Sunday, july 31, 2016

Air Force shells Nigeria must be militants in restructured }24&28 Ogun, Lagos -Col. Nyam, Amaechi I didn’t know I’ll be punished -Pastor who chained nine}4,8&9 year-old son

lNo, we need power devolution, says Abubakar

SUNDAY Sunday, JULY 31, 2016 Vol. 3 No. 893

Sanctity of Truth

/newtelegraph

N150

@newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com

SECRET DEAL FOR 2019:

Halima abubakar

Atiku, Mimiko Plot New Party, Joint Ticket

lOndo guber race a test-run lAfenifere, Third Republic SDP govs likely rallying }3 points lOptions before promoters BUDGET PADDING

‘Obasanjo TAUGHT US CORRUPTION’

I’m still a virgin }41

NEWS

FG may free Kanu, Okah, Tompolo lTopLagosbankercommits suicideoverbadloan }7&13

Fani-Kayode: Nigeria will lDSS seals off Appropriation C’ttee office if… lCSOs want CCB, ICPC to probe allegations crumble }7 }3&4

2

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Contents | 31.07.16 BODY & SOUL

Heart of gold Niger State's First Lady, Dr. Amina Abubakar Bello, a Consultant Obstetrician is passionate about improving the health care system in the state

}20&21

POLITICS

Reps’ integrity Fear grips the leadership of the House of Representatives as allegation of budget padding receives attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

}23

BUSINESS

Listing MTN listing on Nigerian bourse will boost activities on NSE, which has been one of the worst performing among the emerging markets in recent years

}43

FAITH

Conscience Always listen to your conscience; it is the connecting tool between human beings and God, - T B Joshua says

}31

SPORT

Abandoned in death Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Stephen Keshi, was abandoned even in death by the Federal Government and the NFF who stayed away from his burial in Delta state

}53

Magazine

Forgive me Pastor Francis Taiwo, who chained, starved and tortured his nine-year-old son for alleged stealing, regrets his action and begs for forgiveness

}8&9

SUNDAY

Editorial

Turkey in the eyes of the world

T

he failed coup attempt in Turkey may have come and gone but it's effects continue to linger for the people of the European nation and the rest of the world.

The attempt by some military officers to overthrow President Recep Erdogan on July 15, 2016 came as a huge shock to the entire world. Over the last decade, it has come to be generally agreed that coups are no longer acceptable. Democracy, in different firms, had become the acceptable form of government, as a genuine expression of the yearnings of the people of any given society. Therefore, the coup in Turkey came as a huge surprise to the international community, given converted efforts at wiping away the last vestiges of undemocratic government in sine parts of the world.

For Nigerians, there are many lessons to be learnt from the failed coup and its aftermath. The violent attempted takeover was said to have been masterminded by a faction of military officers who moved to stop Erdogan from implementing a purge of the armed forces and the judiciary. Some reports said the coup was actually staged on Friday earlier than the planned date because it leaked to Erdogan. However, the coup failed and Erdogan went ahead with the rumoured purge. The lesson to be learnt here is that while not all decisions of government may be popular or widely accepted, the will of the people who elected such leaders cannot be subverted through an undemocratic process.

The lesson for Nigerians is that leaders must strive for good living standards for the people is that in turn, Nigerians will be propelled to defend their hard-earned democracy. A situation where Nigerian leaders take the people for granted and hypocritically preach values that they don't believe in cannot guarantee absolute loyalty to their leaders. Another lesson for Nigeria stems from the fact that the military had failed to realise that the people had become fed up with its incursions into power. The failure of the coup is a string lesson to the Nigerian armed forces that any attempt to seize power will ultimately fail. Coming a few weeks after rumours of a coup plot in the Nigerian military, the lesson from Turkey should not be lost on the armed forces that it must continue to subordinate itself to civilian authority.

A third lesson is the fact that the mutineers did not open fire on civilians who rejected their putsch. Last year's massacre of over 1000 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria generally known as the Shiites by soldiers attached to the Chief of Army Staff, Ltt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, is still fresh on the

minds of Nigerians. That they were mowed down for obstructing Buratai's convoy in Zaria, Kaduna State was quite galling. The example of Turkey should serve as a strong lesson to the Nigerian armed forces to be more cautious when engaging protesters.

The killings of unarmed protesters in Zaria, Onitsha, Nkpor and Aba by members of the armed forces was quite high-handed and avoidable. The military Hugh command must ensure that members of the armed forces observe rules of engagement in handling public protests.

In fact, President Muhammadu Buhari would do well to follow the example of his Turkish counterpart by strengthening the Nigeria Police Force. It is quite disheartening that the military has largely taken over internal security duties. The police and paramilitary agencies should be given the necessary support and funding to enable them to discharge their duties satisfactorily. The inclination to deploy the military in every trouble spot should be gradually discontinued.

While the coup is highly condemnable, there must be some words for Erdogan. His increasing authoritarian rule is unsettling the international community. His quick purge of the military and judiciary has spawned conspiracy theories that he stated the coup.

Some of his comments since the coup lend credence to this assertion. There is also the idea that he us pursuing an agenda to Islamise Turkey. This is bound to deepen the schisms between the moderates and fundamentalists. It is also unsettling to other European nations, and this Islamist agenda may impede its quest for EU membership.

The lesson for Nigeria is that the principle of separation of powers must be religiously adhered to. Buhari and some members if his administration have made comments that suggested that they would not mind trampling on this revered principle have been unhelpful to the nation. The impunity that was the hallmark of past administrations should never again be contemplated.

An interesting issue about the coup was that Erdogan resorted to the social media he had heavily suppressed to rally the people against the mutineers. The lessons for Nigerian leaders is that they must never attempt to abridge the people's right to free expression as enshrined in Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution.

Finally, Erdogan must be willing to subject himself to election at the right time. He must avoid the temptation to usurp the will of the people and entrench himself in power for life.

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

Funke Egbemode

Managing Editor, Business & Strategy n Yemi Ajayi

Managing Editor, Publication & Operations n Emeka Obasi

Managing Editor, South n Emeka Madunagu Managing Editor, North & Abuja n Laurence Ani

Editor n Ayodele Ojo Editor, Sunday n Juliet Bumah Editor, Saturday n Waheed Bakare Deputy Editor n Tunde Sulaiman

Bureau Chief, Abuja n Onwuka Nzeshi Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz Bureau Chief, Washington DC n Marshall Comins Editorial Coordinator, Europe n Sam Amsterdam Asst. Editor, News & Politics n Biyi Adegoroye

Business Development Manager n Taiwo Ahmed Sales/Circulation Manager n Oyebanji Abiodun Head, Arts & Creative n Ugochukwu Nnakwe Head, Admin. n Robinson Ezeh

3

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

Secret deal for 2019: Atiku, Mimiko plot new party, joint ticket

A

Our Correspondent

pparently dissatisfied with the suppressed musings in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the perennial crisis in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), key figures in both parties are mulling what a source called ‘a strong third force’.

If ongoing secret consultations are fruitful, the third force is a new political party ahead of the 2019 presidential election that would witness the pairing of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the incumbent governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, as presidential candidate and running mate respectively, Sunday Telegraph gathered.

Curiously, while Atiku, with eyes glued to the presidency, belongs to the APC, the Ondo State governor is of the PDP and indeed, a key figure in the resolution of the crisis in the opposition party. Mimiko’s tenure will lapse in February 2017.

According to a highly placed source, the new party will emerge in the last quarter of 2017, even as a positive outcome (for the PDP) of the November 2016 governorship election in Ondo State is the likely template for the permutation.

The SDP, Falae/Afenifere link As part of the plan, a meeting between the former vice president and former presidential candidate and national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Olu Falae, might hold in a couple of weeks, barring the unforeseen.

The source said the SDP is one of the options being stratified by the duo of Atiku and Mimiko, if the idea of a fresh political party appears cumbersome. Falae, an Afenifere chieftain from Ondo State and political benefactor of the governor, is expected to mobilize the pan Yoruba organisation across the South-West as a ‘counter force to the existing power equation in the region’.

The source said, ‘’Like a nation in want of leadership, proper leadership and a new dawn will soon face the country because what Nigerians are getting is not what they bargained for. The change mantra appears to be fading and some persons are beginning to think otherwise. ‘’As it was in the run

up to the last presidential election, whereby hitherto antagonistic persons came together for a common cause and installed the current government, we are looking at the possibility of mobilizing all and sundry to rescue the nation from nepotisim. ‘’From all indications, the current leadership has failed the nation and if you read what a North West leader said in an interview today (yesterday), you need no one to tell you that we require a drastic political direction. ‘’In the process, anything can happen, including the registration of a new political party or reviving an existing one because in all the major parties, that is PDP and APC, there are problems. ‘’So we are going to reach out to our major political bloc, the Afenifere, as well as some of the Third Republic SDP governors who are now sidelined in the two parties.”

Asked about the possibility of a new party flourishing in the South West, when the current vice president hails from there, the source said it was immaterial. ‘’That is immaterial. As far as some of us are concerned, whether he is VP or not, Osinbajo does not have the political sagacity of the Ondo State governor. I ask, can a Buhari or whoever and Osinbajo APC ticket beat an Atiku/ Mimiko ticket? ‘’They can longer deceive our people because the truth has come out. They shouted restructuring before election and abandoned it after their victory.

Are these people trustworthy? Definitely, a counter force to the existing power equation in the region is about to be reinvigorated’’, the source said. ..Any role for Kuku as Ondo guber race test-runs plot ?

Sunday Telegraph gathered that as a possible inroad and sustenability in the South West, the former vice president was partly instrumental to the choice of the immediate past Ondo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, as Governor Mimiko’s preferred candidate of the PDP for the November governorship election.

Atiku and Jegede are friends, the latter having resided in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, for almost two decades and has been a personal friend and counsel to the former vice president.

The opposition from a section of the party’s leadership notwithstanding, Jegede looks good to emerge as the PDP candidate and he’s reportedly groomed to prepare grounds for the new party if he becomes governor.

Mimiko is said to have also successfully planted his loyalist, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, as South West chairman of the PDP even as he has opened discussions with self-exiled former presidential aide, Kingsley Kuku.

Governor Mimiko, it was gathered, has sent a delegation of state government officials to Kuku in the United States of America, where he is currently based, to firm up details of the governor’s overtures.

Details ares still sketchy as at the time of this report, but it was gathered that Kuku has reportedly insisted that he should be picked as Jegede’s gover-

norship running mate to have his support.

Sunday Telegraph learnt that in the ensuing permutation, Kuku, of the Ijaw extraction, has promised to leverage on his links with his kinsmen, the largest ethnic group in the South South cutting across Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and AkwaIbom, to mobilize for the envisioned party and make an Inroad into the troubled Niger Delta.

Kuku had declared his intention to be governor before fleeing the country, following manhunt for him my the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged financial impropriety as head of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Atiku has maintained, on many occasions, that he remains a committed member of the APC, but reports have been rife since the be-

ginning of the year that the former vice president has severally complained of being sidelined in the affairs of the party.

His subtle but controlled criticism of the present government has been noticed in the last few months just as he has secretly embarked on a nationwide consultation with his political associates with a view to redirecting his political future.

It will be recalled that Atiku drew the ire of the Presidency and leadership of APC as, aside decrying lack of focused leadership, he openly canvassed for the restructuring of the country, an idea President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, have discredited.

Although it could not be independently confirmed, Atiku was reportedly summoned and cautioned by the national leadership of the APC for his various ut-

terances in the media.

He was said to have equally protested against the return of the erstwhile chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to the APC. Atiku and Ribadu, both from Adamawa State, have had several running battles.

While Ribadu held sway at the EFCC under former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku was dislodged from the then ruling party, the PDP, in the run up to the 2007 presidential election.

Reports have it that the former anti corruption czar, an elder brother of the president’s wife, Aisha Buhari, was encouraged to join the party by the First Lady and former president, Obasanjo, who is yet to mend fences with his estranged former deputy for over 10 years now.

Architect Akor Adokpoyi; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Funke Egbemode, and Publicity Secretary of the Guild, Mr. Ken Ugbechie, inspecting the NBA Law Centre in Port Harcourt...on Saturday

‘Budget Padding: Obasanjo taught us corruption’ •DSS seals off Appropriation C’ttee office

Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

S

ome members of the National Assembly over the weekend expressed outrage following last Monday’s outburst by former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who described the federal lawmakers as a “gang of robbers and rogues”.

Chairman, House Committee on Civil Societies and Development Part-

ners, Hon. Peter Akpatason (APC/Edo), expressed disgust at the utterances of the elder-statesman and urged him to re-examine his conscience before accusing other people of corruption.

Akpatason, who initially took the issue on a lighter mood, argued that the cankerworm of corruption had permeated every facet of the nation and that it was not strange if ‘rogues and robbers’ were found among politicians in the

parliament.

“I wonder where there are no armed robbers and rogues in Nigeria. Even in churches and mosques, there are armed robbers and rogues. In schools, there are armed robbers and rogues; the youths, there are armed robbers and rogues amongst them. Certainly there are armed robbers and rogues among politicians but everybody is not an armed robber or a rogue,” he said.

In what could be described

as a counter-accusation, Akpatason, a former trade unionist and General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), insisted that Obasanjo cannot point accusing fingers at members of the parliament as the history of corruption in the National Assembly was traceable to his tenure.

“The history of armed robbers and rogues in politics is Continues on page 4

4

SUNDAY 31 JULY, 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

NEWS

Air Force shells militants in Ogun, Lagos Tunde Sulaiman and Flora Onwudiwe

T

he Nigerian Air Force (NAF) continued with its aerial bombardment of militants in the Arepo area of Ogun State, which started three days ago, with another assault on Saturday afternoon.

The first air assault was carried out by a NAF helicopter, which hovered over the area, located along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, at about 12.35pm. In an operation which lasted about six minutes, it released four rockets towards the militants’ base located on a large island behind the area.

Frightened residents not only heard the heavy thud of the explosions but also the booming of heavy calibre machine gun, which the NAF helicopter also used to shell the militants’ base.

At 12.41pm, the operation was over and the helicopter left the area.

However, about 18 minutes after the chopper left the operation’s theatre, a fast flying Alpha Jet appeared on the scene and after making a number of passes, dropped a number of bombs, which detonation could be heard all over the Arepo area.

About 10 minutes after dropping its bomb payload, the Alpha Jet flew away in a sonic boom.

According to residents, this is the third day of the bombardment following the first sortie on Thursday evening. Sunday Telegraph learnt that the Air Force usually carries out two sorties before leaving the vicinity.

However, perhaps due to the heavy down pour later on Saturday, no jet fighters or helicopters were seen after the first mid-day action.

Casualty figures were not readily available although reports have it that a large number of militants were killed on the first day of the Air Force action because they were caught unaware by the aerial onslaught.

Although the island is located quite some distance from Arepo proper, those who have been there said it is fairly large and has been turned into a small habitable village by the militants who have shanties, satellite dishes, beer parlours and other amenities to make their stay as comfortable as possible.

According to the source, the whole area is light up by a large diesel generator.

Conversely, even though the military said it had reported its intention to people in the area, the sight of the military hardware and consequent explosions left many residents fearful.

However, speaking to Sunday Telegraph on the latest assault, Director Public Relations and Information (DPRI), Nigerian Air Force, (NAF), Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, insisted that NAF would continue the operation, which is code-named ‘Awatse’, until it had ‘flushed out’ the militants.

“There is this operation called Operation Awatse; it is a joint force, which is to checkmate the activities of militants and pipeline vandals.”

Explaining further, he said: “What we (NAF)

•Deploys choppers, Alpha Jet are doing there is to carry out surveillance activity to monitor their nefarious activities, as pertaining where they are or the area of concentration so that we can conduct strikes to be able to neutralize some of their accounts and flush them out of that border between Ogun and Lagos states.”

The Air Force spokesman also confirmed that the attacks had been carried out by both fixed wing and rotary assets and stressed that everything was being done to avoid collateral damage

to innocent civilians.

“The Air Force has been there (Arepo), we deployed our platforms; we have our helicopter there, fixing them up with our Alpha Jet, because we need to be sure that what we are taking of are actually military targets in order to avoid a situation where innocent people are affected.

“The operation is going to continue as long as we have those criminal elements and until we are able to flush them out,” he said.

Last Friday, the military

brass confirmed that government was deploying troops into strategic positions in the Niger Delta to prepare to use force against militants, if peace talks failed.

Last week, the government said it was talking to militants who have attacked oil and gas facilities in the main oil producing region in recent months, cutting crude production by 700,000 barrels per day, pushing Nigeria behind Angola to now make it Africa’s second producer.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (3rd right); Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello (2nd right), Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule (3rd left); Chief of Staff, Mr. Olukunle Ojo left) with some members of the Body of Permanent Secretaries during the State Executive Council and Body of Permanent Secretaries Retreat, with the theme, ‘Reflect, Reappraise, Restrategise…

Raising the Bar of Governance’, at the V.I.P Chalet, Badagry, Lagos...on Friday

‘Budget Padding: Obasanjo taught us corruption’ Continues from page 3

traceable to Obasanjo’s regime. Therefore, he cannot extricate himself from the armed robbers and rogues in this country. His regime was one of the most corrupt in Nigeria and his third term agenda is even the most corrupt project in Nigeria.

Let him go back home and check his records to see what contributions he has made to the development of this country in terms of integrity or corruption.

“I wouldn’t know why he is always attacking the National Assembly but what I know is that it is not only the National Assembly that he attacks. He equally attacks a lot of people and institutions just to keep himself relevant in the political system. But he has not bothered to open his own file to see what he has done to the Nigerian economy.

“If you look at the fight

between the Speaker and Abdulmumuni (Jubrin), I am not sure that Abdulmumuni said that everybody in the National Assembly is involved in the matter. This is why the blanket statement

by Obasanjo is misleading and I am disappointed in him as an old man,” Akpatason said.

The lawmaker expressed disappointment about recent developments in the House of Representatives, where a former Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumuni Jibrin, has accused the leadership of the House of padding the 2016 budget by about N40 billion. Akpatason said that the allegation notwithstanding, it was wrong for Obasanjo to label every lawmaker as being corrupt. He described Obasanjo’s persistent verbal attacks on the National Assembly as unacceptable, adding that it must not be

“We have allowed the ongoing dialogue between the Federal Government and the militants. Our troops are in position. My message to the militants is to ensure they go to the negotiation table,” the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, told reporters during a visit to the state governor.

On the possibility of using force if talks between the government and militants break down, Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said: “It cannot be ruled out.”

unconnected with the former presidents bitterness over the refusal of the parliament to grant him a third term in office nine years ago.

In a related development, a civil society organisation, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD) has accused Obasanjo of being responsible for the crisis of budget padding in the National Assembly. The group said that it was during Obasanjo’s tenure that the lawmakers instituted the practice of injecting legislative constituency projects into the national budget.

National President of VATLAD, Comrade Emmanuel Igbini, said it was appalling that the same Obasanjo, who approved the commencement of these Constituency Projects proposed by the Legislature, has turned round to condemn the lawmakers years

later.

“It is also a fact that President Obasanjo has never hidden his hatred and opposition to the Legislative arm of our Democratic Government because he desired to run the affairs of a Nigerian without legislative checks on him.

“We cannot also forget in a hurry, the third term agenda/project that was terminated by the same elected members of the National Assembly in year 2006. His continued anger and hatred against members of the National assembly can therefore be well understood,” Igbini said.

Meanwhile the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has tasked the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ( ICPC) as well as the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to investigate the allegations flowing from the House of Representatives in order

to establish the truth and punish those found to have been involved in the padding of the 2016 budget.

The allegations, CISLAC said, were too weighty to be left to the lower chamber of the National Assembly to investigate using its internal mechanisms.

Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, said that under the present circumstance where the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and the erstwhile Chairman Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumuni Jibrin, have been trading accusations and counter accusations, it would only be proper that these independent statutory agencies conduct an in-depth investigation within the framework of their enabling laws to get to the root of this matter and bring the culprits to book.

Musa lamented that the budget padding scandal

coming on the heels of the forgery scandal in the Senate was another dent on the image of the legislature and further exposes the “institutional fraud” that has characterized the National Assembly over the years.

“We note that such practices have been going on for a long time as members of the National Assembly have been known, in the past, to’ in addition to padding the budget at the point of defence, made dubious inclusions of constituency projects as well as have demanded and received inducement for sectoral allocation. They are also known to have, at some time, allegedly received or demanded for gratifications in exchange for ministerial confirmation and extorted money from Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under the guise of oversight functions.”

5

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 31 JULY, 2016

NEWS

Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

F

ormer Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has called on the northern elites and other northerners to stop opposing resource control by expressing fear that the North would be at the receiving end of such restructuring.

The former Vice President made the call in Kaduna at the Late Gen.Usman Katsina Memorial Conference with the theme: “The Chal-

Atiku to northerners: Stop fear of resource control, restructuring lenges of National Integration and Survival of Democracy in Nigeria”.

Atiku, in his paper agreed that Nigerian democracy and integration are threatened, stating that “national integration and the survival of Nigerian democracy are

related and are important; they both face challenges in Nigeria today”.

The former Vice President, who had before now criticised the concentration of power at the federal level and advocated for the restructuring of the country

stated that it is the only way out from the economic and integration challenges being faced presently.

He articulated what the country was and what the North contributed before the discovery of oil as he said, “It is the rising domi-

Former Vice President and chieftain of All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar, officiating at the wedding fatiha of Fatima Zara, daughter of former deputy governor, Sokoto State, Mukhtar Shehu Shagari (1st R) while Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State (2nd R) and Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu, look on at An Noor Mosque Wuse ll, Abuja...on Friday

•••no, we need power devolution, not restructuring - Gov. Abubakar Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

G

overnor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar has tasked those clamoring for the restructuring of Nigeria to reconsider their position, saying what the nation required was devolution of powers to enable the states take up more constitutional responsibilities in the polity.

In a chat with journalists in Abuja, Governor Abubakar suggested that certain items on the Exclusive Legislative List such as agriculture and mining of mineral resources which are currently under the control of the Federal Government, could be transferred to the states and the revenue allocation formula adjusted to empower the states to deal squarely with such responsibilities.

“In Nigeria we are prone to using very strong words when we feel very strong about an issue. The constitution allocates to each tier of governments certain responsibilities? I agree that there is a need to look at the various legislative lists contained in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with a view to tinker-

ing them and redistributing the powers.

“For example, agriculture; the federal government of Nigeria has no land anywhere. The land belongs to the states and local governments and that is where agriculture takes place. So, it is obvious that the states and local governments must be given more responsibilities as far as agriculture is concerned and when you give them these responsibilities as an attendant incidence, funding structure of the federal government may necessarily change so that you transfer the bulk of the money to the tiers of government you have given responsibilities. The moment you do this, I am sure that those agitating for restructuring will be calmed to an extent.

“Mining for instance, all the powers reside in the federal government and the states where these minerals are located do not have powers as far as prospecting and mining for minerals are concerned and these are the kind of areas that when you look at, I believe the agitation for restructuring may mellow down, “ he said.

On the speculations that the APC Governors Forum

was planning to intervene in the crisis in the National Assembly, Abubakar disclosed that governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) cannot save the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu from their current predicament because the case of alleged forgery filed against them was already a matter before the court of law.

The APC Governors Forum had last Tuesday held a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari where they reportedly resolved to intervene in the multiple crisis plaguing the National Assembly.

Apart from the forgery suit pending before the court, Saraki is also standing trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal ( CCT) on charges of false asset declaration while the leadership of the House of Representatives is also enmeshed in a budget padding scandal. There were speculations that the governors met with Buhari to explore ways of resolving these issues in the interest of the party and stability of the parliament.

Governor Abubakar said that legally it was impos-

sible for the forum to intervene on issues that were already before courts of competent jurisdiction.

The governor admitted that the APC has been facing serious challenges in the past one year. According to him, these challenges confronting the party was due to the fact that APC had never been in government before and was learning the ropes. The APC, he said, is made up essentially of persons who have been used to playing the role of the opposition in the past sixteen years of democracy and it would take some time before they could fully adjust to the realities of governance.

Abubakar said the leaders of the party were fully aware of the challenges confronting them and were taken steps to ensure that the party overcame these teething problems.

On the state of affairs in his state, Abubakar disclosed that there is no going back on the probe of the previous administration under Alhaji Isa Yuguda of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP), adding that there was need to look into the allegations of misuse of public funds during that era.

nance of oil revenues that led us to abandon cash crop production and neglect food agriculture. Before oil, agriculture was our main industry and we taxed it (and the products of other economic activities) to develop the north - to provide education, healthcare and infrastructure. But because of oil, we now plead helplessness. The north has the largest known deposits of solid minerals in Nigeria including some of the rarest and most expensive”.

Advising the northerners to accept the call for restructuring, he said, “It is not a secret that many Nigerians from outside the north hold the view that the main beneficiary of the status quo has been the north, an undifferentiated north. Sometimes they say it is the northern elite or the “Kaduna Mafia”. This sentiment, I think, stems largely from the following reasons: people of northern extraction being the heads of government at the national level for much of our post-independence period until 1999, during which much of the current structure was put in place; the leading role that the north played in the war to keep the country united between 1967 and 1970; the country’s reliance on oil revenues which comes mainly from the Niger Delta, far away from the North, as well as what some see as a knee-jack resistance from northern elements to calls for the restructuring of the federation.

“So why should we be afraid of the concept of resource control, that is the control of rents by the areas of derivation? How can we excuse the reality that the section of the country that produces most of the country’s food cannot raise revenues to cater to its internal needs? Who do we blame for having a large number of our school-age children being out of school? Why should our people continue to roam the forests with herds of cattle and sheep in the 21st century when we have had the opportunity to take advantage of advances in the technology and science of animal rearing to settle our herds in particular spots and produce even fatter animals to meet the country’s rising demand for meat? This is what the rest of the organized world has done. Therefore we need to promote diverse economic activities, tax the proceeds of those activities and use the proceeds to provide public goods and services for our people”.

He, however, proffered solutions to the present

situation as he said, “For a start, we need an honest reappraisal of the motives and principles behind existing solutions to our national integration challenges and their efficacy under current circumstances. Such an appraisal should not be shaped by which political party we belong to or any expected political benefits to individuals. It can be done with the help of a body of independent experts from this part of the country or even from outside the country; an honest and clearheaded look at better working federal systems in the world. Those systems will reveal among other things a greater devolution and autonomy for the federating units, less interference of the centre on local matters, such as local government administration, including local policing; central governments that depend on taxation of resource extraction and other economic activities rather than rents for their operations”.

He reiterated his advocacy for the restructuring of the country, stating that it has not been beneficiary to the north. He said, “I have been speaking about achieving greater national integration through devolution and decentralization for some time now because I know that too much concentration of power at the centre hurts the country and the north in at least three critical ways: destroying our economy and values as it does elsewhere; putting too much premium on the struggle for power at the centre; and creating the false perception that the north benefits from the status quo, thus presenting the north as being responsible for the country’s development challenges.

Calling on the north to access economic development beyond oil, he said, “There is no doubt that oil revenues have helped Nigeria (and the north) to expand infrastructure, education, and health facilities. Those benefits have to be weighed against the long term costs, including distortions, the creation of dependency and unstable politics. And the level of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and sense of hopelessness among our people, especially the youth, gives the lie to the perception that the north is betteroff with the current sociopolitical structure in the country. Today the price of oil is low and the country’s economic survival is being threatened by groups disrupting the flow of that oil.

When we look at our future in these circumstances what exactly do we see?

6

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

news

We have surmounted political, economic challenges to deliver –Wike Emman Masha

R

Port Harcourt

ivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that his administration has surmounted political and economic challenges to deliver quality pro-people projects and improve their living standard in the state.

The governor stressed that the state would attain greater mileage in terms of development if it is not made to face endless rerun elections and politically induced security challenges.

Wike spoke on Saturday during a breakfast meeting with the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) led by its acting President, Funke Egbemode. The governor also led the executives of the Nigerian Guild of Editors on a project inspection around Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Govern-

ment Areas.

Projects visited include: NBA Law Centre, WojiAkpajo Road with a bridge, Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta, Remodeling of Port Harcourt Civic Centre and the Port Harcourt Pleasure Park.

Governor Wike said that he remained focused because of his commitment to the development of Rivers State and his love for the state.

The governor stated that he combined infrastructural development and workers’ welfare within his first year in office, because that was the way to revive the state’s economy which was battered by the immediate past administration.

He said despite the propaganda being sponsored by the opposition, Rivers State is safe for investments and development.

He said: “It is important for everyone to know that

Rivers State is safe and is witnessing massive development. In the next two months, we are hosting many national events. We have already hosted several national events in the last two months.

“For me as a governor, this is a privilege to serve my people and I will give it my best shot. I am ready to lay down my life for the state. My commitment to the development of Rivers State is total. I will forever defend it.”

The governor said those planning to rig elections in the state will not succeed because the people are ever vigilant to stop them.

He said: “Stealing the mandate of the people is a serious crime and it is worse than armed robbery.

In this case, those involved plot to use arms to steal the mandate of Rivers people.

That will never succeed.

They came to rig the March 19 rerun elections and the

people resisted.”

The governor charged the media to work towards informing the world on the true situation in Rivers State, pointing out that majority of the information in the public domain are concocted by the opposition.

“For our democracy to continue to succeed, the media has a major role to play. It was publicity that led to the failure of the Turkish coup,” he said.

In an interview with journalists, NGE President, Funke Egbemode said the leaders of the guild have been in the state for days and they can confirm that the state is safe.

She also commended the governor for performing creditably and judiciously applying scarce for development. The Nigerian Guild of Editors will be holding its Annual National Conference in Port Harcourt this Wednesday.

Father of three electrocuted Babatope Okeowo Akure

A

man in his late 60s was yesterday electrocuted during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The father of three simply identified as Innocent was reportedly electrocuted when he was cleaning his surroundings along Oyemekun Road around 10am.

It was learnt that when Innocent as usual noticed that an electric pole in his area needed proper erection, he decided to fix it not knowing that there was a naked wire on the ceiling of the pole.

An eyewitness, who lives along the Oyemekun Road, told reporters that the deceased joined his neighbours

to clean his surroundings as it was their practice during the monthly exercise.

The man, who lived opposite the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat in the state, said it was not the first time the 66-year-old man would correct electrical faults in the area.

Efforts by residents of the area to rescue the late Innocent proved abortive as he had finally given up the ghost before men of the state Fire Service arrived the area.

The corpse of the late Innocent was still at the scene of the incident as at the time of filing this report.

However, police officers who were invited by residents of the area were said to have concluded arrangements to deposit the corpse at the morgue of the state hospital in Akure.

Thirteen inmates escape from Kogi Prison Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

T

hirteen inmates of the Kogi/Koton Karfe Prison broke out of the facility in the wee hours of Saturday.

Though there was no confirmation yet from the Prison authority, a competent source in the area confirmed that the inmates took advantage of some lapses by some prison warders on duty, pulled down the prison wall and escaped.

The incident occurred at the newly built medium prison along Opareke Road in Koton Karfe Town.

The medium prison was commissioned last year by the former Minister of Inte-

rior, Mr Abba Moro.

New Telegraph further learnt that the inmates easily escaped without any resistance from the prison officers on duty.

A top security officer in the state, who pleaded anonymity, blamed the lackadaisical behaviour of the prison officers on duty as the reason for the successful jailbreak.

“I am very sure, some one somewhere did not do what he or she was supposed to do,” he added.

It would be recalled that four alleged inter-state armed robbers and kidnappers operating in Kogi were on Friday remanded in the same prison by the Lokoja, Chief Magistrate’s court.

Ize-Iyamu promises to revive ailing industries L-R: Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano; children of late Sir Gilbert Onwuamegbu, Nnaemeka, Nonso; and Chief Sir Victor Umeh, at the burial of Sir Gilbert Onwuamegbu, at Oba, Anambra State…at the weekend

Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

Navy impounds stolen vessel with 600,000 litres of diesel T

T

he Central Naval Command, (CNC) Yenagoa, on Saturday said it seized a vessel laden with 600,000 litres of suspected illegally refined automotive gas oil AGO also known as diesel.

This is contained in a statement issued by Lt. Cdr Edward Yeibo on behalf of the command’s Flag Officer Commanding (FOC).

Yeibo said that two of the four suspected oil thieves were arrested while loading the barge with diesel.

He further reiterated the Navy’s Zero Tolerance to crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, illegal oil bunkering and other sundry

crimes in the Niger Delta region.

According to him, the operation, which led to the arrest of the suspects, was in line with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas’s strategic directive to the Navy.

He quoted the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH Commodore Habib Usman, as saying that a barge and five wooden boats laden with about 600,000 metric tonnes fuel suspected to be illegally refined AGO and two suspects were arrested.

Usman said the suspects were arrested by the Ni-

gerian Navy Ship SOROH around Beama community in Nembe Local Government Area in the waterways within Bayelsa.

The wooden boats were suspected to be used to convey the illegally refined AGO from the refining points to the barge for loading. ``As of the time of the arrest one of the boats had finished trans-loading its product into the barge. ``Consequently, the personnel of Forward Operating Base FORMOSO with gunboats and tug boat towed the barge to its jetty for further investigation. ``However, the wooden

boats were destroyed, the two suspects are in custody for preliminary investigation and prosecution,” Yeibo was quoted in the statement.

He added that the FOC, CNC Rear Admiral Mohammed Garba had assured that the Navy will make the sea lane of communication accessible for all legitimate users and frustrate maritime criminalites in its Area of Responsibility.

According to him, there is no hiding place for crude oil thieves as the Navy will continue to sustain patrols in the maritime environment.

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has assured people of the state that his government will review downwards the multiple taxation imposed on investors and residents if elected as governor in the forthcoming polls.

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu stated this while addressing traders and market women during a rally held at the traders New Benin Market, Lagos Street, in Oredo East Constituency, Benin city the state capital.

He said reviewing the current multiple tax regime in the state would not remove taxation as a veritable part of his government’s revenue gen-

eration, but that a PDP government would pursue same alongside wealth generation policy that will bring happiness and empowerment of the people.

He said: “We will avoid multiple and oppressive taxation which will bring pains and sufferings to our people. When Adams Oshiomhole came, he promised that there will be no ticketing, But today, the sachet water seller, bread hawker, akara hawker, garri seller, the taxi and bus drivers etc. are forced to pay all forms of levies through government agents who beat them up if they cannot pay.”

“That was not what he promised, Edo people cannot vote for such continuity; that is why Oshiomhole and his surrogates for tenure elongation, Godwin Obaseki must be voted out of office,” he said.

7

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

Nigeria’ economy is in shock –Ngige

M

Soni Neme inister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige says that only economic diversification can help the country reduce massive unemployment and overcome the current economic recession.

According to him, the present realities demand diversification into agriculture, fisheries, mining and energy, stressing that investment in these areas would go a long way in reviving the economy.

Ngige who spoke as Guest of Honour at the 14th Fellowship and Award Ceremony of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON) in Abuja at the weekend, also said Nigeria is currently at the crossroads.

Said he, “The Nigerian economy is experiencing shock arising from the economic downturn occasioned by the sharp drop in the prices of crude oil in the international market.

“We should even be happy that the economy is not convulsing as a result of mis-governance and planlessness of the last 16 years. Our people did not anticipate the slump in oil prices.

“It was the profligacy of the past that brought us to the present situation and we don’t have the wherewithal to effect the change we promised Nigerians that is why we have made diversification our policy thrust”.

Ngige appealed to the executives of the FISON to embrace the government’s diversification

policy by creating jobs through massive fish production in the country. In his address, the National President of FISON, Dr. Olajide Ayinla lamented that Nigeria has become the biggest importer of frozen fish, a development which he said, was crippling local fish production in the country.

He appealed to the Federal Government to ban the importation of frozen fish into the country in order to encourage local fish producers to expand their production frontiers.

Dr. Ayinla called on the Federal Government to upgrade and rehabilitate fish production laboratories and other research facilities in the country, saying the facilities are either dilapidated or working far below capacity.

He raised the alarm

that the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal, which was designated as terminal for the Nigerian Fisheries Trawlers Owners Association (NITOA) by the Obasanjo administration, is about to be taken away from the association.

“By implication, there will be no Terminal where NITAO can effectively operate.

This is a huge investment under serious threat and the intervention of the Federal Government will restore hope and confidence to this important sector of our economy”.

Dr. Ayinla also blamed slow implementation of the government’s policy on certification of aquaculture products as setback for the exportation of shrimps from Nigeria to the European Union market.

NEWS

Banker son of former bank chairman commits suicide over bad loan

A

Paul Ogbuokiri Manager at a second generation bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc, Mr. Olisa Nwakoby on Friday evening shot himself dead in the presence of his Priest at the Lekki area of Lagos Island, Lagos State.

The father of a 10-year- old daughter was said to have taken his own life because of an incriminating huge loan transaction he approved in his bank.

Sources close to the family told Sunday Telegraph at the weekend that the late Olisa was the approving officer for the loan which the beneficiary is no longer servicing and the bank was on the neck of Olisa to get the money back.

His late father, Chief Patrick Oguejiofor Nwakoby was a former chairman of First Bank of Niger Plc, a successfully lawyer , politician and a highly respected community leader before his death. Fear over his integrity and the name of his family, which could be dented if his bank commences action against him over the loan, was too much for the vibrant banker to bear prompting him to shoot himself, our source said.

Our source did not say that there was suspicion of any foul play in the death of the banker, she also could not confirm the actual amount involved in the transaction, but she simply said “it was huge.”

The case is being handled by homicide detectives attached to Area J Command, Lekki/Ajah. According to a police source. The banks, on the fateful day he killed himself, went to meet his pastor. He told the pastor to tell his wife to take good care of his children, that what he would do in next few minutes would shock everyone.

He was said to have later blown his brains out.

The source continued, “It was later discovered that he took money from the bank, N350million, and the money started creating problems for him. He killed himself.”

When the Lagos State Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmus, was contacted, her two lines were switched off.

Olisa hails from Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government of Anambra State and he attended Abia State University, where he bagged a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree, in Microbiology between 1990 and 1995.

Ambode orders fencing of Lagos markets

G L - R: Ministry of Labour and Productivicty,Dr. Chris Ngige, Chairman of occasion, Otunba Noah Fadayomi, andFisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON): President , Dr. Olajiden Ayinla at the 14th investors and awards night, at Abuja on Friday

Fani-Kayode: Buhari, Nigeria will disintegrate, if…

NDDC failure responsible for militancy, oil theft–Eyiboh

ormer Aviation Minister, Chief Femi FaniKayode, has warned that Nigeria will disintegrate before President Muhammady Buhari’s very eyes if any more innocent blood is shed.

Fani-Kayode said this in a post he shared on his Facebook wall on Saturday, reacting to reports that the Federal Government was getting ready to mobilise the military if talks with aggrieved Niger Delta militants failed.

The Facebook post reads: “On 29th July 2016, CNN reported that “the Nigerian government is preparing troops for a crackdown in the Niger Delta if peace talks fail”. This is sad and ominous. As United States Senator Ted Cruz once said, “The light of truth is stronger than the terror of darkness.” It follows that the biggest mistake that the Buhari administration can possibly make is to attempt to ‘crack

Onwuka Nzeshi

F

down’ on the Niger Delta and kill innocent civilians.

“If this ever happens, for whatever reason, it will set off a chain of events that will lead to the end of Nigeria as we know it. Nigeria will disintegrate before Buhari’s very eyes if any more innocent blood is shed and if the towns, creeks and villages of the oil-producing states are shelled and reduced to rubble.”

Government’s position was made known on Friday

by Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, while speaking to journalists after his visit to Governor Seriake Dickson in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The General’s position was backed by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, who when asked on the possibility of using force if talks between the government and militants break down, tersely replied, “It cannot be ruled out.”

A ABUJA

former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh has said that the ongoing militant activities in the Niger Delta is an indication that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has failed to failed to fulfill its vision to the people of the oil rich region.

He said the failure arose from the deliberate negligence and failure of successive past governments to appoint competent persons who understand the vision into the management of the commission.

Eyiboh who spoke with Sunday Telegraph in Abuja at the weekend, said that whereas the NDDC was intended to serve as an interventionist agency on the deteriorating socio-economic, environmental and

human capacity challenges of the Niger Delta region, the agency had had the misfortune of not having the right human capital to achieve its lofty goals.

The former spokesman of the lower chamber of the National Assembly said that while the Niger Delta remained the hub of Nigeria’s oil wealth, the challenges of poverty, environmental degradation, lack of basic social infrastructure have continued to fuel youth restiveness in the host communities across the region.

“Since its creation, the agency has become a ‘behemoth’ of monstrous proportion occasioned by poor leadership recruitment, deficient human capacity strategies and diseased development mode. The commission’s history is a profile of waste and institutional weakness ridden in crippling inefficiency and ethical misdemeanor.

overnor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has ordered fencing of all the markets in the state to check illegalities, street trading and other nuisances.

This was even as the stategovernment mulled the idea extending the service of the Lagos Mobile court to Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in the state to fast track

the smooth dispensation of justice.

Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare who made this appeal today while inspecting black spots of flooding in Alimosho Local Government area of the state, said work would be concluded on the state’s longest canal of 29 kilometres also known as System 5 Canal by the first quarter of next year.

‘1m women, children die annually from preventable conditions’ Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

F

amily Health Plus (FH+), a non-governmental advocacy group declares that approximately one million women and children die annually in Nigeria of health conditions that are preventable. It said Nigeria is also at risk of not meeting the health related MDG targets as a result of poor infrastructural development in health systems and inadequate health workforce.

Mr. Bello Bisalla, Policy and Advocacy Officer of the group, made this known at a one day sensitization programme of the Family Planning Advocacy Working Group (FPAWG) held at Imo Foundation, Owerri on Thursday.

According to him, access to a timely and reliable supply of life saving family commodities like contraceptives, condoms, medicines and equipment for

reproductive health care is essential to saving lives. He said it also helps towards achieving the MDG goals.

“This will go a long way in protecting reproductive health, prevent unwanted pregnancies and strengthen health systems,” he said.

Bisalla said that it has became imperative to bring together all concerned citizens and groups to formulate and implement targeted advocacy strategies using tested methods and data for evidence.

He said the effort would help to push for policies, allocations and release of resources that would make child bearing pleasurable.

He said FPAWG was formed to develop and drive the implementation of the state advocacy strategy with the view of changing the family planning landscape in Imo State.

The Sunday Magazine

8

I didn't know there's punishment •As police vow to go tough on culprits of child abuse, molestation Pastor Francis Taiwo, Pastor-in-Charge, Celestial Church of Christ (Key of Joy Parish), Ajibawo, Atan Ota in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, who is in police custody for chaining and starving his nine-year-old son for stealing, regrets his action and begs government for forgiveness. KUNLE OLAYENI reports

"I

didn’t know there is punishment for my action but now I know. I regret my action and I want forgiveness,” Francis Taiwo, a 40-year-old pastor, who chained and tortured his son, Korede, muttered in police custody.

Apparently conscience-stricken and remorseful, the pastor may still have to face the grim consequences of his action, which has attracted condemnation from near and far. He faces imprisonment or severe punishment if convicted for only child abuse among the numerous charges that would possibly be slammed against him for the barbaric act.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Taiwo, who was in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ (Key of Joy Parish), Ajibawo area, Atan Ota in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State until he was arrested by police, will be formally arraigned next week.

Sunday Telegraph learnt that since the heart-rending story of nine-year-old Korede, who was chained for several weeks inside his father’s church broke, concerned Nigerians are looking forward to the penalty that would be meted out to the culprit.

It was penultimate Friday, July 22, that security operatives buste what proved to be one of the most dehumanising offences in recent times. That day, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), acting on a tip-off, stormed the church located in a rustic environment.

There was serious resistance by some members of the church but the NSCDC operatives stood their grounds, and even- Korede after being rescue by security official tually forced their way in. A pitiable sight stared at them upon gaining entry into Pastor Taiwo, who lamented that the one of the rooms within the church. On boy’s stealing habit, was more of a spiritual the floor lay a visibly frail, famished and problem that has defied solution, revealed traumatised boy, who had heavy chains that his elder brother, Felix, was also inand padlock with woodwork hung on his volved in series of theft. neck.

He explained: “In 2012, I started a church Korede, was immediately rescued by offi- work with some pastors, who were in the cers of NSCDC, who later handed him over diocese, but I decided to join Key of Joy to the police. His stepmother, Mrs. Kehinde Parish. I refused to follow them and within Taiwo, who is nursing a two-month-old a short while I started facing challenges. baby, was subsequently arrested while the “These challenges we are talking about husband fled initially. started from Korede’s elder brother, Felix, But barely 48 hours after the pastor father who will wake up in the night and enter had escaped, the police apprehended him other houses to steal food, clothes and monwith the assistance of church members, ey. I started running around, praying that who were embarrassed by his action. The this issue should stop and Felix later had an suspect hails from Benin Republic but was accident and I took care of him. I enrolled Felix as an apprentice to learn some work. born in Ota, Ogun State.

He was first detained at the Onipanu “Whenever I go out, people would tell Division, Ota, before the Assistant Inspec- me that all the children with me should tor-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, be moved away because stealing is a chalAbdulmajid Ali, ordered that the case be lenge. But Korede is still a small boy, so I transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking did nothing. After nine months that Felix and Child Labour Unit of the state com- stopped stealing, Korede started but his mand in Abeokuta, for proper investiga- own was on a higher level.

“He will wake up around 2:00am searchtion.

Speaking from his detention, Taiwo told ing house-to-house to pack their food and Sunday Telegraph that he actually chained steal money and if he didn't see money, his biological son to prevent him from fur- he would pack their clothes and enter the ther stealing. He said he felt the boy was bush, eat their food and use the cloth to possessed. He added that the youngster cover his body and sleep there. I don’t think had hitherto engaged in stealing of soup it’s ordinary.” and food items in the neighbourhood and He explained that he decided to chain at school. the boy to stop further embarrassment.

Korede is the fourth child of the pas- He added: “When Korede’s own started, tor’s first wife, Maurine, who is now late. whenever he was apprehended, people None of Korede’s siblings, including a boy would take him to the police station and and two girls, stay with the pastor. Their beat him. One day, one woman called me mother, who is from Delta State, died some and said that I had to take care of Korede years back and this worsened the fate of better than I had been doing because what was happening is a spiritual battle. the children.

Pastor Francis Taiwo

“One day, they called me from his school that my son had started again and that, for now, he should stop coming to school pending when I find a solution to his problem. I promised the school authority that I would find a lasting solution to my son’s problem. It was at this point that it crossed my mind that Korede’s notorious stealing habit could be stopped in the church. That was why I chained him in the church.

“I didn’t know there is a punishment for my action, but now I know better. I regret my action. I want the government to forgive me.”

Korede’s stepmother, who is likely to be charged alongside the pastor, also sought forgiveness, in an interview with Sunday Telegraph. The woman, amidst sobs, said she never knew her husband’s action had any legal implication.

“Korede used to steal everywhere and that was why my husband chained him. I used to advise him but because we didn’t know the implication for chaining him at that time. I’m begging the government not to be angry,” Kehinde said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who spoke on the case, stated that, both the pastor and his wife would be charged to court on completion of investigations. Adejobi, a Superintendent of Police, said the command does not take cases of child abuse, child labour, domestic violence and other inhuman offences lightly.

He said: “We assure you the command will do proper investigation and we won’t waste time on that. The man will be charged to court, the step mum is also a suspect in the case. So, the command will charge two of them accordingly.

“The command was not happy that the boy was chained by his father for more than a month. If you look at the weight of the chain, coupled with the weight of the padlock, you will know it was too heavy for that boy. The boy is a rugged person and I am very sure God has a purpose for sparing his life.

“By the time police and Civil Defence men rescued the boy, he couldn’t stand for hours, he was so weak and his legs were weak not until he was taken to the hospital at the Onipanu Division of Ota by the DPO of the area for treatment, that he was able to stand on his feet. It is a terrible case.

Apart from being criminal, it’s inhuman.

The command condemns that in totality.

We want to take the case very seriously because it must serve as deterrent to those who want to venture into this criminal act.”

The police spokesman warned that any parent or individual who maltreats children or young ones in the state will not be spared.

From his hospital bed at the Children’s Ward of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Korede told Sunday Telegraph that he was not willing to return to his father’s house. In fact, he passionately begged to be taken from his care. He said he cannot trust his tormentors not to repeat their cruel act on him in future if sent back to live with his father.

Apart from being concerned about his safety if reunited with his father, Korede, who is responding to treatment and psychosocial support, also harbours fear that the dream of going to school and becoming a medical doctor in future may be doomed if he is taken back to his father.

A pediatrician at the hospital, Dr. Moru-

9

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

Sunday Magazine

for my action, Pastor Taiwo fat Ogundeyi, who is one of the physicians handling Korede’s case, said the boy was found to be suffering from “chronic malnutrition,” but expressed the hope that in two weeks, he would regain his strength.

Though born and bred amid want and deprivation, fortune now seems to be smiling at Korede. The boy’s name in fact connotes fortune in Yoruba parlance.

Last Tuesday, wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, waded into his matter and promised to adopt the child.

The First Lady, who visited the FMC, also stated that the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, had also taken keen interest in the case with a view to giving succour to the nine-year-old. According to her, Buhari’s wife had called, out of compassion, to enquire about the condition of the boy.

The governor’s wife was accompanied by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye; Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Modupe Mujota, and Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Olumide Ayeni.

She expressed satisfaction over the improving health of the child, noting that, the state would take responsibility for his education and safety.

She, however, condemned the treatment meted out to the boy by his father and advised parents to always take good care of their children to prevent them from engaging in stealing and other vices.

Mrs. Amosun said: “I will like to place on record, because it is very important that the mother of the nation (Aisha Buhari) has followed this case from the very onset, even before it was officially publicized in the newspapers.

“She is passionate about this matter.

Throughout Monday, she interacted with me about the condition of the child and the action that have been taken. I think this is worthy of note that the wife of our President is compassionate about happenings in various states.

“I am happy to see him active and responding to treatment and with the way things are, he would soon be discharged from the hospital. The state government has Tunde Sulaiman and Biyi Adegoroye

“P

lease don’t rape my wife; she is pregnant,” was the plaintive cry from Chibueze Joseph, a landlord at Alleluyah Quarters in Ibafo, a community located along LagosIbadan Expressway in Ogun State recently. But the assailants, believed to be Niger Delta militants, silenced him with a gunshot on the ankle. He not only kept mum but was asked to fan and watch two militants rape his wife in the full glare of his three children.

On another street in Asiwaju area, the case was similar. Anefiok Emmanuel cried out in lamentation, “please don’t rape my wife, she is menstruating.” Though they acquiesced only after confirming she was having her period, her teenage daughter was not so lucky.

They raped her and robbed the occupants of the house of valuables.

Such are the heart-rending experiences of residents of AkokaEbute Road in Ibafo, a long stretch which begins from the Ibafo Police Station down to the riverine area where oil pipelines are submerged in water conveying petroleum products from Lagos to the northern part of the country.

Mrs. Amosun with Korede

taken full responsibility and would ensure his safety and education.

“We are happy to the glory of God that Korede is very active. His mind is alert.

In terms of growth, he seems smaller than what his age should be, but aside, in my opinion, he seems to be recuperating very well, bearing in mind what he had been subjected to.”

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice said the case of the boy would be decided at the court and anyone found culpable would face the wrath of the law. Dr. Ayeni, who assured that due process would be followed in the matter, declared that, the state has zero tolerance for child abuse and any form of deprivation.

“The matter is already taken to court.

Criminal sanctions will be fully deployed to those who are culpable and I assure you that I have the mandate of His Excellency, the Governor, that I, as the Attorney General,

will follow the case with due process and ensure that the culpability is established,” he added However, the hierarchy of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide, (CCC), has condemned Pastor Taiwo’s action, saying CCC was highly embarrassed by the actions of its minister, who is in charge of the Key of Joy Parish.

The CCC, in a statement disassociated itself from the action. It noted that the church does not encourage any form of child abuse or abuse of the young people since they are regarded as the light of the earth.

The statement reads in part, “Our attention has been drawn to media reports concerning the activities of Prophet Francis Taiwo, Shepherd in Charge, Celestial Church of Christ, Key of Joy Parish, Ajiwo at Ajibawo in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

“Prophet Francis Taiwo was reported to

have chained his nine-year-old son and starved him of food for months, after the boy was accused of habitual stealing. The nine-year-old boy was eventually rescued by men of the NSCDC who stormed the church premises for that purpose.

“Latest reports indicate that the culprit, Prophet Francis Taiwo, was later arrested by the police with the help of his church members. This report has drawn the ire of the public and our great church has been receiving undeserved flak therefrom.

“We are thus compelled to issue this statement to correct whatever misconceptions must have been created about the church in the minds of the general public, by this shameful and totally unacceptable incident.

“Let it be known that the Celestial Church of Christ does not condone child abuse and violence of any form. We recognise and place a high value on our youths and children as we often acknowledge them as the salt of the earth and a vital part of the future of any organisation, church or nation.”

Meanwhile, in a bid to feel the impulse of the residents around the church, a mother who identified herself as Folake Ogundele, stated that some of the things the man said were correct, but added that Korede’s stepmother has not been fair to the nine-year-old.

She noted that in some cases, the boy was left without food and it was hunger that pushed the little boy into some of the things that he did, confirming that Korede used to do some of the things that the pastor father complained about.

Also, a member of the church, who spoke to Sunday Telegraph on condition of anonymity, said some members severally appealed to Pastor Taiwo to release the child but he turned deaf ears.

“I’m happy that the boy has been finally released from such captivity. I want to believe also that the pastor did what he did in ignorance and I appeal to the government not to jail him. I’m sure that he has repented of his sin. He is just a human and cannot be infallible,” the member added.

Rape, robbery and killings turn Ibafo to a ghost town For many months now, landlords and tenants alike on many streets, quarters and estates especially located after Gideon’s School have been overrun by the Niger Delta militants. The affected areas include Alleluyah Quarters, Asiwaju Estate, Aso Rock Estate, Fairship Estate, Akoka and Lauerebe. Others are Adeyemi, Last Born and Ike-Oluwa streets all located on Ebute area of Ibafo in Obafemi Owode Local Government area.

According to residents of the areas, the militants kidnap, rob and rape people daily in droves. They have even added a new dimension - killing. Last week, an 85-year-old Islamic Cleric, Kareem Olaiya, was killed by the alleged militants.

“So far, they have rapped four women, kidnapped six people and robbed more than 40 houses in this area,” said Mr. Akinyemi, a landlord in the area.

Continued on page 14

Entrance of Asiwaju Quarters at Ibafo, Ogun State. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

10

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

NEWS

Order to shut Turkish schools a slap Army to partner police to fight criminality on Nigeria’s sovereignty – Kertim

N

Chijioke Iremeka

igerian-Turkish International Colleges (NTIC), over the weekend, said Turkey’s request to President Muhammadu Buhari, through its Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, to shut down 17 Turkish schools in Nigeria is a slap on the country’s sovereignty.

The Managing Director of the schools, Orhan Kertim, told Sunday Telegraph that such request by the Turkish Ambassador is unfounded.

He described the call as an affront to the sovereignty of Nigeria and a display of obtuse ignorance.

He said in a statement made available to Sunday Telegraph at the OPIC branch of the school, Isheri, Ogun State, that the NTIC is not a Turkish government-run institution, but a privately funded institution by a

group of Turkish investors.

More so, Sunday Telegraph’s investigations revealed that there are more to the Turkish government’s call for the closure of the schools in Nigeria for allegedly sponsoring the bungled coup that took place in Turkey on July 15.

An Administrative Officer of the school (name withheld) disclosed that the Turkish government, had earlier on, called on President Buhari to close down the Turkish schools in Nigeria before the ‘staged coup.’

A reliable source in the school also revealed to our reporter that the call for closure of the schools was connected to the broken relationship between the Turkish President, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, who were close associates until the 2013 corruption investigations in Turkey, where Gulen was accused of masterminding the

investigations.

According to the source, Erdogan’s request was only meant to run Gulen’s movement down, who he sees as an enemy since Gulen tried to correct and advice Erdogan against his unpopular policies in Turkey, which have been watering down the powers of the Prime Minister in the country. The president’s intolerance with other religions in the country has also been a sour issue.

The spokesperson for the Nigerian Turkish Nile University’s voice, Cemal Yigit, also spoke with Sunday Telegraph. He told our reporter that hospitals and schools owned by the Group are private and non-governmental entities and cannot be shut by the ambassador, adding that, Turkish businesses owned by private investors in Nigeria have nothing to do with the aborted coup in Turkey.

“The Nigerian Turkish International Schools, Nizamiye Hospital and Nigerian Turkish Nile University, under First Surat Group of Companies, are private investments here in Nigeria owned by some Turkish investors and their responsibilities are to Nigerian authorities. This is just a deliberate misinformation by the Ambassador of Turkey to Nigeria,” he said.

One of the parents who Sunday Telegraph spoke with on the issue, Mr. Mojeed Talabi, said there is no truth in whatever the Turkish Ambassador had said, adding that, some of the parents heard about it and inquired from the school authority and such report has been discredited and described as misleading. “The school is on vacation and I’m sure that they will resume at the appropriate time,” he stated.

Flora Onwudiwe

T

he Commander, 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Bulama Biu, has expressed readiness to collaborate with all security agencies in fighting criminality within his jurisdiction.

Gen Biu, who made the remark in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, condemned all acts of criminality and insecurity in the state, saying that, such acts will not be tolerated from any part of the state.

Biu advised officers and soldiers under his command to remain loyal to the task of protecting the nation and always show high sense of professionalism.

The Commander commended the efforts of the immediate past Com-

Suffering will soon be over, Alhassan tells Nigerians Sabiu Mustapha

JALINGO

T

Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jummai Alhassan, returns to Taraba State after a successful knee surgery in the US…yesterday

Military seeks cordial relationship with media,masses

N EWS I N BRIEF

The Flag Officer Command (FOC), Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai has said that the role of the military, civil populace and media in achieving an effective civil-military relations has not been pleasant.

He said this during one day lecture organised by the Western Naval Command, held at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Quorra, auditorium, Navy base, Apapa.

The Admiral linked the long military rule in the country to misconception that was exhibited in their relationship.

He said, “On many occasions, the military blame the media for damaging its image, while the civil populace accuses the military of insensibility and brutality among others. This is why we hope that this forum will facilitate the much needed discourse during the interactive session, toward improving the synergy among military, media and civil populace.”

The FOC pointed out that one of the dreams of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok Ette-Ibas was aimed at improving cordial relationship between the citizens and the Naval Officers.

“It’s against this backdrop that this lecture is being organised in a view to establishing contacts, building relationships and creating awareness on military duties and responsibilities through the civilian populace. The Nigerian Navy has established its anchor on discipline with statutory roles to protect the integrity of our maritime domain.

Anenih,PDPbehindEsanwoesinEdo –Monarch

The Vice Chairman, Edo State Traditional Council and Onojie (Duke) of Opoji, Aidonejie Ehidiamen, yesterday, attributed the infrastructural development witnessed in recent time by the Esan nation to the government of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, carpeting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Chief Tony Anenih, the former Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party for the marginalisation of the people.

Ehidiamen, who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen at his palace in Opoji, Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo added that the allegation that Adams Oshiomhole-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government did nothing to enhance the standard of living of the people of Edo Central was false.

Also, a chieftain of the APC in the district, Chief Francis Inegbineki said Edo Central Senatorial district benefited more during APC’s seven years in government than PDP reign of 10 years in Edo. The monarch said aside making himself minister and chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) at a point, Anenih, a native of Uromi, only worked for the benefit of his immediate family and Uromi people.

He noted that, political positions, from both federal and state, under PDP, meant for Edo or the district, always ended up with the former friends and family of Anenih or his people.

He stressed that the same was the position with projects meant for the district, adding that, this action of the former minister for works and NPA chairman, polarised the people from the other four Local Government Areas that made up the district.

CKC Old Boys pay tribute to mentor, Rev. Fr. Tagbo

Tributes have continued to pour in for the first indigenous Principal of Christ the King College, Onitsha, Rev. Father Nicholas Tagbo, whose burial has been fixed for August 4, 2016 at the Basilica in Onitsha, Anambra state.

Eminent old boys of the school led by the Commissioner for Information, Nnacheta said late Rev. Father Nicholas Tagbo was an exceptional human being who moulded the lives of thousands of young men into successful individuals in different areas of life.

Nnacheta said arrangements have been put in place to give the departed cleric a glorious burial.

A spokesperson for the cleric, said the contributions of departed priest and administrator to the socio-economic development of Nigeria can be measured by the successes and contributions of the thousands of former students of the famous Christ the King College, Onitsha who have distinguished themselves in their service to their country.

The President of CKC Old Boys Association, Lagos branch, Mr. George Onwubuya the in a statement issued in Lagos said, “Father Tagbo was a father figure and a role model who coached, nurtured, taught and reformed thousands of students in his 21 years stay as the Principal of the school founded by Irish Priests in 1933”.

He said his “ideas would continue to shape the dreams and minds of those that have left the school and even the students who are still in the school.”

mander of the 13 Brigade, Brig-Gen. Sani Mohammed, for his commitment and efforts in curtailing criminality, militancy and communal clashes within the state, adding that, he would continue, where General Mohammed stopped.

He, however, assured purposeful and honest leadership and urged the troops to be patient with the military leadership and the government as everything will be done to meet their needs.

He enjoined the soldiers to be disciplined, pointing out that discipline is the bedrock of military profession and impored them to key into the vision of the Chief of Army staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Burutai which dwells on having ‘a professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.’

he Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Sen. Aisha Alhassan, has urged Nigerians to exercise more patience with the current adverse economic situation in the country, saying that, the suffering will soon be over.

Alhassan assured Nigerians that the suffering would soon become history as the Federal Government has redoubled it commitments towards initiating policies and programmes that would stimulate the economy and reduce poverty.

The minister stated this

yesterday, in Jalingo, Taraba State capital in a press conference to highlight the achievements recorded by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led government in the last one year.

Alhassan, who was on official visit to the state, noted that, despite the challenges and the extent of damage done by previous administrations, President Buhari achieved significant milestones within a year of assumption of office.

According to her, areas affected include security, anticorruption drive, education, agriculture, environment and transportation among others.

Pensioners beg Bauchi Govt to pay pensions, gratuities

Alhassan Yusuf BAUCHI

T

he State Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Lomrade Yakubu Muhammad, has called on Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar, the Bauchi State Governor to settle the outstanding entitlement of pensioners alongside their gratuities.

Comrade Yakubu lamented that about 150 pensioners died since the enforcement of verification exercise by the government, saying that, the past administration had gone with baglog of gratuities of retirees worth N14.6 billion, while the present administration is yet to pay gratuity of retirees running into N5.4bn since inauguration.

He noted that anyone, who retired between ages 35 and 60, is eligible for both pension and gratuity and therefore advised that the entitlements are compulsory and rights for the retirees and not a privi-

leged.

Comrade Yakubu further stated that life has become hard to his members considering the number of deaths as a result of staff verification enforced by the government, where a number of pensioners have died due to different illnesses, especially hypertension for nonpayment of their benefits.

CHANGE OF NAME

IBRAHIM

I formerly known and addressed as BELLO OLALEYE OJO, now wish to be known and addressed as BELLO OLALEYE IBRAHIM. All former documents remain valid. Bank, general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

KINGSLEY

I, formally known and addressed as KINGSLEY DENNIS JACKSON now wish to be known and addressed as UBONGABASI NATHAN JACKSON. All former documents remain valid. Olabisi Onabanjo University (O.O.U), WAEC, Bank and general public take note.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

Femi Fani-Kayode

F

ifty years ago, on July 29th 1966, a man by the name of Lt. Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi gave his life in defence of our country and the then Head of State, General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi.

His killers were a group of northern army officers who participated in the so-called northern “revenge coup” of July 29th 1966.

No less than 300 Igbo army officers were slaughtered that night together with a handful of Yoruba soldiers, including Fajuyi.

Lt. Col. Fajuyi was a Yoruba man who opted to die in defence of an Igbo Head of State. This was not only honorable and courageous but it was also unique and unprecedented.

He was a selfless hero and a man that we shall honour and immortalise in the new Nigeria that is to come.

Those that murdered him, General Aguiyi-Ironsi and the famous 300 in cold blood that night, are still running the affairs of our country till today. They determine who is who and who gets what. They decide who our

OPINION The Fajuyi spirit 11

President will be and how long he will remain in power.

As a matter of fact their hateful hegemony and evil intentions are even more pronounced and frightful today than they were in 1966 and their grip on the levers of power in our country is even stronger.

Today they are fully in charge and some of those that actually shot Fajuyi are fully behind them.

Yet despite their intention to dominate, silence, break and destroy the rest of us one thing remains clear: the Fajuyi spirit of courage, unity, selflesness and sacrifice has been imbued by millions in the southern and Middle Belt regions of our country.

These are men and women that are prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with the oppressed of our nation, whether they be Niger Deltans, Igbos, Yorubas? Middle Belters or anything else.

These are men and women that are prepared to resist the perfidious religious and ethnic agenda of the “born to rule” in our midst and that recognise the fact that they regard the rest of us as nothing but slaves.

When it comes to southern rights and interests we the Yoruba particularly must learn a lesson from our own son Fajuyi and emulate his example.

Like him, if necessary, we must be ready to sacrifice our lives and liberty in defence of any or all of our southern and Middle Belt bretheren that are facing persecution, genocide and injustice at the hands of our collective slave masters.

It is also time for us to appreciate the fact that if we truly want to be free we must extend our hand of friendship across the River Niger to the Igbo and we must see their bitter travails as being ours as well.

We must also feel the pain when an Igbo or Niger-Deltan youth is slaughtered by President Muhammadu Buhari’s army in the name of “crushing all opposition and dissent” and “keeping Nigeria one”.

We must acknowledge the fact that Nigeria cannot remain one as long as there is ethnic and religious bigotry, oppression and injustice.

We must appreciate the fact that there can never be southern, or indeed Middle Belt, emancipation without

southern unity.

Fajuyi understood that point 50 years ago. Consequently he opted to resist the evil in the and and die for it.

He was indeed a true martyr.

He paid the supreme price for his fellow southerner and he stood against northern adventurism, oppression, domination and hegemony.

Fifty years later it is time for the rest of us to do the same. It is time for us to acknowledge and honour his sacrifice and come together as one. It is time for us to stand up, look at our collective oppressors in the eye and say “no more”.

No longer should we bow our heads in submission, servility and shame.

It is time for us to rise up, invoke the power of the Living God and be men.

May the gallant and beautiful soul of Lt. Col. Fajuyi continue to rest in eternal peace and may those that murdered him 50 years ago be brought to justice.

•Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation, wrote from Lagos

Ekweremadu and hypocrisy of APC leaders Ismail Omipidan

N

igerians have always known that some of our politicians are hypocrites. What most Nigerians did not, however, envisage is that hypocrisy in politics would be elevated to a ridiculous level, the way it is being witnessed today, under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration.

Although, there are several instances that lay credence to the above assertion, nothing exposes the party’s stalwarts’ hypocrisy, like its public display of anger on the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as the Deputy President of the Senate, only on the basis of him not being a member of the ruling party.

Historically speaking, apart from 2003, and perhaps 2011, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which was the ruling party from 1999 to 2015, had never on its own produced the Senate leadership. In 1999 for instance, then President Olusegun Obasanjo preferred Senator Evan (s) Enwerem of blessed memory, while his deputy, then Vice President Atiku Abubakar, preferred Senator Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo, also of blessed memory. In the end, Obasanjo shifted the inauguration of the 4th National Assembly by a few days, mobilized all Alliance for Democracy (AD) Senators, led by Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfewa, for Enwerem, and with the support of some PDP Senators, Okadigbo, who was highly rated to beat Enwerem, was shockingly defeated. The rest is history.

Again, in 2007, after the PDP met and endorsed Senator David Mark, as its preferred candidate, the North-Central zone, with the support of Chief Tony

Anenih, met and decided to challenge the position. In all, the group lined up three candidates to slug it out with Mark on the floor of the Senate.

In a well played out script, as allegedly dictated by Chief Tony Anenih (Daboh later confirmed the allegation in his petition to President Umaru Musa Yar ’Adua), once nomination for the election was opened, Senators George Akume, Nuhu Aliyu and Gbemisola Saraki were all nominated one after the other, in that order, after Mark’s nomination.

As soon as the nominations were brought to a close, Senator Aliyu urged the then Clerk of the National Assembly, Nasir Ibrahim Arab, who presided over the session to interpret the Rule of the Senate regarding issue of ranking, vis-à-vis Senate leadership position, which ordinarily should have disqualified Akume from contesting the position, since he was coming to the Senate for the first time.

But the Clerk simply said: “We will not go into that, we have passed that stage and since there is no room for debate, we will not talk about that. The vote will be by simple majority.” Meaning that, you will not by the Rules of the 5th Senate, disqualify Akume from vying as a fresh Senator for the presidency of the 6th Senate!

As soon as the Clerk concluded his remark, Senator Aliyu again got up to say “in that case, I am withdrawing my nomination, I will support Akume.”

His action was greeted with applause from virtually all those who belonged to the same camp with him and Akume.

Again the Clerk said “if you’re withdrawing from the race, say so and do so without saying I support so, so and so.” He had hardly concluded his re-

mark, when Senator Gbemisola Saraki too stood up to say she was equally withdrawing from the race.

In the end, all the Senators from Niger, Edo, Kwara and the remaining two from Benue, including all the former governors of Jigawa, Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe and Kaduna, were among the Senators that voted against Mark, in support of Akume.

But in the end, Mark, with the support of some opposition Senators, went ahead to floor Akume by 68 to 39 votes.

I covered these events of the 5th Senate as Sun Newspaper ’s Senate Correspondent; as such I was a live witness to all that transpired before and during the election on the floor of the Senate.

The only difference between what happened in the past and what played out, in the last Senate inauguration, was the fact that the President, Muhammad Buhari, refused to show open sympathy and preference, for any of the candidates for the position.

Interestingly, in 2011, the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) backed Honourable Waziri Tambuwal, against the zoning arrangement of the PDP, to make him emerge as Speaker. Truth is, if the party had had the foresight then, it could as well, had produced Tambuwal’s Deputy, because the party had the capacity, to so do. If it failed to think outside the box then, why should it blame the PDP for its political foresight and sagacity, which saw it producing the Deputy President of the Senate now?

Today, it is convenient for some of the chieftains of the party to ask Ekweremadu to resign or orchestrate his political trial simply because he is the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, under the ruling APC. But when

Tambuwal defected (from the PDP) to the APC, under the then ruling PDP, all the notable leaders of the party, including Lai Mohammed who was the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, stated clearly that there was nowhere in the constitution where it was stated that the Speaker (of the House of Representatives) must be produced by the majority party and that bi-partisan NASS leadership was good for the nation and showed that our democracy was growing. Even Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, then Minority Leader and now Majority Leader of the House, defended this same position, at the slightest opportunity, saying it was constitutional in synch with presidential democracy.

The question Nigerians should ask these hypocrites is what has now changed? The constitution has not been rewritten; and it is very clear that, it says” Senators shall elect the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President from amongst themselves.”

From the forgoing, it is clear that it is either some Nigerians do not read about the past, or deliberately ignore the facts of history. But as we navigate through the current APC-led government, Nigerians especially, those of the APC extraction must check their conscience and speak the truth at all times, even if it hurts. As Othman Dan Fodio said, conscience is an open wound and only truth could heal it. Indeed, only truth can help grow our democracy to the envy of the international community.

Omipidan is a Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy President of the Senate and can be reached on smileomi@yahoo.com

12

Sunday Mail

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

@

EMAIL

thesundayletters@gmail. com and sundayletters@ newtelegraphonline.com

MAIL BAG

* Letters to the Editor

The Sunday Telegraph

Illegal street trading: Ambode putting the cart before the horse Dear Editor We want to commend Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for recognising and addressing the problem of illegal street trading in Lagos State.

His approach to governance and problem solving for the past one year has been laudable and tackling this problem head-on is an evident offshoot of that resolve. Street trading is a problem for vehicles and their passengers and also a very dangerous venture for the young men and women selling their goods along the highways. These business people sometimes have to run after vehicles and between fast moving vehicles endangering their own lives in the quest to earn a living.

While we commend the governor for finally noticing one of the many problems facing Lagos state and her residents, we are appalled by his poorly thought-out kneejerk reaction. We believe this is a problem that can be solved in a more humane manner seeing as these business men and women don’t set to become criminals and would most likely willingly engage in legitimate business, earn a living, pay their taxes and contribute positively to society.

When decisions are made by those who lead, consequences follow and in this case, consequences for both passengers who patronize hawkers in long hours of traffic and as a matter of necessity require the services and the product of these hawkers and the hawkers who have to earn a living by risking their lives to sell a product that they usually cannot even use.

Majority of these Nigerians who have chosen to be street hawkers have done so as a last resort having refused the option of crime and as a result of this new law. a flagrant contradiction of the Lagos State Street Trading and Illegal Markets Law of 2003, which is a fine of N5,000 or three months imprisonment upon conviction, an increase in crime rate in the state is to be expected. On the psychological front, the countless man hours spent in traffic should also be expected by Lagosians to be more frustrating. We believe that rather than just arrest these people, slam them in jail and/or impose a gargantuan fine on them just to release them back into the streets, the government can be creative with its implementation of its N25b Entrepreneur Trust Fund (ETF).

Asides encouraging them to willingly come forward to take advantage of the fund, which most of them have

(

SMS

08037613380 Normal message fees apply

How to get every nigerian FAST online Dear Editor

A man surviving on waste bin in Lagos.

never heard of and those who know about it probably have no idea of how to access it, the government can and should primarily send officials into the streets to educate these people about the fund and the procedures of accessing it. We also want to bring to the notice of the governor another major menace on our streets. The streets of Lagos are inundated with young men, running after and zigzagging between moving vehicles, harassing road users, most especially commercial buses, for money.

These men are purportedly on the payroll of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). While we do not suggest that the governor unduly interferes in the affairs of a registered trade union, we believe the current method the union applies in collecting its revenue from members is unwholesome and poses a grave danger to the lives of road users and the revenue collectors themselves.

Fajuyitan Fadahunsi Lagos State

How not to sacrifice freedom of expression Dear Editor,

I wish to express my concern and displeasure as my attention was drawn to a letter published on June 8, 2016, by one Mr. Pius Abioje from the University of Ilorin, wherein he confidently asserted among other things that the ‘utterances of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria betray selfish interests’. I feel that posterity will never forgive us if we

persistently act on parochial interest and worst still is the peddling of false information in a public domain. In order to set the records straight, it is pertinent to address some of the issues, which Prof.

Abioye misconstrued. The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) met with President Muhammadu Buhari on May 2, 2016 and the full text of the address by the President of CBCN was published by The Guardian on May 6.

During their address to the President, the CBCN emphasised that they ‘are genuinely concerned about turning our country around and committed to helping this government make this happen’ and all through the address no words of praise were addressed to the President, rather the Bishops expressed solidarity and willingness to collaborate with the government so as to take Nigeria to greater heights. It is then intellectually reprehensible for Abioje to base his conclusion on just what he heard on radio and present his views in public domain without adequate research as to the veracity of the information he got, thereby cooking up the circumstances to look as if the CBCN went to Aso Rock to boot-lick the President into following ‘the Catholic agenda’.

Secondly, he condemned the CBCN for their partnership with the government in the education and health sector on the basis that ‘Christian missionaries recreated Africans and now very much of Africans,

knowledge of African culture are lost including the beauty and glory of African Traditional Religion (ATR).

Mr. Abioye can be excused for his false argument based on the fact he never read the address of the CBCN to the President which was widely published, but the fact still remains that the Catholic Missionaries are the largest collaborators with Nigerian government in terms of educational and health services and recently that collaboration has been threatened by the government through all sorts of levies and dues that are slammed on catholic institutions and their students.

This is among the reasons the CBCN meet with the President to address these issues. It will also be more instructive for Mr. Abioje to note that I am also a beneficiary of the so-called ‘catholic missionary education’ and while in school I learnt how to beat ‘igba’ (an Igbo drum) and different names of Igbo masquerades including what it takes to dress up such masquerades.

I must say that African traditional cultures are not only preserved by these institutions but they are also enriched.

More so, denting the character of Cardinal Okogie is another error committed

by Mr. Abioje. He asserted without stating his source that the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi called the cardinal ‘a military apologist’.

Such a misguided assertion is not worthy of a writer from a university community. As a matter of fact Cardinal Okogie has been an

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

avid supporter of the cause of justice initiated by the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Last year he was the chairman of the occasion of the 11th edition of the Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture/Symposium held in Lagos.

Chima Ikenganyia, University of Ibadan

Biting reality of Buhari’s govt Dear Editor, My submission, so far, is that President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic policies have the potential to improve the living condition of the poor masses of the country.

It has become obvious to me that it is one thing to believe in a stringent economic concept and another thing to witness the hardship entailed in executing it.

The ban on importation of certain food items, especially, rice and the exchange rate of the naira have created a harsh living situation. People find themselves in the crazy circus of chasing an astronomical increase in prices of daily food items with the ordeal of insufficient money in their hands.

One can always hope that the intention of the government is right. The crisis on passing the 2016 budget has come and gone. We are still waiting for the economic gains from its implementation. Change is never easy, but let it be true.

Pius Okaneme, Umuoji, Anambra State

Last month, the FASTAfrica campaign mobilised over 100,000 people across 20 African countries to demand that our leaders act on their promises to bring the internet to all Africans.

Here in Nigeria, we heard from thousands of people who desperately want faster, cheaper internet to further their studies, their business and their thirst for new ideas.

Yet despite the fact that last year President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals pledging universal internet access by 2020, internet connectivity in Nigeria languishes at only 43%. Women, rural dwellers and the poor are least likely to be connected.

If President Muhammadu Buhari and Adebayo Shittu, Minister, Communication Technology heard the voices of the people last month, they should announce a concrete plan by the end of this year for including every Nigerian in a digital revolution built on the FAST principles: Fast: Let’s get average connection speed up to the global minimum of 4 Mbps, the threshold at which businesses, scientists, clinics and schools start to gain real benefit from greater connectivity.

Affordable: Currently, an internet-enabled phone plus a meagre ration of 500 Mega prepaid data costs the average Nigerian more than 5% of his or her monthly income. To make the internet affordable to all, we need data prices to fall: 1 Gb of prepaid data shouldn’t cost more than 0.5% of average monthly income.

Casey Olugbenga Adeleye is of the African Centre for Citizens Orientation, Abuja YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE HEARD! SEND YOUR LETTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHS TO THESUNDAYLETTERS@ GMAIL.COM. LETTERS SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN 200 WORDS AND MUST HAVE THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE SENDER

13

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

news

FG bows: May free Kanu, Okah, Tompolo Dominic Adewole

D ASABA

isturbed by the spate of bombardment by the recalcitrant Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and the pressure mounted by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Federal Government may have concluded plans to free former militant leader, Henry Okah.

Also, plans may have reached advanced stage to release the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, stop the manhunt for the ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo , alias Tompolo, and withdraw ongoing military operations in the Niger Delta region.

The report on the recent dialogue between the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the Federal Government in proxy by the oil companies and security agencies, has revealed.

While Henry Okah is in prison in South Africa and

Charles Okah is incarcerated in Abuja, Kanu has been undergoing trial for treason charges. Tompolo, who was charged for corruption, has been declared wanted by the court for failing to appear.

According to the purported agreement reached, Tompolo would no longer be harassed, if he makes himself available as a delegate on MEND Aaron Team 2, while Kanu would be released on condition that he would renounce the agitation for ‘Biafra Republic’.

MEND’s spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, in a statement, yesterday, announced other give-and-take agreements discussed and which would expertly restore peace in the Niger Delta and end the protest in the South-South and South East geo-political zones.

Avengers were, however, given the chance to have a rethink and also toe the path peace meeting.

“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is the only

militant group from the Niger Delta region who are presently engaged in a dialogue with the Federal Government of Nigeria – through oil companies and security agencies -with a view to resolving the current Niger Delta crisis.

“Thus far, the deliberations have been fruitful, various concessions and guarantees have already been secured.

Some of which include, but are not limited to: Release of Henry Okah, Charles Okah and Obi Nwabueze; Review of the life sentence handed to Mr. Edmund Ebiware based on a proposal put forward by the Aaron Team representative for Abia and Imo states, Senator Adolphus Wabara.

“Also, conditional release of IPOB leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu and others if they renounce their agitation for a ‘Biafra Republic’, That Mr. Government Ekpemupolo shall not be arrested, harassed and/or intimidated whenever he makes himself available as a delegate of the

MEND Aaron Team,” the statement read.

Continuing, the statement added: “That international arbitrator and conflict negotiator, American Dr. Judith Asuni, shall be accepted as the representative of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on the MEND Aaron Team; that the criminal charges against Urhobo freedom fighter, Mr. Kelvin Prosper Oniarah, shall be reviewed.”

Also, “That the life sentence which was handed to seven soldiers in 2008, who actively supported the Niger Delta struggle be reviewed under the Presidential Amnesty Programme. The affected persons are: Suleiman Alabi Akubo; Major Mathias Peter, SGT; Alexander Davou, L.Cpl; Moses Nwaigwe, L.Cpl; Nnandi Anene, L.Cpl; Taatihi Emmanuel, L.Cpl and Caleb Bawa, PTE. “However, one of the most immediate and urgent fallout of the ongoing dialogue is the imperative for the Federal Government and

MEND to jointly and separately take proactive steps to rescue and secure the region. This is in the event that the recalcitrant Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) continuing on its senseless and politically-motivated path of attacks on the country’s oil assets.

“To this end, both parties agreed that the Special Forces of the Nigerian Army should commence the purely routine but strategic military exercise code-named ‘Operation Crocodile Tears’; while MEND would commence a meet-the Government-Actors-and-People tour of the Niger Delta region codenamed ‘Operation Moses’.

Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, could neither confirm nor deny the deal. In a telephone chat with Sunday Telegraph last night, Shehu acknowledged that he had been bombarded with calls from various media organisations on the issue and has been trying to confirm it from the appropriate quar-

ters.

“A number of persons have called me and I am trying to get a handle on this matter. As it is now, I have no information but I have been trying to reach the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Dr Ibe Kachikwu) who is at the head of the negotiations; I know at least that at some time he was, but he has not picked his calls. I will keep trying and ....” Shehu said.

However, former Senate President, Dr Adolphus Wabara, has denied involvement in the negotiations that led to the said deal to set free the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and was not aware of the imminent release of the exmilitant. Wabara, who spoke through one of his aides, told Sunday Telegraph said he was involved in other move to ensure that the current crisis in the South East and South - South regions were resolved amicably.

Indian firm to invest $125m in Nigerian agric sector Caleb Onwe Abuja

A

n Indian firm, Triton Group, has disclosed its intentions to expand its investment and operations in Nigerian agribusiness by injecting, at least, $125million in the sector, which will create over 5000 jobs for the unemployed youths in the country.

The disclosure was made in Abuja when the group led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Raju Samtani paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh.

Samtani told the Minister that his group has three specific businesses in the area

of aqua culture and seafood processing, poultry farming and processing as well as distribution of frozen meat, poultry and seafood.

He also told the minister that the group, which joined the league of major players in the Nigerian agribusiness has mega agricultural project at Seriki Village, in Oyo State.

According to him, the project occupying about 2000 hectare of land, is making adequate progress with its environmentally controlled broiler houses, state-of-the-art processing plant for poultry and fish, as well as automated feed mill for fish and poultry with a capacity of 30,000 metric tons, per year.

Ortom assures authors of government’s support Cephas Iorhemen MAKURDI

B

enue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has assured members of the state chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) of his administration’s commitment towards encouraging literary work.

The governor, who gave the assurance while receiving officials and members of the organisation at Government House, Makurdi, directed its chairman, Charles Iornumbe, to discuss modalities for a possible partnership between the state government and ANA as well as the commissioner for education.

The governor charged ANA members to inspire young ones through writing noting that God’s given talents should not be hidden. He noted that what the society uses today, was the creation of past writers, saying that writing encourages hard work.

Governor Ortom also urged ANA to encourage writing and reading competition among young ones, regretting that ‘miracle centres’ have complicated the situation. He promised to provide office accommodation for the association in readiness for its national convention and accepted the request to be ANA’s patron.

Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (middle) surrounded by the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Enugu State Chapter, during the association’s visit to the governor at the Government House, Enugu.

Plateau to revive Panyam Fish Farm, targets N1.7bn revenue Musa Pam Jos

T

he Plateau State government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private firm, Solbec Ltd aimed at resuscitating the moribund state-owned Panyam Fish Farm.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hon. Mrs. Linda Barau, over the weekend, said the new arrangement is based on Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) between the state government and the private sector.

According to her, the government’s effort is in line with its resolve to give the agricultural sector the top-most priority it deserves as a potentially great revenue earner

for the state, especially in the face of dwindling oil revenue from the Federation Account.

“Panyam Fish farm, which was established about 56 years ago, is reputed to be Nigeria’s largest fish farm, covering a land mass of 309 hectares, with the capacity to produce about 4.9 tons of fish and over 10 million fingerlings annually, but was abandoned by past governments,” she added.

Also commenting on the development, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Simon Lalong on Media and Publicity, Hon. Mark Longyen, said the signing of the MoU was a watershed in the state government’s effort to boost its agricultural sector and internally generated revenue.

Longyen noted that when

the project becomes fully operational, the farm’s annual revenue potential for the state will hit about N1.7bn, which is about the equivalent of the state’s workers’ total monthly wage bill.

“Plateau State has huge aquatic and fisheries poten-

tial, given its clement climatic conditions and myriad of tin mining ponds. The state has about 20 dams and reservoirs with an estimated water surface area of 673 hectares, as well as 12 natural lakes with a water surface area of about 365 hectares,” he said.

Wabba calls for reversal of pay cut Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

N

egotiations between the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), led by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and Nasarawa State government on possible reversal salary cut, yesterday, ended in deadlock.

Shortly after the negotiation opened between NLC

delegates and Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko AlMakura, fracas ensued between NLC members and security operatives at Government House’s gate in Lafia, the state capital.

At least, one person was reportedly killed, while two others were injured when they were hit by police’s stray bullets at the government House gate.

14

Magazine

Continued from page 9

“The rampaging Niger Delta militants are now overlords in our area since smuggling of petroleum products has become less attractive and the current government has given the job to soldiers,” said Akinyemi, who wants his other name protected for fear of reprisals.

He recalled that about a month ago, they even dared the convoy of the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, who visited the area at the instance of the Baale, Akoka Ebute, Ibafo, Chief Folorunso Balogun on a fact finding mission.

When the Deputy Governor and her team arrived with about 12 Mobile Policemen and soldiers, the militants shot into the air repeatedly to scare her. Though she retreated, but the soldiers patrolled the area in search of them only to return because they were out-numbered by the hoodlums.

The encounter has compelled her to return to Abeokuta, where the state government regretted that things have gone so bad in our country to the level that even the teams led by the deputy governor of the state were not able to have access to a part of the state under her jurisdiction.

“It means that without mincing words, the Federal Government needs to get involved in this. This is something that is beyond the capacity of the police. We need a military task force like the one we have in Niger Delta; it’s necessary and desirable. As we can see in Elepete, Igbo-Olomu and Imagbon, nothing can be compared with the violence here in Ibafo,” the state government said.

Relocation galore Another landlord who does not want his name in print recounted her ordeal. “On Sunday May 29 this year, I was preparing my family for church service when we started hearing sporadic gunshots. It started around 7:30 am and was on until 10. We could not help take cover for safety. I told my children to lie down flat on the floor to avoid being hit. That day, we could not go to service.”

Since then, the robbers storm the area every other night, wreaking havoc during each visit. Last Sunday, Joel Eze, a resident of Ojodu in Lagos, said he received a shocking call from his cousin. “Prepare to house my family. The militants stormed our house on Saturday. They raped my wife right in my presence.”

Residents are relocating in droves. Sunday Ikuemola, a father of four girls and a son said he could not wait any longer. The businessman could not withstand the regular gunshots in the area. Hence, he relocated to Mushin, abandoning his house.

He said: “Since the criminals not only rob but rape and kill, I had to move. My family and daughters are precious to me. I know many of my friends, including a lecturer at the University of Lagos who has left the area,” he said.

A source at Asiwaju Quarters confirmed the report, stating that “over 40 residents and landlords have moved from there. One particular Igbo businessman has packed his belongings into three trucks and moved out of his storey building. Others move out at night and return in the morning since the militants carry out nocturnal attacks.”

Another resident, who recalled with nostalgia how peaceful the area was when they moved in 2009, has made up her mind to finally leave everything, including their own house, because of the insecurity now pervading the area.

“Ironically when we moved here in 2009 the place was not as developed as this it was mainly bush; but it was very safe there were hardly any incidents of robberies and we went to work and came back home without any fear for our safety,” said the woman, whose final straw was the two robbery incidents she faced in one night.

“Imagine being robbed twice in one night!” she recounted with tremor still sounding as she spoke on phone.

“They came a little after 9pm on a Monday and as soon as we heard them trying to

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Soldiers storm Ibafo

break into our house we shouted that they shouldn’t destroy the entrance that we will give them whatever they wanted.

“They agreed and we gave them our hands sets and jewellery, which they took and left. We were still in shock when about 30 minutes later they came back and this time forced their way into our building demanding for money.

“When we told them that we don’t have money they then demanded for our ATM cards. When we told them that we don’t use them they grabbed me by the neck threatening to use the cutlass they were brandishing on me.

“However, when my husband, who had been told to lie on the floor noticed that only one robber was with me as the other one was busy ransacking the house; he attacked him with an iron rode prompting the robber to leave me and flee shouting to his colleague; ‘this man (husband) don craze o!’”

“Perhaps the other robber thought my husband had a gun and so he fled.”

Sunday Telegraph learnt that at dawn when neighbours came to visit them, it was then that they noticed that the robbers had left their loot behind.

And in a real macabre twist to the sad saga, when the traumatised family returned to try to pick up some of their belongings a few days after the double robbery; they were prevented from doing so by some of the militants brandishing guns and who surrounded them.

“They (militants) said we can’t leave and demanded to know why we want to pack out of the area. They said we should go and bring our children back. They also said they had learnt that landlords in the area had written a petition against them because of their activities and were waiting to see what government’s response to the petition would be.”

Sunday Telegraph learnt that after spending hours trapped in their house they finally summoned courage and bolted.

Social and religious activities are also on the decline. “We can’t attend mid-week service any longer, and even evangelism is near zero. Before now, we used to have 120 worshipers at midweek service, but today, you can hardly get 60. The moment you hear amen at 8:00pm, everyone rushes home,” said a Christian minister resident in the area.

A prominent landlord in the area said: “Many restaurants and bars hardly stay open beyond 7pm. They are afraid of their lives and close early. The only exceptions are those who operate near the police stations.

There they enjoy the presence of Mobile Policemen who patronize them instead of going to Ebute Road to attack the militants.”

The most disturbing development, according to residents, is police inertia and lack of response to the attacks. “The police hardly come here; rather, it is as if we have been left to our fate. They pinned down at the police station with the Armoured Personnel Carrier, but will not lift a finger when these people attack.

“We are appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Ibikunle Amosun to come to our aid by deploying military men to this area. Our lives, our wives and daughters are not safe. We cannot continue like this. We live each day with our lives in our mouth,” he said.

Sunday Telegraph learnt that the security situation in the area really deteriorated in January this year at the height of the crippling fuel scarcity which hit the nation at that time.

“Things became really bad at the beginning of the year. Before then we had been hearing gunshots on a regular basis; but it was during the fuel scarcity that they (militants) became emboldened and flooded the area stealing fuel from the pipelines without any hindrance,” explained another landlord in the area.

“We often saw tankers and vehicles of different brands full of kegs moving at all times of the day leaving the area,” he recalled.

He also gave an insight into why they believed that those carrying out the attacks in the area are militants from the Niger Delta region.

“When they robbed me a few months ago, I was asked where I worked and I told them.

They then asked where I was from and I said Cross River State to which they replied: ‘Why you no wan join the struggle, you no know your rights self you no wan take wetin dem they take from our ground?”

The landlord is currently staying in the boy quarters of a friend who had left Ibafo earlier after also being robbed a number of times.

“It’s not like my personal house but what

can I do? I have a family and since it’s like we’re at the mercy of the militants with no government protection it is better for me to be squatting somewhere hale and hearty then remaining in my house afraid for our lives,” he said, pointing out that those that came to rob him were very young men not older than 30.

Military begin Operation Awasa However, finally heeding the call of the state Deputy Governor, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin deployed troops to Ibafo and Ikorodu areas Friday, to stop the criminal activities of the suspected militants. They were sighted right from the police station down to Ebute Road, patrolling with the view of ensuring that peace returned to the area.

The ground offensive came after an aerial bombardment of militant camps in the riverine areas in Ikorodu Arepo and Ibafo on Thursday. The raid which was said to have started around 6.00 p.m lasted for several hours.

Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa who led the operation codenamed “Operation Awasa” said it was carried out in conjunction with other security agencies to check, “pipeline vandalism, militants’ activities and kidnapping in the areas.”

In like manner, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai said on Friday that the Nigerian Navy (NN) has shut all the escape routes of the pipeline vandals in the Arepo and Ikorodu areas of Lagos and Ogun states.

Admiral Bobai said: `”We have blocked escape routes towards Ogun State and we are going to sustain this operation and see, where it will lead us. The essence of having this blockade by land and water is that when they are running out, we will be able to grab them, profile and investigate them. “ Bobai added: “This is with a view to dismantling the vandals who are scattered in Arepo, Ibafo and Ishawo areas of the state.

But when we carried out an assessment of the area, a lot of the vandals moved from the areas accessible by water and land to areas that were difficult terrain into the swampy areas. We had to use the air power, which was granted by the CDS.”

15

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

SUNDAY

Body Soul S U N D AY, J U LY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Patra’s dilemma 14 22 Sexy bare shoulders 18,39 I’m obsessed with music – Simi 42

I still work three days a week in hospital –Dr. Amina Bello, Niger State’s First Lady

16

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Cover

I still work three days a week in hospital –Dr. Amina Bello, Niger State’s First Lady

Wife of the Niger State Governor, Dr. Amina Abubakar Bello, is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist who is passionate about improving the health care system in her state. Despite her busy schedule, she still makes out time to attend to patients. In this interview with DAN ATORI, she talks about her pet project and how she supports her husband to achieve his goals in the state Your Excellency, at the inception of this administration, you established the RAiSE Foundation, a pet project.

Can you tell us what inspired it?

Thank you very much, I really want to commend the New Telegraph newspapers for reporting almost all of my activities since the inception of this administration. Now, the establishment of the foundation was a deliberate step to help my husband, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, fulfill the solemn promises he made to the people of Niger State during electioneering campaign. And of course, especially in the health sector.

Is the foundation working in collaboration with any organisations?

Yes, the foundation is working closely with the Ministry of Health and that of Women and Social Development to achieve developmental targets that would improve the well-being of the people of the state and also to alleviate poverty.

Has the collaboration yielded any results?

Of course, yes! The result of this collaboration is that Niger State is currently building a high performing health care system that will be the best in Nigeria in terms of accessibility and meeting the vast majority of peoples’ health needs. The package, which is committed to addressing the gaps in health care system, has maternal health as its main focus. The foundation is also leading the enlightenment campaign for the citizens’ right to health, especially basic health care provision and taking deliberate steps to pursue public health improvements and ensure rapid progress towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in line with the National Health Act. About 10 months ago, the state’s populace, especially the women, were excited when you announced that you would offer free services at the gynaecology clinic of the Minna General Hospital. Have you kept your word?

To answer the question in a modest way,

Because of the seriousness that I attach to the reforms in the health sector, I personally anchored the last maternal and child health week, administering vaccination to women and Vitamin A supplements to children I would say, yes! I have kept my word. I devote three days in a week to treating and caring for patients. While my first working day is for consultation, the second day is when I perform surgical operations and on the third day, I conduct ward rounds to review cases and see how patients are recuperating.

How do you cope with domestic issues, especially creating time for your family?

The truth is, it is really not easy but with understanding and proper planning, I make sure my family and domestic matters are well attended to. Despite my tight schedule, I still play my role as a mother and as a wife.

So far, how many patients have benefitted from your initiative?

Through the same initiative, over 3,500 women have so far been screened across the state for breast cancer and those found with lumps have been referred for further tests and treatment. We have also renovated a section of the Kontagora General Hospital and opened a VVF Camp where other doctors and I conducted free VVF surgery on 20 women.

As the wife of the state governor, have you been forthcoming with the social welfare component of your intervention?

Social welfare is very important because that is one way we can get to the people and indeed the communities. So far, I have distributed 101 wheel chairs, several food items and other forms of aid to people living with disabilities in the state. And because of the seriousness that I attach to the reforms in the health sector, I personally anchored the last maternal and child health week, administering vaccination to women and Vitamin A supplements to children.

What will you say is your major aim, especially in the health sector?

Well, what more can I say? I strongly believe that with achievements in the area of maternal health care and Governor Bello’s strong commitment to further motivate the health workforce for improved health outcomes. My aim is that Niger State will no doubt be on its way to the top in the area of health care delivery.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

ACCESSORIES

Sophisticated clutch purses Vanessa Okwara

T

he right accessories can make or break your outfit. One accessory particularly important on both function and a fashion level is the clutch purse. Clutch purse is a lasting style that offers great versatility. When attending an evening party or a special event, your clutch purse will help your dress and shoes make specific impressions.

Clutches have gained popularity over the years; they combine a modern and old-fashioned appeal. Their small size and strapless simplicity is quite appealing. Like all fabulous bags, clutches take an outfit to the next level.

They are an ideal match for formal wear, but work well with smart casuals too. Clutches come in different colours and sizes. You can also find them in circular, square and rectangular shapes with attractive designs to match your dresses and taste.

These clutch hand purse are often made with fancy chain so that you can either carry it with your hand or put it over your shoulder.

Clutch purse not only look modern and minimal but they also assist you to carry only items that are necessary for that event. The right clutch pulls together your outfit while serving the practical purpose of carrying all of your essentials. Most clutches are just big enough to hold your phone, lipstick, gloss, cash and don’t forget to carry your keys too.

A clutch purse can make a statement or discreetly blend in with your outfit. There are many styles to choose from- budget bags to high-end designer clutch bags. Consider these factors to determine the perfect clutch for your evening out. Once you’ve decided which style works for you, choose a versatile colour or pattern and flaunt your clutch purse today!

17

Body&Soul

Body&Soul

SUNDAY, 31 JULY

18

Sexy bare shoulders Vanessa Okwara

T

he heat is on and the holiday fever is catching up as up of people take leave of absence from work to go for vacation with friends and family.

This season is the perfect excuse to show off some skin and off-the-shoulder tops and dresses can help you. There is nothing sexier that a perfectly toned bare shoulders! Off-the-shoulder top is the flirtiest and flattering piece of clothing a woman can wear.

Off the shoulder trend helps to showcase just the right amount of skin, flatter a variety of body shapes and sizes, and give off that laid-back, romantic vibe we all love to portray. Also, you can pair offthe-shoulder tops well with pretty much

anything you have in your closet, from denim cutoffs and skinny jeans, to swingy mini skirts.

With tons of different kinds of tops and dresses out there, there are so many ways to incorporate this trend into your wardrobe. As it turns out, off-the-shoulder tops are actually quite versatile – depending on the accessories, they can be dressed up or be made to look super casual.

They expose a little skin without being too in-your-face sexy and they work for everyone, no matter what your individual style is The shoulder baring silhouette is definitely the style hit of the moment. It’s a showstopper, breezy and work perfectly for romantic strolling and date night.

Important tips to note though: Strapless bra: Buy a good strapless bra and forget about all the mess of wearing one with straps or going braless. Look for beige one since it can be easily worn under white or black tops as well.

Balance: off the shoulder tops are fantastic for those with pear or hourglass shaped figures, as it balances out the proportions.

Big-chest tip: if you have a big chest, avoid adding any long necklace on top of the blouse because your boobs will look really awkward. However, you can always choose off the shoulder tops with straps, especially when wearing a bra underneath.

When selecting an off the shoulder style, the top should fit your shoulders

Editor’s current obsession

19

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

Wine & Dine

Cheese Pizza wine pairing Ibukunoluwa Kayode

A

classic slice of cheese pizza with red sauce is a quintessential slice.

The red sauce becomes the focal point of the wine pairing because of its acidity and intense flavour.

Wine with pizza is like beer with fish and chips. The taste pair of wine with pizza is savoury and friendly to the palate. There are a multitude of wines that will match your meal.

Out of the classic wines that can match up with a slice of cheese pizza is the GSM. This is the acronym for the blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. These are vintage grape wines grown in Abruzzo, a region east

of Rome.

For the pepperoni pizza, Sangiovese or Cabernet Franc is the best choice. Due to the pepperoni strong flavour made with cured beef and pork mashed together with variety of spices like cayenne pepper, anise, garlic powder, paprika and sugar. A strong wine with intense flavours is needed to balance the fat content of the pepperoni.

This makes Sangiovese a classic choice as the most popular red grape of Italy, and Cabernet Franc is a surprisingly good alternative too.

With its aromatic notes of fresh basil and the use of other lightly flavoured fresh ingredients (tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella), a Rosé is the perfect Margerita pizza wine pairing.

Biwom Iklaki

T

he kids are home on this very long vacation and some parents may be at a loss as to what to do to keep them entertained.

This easy at home no yeast pizza is perfect to make for the kids while enlisting their help to keep them occupied as well as save on an otherwise expensive trip to the pizza shops.

You can either make this in a heavy pan or in an oven. This means it is twice as fast!

Ingredients 3 cups flour 1 tbsp sugar ¾ tsp salt Oil: 1 tbsp, ½ tsp baking powder: 1/3 tsp baking soda 3 tbsp yogurt 1 cup Water (adjust as needed) Toppings Pizza sauce or Pesto, ½ cup onions (sliced) 10-12 Olives (chopped roughly)

Of course, if you’re a red wine-only type of drinker, Garnacha is going to work well too.

When deciding whether or not you’re going to have a red, white or rosé; stick to lighter reds as a starting point.

Are you a sausage pizza lover? If you are, then bolder red wine will do the magic. Fullbodied wines like Syrah and Pinotage work well with rich meats like sausage which has to do with the spices used (including fennel, anise, thyme and oregano) and the flavour intensities. Both Syrah and Pinotage will greet you with their intense dark fruit flavours of blackberry, olive, plum and blueberry which should work well with a fennel-driven sausage.

½ cup chopped bell pepper 3 tsp Olive oil Chilly flakes (optional) Italian seasoning (optional) Mozzarella cheese: 2 cups (or as needed) Preparation 1.

Sieve into a large mixing bowl your flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda, mix well and make a well in the middle.

Add your oil, yogurt and water and knead into a soft, smooth and elastic dough, you could add more water till you achieve this.

Apply oil all over the dough and place in a bowl then wrap the bowl with cling film and set aside for about 6-8 hours. Open up the bowl and the dough would have doubled in size. Coat your hands with more oil and pick up the bowl and knead some more on a floured table. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts and roll into balls. Set the balls aside for another 10 minutes then roll to desired thickness. Prick the rolled dough with a fork to prevent it puffing up. Heat up your pan at medium heat, place the dough in the pan and let it cook till it has light brown spots underneath. Flip over the pizza to the other side and spread sauce, veggies, cheese etc. Pour some olive oil on the sides and let it cook until the cheese melts and the pizza is brown and crispy at the sides. It could take 5-6 minutes and it is done.

No yeast pan pizza

20

Body&Soul

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Here Beyond Play on lace Biwom Iklaki

L

ace is the all-time most glamourous, classic and feminine fabric in the world. Little wonder then that it is also the go-to fabric of most brides irrespective of race, colour or age. Red carpets around the world too are notorious for celebrities who spot lace in a bid to out-glam each other. Some of the most exquisite and equally terribly expensive fabrics in the world are lace. Designers too are not left out in their choice of lace as the fabric of all fabrics to showcase their designs. These fabrics are often hand woven or spun and dyed with the utmost care one can give to a garment. They are so delicate even

the washing instructions could come as a manual, you get that right? One wrong move in caring for these deliciously sinful pieces of clothing and they are ruined forever!

Take some time to oogle some of these masterpieces and see that here or beyond, the lust for lace ensembles is as keen as you could ever imagine. Have you got a piece in your wardrobe? Surely, with the strides women have made in the world, you need no telling to pick yourself one of these ultra-feminine fabrics that would flatter your figure and showcase your personality as the strong, proud and sexy woman of your generation‌wherever you are.

21

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

Body&Soul

Omoni Oboli Delectable team Natural Ifeoluwa Adeyemo

O

moni Oboli is a Nigerian actress and producer. The award winning actress is a decent of Delta State and was born in Benin city. She is also a producer and multi talented in everything she does. Evidence of this is her ability to emerge as Best actress and Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles movie awards in 2010.

Her road to stardom started during her university days at the University of Benin where she majored in French and shot her first film. After which she took a ten year break during which she got married and had her three handsome boys.

Returning to the screen in 2009 took a new look for Omoni, staring in the movie ‘Entanglement’ and the award winning movies, ‘The Figurine’, ‘Anchor Baby’ and more.

Omoni Oboli is that one celebrity that loves to keep it real 100 percent and we must say she does a pretty job at it. The delectable actress is a woman who knows how to make heads turn when she steps out for events including her own movie premieres in her elegant dresses with detailed flower prints. The beautiful mother has ditched her waves for a natural look which seems to be trending right now and she definitely looks good in hers. When it comes to the team naturale look, Omoni is regarded as queen of slay. On a casual day, she loves to rock denim jeans along with shorts and nice shoes to match. She looks effortless as possible; not always having heavy make up on makes every outfit she wears a breath of fresh air.

Recently, she was tapped to be the face of Ayo Van Elmar’s spring summer 2016 ‘Fishbone’ collection.

22

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

with

Juliet Bumah +234 81 1 675 9770

julietbumah@gmail.com

Patra’s dilemma 14 Juliet Bumah

P

IUS’ mouth was inches from hers. His sweet, warm breath fanned her face. The sweet breath that usually turned her giddy with desire...but not just this very moment; danger lurked at the door.

She turned her face but couldn’t see who was at the door because Pius was bent over her face. Her face turned white as fear gripped her. Her mind told her that Richie had finally caught them.

Oh no! Why now? How would she explain this?

Richie had shown a side of him that she never knew existed. She never believed that he could hit her, which he had done. Although she made it look like it was nothing, Richie’s action had jarred her. If he could hit a pregnant her under whatever influence, then, he could do more. If he could keep a second home and hid it from her for years, then he could do worse. How could he have kept the fact that he was sterile secret from her for years and watched her agonize for years? Anger surged through her, then the fear again. She realised that she must face her demon.

She braced herself...

PIUS straightened up and hmmmmmmm...it was a nurse! So much scary things rushed through her mind.

What if it had been her husband, Richie? What would have happened? She exhaled loudly. It was then she realised that she had been holding her breath.

All of a sudden, the baby kicked and kicked. It was as if there was commotion in her belly. She closed her eyes as her body tensed, Pius patted her hand.

“Later,” he muttered, phlegm caught in his throat.

Patra merely nodded. She could not utter a word.

Fear had radiated over her body. She felt funny, all of a sudden.

She exhaled as the door closed behind Pius and barely responded to the nurse’s greetings.

The nurse took her vital signs, scribbled something quickly on the file and asked if she was experiencing any pain or headache.

As Patra opened her mouth to say something, pain tore through her body and she screamed. The nurse picked the receiver on the bed side stool and dialed the doctor’s room on the intercom, but no response. Patra tried to sit up, she was asked to lie still. The nurse hurried to get the doctor. ******* Richie saw the handsome stranger coming out of the reception door as he drove into the hospital. By the time he parked the car and ran to the hospital gate, the man was no where in sight. If he had come with the driver, the guy wouldn’t have escaped.

He cursed and rushed into the hospital.

Immediately he entered Room F, he charged at his wife with blinding rage and barked, “Who was that man? So you got him to visit you here?”

He took hold of her shoulders and shook her, yelling in anger. Patra stared at him in horror as pain tore through her body in spasms.

The doctor and two nurses barged into the room. It was then that Richie noticed for the first time that water was flowing between his wife’s legs.

The shouts died in his throat.

Dr. KC pushed him aside and started examining Patra.

With his gaze still trained on his patient, he dished out instructions to the nurses.

“Get the theatre ready immediately. You, get a stretcher and move her immediately.”

He then turned to Richie. “We’re taking her to the theatre. She’s in labour. You can see the water is broken.

It’s an emergency,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Labour at seven months? Is it bad?” Richie asked sheepishly.

“Very,” Dr. KC replied, businesslike.

Richie watched as his wife was wheeled away.

As an afterthought, Richie screamed, “I didn’t hurt her,” after the the receding medical personnel wheeling his wife away.

If Dr. KC or the nurses heard him, they betrayed no emotion as they moved briskly down the hallway and disappeared into the theatre.

Richie walked to the door of the theatre and stopped.

He wondered why he suddenly seemed to get everything wrong.

“Who would believe I did nothing to her? Why did I shake her shoulders? Why didn’t I notice she wasn’t feeling fine? Why do I lose my temper so easily these days? When misfortune decides to visit a man, it comes with a coffin to bury him,” Richie mused as he paced up and down the corridor.

He was worried that Dr. KC would think that he rough handled Patra even in the hospital ward.

He walked back into the ward and began to pray. He ignored the phone when it rang. When it rang the third time, he picked it. *** Pius’ mind was in a turmoil. He felt he heard someone scream as he moved down the hospital’s corridor. As he moved further away from the hospital, the feeling got stronger.

Something was dancing at the fringe of his mind, an idea he could just not grasp.

Then it hit him and he stopped dead in his track.

The baby in Patra’s womb was hyperactive! He had travelled that route in the past. Each time his late wife went into labour, they noticed such increased activity in her womb! He recalled that they rushed to the hospital during his late wife’s first pregnancy when they noticed that the child was ‘moving too much’. The doctor told them then that she was in labour.

Labour! Could Patra be in labour at seven months?

He felt hot and his hands became clammy. His late wife went into a premature labour at 28 weeks and gave birth to his second daughter!

He took his phone and remembered that Patra said she would call when the coast was clear. He dialed her number anyway. When it rang out the first time, he concluded she was asleep. Then, something told him all was not well with Patra and he dialed her number again and it was not answered.

He was a few paces away from the hotel. He simply turned round and started walking back to the hospital.

He dialed again. It was answered. A gruff voice said ‘Hello’. He was taken aback.

The voice demanded to know who he was and what

he wanted. Pius said nothing, not because he didn’t want to say anything, but because words failed him.

He simply cut the line and continued to the hospital. *** When Pius pushed open the door of Private Ward F, he saw a man seated on the bed, praying. Richie recognised him immediately as the visitor that came looking for his wife. He sprang up and charged towards Pius.

Pius quickly shut the door in his face and walked briskly towards the reception area. Richie caught up with him at the reception and threw him a punch from behind.

“How dare you show your ugly face here again. You slept with my wife and deposited your bastard in her! I will make sure you rot in jail...” Richie shouted on and on as he held on to Pius’ belt from the back.

The few people at the reception looked on. No one offered to separate them. They were patients anyway.

The nurse rushed out and came back with two security men.

“Take them outside,” the nurse told the security men, adding, “The noise is disturbing our patients”.

The security men pleaded with Richie to leave the gentleman alone.

He shouted at them, “Who is the gentleman? You call a man who is sleeping with my wife a gentleman? A man who put my wife in the family way? Now, my wife’s life is in danger and he came here again to...”

The news that Patra’s life was in danger jolted Pius.

He turned around smartly, suddenly and Richie missed his step. He lost his grip on Pius’ belt. The security men helped steady him. As Pius made to move away, Richie threw a punch at him again. Pius turned back few steps and threw Richie a punch on the right shoulder.

He said, apologetically, to the security men, “Sorry, I had to ‘unwing’ him momentarily. Don’t worry, he will be ok.” ****** Wow! The two men have gone physical! Who wins?

Meanwhile, what’s up with Patra in the theatre? Let’s find out on Sunday!

•Send your observations to: julietbumah@gmail.com

23

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

Amaechi: Awolowo betrayed Igbos, but it’s time to restructure Nigeria p.24&25

Grazing Reserves should be restricted to North, says Sen. Utazi p.27

The Sunday Interview

Buhari can't defeat corruption using 'fraudulent' constitution - Tony Nyaim p28-29

Politics

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

Budget padding: Uneasy calm as Jibrin exposes Dogara W

Philip Nyam, ABUJA

hen on Wednesday, July 20, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara announced the resignation of Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation at the plenary, little did he envisage that his action would open up a can of worms in the lower chamber.

Dogara had announced that as part of measures to reposition the chambers budgeting process, the House leadership agreed to change the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee. He added that “fortunately,” the appropriation committee chairman approached him same morning to inform that he was resigning from the position.

But Jibrin in a sharp response declared that his resignation was "circumstantial".

He said "Of course, we are all aware of a lot of issues that took place during the process of the 2016 budget. I have always maintained one position that as chairman of appropriation, I did my very best.

He continued: "Until date, I have said if anybody has anything that I have done that amounts to an abuse of my office or amounts to an illegality, that it should be brought forward.”

Jibrin noted that "Of course, I will not shy away from the fact that there are a lot of issues in the House and as I have said, some of these issues I will be addressing them in due course" Jibrin speaks Of course, in line with his promise to speak to the media in due course, Jibrin dropped the first bombshell when he called on Speaker Yakubu Dogara, his deputy, Yussuff Lasun, Minority Leader, Leo Ogor and chief whip, Alhassan Ado Doguwa to resign for alleged budget padding. Jibrin accused Dogara and the other principal officers of illegally inserting and allocating projects worth over N20 billion to their constituencies in 2016 explaining that his refusal to inject another N30 billion into the budget for the speaker earned him the sack.

“These members of the body of principal officers were not comfortable with my independent disposition and my refusal to cover up their unilateral decision to allocate to themselves N40billion out of the N100billion allocated to the entire National Assembly. The four of them met and took that decision. In addition to billions of wasteful projects running over N20billion they allocated to their constituencies. They must come out clean.

“My inability to admit into the budget almost N30 billion personal requests from Mr. Speaker and the three other principal officers also became an issue. I wish I could but where will I get such money in a tight

Dogara

budget year like this? I have every documented evidence to this effect,” he said.

House reacts Following the damaging allegations, the leadership of the House was compelled to reply Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin. The House through its spokesman, Hon. Abdulrazaq Namdas accused Namdas but exonerated Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers of any wrongdoing or complicity in all the allegations of budget padding and sundry corrupt practices leveled against them by Jibrin. Exonerating the speaker of any wrongdoing, the House spokesman noted that “The leadership of both Chambers, including the Appropriations and Finance Committees are normally and traditionally allocated certain percentages of these funds, for inclusion in the Appropriation Bill for projects. The remaining funds are distributed to members of the National Assembly for inclusion of their preferred projects in the budget.

This has also been the established tradition over the years.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has not deviated from established practices, precedents and traditions in this matter.

Defending the actions of the speaker in tampering with the budget, Namdas stated that “The legislature is, therefore, constitu-

Jibrin

tionally incapable of padding the budget.

The removal, introduction of projects or the amendment of Mr. President's estimates in the Appropriation Bill cannot and should never be construed as an act of corruption or impropriety because it is at the core of appropriation powers of the National Assembly as aptly enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

“It is, therefore, clear that no crime or wrong doing can be legitimately imputed on the actions or conduct of Mr. Speaker, the leadership or members of the House of Representatives before, during and after the passage of the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

Jibrin’s sins Although, the speaker did not give precise reasons why Jibrin decided to ‘’resign,’ ’Namdas, in responding to the series of allegations against the leadership clarified that Jibrin was relieved of his position for “abuse of the budgetary process, lack of credibility, blackmail of colleagues and heads of MDAs, and corrupt antecedents capable of bringing the institution of the parliament to disrepute”.

He disclosed that “The Leadership was also in receipt of complaints about his activities as Chair of Finance Committee in the 7th Assembly, which had potentials to embarrass the House. Investigations found that from 2011 - 2015 Hon Abdulmumin domiciled with Hadejia - Jama'are River Basin Authority and few other MDAs some

of the allocations meant for his former Finance Committee members.

Namdas said: “Hon Abdulmumin had initially inflated the Budget by adding about N250billion more to the total figure as submitted by Mr. President. This the NASS leadership out rightly rejected as a form of financial recklessness and inability to appreciate the dwindling resources available to government necessitating that we act prudently.

He alleged that apart from the N4.1 billion he whimsically allocated to his constituency in the budget “Jibrin also inserted N3 billion in the budget for the establishment of film village in his constituency without the knowledge or consent of President Muhammadu Buhari”.

Jibrin calls out Dogara The House’s reaction incensed Jibrin to reel out more detailed allegations accusing Dogara of using 10 committee chairmen to perpetrate this alleged fraudulent dealings by introducing 2000 projects worth over N280 billion in the 2016 budget.

Jibrin said, "When the Appropriation Committee received all the budget reports from standing committees, an analysis was conducted. We discovered that about 10 only out of the 96 Standing Committees of the House introduced about 2,000 projects CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

24

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

politics

Amaechi: Awolowo betrayed Igbos, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi is First Republic Minister of Aviation, an elder statesman and one of the three surviving foremost nationalists in Nigeria today. At 87, Amaechi’s mind remains as sharp as ever. He still manages his small scale factory in his country home in Anambra State, where he tells KENNETH OFOMA his views on some current national issues. The fiery member of Zikist Movement and a prominent member of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) and later National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), speaks about the urgent need to halt the nation’s fast slide to disintegration through dialogue and restructuring of the polity There has been increasing clamour for restructuring of the country in recent times. But the Chairman of Northern Elders Council, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai has warned the Igbos against falling for what he called the Yoruba bait for restructuring, saying that was how the Yoruba tricked the Igbos into civil war. What is your take on restructuring?

Let me say I have read the comments or statements of Alhaji Tanko Yakassai. I want it to be clear, Tanko is a very, very close friend of mine and we share similar views on major political issues in Nigeria. This has been from before independence when he was a leading figure in the Northern Elements Progressives Union (NEPU), and I was a prominent figure also in the National Convention for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC).

Since then we have been close friends and comrades. His statement that I read in the paper about what Chief Obafemi Awolowo did before the commencement of the secession and the following civil war, Biafra, is correct. It was a betrayal because in his (Awo’s) private discussions with (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu) Ojukwu, he encouraged Ojukwu to secede and made it public that immediately Biafra seceded, Yoruba land would follow. Well, I wouldn’t know what he reported to (Yakubu) Gowon who sent him to meet Ojukwu at Onitsha, but it would appear that what he reported to Gowon was that ‘if Biafra was allowed to secede, then Yoruba would also secede’; which means that everything must be done to stop Biafra seceding. It is quite a different thing from saying immediately you go, we will follow. That was a double talk and a betrayal.

Be that as it may, in Nigerian politics, the Igbos and the North had on major democratic dispensations worked together. In the First Republic, the NCNC of Dr. (Nnamdi) Azikiwe worked in a coalition government with the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) of Sardauna of Sokoto. This working together was peaceful until 1964 when a faction of the Action Group lead by Akintola opted to go and work with the Sardauna of Sokoto in displacement of the NCNC. And it appeared that Sardauna welcomed the idea, the crisis that followed Awolowo’s imprisonment and the crisis in the Western House of Assembly and 'Operation Wetie' incident in the West led to a major split and crisis. Eventually, the military took over the government of the country. And the North and the West joined together to fight the East.

Again, in 1979, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) formed an alliance with the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP). NPP was lead

by Zik and controlled the Igbo states and Plateau and there was peace in the country until 1983 when NPP decided to go into what they called the 'Progressives Alliance' with Awolowo, Waziri Ibrahim and Balarabe Musa. Again jettisoning the NPN, there was trouble in the country and the military stepped in again in 1983.

Today, it is the Yorubas and the North.

When we were in the NCNC, in the First Republic, even though we were in alliance with the North, we did not deny Yorubaland what was due to them. They had their ministers, they had all the appointments

Amaechi

due them and the economy was managed equitably. That is the difference now. The difference now is that we have YorubaNorthern government, the idea now is to make Igbo a slave part of the country and this is totally unacceptable to Ndigbo. The younger elements can no longer tolerate the situation where they are said to belong to a country but the country does not recognise them as full citizens of that country.

Then on the restructuring of the country…?

Talking about restructuring, I don’t think my friend Yakassai got it right. The idea of restructuring was as a result of agitation that there should be a renegotiation of the basis of the federation, because of imbalances, inequities and injustices noticed.

The past last government of Goodluck Jonathan arranged a national conference; I wasn’t a member of the national conference, Ohanaeze put up my name and Mrs. Azikiwe’s name. I heard Ohanaeze President told us that the governor of Anambra State deleted my name and Mrs. Azikiwe’s name from the list of delegates to the conference. Whether it was true or not, I wasn’t there, but the conference decided that Nigeria should be restructured and they

made some specific recommendations. The North had appropriate representatives at the conference presided over by a northerner.

So to say that restructuring is a demand of the Yorubas and that they are inciting the Igbos to follow suit is not a true statement.

I think Yakassai got the sequence and the position a little mixed up here. The true position now is that even if the conference did not recommend restructuring, every patriotic Nigerian, every sensible Nigerian, every objective Nigerian should know that this country is crumbling; that there is no more that mutual confidence that makes us a family in the country. The South-East is totally neglected, ignored and is being treated as the slave part of the country.

The South-South is suffering crisis; you have the Avengers crisis; you have the MEND crisis, you have the militant crisis there. And these crises, the organisers have some specific demands, then the whole demands, all hinge and border on the fact that there is improper amalgamation or improper arrangement of the basis of the federation of the country.

If the government of the country decides to ignore what is going on in the SouthSouth and the South East and chose to go

ahead that it doesn’t matter, I don’t think it’s a proper way a government should look at the situation. There is real danger in this country and people must accept it, the government must come down to dialogue.

The word is dialogue. What is required, what is important now is for people to talk; government should not say ‘we are government, we are not going to talk to anybody, we will oppress you; we will suppress you with the force of military and so forth’, It won’t work. It would lead to loss of lives and destruction of things. Look at the destruction going on in the Niger Delta area now. It’s all affecting the economy of the country and government refuses to face and see reality. The reality is that people are not satisfied and the destruction is growing.

Talking about the Yorubas and the North, a very substantial part of the Yorubas is not happy. The government of Nigeria now appears to be a government of a particular region ruling the whole country. Look at all the appointments, in the military, in the armed forces, in the civil service, in political appointments. All of them are going to one side of the country and people pretend that all is well. Yes, those Yorubas who are there in the government will receive their

25

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

politics

but it’s time to restructure Nigeria The government of Nigeria now appears to be a government of a particular region ruling the whole country. Look at all the appointments, both in the military, in the armed forces, in the civil service, into political offices

salaries, they will give them money and so forth, but the whole country is smoldering, this country is at the edge of a declivity that cannot be controlled. There is need for the government to arrange for people to come together and talk frankly as members of a family, how to correct the errors and how to be one.

Are you suggesting another conference?

By whatever way, but there is need for people of Nigeria to come together; they will review the report of the last conference. People should review the report of last conference and build something and add something or subtract something and then recommend.

Could you look at it this way that the hardship in the country is as a result of recession which appears to be global in the sense that the price of crude oil has slumped and Nigeria is a mono-product economy?

Yes there is hardship which is caused by the general decline in the economy of the country and the world. But there is also the crisis of the management of what we have.

I was a minister in the government that ran this country for six years when there was no oil. We did not depend on oil, there was no oil in our time but Nigeria was vibrant, the economy was buoyant and everybody was happy until the unpatriotic military intervention in the affairs of government in this country and the military stayed for as long as 38 years. And so, pushing in corruption and stealing, the military government introduced this massive stealing in this country.

And the recovery of the stolen property and even the checking of stealing and corruption in the country is not progressive.

The government has been in power for one year now, not a single case has been successfully prosecuted in any court of law, including the cases that arose even in Olusegun Obasanjo era, in the Goodluck Jonathan era; many governors who were sent to court for stealing in millions and billions of the wealth of their states are still senators there now. The cases are no longer mentioned. The same thing is about happening now.

Could this be why the President has said that the judiciary is the problem of the fight against corruption?

I support the President’s statement that the judiciary is not helping the situation, the President is right with that statement.

Is it also the duty of Mr. President to send some bills for possible judicial reforms to create special courts for corruption cases as some people have suggested?

There are so many cases of corruption, there are so many people involved, and if you set up one special court for that it will still take a longer time. But the present Federal High Courts are spread all over the country; you see we don’t want to set up a

Amaechi

parallel judicial system; we can still manage with the present courts in the country.

The only thing is that the judges and the lawyers are doing their job; where a case is too bad for their clients they buy time. It is the duty of the judges to stop that in their own courts. A judge should be able to sit down and say no, we are not going to give you this adjournment. But look at all their judgments in the cases, even starting from those of 2009, 2010, and so forth.

Let’s digress a little to Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

Many people are saying that Igbos are not united and cannot speak with one voice, they are easily divided along party lines unlike the North that will always speak with one voice irrespective of party affiliations. What role do you think Ohanaeze can play to help Igbo come together?

You see, Ohanaeze has a problem of leadership. The present leadership of Ohanaeze does not command respect and it is not doing its work. It is said Nemo dat quod non habet, (nobody can give what he doesn’t have). They are doing the best they can but their best is not good enough for the present situation in the country. In

our own time, we had the NCNC and the Action Group and the NPC and so forth, but whenever there was an issue of common interest to the whole of Igbo land, we used to come together across party lines and discuss Igbo question. But that is not the situation now.

What of the role of the Igbo governors?

The Igbo governors are not helping the situation. They don’t see themselves as leaders elected by the various states to lead them; they see themselves as administrators who are to administer a government and wield power. They are not interested in the overall interest of the people; they are only interested in governmental matters and so forth. So they don’t see themselves as leaders of the people. It is the governors who should initiate some actions and if it is a respected leadership of Ohanaeze the governors will oblige. But the leadership of Ohanaeze is defective as at now, that is the problem.

What is your advice to leaders at the federal level who appear unconcerned about so many objective criticisms about the

way things are going, particularly besides the President, even people like Alhaji Yakassai and the northern elders?

Well, I have been in this country, I have been in government, I have been in politics.

I’m retired but I’m not apolitical. And in the whole country now, of the people who lead Nigeria in government in the First Republic, only three of us are still remaining.

Shehu Shagari, Maitama Sule and myself, only three of us in the whole country. If people don’t want to listen to us, if people don’t want to hear us, to consult us, to seek our views, well they are ignoring us to their peril. But if you look at what is happening in the Niger Delta area, if you come to watch what is happening in Igboland now, if you want to watch what is happening in Borno, Adamawa and North-East area now, and also then you put into it the new army in Nigeria known as the Fulani cattle rearers; who are armed to the teeth with the most sophisticated military weapons Who provides the weapons? Who trained them on how to use the weapons? And why is the government led by a Fulani man keeping silent? What is happening?

Is the government aware of what is happening? Is the government encouraging the Fulanis to invade certain Christian areas and kill them? They come and kill and nobody talks!

On the part of Igbo leaders and politicians now, I say are they cowardly or are they mercenary or are they naïve? At Onitsha the other day, soldiers opened fire at Nkpor in a church and killed people and when they kill these people they take them away. The traditional Igbo system says that “isi nwonye Igbo adighi ato na mba, isi nwonye Igbo adighi efu efu” (the head of an Igbo man does get lost or missing in Diaspora); but these people kill and take away. They did it at Aba, killed the Igbos there, the young men there, and took their bodies away. And then the Igbo religious leaders, Igbo politicians, Igbo leaders of thought are keeping quiet, they won’t even talk. I’m not asking them to be violent, because violence does not solve any problem, but the President sees all these things and appears not to bother about them. One day the fire might spread so much that he cannot control it again. We have lost so many lives in this country; we have got so many property destroyed in this country, the infrastructure is decaying, unemployment is growing in this country, poverty is growing in the country, investment is no longer coming into the country; something must be done, government must control it and not just playing politics by issuing press releases and or appearing that it is a situation where a section of the country has now conquered the whole country and they are now ruling the whole country. That is the impression they are giving now.

Budget padding: Uneasy calm as Jibrin exposes Dogara CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

without the knowledge of their committee members amounting to about N284 billion.

I was alarmed.

He asked: "So, is it Abdul that introduced 2,000 projects into budget worth N284billion? But I quietly bore the pain and abuses from all over the country and continued to defend the committee’s input as a show of loyalty to the institution I represent which I so much love and still have many great minds in there.

Continuing, Jibrin revealed that "During the budget period, when they discovered that I was not the kind of a person they could use to perpetrate their illegality, Mr. Speaker and the 3 other principal officers

took away the entire Appropriation Committee Secretariat to a secret location where all sort of insertions were made into the budget" "Mr. Speaker also directed me to create what I advised him will be a controversial line item under service wide vote to introduce about N20 billion project using the name of NASS. He directed me to see a highly placed PDP politician which I did and collected the documents. I advised him repeatedly against it but he kept pressuring me until I bluntly told him I will not!

Jibrin insisted the allegations are against the quartet of Dogara, Yusuf Lasun, Doguwa and Leo Ogor not the Honourable House as an institution nor other members of the body of principal offi-

cers. Groups and caucuses have begun to emerge with the Transparency Group led

by Hon. Mohammed Soba (APC, Kaduna) calling for independent investigation into the allegations leveled by Jibrin against the speaker and other principal officers.

Similarly, the Gombe State caucus in the House has thrown its weight behind the speaker and urged Nigerians to disregard his allegations.

As the allegations keep pouring in torrents, Speaker Dogara has issued a sevenday ultimatum to Jibrin to retract the allegations or face a legal action. But Jibrin has called the bluff of the speaker and concluded arrangement with his lawyers to formally petition the EFCC and ICPC.

26

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

politics

Villa Notes emmyanule@yahoo.com

T

Anule Emmanuel

ackling insecurity in every part of the country obviously was one of the cardinal objectives of the present All Progressives Congress-led government which President Muhammadu Buhari aptly presented to Nigerians when he took oath of office and allegiance at a colourful swearing-in ceremony alongside his Vice, Professor Yemi Osibanjo at the Eagle Square in Abuja on May 29, 2015.

As a soldier himself and an acclaimed disciplined officer who had ruled Nigeria in the past but in uniform, Buhari did not leave anyone in doubt about his capacity to cut the wings of any group perpetuating violence in parts of the country, especially the Boko Haram insurgents who were almost in control of the North-East region at the time.

One exciting issue in the President's remarks when he addressed the nation and guests at that event was his immediate directive to the military top brass to relocate its tactical command center from Abuja to Maiduguri where the action was, as a strategy to defeat the insurgency in the North-East.

This singular decision has yielded positive results considering recent revelations that the military to a large extent has defeated Boko Haram and regained control of about 14 local governments hitherto under the authority of the sect in the region.

President Buhari himself, the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and the Minister of Interior

N/Delta militancy and presidential dilemma (rtd) Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau have both at different fora confirmed that as far as the insurgency in the North-East was concerned, it was nothing than a won battle by the military.

Watching President Barrack Obama of the United States deliver a stirring speech endorsing the Democratic Party's candidate Hillary Clinton for the American presidency recently, it was touching to hear him say that "the truth is that nobody fully understands the challenges of the job of President until you actually sat at that desk. Everybody is got an opinion, but nobody actually knows the job until you sit in behind the desk'.

Everybody can twit, but nobody knows how to do the job until you sat behind the deck”.

Could this also relate to President Buhari’s case who has had a shot at the presidency before? Did the President know the enormity of work that awaited him when he consecutively sought for the plumb job three times in the past?

Obviously, one is not sure with the later question because times have really changed. Maybe, like he once said, he would have returned earlier than now when he was a much younger person.

Only few months into office, President Buhari confronted a new challenge which he apparently did not anticipate could escalate to the damaging level Nigerians see today, the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region.

The wanton destruction of oil and gas

installations by the regrouped militants including the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) since President Buhari came on board, has no doubt contributed significantly to the nation’s crippling economy which already has been officially confirmed to be in recession. Oil revenues have plummeted as a result of the sharp decline in daily crude oil production which fell from about 2.1million barrel per day down to almost 1.3million barrels per day.

While the bombing of national assets by the militants continues unabated, discordant tunes have been pouring in, about what best option to be taken to arrest the destructive situation.

An almost frustrated President Buhari at some point went for the stick approach and threatened to deal with the militants if attacks on oil and gas facilities did not stop. Of course, the President’s threat was followed with heightened military presence in the region. As a military man, there was no need to thread softly with an illegal group after all.

Democracy is beyond making decrees and taking intuitive actions without consultations, so the criticisms which followed the military action compelled the President to withdraw soldiers in the area. President Buhari has since cried out to the various militant groups to shield their sword and embrace peace.

He has equally begged religious and traditional rulers to intervene in the matter with a window of negotiation for the restive youth.

Like many others who do not believe in the use of force as the best option to quell the militancy the Niger Delta, the Bayelsa State governor Sarieke Dickson re-echoes these views. When he met with President Buhari last Wednesday Dickson insisted that rather, it was critical for political leaders to mobilize stakeholders to resolve the problem through dialogue. He argues that because of the complex nature of the region, only peaceful dialogue could guarantee positive results.

Sadly, while the President has told Nigerians that negotiations are on with the militants through oil companies and law enforcement agencies, the various groups with exception of the Movement For the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) have denied any engagement with the government.

President Buhari and his team must really be in a dilemma at this moment.

He has a duty to listen to the concerns of the agitators, the President must at the same time ensure to keep Nigeria as one united and indivisible nation, he must as well, get the economy back strong to improve the living condition of millions of citizens who are presently suffering.

President Buhari definitely needs to remind himself that problem solving is the essence of the leaders' existence As a leader, he must be courageous enough to weigh the numerous options before him and take a definite action to end the Niger Delta militancy and every other causes insecurity in the country.

Malnutrition and Aisha Buhari’s ‘Get Involved’ Abubakar Jimoh

T

he United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), in 2012 released a report tagged ‘At a Glance: Nigeria’. The report stated that: “Nigeria has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the world. One in seven children dies before her or his fifth birthday.”

It noted further that in Nigeria, clean water was hard to come by in northern Nigeria and singled out the General Hospital, Katsina as one health facility among several others in northern Nigeria where ‘half a dozen infants were being treated for severe malnutrition problems.”

In its 2010 report titled, No Child Born To Die, another global partner in child development- Save the Children reported a survey it conducted in Daura and Zango- both in northern Nigeria, thus, “Although Nigeria possesses great wealth in oil and has experienced recent economic growth, 54 per cent of its people live below the poverty line. The poorest 20 per cent of children are three times more likely to be underweight than the richest 20 per cent.

“A mother’s malnutrition is closely linked to malnourishment in her newborn babies and children, so the fact that 18.4 per cent of women of child-bearing age in Katsina State were found to be undernourished is a cause for concern.

“Besides poverty, the other key cause of malnutrition is a lack of access to healthcare, water and sanitation. In northern Nigeria, for example, only 0.9 per cent of infants receive all basic vaccinations and in the two local government areas studied, 34 per cent did not have safe drinking water and 22 per cent did not have a safe way of disposing of human waste.”

Aware of these challenges and to let every citizen feel the impact of government, the Wife

of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari is determined to give everyone a sense of belonging, beyond the channeling of attention to women and children only. This is evident in the christening of her pet project- Future Assured and its offshoot, Get Involved - names that are by no means suggestive of asymmetry but inclusive in form and nature. As the future is assured for women, so it is for men through the various action plans that Mrs. Buhari is rolling out for the upliftment of families and society.

She recently launched Get Involved- a quick interventionist programme to halt yearly deaths of malnourished children in the country on the strength that every child is entitled to a meal every day. She believes that when children are fed regularly and in the required proportions, their parents save money for medications and are free from mental and financial stresses. Nationally, the image and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country are enhanced when its citizens are healthy.

Moreover, by the christening of the programme, it calls for the involvement and supports of local and foreign government agencies and private organizations. Already, some international bodies besides UNICEF and Save The Children are currently assisting Nigeria in the fight against poverty, malnutrition and child mortality. They include World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS) and Department For International Development (DFID).

Currently, the new British Prime Minister Theresa May has been appointed a new ministerial team for the department, which has planned to provide 100 million pounds through the Girls’ Education Challenge to help girls who have dropped out or never attended school. And with the commitments Mrs. Buhari is showing in promoting girls

Buhari

education and other issues concerning the girl-child, Nigeria is likely to benefit from the grant and other grants that have been set aside by development partners in implementing policies aimed at guaranteeing quality food, health, education, sanitation and safe drinking water for every Nigerian.

She has commenced these intervention measures at Bama and Maiduguri camps for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) where she donated four tons of ready to use WomanBeing products (Soy Kunu for adults/ pregnant and lactating mothers and Soyalac for children) to fight malnutrition prevalent among inmates in the camps. These inmates are not only women and children but also adolescent boys, fathers and grandfathers.

The Wife of the President also cares about widows, less privileged and people living with disabilities across the country that she distributed food items such as bags of rice, spaghetti, semolina, packaged garri, sustard, gallons of vegetable oil and cartons of tomato

paste among them last month to cushion effects of hunger among the young and old, irrespective of their sex.

And to strengthen her concern for parents of the abducted Government Secondary School, Chibok students in Borno State, Mrs Buhari recently presented N30 million cash support to them to alleviate their anguish over the disappearance of their girl-children. Each parent of the 215 children that are yet to be rescued got a cash of N139, 000.

In Nigeria, government organizations whose participation is also being sought by the Wife of the President in combating hunger and ensuring qualitative health and education among citizens include Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, Education, Women Affairs and Youth and Sports Development. Already, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has recently launched Rapid Result Initiative to hasten healthcare intervention in the country while National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been vigorous in Vitamin A food fortification, not only for children, but for every citizen. According to NAFDAC, foods fortified with Vitamin A help in improving eyesight and developing bones, muscles and body cells and tissues.

Mrs. Buhari also expects the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to join hands in mitigating high mortality rates among citizens, especially pregnant women and children through the formulation of dependable health policies and implementation plans. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the media are further expected to institute enlightenment strategies in this direction towards discouraging early marriages and teenage pregnancies in combating hunger and infant mortality.

•Dr Abubakar Jimoh , Email: programs@ futureassured.org.ng

27

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

politics

Grazing Reserves should be restricted to North, says Sen. Utazi Senator Godfrey Chukwuka Utazi is a lawyer and he is representing Enugu North Senatorial District of Enugu State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. He is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes. In this interview with CHUKWU DAVID, he speaks on the menace of herdsmen in the country and how he came up with a bill to address the problem Your Bill on Cattle Movement (Control) Bill 2016 has scaled through first reading.

Nigerians would want you to expatiate on the motive behind this Bill?

Thank you for going extra mile to find out from me what the Bill holds for the nation. I have been in the eyes of the storm by virtue of the fact that he who wears the shoes knows where it pinches. In February, I came here complaining about herdsmen’s attack of a community in Uzo Uwani Local Government area in Enugu North Senatorial district of Enugu State. The community that was attacked on February 25 is Abi Community. They killed two persons, burnt yam bans, burnt a lot of farm produce along the line and damaged a lot of things and left. I came with a motion here and it was discussed and as that one was dying down, I was forced to come back on the 29th of the same month after Nimbo Community was attacked and this happened to be at a border between Uzo-Uwani in Enugu State with Kogi States. Abi and Nibo are on that border line. So, they attacked and killed several people. The victims were buried just last month. As I was coming back trying to bury the dead, another issue came up. That one was not the issue of herdsmen attack but people whom people raised charges against.

In this case an Okada Rider gave a ride to somebody from my area. That person was one of my constituents, Ikechukwu Anigbogu; he paid him and returned his fare he couldn’t and instead, on returning his fare he raised a blasphemy and before you know it he was lynched, tied and burnt to ashes.

Shortly after that incident another person Chimaijem Ugwuanyi in Pandongero in Niger State was on May 29, 2016, lynched for sharing on his Facebook Wall a post, sent to a mass number of Facebook users which a section of the populace in that area considered blasphemous. This young man wrote his University Matriculation Examination and scored 268 when the result was out and waiting for his admission in one of the universities of his choice by September this year, but was also lynched for an alleged offence not worth the death of anyone. When they were chasing him he ran into neighbour’s houses yet they went in and burnt those houses down to just fish him out. So, you can see my problems. This last incident made it three times within four months. I approached the Senate complaining about this because this is one death too many.

So, concerning the herdsmen, I have to let you know that Enugu North is a gateway to the South-East geopolitical zone. Once you leave the Northern region through KogiBenue States, the next state you meet is Enugu State and that part of Enugu state is Enugu North, which people generally called Nsukka people and that is my area. So, I feel the pinch more than any other person or community because once the cattle rearers leave the North, the first point of call is my senatorial district. And so, because of this our people have been receptive to cattle rearers, helping them and trying to work with and cooperating with them to do their business. Our people are more hospitable to strangers than their own relations but this gesture has now been taken for granted and that is why since the militarisation of herdsmen by their employers who now instead of giving them sticks with which to chase

Utazi

their cattle, have now given them AK-47 and these people who used to negotiate with our people if their cattle decide to feed on peoples crops, have now become defiant.

The situation now is that if you complain, you will be shot dead. If your wife goes to the farm to do any work she is raped. Our women and children can no long go to the farm to fetch firewood or go to streams that are located in far distance place from the homes in search of water they are raped because in certain areas you don’t have water.

So, all these incidents made me after considering the agonizing experiences borne by my people to sponsor this Bill as the people’s representative in the Senate. I had to go back and look at all these problems and proffer legislative solutions to them.

Are you aware that some of your colleagues in the Senate have come out with two different Bills on this subject bothering on National Grazing Reserve and Ranches?

Yes, it is true that some of my colleagues had also approached the Senate with the same Bill who also feel that they have to be upbeat. They feel there is a problem with incidences of herdsmen attack on some communities and wanted to find solutions to the menace. They have drafted Bills which they have sent to the Senate for first reading and two of them scaled through and my own Bill on Cattle Rearer (control Bill ) also scaled through first reading today. The sponsor of one of the Bills was talking about establishment of Ranches while the second Bill was talking about Grazing Reserves. You see, for them in the North, yes, they have a right to do what they want to do but for me in

the South, we have a different approach to whatever we are doing. Cattle rearing is a form of business and anybody who is doing business should know the gains and the loses in it. And if you know the losses, all you need to do is that you plan for it. In every part of the world today cattle rearers are making their gains and they also pay for the services rendered. In Nigeria here people keep on doing what our people did in last century. They want cattle to roam wide in every part of the country and damage crops. It is no longer possible because if you want to continue doing that, it means that there are other people’s means of sustenance that would be put at risk. As it is now in the Southern part of Nigeria, especially in the South East, everywhere you go whether it is in South-West, South East, South-South or North Central, everyday you have stories of killings of innocent Farmers, innocent Nigerians for no just cause.

The South-Easterners are known to travel a lot to different parts of the country to do their businesses and in all the places they settle to do their businesses, there has never been any incidence of killing their host communities to do their business. They have never killed, assaulted, molested their hosts to do their business.

So, it is totally offensive and we will no longer take it again from the herdsmen.

Therefore, I brought his Bill before the National Assembly with the intention that anybody who is rearing cattle should take care of his cattle. The feeding, the watering of the cattle, the grazing etc; if the person wants to do reserve or ranches the person has to pay the price for all those. It is

not going to be at government expenses because government is not expected to go into private business of individuals.

Government is there to have a level playing ground for businessmen to succeed.

If this Bill passes into law we expect that those people who are doing business of cattle rearing should put their cattle in an enclosure as it is done everywhere and take care of everything about their cattle.

If they want cattle to move from one part of the town to another community, they must use vehicle to carry those cattle from one location to another, and if in one way or another the cattle has issues with the people, they need to go through remediation/ negotiation with the traditional rulers or town unions of those communities and pay for the losses incurred by their cattle before they leave that community.

They must take responsibility for whatever losses incurred from their cattle before they leave the environment. All these are spelt out in the Bill. By the land use Act 1978, governors are the custodians of land in their areas. If anybody wants to do business, he can approach the governor of that state, look for certificate of occupancy to do his business. If any governor allows it so be it; if he doesn’t allow it that is the end of it. Where we have the problem of grazing reserve is in the South East, South West and North Central and for people who don’t belong to those areas to be proposing laws for us, those who don’t know those problems should not do that for us. That is why I am bringing the Bill to the Senate for adoption and enactment into law because I am wearing the shoe and I know where it pinches. I want to fulfill the expectations of my people for bringing me to National Assembly and that expectation is to sponsor and pass this Bill so as to bring succour to them. This is a well researched Bill that will bring their expectations to fulfillment. Government does not help us to buy land in the North and in the same way, we should not expect any government to buy land for the Cattle rearers. We also know that these cattle rearers are not the owners of the cattle. They are doing it at a fee.

What is the implication of adopting grazing Reserve or Ranches as a law in the country?

Grazing Reserve or Ranch Commission is an indirect way of government acquiring land for the cattle rearers and I said if they want to create grazing reserve or Reaches they should do it in their own area. If the sponsors of the Bills want Grazing Reserve or ranches, they should do it in their own areas. In the South-East, we don’t want Federal Government to interfere in any of our lands. Land acquisition is the responsibility of state government in their territory. The acquisition of Grazing Reserves or Ranches is strange to us in the South-East.

If you have a visitor and suddenly the visitor turns offensive and becomes murderous and he is killing people on daily basis, you turn back that visitor. He is not going to be welcome. We shall welcome genuine businessmen. Nobody should use federal government to do his private business. It is not going to be allowed.

SUNDAY JULY 31, 20

The Sunday

Buhari can't defeat corru constitution - Tony Nyam Colonel Tony Nyam (rtd) came to limelight in the wake of the April 22, 1990 failed military coup. He was a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC), the body that prepared the framework for the 2014 National Conference and later resurfaced as one of the delegates nominated by the Federal Government to the conference. In this interview with ONWUKA NZESHI, he exposes his revolutionary thoughts on Nigeria and carpets the ongoing anticorruption war of the Muhammadu Buhari administration as superficial, saying Buhari can't defeat corruption using a fraudulent constitution What is your view about the ongoing fight against corruption in Nigeria?

Corruption has, without doubt, become systemic in Nigeria. The political-economic system has been so soaked in the blood of graft that even the social and cultural ways of many Nigerians have become corrupted. In other words, apart from the institutionalisation of corruption in the Nigerian political-economy, many Nigerians have also become socio-culturally corrupt.

Powerful Nigerians in the corridors of power have indeed become the ironic role models of bent officials. They have been the culprits that have led us, into the deep end of corruption which the average citizenry finds him or herself. Almost every facet of Nigerian public and even private institutions have become compromised.

How did Nigeria become so soaked in corruption?

The root-cause of graft and its institutionalisation is traceable to the fundamental fact that the processes and practices of governance in Nigeria have always been pre-determined by what could be described as a ‘419 constitution’. What else would an earnest and honest enquirer call the existing 1999 constitution decreed by the military for a supposedly democratic Nigeria?

I have always complained about the falsity of the claims of the 1999 constitution. Even while we were at the last National Conference, it was a major issue which led many of us to canvass for the making of a new and democratic constitution for the people of Nigeria. As a body of fundamental laws of a nation-state which lay down the system of government, the 1999 Constitution is neither a Federal nor a Republic constitution. There is nothing ‘Federal’ in its definition of the federal-states fiscal relations: the distribution of financial powers between the federal and the state governments. What is currently in operation in Nigeria is ‘Fiscal Centralism’, period!

Are you saying Nigeria is not operating a federal system of government?

There is an obvious lack of fiscal federalism in the way the Federal Government relates to the governments of the federating states. Apart from this, there is in the horizontal relationship which exists amongst the three major pillars of government at the federal, states and local government levels, a lack of adequate constitutional provisions for the judiciary, for example, to be independent. The executive arm is in control of the other two arms of government. Take for example; the Nigerian Electoral Commission is independent only in name. If you conduct an in depth examination of the 1999 Constitution, you will discover numerous examples of the falsity of its claim of being a Federal Republic Constitution.

It is actually a document that tells lies about itself and against the people of Nigeria.

The opening affirmation or what you may call The Preamble of the 1999 Constitution which makes the claim: “We the people” is as false a representation as any big-lie can be.

The fact that the last military regime imposed the constitution makes the declaration that the Nigerian people gave themselves that constitution a big lie. The constitution lies to itself and to the Nigerian people and this clearly makes it a fraudulent constitution.

This argument has been raging for a long time.

How can Nigeria resolve these questions surrounding the legality of our constitution?

Being a document that was imposed on the Nigerian people by military dictatorship, the 1999 Constitution would have in other truly democratic countries, been rendered illegal and replaced with a truly people's constitution. We ought to have learnt some lessons from the precedents set by the South American countries of Argentina and Chile where they also had military interventions and imposed constitutions. The people in those countries, through their representatives in parliament, made new constitutions and dumped the ones they inherited from the military juntas. That is the right way to go, but our own National Assembly has been unable to take the bull by the horns after nearly two decades of our freedom from military rule.

The legality question of the extant Nigerian constitution would remain for as long as we refuse to make a constitution for ourselves as a people. Lest we forget, the legality of the present constitution arose from an unconstitutional case of a successful military coup d’état not only begetting its own legality but imposing the legal order on subsequent supposedly democratic governments of Nigeria. Only in a Third World country like Nigeria can such an illegality become legal.

While the legality of the 1999 Constitution remains doubtful, what is, however, undoubtful is the fact that the constitution is illegitimate.

My grounds for saying so have to do with the process of making the constitution. It was not subjected to the due process of the universal precedent of plebiscite, for example. Without the consent of the people to whom sovereignty belongs, the acceptability (that is the ‘constitutionality’) of the 1999 Constitution remains questionable. If we wanted to legitimise the current constitution, then the well travelled route of referendum should have been followed. Nigerians need to be liberated from one of the world’s most corruption engendering national constitutions and its offspring which is the current legal system that unleashes injustice on the people.

What is this nexus you are trying to draw between the constitution and the justice system?

The cause of justice, equity, balance and overall public interest is not being served by the extant constitution. The 1999 Constitution was imposed by a cabal of self-serving military officers. I say self-serving because, as coup plotters, they never served the corporate interests of the Nigerian Armed Forces. They were actually not better than rogue military officers. They were, in actuality, what I have over the decades, described as professional politicians in military uniforms. My reason for saying that the military coup plotters were self-serving is evident in how self-serving the 1999 Constitution which they bequeathed to Nigerians has proved to be since the last 16 years. The makers of the imposed constitution ensured that unfair advantages were given to their own two geo-political zones, and in turn their kinfolks. If you look deeply and you are able to read between the lines, you will discover that the 1999 Constitution was propelled not by patriotism and love for country, but by the spirit of favoritism, nepotism and sectional interests.

The 1999 Constitution was used as a fundamental legal instrument to legalise the shortchanging of the North Central (NC), SouthWest (SW), South-South (SS) and South-East (SE) zones’ people. By creating more states and local government areas in the NW and the NE than they deserved (when compared

to the NC, SW, SS and SE), they favoured their own ethnicities particularly in the sharing of national revenue. The South Easterners and their brothers in the South-South, remain the most disadvantaged by the 1999 Constitution.

How do more states or local governments become an advantage or disadvantage to any region?

When you make the number of states and local governments the basis of sharing national revenue as we do in Nigeria, you put some regions at undue advantage, while others become enslaved for no just cause. It is this injustice in our constitution and political structure that has sown the seed of the systemic corruption in Nigeria.

The seed of the institutionalisation of corruption in Nigeria was sown when the resources of the oil producing communities, the coastal sea ports of Delta, Rivers, Cross River and Lagos states and the Value Added Taxes (VAT) collection of most southern states, were illegitimately usurped by the ‘powers that be’ in Abuja. This robbing of ‘Peter to pay Paul’ must not be allowed to continue. The legalisation of the stealing by subterfuge of the Niger Delta people’s endowed natural resources and the coveting of the VAT payments of residents of the South was put into effect through the imposition of the 1999 Constitution.

016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

28, 29

y Interview

uption using 'fraudulent' m

This camouflaged thievery by the usual parasitic elite suspects using the Federal Government as cover is always going on in the heartcore of the Federal Government’s revenue mobilisation, allocation and fiscal activities.

The loot from, as it was, the conquered peoples of the Middle Belt and the Southern geo-political zones has become a kind of no-man’s money to be stolen by the parasitic elite. The corrupt political class ensures that its members’ kinsfolk are often ‘nepotically’ favoured.

Such an example of garbage in, does of course, results in the garbage out of malpractices in many areas of the Nigerian nation-building.

If we know all these, why is it difficult to make the necessary changes that could result in fiscal federalism?

The makers of the constitution went further to make it almost impossible to be amended.

The cabal of internal colonisers indeed ensured that the Nigerian people will never have a say in its making or amendment. This was rubber stamped when they were allowed to exclude from the constitution any provision for referendum.

Those who imposed the 1999 Constitution on us did not just impose a document; they ensured that it was reinforced with some crafty legislation that you cannot change overnight.

In other climes, such laws would be regarded

as an abuse of the inalienable human right of the people.

What are these inhuman laws I am referring to? They are The Petroleum Act 1969, the 1971 Off-Shore Oil Revenue Decree, and the 1999 Constitutions-Sections 44(3) and 62(2) and item 39 of the Exclusive List. These were the laws which were utilised to completely destroy any iota of fiscal federalism the Nigerian state had before the military interregnum in the country. The introduction of these profiscal centralism laws was and remains the plan of the cabal of oligarchs to confiscate the resources of the federating units in Nigeria.

The majority of Nigerians can now see clearly the domino effect of this robbing of the North Central and the three Southern geopolitical zones to give advantages to the NW and NE regions. This stealing of resources by the Federal Government more than any other action has caused several other institutionalised corruptions to happen one after the other.

How widespread is this domino effect of corruption in the country?

Like I told you earlier, the 1999 Constitution is the progenitor or mother of most corrupt and fraudulent activities in Nigeria. It is the major reason and catalyst of the institutionalisation of graft in Nigeria. Take for example, the institutionalised examination

malpractices in many Nigerian educational institutions. What is more discouraging is that the examination cheating goes on even at the foundation level education of the Nigerian child. This is observable during for example, the common entrance exams into Federal Government secondary schools; the ones they call Unity Schools, but there is no uniformity in the admission policy. Why should there be different cut off marks for pupils from different states of the federation? Why should a child from the South be required to score 150 marks or more to gain admission into a Federal Government College whereas his counterpart from the North need not score more than 100 marks to be admitted into the same school? It is fraudulent and it is corruption at the foundation.

There can be no reasonable justification for some of these things in this age and time.

Anyone blessed with the discerning ability to make the necessary linkages would have seen that many Nigerian leaders have not the moral right to fight the war against corruption involving Nigerian children cheating in examinations. This has been so for over three decades. This is because, as has been well rendered, “he who comes to equity must do so with clean hands”. What do you expect from school kids whose role models (public officers) lack integrity? Over 70 per cent of Nigerian political elected officials got to their position through electoral malpractices.

People manipulate votes in order to attain positions of power. When they eventually get into office, they are not there to serve the people but to steal because they know that the entire system is built on fraud, corruption and injustice.

Many of the consequent challenges which the Nigerian nation-building is facing are as a result of the Federal Government disobedience of two of the biblical Ten Commandments. The problems confronting the Nigerian State are due to the disobedience of the commandments that: “Thou shall not steal” and “Thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s neither house… nor anything that is thy neighbour’s” (Exodus 20:15-17). What the Nigerian state is today reaping is what its former rogue military leadership had sown using the constitution to rob the people of their rights to their land and resources.

Having seen the situation, what do you recommend this government should do?

I am humbly saying as I have said in other fora that President Muhammadu Buhari's Agenda of Change is likely to end up as a temporal panacea, if the envisaged transformation does not extend to constitutional reforms.

There is a clear strategic necessity for PMB to go beyond the superficial ‘leaves-like’ changes to the more strategic root and trunk of the tree of the Nigerian systemic corruption.

There is a clear strategic necessity for the operationalisation of the Change Agenda to go deeper, go beyond the superficial. A superficial change of the outer-most sheathe of the many layers would not be sufficient. The arrests and convictions of corrupt public officials, necessary as it is, are no more than the changes of the leaves of a tree. Just as how leaves come and go, public officials-be them the Chief Executive or the public servants-come and go too.

The President needs to go beyond the superficial changes to the trunk of the tree which supports the branches that carry the twigs and leaves. The ‘trunk’ here represents both

the public and private institutions. We cannot begin an impactful resolution of the recurring national problems without a restructuring of the institutions whose failures are responsible for the persistence of the challenges.

And for a worthwhile reformation of public institutions, PMB cannot avoid climbing down and indeed, digging deep to the root of the tree of the Nigerian systemic corruption. The root-cause of the institutionalisation of corruption in Nigeria, like the root-causes of other recurring challenges we face as a nation, is traceable to the fraudulent nature of the 1999 Constitution. It is the 1999 Constitution which has been defining and determining the processes and associated institutions, and in turn the practices, of governance of Nigeria which have worsened the social, political and economic situation of most Nigerians.

The clamour for restricting Nigeria is in the air but it appears that several people have different ideas about how it should be done.

What is your recommendation on restructuring Nigeria?

Nigeria should be restored to regional selfgovernment based on six regions and two federal capital territories. Let Abuja remain the federal administrative and political capital, while Lagos should also be formally recognised as the commercial capital. There are precedents of this arrangement; if you go to India, you have New Delhi as the political and administrative capital, while Mombai is the commercial capital. In China, Beijing is the political capital but Shanghai is the commercial capital of the country.

Remember that Lagos was originally a British colony separated from the Western Region even before the creation of states. We need to return it to its original status pay special attention to it because of its historical and economic importance in Nigeria.

The reason for regional self - government is that it would rekindle the competitive spirit among the regions and this is is necessary for national development. Once we revert to the regional arrangement, you can be sure that the South West will in seven years time be at the same level as Malaysia if not ahead of Malaysia.

You will discover that once one region is able to move up in terms of development, other regions will follow suit because the competitive spirit will compel them to work harder to attain a higher level than their peers. As soon as the South West takes the leap, the South East and South South regions will be challenged to do the same. This was the case before the regions were scrapped by the military just before the civil war.

Even the three regions in the North would also not be left out because you can see what is happening in Kebbi State today in terms if rice production. They have even beaten Ebonyi State to it and you can see that Ebonyi is also trying to raise its production of rice to regain its original status as the home of rice farming in the country.

Let me also tell you that if we are serious about diversification of the economy, it also goes with devolution of powers and responsibilities. You cannot be talking about diversification of the economy when you run a centralized system of government. We need to decentralise and devolve some powers to the component units that would enable them take charge of economic activities in their respective domains.

30

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Crossword puzzle

The Wise Little Girl (Part 2) D

imitri was rather doubtful about the woman’s answers being correct. On the other hand, he had to take some kind of solution back to the Emperor. And he guessed, quite rightly, that if he didn’t, he would be punished.

In the meantime, Ivan, who was a widower, had gone back to the humble cottage where he lived with his small daughter. Only seven years old, the little girl was often left alone, and as a result, was thoughtful and very clever for her age. The poor man took the little girl into his confidence, for like his brother, he knew he would never be able to find the answers by himself. The child sat in silence for a moment, then firmly said.

“Tell the Emperor that the fastest thing in the world is the cold north wind in winter. The fattest is the soil in our fields whose crops give life to men and animals alike, the softest thing is a child’s caress and the most precious is honesty.”

The day came when the two brothers were to return before the Emperor. They were led into his presence.

The Emperor was curious to hear what they had to say, but he roared with laughter at Dimitri’s foolish answers.

However, when it was Ivan’s turn to speak, a frown spread over the Emperor’s face. The poor brother’s wise

replies made him squirm, especially the last one, about honesty, the most precious thing of all. The Emperor knew perfectly well that he had been dishonest in his dealings with the poor brother, for he had denied him justice. But he could not bear to admit it in front of his own counselors, so he angrily demanded: “Who gave you these answers?” Ivan told the Emperor that it was his small daughter. Still annoyed, the great man said.

“You shall be rewarded for having such a wise and clever daughter. You shall be awarded the foal that your brother claimed, together with a hundred silver ducats...

But... but...” and the Emperor winked at his counselors.

“You will come before me in seven days’ time, bringing your daughter. And since she’s so clever, she must appear before me neither naked nor dressed, neither on foot nor on horseback, neither bearing gifts nor empty-handed. And if she does this, you will have your reward. If not, you’ll have your head chopped off for your impudence!”

The onlookers began to laugh, knowing that the poor man would never to able to fulfill the Emperor’s conditions. Ivan went home in despair, his eyes brimming with tears. But when he had told his daughter what had happened, she calmly said.

Celebration

​ cross section of the graduating students of Adeoye International College and m A ​ embers of the Administrative staff as they celebrated their achievements at its 6th Valedictory and Prize Giving Day.The height of the event was when Miss Akinlabi Tolulope Abimbola, Aremu Seun Basit and Oyetunde Soliu Olashile were presented with plaques for overall best graduands.

​Rhyme Along The great future of tomorrow Never lose or give hopes up Be strong Because you are the rising stars in the sky The world is looking up to you The city is counting on you The creation is telling you That you are the rising stars

You are the strength to the next generation You are the light that people will see You are the hill that people strive to climb Because you are a STAR

Colour by number

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

NEWS ‘Why they are afraid of restructuring’ p.34

31

INTERVIEW Be wise Christians –Abiodun p.33

SERMON

Not a matter of doctrine but obedience p.51

FAITH

‘Never disregard your conscience’

Joshua

C

Tai Anyanwu hristians all over the world have been asked not to give grudges the slightest chance to destroy their relationship with God. The Founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T B Joshua, made the call during an international crusade held in South Korea recently.

A huge crowd had waited for hours at the airport in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, to welcome the international televangelist. Addressing the participants at the crusade, Prophet Joshua counselled Christians to always listen to their conscience as

it is the connecting tool between human beings and God. “We oftentimes ignore our conscience, our heart. It is the same conscience the Holy Spirit uses to guide us, to guide our souls.

If your heart is not there for the Holy Spirit, there is nothing the Holy Spirit can do. He cannot reach you, contact you. That is the instrument the Holy Spirit uses to guide us. Don’t ignore your conscience,” he cautioned.

Giving his message titled, ‘Don’t Ignore Your Conscience’, the man of God underscored the essentials of the human conscience pointing out that examining one’s conscience is a potent exercise just as prayer

is. “We don’t even need to pray when we have examined our conscience before we sleep,” he added. Prophet T B Joshua also warned that for prayers to be effective, Christians must ensure that nothing stands between them and God. In other words, offences or grudges must not be given the slightest opportunity to thrive in our hearts, he said.

His words: “In order for us to have effective prayer, there must not be anything between us and God. That is holding offences such as anger, bitterness, pain of the past and so forth. These are the things that live in your heart.

“Don’t ignore your conscience. It is the vey instrument used by the Holy Spirit to guide you and to hear you. The Bible says “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).”

Joshua’s admonition came at a time when Christians back in Nigeria are groaning and holding grudges over unprovoked killings of Pastors and persecution by Islamic extremists. Holding fort to the situation, the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN) had told Christians to buckle up and defend themselves against further attacks by Islamic fanatics.

Back home in Nigeria, Evangelist Joseph, who preached at the Synagogue Church of All Nations last Sunday, in Joshua’s absence, engaged the minds of congregants with a similar message titled ‘Capture Your Thoughts for the Glory of God’.

Essentially, the evangelist enjoined Christians all over the world to guide and guard their thoughts in order not to allow the devil a space in their hearts.

According to him, the life of a Christian will only attract more positivity when he or she thinks positively. “Every time you allow yourself to think positively and talk positively, you act positively,” he said.

While acknowledging the common dilemma of choice that faces Christians, Evangelist Joseph insisted that there are no neutral thoughts: “Every time you allow yourself to think positively and talk positively, you act positively.”

Stressing that the thought of Christians are either of faith or of doubt, the evangelist added: “When our thoughts are of faith, they become great and produce great results.

Great thoughts produce great decisions but bad thoughts produce wrong decisions.”

“Manage your mind because what happens in your mind will happen in time,” he advised.

Sunday Telegraph learnt that the crusade witnessed a heroic manifestation of God’s power as the sick were healed, the captives and oppressed were set free and the brokenhearted were uplifted.

TAI ANYANWU HEAD, RELIGOUS DESK titus.anyanwu@newtelegraph © Daily Telegraph Publishing

Top Vatican investigated for child sex abuse

c

ardinal George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric and a key figure in the Vatican under Pope Francis, is being investigated by police over child sex abuse allegations, a media report said during the week.

It said that a special police task force had been looking into the allegations for nearly a year but has now referred the case to the Office of Public Prosecutions for advice.

According to the report, Pell strongly denied the allegations when asked about it.

Reports say Cardinal Pell is the man chosen by the pope to lead financial reform efforts.

“As the head of the Secretariat of the Economy, he is the Vatican’s de-facto economy minister.

“The Cardinal does not wish to cause any distress to any victim of abuse.

“However, claims that he has sexually abused anyone, in any place, at any time in his life are totally untrue and completely wrong,” the report said.

Pell accused media, especially, ABC broadcaster of a “scandalous smear campaign” against him.

Meanwhile, the ABC broadcaster said that police and prosecutors can decide whether the allegations warrant charges being filed against the cardinal.

The allegations went back to the 1970s when Pell was a priest in the northern Victorian town of Ballarat.

Two men claimed on the programme that they had been molested in a swimming pool by Pell in the 1970s when they were young boys.

Also, another man alleged that he had seen Pell expose himself to young boys in a beach changing room in the 1980s.

However, the men said they had made statements to police.

Garden of Eden

UN names Garden of Eden world heritage site

A

n area in southern Iraq, which many believe is the location of the biblical Garden of Eden, has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ChristianToday.com has reported.

The location is known today as the Ahwar of Southern Iraq. The area, which consists largely of marshland, has been described by UNESCO as “unique, and one of the world’s largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment.”

The marshland was targeted by Saddam Hussein in the 1990’s because he feared that rebel forces would use them as a refuge. He therefore had much of the water drained.

Today, however, the area is being restored and much of it is recovering its former habitat. In addition to wetlands, the Ahwar contains archaeological sites that some archaeologists believe include ancient biblical cities.

32

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

FAITH

‘I am terrified by Muslims who are not peaceful’

T

he President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Evangelist Franklin Graham, has said that while the “vast majority” of Muslims are peaceful, he is nevertheless “terrified” by the millions who believe suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians is “justified to defend Islam.”

In a lengthy op-ed for USA Today, Graham contended that after the terrorist attack in Nice, France, it’s difficult to take comfort in knowing that the “majority” of the world’s 1.6 followers of Islam are peaceful.

“What does that mean for the rest of the world’s second-largest religion, and how many fall into the minority group who may have different views?” he asked.

The 64-year-old son of Billy Graham cited a Pew Research Center survey from December which revealed some “little-discussed, but chilling, findings” about the adherents to Islam. While 86% of Muslims in America believe violence against non-Muslims is “rarely or never” justified,” 7% believe it is “sometimes” justified in the name of Islam, and 1% said “often.”

“Whoa! This means there are more than 100,000 Muslim adults living in this country who could justify a suicide bombing in the name of their religion,” wrote Graham. “That is not to say that 8% would actually strap on an explosivespacked vest, but the fact that so many find it justifiable is scary enough. And the most likely place that terrorist recruiters or Internet propagandists will find American Muslims who’d be willing to kill is among those Muslims who don’t see anything wrong with it.”

The evangelist suggested that such findings have terrifying worldwide implications: “If we applied the United States’ 8% figure of those who would ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ justify suicide bombings and other forms of violence in the name of Islam, there’d be more than 100 million people around the world who just might condone the next terrorist attack,” he warned. “And that number might be low.”

Graham explained that he is not attempting to comment on immigration policies, gun control policies, or various interpretations of the Quran. Rather, he is simply sharing his thoughts on the “tens of thousands of Muslims in America and the more than 100 million worldwide who are not bashful about justifying suicide bombings

in the name of Islam.”

“Who would knowingly and willingly accept these odds of a peaceful existence in their own family, neighborhood, workplace or church?” he asked. “For example, would you feel safe accepting a job at a “mostly peaceful” company of 100 employees if that meant only eight of them believed a suicide bombing was sometimes or often justified in the name of their religion (or in the name of anything, for that matter)? Would you stay at a hotel whose employees were ‘mostly peaceful’?

Would you trust your car to not explode randomly if a company who boasted its workers were mostly peaceful had made it?”

To drive his point home, Graham quoted ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who once stated that “Islam was never a religion of peace” despite what many in the secular media say.

“Islam is the religion of fighting,” al-Baghdadi said. “No one should believe that the war that we are waging is the war of the Islamic State. It is the war of all Muslims, but the Islamic State is spearheading it. It is the war of Muslims against infidels. Oh Muslims, go to war everywhere. It is the duty of every Muslim.”

Graham concluded: “Now, as a Christian, I’m sure glad that hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide would reject this religious madman’s rant. It’s the millions who apparently agree with him who terrify me.”

Religion News Service notes that Graham has long been an outspoken critic of Islam, and referred to it as a “very evil and wicked religion” after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.” Last December, the evangelist announced his support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s controversial proposed ban on Muslims entering the country.

After four Marines and a sailor were fatally shot at military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee by an Islamic extremist, Graham asserted that the country “should stop all immigration of Muslims to the U.S. until this threat with Islam has been settled.”

“Every Muslim that comes into this country has the potential to be radicalized - and they do their killing to honor their religion and Muhammad,” Graham wrote at the time. “During World War 2, we didn’t allow Japanese to immigrate to America, nor did we allow Germans. Why are we allowing Muslims now?”

‘Why they are afraid of restructuring’ N igerians are witnessing two scenes of a drama. Scene One is the drama of clamour and resistance - clamour for restructuring and resistance to restructuring of the federation, that is, if Nigeria can be called a federation in the proper sense of the word. Scene two is the drama of accusations and mutual accusations. The party in power today accuses the party in power yesterday of corruption, and the party in power yesterday accuses the party in power today of the same offence.

These two scenes cannot be ignored. For what is going on underscores the need to be truthful about our past and our present so that our future will not be a continuation of falsehood and the corresponding failure to build a just society.

Terms of debate The debate on restructuring is cloudy, the drama heightened. What is intriguing is that neither side of the debate seems to know what the terms of the debate are. Many of those who call for restructuring have not been able to explain what precisely they mean by restructuring. By restructuring, some mean the reduction of the current 36 states to 6 geopolitical regions.

Some others want the local governments to be reduced or removed altogether. At the same time, many of those who are afraid of restructuring come across as people who do not know what they are afraid of.

Certainly, there is a case to be made for shrinking the size of government prescribed in our Constitution. This Constitution was written by persons who appeared to have in mind only a Nigeria awash with petrodollars. The number of government offices provided for by the Constitution can only be maintained by a stupendously rich Nigeria.

That was the Nigeria of the 1970s, the era when the 1979 Constitution was drafted.

And the 1999 Constitution is substantially identical with the 1979 Constitution.

They both reflect the squander mania and prodigality of the period of their birth.

The size of government we have is such that government is the largest employer of labour. It is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to prevent political office holders from placing men and women of their ethnic, religious and political affiliation on government payroll, even when they lack requisite intellectual, moral and technical competence.

Cardinal Okogie Now that the price of here will not be solved by petrol has taken a plunge, simply reducing the numwith an insurgency further ber of states or removing complicating the problem, the local government as the it is obvious that Nigeria third tier of government. can no longer sustain this That, of course may be necbig government. Maintain- essary. But in this case, that ing the kind of government which is necessary is not provided for in our current sufficient. Nigeria needs Constitution has simply im- a Constitution whose unpeded the average Nigerian derlying philosophy is that from gaining access to the the citizen is superior to the good things with which government he or she puts the Creator has endowed in place to serve the land. this land and its diverse The obnoxious philosophy peoples. This Constitution underlying governmenthas never served and can citizen relationship perpetnever serve the citizen. A uated by the current ConConstitution whose exclu- stitution is seen in practice sive legislative list is longer in the way government— than its concurrent legisla- at federal, state or local tive list is anything but fed- level—disables the citizen. eral. But given the size and The fundamental issue here diversity of Nigeria, run- is not just the relationship ning such a constitution is between the federal, state a recipe for economic depri- and local governments. vation, instability and cor- Whether we have 36 states ruption. The length of the or six geopolitical regions, it exclusive legislative list has is, even more fundamentaleffectively made any sit- ly, the relationship between ting President an Emperor, government and the citione who sits on Nigeria’s zen. Government should wealth, particularly her oil empower the citizen by wealth, to the detriment of protecting the citizen and the people on whose land the environment. But over the wealth is found. This the years, the opposite has has made it attractive to been the case whether you be in government or to are dealing with federal, befriend those in govern- state or local government. ment while millions of our It is patently antithetical fellow citizens are shut out to the principles of federalof the way their country ism and subsidiarity for the is run. In a genuine de- federal government to stifle mocracy, the servant is the the state government and government official while for the state government the master is the citizen to render ineffective the lowhose participation in the cal government, as is electoral process led to currently the hiring the servant. case. For Government But the current should empower the Constitution citizen by protecting the has made the servant citizen and the environment. more pow- But over the years, the opposite erful than has been the case whether the master you are dealing with who hired federal, state or local him.

The problem government being highlighted

while state governments are complaining about the way they are treated by the federal government, we have also witnessed the decimation of local governments by state governments. In the same vein, it is clearly undemocratic for an overbearing government and its officials, at federal, state and local levels, to violate the right of the citizen, especially the right to pursue the attainment of the good life.

What has been said so far is related to the drama of accusations and mutual accusations to which Nigerians are currently being treated. For as long as we run a Constitution whose philosophy empowers the government to trample on the right of the citizen the neutrality of any government in the trial of cases of corruption will always be in doubt. Government, by virtue of this Constitution, controls the security agencies and the EFCC. Government also controls the judiciary by the manner of hiring and firing of judges.

The temptation would be extremely close to irresistible for any government to fail to differentiate between prosecution and persecution, and to even protect its own members who may not be innocent. In the same vein, it becomes very convenient for those who have committed crimes to claim to be victims of an over-bearing government that is out to silence the opposition. These are some of the critical issues behind the drama of accusations and mutual accusations on the second scene of the drama.

The call for restructuring might not have been clearly articulated. But it is a call for far-reaching constitutional reforms in Nigeria. Cosmetic changes will amount to treating the symptoms while neglecting the cause. In concrete terms, it is a call to reduce the power of government and its officials, a call to return the land and its wealth to the people, a call to make being in government a lot less lucrative that what it has always been. Given the fact that access to political power in Nigeria is access to Nigeria’s wealth, given the enormous privileges of enormous powers, it is going to be very difficult to convince people in power to have their power reduced. They are afraid of relinquishing power. That is why they are afraid of restructuring.

•Anthony Cardinal Okogie is the Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos

33

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

FAITH

INTERVIEW

Be wise Christians –Abiodun

Can you talk about yourself and your ministry?

I was born into a Christian family and I’m an electrical engineer by profession.

I happen to be an inquisitive person and my inquisitive nature led me to different churches, but I finally settled with a white garment church from where God called me to start The First Beloved Church Ministry, which is based here in Nigeria but present in the United Kingdom (UK). I happened to have worked in different corporate organisations including the Nigerian Telecommunications. When God called me I was reluctant to heed His call, I thought it was enough financing crusades in the church where I belonged. In the process I lost a lot of things, my wife went through a lot of agony, but to the glory of God I accepted the call, and God asked us to settle at 10 Animashaun Close Ojodu Berger. Since we came down here in 2010, the Lord Has being doing wondrous things, though the church is young but it is not little because the Bible says God does not deliver by numbers. If God is in a little project , it is more than one million people without salvation. When God told Daniel Moses that He wants to use them, He did not give the condition of having I million people before using them. I have traveled and found churches with not so many members rejoicing and praising God and you feel God in their midst. But in this part of the world, some are interested in crowd and not about genuine salvation.

No wonder you find people who come to church to showcase their latest clothes, hair, shoes and all sorts of fashion especially women. But when you ask them about the sermon that was preached in the service they attended they have nothing to say. You see we celebrate the container and not the content.

Reverend Dr. Kehinde Michael Abiodun, the General Overseer of The First Beloved Church Ministries International and Ojodu District leader of the Rotary Club speaks on the need for Christian leaders to rise against religious intolerance in Nigeria and other issues in this interview with TAI ANYANWU the next three months.’ But God Has been faithful and to Him be the glory.

What do you think about people seeing churches as money making venture?

People believe coming to the ministry is the easiest way to make money. No! It is the easiest way to go to hell because the Bible says the judgment will start from the house of God. I do not believe it is the economy that is causing this, but individual intention.

Christ Has said it all that he knows His people and His people Know Him. Don’t you think it is shameful to hear that some ‘men of God’ allegedly exchange girls among themselves?

In every rumour there is an element of truth, we have pastors and we have pastors. The nefarious activities of those in other religions are more but nobody gets to hear them. But things get more pronounced when it comes to the Christian circle. This is the more reason why those who say they are Christians should be very carefully in living a holy life within and outside. For the men of God guilty of this allegation I will advise

Why did you choose to go the Pentecostal way?

When God called me I faced a lot of challenges, in the sense that I contemplated whether to stay in the white garment church or cross over. I started as a white garment church member but God told me ‘My dear this is not what I called you for’. So I had to leave though it was not easy. I thank God first, then I thank my wife for her support.

We have seen many wives who told their husbands that they were the ones whom God called and not they the wives.

to retheir lives and walk t justly.

dedicate back to God

You are also part of the Rotary club?

Rotary is an extension of the work of God. To the glory of God He has made us to be shinning examples. We meet in the church. In our club we have Bishops, Pastors, Doctors in Divinity. I was given a platinum award for ‘we care’ and I know what it means.

My wife charters Inner wheel of New Omole, I chartered Rotary club of Omole Ojodu and we have become gladening examples. Because when you don’t give back to God, the society will surely take it back from you by force. You may spend the money in hospitals and those who will squander the money will do that.

I joined Rotary in 1991, giving is a spirit of God we

have those who are billionaires but cannot part with their money no matter how little.

But they forget that it is the Lord that trains our hands and gives us power to prosper as recorded in Deuteronomy 8 verse 18, not by our senses or strengths. If it were to be our strength the wealthiest would have been the labourers that engage in hard labour but these ones are daily paid. I believe that our purpose on earth is to be a blessing to others. The greatest giver is Jehovah God. Christ did the same and what do we have?

We have nothing. Remember Christ gave Himself for us to be saved. We need to give back to the society no matter how small.

What do you feel about the present administration?

Our first point of call is to move nearer to God. We have soiled the ground with innocent blood and you think God will not avenge. The money they heaped for their unborn generations will surely go back to where it came from. The Bible says we brought nothing here, whether we like it we won’t take anything out. This is the very first time in Nigeria that we are talking about true diversification and being productive in the midst of diversity. Originally when God created the first man, He created the garden and gave them the first assignment to tender crops. Now we are getting back to our roots, I pray it will not just be talk of the mouth of large budget without implementation. I believe Nigeria will shine again. It got to the worst stage in Samaria but God brought the supernatural economy from the people that were less expected. We just have to maintain integrity and have the fear of God. God Has His plans for Nigeria but I’m saying it to the glory of God that Nigeria will bounce back.

What is your take on the activities of the Avengers?

They are wasting their time they are following the wrong process. Let them hold their leaders accountable. Let them start from inside, they have local governments.

I’m not holding brief for the Federal Government. The Avengers are competing with God and they are going to be silenced because God is the only avenger. He says vengeance is His. You don’t fight a cause for God but allow God fight for you. I’m using this medium to appeal to them to put back their sword, if they don’t the innocent ones will suffer for it. We were not so young during the civil war and we knew what happened.

Your wife seems to mean a lot to you?

Yes. To the glory of God, she has been a pillar of the ministry that is why I call her my love, my wife. She was my first member and has always lifted me up when I’m down with her care and soft words which we men don’t have. I said lifting because there is a difference between lifting and raising. That is to tell you that one cannot do it alone. That is why God called Eve an help mate to Adam. For the younger ones who claim equality it is not possible to be equal with your husband. Otherwise God would have said Eve should be having the reproduction process all by herself. So our God never makes mistakes because he is the supernatural stakeholder of everything.

Did you receive any form of backup from your former church?

This is a very serious question, it is just like in any organisation, you don’t leave and expect people to like it that is why one has to believe in God and in him or herself.

Don’t expect perfection at any point. That is why in engineering we were told that nothing is impossible, try it first. It was a very serious issue, some said, ‘Haa, he will come back in

Nigeria is not a Muslim state. It is high time our leaders spoke with one voice. The problem with us Christians is division, some Muslims are capitalising on the division in the Christendom to do evil. If we should continue to keep quiet,I’m afraid worse things might happen them

Abiodun

What is your comment concerning the series of murder that has resulted from religious intolerance?

With reference to the woman, The RCCG Assistant Pastor that was killed in Abuja, it is condemnable. But to follow it from the instruction of Jesus Christ, Christians are not known for unnecessary revolt. I believe the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) ought to have a referendum. Nigeria is not a Muslim state. It is high time our leaders spoke with one voice. The problem with us Christians is division, some Muslims are capitalising on the division in the Christendom to do evil. If we should continue to keep quiet, I’m afraid worse things might happen. Do you know that if one cow of the Fulani is killed, lives will go for it? I’m not saying we should revenge or go violent but what I’m saying is that we seriously speak against this evil with one voice instead of keeping quiet.

34

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

FAITH

R

Stanley Ihedigbo edeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Lagos Province 14 has inaugurated its new provincial Men’s Fellowship (RMF) executives and zonal Presidents to oversee activities of the Men’s Fellowship in Region 2 for the next four years.

The new executives have also expressed their commitment to empower able bodied men in the region to be able to better handle family challenges.

The inauguration tagged “Chosen Generation”, was held at RCCG Provincial Headquarters, Isolo, Lagos, Speaking at the event, Pastor in Charge of Lagos Province 14, Redeemers Men Fellowship (RMF), Pastor Jide Akiode, urged

RCCG men’s ministry set to empower members

the men to lead their families in worship and prayers, to ensure that righteousness defines their day to day activities.

Taking a cue from the scriptures in 1st Peter 2:9, the Pastor declared: “That ye are a chosen generation, royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people” “You are a generation of change agents; we must realize that anytime God wants to do a new thing He looks for a man “It may eventually be a group of people, but He looks for men that can make a difference “In a world where men

are confused, change their gender, wear ear rings and are becoming increasingly feminine, God needs a chosen generation; he said.

Akiode also disclosed that the theme ‘Chosen Generation’ was selected for the inauguration because God is looking for real men.

He reiterated that “a chose generation of peculiar men, and royal priest, are men who will lead their families in worship of God, live holy, stand for righteousness in the work place and champion national renewal.

“These are the men God is looking for and those who will not be ashamed

to stand for him in the face of evil.”

Also speaking, President, LP 14 RMF, Pastor Ola Olaniyi re-emphasised the need for men to be empowered in the region.

Olaniyi, who is also an Area Pastor, added that men are to be empowered in various ways for them to stand as the head of their respective families.

He pointed out that the platform and the vision of RMF will also be of assistance for both a physically challenged persons and able bodied men adding that with God all things are possible.

He noted that, needs and challenges of members at both parish or area level will be looked into, adding that families in need financially, martially and otherwise will be considered by the executives with God in control.

The chairman pointed out that “the next plan of action is to see how the fellowship can empower our men, how our men can benefit and stand tall.

“How we can revive homes that are been broken, and how we can give families financial assistance.”

He appealed to the RMF family to make available their intellectual, academic, spiritual and practical prowess to support the pastors at all level.

According to the pioneer President: “It is a call to duty and to rise up as the Nehemiah of our generation to effect the needed changes in our homes, churches and society at large.”

He also disclosed that LP

RMF 14 plans to acquire a coastal bus in order to move the ministry forward.

The new executive members include: Pastor Ola Olaniyi as President and Barrister Marc Adudu, Vice President.

Others are Deacon Moses Ugochukwu, Secretary General; Pastor Stephen Onyenike, Treasurer; and Bro. Adeoye Kayode, Financial Secretary.

Dr. Christian Ibekwe is the Public Relations Officer, while Bro Kunle Ojudale and Bro Ajetunmobi Oluwaseun are Provost and Assistant Secretary respectively.

Also in his remarks, National Coordinator (RMF), Pastor Remi Oluboba, urged men to be husbands to one wife adding that a man must be seen to blameless in dealing with their spouse.

He called on men to be able at all times to teach their families the word of God with etiquettes.

Fulfillment of the Dead Sea prophecy begins A L-R: Mr. Oforbuike Okoli; Ezinne J.N Okoli; Rev. Father Jerry Okofor; Managing Director, Obi Okoli and Company Limited, Mr. Obi Okoli and Chief Nwokeabia Okoli after Obi Okoli’s birthday thanksgiving mass at St. Patrick Parish Catholic Church, Nawfija in Anambra State recently

Apostle Suleman storms Tanzania with miracles • Gives out cash, car to loyal pastors T anzanian, stood still for Apostle Johnson Suleman, whose first Apostolic visit to the country, and part of his ongoing tour of Africa and Europe, was trailed with diverse miracles.

The evangelical outreach tagged ‘Tanzania Restoration Conference 2016’ recorded a huge success in terms of the number of souls won to Christ, healings and deliverances.

Mounting the stage at the Dar es Salaam venue of the convention, Apostle Suleman told to the awaiting crowd: “I came as a Prophet over your life. Where they have said that you cannot enter, you will not just enter, and you will dominate.”

Great testimonies followed the declaration as there was overwhelming outpouring of the power of God His divine touch on the lives of participants, many were possessed by evil spirit were restored.

One of the beneficiaries of the touch of God was a young lady, whose testimony would not be easily

forgotten by those who attended the convention.

The lady had said that she could not walk without an aid. On seeing her, Apostle Suleman walked up to the physically challenged who sat at the emergency section and prayed for her. After the prayer, she sprang up and immediately started walking. Shouts of joy filled the conference venue as many marveled at her restoration and instant miracle.

More people testified of having been impacted by the power of God, and saying they have been healed of various diseases.

Returning to Nigeria, Apostle Suleman followed up the successful outing with a Ministers’ Conference; and Sons of The Prophet Impartation Meeting,’ which held in Enugu, Enugu State between July 19 and 21.

The Enugu convention was the second edition of the conference specifically organized for the benefit

of all those who passed through the mentorship and leadership of Apostle Suleman.

Over 2,000 ministers including delegates from all regions of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Togo, Liberia, Botswana, Ukraine, Belgium, UK, USA, Italyand the Republic of Benin attended the Enugu conference. The convention featured expository and impactful sessions with Apostle Suleman and his darling wife, Dr. Lizzy.

Some of the Senior Pastors, who represented the zones were, Rev. Kingsley Aigbe, (Northern Region and FCT); Rev. John Azia, (Southern Region and Rivers State); and Rev. Fidelis Ayemoba, (Western Region and Lagos State).

Apostle Suleman, shocked the participants when he gave a brand new Lexus 350 jeep to his special adviser and pioneer National Coordinator of the Ministers’ Network, Dr.

Olisa Emeke, who is now the African Coordinator.

Presenting the jeep, Suleman explained that God has showered him with blessings and numerous helpers, which is the reason he is pushed to help at all times.

He also gave out N2.5m cash gifts to 10 pastors as encouragements, to enable the younger ministers’ support their families, settle rents and start businesses.

The women’s wing of the network was not left out of the blessing.

Apostle Suleman also announced N1million cash gift to the wing to start business and support their families. The initiative is a brain child of Apostle Suleman’s dutiful wife, Dr. (Mrs.) Lizzy.

The highpoint of the conference was the impartation session by Suleman, which said was necessary for the ministers to do greater works at their various duty posts.

nother discovery coming out of Israel is fulfilling Bible prophecy before our very eyes! Nearly 10 times saltier than the ocean, nothing can survive in the Dead Sea’s hypersaline environment—or so scientists have previously thought.

But now, according to new findings, scientific research has proven the existence of life at the bottom of the dead sea, and due to a unique set of circumstances, signs of life have begun appearing on its very shores, precisely as it was foretold in the book of Zechariah: “On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the Dead Sea

and the other half to the Mediterranean Sea. This will happen for the summer as w ell as the winter” (Zech. 14:8).

According to Breaking News Israel, A young woman, Samantha Siegel,on a nature hike was shocked recently when she discovered freshwater ponds with fish on the shores of the Dead Sea. The Jewish woman living in Jerusalem, often takes trips to the desert and the ancient body of water.

On a recent visit, she encountered an incongruous sight with powerful implications: a prophecy appearing before her eyes that seemed to contradict the laws of nature, Breaking News Israel reported.

African Bishops resolve to strengthen the family

A

frican Catholic Bishops have stressed the need to adopt a strong strategy to counter challenges facing Catholic marriages and families in the continent.

This message was conveyed to all Catholic churches in the continent following a resolution at the just concluded 17th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), held in Luanda, Angola.

The President of the organization and Archbishop of Lubango Archdiocese, Angola; Most

Rev. Gabriel Mbilingi and over 150 delegates who attended conference signed the statement.

The conference noted with concern the challenges facing families and Catholic marriage; and stressed that a more proactive action plan on the part of the Church is urgently needed.

According to the Bishops, the future of the family is at the heart of the mission of the Church; because the famil remains the sanctuary of life, of growth and enhancement of the human person.

35

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

Body&Soul with

Wole Adepoju 07037763410

City big girl, Enitan Osibodu, merry at 50 P

erhaps for her up-bringing and preferred way of living, lady of substance, Enitan Osibodu, is not given to loud way of living, even though she has got all it takes to flaunt it. Rather, the baby- faced mother of four is dedicated to her job as well as contributing her quota to the development of humanity.

The test for how influential and highly connected Enitan is recently came to bear when it was time to celebrate a timeline that is worthy of celebration, her golden jubilee birthday. Her 50th birthday was nothing short of the celebration of a worthy personality who, over the years, endeared herself to many through her selfless disposition and penchant for putting smiles on people’s faces. Some important personalities who were on hand to felicitate with her were former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; city pastor, Ituah Ighodalo; Ogun State First lady, Funsho Amosun; Senator Lanre Tejuosho; former speaker, Ogun House of Assembly, Titi Oseni. Enitan, former Senior Special Assistant to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, is now the Head of Facility Management of Dangote Group. The birthday girl resplendently dressed and in the company of her children was filled with joy as she made merry on her special day with well-wishers who were in attendance to felicitate with her.

Oba Okunade Sijuade remembered F

or a whole lot of reasons that are obvious, it is a matter of certainty that the immediate past revered and respected first class traditional ruler of ancient town of Ile Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II, Ooni of Ife, will forever linger in the minds of the people, even though he has joined his ancestors. It’s been one year since the wealthy monarch passed on and events were recently held in his remembrance.

A two day event, which kicked off with a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Ayegbaju, Ife, was followed by a grand reception at the Castle of Mercy, Ile-Ife. The second day witnessed a colloquium, titled, ‘The Life and Times of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II’. It was hosted by The Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife after which another reception was held at Motel Royal, still in Ile-Ife. It will be recalled that Oba Sijuwade joined his ancestors, last year at age 85.

The revered royal father passed on at Saint Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, United Kingdom.

Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade was born on January 1, 1930, in Ile-Ife to the Ogboru ruling house, grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. He became the 50th traditional ruler, Ooni of Ife in 1980, taking the regal name Olubuse II. He was crowned on December 6,1980, in a ceremony attended by the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and Olu of Warri, as well as representatives of the Queen of England.

Ex-Lagos Commissioner, Adewunmi, buries mum in grand style A

couple of weeks ago, the former Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, Dr. Ismaeel Adebayo Adewusi, lost his mother, Madam Rabiat Faderera Adewusi.

Mama succumbed to the cold hands of death at the ripe age of 92. Certainly, this called for celebration in remembrance of the Matriarch of the Adewusi family.

This sweet remembrance was demonstrated when family, friends, political associates, captains of industries and royal fathers and retinue of well-wishers converged on the ancient, sleepy town of Eruwa in Oyo State, the country home of Dr. Adewusi, for the celebration of ‘life’ of his deceased mother.

As expected of an event being held by the calibre of Adewunmi, a one-time chairman of the telecommunication giant, Celtel, Eruwa town wore sparklingly brilliant colours it almost never spotted in decades, as colour contests of asoebi and myriads of attires were donned and displayed by families and visitors. The atmosphere was simply alluring; the town stood still and practically in festive mood. The roll call was intimidating as guests came from all works of life. Some of them include Minister of Solid Mineral, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; former Governor of Oyo State, Alao Akala and former governorship candidate in Ogun, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka.

Royal fathers were led by His Imperial Majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Alaafin of Oyo; Oba Samuel Adebayo Adegbola Akindele, Eleruwa, Oonjo of Okeiho; Oba Abdul Rafiu, Asawo of Ayete; Oniro of Iro Land and Onidere of Idere.

The day began with prayers for the repose of the soul of Madam Adewusi. This was conducted by the renowned Islamic cleric, scholar and preacher, Sheikh Muideen Ajani Bello.

Ensuring the guests were treated to a great time as well as to make merry, there were enough foods and drinks to unwind. The ageless juju music maestro, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey was on hand to electrify the atmosphere. For the rest of the day, Obey’s evergreen lyrical lines wafted festively in the air. It was praise singing and dancing galore.

woleadepoju@yahoo.com

Seyi Tinubu’s wedding takes centre stage A

nyone who has been in tune with happenings in the high society will not find it strange that the high society is agog with talks about the most powerful politician Nigeria ever produced, former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose son, Seyi, is set to quit bachelorhood.

Going by the stature and standing of Tinubu, as well as that of the groom-to- be, Seyi, who is reputed for his high level of socialising with movers and shakers of the social radar at his beck and call, many had already begun to envisage and imagine what the marriage ceremony would be like. A lot of people thought the wedding would be in the country but to the amazement and surprise of social butterflies, the wedding is billed to hold in faraway Italy.

Although, a lot is still very sketchy about the event, but what is certain is that 9th and 10th of August have been slated for it. Another issue is talks about the rationale behind holding it in Italy; especially as people are eager to see how the whole thing will go down.

Seyi Tinubu, a law graduate, proposed to his lover, a Lebanese of Nigerian descent, Laya Holme, in Ghana, November last year with an expensive ring.

Ceremonial exit for Philip Oduoza A

nything that has a beginning must have an end is presently the phase brilliant, prominent banker, Philip Oduoza, is faced with. As the Group Managing Director of United Bank of Africa, UBA, he is on his final lapse in office. His second tenure of three years each as the point man of the financial institution will come to an end come August 1 and a successor in the person of Kennedy Uzoka has been appointed.

For his great exploits and flawless leadership style which saw the company blossom under his watch, it is only reasonable that such individual will be celebrated even as he bows out gloriously. On that note, a valedictory gathering was held on Wednesday in his honour at a prestigious hotel at Victoria Island where Philip was eulogised by well-meaning people in attendance for his virtues and stances. Meanwhile, it’s beginning to make the rounds in certain quarters that the graduate of UNILAG will be preparing grounds for his political career as he’s said to be angling to succeed Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State in due time.

Following the regulation of the Central Bank of Nigeria, compelling all managing directors of banks who have spent a minimum of 10 years to relinquish their positions, in a smooth transition, the then man at the helm of affairs at UBA, Tony Elumelu, handed over to the most senior executive director in the person of Philip Oduoza. Oduoza started his banking career in 1987 as credit officer with International Merchant Bank.

36

POTPOURRI

Body&Soul

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

With Biwom Iklaki

Weight watchers community

​Trend du jour

W

eight loss is as much a thing of the mind as it is determination.

Many success stories began with a realisation, which galvanised the persons into action. It begins in the mind, and we all know what a powerful tool the mind can be. So, whatever the reasons that may have set you off on a weight loss journey, you would do well to take your mind with you. It will be your strength, support and inspiration while reminding you when you falter, to get up and get going again.

Some people find yoga, which is a mind and body experience to be more helpful for their weight loss goals than any other form of exercise.

You could chose to wake up your mind with yoga while strengthening your muscles and building endurance and flexibility.

Some experts believe there has to be a harmony of your mind, along with diet and exercise to achieve one’s ideal weight goals and seem to think you can achieve this balance through yoga or Pilates. You need to find which combination is the most comfortable for your lifestyle. There is also running, cycling, swimming, even walking for the very old or those with joint issues. Choose your best form of exercise, stick to it and with a good diet, watch your weight begin to drop.

T

Money talks

his edition, we will explore how to enjoy a fabulous holiday in a harsh economy. Sounds crazy right? While your first instinct in these climes would be to scrooge on whatever naira is indeed coming in, remember that taking time off to relax is equally as important. You can gain much more than you would loose from a holiday because you will refresh and

reboot as well as relax enough to face whatever comes after.

Recreation and relaxation are so important to your health and eases your blood pressure which if not checked with all the financial pressure and stress, may kill you. It is not called the silent killer for nothing, it will not warn you. So, take time off, travel, change your environment and rejuvenate to save your life. Here is a

simple tip on how to manage it: Calculate how much you would need for the holiday (transport, hotel, food, recreation and shopping). Divide the amount by 12 and you can set aside that amount monthly until your set time of holiday. Remember to give yourself 12 months to set the money aside. this way, it is a little easier on your

pocket. There you go, now you have little or no reason not to factor in fun and a new experience to your schedule for the year. I just hope you haven’t left it off too late, but you know what they say, “Better late than never”.

T

here is no party like a Nigerian party, and no gele like a Nigerian gele. There is a huge love for geles to weddings, parties, church, engagements, etc and as more people seek this head piece, there is a need for even more uniqueness to their tying. More women have been spotted with a fancy for the avant-garde style which is known to some people as ‘take-a-bow’, ‘icon gele’, or ‘celebrity rose’ and many more names.

It is basically a way to tie the gele such that it sits as a giant rose either smack in the center of the head or to the side, but close enough to the face to make a statement. It is indeed a beautiful head wear. If you are not brave enough to try this trend by yourself, do take yourself to some of these makeover parlours and have them tie it for you. Then all you need to do is to whip it out when you are ready for the event and place it on your head, then style. You may want to tuck your hair inside so that the gele gets all the attention. You can rock this headpiece with buba, olekwu, dresses, skirts etc. it is chic enough to pull off with almost every look, even jumpsuits.

37

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

​ ustic candle R stands Biwom Iklaki

F

or those of us who have tables in our kitchens and often get to eat on them, this is definitely for you.

I would like to go ahead of myself here and assume the table is not very large,​ most likely cozy rather than ostentatious. So, if you were to host a dinner party for instance, it may not necessarily be too formal. However, some decor rules will still need to be upheld, like the beauty of a table runner and the intimacy

My husband’s secretary is a threat to my marriage I hate making mountains out of a mole hill but God has wired women with instincts to know when someone is trying to invade their territory unless that woman is totally insensitive. Well, I’m one of those women with a high volatile instinct and I pick things off from a mile away. My husband got this pretty young lady as a secretary about 18 months ago when I got pregnant our second child and unable to go to the office as often as I use to. Hubby insisted that I should not bother till after I must have weaned the baby, I complied. All through my pregnancy and giving birth, I kept hearing from my husband how wonderful and efficient the new secretary was. I didn’t have any reason to be suspicious until she came for the dedication party. Merely observing her and how she looks at my husband gave her away. I tried to see if my husband feels the same way but it was a bit difficult. So one day I just paid a surprise visit to my husband’s office and my suspicions were confirmed.

My husband is attracted to her as well but for reasons best known to him, he

some candles would hold. I know more people would choose flower arrangements over candles, but as we say, to each his own. If you decide to go with the candles however, you would need to choose your candle stands carefully.

Because the table is presumably not a very large one, elaborate stands may not be necessary, rather go for quirky, fun, if rustic conversation starters like this log inspired candle stand. Believe when I tell you that you would have a few laughs to break the ice at any dinner party, even a family one.

GET A

SOULMATE

Send SMS only to 07057201814 or vanessaonsunday@yahoo.com

has not made any serious advancement to her. As a sharp Igbo girl that I am, I quickly took charge and told my husband that I’m back to resume my duties at the office and that the secretary should be transferred to our new branch we just opened.

He protested a little but I was firm and he had to give in to me. I later employed a more matured lady to be in charge of the office business when I was not able to come to work. Ladies, shine your eyes! Don’t allow all these small girls to ruin all that you have laboured to build in your home out of sheer carelessness.

Ugonma, Lagos She cheated on me I am a young man doing my own business and I got engaged to this pretty girl who is still in school. Since

I love her so much, I try to support her in her education as much as I could with the hope that we will be married after her graduation. I paid for her accommodation all through her four year study.

Now that she has graduated and about going for her youth service, I noticed her attitude has changed towards me. I started suspecting her and one day I followed her to an eatery where she met with a rich looking guy. I was so angry that I confronted her before the guy and she couldn’t deny it. I feel so humiliated.

After wasting so many years of investment on this girl only to find out she has been cheating on me with other men is devastating and I feel so heart broken. What do you think I should do?

Chinedu, Aba

My name is James, I need a serious relationship with a lady and the age should not be more than 28-29 years old. I work with a company in Lagos-08142105213 I am Adekunle Adebayo from Lagos State.

I am 42 years old, fair in complexion and a medical doctor. I need a woman between 35-45 years old that is working and from any tribe for a serious relationship- 07036328978 Ihechi is my name. I am 27 years old living in Abuja. I am slim and tall. I need a caring and romantic lady between 23-30 years for a serious relationship-07067714612 My name is Mike. I am 42 years old from Anambra State and lives in Awka. I need a responsible and rich lady between 25-40 years for a serious relationship-09081336033 I am Jerry, 30 years old. I work and reside in Lagos. I need a working class, God fearing and humble lady between 25 and 28 years old for a serious relationship-09085603148 Segun is my name. I am staying in Lagos.

I need a young lady between 26 and 30 years old, fat and busty for a serious relationship-08084916241 I am Mike, 40 years tall and dark. I work and I’m based in Lagos. I am a Christian from the middle belt. I need a responsible and caring working class lady between 28 and 35 years old for a serious relationship that will lead to marriage-08038753537 I am Alex a graduate 6ft tall, 30 years old. I am energetic and based in Lagos. I need a partner that is fully independent, patient and busty between 26 and 35 years old-08120945714 I am Collins based in Lagos. I desire a caring, loving and wealthy lady between 18 and 50 years that can assist me financially for a serious relationship and possibly marriage—07068661985 I am Emeka. I need a girl between 25 and 28 years for a relationship-07062868089

38

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Should you remain friends with your ex on social media?

I

n some ways, break-ups are more complicated than they used to be before the advent of the social media. Then, all you need to do was to tear up the love letters, cards or discard any memorabilia that might remind you of the relationship.

Hopefully, if you are not living in the same area as your ex, time helps to heal and numb the pain accrued from the break up.

Being dumped is an easier pill to swallow when you don’t have to face each other every day.

Unfortunately, social media no longer gives you the luxury of grieving in private without being invaded with posts and news feeds of the current happenings in your ex’s life that leaves you copiously out of the picture.

Social media may seem like a godsend; giving you opportunity to re-connect with old friends and schoolmates and probably make new ones. But there’s the dark side of the social media that pops up feeds you will rather not see when browsing.

Imagine this scenario: you recently got dumped by your boyfriend of three years and you are making efforts to move on with your life only for his wedding invitation coming up in two weeks’ time pops up on your news feeds while browsing.

That’s enough bad news to mess up your day; making you miserable all over again.

In fact for some, it feels as if the guy just broke up the relationship that instant; throwing the lady back into deep depression and lack of self-worth. Or maybe your ex-girlfriend and her husband just got a bouncing baby boy and you are still single and searching. Imagine how heart rending such picture perfect posts can make your heart bleed. In cases like these, the simple act of checking your Facebook

CONNECT NG vanessaonsunday@yahoo.com can feel like a knife through the heart.

Really, breaking up is hard to go through, and it’s even harder when you are still ‘friends’ with your ex-boo on multiple social media platforms. It is particularly hard when you’ve been recently heartbroken. Social networks make it possible for someone to still be a ‘friend’ even though you are no longer dating. This may be fine if the relationship ended amicably but with anything deeper than casual dating, there can be all sorts of potential problems.

So the question is: is it wise to still remain friends with your ex; especially when one or either of the party is still hurting from the broken promises?

‘Un-friending’ your ex on Facebook can make you feel like the ‘loser’ of the break-

up, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Thanks to Facebook’s understanding of bad breakups, you can simply ‘erase’ your ex from your newsfeed rather than ‘unfriending’ him or her. That way, you don’t have to see news feeds coming from their end. You don’t have to do this if seeing his postings and pictures doesn’t bother you, but if you find yourself stalking the new babe that he just got tagged in a photo with or you find yourself constantly creeping on his recent wall posts, then, it’s time to say goodbye to him on social media platforms as well.

The question is: why do you need to see what your ex is up to? All it’s going to do is make you miss him or her more and you don’t really need that sort of emotional upheaval right now the breakup is still

No dog goes back to its vomit. Why should you keep checking out your ex-partner or even stay friends with them on social media? Seeing their news feeds every now and then, may make you give in to the urge to snoop on their profile occasionally

fresh in your memory. In fact, the only social media you should keep your ex connected to is your LinkedIn because it’s the only social media that is strictly corporate or business like in nature.

No dog goes back to its vomit. Why should you keep checking out your expartner or even stay friends with them on social media? Seeing their news feeds every now and then, may make you give in to the urge to snoop on their profile occasionally. There’s nothing to gain in such acts because there’s no longer a relationship between you two; you only end up hurting your emotions.

Another thing to avoid is to call out your ex on social media. For whatever reason, please resist the urge of washing your dirty laundry in public. Nothing is tackier than someone who shouts out their ex on social media. Sure, maybe your ex slept with your cousin behind your back and he deserves to be dragged to hell and back, but posting it on any social media platform makes you look immature and bitter. Don’t go as far as to post an angry tweet to your thousands of Twitter followers on the subject.

Use the Tiwa Savage and Tunji ‘Tee Billz’ Balogun saga as case study on how not to dish out your breakup to ravenous wolves on social media to feed on. If you want to get revenge on a cheating ex, find a more creative way to do so; that way, you don’t come out looking like a bully or a bitter old hag.

Save the drama for your bedroom where you can cry and scream all you want but keep it classy on social media; that way you can get over your ex fast enough and move on with your life.

Why NLNG must award the Literature Prize this year

N

igeria’s foremost literary Prize, The NLNG sponsored Nigerian Literature Prize is dear to my heart for two reasons. One, I was there from the beginning when, in the cozy hall of Eko Hotel in 2004, the Prize was announced with much fanfare. Secondly, the Prize coincides with my wedding anniversary, the only reason I missed the inaugural award ceremony. However, my name still managed to make it into the program in the speech of Sienne Allwell-Brown, the then external Affairs Director. So, as a writer and lover of Nigerian literature, I feel it is a welcomed development and if Nigeria’s literature is to regain its pride place on the world scene, then this award certainly has a big role to play. However, there is a recurring practice in the award of the Prize that must be done away with for the credibility of the award to be maintained -not giving out the Prize.

The scientists may be looking at me and wondering what I am talking about as there has been no science winner since 2010, but what I am about to discuss while applying primarily to my constituency, literature, is equally applicable to the scientific field. If the award is about celebrating Nigerian literature, then there has to be a winner every year. The year where the judges feel that there is no worthy winner of such a prize, then they can pick the best of the lot that was submitted and work with the author to bring it to standard. That is the practice of most literary Prizes. Choose the best from the submitted entries and make it the best in the market.

When Helon Habilla brought his collection of short stories, “Prison Stories” to an ANA meeting in 2000, I knew it was not the best-

packaged book, but it certainly had the quality stories required for a good book. I bought one. The panel of judges at the Caine Prize shared that sentiment and awarded a story from the book, ‘Love Poems’, the winner of the Caine Prize for 2001. That book was repackaged as his first novel, ‘Waiting for an Angel’, and it went on to win more awards.

My argument is this, if the panel of judges had said there was no book worthy of the Prize that year, that all the books were bad, poorly edited and below the high standard of the judging panel, Helon Habila may not be

the celebrated writer we know today. However, they took a leap of faith and the versatility of Habila has rewarded them. The truth of the matter is every time the prize money is not given out, the organisers hurt their credibility rather than show themselves as having ‘high standards’. What people talk about is how the Prize was not awarded rather than celebrate the Prizer winner.

Last year, the debate got so heated that writers who submitted entries came out in full force to denounce the organisers and affirm the quality of their books. This becomes even

The truth of the matter is every time the prize money is not given out, the organisers hurt their credibility rather than show themselves as having ‘high standards’. What people talk about is how the Prize was not awarded rather than celebrate the Prizer winner

more curious as the writers would have been taken on the book tour and everyone would know them. So, by not giving out the prize, NLNG basically is saying, we paid for a tour for these set of losers with no credible book.

That hurts the writers more than even making the shortlist. These needs to stop. The Prize should be about celebrating Nigeria’s literature and everything it has to offer. It even makes it worse when we consider the fact that the prize rotates on a four-year cycle between children’s literature, prose fiction, poetry and drama and books from the past four years are eligible. SO, are we saying no book is good enough for the Prize in the past four years. I say NO. Nigeria’s literature in any genre may be falling in standard, but certainly not to the point of not producing a good quality book in four years.

As well as rewarding good literature coming out of Nigeria, the Prize is also about creating a positive image for the sponsor organisation, The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited. A failure to award the Prize generates negative publicity and both the writers and the organisation is hurt.

I asked what is done in the year the Prize is not awarded and I am told the money is given out to an organisation to promote literature. Well, with all due respect, I can’t see any such organisation in Nigeria today.

Therefore, if the Prize is about celebrating Nigerian writers, Nigerian literature and the heritage that such brings, then I say NLNG must give out the Prize this year and make 2015 the last year without a winner. I look at the roll call of writers on the shortlist, from Promise Ogochukwu, Sefi Atta to Ifeoluwa Adeniyi and I say there is a winner in there.

I give them all my best wishes.

Y 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

39

Hair porosity basics Biwom Iklaki

I

t is believed that a woman’s hair is her crown of glory although some ladies’ hair is far from glorious. Most people do not understand their hair and it is in understanding your hair that you can give it the most care to get the absolute best out of it. There is an erroneous belief that African natural hair doesn’t grow very long or beautifully. One of the things that will help you to refute this misconception is to know your hair porosity. The porosity of your hair is very important because it will help you determine how much moisture and or oil your hair needs and in what order.

It is divided into three main parts and they are: Low porosity: simply means that your hair does not easily allow moisture in nor allow moisture out. The trick in caring for this hair is to use heat to open up the hair cuticles to let in moisture. So, incorporate heat into your treatments: hot water to wash hair, heated deep conditioners, steaming, etc. Try not to let product build up in your hair and use lighter oils and other products like coconut oil, almond oil, etc. apply products to damp, not saturated hair.

Normal porosity: this refers to hair that absorbs moisture and can hold it for a good amount of time. This hair type is healthy and can hold a perm, styles and colouring very well with predictable results. It also has shine and a healthy bounce to it. Normal porosity hair also tends to feel smooth to the touch. If you have normal porosity hair, chances are you are doing the right thing. Keep doing regular deep conditioning treatments for continued product absorption into the hair.

High porosity hair allows moisture in and out very freely because of the gaps in the hair cuticle. This hair type is parched and always dries out easily. You have to keep this hair type as hydrated as possible. Stay away from heat and do deep conditioning treatments quite often. Always rinse your hair with cold water to seal the cuticles and prevent frizz. This also helps to seal in the moisture and when you apply your conditioner which hydrates the hair, followed by a light oil (avoid heavy oils that would weigh the hair down), the sealing is complete. *Do take the hair porosity test at home as shown to know which is yours.

40

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Checkered statement

blazers

W

Vanessa Okwara

hen it’s time to suit up, not much beats a blazer. Keep things classic by tapping into the refined, elegant style of the checkered trend often referred to as gingham or plaid. The checkered blazer is another exciting pattern that you might want to mix into your wardrobe.

The patterned jacket is traditional, but there’s no reason it has to feel old-fashioned. A classic gingham blazer will never go out of style and can instantly take your look from casual to smart if you work in an informal office.

A checkered blazer is definitely a statement outfit. Making a statement with a key item is one of the easiest ways to achieve such individuality, but it can also be a dangerous game to play. Get it wrong and the consequences can be dire but get it right and you have an outfit that few others could even dream of. With the gradual acceptance of colour in the last few seasons, a bold and creative blazer is a fantastic way to make your statement.

To work the trend in your wardrobe, try it in small doses—head-to-toe gingham can be tricky and overwhelming although it can also be pulled off successfully if you know the accessories to compliment it. Gingham blazer and a pair of distressed denim can look super simple and comfy with a pair of sneakers.

If you fancied something more solid, loafers or suede Oxfords are another good choice; it really just depends on the image you are trying to create. Classic sunglasses will make this a great party look, taking you from afternoon to evening with little effort and guaranteeing you a standout outfit.

We love a checkered blazer for men - just keep the rest of your outfit streamlined in a neutral colour palate to let this showstopper shine!

Bez

Best dressed geek Judith Onyebuchi

E

mmanuel Bezhiwa Idakula best known as Bez is a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and composer. He grew up in a musically inclined family listening to gospel and country music. As a child, he sang in the choir and learnt how to play his father’s guitar at the age of nine.

His style of music is known as ‘alternative soul’, a hybrid of soul , rock , jazz and R&B. ‘Zuciya Daya’ was Bez’s first hit. The single was released in 2009. Bez is currently working with one of Nigeria’s most gifted producers, Cobhams Asuquo. His album, ‘Super Sun’ which includes the single ‘Stupid Song’ was released in 2011. He was the first African artist to world premiere his music video on BET and

the first Nigerian artist to do a solo show at the iTunes store in Soho, New York. He also had a show at the iTunes store in Santa Monica, California for Black Music month in June 2012.

Bez received five nominations in the 2012 Headies Nigerian music awards for Recording Of The Year, Best Collaboration, ‘Stupid Song’ featuring Praiz, Best Vocal Performance and Hip Hop World Revelation.

One of the celebrities that rock the geek glasses with his gentleman looks, with nice collar shirt or a suit is Bez. What stands Bez out is his unique sense of dressing that is matchless and distinct him from others. Bez always looks stunningly dressed and his eye glasses compliment his face shape; making one believe that nerd glasses aren’t just geek, but sexy too.

41

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

Body&Soul

RazzleDazzle

Abiola Alaba Peters

with

08062622328 abiolaalabapeters@rockmail.com

My husband did not I once served Majek Fashek, Sunny Okosun, others –Monicazation marry me for Green Card – Osas Ajibade M

P

opular Nigerian actress and TV host, Osas Ajibade, has expressed her displeasure over comments that her husband and fellow actor, Gbenro Ajibade, married her for selfish reasons. The couple, who both featured in the popular soap opera, ‘Tinsel’, is obviously not happy about what people think of their one year marriage. The Edo State beauty, formerly Ighodaro, who was born in the United States, has debunked rumours that Ajibade married her to obtain a Green Card permit. She also insisted her husband was different from what people thought of him. In a chat with a soft sell magazine recently, the new mum said, “Being in the limelight, I hear different things and I wouldn’t be human if some of them don’t get to me; especially the comments people made about how he is only with me because he wants a Green Card. That was very hurtful because people don’t understand the love we have for each other. Everybody likes a good life. Who no like better tin? If he is able to get a Green Card for being with me, then that is a blessing, but for people to assume that is the only reason he is with me is very hurtful. Gbenro has had different opportunities in his life and he could have made that Green Card happen a long time ago. He always tells me that he had never envisioned himself being in love and in a relationship until he met me.

He thought he might just end up having a baby mama. “I didn’t ask him to marry me. He asked me to take this journey with him. People can talk all they want,” she added.

onica Omorodion Swaida, aka Monicazation, born in the 70s and based in Westford Massachusetts, United Kingdom started her professional career a long time ago. “As a teenager, I was part of a rap group called ‘Sound on Sound’. I later left the group and became a backup singer for top Nigerian musicians, including Majek Fashek, Sunny Okosun, Evi Edna. Serving some of these veterans was a great honour to me; it was an avenue for me to tap into their knowledge. I’ve done a lot of studio work for a number of artistes, voice overs and jingles for adverts” she revealed. Opportunity came for Monica to leave the country and travel abroad and she went back to school to earned a few degrees.

Industrious and hardworking Monica also faced the world of business, owning

C

an Insurance company and several real estate investments. Monicazation also cut her teeth in movies, producing her debut award-winning movie titled ‘Faces of Love’ directed by Robert Peters. She has gone on to produce lots of other movies, some of which include, ‘The Mailman’, ‘Deep Fever’, ‘Affairs of the Heart’ and a few others in the works. She wrote the sound track for ‘Faces of Love’ titled ‘My Baby is Gone’ and end up packaging her full album titled ‘Monicazation’. Her song ‘Palava’ won People’s Choice for Favourite Video and also won an Academia Music Award. Her new single, ‘Under your Influence’, which was just released through her production company, Monicazation Productions, recently, was produced by Celebobo and video shot by Okey Oku.

I’m still a virgin – Halima Abubakar

ontroversial Nollywood actress, Halima Abubakar is at it again and this time, she has decided to keep tongues wagging when she recently revealed she’s still a virgin. The chubby and light skinned actress recently got everyone talking when she disclosed that she is not ready to get married, has however changed her language when she said. “I can’t wait to be dis-virgined and have kids, please don’t preach on this post, the world has heard

MTN Project Fame season 9 opening gala sizzles

I’m not dating Iyanya – Nancy Isime

B

eautiful and leggy TV girl, Nancy Isime, is no doubt one of the leading new faces in the Nigeria entertainment industry of today. The Edo State born actress, model and presenter of Trend on Hip TV has been rumoured to be in a relationship with Triple MG act, Iyanya, after she was featured in one of his tracks ‘Applaudise’.

Nancy who has also appeared in several music videos is no doubt any man’s delight with her dazzling and charming smile. When asked about her relationship with the ‘Kukere’ master, she said. “Iyanya

and I are just friends, why would people conclude we are dating? I was contacted for that video and I did what I did, and that was all. There’s absolutely nothing attached to it. If they say I’m in a relationship with him that means I have to be dating all the artistes I featured in their songs. I also featured in Dr Sid’s song, why didn’t they talk about us? So you see, it was just a rumour, there’s no atom of truth in it”. This beauty has done well in the entertainment industry. She has featured in over 10 movies.

Yomi Fabiyi wins Best Producer at 2016 City People Entertainment Award

C

ity People Awards 2016 edition was held last week in Lagos and ‘Ajantala’ producer, Kemi Afolabi, was crowned the best actress of the year, while ‘Metomi’ producer, Yomi Fabiyi, won the best producer of the year.

Expressing gratitude to God and his teeming fans, Yomi dedicated his award to the late veteran actress, Bukky Ajayi. He described her as a great pillar of support in his growing career. “Once again, let me humbly express my profound gratitude to all that sincerely took out time to vote for me. You all will forever be in my debt. Nothing can ever stop me from appreciating God and my fans. I

enough quote, sinners will disagree”. Halima said that marriage is over rated and for that, she might not be getting married. “Marriage has been overrated. It’s unnecessarily overrated. It’s just too much of headache with how things are now. Even ordinary relationship is a huge burden and heart breaking, let alone marriage. When you can’t stand each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, how would you live together under the same roof when you get married? People need to know themselves seriously.

When I say seriously, I mean spiritually, before getting married. People only know themselves physically, not spiritually, so they end up getting bored with each other.

And they will say they don’t want to get divorced because of what society would say after investing so much in the marriage’.

dedicate this award to the memory of Late Bukky Ajayi, who played an important role in the movie ‘Metomi’ that got me this award of the Best Producer in 2016 at the just concluded City People Entertainment Award. I knelt down by her corpse, offered prayers and promised to remember her always for supporting my career the way she did. She prayed for me before and after the movie shoot and I am enjoying it now. Bukky Ajayi lives on!’ Other winners of the night include; Eniola Badmus, Lateef Adedimeji, Yetunde Bakare and Actress Toyin Adewale’s son, Mayourkun.

Edwin Usoboh

A

fter weeks of various auditions across West Africa in search of the next set of music rough diamonds that will be polished for stardom, the Project Fame Season 9 Academy opened its doors to receive 14 contestants for the new season. The unveiling of these lucky contestants took place at the Opening Gala, which was held recently at Ultima Studios, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

The atmosphere was laced with suspense as the contestants and audience held their breath to find out the verdict of the judges on the contestants who will get admitted into the Academy and the ones who will sadly drop out of the competition. Still, the evening could boast of enough glitz, glam, and entertainment that no one will forget in a hurry.

One of such was Jeff’s electrifying performance, which again reminded us why West Africa thought he was the perfect head to wear the crown as season 8 winner. He thrilled the audience with his debut single titled ‘Never let you go’.

For the 18 contestants who hoped to get the baton from Jeff, the judges decided that 12 of them had fully convinced them that they deserved a spot each in the Academy. After much deliberation, two were added to make them 14 contestants that got the coveted ticket into the Project Fame Academy.

So West Africa, the journey into fame and fortune has fully begun for these 14 contestants. They will take centre stage every week to entertain and serenade us, while the Faculty and Judges do their beat by nurturing the seeds of greatness in them.

The prizes to be won at the end of the season still remain; 3rd runner-up: N2 Million, 2nd runner-up: N2 Million and a brand new saloon car, 1st runner-up: N3 Million and a brand new saloon car while the winner takes home N5 Million, a brand new SUV and a recording contract worth millions of Naira.

42

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

I’m obsessed with music – Simi Brief background I am a singer, song writer and a sound engineer as well. I sing for a living and I’m a Mass Communication graduate of Covenant University and I’m the last born of four kids from my mum and the only girl.

What was growing up like?

Growing up, I was kind of a tomboy because I grew up with three boys, so I was always all over the place. I grew up in Ojuelegba, I was in Ojuelegba till I was nine years old and then moved to Ikorodu. We were actually pretty spoilt because my dad didn’t let us go out and mingle with the neighbours or anything like that. It was a pretty good childhood though. My parents separated when I was nine years old, so I didn’t really spend as much time with my dad but you know once in a while he would just call and be like, how is it going? I think he was more concerned about my masters though but nobody ever gave me a hard time or said I would never let you be a musician. My mum supported me a lot in my career.

Did you believe you’d come this far?

It was crazy because I always knew I would end up singing but after I finished school, I remember I told myself I wasn’t going to go and search for a job and I think that’s because of my passion for music and I just believed that life should be lived to the fullest. You shouldn’t just be passing by; you shouldn’t be a spectator to other people’s lives. What I knew would make me the happiest is music.

What influences your music, your inspiration?

I like to tell stories, you know the best stories are about real life experiences not necessarily my own, sometimes other peoples own. I feel that people are attracted to something they can relate to. If I write a song that people can relate to, they are more likely to listen to it.

So everything inspires me, every single thing that I hear.

Do you have some really big stars in the industry that you would love to work with?

Of course I love 2 Face, Patoranking, Wizkid.

Oh! I love Wizkid and Asa would be nice as well. The thing is, I have a lot of people I’d definitely like and you never know who is going to come up tomorrow. So anyone that I feel that we might sound good together, anybody that has great songs and is doing what I do, I would like to just collaborate and see what we can create together.

Are you working on any album or song right now?

Yes. There is a single coming out really soon. Actually, I am working towards my album, which would come out at the end of the year by God’s grace. There is a lot of stuff coming but you know how logistics can be, you plan and then you might have to move it or something might change but there is definitely a lot of stuff coming up.

Can you tell us the name of the single that’s coming out this month?

It’s a song I’m doing with Praiz titled ‘Out Of My Head’. It’s a love song that talks about when you’re really hung up on someone even when you know it’s over and you know that kind of thing is relatable and like I said, I always like my song to be relatable.

Simisola Bolatito Ogunleye, popularly known as Simi, is a fast rising singer, song writer and sound engineer. Her songs, ‘Jamb Question’ and ‘Open and Close’ have topped music charts in recent times. Also the popular single, ‘Soldier’, which she did with Falz, gave her the big break into the Nigerian music scene. The award winning Mass Communication graduate speaks with IFEOLUWA ADEYEMO about her career and why she changed from singing gospel music to Afro pop

How did you come into music?

I joined a group in church when I was a teenager at Daystar Christian Centre called ‘Outstanding’. We used to sing, dance and rap as well. I used to go there like two to three times every week for rehearsals. I was in that environment a lot and it was a big part of my life then because the passion I have for music always drives me to do something. I released an album in 2008 titled ‘Ogaju’ that was in my final year. It was my first and only album so far and I was about to graduate.

When I brought out the album, there was a huge song which was ‘Ara Ile’. It didn’t have a video and then I got signed to a record label in 2010 which didn’t end well. But there was a lot of growing, a lot of frustration during that period; it was very hard for me but I feel like that period was necessary for me because I grew a lot as an artiste and then I became more matured, I learnt some things I would not have learnt if frustration didn’t push me to learn them. Then in 2014, I got signed to Extreme Music Record Label which I’m still signed to now and I mean the rest is history.

You started off as a gospel singer, why the change?

M u s i c became broader for me; I wanted to just be an artiste. I wanted to do music as a musician and not just

as a gospel artiste. I wanted to write about love, about funny stuff. I just wanted to do music more as a broader thing rather than as a ministry and because all I knew before then was gospel so it was a bit hard for me to switch. I genuinely love music so I just want to explore it as an art.

What kind of music do you do?

I’m an Afro pop and soul artiste.

Why then did you study mass communication?

Oh I wanted to, because I remember I used to listen to Dan Foster when I was much younger and I always thought I want to be able to do something like that so I actually studied Mass Communication because of radio.

What’s your style like?

I’m pretty laid back, I like to be comfortable. I like sneakers and shorts. I like cute little dresses. I guess it depends on where I’m going but usually, I just like to be laid back, I like to be comfortable. I don’t see myself as a fashion guru or a fashion icon; I’m just Simi the regular girl.

want to crash and burn out but I’m really obsessed; I genuinely and really love music.

You studied mass communication in school and you’re into music and also a sound engineer. How did you learn all that?

It was mostly self-taught. I started learning how to use this recording stuff when I was doing my IT (internship) at Cool FM. I remember this guy, his name is Emani, he used to teach me how to record with software and ever since then, I just love to tamper with audio recording software and I started to use different ones. When I wanted to start learning how to mix and master, I went to You Tube and then I practised and practised.

So I guess I have a knack for it because I’m pretty good at it and then I started to mix my own songs and I started to mix for other people as well.

How many other artistes’ songs have you mixed?

I don’t know about how many but I’ve mixed for Adekunle Gold, Dare Art Alade, for Imansi and then for a bunch of other upcoming artistes.

What’s your passion?

Music is my passion. I want people to feel the way that I feel when I listen to my songs.

What are the fashion accessories you can’t do without when going out?

That will be my wrist watch. I always feel awkward when I don’t have it on.

So how do you feel about music?

I’m obsessed with music! I don’t sleep well because I stay up morning till night or past midnight in the studio or I’m writing something and I love it. The only time I stop is when I’m tired and I’m like oh I don’t

Since you like wrist watches, who’s your favourite designer?

I don’t know if I have a favourite designer but currently I’m wearing a Michael Kors.

Are you in a relationship?

Yes. Describe your ideal man…

He’s someone that I can count on; someone that I know has my back Do you believe in love at first sight and have you experienced it?

Yes and yes. I believe in it, maybe not love but I believe you can be insanely attracted to someone or somebody at first sight and yes, I’ve experienced it which is why I believe in it.

Who is your mentor in music?

I would say Adele.

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

I want to be able to do as much as possible. I want to be able to take advantage of every opportunity that I have. I don’t like to limit myself. I hope that my future is bigger than my dreams, I just want to do exploits, and I want to come out with huge songs that would have gone around the world Describe Simi in a sentence…

Simi is a regular girl who loves music and just wants to be happy.

43

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

NEWS Dangote signals slower pace of African cement expansion p.44

INTERVIEW Africa50’ll help AfDB address infrastructure deficit – Alassane Ba

AUTO BEAT Ford to promote safe driving in Nigeria p.47

p.45

BUSINESS

PAUL OGBUOKIRI HEAD, BUSINESS

paulogbuokiri@newtelegraph

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Fitch: Rising Interest Rates add challenges for Nigerian banks

N

President, Beta Sigma Fraternity and former Enugu State Governor, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo (l), with former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, at Beta Sigma Fraternity International Conference in Abuja…yesterday PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

MTN listing moves rekindles hope in NSE

Minister of communication Adebayo Shittu

M

Paul Ogbuokiri

TN on Thursday confirmed that it plans to list the Nigeria unit of the company, as part of a deal it reached with the Federal Government of Nigeria to reduce to N300 billion the N1.5 trillion fine it was supposed to pay for missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered subscribers.

The company said it a statement that it is targeting a listing of the Nigeria unit in 2017, “subject to suitable market conditions”. It added that Stanbic IBTC Capital, the Ni-

gerian arm of Johannesburgbased Standard Bank, will be the lead issuing house, while a full syndicate including Nigerian parties will be appointed in due course.

The listing forms part of the settlement agreement reached with the Federal Government for breaching regulation and failing to disconnect the lines of over five million Nigerian subscribers with unregistered SIM cards on the MTN network.

MTN is coming to the Nigerian bourse several years after fruitless efforts to attract the multinationals in the telecommunications, oil and gas sectors to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as a strategic step towards deepening the market and engendering active participation of indigenous investors in the companies’ wealth creation agenda.

Economists have argued that entry of big corporations in such niche sectors of the Nigerian economy, on the Exchange’s list will significantly raise capitalisation of the stock exchange, currently estimated at slightly above N10 trillion.

The NSE, since 2012, has come up with initiatives that will compel multinational firms to list on the Nigeria capital market.

Specifically, the listing rules of the stock market had been

reviewed to make it easier for these companies to access the Nigerian capital market and eventually list their shares.

NSE had also provided a legislation that covers incentives, unbundling of stringent eligibility requirements that create high barriers for potential entrants and hinder participation by willing businesses, adopting of options that promote foreign investment in the economy under terms that support national interest without exposing the market to the dangers of the past.

Meanwhile, the NSE market capitalisation, which has remained on the downward trend since the beginning of

MTN has close to 50 per cent of the subscriber-market in Nigeria. But its dominance is way deeper than that.

Investigations revealed that MTN has more than 80 per cent of the revenues of all telecommunications companies in Nigeria

the year, opened on Thursday at N9.687 trillion losing N55 billion or 0.57 per cent to close at N9.632 trillion. Also, the AllShare lost 161.66 points or 0.57 per cent to close at 28,046.96 to close at 28,208.62. Nigerian Breweries topped the losers’ chart, dropping by N1.21 to close at N138.71 per share.

Flour Mills trailed with a loss of 87k to close at N21.14 and Zenith Bank shed 49k to close at N16.31 per share. Berger Paint declined by 40k to close at N7.63, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated lost 35k to close at N12.93 per share.

On the other hand, MRS led the gainers’ table, growing by N3.59 to close at N38.78 per share. UACN came second with a gain of 22k to close at N20.73 and Guinness appreciated by 20k to close at N94.20 per share.

Pharm Deko increased by 8k to close at N1.73, while Guaranty Trust Bank appreciated by 3k to close at N23.50 per share. FBN Holdings emerged the toast of investors’, trading 86.19 million shares worth N289.79 million. GT Bank followed with an exchange of 38.61 million shares valued at N902.11 million and Skye Bank traded 22.81 million shares worth N16.20 million. Zenith Bank exchanged 21.86 million shares CO N T I N UED ON PAGE 44

Adenekan Tobiloba igeria’s banks are likely to face more challenges as interest rates continue to rise, says Fitch Ratings.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s benchmark interest rates, which hovered around 6 per cent from 2001 to 2011, have risen steeply. The latest increase came on 26 July, bringing rates up to 14 per cent in a move to curb inflation and strengthen the naira.

But Fitch says the rising rates are likely to put additional pressure on banks’ asset quality.

Almost all lending is extended at floating rates and banks should be able to reprice their loans quite quickly but borrowers will face more difficulties in servicing their debts.

Impaired loans are reported to have already risen in the Nigerian banking sector, where average non-performing loan ratios is put at 6.2 per cent at endMarch 2016, partly reflecting the impact of currency depreciation on businesses as well as higher oil-related problem loans at some banks.

Fitch is also expecting loan growth (excluding foreign-exchange translation effects) to slow during the second half of 2016 and into 2017.

This is even as banks have already tightened underwriting standards as economic conditions in the country worsen.

GDP contracted by 0.4 per cent year on year in 1Q16 and it forecast GDP growth to fall to 1.5 per cent in 2016 (2015: growth of 2.7 per cent).

With the rising rates, Fitch affirms that excess liquidity in the banking sector is, likely to flow into additional holdings of higher-yielding government debt. Government securities represent about 16 per cent of total Nigerian banking sector assets and 10-year senior bonds yield CO NTINUED O N PAGE 44

Militancy cuts Nigeria’s revenue in May – CBN

N

igeria’s revenue fell to the lowest in at least one year in May as militant attacks in the oilproducing Niger-Delta caused crude production to slump.

The Federal Government collected N384.9 billion ($1.2 billion) of revenue in May, down 1.6 per cent from April, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said in a report posted on its website on Tuesday. That was 53 per cent below the government’s budget estimate of N814.9 billion, the Central Bank said.

According to the report, pipeline destruction, vandalism and the persistent decline in crude oil prices contributed to the decline. Non-oil revenue, at N199.1 billion, or 51.7 per cent of the total revenue, fell short of both the provisional monthly budget estimate of N362.3 billion and the preceding month’s level by 45 and 2.7 per cent, respectively.

President Muhammadu Buhari in May approved a record N6.1 trillion budget with a deficit of N2.2 trillion, or 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product, to boost an economy on the brink of recession.

44

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS

GOtv to launch new shows in August

G

L-R: Head, Investment Research and Strategy, Stanbic Ibtc, Mr. Charles Omoera; Chairman of the occasion, Senator Gbenga Ashafa and Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Emmanuel Paulker at the first National Pension Retreat in Nigeria in Lagos .

Dangote signals slower pace of African cement expansion

Paul Ogbuokiri

D

angote Cement Plc signaled it may ease the pace of adding new capacity amid foreign exchange constraints in its home market of Nigeria, as Africa’s largest producer of the building material reported a decline in first-half profit.

While the company remains committed to its ambitious growth plans, “we are taking a more measured approach to the roll-out of new capacity across Africa,” Chief Executive Officer Onne van der Weijde in an email statement on Thursday. That could mean extending the time set aside to complete the projects, he said.

Dangote Cement, controlled by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has more than doubled production capacity since 2013

and said in April it may increase cement capacity by a further 77 per cent by the end of 2019. Foreignexchange constraints in Nigeria have prompted the company to reconsider the pace of its expansion and it now believes a fiveyear building programme is more appropriate, it said.

Van der Weijde’s comment about a more measured approach “implies that management will be prioritizing projects,” and “take time to properly articulate a long-term strategy in existing markets,” Jumai Mohammed, a Lagos-based analyst for Exotix Partners, said in an e-mailed responses to questions.

Profit for the six months through June declined to N106.3 billion from N123.1 billion a year earlier, the company said in a filing to the Nigeria Stock Ex-

MTN listing moves rekindles hope on NSE CON TINUED FR O M PAGE 43

valued at N361.73 million, while United Bank for Africa sold 14.54 million shares worth N64.44 million. In all, investors’ bought and sold 270.72 million shares valued at N2.25 billion transacted in 4,609 deals.

The confirmation that MTN will list in 2017, by way of public offer, rekindled hope in the market which reached its peak in 2008 before the market collapse, occasioned by the global meltdown. This is even as the market has failed to rebound this year despite the high hopes

raised by the successful polls in Nigeria last year.

There is no gainsaying the fact that listing of these telecom and aviation giants would shore up the liquidity of Nigerian capital market, which will in turn restore the much-needed investors’ confidence.

MTN has close to 50 per cent of the subscribermarket in Nigeria. But its dominance is way deeper than that. Investigations revealed that MTN has more than 80 per cent of the revenues of all telecommunications companies in Nigeria.

Nearly half of its operation is in Nigeria.

change. Revenue increased 21 per cent to N292 billion.

“We have achieved a commendable result, given the very challenging situation in our main market and general economic weakening across Africa,” the CEO said. Earnings in the period were affected by lower selling prices, higher fuel costs and the lower efficiency of new plants still in start-up phases, the company said.

Dangote posted a “weak but expected performance,” Mohammed said, as gas disruptions, the sharp depreciation of the naira and inflationary pressure weighed.

Cement sales volumes in the period increased 60 per cent, bolstered by record volumes in Nigeria, where the company announced a price cut last September.

Inflation in Africa’s largest economy accelerated to 16.5 per cent in June, the

highest rate since October 2005, as the cost of food and gasoline surged due to foreign-exchange shortages caused by a 15-month currency peg. The naira was allowed to float from June 20, losing more than a third of its value against the US currency and weakening beyond 300 per dollar for the first time on July 22.

The devaluation of the currency will affect costs in the country and Dangote will seek to protect its profit margins, Van der Weijde said.

Elsewhere on the continent, Dangote has increased market share in countries including Cameroon and Ethiopia and plans to begin operations at a new Republic of Congo plant in October, it said. The company remains confident of achieving “good growth” this year despite challenging economic conditions.

Challenges for Nigerian banks CO N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 4 3

about 15.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, despite the rate rise, real interest rates remain negative when considering inflation, which reached 16.5 per cent in June 2016. Nevertheless, for the domestic banks government bonds represent low-risk, low capital intensive investments. Lending, particularly in foreign currency, carries higher risks.

According to Fitch, the rate increase will also lead to higher funding costs for the banks. This and the switch away from loans and into fixed-income government bonds are likely to squeeze Nigerian bank net interest margins.

“ We also expect operating costs and loan impairment charges to rise but still expect Nigerian banks to remain profitable in 2016. We downgraded Nigeria’s sovereign rating to ‘B+’ in June and various bank ratings were downgraded in July. The challenging and volatile operating environment in Nigeria, as well as such factors as the banks’ financial profiles, mean Nigerian bank standalone Viability Ratings (VR) are in the highly speculative ‘b’ category.

Nigerian bank VRs are sensitive to a prolonged economic downturn and depressed oil prices, and to materially weaker asset quality,” the rating institution stated.

Otv subscribers will, in August, have access to fresh and appealing content.

As football fans look forward to the return of the Premier League and the Spanish La Liga football seasons, telenovelas fans can also look forward to the launch of new shows. So can children, who will be served a variety of interesting and educative content.

New telenovelas will be launched on both Telemundo and Zee World. From Monday, 1 August, the story of Eva Soler in the new telenovela, All Roads Leads to Love, showing on Telemundo, will be available at 4:10pm. King of Hearts and Forbidden Love will similarly launch on Zee World. Kids can learn the rules of the different Olympics sports through the weekday show, Discover The Olympics and Jim Jam. Also, Harvey Beaks, showing weekdays on Nickelodeon, will start on 1 August. Disney Junior and Discovery Family also have educative programmes for kids.

On the impressive August line-up, Efe Obiomah, GOtv Public Relations Manager, said: “We understand August is a big month for sports lovers, but because GOtv caters to a wide audience, we provide all our subscribers something appealing to their different needs.

So, while the men are happy the football season is back, the women can also look forward to watching their favorite telenovelas and soaps as the children can get the best of holiday programmes from the kiddies’ channels.

On GOtv, there is something special for everyone.”

L-R: General Manager, Information Technology, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS),Mr. Nasiru Ikharo; Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Isaac Akpoveta and President, Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN),Dr. Oluwole Sanda at the Association’s Mid-Year General Meeting on ”Health Insurance in Nigeria: The Journey So Far and The way Forward in Nigeria” in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Economy to grow at 3.3% in Q4 –Udoma

M

inister of Budget, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, has said that Nigeria’s economy is likely to be growing at a rate of about 3.3 to 3.5 per cent by the end of this year.

He said this at a recent news conference after a meeting of the National Economic Council in Abuja.

Nigeria’s economy contracted by 0.36 per cent in the first quarter of the year and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor has said a recession appears to be imminent.

Also contrary to the forecast of the minister, the International Monetary Fund painted a bleaker picture for Nigeria in its recent report, saying the economy is likely to contract by 1.8 per cent this year.

The IMF’s projection for this year, contained in its World Economic Outlook update, is down from the 2.3 per cent growth it foresaw in its April forecast. It now forecasts 1.1 per cent growth for 2017, down from 3.5 per cent in the April forecast.

“In Nigeria, economic activity is now projected to contract in 2016, as the economy adjusts to foreign currency shortages as a result of lower oil receipts, low power generation, and weak investor confidence,” the IMF said.

CBN currency restrictions imposed last year in an attempt to protect dwindling foreign reserves prompted investors to flee and led to dollar shortages, pushing down the naira currency’s value on the country’s burgeoning black market.

The peg on the value of the naira, which was in place for 16 months, was removed in June but liquidity remains thin.

Militant attacks on oil and gas facilities in the southern Niger Delta energy hub have cut Nigeria’s oil production, pushing what was Africa’s largest oil producer behind Angola and threatening the country’s main revenue.

45

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

BUSINESS INTERVIEW

Africa50’ll help AfDB address infrastructure deficit – Alassane Ba

Alassane Ba, who is the outgoing Chief Executive Officer of Africa50 Infrastructure Fund, told journalists at a recent forum that the initiative can only help African Development Bank to address the issue of the infrastructure deficit on the continent. He is also delighted with the strong commitment from African countries and underlined the need for Africa50 to establish its credibility and comprehensively launch its activities. STANLEY IHEDIGBO brings the excerpts:

You have more than 20 years’ experience in strategic management, making available the resources of countries, financial markets and development partners, as well as in the management of institutional, operational and financial performance.

Could you briefly describe Africa50?

Africa50 is an independent financial structure that promotes and funds infrastructure projects in Africa. The ultimate goal of Africa50 is to promote and fund infrastructure projects that allow Africa to reach a new stage of growth, around 7-9 per cent. The AfDB is the reference shareholder. It is well known for its expertise in development issues, its rigor in governance, and its ability to nurture and develop these structures. Remember that over the past 30 years the AfDB has promoted the creation of Africa Re, Afreximbank and Shelter Africa, as well as others, all of which have been effective.

Africa50 will work with two functions: one feature that promotes infrastructure projects and another that funds projects. It has sufficient capital and is governed by a legal framework under private law. It is in fact a public limited company with management and governance bodies like the private sector. It is based on a public-private partnership model, with category A shares for African governments; category B shares for African financial institutions (reinsurance companies, pension funds, insurance companies, central banks, development banks, etc.); and category C shares for the private sector. Africa50 is designed as a profit-making body, with a dividends policy.

The fund, which is headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco, will make it possible to change the infrastructure paradigms now and in the future. The idea comes at the right time, and we can see this with the creation shortly after Africa50 of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, backed by China, with European and Asian countries as shareholders.

AfDB President Donald Kaberuka recently quoted Victor Hugo in a campaign to mobilize capital for Africa50: “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come”. This is true for Africa50.

erable impacts on African economies as an accelerator to achieve infrastructure enhancement.

Africa50 will be a profitable body with a dividends policy to reward invested capital. Other than the economic and social advantages it creates, it must always be remembered that Africa50 is a good financial investment.

Alassane Ba

We are very happy with the way in which capital is being mobilized. More than 15 countries with various developWhy is it called Africa50? ment levels have provided a quarter of the Africa50 is a name that celebrates Africa capital that has been contributed, in acand its institutions. The AfDB is celebrat- cordance with the Africa50 Statutes, and ing its 50th anniversary this year. The contributions exceeded USD 600 million.

African Union and the Economic Com- Considering the commitments of various mission for Africa are both in their 50s. countries and the need to add to the interAnd also we have celebrated the 50th an- nal procedures of countries for contribuniversary of the independence of several tions and payments, the Board of Africa50 African countries in the past five, three has decided, after consulting the countries and two years. We have learned lessons in question, to extend contributions and for funding and development and new payments to June 15, 2015. It has constraints linked to the internal situaalso decided to hold tion of developed countries. We want an extraordito take our destiny in our own nary general Africa50 will be hands. Africa50 combines expemeeting in rience and innovation. It is an Morocco, a profitable body with African solution to African at which a dividends policy to reward problems and will create the the inAfrica we want. invested capital. Other than the c r e a s e in capieconomic and social advantages tal and The fact that so many African countries want to join t h e it creates, it must always be the Africa50 fund demonvarious remembered that Africa50 strates the interest sparked docuby infrastructure developm e n t s is a good financial ment in the region. What is the governinvestment latest information about contribuing the legal tions to establishing Africa50?

framework of Africa50 will be approved.

In what way is this new institution important for African countries, and what are the advantages for Africa?

Africa50 will play a key role in the appearance and funding of infrastructure.

It has a distinct competitive advantage, linked to its project development feature and integrated business plan. Its governance will enable it to be an institution that is quick in its decision-making. Its strategic partnership with the AfDB also allows it to make the most of the competitive advantages of that institution without its constraints. Definitively, the fund will be an accelerator for infrastructure projects. It is hoped that Africa50 will reduce preparation times for funding to 3-4 years, instead of 7-10 years, as is now the case.

As with any financial institution, it is expected to have the impact of a moderate financial lever that will make it possible to attract resources from African and nonAfrican capital markets. With an initial investment of USD 100 million, the AfDB will be able to create a financial institution whose total balance could reach tens of billions of dollars.

Considering all these highly positive parameters, Africa50 will have consid-

Some people think the existence of Africa50 could weaken or limit the role of the AfDB in this area. Some see it as a rival to the AfDB. What do you say to this?

The relationship between the AfDB and Africa50 is filial. Africa50 will be a good addition to the AfDB in the preparation and co-funding of projects. As the reference shareholder of the fund, the AfDB will provide the necessary strategic influence to ensure synergy between the two institutions. It is more than the duty of the AfDB and Africa50 to work together to ensure the availability of effective solutions to accomplish infrastructure projects. Their respective roles are to maximize profitable projects to meet countries’ needs, within a well-defined context of the division of labour between the two institutions. In fact, speaking of competition between the two institutions when the AfDB is on Africa50’s Board is misleading. The role of the Board is to define, among other things, Africa50’s strategic orientations, including strategic partnerships with institutions such as the AfDB. So, considering the infrastructure deficit in Africa, and knowing the scale of the capital required, such a bias is illogical.

Finally, the management framework for credit risks will limit Africa50 in turning to co-funders, and the AfDB will be its privileged co-funder. All these questions will be handled in the context of a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions.

For a start, Africa50 was created to optimize the development and funding of infrastructure. In this context, the AfDB plays a key role in view of its experience, expertise and financial scope, as well as its strategic relations with countries and certain key operators in the sector. The AfDB is and shall remain the steering organization which Africa50 must lean on to achieve its goals.

The infrastructure market in Africa is currently fragmented. It comes as good news that Africa50 aims to act as a one-stop shop. What do you intend to do to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure investment in the region?

In the infrastructure market, the segment that is currently least well-funded is the preparation of projects. The needs are huge, but funding sources are scarce. Africa50 will help to fund this segment and I hope that other institutions will increase the resources available for funding the preparation, particularly pre-feasibility and feasibility studies. The fund will be the institution that accelerates projects by intervening from the start with the project development feature. We hope that this business model will be copied and expanded. Africa50 is one of the pioneers of a business plan that is integrated from start to finish, making a one-stop shop.

This is a proposal of unique value.

46

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS NEWS

R

oyal Dutch Shell Plc reported the lowest quarterly earnings in 11 years and missed estimates by more than $1 billion as a mix of lower energy prices, weaker refining margins and production halts weighed on Europe’s largest oil company.

Profit adjusted for onetime items and inventory changes sank 72 per cent from a year earlier to $1.05 billion, The Hague-based Shell said Thursday. Analysts had expected a $2.16 billion result.

Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden, who this year completed Shell’s record purchase of BG Group Plc, has vowed to boost savings from the acquisition following a two-year slump in crude. While Brent’s 25 per cent rebound last quarter provided some prospect of relief, the rally is now fading while the safety net provided by refining has given way. Production shutdowns in Nigeria, Canada and the Netherlands increased the pain for Shell.

“This is a very big surprise from Shell,” said Brendan Warn, a managing director at BMO Capital Markets in London. “Things are not looking up in the third quarter either, with weakness in

Shell net profit falls in Q2 on low oil prices the industry’s refining environment and Shell’s oil production still under pressure.”

Shell’s B shares, the most widely traded, sank as much as 4.2 per cent to 2,017 pence in London, and were down 4.1 per cent at 9:34 a.m. local time. The stock was the second-worst performer in the 20-company Stoxx Europe 600 Oil & Gas Index, after Saipem SpA. “Lower oil prices continue to be a significant challenge across the business, particularly in the upstream,” Van Beurden said in a statement.

Second-quarter production was 3.51 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, compared with analyst estimates for 3.63 million.

Shell’s earnings miss is among the biggest in the industry this quarter. BP Plc fell short by 12 per cent on Tuesday, while Total SA beat estimates by 31 per cent on Thursday. Statoil ASA reported a loss compared with a projected profit, but the surprise wasn’t comparable in size to Shell’s. Exxon

FG targets $42.5, 2.2mbpd for 2017 budget Adenekan Tobiloba

N

igeria is assuming an oil price of $42.5 per barrel and output of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2017, the Budget Minister said this week as he outlined the country’s three-year fiscal plan.

The blueprint expects both production and prices to rise each year up to 2019, and that the naira will recover and settle at 290 per dollar, according to the presentation by the Minister of Budget, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.

Nigeria’s economy has been devastated by falling crude prices and attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger-Delta region that have cut oil production from 2.2 million bpd to 1.5 million since January.

Udoma told a forum in the capital Abuja that projections for 2018 and 2019 were $45 and $50 a barrel and output of 2.3 million and 2.4 million bpd, respectively.

Bismark Rewane, economist and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Limited, described the oil price projections as conservative but highlighted the risk of further attacks in the Niger Delta.

“What is the plan to fund the (budget) gap if production falls?” he asked.

Udoma said “a significant increase in non-oil revenue receipts” was projected for 2017 to 2019 as the economy gradually recovered and tax collection improved.

Crude sales currently account for around 70 per cent of government revenue and 90 per cent of foreign earnings in Africa’s biggest economy.

Udoma said currency assumptions for the 20172019 periods were for a steady naira/dollar rate of 290. That compared with a rate of 313 on Monday afternoon.

The West African country has budgeted for a record N6.06 trillion of expenditure this year, of which he said N2.123 trillion had already been allocated.

The 2016 budget, signed into law in May, assumes oil production of 2.2 million barrels a day at a price of 38 dollars a barrel.

Crude prices have rallied in the last few weeks in part due to the impact of the Nigerian attacks on global supply. But Brent crude futures were trading at $44.86 a barrel at 1334 GMT, their lowest since May 11, amid concerns about a glut.

Udoma said valueadded tax (VAT) receipts were expected to increase by around 42 per cent in 2017. At 5 per cent, Nigeria’s VAT rate is among the lowest in the world.

Mobil Corp., the largest oil company by market value, and Chevron Corp. will announce results Friday.

Estimates on Shell’s website show the company missed expectations at each of its three main units -- upstream, which includes oil and gas production; downstream, including refining; and integrated gas, which houses its liquefied natural gas business.

The upstream loss widened to $1.3 billion in the quarter

from $469 million a year earlier. Profit from downstream tumbled 39 per cent to $1.8 billion while earnings from integrated gas fell 38 percent.

Shell plans $29 billion of capital expenditure this year and $25 billion to $30 billion a year through 2020. Van Beurden has said the company has the option to cut spending further and defer more projects if oil prices stay below $50 a barrel.

Brent traded below $44 on Thursday. The benchmark

crude averaged $47.03 in the second quarter, $63.50 a year earlier and $35.21 in the first quarter of this year.

The biggest oil producers also run refineries, which have benefited from low crude prices over the past two years, helping to buoy earnings as income from exploration and production dwindled. Global refining margins averaged $13.80 a barrel in the quarter through June, according to BP, yet they’re now $10.70 as de-

mand growth slows and inventories build.

At the same time, crude’s rebound has sputtered.

Production shuttered by wildfires in Canada and by militant attacks in Nigeria is returning, and shale drillers in the U.S. are bringing back some rigs. While there’s consensus among analysts that the worst of the oil glut is over, the International Energy Agency cautioned this month that “the road ahead is far from smooth.”

L-R: First Deputy National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Iyalode Alaba Lawson; National President, Chief Bassey Edem; 2nd Deputy National President, Hajia Sarafu Aliyu; and Deputy President Ex-Officio, Dr (Mrs) Nike Akande, at the association’s media briefing on review of the State of the Nation Economic Issues in Lagos , Thursday

Board approves AfDB’s Africa industrialisation strategy 2016-2025

A

frica’s industrialisation agenda, one of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s top priorities for the continent’s economic transformation, received a boost recently with the approval of the Bank Group’s Industrialisation Strategy for Africa 2016-2025.

The Strategy, approved by the AfDB’s Board, represents a roadmap for implementing priority programmes to scale–up the industrial transformation of Africa. It addresses key issues such as: (i) Why we need to industrialise Africa; (ii) What it will take to industrialise Africa; and (iii) How AfDB will help to industrialise Africa.

In designing the strategy, the Bank underscored the vital roles that industrialisation plays in development as it leverages all the value chains of economic activity ranging from raw materials to finished products. It catalyses productivity by introducing new equipment and new techniques, increases the capabilities

of the workforce, and diffuses these improvements into the wider economy. It generates formal employment, which in turn creates social stability. It improves the balance of trade by creating goods for export and replacing imports.

The strategy aims to (i) Develop industrial sector and policy framework, (ii) Enhance trade and integrate Africa into the regional and international value chains and (iii) Boost competitiveness and value creation by expanding supply of business services to maximize impact on the performance of industries and vice-versa.

To achieve these goals, the strategy would rely on five enablers which the Bank will mainstream into flagship programmes. These are: (i) Supportive policy, legislation and institutions; (ii) Conducive economic environment and infrastructure; (iii) Access to capital; (iv) Access to markets; and (v) Competitive talents, capabilities, and entrepreneurship.

“In successful industrial-

ising countries, these enablers have typically been integrated into a comprehensive industrial policy that has enabled businesses, both large and small, to develop along the value chains of selected, highpotential industrial sectors,” according to strategy document.

The Bank will support countries by championing six flagship programs: (i) Foster successful industrial policies; (ii) Catalyse funding in infrastructure and industry projects; (iii) Grow liquid and effective capital markets; (iv) Promote and drive enterprise development; (v) Promote strategic partnerships; and (vi) Develop efficient industry clusters.

It would also increase its level of funding and crowding-in third party resources to the tune of USD35 to 56 billion over the next decade. The Bank will also leverage additional resources through partnership with other DFIs, relevant UN agencies, AUC, RECs, and special purpose vehicles

providing seed funds.

In addition, substantial amounts will be mobilized through syndication and co-financing in support of phased programs that would be specific to local contexts and in line with the countries’ development goals.

“Industrialize Africa” will build on synergies across the other H5’s - Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa – by virtue of its cross-cutting agenda.

Prepared in consultation with the relevant UN organisations such as UNIDO, UNECA as well as internal multi sectoral and external consultations, the African Industrialization Agenda is grounded on (i) the SDGs which recognise that industrialisation is the right path to accelerate growth (ii) the Action Plan for Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA (iii) Regional Economic Communities (RECs) industrial policies.

47

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

AUTO BEAT Motoring briefs

Seven ways you may be ruining your car’s paint without even knowing it

Y

our daily routine may be damaging your car’s paint work without you even realising it. The innocent everyday happenings, like accidentally spilled fuel, cheeky finger writings or annoying bird droppings, can leave long-lasting stains and scratches on the surface of your car or, even worse, cause corrosion.

Here are some of the ways you may be ruining your car’s paint, and some tips on how to avoid them:

xxxxx

Ford to promote safe driving in Nigeria F Paul Ogbuokiri

ord, as a committed and responsible corporate citizen in Nigeria, is making a significant contribution to promoting safe driving with the introduction of its global Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) programme next month in Nigeria. This is in line with Ford’s decision to roll out this successful international programme to more countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This successful driver training programme was launched in South Africa in 2014 and it was introduced into Angola last year.

Ford launched DSFL in the United States in 2003 and the system has been improved and adapted to suit local conditions in many global markets over the years.

DSFL is a free, advanced driving skills programme for newly-licensed drivers as well as a means of improving the defensive driving ability of experienced drivers.

It is funded by the not-for-profit Ford Motor Company Fund as an effective method of improving driving skills globally and so contributing to road safety.

The half-day DSFL training starts with a one hour theoretical session followed by practical training where the trainee is accompanied by a professional driver trainer in cars provided by Ford. The practical exercise includes a pre-trip inspection, experiencing braking distances from 60km/h and 120km/h as well as staggered following distances. Then there is an ABS braking exercise, a reaction test and finally a slalom activity to evaluate car control.

The Nigerian Auto Journalists’ Association (NAJA), the umbrella body for all journalists in Nigeria covering the automobile and automotive industry, is already setting a good example by insisting that its members undergo annual training, and Ford’s DSFL will form part of this programme.

“This year the Nigerian Auto Journal-

ists’ Association is undertaking a program to re-invigorate our members through a number of relevant training courses to improve their skills and knowledge levels,” explained Mike Ochonma, the vice president of the NAJA and a member of the NAJA Event Organising Committee.

“We are very pleased that we have been able to partner with Ford so that we can include the Driving Skills for Life training into our overall program. This driver training is very important for our members as it is at the core of their profession.

It is also supportive of the government’s initiatives to improved road safety in our country and to cut the death toll on our roads.”

This positive move by the motoring journalists has already been highly praised by the Nigerian Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (NAMA).

The first DSFL training session in Nigeria took place at the Lekki premises of Coscharis Motors yesterday.

Hyundai Motor announces 2016 1H business results

H

yundai Motor Company, South Korea’s largest automaker this week announced its business results for the first half of 2016. Sales volume and operating profit declined from the same period last year due to export decrease as well as weak currencies and economic recession in emerging markets.

For the first six months of 2016, sales revenue increased 7.5 per cent to KRW 47.03 trillion (auto: 36.66 trillion / finance and others: 10.37 trillion) from a year earlier owing to sales increase of SUVs and GENESIS models. Operating profit fell 7.0 percent to KRW 3.10 trillion and net profit showed a 6.4 per cent decrease to KRW 3.53 trillion.

Hyundai Motor Company’s cumulative global sales for the first six months totalled 2,393,241 units (Korea: 350,006 / overseas: 2,043,235), a year-on-year decrease of 0.9 per cent. Slowing growth in emerging markets and impact from currency fluctuations have been the main culprit for the global sales drop.

In the second quarter alone, sales revenue posted KRW 24.68 trillion with global sales of 1,285,860 units and operating profit increased 0.6 per cent to KRW 1.76 trillion, from a year earlier.

Hyundai Motor forecasts that an unfavorable business environment is likely to continue in the second half. In particular, the company anticipates further uncertainties in business conditions after the

Hyundai Accent

BREXIT referendum which took place last month.

Nevertheless, Hyundai Motor will continue its effort to focus on strengthening competitiveness and product quality in the global automotive market. To do so, Hyundai Motor is planning to boost sales with SUVs and strategic models.

In addition, Hyundai Motor will strengthen growth momentum with the luxury brand GENESIS models, G90 and G80, and further develop state-of-the-art technologies within new models such as the IONIQ which is offered in three eco-friendly powertrain (Hybrid, Electric, Plug-in Hybrid).

Hyundai Motor will continue its cooperation with suppliers and actively carry out more values to customers and stakeholders alike.

Hyundai Motor also strives to build a more shareholder-friendly environment by increasing transparency and shareholder’s value.

Splattered bugs Bugs might be tiny but can do real damage to the paint on your car. Insects are surprisingly acidic, and if they are not properly cleaned off the surface of your car, they can actually etch into the paint.

Tip: Don’t put off bugs cleaning splatter from your car for too long or else as time goes on, the bugs stains become more difficult to remove. If you act quickly, all it takes is a little bit of bug and tar remover, a soft wash cloth and some elbow grease.

Spilled fuel Though most people want to make sure they get their every money worth when topping up their fuel tank. Filling it to the brim actually increases the chance of having fuel overflow and spillage on your car. If left alone and not quickly wiped away, the spilled fuel can seep into the top coat of the paint causing it to lose its shine and leaving a stain on your car’s finish that is very difficult to remove.

Tip: avoid leaving a brown fuelcoloured blemish around the fuel tank cap on your vehicle and in cases where drips have dribbled down the side of your vehicle when you filled up, try and wipe it off as soon as possible with a micro-fibre cloth.

Bird droppings Bird’s droppings can actually do some serious damage to your car’s paint…

Not only are bird’s droppings ugly, they can actually do some serious damage to your car’s paint. A diet full of berries, seeds and even bits of gravel can be acidic, and any grainy dropping can stain, dull and scratch your paint, and take the gloss off, if left lingering on your car too long.

Tip: Spray a bit of wash solution on the affected areas and use a soft micro-fibre cloth to gently wipe away the droppings. Use a lifting motion to avoid dragging any grit across the paint.

Stone chips Loose stones, pebbles and stone chips are everywhere on the road.

These tiny pieces are kicked up from the ground and peck at the sides of your car. This can chip the top paint coat and sometimes even go all the way down to the lower layers of paint, exposing them to the weathering that they are not equipped to handle.

Tip: It’s best to treat these chips as soon as possible to prevent the affected spots from rusting. Ford’s three-wet paint technology uses highsolid paint chemistry, which means you get a better, denser and stronger bond between elements in the paint, resulting in a harder, stronger and more scratch-chip- and etch-resistant surface.

48

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS

Nigeria’s current economic situation is harsh, says NACCIMA

L

Stanley Ihedigbo eading member of the Organised Private Sector in the country’s, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), has said that the state of the current economic situation in the nation is harsh.

They said that rising inflation has greatly reduced the real income and the purchasing power of the average Nigerian. Also the real sector is reeling under the burden of rising costs of production in a state of near economic stagnation while facing the prospects of being the base by which the government hopes to obtain tax revenue to finance the economy.

Speaking at the review of the state of the economy and the association’s perspective on some trending socio-economic issues, Thursday in Lagos, the group’s National President, Chief (Dr.) Bassey Edem, noted that the private sector, and by proxy, the majority of the populace which still exhibits confidence in the present administration are waiting anxiously to see the change and dividends of democracy as promised by the APC government.

He urged government to continued its fight against insecurity and corruption and swiftly activate its plans to stimulate the economy for the betterment of the people.

According to the NACCIMA boss, members of the Organised Private Sector will continue to partner with government in actualizing its economic plan for the country to ensure economic transformation and social development of the nation.

Chief Edem, further noted in the last six months, the outlook of the economy has been bleak and the rate of inflation has

Central Bank of Nigeria in June 2016, the official exchange rate has risen to a figure between N280 and N310 to the US Dollar with the parallel market rate hovering around N360 and N375 to the US Dollar,” he said.

He added: “Interest rate, maintained a double digist figure, with the Prime Lending Rate at 16.13 percent and Maximum Lending Rate of 26.73 percent.

The Central Bank of NigeNew President of Computer and Allied Products Dealers Assoria estimates capacity uticiation (CAPDAN), Mr. Ojikutu Ahmed Adeniyi; former President lization in the industrial of CAPDAN, Mr. Tunji Balogun and the Legal Adviser to CAPDAN, sector at 52.7 per cent in Barrister. V. Ijeoma, during the presentation of his Certificate the first quarter of 2016, of Return…weekend indicating a 1 percent decrease from the estimated almost doubled, adding that electricity level in the fourth quarter of 2015. generation has reduced by almost 50 perThe apex bank attributed this developcent and the price of petroleum products ment to poor power supply, exchange has also doubled. rate challenges and squeezed cash flow, In his words: “Foreign exchange earn- which impacted on business confidence, ings have continued to drop significantly hindering activities in the sector.” due to reduction in output caused priThe leading OPS group boss said: marily by the vandalisation of infrastruc- “As acknowledged by government ture and low crude oil prices in the global officials, the economy is technically in market. Although, we acknowledge the recession. A situation characterised by efforts of the Federal Government in ad- negative economic growth in two sucdressing these issues, these efforts have cessive quarters. This situation has been not translated into measurable positive attributed to economic stagnation and indicators; rather it has led into recession increasing inflation. which has become a thing of worry to “It is of utmost importance that the private sector operators. economic team of the Federal Govern“At the beginning of the year, the fixed ment reviews the monetary and fiscal exchange rate policy of N197 to the USD policies and come up with programmes was implemented in the official mar- and activities that would take the counket from January to June 2016; and the try out of the current economic dolNaira hovered between N300 and N330 drums. Business operators and Nigerian to the US Dollar in the parallel market. citizens are patiently looking forward However, with the introduction of the to the change that will bring about the flexible exchange rate policy by the economic turnaround of the country.”

The unused talent Success Nuggets Victor Okwudiri 08037674300 (SMS only)

E

meka is a young lawyer resident in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. By virtue of his profession, he puts on suits to work, from Monday to Thursday. It is only on Fridays that he and his colleagues have the opportunity to wear clothes other than suits. Even at that, they go to work in suit any Friday that a court session is to hold. The effect? Their native wears were always looking new as they were hardly worn.

One Friday, Emeka was excited about the idea of putting on his unique native wear to work. However, something happened that almost punctured his joy.

When he brought out the clothe, he noticed that it had white spots all over. He was familiar with that phenomenon. He knew it was because he had not used the clothe in a while. He sighed as he began to clean his clothes.

LESSON There is always a curse on the unused resource or potential.

Emeka had that experience with his clothe because he did not use the clothe

for a long time. His suits and native attires were in the same room, yet the suits did not attract any mold, the reason being that they were in consistent use.

One day, Jesus stumbled upon a fig tree while walking with His disciples. He expected to eat from the tree. However, when He got close, He saw that the tree did not bear any fruit. He got angry and cursed that tree to the effect that the tree was not to bear fruit any more. That was the end of the tree’s life. It died. It is possible some people think that Jesus cursed the tree in anger. Whether or not that is true, one thing is certain: He cursed the tree because it failed to utilise its fruit-bearing potential.

What about the parable of the talents? A rich man, when he was set to travel, called three servants of his and gave them talents - five, two and one, respectively. The one with five talents used it for business and made five more. The one with two talents used it for business and made two more. The one with one talent refused to use his talent. He saved it. What happened? When the rich man returned, he commended the servants with five and two talents, respectively, for using their talents for business and for the 100% return on investment. He, however, chided and punished the servant with one talent and instructed that the one talent the lazy servant refused to trade with be given to the servant with five

talents, who made more five.

It is a natural principle that anything not used diminishes in value.

Even medical science tells us that any muscle not exercised for a long time becomes weak. In some cases, this is the reason people have one of their limbs thinner than the other. The same thing applies to the mind. Any mind not exercised becomes dull.

Any potential not UTILISED cannot CRYSTALLIZE into a great destiny.

Any potential not USED is ABUSED. I ask you today: what is that potential in you that you are letting to lie fallow? What is that TALENT that is LATENT in you? I charge you today to begin to put it to use, and be consistent in using it. By so doing, you would have set out on a journey of greatness and fulfilment.

You will succeed.

References: Matthew 21:18-19; 25:15-30 AND THIS ... FEEDBACK “HELLO BARRISTER. I’M GLAD THAT OTHERS ARE EQUALLY ENJOYING YOUR WRITE-UPS. MORE WISDOM FROM THE THRONE OF GRACE. THANKS FOR PUBLISHING MY COMMENDATION TODAY (24th July, 2016). BLESSED. -THADDEUS ANYAM.” Have a blessed week.

Please follow me on Twitter @ VictorOkwudiri

Computer Village new executives assume office

T

he new executives of the Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association (CAPDAN), the umbrella body of traders at the famous international computer market, Ikeja were sworn into office at the weekend.

The event, which was performed at the centre of the market that connects the four intersections of the market roads stood symbolic in various aspects, as it was performed amidst pomp and pageantry In his remarks, the electoral committee Chairman Engineer Cletus Dike, thanked the community for giving them the opportunity to elect to elect the new officers, saying the committee has laid a foundation for a brand a new CAPDAN. The Director-in-charge of Political, Office of Civic Engagement in the Lagos State government Mr. Hassan Mutaau, who stood in for the state government at the occasion, recalled that the bickering in the Computer Village has been in existence since the last 12 years, he, however, thanked the state governor who immediately he assumed office, handed over the matter to them to resolve amicable.

“We are happy that peace has returned to Computer Village in one hand, and happy in the other hand, because we are instrumental to it. We are pleased that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) they signed, has worked.

The good result of that consultation is what we are witnessing today which is the swearing-in of the elected executive. We thank God and our Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for his exemplary leadership,” he said.

The oath of office was administered on the 20 member executive by the Legal Adviser of the union Barrister V. Ijeoma.

In his post swearing in speech, the CAPDAN President, Mr. Ojikutu Ahmed Adeniyi, thanked God for making the election of the new officers possible. He said: “Today is remarkable in the history of Computer Village, we will set standard and set bye laws that will govern the activities of people in this market. We are going to embark on registration of all traders in the village. What you cannot measure, you cannot manage. We will introduce ‘Computer Village Identification Number’ (CVIN). It will help us tighten our security here. We earnestly want to add our quota to the GDP of Nigeria. I and my executive pray to God to help us bequeath a Computer Village that will be better than what we have inherited today.”

The former CAPDAN President Mr. Tunji Balogun, in his speech said it’s always joyfully to see your baby grow in your presence. “We are happy to hand over to a new government. We will use our connections to support them. We are advising them to build on the vision of the founding fathers which is honesty and service.”

Total hits costs target as oil rebound lifts profit Adenekan Tobiloba

F

rench oil and gas major Total said on Thursday it had met its cost saving target ahead of schedule as increased output and an oil price rebound produced a better-than-expected rise in second quarter net profit.

Total said it had made $900 million in savings so far this year, which on top of $1.5 billon last year brings it to its target of $2.4 billion for the end of 2016 and it now hopes to save more by the year-end.

Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said oil prices remained volatile, but Total had gained from a recovery in Brent crude from the start of the year when it went below $28 per barrel to average $46 per barrel in the second quarter.

Brent was down 10 cents at $43.37 per barrel by 0845 GMT on Thursday, steadying just above three-month lows on oversupply concerns.

“Total captured the benefit of this rebound, and adjusted net income rose to $2.2 billion in the second quarter 2016 (versus the first quarter), an increase of 33 per cent compared to the first quarter,” Pouyanne said in statement.

49

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

NSEASI Gains 1.27% Week-on-Week … MPC Raises MPR to 14%

T

he bearish run of the equities market came to a swift end this week, as the negative sentiments which pervaded the market over the past few weeks came to an end. The positive return was driven by the banking sector, which witnessed a shift in sentiments given investor expectations that the upward revision in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 14%, from 12%, would impact the sector positively.

Consequently, the NSEASI advanced by 1.27% Week-to-Date (WtD) to peg the Yearto-Date (YtD) return at -2.21%.

There were thirty-five (35) gainers and thirty-one (31) decliners during the week, to peg the market’s breadth at 1.13x. The gainers for the week were led by MRS, GUARANTY, CUSTODYINS, MANSARD and ZENITHBANK, which recorded respective gains of 21.45%, 14.36%, 10.53%, 10.26% and 10.02%.

Conversely, SKYEBANK, NEM, REDSTAREX, FO, and SEPLAT were the largest underperformers after recording value declines of 17.65%, 12.00%, 10.57%, 9.95% and 9.75% accordingly.

The H1:2016 earnings season got fully underway this week, with ninety-four (94) companies, including CUSTODYINS, DANGCEM, FBNH, and MOBIL, releasing results during the week. In general, the results reflected the difficult operating environments for most companies precipitated by the weak macro-economic environment. We expect this to remain a theme in this earnings season. The results reviews are contained in the sector review section. Also, CUSTODYINS declared an interim dividend of NGN0.07/ share, which based on the closing price on the 29th of July, 2016, NGN3.99, represents a dividend yield of 1.75%. The Qualification and Closure dates are scheduled for the 19th and 22nd of August, 2016, respectively.

Also, Transcorp PLC released an earnings guidance for Q2:2016, in which the company cited unrealized foreign exchange losses, a significant decline in the generating capacity at its Power subsidiary, as well as receivables from NBET for over NGN28bn, as the reasons for its weak financial position.

We expect the market will return positive in the coming week, supported by gains from the banking sector once more. Although we anticipate that many of the results which will filter in will be weak as most would have been pressured by the depreciation of the currency amongst other challenges.

This report reviews events in the current week, with emphasis on different segments of the financial market, while presenting our expectations for the coming week.

Economic Update: MPC Hikes MPR The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the end of the fourth meeting for the year elected to hike the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 200bps to 14% and maintain the asymmetric corridor at +200bps & -500bps, while maintaining the Cash Reserve and Liquidity ratio at 22.5% and 30% respectively.

In arriving at the above decision, the MPC considered either to “fight inflation or restart growth within the economy”, while considering the apex bank’s mandate towards price stability. The committee noted the slow rate of fiscal policy implementation and the impact on the overall economy, while acknowledging that the conditions undermining domestic output were outside the direct influence of monetary policy. Other key considerations were the currently fragile global and domestic macroeconomic conditions and outlook for the remainder of the year.

Considering the MPC’s decisions, we anticipate a northward trend in yields in the medium term, as assets are re-priced. Also, we highlight the potential negative impact of the more attractive yield environment on the equities market. However, we expect increased buy-side activities within the bank-

ing sector due to the anticipated favorable impact of these decisions.

Fixed income: Yields Trend Northwards The domestic currency declined in value against the US dollar during the week’s trading activities. Consequently, the spot rate closed at NGN322.85/USD (-4.20% WoW) while the average forward quotes pegged at NGN322.62/USD. At the parallel market, Naira pegged closed at NGN378/USD from NGN385/USD. Money market rates declined, following the inflows from FAAC allocations, OMO repayments and maturity of some Treasury bills during the week. The average money market rate pegged at 4.00% (-13.08% WoW), while the average NIBOR pegged at 14.32% (-3.79% WtD).

Activities in the Nigerian fixed income market seemed bearish, as indicated by 0.98% WoW and 4.41% WtD hike in yields (Average yield across the FGN Bonds and Treasury bills to 16.17% and 17.66% accordingly). We note, however, that the increase in yield could be credited to re-pricing assets following the recent policy pronouncement by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to hike the MPR by 200bps to 14.00%. We opine that this trend might persist in the coming week, until the instruments are perceived to be appropriately priced by investors.

Agric Sector: Impressive Scorecards Spur Sector’s Performance The sector performance, as measured by the MERI-AGRI Index, reflected a 1.19% WoW appreciation, thus pushing the sector’s YtD return to +14.55%. The Week-on-Week gain was propelled by the impressive earnings releases of the sector’s companies.

PRESCO topped the gainers chart with a 7.92% WoW appreciation, followed by OKOMUOIL and LIVESTOCK which recorded respective gains of 6.82% and 3.41%.

PRESCO, OKOMUOIL and LIVESTOCK released their H1:2016 financial scorecards during the week. PRESCO (Revenue: +60.46% YoY; PAT: +152.93% YoY) and OKOMUOIL (Revenue: +51.16% YoY; PAT: +95.17% YoY) recorded strong financial performances, while LIVESTOCK grew its top-line by 14.17% YoY while its bottom-line declined by 33.18% YoY. We expect bargain hunting activities to dictate the sector’s performance in the coming week, though we anticipate pockets of profit taking on PRESCO, as the counter currently trades at its year-high.

Banking Sector: Boosted by MPC Decision The banking sector returned positive this week as investors factored in the positive impact of the MPC’s decision (200bps hike in the benchmark interest rate) on the future financial performances of banks. Consequently, the sector returned 10.12% WoW, bringing the YtD return to 14.55%, according to our MERI-BNK index.

GUARANTY led the gainers in the week, after recording a +14.36% return. The ticker was followed by ZENITHBANK (+10.02%), UNITYBNK (+9.68%), ACCESS (+8.14%), and ETI (+7.97%). On the flip side, the laggards list was populated by SKYEBANK (-17.65%), UBN (-7.11%), WEMABANK (-5.13%), and STERLNBANK (-3.10%).

There were a few results releases from banks during the week. In general, the impact of the depreciation of the currency was reflected, as most of the banks, which released results, recorded significant revaluation gains, while capital ratios were pressured.

FCMB’s H1:2016 numbers showed increases in Gross earnings, Profit-Before-tax and Profit-after-tax by 14.13%, 70.28%, and 88.77% YoY, respectively, while Sterling bank’s H1:2016 numbers showed that the bank recorded a marginal increase in Gross earnings (+0.02% YoY), while Profit-BeforeTax and Profit-After-tax declined by 27.66% and 25.89% YoY accordingly.

Also, FBN Holdings PLC (FBNH) released its H1:2016 result during the week, which showed that the Holdco recorded 1.2%, 11.9%, and 10.5% YoY declines in Gross earnings, Profit-Before-Tax and Profit-AfterTax accordingly. Similarly, Diamond Bank’s H1:2016 numbers showed declines in Gross earnings (-6.50%), Profit-Before-Tax (-26.12%) and Profit-After-Tax (-25.51%).

We expect some more gains in the sector over the coming week, as more results filter into the market.

Consumer Goods Sector: Earnings release sways sentiments The Consumer Goods sector declined by 0.38% WoW to push the Year-to-Date performance to -3.51%, measuring with the NSEFBT10 index. Market breadth pegged at 0.67x, with six (6) advancers and nine (9) decliners. DANGFLOUR (+12.86% WoW) was the week’s highest advancer, while PZ (-9.71% WoW) led the laggards’ chart.

Nascon Allied Industries PLC (NASCON) Q2:2016 result showed an impressive 30.0% Year-on-Year increase in revenue to NGN8.59bn, while Cost of Sales and operating expenses hiked by 23.0% and 69.0% accordingly. Despite the increases in costs (including finance cost), Profit-Before-Tax and ProfitAfter-Tax advanced by 23.40% YoY apiece to NGN1.873bn and NGN1.274bn in the same order. NASCON returned +1.13% WoW. Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC’s (DANGSUGAR) Q2:2016 result showed a jump in revenue of 37.85% YoY to NGN70.472bn, with 47.21% YoY increase in Cost of Sales, Earnings-Before-Tax and Earnings-AfterTax advanced by 13.81% and 16.95% Yearon-Year to NGN11.156bn and NGN7.382bn in the same order. DANGSUGAR returned +2.94% WoW. Nestle Nigeria PLC’s (NESTLE) Q2:2016 showed a 22.02% increase in Revenue, how-

ever, owing to the increases in costs; Cost of sales, operating expenses and net financial charges by 28.07%, 17.58% and 375.77% accordingly, the trickle down to the bottom line was decimated. Consequently, Earnings-Before-Tax and Earnings-After-Tax declined by 91.55% and 93.97% YoY accordingly. NESTLE traded flat week-on-week.

Honeywell Flour PLC’s (HONYFLOUR) first quarter results showed a 22.01% decline in revenue, with corresponding Year-on-Year declines of 27.55% and 19.79% in cost of sales and operating expenses, while net finance cost surged by 250.39% YoY. Consequently, Profit-Before-Tax and Profit-After-Tax for the period pegged at NGN0.124bn and NGN0.101bn representing declines of 68.53% YoY and 64.31% YoY respectively. HONYFLOUR returned +5.56% WoW. We opine that performance was largely swayed by the anticipated earnings releases.

We anticipate that investors will react appropriately to the unimpressive scorecards in the coming week, especially companies that released practically at the close of trading activities for the week.

Healthcare Sector: NEIMETH Posts 305.97% YoY Growth in PAT The Healthcare sector declined by 0.26% WoW, as measured by our MERI-HLTH index, to peg the YtD return at -45.16%. Also, the Market breath (0.5x) reflected the direction of activities in the sector, as two (2) stocks recorded declines, as against one (1) stock which appreciated in value.

PHARMADEKO was the only price gainer in the week, after appreciating by 1.76% to settle at NGN1.73. Conversely, NEIMETH and GLAXOSMITH were the only laggards in the week, after depreciating in value by 4.84% and 0.27% correspondingly, to NGN1.18 and NGN18.45 respectively.

GLAXOSMITH released its H1:2016 result, which showed declines in Revenue, PBT, and PAT of 9.58%, 952.34% and 1346.08% YoY respectively. Also, FIDSON recorded a decline in both Revenue and Earnings-After-Tax of 35.29% and 87.79% YoY in that order.

NEIMETH released its Q3:2016 result, which showed that Turnover grew by 20.44% YoY to NGN1.201bn. Similarly PBT and PAT came in at NGN0.117bn, representing 305.97% YoY growths apiece.

We attribute the weak investor mood on the sector to the weak performance scorecards released by the sector’s companies. In the coming week, we expect a spill over of this negative mood.

Industrial Goods: DANGCEM Rebounds Marginally By 28bps Gaining 0.06% WoW, the YtD return of the Industrial Goods sector settled at 1.77%. Market breadth (0.75x) for the week was skewed in favour of the 4 declining stocks against the three (3) advancers.

DNMEYER (9.64%) emerged as the highest gaining ticker this week closing at NGN0.91.

CAP and DANGCEM advanced by 2.78% and 0.28% accordingly to make up the gainers list.

WAPCO steered the decliners, falling further by 6.12% to NGN56.00. BERGER (-4.98%), AVONCROWN (-4.83%) and CUTIX (-1.23%) also declined in the course of the week.

The week was dominated by numerous earnings releases; some of which include: CAP, CCNN, DANGCEM, PREMPAINTS and FIRSTALUM. Dangote Cement PLC released its H1:2016 result during the week. Revenue came in at NGN292.19bn, representing a 20.63% growth from H1:2015 numbers. Profit-after-Tax (PAT), however, declined year-on-year by 15.10% to NGN103.42bn, owing to increases in production cost (+64.72% YoY), operating costs (+52.18% YoY), finance cost (+384.32% YoY) and tax (+210.35% YoY).

50

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

FAITH

Not a matter of doctrine but obedience

O

ne of the happiest moments of my life took place in 1975.

You may now be thinking what is so special about it.

But don’t forget that I said “one of”, not necessarily the happiest day of my life.

I attended Mater Dei High School, Imiringi, Ogbia, now in Bayelsa State in 1970. I was in class 1 when I accompanied my elder brother, now an Anglican Archbishop, to the school where he was posted as secondary school teacher. At the end of the school session, he got a job at a Port Harcourt, High Court. So, I changed to another school, Okrika Grammar School where began in class 2. I took some books from the School library in the former school. I can remember, the books included Dictionary of Geography, Geometry

by Durell and one or two other books which I cannot recollect now. I used those books throughout the rest of my Secondary School career in my new school.

In 1971 I gave my life to Christ while in my class 2. Along the line, I was convicted to make restitution. I finally made up my mind to replace them as soon as I had a job. I had a

W

Word of Life Archbishop. Moses Kattey moseskatteyabp@yahoo.co.uk

0808 770 7486

teaching appointment in a Secondary School in 1974, and by 1975, I bought the new books, parceled and posted them to the school with a covering letter. I was very happy. I heard that the Principal talked about nemesis that had caught up with me and all that but it mattered little to me as long as I obeyed the voice of God. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Sam. 15:22) This also reminds me of one incidence that occurred in 1960s. In those days as a teenager, I set traps of all kinds to kill animals; I went to the bush to haunt animals with catapult. I went to different types of water, streams and lakes to fish both with hooks, basket, and hands especially during dry seasons.

I went to the bush and far

into forests miles from home to pick snails, to get mushrooms, to pick fruits like mangoes and apples. I even climbed palm trees to cut palm fruits. I tried to do all that my mates then were supposed to do.

One day, I went to the bush to check my traps and my neighbours trap caught an animal. I took it to give him but it was raining so much that I decided to reach home before going to give him. As soon as I reached home under the heavy rain, my people rushed to me praising me and by the time I knew it, they had roasted and slaughtered it. I did not have the gut to stop them.

That was before the Nigerian – Biafra War, far back 1966/67. I was not born again then.

After the War, and in 1975 when I had money, the Lord convinced me to restore the animal back to the old man, the owner. I went to him and told him the entire story and gave him

the money. I apologized.

He was surprise, thanked me and blessed me. He gave me back the money. I had peace – real peace, just because I obeyed His voice, and made restitution.

It was not a matter of doctrine but of obedience.

In the Bible most restitution verses talked about replacing it four-fold or five-fold.

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him four-fold. (Luke 19:8) That period, almost all the tracts I read or books I came across was talking about restitution and it was only when I regarded it as the voice of the Lord and obeyed that I moved forward and had peace. If the Lord had impressed me to restore 4-fold or 5-fold, I could have obeyed. I did it because He asked me to do it, not that it has anything to do with my salvation. A friend wanted to go to the husband of his former girlfriend to confess / restitute, but I stopped him. It would have caused problem for the wife of the man. He was fornicating with the girl when the man betrothing her was abroad.

Nigeria and your family

hen many people look at the problems of this great country, they feel too little to help out in any way. Someone once told me, “I can’t do anything to make Nigeria better so I will just live my life on my own with my family and leave Nigeria to its dirty politics.”

When people keep on conceiving this attitude, Nigeria will birth a people who are disinterested in her affairs and this may bring disaster. Remember that anything left unattended to naturally descends into rot. Nobody will like to live anything he cherishes to perish. We are expected to care for our country and ensure that things move on well in it. Nehemiah was a cup bearer. In modern time, he may have been referred to as a wine house boy.

But look at his reaction to the state of affairs in his country. He felt saddened; he wept, fasted and prayed. When God saw the burden in the heart of this man, He gave him the wisdom and strength to cause a change. This goes to prove that we are all carrying the potential to make things change in our great nation but we

Marriage & Family Intimacy

Bishop Charles Ighele holyspiritmissioninc@yahoo.com

07066579379/09098845521 For Nigeria to experience a change, we must first of all change the nature of our hearts have to start as a family to instill this change.

For Nigeria to experience a change, we must first of all change the nature of our hearts. Develop concern wherever you are and allow your heart to be touched by the state of the nation. Realize that your blessings and that of your family are tied to this great country that is why God put you here. Your job is to help this country sit well among its peers not to sit and condemn or criticize. There is every tendency that this nation will rise to occupying its place in the globe. But this can only be made possible if we all join forces and teach our children how to appreciate their country and look out for its good.

You are all Nigeria needs to become great as long as

you believe this and work towards it. Your presence matters and your family is important in turning the destiny of this country around irrespective of who you feel you are or what you do. God does not look at the outward man but at the spirit.

Change your thinking about your country and that should start by you changing your thinking about yourself and your family. If you believe in yourself and you also believe in your family, then you should also believe that you shall be used to change your country.

You can love Nigeria without belonging to a political party. Many politicians are there for what they can get from Nigeria. They hate fairness and honesty. You and your family should not be like them because they are ruining this nation. You can be instrumental in turning the country back to its glorious state.

Teach your children to de-

velop a passion to make this country succeed in whatever field they wish to pursue. Let them love their country and join forces in changing the course of its future. Imagine what will happen in the next twenty years in a nation where everyone decided to do nothing but sit, criticize, condemn and say all manner of negative things about their nation. That nation will be cleared from the map of the world if care is not taken. Remember that whatever you say with your mouth will be captured in the atmosphere and begin to work against you or for you; depending on what you projected, Prov. 18:21. You have the power to make good and to destroy. You also have the power to revive or allow to die.

There is hope for that family that is looking for what to feed on because the members of that family are still alive; likewise, there is hope for this nation because your family is still living and growing.

Brighten your little corners and make the nation get back to where you want it to be. Your family is important and is required to act in the capacity that will make Nigeria better. You are not too little to help.

Mystery of Anxiety Bishop John Ogbansiegbe 0803 341 6327 (SMS Only)

Assurance not born out of fear

A

s a peculiar person, things cannot happen to you any how like ordinary person.

Anything peculiar is not common or ordinary, it means you are unique.

And it also means that you are an extra ordinary person. Again the Bible says that, you are a king, a priest and a ruler –Revelation 5:10. All those in this profession are never inferior. They are always conscious of their personality, integrity, authority and value. They walk, move and operate with an air or carriage or candor of boldness, pride, self-awareness and self-confidence. They are not meant to be pocketed or intimidated anywhere or at any time. This is why you must know yourself; know what you are, and who you are in Christ. So that you can live above fear, worries, and anxiety at all times.

Even our Lord Jesus Christ knows himself and always attests to his personality and identity.

This was why he asked his disciples who do men say that I am. And many said many things but Peter got the right answer; he nodded his head in acceptance and commendation for Peter because He was very sure that he was the Christ, the son of the living God. To this end therefore St. Paul said: “For I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to do that which I have committed unto Him against that day” Timothy 1:12 b.

What St. Paul actually meant was (I know who is in charge and control of my life). I know who I have committed my salvation, aspiration and expectation in His hands.

This is a statement of experimental certainty and assurance not born out of fear. He has not programmed nor destined me for evaporative success that may suddenly collapse. My salvation is eternally secure unto that great day. Along the same line the durability of my health longevity and prosperity shall be elongated and protected.

I know myself and believe that all my needs even my wants have been divinely arranged and

provided for; the ones I have not seen today must surely manifest tomorrow.

If you know yourself you will know and believe that you must be what God wants you to be, do all what God wants you to do or achieve, and also travel to all those places you desire to travel to.

God will bring all your miracles your way one by one in his own fullness of time. In God’s fullness of time, you will have your own life partner and be wedded. In God’s fullness of time, you will have that baby you are praying for; it may even be twin boys, just know yourself and know the God you serve so that you make no mistake.

Don’t be that man who suddenly received a huge financial fortune and was advised to have a little taste of life’s goodies, by renting a luxurious duplex, fully furnished with sophisticated furnishing which a modern house can have. But the man, still enmeshed with poverty mentality and psychology, decided to go and rented one room in one ugly, deserted ghetto area of the same town. For fear that such a beautiful house may collapse one day or that one day, the money in his hand will finish and that he will certainly fall back into poverty because he believes that God created him and his father’s house for perpetual ancestral or genealogical poverty.

The never believed that the wealth in his hands will last. That smirks of a mental condition that has made an advanced arrangement for perpetual poverty and failure; prompted by fear and unnecessary pessimism, from a man who doesn’t know himself. Many people today are still like that man.

If you know yourself you will know and believe that you must be what God wants you to be, do all what God wants you to do or achieve, and also travel to all those places you desire to travel to

51

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

FAITH

Insight

Rev. Femi Akinola www.thehebrewsng.com

01-790 3163; 0808 584 5864

Your own shall be easy

“A

nd the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, the name of the other Peah: And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.” Exodus 1:15, 19 The scripture says the Hebrew women are not like the other women; this means that the covenant had distinguished them and made their life easy, free from labor in child birth and life’s troubles. Their results and experiences made the Egyptians confess that there is something supernatural about them.

May unbelievers testify of the goodness of God in your life and submit to your God in the name of Jesus.

The Egyptian mid-wives who took the delivery of the Hebrew women found out it was easiest delivery process they had ever experienced. Because of the death sentence made by the king against all Hebrew male children, the mid-wives took the delivery, cleaned up the mothers and babies so quickly such that when the killers arrived the scene, they found no baby and on questioning, the mid-wives would reply by saying something like ‘no one delivered here’. I prophesy right now that before your enemies arrive your miracle scene, you would have received your miracle in the name of Jesus.

The Hebrew women enjoyed the anointing of ease; may you find it easy in life in Jesus name. The Bible is full of accounts of people who faced difficult situations but they survived it because God made it easy for them. The Red Sea actually became walls on both sides such that as the children of Israel ran through the path they wouldn’t fall into water. God didn’t just path the Red Sea; He also turned the water to walls on both sides.

The wall of Jericho was so big you could build a duplex on it; but the instruction of God was so easy that if not for Joshua’s faith, the children of Israel would probably not have obeyed.

Only until we obey God’s simple prescriptions for our situations can we see the salvation of God. God’s simple instruction to Jehoshaphat was

just to sing and not to war against the enemy with canal weapons of war. This was one of the first Old Testament accounts where God showed truly that the weapon of our warfare is not canal but mighty through God. Little wonder that even today, most spiritual battles are won through praises. On their way to the Promised Land, they must have anticipated that God would make the journey very fun-filled and easy, but obviously, God knew that they had to be trained and prepared for the challenges ahead. God had to take Egypt out of them after taking them out of Egypt, but because their myopic eyes couldn’t see God’s goal and their ‘little’ minds couldn’t perceive His intentions they failed in the process. Mara was a spectacular scenario; the waters were bitter, but instead of waiting for God’s instruction for remedy through Moses, all they did was complain. So many people in church today are just what we can call ‘new generation children of Israel because of their unbelief.

Numbers 28... Even in the wilderness miracles happened; may miracles happen in your life even while in your wilderness in Jesus name. Anybody speaking into the air against your life, may they go on exile in the name of Jesus. In the presence of your enemy your cup shall run over and you will do great things.

Whatever took others long time to achieve will be fast, easy and stress-free for you in Jesus name. Whatever project your hands have started you will complete in Jesus name.

WHAT MUST YOU DO FOR LIFE TO BE EASY? • Be born again. John 3:16 • Before you move, get divine direction. Deuteronomy 32:10 • Trust only in the LORD. Proverbs 3:5 • Let God’s Kingdom matters become your priority.

Mathew 6:33 • Sacrifice. Psalm 50:5, 126:6. Sacrificing your Isaac on God’s altar will commit God to your destiny.

• Take control of the air.

John 3:31. Whatever you do, advertise it and advertise the Kingdom. If you are not vocal you will die local.

• Be faithful in small things.

Luke 16:12 • Stop giving money to God as if He is begging from you.

Now is the time to build Africa

I

In today’s secular society, people have been taught as fact that the continents were once joined together in a supercontinent that spilt apart and then the resultant continents drifted over millions of years into their present positions. One primary piece of conclusive evidence usually presented to support this idea is the jigsawpuzzle fit of Europe and Africa matching closely with North and South America, respectively. If the North and South Atlantic Ocean basins are closed, these continents fit together at approximately the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a range of mountains on the ocean floor centrally located in the Atlantic Ocean basins. Creation scientists believe, along with their secular colleagues, that there is good observational evidence that is consistent with an original supercontinent in the past that was split apart and that today’s continents moved to their present positions on the earth’s surface.

I have long discovered that there are secrets and understandings in the scriptures that have been revealed long before science discovered them. The example of continents is a case

The Purpose of Nations

Pastor Sunday Adelaja pastor@godembassy.org

I hold it to be obvious and inevitable that it is now the time of Africa to arise and lead the world at hand. What scientists are just discovering now had been written in the Bible since the days of Peleg.

Last week I wrote about the historical cum Biblical role of Peleg in the sub - division of the earth into continents as revealed in Gen 10:24-25.

I also revealed scientific and empirical proofs supporting the role of God as the mastermind of the divisions. Let’s take it from there.

Note that when God initially created the earth, there was no mention of it been divided or separated into any large pools or continents. According to Genesis 1:9, everything was supposed to be just a vast land piece: “Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered

together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.”

It was not until the days of Peleg that the Bible recorded a division in the land piece of the earth. Please take note that this separation or division happened soon after the flood, confirming the findings of both the creationist scientists and secular scientists.

In this serialized article, our primary interest is to establish that just as with nations so also is it with continents. They are not by accident.

God worked it out in his divine plans and purposes. Hence God’s plans and purposes for every continent is just as they are for every nation. God had to give territories and boundaries to every continent just as he did to every nation. God has a plan and purpose for every continent just as he has for every nation.

Finally God has time limit for the fulfillment of His plans and purposes for every

continent just like he has for every nation. In concluding this article, I want to say, I cannot but admit that I am born an African not by accident.

To everything under the sun there is a purpose.

Today it is no secret that Africa is the most backward of the continents, the poorest and the most disadvantaged.

But through it all, I see the overall workings of God almighty pointing me and the world to the fact that there is a time and purpose for every nation and continent.

I therefore wish to encourage my fellow Africans to stand on the basis of the word of Christ that says “the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” There is an inevitable sequence of world history which will ascertain that each continent’s time comes.

A study of History tells us that every continent has had their chance.

I hold it to be obvious and inevitable that it is now the time of Africa to arise and lead the world. I therefore release this call to my brethren.

Fellow Africans arise and build. It is our time to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our nations and continent; for the love of God, church and nation.

Church attack: Christian youths commended for not retaliating Tai Anyanwu

T

he Catholic Bishop of Minna Diocese, Most Rev. Martin Uzoukwu, has commended Catholic youths for refusing to go on war part with Muslim youths who vandalized a new church building in Suleja, Niger State, recently.

The Bishop also advised the faithful of the diocese not to deviate from teachings of the Church; and to continue to be peaceful with people of other religions, even in the face of provocation.

The Bishop made the call at St Philip’s Catholic Church, Bakin-Iku, Suleja, during a visit to commiserate with the faithful following the attack on the church by some Moslem youths.

The Bishop was impressed with the way the young people in the church comported themselves and refused to fight back; and pointed out that by their actions, the youths and elders of the Church have allowed peace to reign saying: “This is the way and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The cleric also noted that if the youths had responded with violence, the incident could have developed into a religious crisis not only Suleja, but the whole of Niger State and the Nigerian nation.

“I commend the youths of this Church for choosing peace, in the face of provocation and the enormous dam-

age done to the new Church, He said.

According to the Bishop, the ultimate goal of the Catholic faith is love and peace as handed down to the Church by the Lord, Jesus Christ. He added that by their actions, the youths have listened to the voice of the Lord not to return evil for evil.

He also expressed optimism that the perpetrators of the attack will learn a good lesson from the youths of the Church as a prelude to their conversion to being part of the peace of Christ’s Church on earth.

In his homily, Bishop Uzoukwu urged the faithful of the Church to

remain steadfast in their faith and prayer, putting their trust in God in all they do; and also praying for their enemies to see the true light and be converted.

He urged the faithful not allow the actions of those who came to vandalize the church without any justification, to discourage them from completing building of the Church.

They should rather be grateful to God that no live was lost during the brutal action, the Bishop said.

Before departing, the Bishop prayed for those who carried out the attack on the church to be converted to Christ.

52

SCIENCE

SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

08035624538

Remembering Challenger: 30 years after

On January 28, 1986, America witnessed one of its darkest days when its Space Shuttle – ‘Challenger’, exploded and broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the death of Christa McAuliffe, America’s first civilian in space, and other six astronauts. Science writer, STANLEY CHIBUIHEM AMALAHA, takes a look at the astronauts, the vicissitudes America went through, causes of the accident and the aftermath

T

hree days ago precisely, marked 30 years and six months of the tragic accident of America’s Space Shuttle – Challenger, where all the seven astronauts aboard perished less than two minutes into their flight, as millions of people around the world were watching.

The Shuttle launched on its 10th mission on January 28, 1986, after liftoff, (73 seconds), broke apart and disappeared from view.

•Crew members The seven-astronaut crew of Challenger’s STS-51L mission consisted of two women and five men namely: Francis “Dick” Scobee, (commander); Mike Smith, (pilot); Judy Resnik(female), Ellison Onizuka and Ron McNair, who were mission specialists; while Greg Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe (female), were payload specialists.

Commander Scobee, had first flown as a pilot on Challenger’s STS-41C mission, which launched April 6, 1984. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Scobee had been selected as an astronaut candidate in 1978. He was 46 at the time of his death.

Pilot Mike Smith, was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1980 and was set to make his first spaceflight on Challenger’s STS-51L mission. He was also assigned to pilot the future Space Shuttle mission 61-N, which at the time was scheduled to launch in the fall of 1986. Smith’s voice saying “Uh-oh” was the last thing heard on the crew’s voice recorder, just before NASA’s Mission Control in Houston lost telemetry data from the shuttle. He was 40.

Judy Resnik, first flew as a mission specialist on the STS-41D mission – the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Resnik, who had been selected as an astronaut candidate in 1978, was the second American woman in space. She was 36.

Mission specialist Ellison Onizuka, made his first spaceflight on the shuttle Discovery’s STS-51C mission, which launched January.

24, 1985. Onizuka had been selected as an astronaut candidate in 1978 and went on to

An official portrait of the Challenger’s STS-51L crewmembers

log 74 hours in space. He was 40.

Ron McNair, previously flew as a mission specialist on Challenger’s STS-41B mission, which launched February 3, 1984. From that flight, McNair logged a total of 191 hours in space. McNair, who was the second AfricanAmerican to fly in space, was 35.

Payload specialist Greg Jarvis, was making his first spaceflight on Challenger’s STS-51L mission. Jarvis had been selected

by NASA as a payload specialist candidate in 1984. He was 41.

Christa McAuliffe was selected on July 19, 1985, as NASA’s first educator astronaut under the agency’s Teacher in Space Project.

McAuliffe, who was 37, taught social studies at Concord High School in New Hampshire.

As a civilian and teacher, McAuliffe brought extra public interest to the Challenger mission. Many schoolchildren were watching the TV broadcast of the flight to cheer her on.

•What went wrong?

Challenger’s STS-51L mission was the first

Shuttle liftoff scheduled for Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. Several technical and weather-related delays led to postponement of its launch for five consecutive days starting from January 22, 1986, to 27. Challenger was eventually launched at 11:38 a.m.

January 28, 1986. Analysis later showed that a seal, called an O-ring, on the shuttle’s right solid rocket booster had failed at liftoff, allowing pressurized hot gas to escape from inside the booster.

This vaporized material impinged on the strut connecting the solid rocket booster to the shuttle’s huge orange external tank, causing both pieces of hardware to break down.

About 72 seconds into its flight, there was a massive, almost explosive, burning of the hydrogen that was streaming from the, failed tank bottom, combined with liquid oxygen leaking from a part of the fuel tank known as the intertank. Under severe aerodynamic loads, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke

ASWAMA turns waste to wealth Stanley Chibuihem

R

ecently, ‘Less Burnt for a Clean Earth’, a project under the Federal Ministry of Environment aimed at minimization of Dioxin Emission from open burning sources in Nigeria, was established at different regions in the country. The Eastern part of the project known as “Ezinifite Compost Plant”, is located in Okpuno, near Mopol Base, Akwa South LGA of Anambra State.

According to Barrister Philip Chinwuba, Managing Director, Anambra State Waste Management Authority (ASWAMA), Akwa, “the essence of the establishment of ‘Less Burnt for a Clean Earth’, is to educate farmers and Agricultural sectors to embrace Green revolution and use nature to grow our crops. This is because the organic fertilizers we produce at the plant, are better than chemical (inorganic) fertilizers.

Secondly foods grown with organic fertilizers have longer storage than those grown with inorganic fertilizers”.

In same highlight, Mr. Arinze George, Plant Manager of the firm highlighted that: “We convert food waste to wealth at ‘Less Burnt for a Clean Earth’. The food waste we use include: kitchen wastes, vegetables, fruits, yams, cassava peelings, agric waste such as cow dung, and poultry dropping. These wastes are collected from different

houses, hostels, schools, market places, etc. They are sorted and reproduced as organic fertilizers. Our organic fartilizers are advantageous over chemical (NPK), fertilizers, because they are natural and contain no chemicals. Similarly, they contain the essential micro and macro nutrients for plant growth and soil repairs”.

Chinwuba ASWAMA organic (compost) fertilizer

Space Shuttle Challenger

apart over the Atlantic Ocean one second later, that is at a total time of 73 seconds after Its launch. The configuration resembled a giant monster in the sky, with its two claws reaching frantically forward.

• Why the accident?

After studying the disaster, a review board determined that exceptionally cold weather contributed to the failure of the O-ring seal.

NASA concluded that the shuttle is not safe to fly at such cold temperatures. The temperature on the day of the launch was far lower than the case with previous launches freezing below 1oC. Previously, the coldest launch had been 12oC. Although the ice team worked through the night before the launch removing the ice, but their effort was not enough.

• Aftermath The loss of Challenger and its seven-astronaut crew shone a very public light on NASA and the risks involved with human spaceflight. Media coverage of the launch was extensive due to the involvement of McAuliffe, the agency’s first educator astronaut. The Challenger disaster halted NASA’s Space Shuttle programme for almost three years as the agency investigated the causes of the accident. During that time, NASA worked to implement suggestions from the Rogers Commission – the presidential panel set up

by Ronald Reagan, charged with studying Challenger’s doomed STS-51L mission.

The commission offered nine main recommendations, and NASA’s space shuttle program saw a 32-month hiatus as the agency implemented changes and reformed launch procedures. Space shuttle flights resumed September 29, 1988, with Discovery’s STS26 mission.

There were no other disasters until February 1, 2003, when seven astronauts lost their lives in the Space Shuttle Columbia during its return from its STS-107 mission. It was not until 2006 that another space flight began.

A giant International Space Station (ISS), has been built in space since 2011. At present NASA is slowly gearing up to resume the human exploration of the moon, and this time to stay. Evidences prove that the first landing will be scheduled for July 20, 2019, precisely to commemorate 50 years after Neil Armstrong’s lunar landing with his iconic words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” .

SUNDAY

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

Amuneke, S/Africa coach tip Dream Team for gold at Rio

Pogba signs Man United number six shirt

p.55

53

AFN seeks clarification on disqualified 4x400m team

p.55

p.55

SPORTS

Deputy Sports Editor Dapo Sotuminu daposotu@yahoo.com © Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Sports Ministry, NFF shun Keshi in his final hour

Dominic Adewole ASABA

W

hat the Sports Ministry and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, did to the former Super Eagles captain during his lifetime was again repeated in Stephen Keshi’s final moment on earth as they boycotted the final burial ceremony of the Nigerian football legend in Illa, Delta state.

The representatives of the Federal Government and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) openly boycotted the event which they had said should be postponed until after the Rio 2016 Olympics at the end of August as they couldn’t raise the outrageous N30million they had budgeted for the planned state burial.

Even as the Federal Government and the NFF abandoned Keshi; his friends, teammates and associates stood closely with him as he was buried.

The likes of Augustine Eguavoen, other team mates, including Peter Rufai, Uche Okechukwu, Alloy Agu, Mutiu Adepoju, Ben Iroha, Edema Fuludu, Victor Ikpeba, Henry Nwosu, Austin Popo, Friday Ekpo, Frank Howard, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo among others registered an overwhelming presence to say a final goodbye to the one and only ‘Big Boss’ of Nigerian football.

It was an emotional moment for most of them who could not hold back tears as one of their own was being committed to mother earth before their very eyes.

Even the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, was there in spirit as he was represented.

In a well worded letter, the Sultan prayed for the “irreparable loss.”

The Parish Priest of Saint John Evangelist Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Dennis Arinze, who queried the strings of death, said Keshi’s death offered another opportunity for repentance.

He said: “Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa blessed with abundant human, natural and water resources and arable land for agriculture; but we have nothing to show for God’s favour.”

Keshi’s son Femi blasted the government for failing to honour a promise of a state funeral for his father.

“The Federal Government did not deliver on the promises they made to us as regards our father ’s burial,” he said.

Eguavoen, who spoke amidst tears on behalf of his team mates, described Keshi’s sudden death as a bitter pill to swallow. “Our hearts are heavy, words are not enough to describe him. He was charismatic.

He was our president and Big Boss, hence people thought that there was a cult in the national team during his 10 years reign as team captain.

“It was not very difficult for anybody to deal with Keshi. He was open minded and over protective.

May God give us the courage to swallow this bitter pill. We will continue from where he stopped.”

He added: “I am not shocked by the way the government has treated this event,” said a disappointed ex-Nigeria captain.

“For instance, most of us are yet to get the houses the government promised us when we won the Nations Cup in 1994. You are only energised when you have been looked after. You now wonder if Nigeria is worth fighting for or even dying for.”

Keshi, who died on June 8, this year, led the Super

Eagles as captain to win the African Nations Cup at Tunisia 1994, a feat he repeated in 2013 in South Africa as coach of the national team.

At exactly 1.55pm at Ukpulogu Quarters in Illah, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, the remains of the Captain and Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi’s was interred.

The Deputy Governor of the state, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro, who represented his boss, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, at the ceremony that was packed full with Senators, House of Representatives members, including, James Manager (Delta South), Onyemechi Mrakpor (Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency) and other dignitaries.

However, it was not the state funeral that the Nigerian government first promised with oil-rich Delta

State and Keshi’s family organising his final passage beginning with a number of events on Thursday.

Sports Minister Solomon Dalung said earlier in the week that the government chose a low-key funeral because Keshi left behind a family that has to be catered for.

Keshi made history in 2013, when he became only the second man after Mahmoud El Gohary of Egypt to win the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach.

Captain of the Super Eagles for 13 years, central defender extraordinaire, the 1994 and 2013 Champion of Africa, two-time CAF Coach of the Year and the only African coach to qualify two teams for the World Cup finals, as well as being the only African coach to take a team to the knockout stages at a World Cup finals.

54

SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Sport

Nigeria premier football league update New Warri Wolves coach promises to rebuild

T

TOP GOAL SCORERS Godwin Obaje 13 Okiki Afolabi 13 Anthony Okpotu 12 Ismaila Gata 11 Abdulrahman Bashir 11 Chisom Egbuchulam 11 Rabiu Ali 10 Ibrahim Mustapha 9 Esosa Igbinoba 9 Stephen Odey 8

NPFL Fixtures July 31, 2016 Rivers Unitedd Stars

vs

FC IfeanyiUbah

vs

Ikorodu United Kano Pillars

MFM FC

vs

Plateau United

Enyimba Int’l

vs

Rangers Int’l

Lobi Stars

vs

Warri Wolves

Akwa United

vs

Wikki Tourists

Tornadoes

vs

Abia Warriors

De Jong begs LMC to salvage Nigerian League Dapo Sotuminu

T

he Technical Adviser of Ikorodu United Football Club of Lagos has sent a passionate appeal to the leadership of the League Management Company (LMC) to try their best in ensuring the credibility of the country’s top flight league is not thrown to the dogs with the underhand activities of some persons who are bent on running the hardwork of the LMC to take the Nigerian league to greater heights.

The 1974 Dutch FIFA World Cup star, told Sunday Telegraph in Lagos that recent developments have showed that, Ikorodu United is not one of the love stories in the Nige-

•Says it’s not over yet for Ikorodu Utd

rian league caucus.

“The LMC should try its best to thwart the clandestine activities of the so call Nigeria League caucus who are out to frustrate a young club like Ikorodu United despite playing good football.

“When we go for our away matches, after playing good and purposeful football, we end up coming back with undeserved draws or losses, after some manipulations. This is not helping the growth of Nigerian football especially as the LMC are working round the clock top maintain a high standard football league.”

De Jong noted that: “It a sign of a

ugly situation when the spectators at football matches in the Nigeria League are forced to boo match officials after the game due to poor decisions by the referees.”

The Ikorodu United coach declined to comment further on the ineptitude of match referees in the Nigerian League insisting that such comments should be left for the management board of the club.

He stated that, since the mid-season signings by the club, Ikorodu United have been playing quality and purposeful football good enough to keep them in the top flight league. He stressed that, after Ikorodu United was denied

MFM chairman delighted as supporters return to Agege Stadium

T

he chairman of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Football Club, Godwin Enakhena, has expressed his delight over the final return of the club to its traditional ground, the Agege Stadium, Lagos, after serving a three-match ban following the crowd unrest when the team lost to Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan in a home game.

He noted that despite the stadium ban, the fans who were erroneously referred to as hooligans still kept faith with the club as they gave their massive support from outside the stadium during the sanctioned games.

“We are happy to have our supporters back and we promise to continue to make them happy as the 2016 NPFL continue. Those

guys are our supporters, we love them as they have been with us religiously from the amateur cadre.”

The MFM supporters will return to the Agege Township Stadium today for the Match Day 29 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) tie against Plateau United Football Club of Jos. The League Management Company (LMC) slammed a three-game behind closed doors order on MFM FC with two of these games suspended. This followed the crowd incidence that occurred during MFM FC Match Day 23 fixture against Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan at the Agege Stadium on Jun 19, 2016.

With the execution of the game

against Heartland FC at the same venue behind closed doors, the Olukoya Boys are free to have their fans and supporters back at the Agege Stadium this weekend.

The Olukoya Boys played their first match which was a local derby against Ikorodu United Football Club of Lagos on July 3 of with their fans in attendance.

The second match against Heartland FC was played behind closed doors with fans and supporters cheering their darling team from outside of the stadium to a 2-0 victory, thus the club faithfulls will now be allowed to see the Olukoya Boys play their next league match and subsequent ones at the Agege Township Stadium, the home ground of the team.

a sure victory in last weekend’s game against Nasarawa United, a lot of expressed fears that the club would go on relegation.

“But I am happy to say that all hopes are not lost concerning Ikorodu United in the NPFL. We have not given up on staying back in the league until it is too late for us to fight. We shall keep fighting and I am very optimistic that my club would escape the drop. We have players who are strong and dedicated to winning vital games.

We are going to Rivers United for today’s game with the assurance that Ikorodu United would come out with a good result.”

he new Chief Coach of Warri Wolves Football Club, Mansur Abdullahi, has declared that the immediate programme for the team is to rebuild the players confidence and ensure they regain the mentality that made them Nigeria’s representative in the CAF club competitions.

Abdullahi, who is a former assistant coach of the Super Falcons, noted that he inherited a demoralised team that had lost confidence in themselves going by the unfavourable results recorded by the club before his appointment.

He expressed optimism that the players has started regaining their lost confidence when they defeated Akwa United 3-1 in a home game played at the Warri Township Stadium. This he said gladdened his heart, as the result was the best recorded at the home ground in the last two seasons. This he said was a sign of good things to come for the Warri Wolves.

“What the players just showed me at the Akwa United game was that they would surely scale the hurdle and eventually escape relegation as already threatened.

Already the players now know that they are bunch of good players who do not deserve to go on relegation. This thing is about psychology and I have made them to know that we have a good squad.

Before I arrived, morale was at the lowest ebb. These are players who were used to big money but for some time they have been eating from hand to mouth managing very lean resources and finding it hard to believe that could not as usual sustain their various families. This has changed for the better now as the team has the assurances of the state governor that fortune will change for them.”

Warri Wolves are presently 14th on the log with 34 points.

Heartland FC face suspended points’ deduction

T

he League Management Committee has ruled that “in view of the gravity of the incident and the complicity of the club and its officials, pursuant to Rule C18.6, Heartland FC shall forfeit the one (1) point it previously earned in the match, provided that the execution of the one-point deduction shall be suspended subject to a probationary period of the remainder of the season; The club was notified that “pursuant to Rule B13.23, Heartland shall pay for the costs of damages to FCIfeanyiubah bus and for injuries sustained by its players and officials”.

Heartland must respond in writing accepting the sanctions or elect to be heard by a Commission not later than Friday, July 29. But should it fail to comply with this requirement within the time limit which constitutes a breach of the League Rules, it will be liable to be dealt with under the provisions of Section C.

55

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016

Sport

Amuneke, S/Africa coach tip Dream Team for gold at Rio Dapo Sotuminu

F

ormer Super Eagles striker and Atlanta 96 soccer gold hero, Emmanuel Amuneke, has tipped the Dream Team VI to win the gold medal in the Olympic football event at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Amuneke, whose 72nd mininute goal gave Nigeria the soccer gold at Atlanta 96, is optimistic that with the level of preparation done by the Samson Siasia-led technical crew, the Nigerian team would possibly stage a repeat performance where the Nwankwo Kanu captained team secured a 3-2 victory against Argentina in the final in front of almost 90,000

Pogba signs Man United number six shirt

P

aul Pogba has been photographed signing a Manchester United number six shirt bearing his name on the back.

The snap was taken by United fan Jonathan Perkins in Los Angeles, where Pogba has been finishing up his post-Euro 2016 holiday.

The 23-year-old France international midfielder is close to joining United in a world-record transfer deal in excess of £100m.

Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola told Italian paper La Stampa earlier

this week that “the deal could be closed within the next week”. He is understood to have been in Italy over the last few days finalising the deal.

The transfer has been stalling because of a stand-off between the clubs over who will pay the Raiola’s fee. He is demanding some 20m euros for brokering the deal.

Manchester United are currently in Sweden where they played against Galatasaray in Gothenburg yesterday.

people near Atlanta to become the first African football nation to win Olympic gold.

Amuneke, was benched for the gold medal match despite having started in all games leading up to the final. However, he was to make a huge impact, entering the contest in the latter stages and scoring another dramatic last-minute winner. “Two days before the final, our coach, Jo Bonfrere, told me that some people were complaining that I was not playing at my best for the team. But in the match, he told me to stay warmed up and, as fate would have it, I scored the winning goal. So I was happy that when I came on, I contributed my own part to the team.”

And in a related development, South Africa U-23 coach, Owen Da Gama, has also tipped hosts Brazil and Nigeria as favourites for the football gold at 2016 Rio Olympics which kicks off this week.

Nigeria U-23s are drawn alongside Sweden, Japan and Colombia in Group B, while South Africa are in Group A with Brazil, Denmark and Iraq.

Da Gama, 54, said, “We know it’s going to be tough.”They’ve got some great players, but the challenge is also going to be an opportunity for us.

“I think Brazil and Nigeria are the best two sides. After that, the only way is up.”

Liverpool wants Awoniyi out of Olympic team

E

nglish Premier League giants, Liverpool FC, have ordered their Nigerian star player, Taiwo Awoniyi to leave the Nigeria U-23s camp.

This was confirmed by the striker in Atlanta, USA, where the Dream Team VI has been training very hard to make an impression at the Rio Olympics.

Awoniyi disclosed that as it is, he will not be spending the 2016-2017 season as a player of Liverpool. After receiving the message from Liverpool, the player left the Dream Team camp and departed for Europe for the purpose of sealing a loan move to an unnamed European club.

With the departure of Awoniyi from the training camp, it is assumed that only 20 players will be available to coach Samson Siasia for the competition in Brazil as the par-

ticipation of Osmanlıspor frontman Aminu is questionable.

Awoniyi, who has been training with the national team for the past two months, it is sad that he would not be traveling to Brazil unless he gets approval from Liverpool and his new club, and this is doubtful as he was only named as an alternate player.

While leaving the Nigerian camp, the player said: “I am not returning to the Olympic team, my club said it is better I join my team than stay on the alternate list and they have the final say.”

“I will be going on loan but can’t disclose the club yet.”

The 18-year-old Awoniyi spent last season on loan at FSV Frankfurt because he was not granted a work permit that will enable him play in England.

AFN seeks clarification on disqualified 4x400m team

T Solution to Cross Word Puzzle

he Athletics Federation of Nigeria is waiting for more information from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the status of the Nigerian 4x400m relay quartet, which stands disqualified following the alleged dope offence of an athlete in the team, Tosin-Adeloye.

The women 4x400m was one of the Nigerian teams with a realistic chance of winning a medal at the Games beginning on Friday. But there will be no Olympic slot for the team, following the involvement of Tosin Adeloye in the races that qualified the Nigerian women for Rio 2016.

Adeloye was suspended from athletics competitions, after she tested positive to banned substances from the Warri Relays in 2014.

“At the moment our team stands suspended. But we are waiting for further clarifications from the world anti-doping agency WADA and the IOC to know the true position of the team, “said a member of the AFN yesterday. The team featuring Adeloye won bronze at the IAAF World Relays in Bahamas in 2014 and placed 5th at the IAAF

World Championships in 2015 where they ran a season’s best of 3.23.27 seconds in the heats and 3.25.11 in the final.

Those times qualified the team for the Olympics, however, yesterday a check through the IAAF website confirmed that the performances by the Nigerian team has been disqualified by the IAAF, effectively ending any chance of Nigeria featuring in the Games.

Nnamdi Kanu organises football competition in Kuje prisons

N

namdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has sponsored a soccer competition in detention.

Kanu, who’s in detention over treasonable felony alongside two others, is the sponsor of the 2016 Kuje Prisons Soccer Championship in Abuja.

Sources disclosed that Kanu, while declaring the competition open in Abuja, acknowledged that the essence of sponsoring the event was to assist inmates have freedom and relate freely with each other.

The competition which is to foster peace and co-existence among the inmates and the prison officers kicked- off on July 29.

The leader of the inmates, Sivan Emeka, also thanked the leader of IPOB ‘Nnamdi Kanu’ for his love and concern towards the inmates, saying that the competition has provided the opportunity for inmates to discover their talents and look beyond the four-walls of Kuje prison.

BUSINESS

MTN listing moves rekindles hope in NSE

}43

SPORT

Sanctity of Truth

SUNDAY

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

N150

SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2016

Sports Ministry, NFF shun Keshi in his final hour }53

Nigeria’s dire need for restructuring (Part 4)

“ENCORE” This week, we continue our discourse on the urgent need for Nigeria to restructure now before it is too late”.

In December 1959, elections were held for a federal parliament. None of the three main parties won a clear majority, but the NPC, thanks to the size of the Northern Region, won the largest plurality of votes.

Nigeria became independent on October 1, 1960. In 1961 the Cameroons Trust Territories were split in two. The mostly Muslim northern Cameroons voted to become part of the Northern Region of Nigeria, while the Southern Cameroons joined the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

ECHOES OF DISINTEGRATION Immediately after the independence of Nigeria in 1960, regional and ethnic tensions escalated quickly. The censuses of 1962 and 1963 fueled bitter disputes, as did the trial and imprisonment of leading opposition politicians, whom Prime Minister Balewa unfortunately accused of treason. In 1963, an eastern section of the Western Region that was ethnically non-Yoruba was, on 9th of August, split off into a new region, the Midwestern Region. Matters deteriorated during the violence-marred elections of 1964, from which the NPC emerged victorious. On January 15, 1966, junior army officers led by fire-eating ideologue, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu Chukwuma, revolted and killed Balewa and several other politicians, including the premier of Northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto. Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the commander of the army and an Igbo, emerged as the country’s new leader, being the most senior military officer.

Ironsi immediately suspended the Constitution, which did little to ease northern fears of southern domination. In late May, 1966, Ironsi further angered the north with the announcement that many public services then controlled by the regions would thenceforth be controlled by the Federal Government.

This was an unfortunately declaration of full blown unitary system of government. On July 29, 1966, northern-backed army officers staged a violent countercoup, assassinating Ironsi in the process and replacing him with Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon.

The coup was followed by the massacre of thousands of Igbos resident in northern cities. Most of the surviving Igbos sought refuge in their crowded eastern homelands.

Yakubu Gowon, a bachelor military officer became the Head of State at 32. Never mind that till date, people of his own generation are still ruling us at all tiers of governance, 50 years later.

In May 1967, Gowon announced the creation of a new 12-state structure. The Eastern Region, populated mostly by Igbos, would be divided into three states, two of them dominated by non-Igbo groups. The division would also sever the vast majority of Igbo from profitable coastal ports and rich oil fields that had only then been discovered in the Niger Delta (which until then was a part of the Eastern Region). The leaders of the Eastern Region, pushed to the brink of secession by the new anti-Igbo xenophobic attacks and the influx of Igbo refugees, saw this action as an official attempt to push the Igbos to the margins of Nigerian society and politics. On May 27, 1967, the region’s Igbodominated Assembly authorized Lieutenant Colonel Odemegwu Ojukwu to declare

The

Nigerian Project

MIKE OZEKHOME san, ofr mike.ozekhome@yahoo.com 08094777755 (sms only) independence as the Republic of Biafra.

Ojukwu obliged three days later. The civil war soon broke out, consequently. The rest is now history that Nigerians are still writing about. The three-year bloody civil war ended in January, 1970, with the “no victor, no vanquished” declaration. Gowon enthroned the three “RS” of reconstruction, reconciliation and rehabilitation.

WHY THIS HISTORY? The purport of reproducing this brief panoramic history of Nigeria is so that we can appreciate where we are coming from and where we are heading to as a nation. Former American President, Warren G. Harding, once said, “it is everlastingly true that on the whole the best guide to the future is to be found in the proper understanding of the past.” Thus, for us to divine the future of Nigeria, we must study and have a good grasp of our past, because today is the tomorrow we talked about yesterday.

THE PRESENT: REPLICATION OF HISTORY. The major source of Nigeria’s unending woes, tribalism, sectionalism, nepotism, cronyism, corruption, religious bigotry and stagnation, are remotely linked to the fundamentally flawed structure bequeathed to us by our colonial masters.

The truth is that as long as the present frail structure of Nigeria remains, some sections of the country would continue to lord themselves politically over other parts of the country to the detriment of peace and unity of Nigeria. Unless something drastic is done to rearrange the present system of inequality, with the urgency of now, nay yesterday, history will continue to repeat itself.

The issue for determination, by way of legalese, is, whether Nigerians should continue under an arrangement that allows only the interest, wishes and aspirations of a particular section of the country to be reflected in the entire polity at the expense of genuine unity and nationhood.

Economically, Nigerians are suffering. Politically, Nigerians are backward. Socially, Nigerians are cynical about one another.

Religiously, Nigerians are polarized. The present structure of the country has not helped us in any minutest particular. It is sheer absurdity and cowardice to continue to invest in a venture that is unrewarding and fruitless. We may pretend. We may sloganeer about the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria. History has not always vindicated vainglorious sloganeers who did nothing to change the system. It was Albert Einstein who once said it is only a fool that seeks to do same thing over and over again using the method and aspect different results.

Foreigners held $5.4 billion of Nigerian bonds in September 2013 but dumped them after the country was ejected last

year from the most widely used GBI-EM index. Nigeria’s stock has since fallen 6.5 percent this year, despite a near-doubling in oil prices relative to recent months. Foreign share dealings was $34.4 billion in March, down 66 percent from a year ago, the stock exchange said, and more than half of those transactions involved share sales.

And the value of capital imported into Nigeria plunged to $710.97 million in the first quarter of this year, a 73.8 percent decline a year ago, the national bureau of statistic said. With the naira in black market plunging past 367 per dollar, a major chunk of our transactions happening at the unofficial rate, inflation is at a six-year high and the economy contracted 0.4 percent in the first quarter –he first of such drop since 1990s.

Recently, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu were alleged to have futuristically forged the standing rules of the Senate to facilitate their present positions in the senate. The Niger Delta Avengers are, on a daily basis, bombing oil installations in the delta. With oil production falling from 2.2 million barrels per day to below 1.5 million barrels per day, with huge pitfalls on our revenue. Herdsmen brouhaha, kidnap cases and general insecurity have risen

astronomically, with many Nigerians living in palpable fear. The government has been prosecuting corruption cases wantomly and abysmally, reminding us of Thomas Hobbes ascription of a state of lawlessness, where life was short nasty and brutish. The anticorruption fight, if unassisted by rational judgment, will certainly collapse through its own mass, and under the weight of its own inherent contradictions.

In fact, the apprehension by the public of a northern domination of the political precinct has been inflamed by the recent appointments of PMB, with the obviously north enjoying the overwhelming vast majority of political appointments, clearly showing favoritism, nepotism and cronyism; to his Northern kinsmen and making nonsense of the hackneyed Federal Character principle and the part of the President's own inaugural speech that read, “… I belong to none and belong to all…”

Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Burutai, a northerner, was only recently revealed to have bought two houses in Dubai worth $1.5 million. The PMB administration has the opportunity to show Nigerians that the anticorruption war is not targeted at profiled opponents or against a section of the country, as many have come to believe. So far, mum has been the word from the PMB administration on this issue, the Nigerian public is watching with glued eyes as events unfold. The Army and Code of Conduct Bureau, have shockingly justified this primitive acquisition.

(To be continued next week).

LAST LINE Are Nigerians, PMB, avid readers et al, awaiting the next tranche of Nigeria’s dire need of restructuring even as you read today’s sermon on the “Mount of Nigerian Project” by Chief Mike A.A. Ozekhome, SAN, OFR, FCIArb? • Follow me on twitter @ MikeozekhomeSAN

Cross Word Puzzle

with Olulana Kayode 08023183727 Instructions on how to play the game •With reference to the ‘clues across’ and ‘clues down’ below, you shall try to provide answers to the clues, by writing the answer in the puzzle box provided on the left side.

•The number in parenthesis indicates the total number of letters making up the solution or answer you will provide.

•Keep on answering all the questions until all the spaces in the puzzle box are completely filled up.

Good luck!

Clues Across 1 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 22 23 24 25 26

Ex Gombe state Governor, (7).

Strong liquor, (3).

Term of address for man, (3).

Intentionally so written, (3).

Town in Osun state, (3).

A domesticated bird, (4).

Isolated from others, (4).

12th letter of the Greek alphabet, (2).

Bachelor of divinity, (2).

Retired Super Eagles' Captain, (4).

Former PHCN's acronym, (4).

U.S. Intelligence organisation, (3).

2nd Republic Benue state Governor, (7).

Ex Abia state Governor, (3).

Humorous play on words, (3).

Second Republic President, (7).

Clues Down 1 2 3 4 5 6 13 14 15 19 20 21

Thick cushion used as a seat, (7).

Edge tool for cutting grass, (6).

Specified distinct part, (4).

Being of use, (6).

Become larger, (4).

Pen's writing point, (3).

Ex Imo state MILAD, (7).

Sliding counters calculator, (6).

Gov. Darius Ishaku state, (6).

Of a very dark black, (6).

'Father' in Yoruba language, (4).

A small drink of liquor, (3).

Turn to page 55 for solution

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 Hotlines: (Lagos 0902 928 1425), (Abuja 0805 5118488), Email: info@newtelegraphonline.com Website: www.newtelegraphonline.com ISSN 2354-4317 Editor: JULIET BUMAH.