Johnson, after her parents, sister, and two cousins were tragically killed in a rock slide. She was speaking about her dad, Dwayne Johnson. The family had gone for a hike along the Agnes Vaille Falls trail in Buena Vista, Colorado. Recent rainfall had made areas of the mountains unstable. As they were walking, one witness described what sounded like loud thunder cracking and boulders the size of cars coming down the mountain as the Johnson family stood helplessly in their devastating path. In an act of heroism, Dwayne dove on top

In The GYM

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Why you can't do a pull-up

that bar), and finally the upper trap. For the pec and teres, place the lacrosse ball on a tender spot and lean up against a wall. Lean a tolerable amount of weight onto the ball, then move your arm back and forth. For the trap, you want to find a bar bell, get underneath it so your upper trap is, well, trapped underneath it, shrug up and depress your shoulder. For each release, you will know it is working when your body starts to melt into the lacrosse ball or barbell. Then I have some strengthening for you to do:

1. Lower Trap RDLs: Holding two dumbbells (or a barbell), stand with your weight on your heels and knees slightly bent and forced out. Your feet should be turned out at a 10–15 degree angle. Keep your palms forward, pinch your shoulder blades down and back, and squeeze your glutes. Slowly hinge at the hips, keeping your back flat and shoulder blades down and back. Slide the weights down, keeping them just in front of your shins, but not touching. Go down as far as you can without starting

to slouch (ideally a 90-degree angle) then slowly hinge back up to the start position. The weights you use should be light enough that you can maintain good form but heavy enough to challenge you during the exercise. 2. Downward Dog Push-Up: In a push-up position, lift hips toward the ceiling forming an upside down V shape. Be sure the back is straight and both legs are straight with the heels touching the floor. Both hands should be splayed and facing outward. With both arms straight, push into the ground so as to open up the armpits. In this position bend at the elbows, lowering your head to the ground, then push back to starting position. 3. Scapular Stabilisation Push-ups: Place dumbbells on floor, about three inches outside shoulders, turned outward at 45-degree angles. Start in a raised position, abs and glutes engaged, back flat, and head at a neutral position. Punch forward with shoulders to engage serratus anterior. Slowly lower toward floor, stopping when elbows reach a 90-degree angle. Raise to starting position. Repeat. 4. Serratus Anterior Stabilisation Push-ups: Place dumbbells on floor, about three inches outside shoulders, perpendicular to the body. Start in a raised position, abs and glutes engaged, back flat, and head at a neutral position. Punch forward with shoulders to engage serratus anterior. Slowly lower toward floor, stopping when elbows reach a 90-degree angle. Raise to starting position. Repeat.

10 things loving fathers do for their children of Gracie as a shield, saving her life and surrendering his own. In situations like that you have no time to think, as instinct takes over. Dwayne Johnson’s natural instinct was that of a loving father. Loving fathers are self-sacrificing and protect their children. Here are 10 more things loving fathers do for their children: 1. Loving fathers… love their children’s mother Love your wife without reservation – you can’t do much more for your kids than that. If you are divorced, treat your children’s mother with respect, even if it is not reciprocated. Never return disgrace with disgrace. 2. Love them unconditionally Make sure that your children know you love them no matter what. Don’t confuse this with permissiveness. Unconditional love does nothing to encourage the wrong kind of behavior. In fact, kids who are secure in their father’s love tend to act out less, not more. 3. Grow up We’re talking about the us here, not the kids. Children don’t want another buddy; they want a dad. They want someone who thinks things through, makes tough decisions, and engages life with responsibility. Someone they can count on. 4. Be there “Quality time” is all well and good,

but it has nothing on quantity time. Make the time. Everyone has the same 24 hours available. Make yours count. 5. Provide As best you can. Material provision can be tough when jobs are lost and tough times hit. However, you can always provide a stable home with love and affection. 6. Discipline Children appreciate an even hand, balance, accountability, and lovedrenched discipline. It’s called consistency and, without clearly defined boundaries, it is very difficult to grow up. 7. Value education Don’t just read to them; read with them. Don’t just fuss about grades; get involved with their homework. Don’t just talk about learning; be a hands-on advocate. 8. Raise them to leave T h e simple goal of being a family and parenting our children doesn’t look any

more complicated than this: Raise them well equipped to leave home and to establish faithful lives. 9. Teach them to take responsibility Kids who learn how to duck responsibility and avoid cost will sooner or later fall flat on their faces. Loving fathers make sure their children know how to own up, clean up and move forward. 10. Teach them to love this life The best predictor of happiness in children is happiness in their parents. If we learn how to love this life and then give that blessing to our kids, they will be well prepared for satisfaction. Credit: http: allprodad. com

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Three security guards arraigned for N117m armoured cable theft T hree security guards, who allegedly stole roles of armoured cables valued at N117million, were yesterday arraigned in a Tinubu Chief Magistrates' Court, Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria reports (NAN). The accused are Joshua Zacharia, 27; Abdullahi Haruna, 30, and Nurudeen Sulaiman, 25, all employees of Beach Resort Estate, Lekki, Lagos, and are facing two counts of stealing and malicious damage. The Prosecutor, Police Inspector Nurudeen Thomas, told the court that the accused persons committed the offences on May 19 at 10p.m. at Beach Resort Estate. He alleged that after the

•Bank security guard in court for allegedly defrauding customers accused stole the cables, they used saws to cut them into pieces. “They were caught in possession of the items by another security guard on duty who raised the alarm and the accused were apprehended,” he said. Thomas said the offences contravened sections 285 and 337 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Kikelomo Ayeye, granted them bail in the sum of N2 million each and two sureties in like sum. She adjourned the case till

June 6 for further hearing. Meanwhile, a First Bank security guard, Azeez Ademola, yesterday appeared in a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly defrauding three of the bank's customers N71, 000. Ademola, 22, who pleaded not guilty to six counts of fraud and theft, was granted bail in the sum of N50, 000. The Magistrate, Mr. Ade Adefulire, in his ruling ordered the accused to produce one responsible surety in like sum. He adjourned the case till June 14 for further hearing. The prosecutor, Mr. Ben Ekundayo, told the court that the accused on April 25,

31.2

The annual mortality rate (per 100,000) due to Alzheimer’s Disease in Mississippi State in 2010. Source: Alz.org

The life expectancy of women at age 60 years of Dem. Republic of the Congo in 2010-2015. Source: Un.org

at 2 p.m. at First Bank, Balogun Branch, Lagos Island, defrauded three customers of the bank. Ekundayo said the accused collected N31, 000 from Demola Adetuji, N36, 000 from Funmilola Alamu and N4, 000 from Peter Salau, when they were in a queue in the banking hall. He said that the accused collected the money with the pretence of helping the customers to deposit the money into their accounts but he converted the money to his own use. He said the offences contravened sections 285 and 312 (a)(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The number of fixed (wired)broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of the world in 2005. Source: Itu.int

News Extra 51

Ooni of Ife, Dabiri-Erewa, others to speak in Canada Olushola Ricketts

oni of Ife, ObaAdeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaji 11; Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Mrs. Abike DabiriErewa and other personalities will be speaking at this year’s “The Change Leadership” series, which will be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Toronto, Canada. Speaking with journalists ahead of the conference billed for July 6 to 8, the convener, Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta, said the survival of organisations in Nigeria required leaders who would successfully lead change and innovations. “Leaders must be responsive to change, mobilise and motivate employees. We are putting together the ‘Change Leadership Executive Roundtable’ to provide a forum to help and equip leaders to successfully lead change in times of economic uncertainties,” she said. While insisting that Nigeri-

an companies understood the philosophy of change, she said most fall short in the struggle to remain relevance and successful. She stated: “This roundtable is an opportunity to bolster our effectiveness in leading change to drive higher returns on investment and collectively move the Nigerian economy forward. And one of the ways this can be done is through effective change leadership. The CEO of Olive Blue informed that the conference was an annual Pan-African corporate and entrepreneurial sequence of events aimed at driving positive change by empowering leaders, entrepreneurs and corporations to become effective change leaders and to lead transformational change. “For successful change to occur, it takes strong leadership and commitment while strong leadership requires growth and continuous learning. The conference meets these needs and provides a forum to help leaders and organisations become more effective in driving results and achieve higher levels of success,” she said.

Medview Airline joins Amadeus platform Andrew Iro Okungbowa

Some police personnel undergoing validation exercise, at the Ikeja Police College, Lagos… yesterday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

FCT Germany supports 1,500 Nigerian students

ENUGU

The German Government says it has so far supported 1,500 students affected by insurgency in the north east under the safe-school initiative since it was set up in 2014. Zenner, who told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, explained that the initiative was multilateral. He said it was created to provide basic education services to young students affected by insurgency in the North-East. He said: “We are part of the safe school initiative where we have young pupils and students who cannot go back to their schools because they have been destroyed, go to school elsewhere in Nigeria. “We have financed, within the framework of the initiative, 1,500 young students and we are now negotiating with the Nigerian Government on extending our efforts in this programme.”

‘Why community-based health insurance scheme is slow’

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) says community-based health insurance scheme in Nigeria has been slow due to a number of factors. Its Head of Planning, Research and Monitoring Unit, Mr. Udo Markin, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu yesterday. Mark said the scheme was meant to kick-out sickness at the rural level as well as alleviate rural dwellers from poverty occasioned by sickness or lack of access to basic and qualitative healthcare. “Well, it has been a daunting task, we would accept that. We have expended a lot of efforts, resources, time towards ensuring that communities understand and fold (key) into the community-based health insurance programme of the scheme,” he said.

FCT

Guard your tongue during Ramadan, Cleric urges Muslims

The Imam of the Area 10, Garki Juma’at Mosque, Abuja, Sheik Yahya Al-Yolawi, has admonished Muslims to shun gossiping and backbiting as the Holy Month of Ramadan approaches. Al-Yolawi gave the admonition during the Juma’at prayers in a sermon entitled: “Ramadan and Your Tongue.” He said fasting during Ramadan increases the capacity to overcome evil and earn the pleasure of Allah, but could be vitiated through the careless use of the tongue. “Ramadan is a month that provides Muslims with the sense of happiness and spiritual growth; in which Allah grants us the ability to change ourselves to be among His good servants. “Unfortunately, there are some acts which people indulge in but are not viewed as bad in many of our gatherings; like telling lies, backbiting, slandering, gossiping and cursing,” he said.

madeus network has witnessed expansion to its network with Medview Airlines joining its growing list of service providers in the travel industry. Following this development, travellers across the world and travel suppliers who are hooked to Amadeus platform now have access to the airline’s complete range of fares, schedules and availability. The Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Muneer Bankole, described the new move as part of its quest to launch out to the global market. He said: “From our humble beginnings, we are expanding rapidly and our strategic priorities are to increase our international reach and establish ourselves as one of the region’s most reputable carriers. “Making our full range of content available across all channels will be instrumental to partnering with the travel agency community to achieve maximum visibility with travellers, which is why our distribution agreement

with Amadeus, along with its leading technology and global presence, will be a driving factor in bringing our strategy to life.” On his part, the General Manager, Nigeria and Ghana, Amadeus, Yann Gilbert, said the technology driven company was pleased to be part of the global expansion plan of the airline: “We are very excited to welcome Medview Airline, one of Nigeria’s fastest growing carriers into our global travel community and look forward to supporting the airline’s expansion strategy.” Speaking further, he said: “In addition to increasing MedviewAirline’s exposure to international markets and travellers, the airline will be able to open new partnerships opportunities that will enable it to brand, personalise and market its travel offers in new and engaging ways. “We believe this will be a mutually beneficial partnership which will deliver relevant content to Amadeus subscribers, both in Nigeria and worldwide, and the MedView Airline the framework to reap the rewards of participating in the world’s largest and most innovative travel community.”

College graduates 5,000 health technologists Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

ver 5,000 students of the Osun State College of Health Technology, Ilesa were yesterday graduated as trained health technologists. Speaking at the event, the provost of the college, Dr. Fritz Olaoye, charged the grad-

uands to be actively involved in the activities of the alumni association for developmental purposes in the college. The provost said: “The graduands were made up of Department of Environmental Health, Community Health, Health Information Management, and Medical Laboratory. Others are from Technicians, Pharmacy Technician,

Dental Surgery Technician and General Health Studies.” Olaoye, who commended the management and the students of the college for working as an indivisible family despite their individual differences, said: “His cohesion and unity of purpose largely responsible for the palpable progress recorded in the college.”

He also maintained that the college was statutorily empowered to produce middle level manpower in the health industry that would be involved in the disease prevention, limiting of diseases spread when it occurred. “It is to help to control diseases to the level where it no longer constitutes threat to public health while the prod-

ucts of the college are involved in all facets of healthcare delivery system,” he added. Speaking on accreditation of some courses in the college, he explained that "the college is preparing assiduously for the re-accreditation of all the courses by the board overseeing the affairs of the college courses so that the Environmental health technology

graduates can resume National Youth Service like their counterparts from other colleges.” Also, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Akinyinka Esho, described the provost of the college as a dynamic and enterprising leader and charged all stakeholders in the health sector to work in tandem with him.

Perspectives

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

How Champions League landed me in Kirikiri Prison (1)

he Almighty God in His infinity mercies knows why He did not give us mere mortals some measure of clairvoyance. If he had, definitely I would have been able to avoid like plague an unfortunate event that happened to me 25 years ago. But because we don’t have that ability, I woke up on Wednesday May 28, 1991 looking forward to the final of the UEFA Champions League taking place later in the day; without any premonition that instead of watching the game between Red Star Belgrade (of the former Yugoslavia) and Marseille of France, I would be spending the next fortnight in detention! I was then working with The Guardian Express, the evening newspaper of one of the nation’s flagship newspapers, The Guardian. Then unlike now, that we had no 24-hour both satellite and terrestrial television available for everybody to enjoy. Only those with the means and space could enjoy watching live games from overseas because only very large dishes were able to capture the signals. Of course, The Guardian had such a contraption, which enabled us monitor CNN and other stations in order to keep abreast of the latest happenings across the globe. So I had consigned myself to staying late in the office on that day in order to watch the match, which was to kick off at 7.45pm (at least that hasn’t changed). But before the match, we still had to produce the day’s evening paper and an incident that happened the previous night, when two students of the Yaba College of Technology were allegedly killed in a violent protest on the campus, was to provide our lead story for the day. Once the call came in from sources, Mr. Bayo Oguntimehin, who was the editor, insisted that we needed to confirm the killings

hat does it mean to fall in love with someone? This question might sound naive but the truth is that the meaning of true love has eluded majority of adults. As a result of advancements in communication channels and volume of information available, many teenagers and single young men and women in our society have become either confused or remained ignorant about love’s identity. This has obviously affected their individual relationship with God, because you cannot give what you don’t have. So, you often hear the phrase: ‘I love God’, from someone who always deliberately and openly does things that break God’s heart. We are now in a society where we love things and use people instead of loving people and using things. What does this mean? You love fashion, your dresses, gold, chains, beads, parties, cars, and so on. You use your husband to get them but you don’t care so much about him and his feelings or his challenges. You love you cars, your job, football, your house and your friends but you don’t care that much about your wife. In fact, you love your children that you used your wife to get but you don’t care about your wife, her feelings, challenges, etc. As counsellors, we get to hear this kind of question: “HOW DO I KNOW THAT I AM IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE IN THE CONTEXT OF MARRIAGE?.” Love is a thing of the heart. When you give your heart to someone, you are in love with the person. The implication is that when you give your heart, you have given yourself. When you have given yourself, you can give anything (as a Christian) within the limits of biblical injunctions. When you discover that you will be willing to give anything, including time, money, energy and efforts just

TS from the Sidelines 08050498544 (sms only) tunsul2@gmail.com and so someone had to go to the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba, Surulere, Lagos to confirm if the bodies had been brought there from the protest. As fate would continue to deal its hand, since I could drive I was detailed to take Bayo’s Peugeot 504 to LUTH to confirm the news which I did. On getting to LUTH I was shown the log, at the morgue, where received bodies were entered and I saw that two bodies said to have come from Yabatech had been signed in. So back at the office I wrote what I had confirmed and it formed part of the lead for the Guardian Express that afternoon, which was anchored by our ace (but now late) Crime Reporter, Ben Akparanta. Later in the evening a phone call came into the office. It was Akparanta calling to tell Bayo that he had been detained at Police Headquarters Oduduwa Street, Ikeja and would only be released if the editor came to take him on bail. However, Bayo was still busy working on the advanced pages for the next day’s publication and instead said since I could drive I should go there. But not really being conversant with the location of the police headquarters in Ikeja, our production man, Taiwo Akerele offered to direct me. Bolaji Oyegunle, who

was then our office assistant also offered to accompany us. And so three of us headed to Ikeja not realising that we would not be coming back to Rutam House for the next two weeks! As soon as we drove into the Police Command, I knew we were in a big trouble because right in front of the main building at the car park were top police officers huddled together with a copy of that day’s The Guardian Express. “Guys I think we are in trouble,” I muttered as soon as I was allowed to drive in and was instructed where to park the car. The senior police officers (please bear with me because of the long time some of my memories are a bit hazy) but if I recall correctly the (Deputy Commissioner of Police) and other senior officers were all part of our ‘welcoming committee’. As soon as we were marched up to where the officers huddled together we were politely welcomed and our names asked. When I mentioned my name, the Deputy Commissioner looked at the bylines attached to the story and said: “So you are Tunde Sulaiman?” (My byline was the second one behind Akparanta’s). In a quiet and none threatening voice he proceeded to ask me various questions like if I was there (at Yabatech during the protest), how was I sure that students had

actually been killed? And if I was sure that the police had really done the shooting (we were to later learn that it was some undercover security operatives that had actually shot the students). The officer then turned to Taiwo and asked what he did at The Guardian Express. “I am the Sub Editor,” he replied. “So you’re the one who made sure the story came out well, abi?” was the officer’s reply. “You are all welcome; you will now tell us how you got the story.” However, before proceeding to march us upstairs to see the Commissioner, the officer instructed some policemen to search the car we came in, making me to quip: “I hope una no wan plant any incriminating evidence in the car o!” To which the officer fired back: “You’ve read too many James Hardley Chase novels!” And after searching the car and finding nothing incriminating, he led us into the building and up the staircase to the Commissioner of Police’s office where another round of interrogation took place; this time by the Commissioner, Sani Daura Ahmed, himself. All this while, little did we know that the mobile policemen we saw in the compound had gone to The Guardian and some of them were returning with the Editor of The Guardian Express. It was only when Bayo arrived that we found out that Rutam House had been shut on the orders of the then Military Governor of Lagos State, Col. Raji Rasaki, whom were learnt had bones to pick with The Guardian over the newspaper’s tough criticism of his handling of the Maroko demolition issue. So this was his opportunity for pay back.

To be concluded next week

How do I know I am in love? Marriage Clinic with Albinus Chiedu 08038117704 (sms only) marriagecanwork@yahoo.com to make someone happy, you are in love with that person. When you discover that you care and dream about the person’s success and progress all the time, you are in love. “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful. It is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful” (1st Corinthians 13:4-5). Each time this person offends you, you forgive the person even before the person’s apology comes. This is love. Whenever you are considering a destiny-related decision such as career change or choice of job, what to do with your money and even choice of where to live, you seek and consider the person’s opinion and feelings. Before you embark on personal major projects, you don’t go ahead until you discuss it with the person. You are in love. Whenever you are with this person, you feel fulfilled and happy, and only few other things matter to you. When the person is not available when you expect the person to be, you feel lonely and depressed. Whatever negative experiences the person has, affects you negatively. You

share the person’s pains, challenges, joyful moments and so on. If you are a married person reading this piece and you do not have the above feelings and attitudes towards your partner, there is a big problem and you need a counsellor. In the context of marriage however, biblical injunctions restrict such feelings, emotions and sentiments to certain categories of people. If you have such relationship with someone of the same sex or someone already related to you by blood and you go ahead to marry the person, you are an enemy of God (Leviticus 18:523). If you are single, you are not expected to have such relationship with a married person of the opposite sex, or marry the person. It is a sin. Again, when you have such relationship with a non-relative who is an opposite sex, make sure you are not in the relationship just because of the leadership or hero position you occupy over the person’s condition. For instance, it could be that the person is in prison, hospital, in a police case or some other trouble and automatically, you are the one providing

food or assistance. Maybe the person is in financial crisis and you are the rescue party. You are at the giving end and this keeps the person in a humble, respectful and appreciative position. Do not assume that your marriage to this person will bring you joy until you subject your submissiveness to the person to test, after the person’s recovery. As a lady, it could be that you enjoyed the relationship and thought you were in love because the guy was down and you were in control. When he gains his freedom and tries to assert his position as the man in the relationship, do you have the emotional and mental capacity to forget and put behind you his past down time, face reality and submit yourself to him as a wife to be? Do you have some challenges similar to the ones described above in your premarital or marital relationship? Talk to us in Marriage Can Work Ministry as we trust God together in prayers and bibledriven wisdom to tackle this challenge. You can also place an order for your copy of the book, MAKING YOUR MARRIAGE WORK by Albinus Chiedu and study how to make the right choice of a life partner, the rules of courtship, among other lessons. Your marriage shall be a blessing and a testimony in Jesus name. Amen.

For questions, prayers, personal counselling, seminars, wedding ministration, etc, CONTACT: The Coordinator, MARRIAGE CAN WORK MINISTRY Mobile: +234-8038117704 E-mail: marriagecanwork@yahoo.com; marriagethings@gmail.com P. O. Box, 13188, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria

Perspectives

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Democracy Day, old tunes and today’s reality

“K

o sagbe mo loko, ko sagbe mo loko, ara oko ti dari wale...” “Uncle, you have a sonorous voice. It seems you’re in a celebratory ecstasy. Could that be preparatory to the Democracy Day and the first anniversary of the Buhari’s administration?” “Far from it Chucks! I’m just reflecting on old tunes and am trying to juxtapose them with today’s reality.” “Ha, I see. Who sang the song and what does it mean sir. You know my understanding of Yoruba is not deep enough to decipher the lyrics you just rendered with so much relish and elan.” “It was one of the old tunes of the ‘80s by the indefatigable juju maestro, King Sunny Ade, warning Nigerians of the inherent danger in abandoning agriculture after the oil boom. Farmers had to abandon their farmlands and relocated to the city in search of white collar jobs. Unfortunately we did not heed his warning like the proverbial dog that was destined to get lost and as such failed to hear the warning of the hunter.” “I see. Is that not the same song about Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)?” “No. Operation Feed the Nation, ni joba tun gbe de. Won so fun wa nipa ise agbe, ke bi ma pawa lehin wa ola.... Chucks, that was by Chief Ebenezer Obey telling us about the importance of embracing OFN, an agricultural programme that was introduced by the then Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo in the '80s.” “Could it be that the musicians had the premonition that the oil boom would turn to oil doom in the nearest future?” “Perhaps. But the fact remains that this was at a time when musicians had unflagging vitality after doing so much research. They sang as if they were prophets. Their songs are a complete departure from the today’s lyrical nonsense and uncouth noise that largely signify nothing, yet youngsters wind their waists and do ‘shakiti bobo’ as if that is what matters most.” “Uncle, tomorrow is Democracy Day

Waheed Bakare on Saturday

09056089320 (sms only) waheedbakare2003@yahoo.com and in all situation let’s thank God. It calls for celebration. At least, it’s better than the aberrant military rule. We now have freedom of speech, movement, association and the rest of them.” “And how does that affect the price of tomatoes in the market? What’s the essence of democracy that cannot provide food on our table? In your view, is anything working in Nigeria at the moment? Except for the rain of the past few days, air is not even blowing well again.” “Hmmmm, uncle, that’s true o. But why is tomato now more expensive than apple?” “Tuta Absoluta!” “Sir, is that French or Greek? I only asked you about scarcity of tomatoes?” “And I have just given you the reason. That’s the biological name of the pest that has eaten our tomatoes. Better still, you can call it ebola. At least you have an idea of what ebola does to the human system. Do you know that we have spent at least N16 billion in the past five months to import tomatoes from Cameroon,Togo and Benin Republic. So, our loss, their gain.” “Whooping N16 billion to import tomatoes by an agrarian society. Are you kidding me sir.” “Chucks, we are going to spend more. Are you aware that we also import garri from neighbouring countries because we don’t have enough? Yet, we are blessed with vast arable land in different parts of the country wasting away. Our governors are only interested in going to Abuja to share oil money but unfortunately for them there is nothing to share now.

“Uncle, that’s a shame...” “Shame on who? Young man, mind your language.” “Am sorry sir. Except that truth is bitter. Is it not a shame that the people of your generation and those before ignored the messages of Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey and only danced to the rhythm of such evergreen somgs that confirm the belief in literary circle that great works of art will never die.” “You are right but the larger blame should go to the government for its egregious policies over the years on key sectors that should have been developed as alternative to oil. If we had done that, the militants won’t hold us in the jugular.” “Those boys self, what do they want?” “They want free money.” “And you think they should get it?” “Nigeria has no choice but to negotiate with them otherwise they will ground the economy and Buhari will be a failure in the eyes of the majority of Nigerians. No serious country operates a monolithic economy.” “So, we should diversify the economy.”

And how does that affect the price of tomatoes in the market? What’s the essence of democracy that cannot provide food on our table?

“That’s the way to go if we want to be free from the threat of the Niger Delta militants. We can get there overnight but let’s start now.” “But sir, what if another government comes in and rubbishes whatever its predecessor did all in the name of politics, will that not take us backward?” “Government is supposed to be a continuum but unfortunately, that is not the case in Nigeria. Why will any reasonable government rubbish the achievements of its predecessor just because of political differences? If tourism proceeds are being used to develop Dubai and other areas in the United Arab Emirate why can’t we do the same in Nigeria? It’s time we looked beyond oil.” “That reminds me of ‘Delta beyond oil’, a programme by the immediate past administration in the state.” “And what has become of the programme apart from the razzmatazz and academic exercise? I am not interested in mere paper work. Politicians should match words with action.” “Uncle, I will come around tomorrow to listen to the president’s Democracy Day broadcast.” “Don’t come o!” “Are you going out sir?” “No, there won’t be electricity and I won’t use N145/per litre fuel to listen to the broadcast. “You are talking as if you are suffering but you are not. In fact, nobody is suffering in Nigeria?” “My friend, will you stop that bunkum!” “But oga Femi Adesina said so. I mean the president’s spokesman.” “Oh, you mean our oga at the top...” “Yes, the same man who said if Nigerians are not happy with the state of electricity, they should hold vandals responsible. That oga has CHANGED o.” “Ok Chucks.” “Is that what you will say uncle? What’s ok in what oga Adesina said?” “What else do you want me to say? It’s not from my mouth that you will hear that the teacher’s mother is a witch. Go home. Happy Democracy Day!”

Chibok community invasion and the perception of some former residents Mallam Saddiq Yakubu

he Chibok community was a very peaceful town, where residents live in peace and harmony with one another until the very unfortunate invasion of the peaceful town by the notorious Boko Haram terrorist group,on the night of April 14, 2014. Before the invasion, many residents and non-residents had thought that the various peace initiatives both by the government, residents and traditional rulers would work in restoring peace to the once peaceful community, but that was to no avail. Other interested persons had also thought that the unwarranted ambush and assassination of the paramount traditional ruler of Chibok town would mark the end of the inhumane treatment melted out to the residents of Chibok community, but many were

wrong. The sad invasion of Chibok town and the kidnapping of the over 200 innocent girls from their secondary School, where they were preparing for their Senior Secondary Certificate Exams ( S.S.C.E), put the relatively unknown Chibok community on the world map, sadly on the negative side as the focus of the global community that has sympathy for the people of the Chibok community, most especially the kidnapped girls. And this sympathy was expressed with great pain and concern for the residents and the fear that this act might spread to other parts of the country. During the course of the Chibok invasion by the Boko Haram, many lives were lost, and property worth millions of naira were lost, injuring scores of persons, destroying over 60 houses and looting food supplies. Some residents of the town

Many lives were lost, and property worth millions of naira were lost, injuring scores of persons

who were lucky to survive the onslaught fled to different parts of the country and some fled to neighbouring countries; Cameroon, Chad Republic, and Niger Republic. The residents, some of which were Christians who perceived that they were the worst victims of the destruction took to their heels and are still very much afraid to return home. For some residents of Chibok, whose families were affected by the woes of the Boko Haram invasion, some of them and their families fled for their dear lives and even in the course of fleeing, some additional causalities were recorded. There was a case of a lady, who was killed while escaping the Boko Haram insurgency. There are other cases of people that suffered the same fate and even worse but many are not alive to tell the story. The efforts and concern of the

Federal Government and the international community and not forgetting the great sacrifice of the Bring Back Our Girls group are very well appreciated by people of diverse group, culture and nationality, and it is the prayer of everybody that the effort of the government in setting up of the various I.D.P camps and making provision for the welfare of those staying in the camp, and their effort in the resettlement of the victims of the Boko Haram attacks would be successful. It is also the prayer of the former residents of the Chibok, Nigerian citizens, both home and abroad that the kidnapped Chibok girls would be freed and allowed to return to their various homes, and that peace should return to the community, so that the indigenes and non-indigenes can live in peace.

•Yakubu writes from Lagos.

News Extra

Massive job losses in tourism sector

Andrew Iro Okungbowa

resident of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Chief Tomi Akinbogun, has raised the alarm that many tourism outfits are currently facing bankruptcy with job loss both directly and indirectly running into thousands in the last two years. He also said the hospitality sector is the hardest hit as occupation rate in many of the hotels getting to near zero as he puts that of Abuja hotels at 10 per cent while that of Lagos hotels is slightly higher. According to him, it is difficult for now and also too early to approximate the amount of losses from tourism business. He said: “It is hard to measure the amount we are losing in tourism now as it has just started and getting really hard to make ends meet,’’ he said, adding that ‘‘cost of tourism businesses

are up with lack of electricity, coupled with increase in pump price of petrol and price of diesel has marginally gone up too.” He also lamented the fact that members of the federation who are into travel and tour packages have reported substantial loss in business. “With increase in transportation fewer people are now travelling as most have canceled their socio- cultural trips. They only travel if it is absolutely necessary. Reduced movement of people means lower revenue for tourism industry. “We must remember that lack of budget from January till May means most government employees and many private firms' workers have no salary for several months. All these add up to depress the tourism industry,’’ he disclosed while ‘‘many more hotels have retrenched their staff after electricity tariff increase of up to 100 per cent in about one year (year 2015).

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

Obasanjo, Dogara, Ajimobi, Akiolu, Ooni, others hail Soun at 90 Sola Adeyemo

M Ibadan

any eminent personalities yesterday besieged the palace of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi, Ajagungbade 111 to honour him on his 90th birthday celebration, describing him as an epitome of dignity, honesty, royalty and an embodiment of Yoruba cultural values. Among them was the Oyo state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who described the nonagenarian‎ as a very successful monarch blessed with the grace of longevity. "Baba Soun epitomizes honesty, integrity, and royalty. He uses his life meaningfully. He is so blessed that he built many houses in Jos that people

there decided not to sell lands to him again". To underscore the monarch's generosity, Ajimobi said: “Certain day, I saw Baba looking for a house of his at Oluyole ‎area where I have my own house. I saw him trying to locate the house at a wrong place, and I told him his house is beside my own house. I took him there and when he identified it, I told him to give me the house since he had so many. He said, but I have a house already, and I told him it was only one. He then asked me to bring a token for him to pray for me. And I gave him the small money. He then gave the house to me. Many people did not know this. Baba is so blessed and generous with his wealth. May he live longer for us.” ‎The former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,

Aregbesola: Buhari committed to rescuing Chibok girls Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

sun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola yesterday gave kudos to president Mohammadu Buhari on his efforts so far in seeing that,chibok girls who were abducted by

World News

resident of the United States, Barack Obama, yesterday became the first sitting US President to visit Hiroshima since it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945. Alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Obama laid a wreath at the Peace Memorial Park in the city and honoured all those who died during World War Two. Mr Obama, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 on the back of his promotion of nuclear non-proliferation, used a speech at the memorial site to reaffirm his commitment to reducing global stockpiles of nuclear weapons. He said: "The scientific revolution that led to the splitting of the atom requires a moral revolution as well. "That is why we come to this place. We stand here in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell. The US President did not apologise for his country's nuclear attack on the city but said lessons must be learnt. "We force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see, we listen to a silent cry. "We have a shared responsibility to look directly into

the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency regain their freedom. Aregbesola who made the commendation at Osogbo city stadium during the celebration of this year children day, affirmed that, the present government is committed and sincere in

the rescue of the girls. Speaking through his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye Tomori, at the occasion, Aregbesola commended the Nigerian Army efforts in seeing that the abducted Chibok girls are freed from their abductors. On education, Aregbesola

said children should not be given half-baked education but qualitative one to make them a pride of the society. He, however, assured that his administration would make its commitment towards providing qualitative education for the school children in the state.

who was represented by the former Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Chief Layiwola Olakojo, also congratulated Soun, appraising his grace of longevity in life as he celebrated 90th birthday and 42nd year on the throne. Obasanjo in his goodwill message said, "I congratulate you Baba as you are celebrating your 90th birthday on earth and the 42nd year on the throne of your forefathers. You have contributed so immensely to national unity. I wish you the opportunity of celebrating 100 years so that I can be part of those to celebrate you as a centenarian", Obasanjo said. Other dignitaries that lauded Soun included the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja 1, who was represented by Oba Boluwatife Fatunmise, the Alagba of Iyanfoworogi, ‎Gbong Gwom Jos, Chairman Plateau State Traditional Council of Chiefs, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, Emir of Ilorin Alhaji Zulu Gambari, Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Yakubu Dogara who was represented by Hon. Saheed AkinadeFijabi, Plateau State governor Simon Lalung, who was represented by Professor John, Sokoto State governor who

was also represented by Aminu Wasiri. Others included the Osun State Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who was represented by his Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Moshood Adeoti, former Oyo state governor Senator Rasidi Ladoja who was represented by Engineer Nasirudeen Adisa, Sir Debo Omotoso of the famous Bond Chemicals in Awe, Oyo, Chief Bisi Ilaka, ArchBishop Ayo Ladigbolu, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, Professor Akin Osuntokun, among others. In his tribute, Zulu Gambari said, "Since I knew the Soun, he has always been a man of integrity. Any traditional ruler blessed financially will be highly respected like the Soun is. I regard this palace as my living place because anytime I pass through this place, I always love to visit Baba. He is a man of integrity, Omoluabi. I have visited him many times. He makes people laugh.‎ He is a great monarch. May you live longer than this. I pray God to allow me see you when you turn 100 years on earth. You have lived very well", the Emir of Ilorin said. Similarly, Gwong Buba said: “It is actually a thing of joy to witness this type of occasion.

crash: French naval Obama makes historic EgyptAir ship to join search visit to Hiroshima A Obama hugs atomic bomb survivor Shigeaki Mori at the memorial

the eye of history, and ask what we must do differently to curb such suffering again. "The memory of the morning of August 6, 1945, must never fade. We must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them." Obama did not apologise for the bombing, which is viewed in the US as having hastened the ending of the war, but acknowledged the devastating toll of the con-

flict. Thousands of people were killed instantly when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city on 6 August, 1945. Some 145,000 died by the end of that year. The city of Nagasaki was hit by a second nuclear bomb on 9 August, 1945, and Japan surrendered six days later. Ahead of the visit, protesters had gathered outside the peace park to demand an apology from the US Presi-

dent. Mr Obama spoke briefly with five survivors of the atomic bombing who had attended the ceremony along with their families. He also signed a guest book at the memorial park, writing: "We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons."

French naval ship specialising in underwater searches is on its way to help find the flight recorders of an EgyptAir plane that crashed last week. On Thursday, Egypt's chief investigator said the search had narrowed to about 5km (3.1 miles) in the Mediterranean. This was based on a signal from the plane's emergency beacon, but officials now say the signal was received on the day of the crash and is not new. There were 66 people on board when the Airbus A320 crashed on 19 May. The plane was flying overnight from Paris to Cairo when it vanished from Greek and Egyptian radar screens, apparently without having sent a distress call. France's air accident investigation agency, the BEA, confirmed a naval oceanographic research ship, Laplace, is heading for the crash site. In a statement, it said the ship was due to reach

the crash area on Sunday or Monday, carrying a long-range acoustic system able to detect signals from the black box. Egypt's chief investigator, Ayman al-Moqadem, had said on Thursday that a signal detected was from a beacon situated in the rear of the cabin on the plane which transmits its location. However, other officials on Friday told journalists that the signal was received on the day of the crash, and that there had been no other signals since. "There has been nothing since day one," one official close to the investigation told Reuters. On Thursday, hundreds of people gathered in Cairo for a candlelit vigil for the victims of the crash. Among those on board MS804 were 30 Egyptians, 15 French citizens, two Iraqis, two Canadians and citizens from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

Sport Extra 55

SATURDAY TELEGRAPH

28 MAY 2016

CAF bans Giwa, others for five years Charles Ogundiya

he Confederation of Africa Football on Friday confirmed the Nigeria Football Federation’s five-year ban placed on Chris Giwa and four others, Muazu Suleyman, Yahaya Adama, Sani Fema and Johnson Effiong. In a letter signed by

CAF’s Secretary-General, Hicham El Amrani, and copied to NFF’s President, Amaju Pinnick, the letter states that the ban forbids them from all football related activities for five years. In the letter titled: - Reconveyance of sanctions by NFF disciplinary sanctions extension at the con-

tinental level - reads; “Dear President, Following your previous correspondence dated May 16th and subsequent exchanges, CAF has well noted the decision of the NFF’s Disciplinary Committee dated May 12th placing five (5) year ban from all football related activities on the following people, Christo-

pher Giwa, Muazu Suleyman, Yahaya Adama, Sani Fema and Johnson Effiong. “Following receipt of the documentation and details on the case, CAF hereby confirms the extension of such sanctions at the continental level. Please accept, dear President, our most sincere regards.”

Siasia names Awoniyi, 19 others for Korea tourney O

23 London 2012 athletes fail doping re-tests

Charles Ogundiya

ead Coach of the Nigeria U-23 team, Samson Siasia, has picked 20 players made up of 12 home-based and eight foreign–based professionals for the Suwon Invitational Tournament in Korea Republic. The list is dominated by players who featured against the Brazil U-23 in a friendly two months ago, which Nigeria won 1-0, while two new faces Emiloju Julius and Abdulrahman Taiwo are in the team, and winger Saviour Godwin also makes a return to the team after a long absence. Addressing the players after its friendly game on Thursday at the practice pitch of the National Stadium, Abuja, Siasia charged those selected for the trip to see it as an honour. "That you were selected does not mean that those not selected are not good. We simply want to give everyone enough opportunity to justify why they should be part of the team to the Rio Olympics." To those who were dropped, Siasia told them not to see themselves as not being part of the plans of the technical crew, but a clarion call to work even harder, as the team will be going to the United States of America for its final camping exercise where the best will be selected for the Olympics. The delegation of 20 players and 10 of-

ficials will be led by NFF Executive Committee member and Chairman of the NFF Media and Publicity Committee, Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande. The group is expected to depart Nigeria for Korea Republic on Monday May 30 aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight, and arrive in Seoul on Tuesday.

Nadal pulls out of French Open

Awoniyi (right)

Woodward: Mourinho is the best manager in the game

ose Mourinho has been officially confirmed as Manchester United manager and has signed a threeyear contract. He replaces Dutchman Louis van Van Gaal, who was dismissed on Monday, two days after the club's FA Cup win. "Jose is quite simply the best manager in the game today," said United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. Mourinho, 53, said: "To become Manchester United manager is a special honour in the game. It is a club known and admired throughout the world." He said he had always "felt an affinity with Old Trafford" and claimed he has "always enjoyed a rapport with the United fans". He added: "I'm looking forward to being their Mourinho

lympic chiefs have announced that 23 competitors at the London 2012 Games have failed retrospective doping tests. Those athletes are from five different sports and six different countries. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) retested 454 selected doping samples from the 2008 Games in Beijing and a further 265 from London 2012. It said the retests, conducted using the latest scientific methods were focused on athletes who could take part at this year's Rio Olympics.

manager and enjoying their magnificent support in the coming years. "There is a mystique and a romance about it which no other club can match." Mourinho has been out of work since being sacked as boss of Premier League rivals Chelsea in December. "His track record of success is ideal to take the club forward," said Woodward. "He has won trophies and inspired players in countries across Europe and, of course, he knows the Premier League very well, having won three titles here." The Portuguese's appointment followed three days of talks between his agent, Jorge Mendes, and senior United officials. He has already been linked with a move for Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played for him at Inter Milan. Ibrahimovic, who has decided to leave Paris St-Germain, told reporters on Thursday that Mourinho "is the man" to bring United "back to the top".

ine-time French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, on Friday withdrew from the ongoing Grand Slam due to wrist injury. MRI scan showed that the wrist was not broken but Nadal couldn't finish the tournament. Menwhile, Andy Murray reached the last 16 of the French Open with a straightset victory over big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic. The British number one, who has reached the semifinals in each of the past two years, was dominant in recording a 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win. He broke Karlovic's opening serve in each of the first two sets before sealing victory in a tie-break.

Zika: Move Olympics top scientists say

ore than 100 leading scientists say the Rio Olympics should be moved or postponed over the Zika outbreak. The group says new findings about the virus make it "unethical" for the games to go ahead in an open letter to the World Health Organisation. They call on the WHO to urgently revise its guidelines on Zika, which is linked to serious birth defects. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in May it sees no reason to delay or move the games due to Zika.

Sport Slaming Adekunle Salami adekunles@yahoo.com 08050498539 (sms only)

Not a good start for Buhari

igeria is almost at a standstill. Things are not easy in almost all facets of the economy. Power generation has dropped and fuel price hike has also increased the suffering of the people. When President Muhammadu Buhari took over, there was great hope for redemption especially because it was expected that the right people will be in right places. It was however shocking that Solomon Dalung emerged as the sports minister without a concrete background in the sector. It took Mr. President over four months to name his cabinet and Dalung’s emergence was a shock. He took charge after about six months of having the then DG of the ministry, Alhassan Yakmut. It is important to enumerate a few achievements the country recorded in sport in this regime. Under the tutelage of former international, Emmanuel Amunike, the national U-17 team defeated all oppositions including Brazil at the FIFA U-17 World Cup to lift the trophy for the fifth time. The tournament brought out a teenage sensation, Victor Osimhen who set another record of goals with his 10 strikes. Another golden generation ex-international, Samson Siasia, led the national U-23 team to pick a ticket for the Olympic Games in a grand style and also went ahead to win the Africa U-23 Nations Cup trophy in Senegal. It was not all smooth for the two victorious teams. The U-17 team was abandoned in Chile without funds and after the team arrived with the trophy the players were given N20,000 each to go home from Abuja. The U-23 players were luckier as they cried out shortly before the final match and government sent all the outstanding money they were being owed to them. Funding was a major issue in the one year of this administration as other sports federation cried out over neglect. The boxing and taekwondo teams went for Olympic Games trials without motivation and only one boxer qualified while at all the athletes in taekwondo failed. Money was also not released for table tennis players as they travelled to pick Rio 2016 tickets for Nigeria on self-sponsorship. There were many other federations crying over finance including football. Till date, the Nigeria Football federation is yet to receive its subvention this year and the football body has been running from pillar to post to prosecute its programmes especially for the 13 national teams. The crisis in the federation is not only that of funding. There is also leadership crisis as a club owner, Chris Giwa, is still laying claim to the NFF presidency. Football also recorded a major setback with Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. It was indeed a big shame as the NFF made use of three coaches in the qualifiers which is yet to officially end. The Amaju Pinnick-led board is already thinking of engaging a foreign manager despite the cash crunch facing the body. No substantive coach has been named after Sunday Oliseh resigned on February 26. There is no sign to show that the Eagles will pick a ticket to the next World Cup since there is no consistency with players and the technical crew. To address the various crises in sports, the minister of sport has set up two committees but whether Dalung is ready to implement recommendations is another issue. It is impressive that Dalung is trying to bring the Surulere National Stadium swimming pool back to life but it is sad that the main bowl remains a shadow of itself while many other facilities nationwide are not well-maintained. Sport has been on the back seat of the Buhari administration. It was a rude shock that this administration scrapped the National Sports Commission which is the professional arm of sports in the ministry. No explanation was given just as the President has not responded to many crucial issues especially the crisis in football. He is also yet to release money for the preparation and participation in the Olympic Games which is only two months away. Sport is a unifying factor that should be taken seriously, so if the vice president will have to oversee this sector, it is necessary. An individual has been tormenting the football family in the past months and nothing has been done. This implies that Dalung might not be able to handle this. Sport sector deserves better from this administration as Buhari enters his second year in office from tomorrow.

SATURDAY, 28 MAY 2016

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Ronaldo

holds Real’s key

•Koke, Griezmann also deadly for Atleti

Adekunle Salami ristiano Ronaldo is a very ambitious player. He is selfmotivated and always strive to be on the winning side. He is expected to be the main man in the Real Madrid side today as they confront Atletico Madrid in all-Spanish La Liga final of the prestigious UEFA Champions League. Interestingly, it is the second time in three years that the two Madrid based teams will be meeting in the final of the competition. No doubt, it is going to be massive. Real Manager, Zinadine Zidane, will pray for Ronaldo not only to be fully fit but to also be at his best in this encounter. Real missed the La Liga title on the last day to Barcelona. Ronaldo with 16 goals and four assists is leading the top scorers’ chat in this year’s Champions League. He is also number one

in the all-time chat with 93 goals. It was not easy for Real to Beat Atletico two years ago. Full time ended 1-1 before Real scored three extra time goals to achieve their La Decima. It ended 4 -1. This time, Deigo Simeoni boys will be out to avenge that defeat. They play compact football and rarely conceded goals but they have Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to contend with in this crunch match. “We know the importance of this match. I am going to be 100 per cent fit and will do my best for victory,” Ronaldo said. Koke, Antonie Griezmann and Fernando Torres are the players Simeoni will also bank on to spoil the party for Real. A dicey encounter is anticipated but all eyes will be on Ronaldo who will strive to win the trophy and better his chances to again win the world footballer of the year award.

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