Sunday, may 3, 2015 by Newtelegraphonline

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SUNDAY

Sanctity of Truth

Sunday, MAY 3, 2015 Vol. 2 No. 438

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N150

Nollywood actress and producer, Shan George, on her marriages, love life and battle with pirates }18

War over wages }5

ROCHAS

AREGBESOLA

AMAECHI

YUGUDA

mu’azu dares jonathan

You can’t sack me AJIMOBI

SUSWAM

}No, you must quit, say Bode George, others }4

YOBE EX-GOV FAYOSE

JANG

nWorkers draw battleline over unpaid salaries

lAsthmatic civil servant dies in Osun lChildren thrown out of schools lPensioners demand settlement of arrears STATE

MONTHS OWED

STATE

MONTHS OWED

Ekiti

1 month

Plateau

5 months, 14 months owed teachers

Osun

6 months

Oyo

3 months

Benue

More than 5 months

Bauchi

1 month

Rivers

2 months salaries, 5 months arrears owed pensioners

Imo

2 months, 3 months owed some agencies

ABANDONED TO DIE

lConvicted child bride’s health deteriorates on death-row nine years after she was }7 sentenced over husband’s death

Boko Haram has turned my house into a prison }32

NORTHERN CLERICS

Our fears about Buhari’s victory }51

FAKE EFCC OPERATIVES

How banks, policemen aided us }41

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Contents | 03.05.15 BODY & SOUL

Mothers’ love ‘50 is the new 30’ rings true for star actress and movie producer, Shan George, who returns to Nollywood after time off to care for sick mom

}18

POLITICS

Return of a power broker The re-emergence of flamboyant politician and intelligence persona, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, is causing great dread in political circles

}31

BUSINESS

Bad debts Bank distress looms as nonperforming loans rise

}23

FAITH

Christians in the North How will Buhari reconcile his alleged agenda to promote Islam with freedom of religion for non-Muslims?

}51

SPORT

Football dead in Cameroon Former Indomitable Lions star, Geremi Njitap, talk about factors largely responsible for the death of football in Cameroon

}60

LIFE

Fake EFCC gang 6-member robbery gang and their charming Lebanese-Nigeria female member, fleece victims of their dollars

}41

SUNDAY

Editorial

The tasks ahead of Arase

ike a bolt from the blues, Mr. Solomon Arase was appointed the 17th Inspector-General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria penultimate week, following the unexpected sack of Suleiman Abba. The career of his predecessor was summarily truncated less than eight months in the saddle, making him about the IGP with the shortest tenure in the history of the force Coming at the twilight of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration which is currently preparing its handover notes, not a few Nigerians found the retirement ill-timed. Since Abba had about four years before his retirement, no one expected that he would not lead the force, at least till the terminal date of the current administration. However, given the fact that the appointment of the IGP is purely political and at the behest of the President and the confirmation of the Senate, one was not taken aback by the sack. While one may not attempt to dissect the legality or otherwise of the sack, one fact that cannot be taken away in the contemporary Nigeria is the fact that there is a task before Arase. One undeniable fact is that the Nigeria Police needs serious attention if it must align with local and globally acceptable standards. Without ignoring the fact that Arase’s tenure might be short, depending on the disposition of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the new number one police officer has a daunting task ahead of him. It is in this regard that it has become imperative for the force and government to dissect the police’s policy environment and its operational and intelligence capabilities. As far as the latter is concerned, the IGP must focus on human capital development, especially since the human person drives every system. For this reason, the quality of officers, their competence and capabilities need serious attention. Modern policing has gone beyond the number of policemen - even though it remains a herculean task to determine the strength of the force in the first place. Contemporary police is driven by officers and men who are honed in operational, intelligence and administrative duties. There lies the issue of skill acquisition, training and orientation of officers and men of the force. Beyond the ritualistic promotion of officers and men is the imperativeness for the officers to attend courses which will prepare them for the promotion and attendant responsibilities. Officers promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police, Chief

Superintendent, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy and Commissioners et cetera must as a necessity have attended leadership and management courses befitting of their ranks. An officer who is ignorant of methods of leading people and organisation is a disaster waiting to happen if appointed into such position of a Divisional Police Officer or even a Unit Commander in the Mobile Police. The case is even worse when a Squadron Commander is appointed on the basis of other consideration except the fact that he has attended crisis management and crowd control courses with rich modules of interfacing with members of the public within the ambit of the law, while dealing with outlaws. The force today is fraught with cases of corruption, human rights abuse and deviation from established policing norms, and the consequences are “accidental discharge,” which is actually an issue of indiscretion or overreaction which often snowball into conflagrations in some developed countries. Arase must monitor police performance though the various commands, departments and directorates. The anti-corruption unit, the X-Squad must be strengthened to deal with officers and men with penchant for trading professionalism and justice for pecuniary reward. Equally germane is the need to the strengthen the intelligence department of the police for modern policing and utilisation of scientific investigation methods, which make possible irrefutable evidence, critical in linking the crime with the criminal and securing justice at the courts. A networking system with the International Police Organisation for exchange of modern investigation technologies, case studies and programmes are critical success factors. Police administration, must as a matter of priority, look at the current deficient recruitment patterns and raise the educational level, monitor officers and men, reward exceptional conduct and performance and punish deviants in the system. The police should also move from era of general duties to specialization in any of the core departments for this indeed is the shape of modern policing. Irrespective of how long his tenure would last- either it will be coterminous with the Jonathan administration or by next year when he is due for retirement, Arase must bring to the fore his expertise, experience with the successive IGPs whom he had served as Principal Staff Officer and his persona to give the force a direction. Only this way can he write his name in gold.

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

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SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 3 MAY, 2015

SPECIALonREPORT The 8th Senate’s Fresh Generation Godswill Akpabio

Aliyu Wamakko

Jonah David Jang

Stella Adaeze Oduah

Samuel Egwu

Theodore Orji

Mao Ohuabunwa

Uche Lilian Ekwunife

Buruji Kashamu

Jerimiah Useni

Abubakar Kyari

Ben Murrey Bruce

Peter Nwabushi

Biodun Olujimi

Dino Melaye

Monsurat Sunmonu

Bayero Usman Nafada

Bala ibn Na’Allah

Isiaka A. Adeleke

Abubakar Danladi

Adeola Olamilekan

Binta Masi Garba

Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim

Mustapha Bukar

Duro Samuel Faseyi

Fatimat O. Raji-Rasaki

Shehu Sani

Mustapha Bukar

Philip Aruwa I Gyunka

Buhari Abdulfatai

Suleiman O. Hunkuyi

Osinakachukwu Ideozu

Danjuma La’ah

Bassey Albert Akpan

Olanrewaju Tejuoso

Mohammed A. Ohiare

Nelson Asuquo Effiong

Achonu A. Nneji

Sabo Mohammed

David Umaru

Umaru Ibrahim Kurfi

Barau I Jibrin

Nnaemeka Anyanwu

Clifford A. Ordia

John Enoh Owan

Mathew A. Urhoghide

Utazi Godfrey Chukwuka

Rilwan Adesoji Akanbi

Gbolahan Dada

Abdul-Aziz M. Nyako

Francis A. Alimikhena

Olaka Johnson Nwogu

Ogba Joseph Obinna

Tijjani Yahaya Kaura

Donald Alasoadura

Rose Okoji Oko

Yele Omogunwa

Ogola Foster

Gershom H. Bassey

Suleiman M. Nazif

Malam Ali Wakili

Abdullahi A. Gumel

Marafa Bashir Abba

Yahaya Abdullahi

Abdulrahman Abubakar

Salihu Hussain Egye

Mohammed Garba

Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi

Ahmadu Abubakar

Mohammed Hasan

Isah Hamma Misau

Ibrahim Abdullahi

Muhammad Ubali Shitu

On June 4, 2015, the eighth Senate of the National Assembly will be inaugurated. Of the 109 Senators who will be taking their seats, 73, representing 66 per cent will be fresh in the upper chamber. Who are these fresh Senators? What are their backgrounds and antecedents? What quality of debate and contributions are we likely to see from them? These and more will be the kernel of a special report by New Telegraph on that day. The report presents a unique opportunity for family, friends and associates of these fresh Senators to felicitate with them. For enquiries and participation: Call Biodun: 0802-301-5582, Taiwo: 0803-304-2915, Onwuka: 0803-733-9843, David: 0810-759-1663

SUNDAY 3 MAY, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

News Onyekachi Eze and Adesina Wahab

ational Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, yesterday declared that nobody could force him to leave office before his tenure runs out next year. The party’s National Working Committee also made a similar declaration, saying its members would complete their tenure. They were reacting to calls for their removal or voluntary resignation over the party’s dismal performance in the 2015 elections. But the South-West PDP in a meeting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State demanded their exit yesterday, saying the party’s defeat could not be justified. The national chairman, who spoke in a statement by his Press Secretary, Tony Amadi, blamed the PDP’s poor performance on imposition of candidates and lack of internal democracy in the party. “It is important for us to learn from what has happened,” he said Mu’azu, who was reacting for the first time since the party lost the presidential election advised those calling for the sacking of the NWC to wait until next year when the party will revisit its zoning principle. He appealed to party members to end the spate of infighting and blame game. “It will do no one any good. The present leadership has until next year to run its course. The party will then decide how to deal with the zoning of the next leadership and strategies for winning the 2019 elections,” he said. He called for an end to “use and dump” that has always been the case in PDP, noting that “you cannot be changing chairmen and NWC every year and still have cohesion, which is a vital ingredient of winning.” According to him, the stability in the leadership of the Senate for eight years had helped to produce harmony between the presidency and the National Assembly. He said the party needs to reinvent itself and plan how to retake power in 2019 “instead of wasting time and energy mudslinging and blame gaming over the party’s failed bid to win a fourth consecutive presidential election victory.” Mu’azu noted that divisions in the party could only energise the All Progressives Congress administration to ensure that there is no virile opposition party in the country. In a separate statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, the NWC said it was elected and not appointed and as such cannot be sacked at will or by executive fiat. ”For the purposes of clarity, especially for those making

Mu’azu dares Jonathan: You can’t sack me

uninformed demands on the President, the PDP National Working Committee is duly elected and its tenure ends in March 2016 in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution. The PDP is a party built on the rule of law and democratic ethos. “Besides, no section of the party’s constitution prescribes that the NWC should quit if the party loses in a general election,” the statement added. It said it was aware that some aides and associates of President Goodluck Jonathan were trying to arm-twist him to summon a meeting of party leaders at the Presidential Villa in the coming days where the NWC members would be put under pressure to resign, thereby triggering a crisis in the leadership at the national level. The statement reminded such people that the PDP constitution is clear on the process of summoning a meeting of party leaders and the role of the NWC in that regard is well-defined. “Anything outside the laid down rules and the provisions of the constitution in this respect is completely of no effect,” it warned. PDP alleged that the people pushing for the sacking of the NWC mismanaged the presidential campaigns and “are now desperately seeking to cause crisis in the PDP with a view not only to divert attention from their misdeeds but also to ensure that they remained politically relevant by hijacking the party structure for their selfish purposes.” It threatened to expose such individuals and make them face the full weight of the party’s disciplinary measures if they fail to immediately retrace their steps. Meanwhile, leaders of the party in the South-West have called on Mu’azu and NWC members to honourably resign their positions without further delay. According to the PDP leaders, Mu’azu and his team should give way for others to take charge of the party, having led it to a woeful outing in the elections. The PDP stalwarts were led by Chief Olabode George. Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was also present at Friday’s meeting while his Ondo State counterpart, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Kola Ademujimi. The South-West PDP commended Jonathan for acting as a statesman by conceding defeat despite the noticeable flaws in the presidential poll, saying this had allowed Ni-

geria to stand united and prevent unwarranted crisis. They said that members of the NWC must resign their positions and return home to work for the party. The caucus also warned the All Progressives Congress not to allow its victory in the last presidential poll to get its members intoxicated to the extent of harassing, molesting

any PDP governor in the zone, vowing to resist any attempt to impeach Fayose for his loyalty to the party. The communiqué also condemned in strong terms attempts by the 19 APC lawmakers in the Ekiti State House of Assembly to impeach Fayose, adding, “The APC-orchestrated violence, blackmail and political attacks on elected PDP gover-

nors and other officials pose a threat to the peace of the region and such will not be tolerated under any guise.” The party enjoined defected members to return and rebuild the party, since the APC had boldly declared that there was no space for them in its fold.” The parley also commended Fayose for resisting intimidation and remain-

ing dogged in the face of intimidation by the APC. It encouraged Fayose and Mimiko to continue to work together harmoniously. Fayose and Mimiko appealed to President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari, to believe in a new Nigeria where people can easily express themselves and pursue their political aspirations without impediment.

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan; widow of the late Special Adviser to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy, Oronto Douglas, Mrs. Tarinabo Douglas and the children Ogiel and Daniel, during a commendation Service at St. Peter’s Deanery, Anglican Diocese of Niger Delta West, in Yenagoa …yesterday

Buhari may seek review of 2015 budget Chukwu David, Philip Nyam and Isa Abdulwahab

resident-elect Muhammadu Buhari may reject the 2015 budget and send a fresh bill to the National Assembly for a review after he is sworn in on May 29. This is in order to save his administration from starting on the wrong footing in a number of areas, especially in the light of conflicting signals about the status of fuel subsidy in the budget. Buhari has vowed to probe the petroleum sector. Confusion had last week trailed the status of subsidy provision in the 2015 budget, following the reappearance of long queues at fuel stations across the country. The queues which are usually harbingers of a looming energy crisis had raised apprehension among Nigerians particularly with the conflicting utterances in government circles about the non- allocation of funds to subsidy on petroleum products in this year’s budget. Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance,, Sena-

tor Ahmed Makarfi, had on Thursday stated that the Senate approved N143 billion for fuel subsidy in the budget. The disclosure came after the media had reported that not a dime was allocated to the item in the budget passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly. Makarfi said N100bn was provided as subsidy for petrol in new appropriation while N43bn was for kerosene. Sunday Telegraph sought the reaction of key officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance on the matter but met a brickwall. Phone calls and text messages sent to the mobile phone of the Director-General of Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogwu, and Special Adviser on Media to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Paul Nwabiuku were not responded to. However, a senior officer in the Budget Office maintained that there was no provision for subsidy in the budget. According to our source, the decision to approve zero allocation for subsidy in 2015 appropriation bill was a joint decision taken

at a meeting between the finance ministry, the Budget Office and the leadership of the National Assembly. When reminded of Makarfi’s latest clarification that there was provision for subsidy in the budget, he said the legislator could be referring to the 2014 balance approval for the item. He maintained that nothing was provided for subsidy in the current fiscal year. Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Hon. Ali Ahmad (APC/ Kwara), told Sunday Telegraph that the incoming government could introduce it through a supplementary budget when it takes over. “Once the new government takes over, Buhari will study the budget and if there is a need to amend it, he can always approach the National Assembly. The budget is an Act of the National Assembly and it is subject to amendment if the need arises. But you see, the danger now is that if you provide for subsidy and subsidy is not being paid because the products are now cheap, it doesn’t make sense. “Petroleum experts are

saying that the price will remain low for sometime, but if the contrary happens and the price rises and marketers begin to increase the pump price, then there might be a need to provide for subsidy. But the prediction is that it will remain low for a very long time,” Ahmad said. The lawmaker explained that subsidy would become necessary when the price at which fuel is being imported is more than the pump price. He said that now that the pump price of fuel is at a level where the marketers don’t need any subsidy to make profit, providing for subsidy in the budget might be be unnecessary and such funds might eventually be returned to the treasury. In a separate interview, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Ahmed Maccido, told Sunday Telegraph that the Senate decided not to make budgetary provision for fuel subsidy because it was not contained in the original proposal submitted to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan.

SUNDAY

The Sunday Magazine SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

War over wages Cephas Iorhemen, Sola Adeyemo, Musa Pam, Adesina Wahab, Adeolu Adeyemo and Alhassan Yusuf

ut for his unpaid five months’ salary, a civil servant in Osun State would be alive today. He was said to have slumped and died because he could not afford to purchase an inhaler when he had an asthmatic attack few weeks ago. His case mirrors the plight of thousands of civil servants being owed arrears of salaries in some states. Other states similarly affected include Plateau and Benue states while for Ekiti workers, it is slightly better since they are being owed only September pay.. But the state government is already warning that it may be forced to start owing the workers for months if its dwindling allocations don’t improve. For six months now, civil servants in Osun State have been finding it extremely difficult to eat three square meals due to the failure of the state government to offset their arrears of salaries. The situation has torn many happy homes apart in the state as husbands who usually earn the respect of their wives are now being regarded with scorn. This is due to their inability to provide for the upkeep of their wives and children. Many homes have scattered due to the development still awaiting the attention of the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Due to this, Sunday Telegraph learnt that occupants of many homes in the state had resulted to compulsory fasting while the unsavoury situation has rocked many others. Many children cannot understand why their parents have been unable to pay their school fees. They were sent out of their different schools. In an interview with Sunday Telegraph, a civil servant in one of the ministries in the state, who simply identified himself as Adepoju, said the unbearable situation had wreaked havoc on many homes. He also alleged that some of his colleagues had died due to poor management of ill-health arising from non-availability of funds. Adepoju accused the state government of failing to appreciate the workers’ plight. He said: “Few weeks ago, one of the state’s workers who was an asthmatic patient lost his life when he could not afford to buy an inhaler due to his financial helplessness.” An employee of the state teaching service who preferred anonymity said it was unfortunate that they were being treated in an ‘inhuman manner’ by the state government over their salaries and entitlements. He appealed to Governor Rauf Aregbesola to quickly address the problem. The teacher, who argued further that the government had used the situation to polarise civil servants in the state, charged it to stop playing politics with their unpaid salaries. Speaking on the matter, the newly elected chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Comrade Adekomi Jacob, assured workers in the state of good times ahead.. He promised to fight for their welfare , stressing that unionism was about workers. He urged the state government to commence the payment of the six months’ salaries and other emoluments owed workers

NLC, president

Few weeks ago, one of the state’s workers who was an asthmatic patient lost his life when he could not afford to buy an inhaler due to his financial helplessness in the state without delay. He lamented that the non-payment of salaries had affected their psyche. However, the All Progressives Congress gave the assurance that in no distant time, all the unpaid salaries would be attended to by the state government. The party in a statement released by its Directorate of Publicity in Osogbo, however, charged them to exercise patience over the current economic crisis in the state because a solution is less than 60 days away. According to the party, the incoming APC federal government would look into the poor monthly allocation to the state as soon as it is sworn in on May 29, 2015. “However, whatever is within the capacity of the state government to do before then, it will certainly do to ease workers’ plight as a result of non-payment of salaries.

“The long and difficult battle to defeat the forces of evil that have squandered the nation’s wealth has just been won comprehensively. This has now paved the way for a new, progressive and responsible APC government to take over the affairs of the country and end the suffering which PDP corruption, mismanagement and treasury looting have brought on Nigerians, including workers in Osun,” it declared. Benue Civil servants in Benue State are in a quandary over how to cope with the arrears of salaries owed them by the outgoing government. They have also urged Governor Gabriel Suswam to clear them before he hands over to the incoming administration. They are being owed for more than five months and the state government has its purse has run dry and it cannot borrow again to pay workers. Suswam had obtained a loan of N24 billion from the capital market to enable him to execute some capital projects and pay workers, but no one knows how the funds were utilised up till now that he is leaving office. Some of the civil servants who bared their minds to Sunday Telegraph, expressed worry that the development had forced them to live by borrowing from friends to meet their family needs.

A director in the state civil service and member of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Samuel Ude said, the arrears of salaries owed him have affected the education of his children. He said he was forced by the principal of his children’s school to write an undertaking before they wrote their last examination. “You will be shocked to know that at my level as a director in the civil service, I went to write an undertaking to allow my children to write their examinations. That is the level civil servants in Benue State have gone to now,” he lamented. Asked how he has been able to cope in the face of the non-payment of accumulated arrears of salaries, Ude said he and his family had been surviving “through the mercy of God as well as from our farmlands.” According to him, some civil servants in the state have died as a result of the inability of the state government to pay workers. “God has been blessing us because we are workers. We also go to the farm. We pick from our farm produce and that’s why we have been able to survive. Otherwise, it would have been most embarrassing. “People have died in the course of this nonpayment. We have lost civil servants who have not been able to get paid. Some cannot get medication or even eat two square meals a day,” ,” he added. Also speaking, Benue State TUC Chairman, Comrade Ordue Tartenger, said the arrears have brought untold hardship to many workers who could not afford to meet family obligations. Ordue appealed to the outgoing administration to come to the rescue of workers by clearing the outstanding salaries of both civil servants and pensioners before the expiration of the current administration in the state. “As I speak with you, the Leave Grants arrears of 2012 to 2014 have not been paid and a schedule of payment for the year 2015 has not been drawn to commence payment for workers. “I want to use this medium to therefore appeal to the current administration in the state to clear all the outstanding salaries of civil servants and pensioners before the expiration of the regime. I also request that the deductions being made on monthly salaries of civil servants in the name of donations, contributions and levy be stopped,” Ordue added. Also speaking, a primary school teacher in the state, Mr. Abraham Akor, decried the accumulated arrears, saying the little he earns as his monthly salary cannot even meet his family needs. According to Akor,. he is being owed five months salaries, adding that each term, his children are driven away from school for non-payment of fees. He appealed to Suswam to do something urgently to address the problem of the workers as his predecessor, George Akume, did not owe workers a dime while leaving office. “ I think Suswam should emulate his predecessor, George Akume, because he did not have any problem with workers while he was leaving office in 2007. So, if Suswam follows in his steps, it will be better for workers,” he noted. RIVERS CO NTINUED O N PAGE 6

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

The Sunday Magazine

I think Suswam should emulate his predecessor, George Akume, because he did not have any problem with workers as he was leaving office in 2007. So, if Suswam follows in his steps, it will be better for workers

Pay our salaries, Thousands of workers who trooped to the Isaac Boro Park venue of the annual May Day march past on Friday used the opportunity to protest the state’s government’s delay in the payment of their salaries. They urged the outgoing government of Governor Rotimi Amaechi to pay them before the May 29 handover date. They also protested the continued closure of the state’s judiciary, which had crippled the legal system and forced some lawyers to relocate. Some of the workers, dressed in uniforms, carried placards which read: ‘Pay us our salaries RVSG,’ ‘Don’t carry salary arrears to the next administration.” Factional chairperson of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Beatrice Itubo, in her address, condemned the state government’s refusal to pay the workers, just as she condemned a situation where workers were not consulted on issues concerning them. She said such N action was inhuman and anti labour, and urged the incoming administrations at the Federal and state levels, to pay serious attention to workers’ welfare seriously. Itubo also used the opportunity to call for the recall of workers that were wrongly sacked from their places of work, and called for the recruitment of more staff into the state civil service. workers’ wages as at when due. The silence over the arrears being owed workers contributed to the emergence of two NLC factions in the state. One of the factions accused the state government and the immediate past NLC chairman, Dr. Chris Oruge, of working together to deny workers their salary. One of the factional NLC leaders, Ada Williams, had noted that two months’ salaries meant much more than the state government realises, just as he lamented the five months arrears owed pensioners.

Plateau The entire workers in Plateau State did not celebrate the May 2015 Workers’ Day like their colleagues in other states as result of the non-payment of salaries by the state government. Sunday Telegraph investigation revealed that the popular Rwang Pam Stadium where workers meet every first day of May was deserted on Friday. They rather chose to assemble at the Nigerian Labour Congress Secretariat located at Zaria Bye Pass in Jos. Some of the workers who spoke to Sunday Telegraph disclosed that their children were sent out of school as result of the non- payment of the fees. They said they could not afford three square meals and most of the workers are dying as a result of the trauma they had been going through. An employee of the Ministry of Works, Comrade Alex Sambo, said, “I feel very sad that the state government has not paid us our salaries. It is the right of the worker to be paid, but I don’t know why the Plateau State Government has refused to pay our salaries. It has not given any reason. “As I talk to you now, nothing has been said about the non-payment of salaries in the state. My children have been sent out of school because I couldn’t pay their fees. Right now, my children are at home and food to eat is even another problem.” Sambo said he is being owed five months’ salaries. But when asked about the varying months owed workers by the state government, he said it is because it chooses which ministry to pay.

L-R: Secretary to Oyo State Government, Alhaji Olalekan Ali; Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo and chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Waheed Olojede, at the May day celebration, in Ibadan…

For his part, the state chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Comrade Gunshin Yarlings, accused the state government of being insensitive to the plight of workers. He said, “We thank God on our side because currently most workers in Plateau State cannot put three square meals on the tables of our families. Even with this hardship, God is still seeing us through and we are praying that the incoming government will urgently salvage the situation of workers.” Yarlings said there are workers that are being owed five months, but on the side of teachers some have gone 14 months without salaries owing to the fact that they have not been captured in the state government’s biodata exercise. He alleged that the state government was only interested in paying contractors. Another civil servant who double as the State Treasurer of the National Union of Local Government Employees, Comrade Nafisat Badamasi, said, “Honestly for us the workers of Plateau State, it has not been easy. The journey has been rough. “We are dying of hunger as a result of the non-payment of salaries. Right now, my children cannot feed well. I’ve had to borrow and I can’t borrow again because nobody is willing to give me money.” Also Comrade Eunice Yamtu from NASU said the non-payment of salaries had created a lot of hardship for her. She said it had become very difficult for her to go to work because of lack of transport. “I want to tell you that for two terms now my children couldn’t go to school just because it is very hard for me and my husband. We’ve borrowed many times and even changed places where we went to borrow. But it has reached a point where we can’t do so anymore. I’m planning to go to the school of my children and request for an undertaking,” she said. However, the NLC State Chairman, Comrade Jibrin Banchir, while briefing journalists in Jos on Friday, said the civil servants refused to celebrate Workers’ Day as a result of the non-payment of their salaries. “Plateau workers have no doubt kept faith with democracy over the years for the unity of the state and our country Nigeria. Unfortunately, what we have received in return as dividends are trauma and anguish that our

“As I speak with you, the Leave Grants arrears of 2012 to 2014 have not been paid and a schedule of payment for the year 2015 has not been drawn to commence payment for workers. “As I speak with you, the members have been made to go through. “Having critically studied the situation that we have been placed under, it is important to direct all affiliate unions and workers to commence mobilisation for a strike at the expiration of our ultimatum by Monday, May 4, 2015,” he declared. NLC had given the state government seven days to pay workers their outstanding salaries and address other pending issues or risk a strike from tomorrow. Meanwhile, the state government said in a statement signed by the Commissioner of Information and Communication, Hon. Muhammadu Badu, that Labour and other stakeholders in the state should not engage in any action that will affect the smooth transition to the next administration. Ekiti Civil servants in Ekiti State are only owed September 2014 salary which the administration of Governor Ayo Fayose is blaming on the former governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. APC and Fayemi have said the incumbent doesn’t need to make any fuss about it, as government is a continuum and that all assets and liabilities are inherited by succeeding administrations. Though Ekiti workers may not be said to be groaning under the yoke of arrears of salaries, the state government recently raised the alarm that dwindling statutory allocations are negatively affecting it. Fayose, at the recent NLC delegates conference, said the state would need about N700m to augment its allocation and be able to pay workers’ salaries. As at Friday, civil servants were await-

ing their April salary, though government sources said they would be paid in a few days. State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Kayode Akosile, said the government should be commended for its efforts at paying workers salaries despite the financial challenges. He advised that the government make workers’ salaries top priority no matter the situation. In a similar vein, the President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, Bunmi Ajimoko, said being a civil service state, any delay in workers’ salaries would always have adverse effects on the general economic outlook of the state. Oyo A secondary school teacher, who simply identified herself as Bukola, said the situation in Oyo State is bleak. “The situation is too harsh for workers in this state. The salary I collected last was in January and this is May. To eat at home is getting very difficult by the day. Feeding and taking care of our children has been so harrowing. To get money for transport most times has been so difficult that one has turned a-borrowing to survive. “We heard the governor say that it is not his fault and that it is due to shortage of allocation from the Federal Government. My own plea is that the state government should find a means of paying us because we are dying. The Federal Government should fulfil its part and the state government should alleviate our sufferings.” Also speaking with Sunday Telegraph, a civil servant who gave his name as Ayedogbon, said, “I feel pained by the situation I find myself in. Not to collect salary for three months is a very serious issue. Though my wife is a trader, she also feels the effect of the salary non- payment in that many people could not buy her products as before. Living has been very difficult, I must tell you. “Nevertheless, to me, Governor Ajimobi is not to blame because the problem is from the Federal Government. When the normal allocations were being paid, the state was not owing salaries. It was because the allocation dwindled that salaries were being CONTINUED F R OM PAGE 5

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

The SundayMagazine

workers beg governors CON TINUED FR O M PAGE 6

owed. I hope the state government pays us soon. I even heard that teachers would be paid as from Monday because the April allocation had been collected about two weeks ago.” For Mrs. Daniel, also a civil servant: “My brother, to be candid with you, life has not been the same with me since the beginning of this year. As a single parent, I have been finding it extremely difficult to feed and transport myself. Most times, I don’t go out in my car owing to lack of money to fuel it. I had to go and borrow money to register the NECO exam forf one of my children. It is as bad as that. We had planned a very elaborate wedding for a daughter of mine but due to this problem of non- payment of salaries, we had to do it a very low profile last month. I’m begging the government to see to our problem and save us. Just as they are saying there is no money, we see how these politicians spend on a daily basis. Their own immediate families are living like kings and queens. They should all fear God and salvage this situation for us.” For his part, Mr. Oladiipo said, “The problem with me and my family is that just as I am a government worker, my wife is also a civil servant. Both of us have not collected salary in the last five months. We both have cars, but since about two months ago, one of the vehicles could not be taken out again due to maintenance and fuelling problem. “The most worrisome of our challenges is the inability of our son to pay his school fee in a private university he was admitted to. Other colleagues of his have since resumed, but we haven’t been able to complete his own, thereby making him to still stay at home. It is a shameful experience. We had borrowed so much that I am ashamed of borrowing anymore. If my wife were not to be a civil servant, maybe the condition would not have been so grave as this for us. “Our plea is just that all the concerned in the government circle should bail us out. The unfortunate thing with this democracy of ours is that while many are suffering and dying, those politicians planning to leave the government have allocated billions of naira to themselves as severance package. How do you rationalise that for heaven’s sake?” Bauchi Ahead of the May 29 handover date, Bauchi State civil servants have called on Governor Isa Yuguda to clear their outstanding one month salary before he leaves. A civil servant with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Rabi’u Alhaji Isa, described the condition of the workers as “very pathetic.” He said he was faced with challenges related to his inability to pay his children’s school fees, lamenting that the state government had also tampered with their poor salaries. Also speaking, Malam Bello Adamu of the Local Education Authority, said the state government’s failure to pay had left them frustrated and unable to feed. He said the situation had led to the death of two people admitted at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital in Bauchi. He said his children were sent back from school due to the non-payment of their fees. A Ministry of Agriculture employee, Umar Muhammad, said, “There are many problems we are facing as a result of the unpaid salary. Every worker depends on salary and with the current situation, it would take us up to four or five months to settle debts already accumulated. Only about 60 per cent of us are able to go to work. The state government has said it will apply ‘no work no pay’ but we are saying ‘no pay no work.” However, Malam Yukubu of Bauchi Radio Corporation said workers had been buying

A cross-section of workers at the May Day celebration in Lagos….

items on credit while Comrade Dahiru Adamu of the Ministry of Information said he been unable to pay his rent and utility bills. Imo Two commentators and civil servants in Imo told Sunday Telegraph that their unpaid two-months’ salaries could be traced to the just concluded elections. A civil servant, Amachara Dozie, expressed the hope that now that the elections are over, government would make arrangements to offset the salary arrears. “Though it came to some people as a shock that in the peak of electioneering Governor Rochas Okorocha would dare to owe civil

servants, but to some of us, we saw it coming given the cash intensive nature of Nigeria’s politics. Some administrations in the past had done the same thing and that was why it did not come as a surprise to me,” Dozie stated. Ajogwu Jessy, who said she works in one of the government parastatals, said that for some of such agencies, they had not got more than three months’ salaries. She expressed regret that the governor could afford to send out Workers’ Day goodwill messages to workers in Imo, knowing fully well that they had no money to celebrate. She said, “It was more like a mockery; wishing us well when he knows we are

PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

celebrating the Workers’ Day on empty stomachs. In any case, there was nothing to celebrate. We had expected that in the euphoria of his electoral victory to which several civil servants were instrumental, he would have marked the day for us by releasing funds to offset our arrears, at least one month as a sign of goodwill.” Ajogwu, however, noted that Government House personnel and those of a few other ministries had received March salary. Okorocha had in his goodwill message said his administration would not have been able to achieve all it has recorded to its credit without the commendable cooperation of the workers in the state.

Child bride languishes in jail over husband’s death

uman rights campaigners have called for the release of Maimuna Abdulmumini, a child bride convicted nine years ago by a court in Katsina State over her husband’s death. Maimuna, whose husband, Ibrahim, died in a fire, was 13 when the incident occurred. The activists said the Nigerian government is violating its own laws by keeping a child bride on death row for murdering her husband almost a year after the ECOWAS court dismissed the sentence, guardian.co.uk reports. Now 22, Maimuna, was accused of burning her husband to death as a teenager. She remains in prison today despite the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruling in June 2014 that the decision was a violation of her fundamental rights. As the one year anniversary of the ruling approaches, Amnesty International has released a strongly worded statement calling on the Nigerian government to curtail forced marriage as a matter of urgency and abolish the death penalty. “Nigeria has a great deal of work to do to improve its record on human rights, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls,” says a spokeswoman for Amnesty

Katsina State Governor, Ibrahim Shema

International UK. “The gender gap last year was shocking. According to the UN’s Gender Equality Index, Nigeria featured 152 on the list of 187 countries. “An immediate way in which the new government can improve the human rights situation is to abolish the death penalty, and do more to stop early and forced marriage taking place.”

Avocats Sans Frontières, which filed the case with the Ecowas court and has campaigned for her release for over a year, adding that “it would be unacceptable for Maimuna Abdulmumini to remain on death row.” Reports say that for the five months they were married, their relationship was characterised by systemic abuse, according to her lawyers. In response to questions posed by the Guardian of London and asked through her legal team, Maimuna herself said that her husband was “violent” to her in the the time they were married and suffered from a mental illness. After a legal process dragged on for five years, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in December 2012. She has been in prison in Katsina state jail ever since, her mental state gradually deteriorating as she shares an already cramped cell with five other condemned women. “Although our team has been at her side during all the proceeding initiated before the Ecowas Court, one can hardly imagine how frustrating it is for Maimuna Abdulmumini not to see yet the practical impact of the judgment,” explains Angela Uwandu, from ASF Nigeria.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

News

Sambo seeks support for Buhari’s govt Anule Emmanuel

ice President Namadi Sambo has urged Nigerians to give the incoming administration of Major General Muhammadu Buhari the maximum support it needs to succeed. Sambo made this call at the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria Stakeholders Conference at the National Mosque Complex, Abuja. He said: “Government as you are aware is a continuum and with the coming of a new democratic dispensation, it has ushered in a new government, which will soon be inaugurated. I urge you to continue to give them maximum support and cooperation to enable them succeed.” Sambo, who noted the contributions of the MSSN in positively shaping the moral upbringing of the

Muslim youth, said: “I am delighted to note that it has remained one of the veritable tools for grooming our youths to becoming responsible future leaders leading to the emergence of outstanding and eminent personalities. Most importantly, MSSN has continued to promote national unity and harmony in the country.” He assured them of Federal Government’s support for this forum and all others with similar objectives. The Vice President stressed the need for the MSSN and the entire Muslim Ummah to propagate the true message of Islam as encapsulated in the Glorious Qur’an, Hadith and Sunnah, saying that “The message of Islam is the message of peace, hope, harmony, goodwill and brotherhood.” While congratulating the

MSSN for successfully celebrating its 60th anniversary, having been founded in 1954, the Vice President expressed worry over the absence of befitting national monuments as its headquarters. He, therefore, stressed that as a student member in his secondary and university days, and now as stakeholder, he assured them of his continued

support in and outside government whenever the need arises. The Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, like other speakers at the event, congratulated the leadership of the MSSN for convening the conference, which they all described as very important and timely. The Minister particularly challenged the current leader-

ship of the MSSN, to create a register of all past leaders of the MSSN from the national to local level. Speaking earlier, the National President of the MSSN, Mallam Sirajudeen Abdul-Azeez Folayemi, stated that the Stakeholders’ conference was convened to enable past and present leaders of the organisation to brainstorm on repositioning it to face

modern challenges in Islamic propagation. He used the occasion to congratulate the Federal Government in the successes recorded in the fight against terrorism and other social vices, while also appealing to government to bring to justice the killers of Professor Ahmad Mustapha Falaki, a former national president of the organisation.

Ondo govt lauds smart card Babatope Okeowo Akure

ndo State Head of Service, Mr. Toyin Akinkuotu, has commended the invention of a Smart Box by two young brothers, Joshua and Paul Ketiku, describing the innovation as vital for data utilisation and management in the country Launching the new technology, Viiion Smart Card, which he said will further promote Nigeria’s entertainment and information market, Akinkuotu said the product is capable of providing smart application to download data for use. Akinkuotu, who narrated what he saw when he attended a function at Galileo International, Israel, said one would marvel at the level of innovation going on around the world. He said innovation remains the key for Nigeria’s development in the field of technology adding that the innovators of the Smart Box had done wonderfully well. The Head of Service promised that the government would assist the com-

pany to ensure success of the product. Described as the first in Africa, Viiion Smart Box was invented by an indigenous technology company, First Nurts Technologies, owned by the Ketiku brothers. Presenting the new product, the Technical Director of the company, Joshua Ketiku, said the tiny smart box has vast capabilities capable of bridging the gap between the rich and the average Nigerians. Ketiku said through a simple connection to one’s LCD Television set, one can access a world of entertainment, streamline, download videos and play 3D games. According to him, the Viiion Smart Box comes with eight GB local storage with a three DHD and UHD Video output, adding that the box also comes with a Wifi and Bluetooth functions. “It contains numerous pre-installed applications for the consumers to enjoy and it also gives you access to numerous applications to download from the Google play store,” Ketiku said.

L-R: Corporate Communication Manager, MeadowHall Group, Mrs. Ronke Fasalojo; Head, MeadowHall Foundation, Mrs. Kemi Adewoye; Group Managing Director/CEO, MeadowHall Group, Mrs. Kehinde Nwani and Head of School, MeadowHall Education, Mr. Ola Opesan, at a press conference on the activities of group in Lagos…. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Nigerian wins 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

igerian Lesley Nneka Arimah has won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize (African region) for her short story ‘Light’, the organisers announced in a statement released on Wednesday in London. Other 2015 Regional Winners are Asia: Siddhartha Gigoo, ‘The Umbrella Man’ (India); Canada and Europe: Jonathan Tel, The Human Phonograph (United Kingdom); Caribbean: Kevin Jared Hosein, ‘The King of Settlement 4′ (Trinidad and Tobago); and Pacific: Mary Rokonadravu, ‘Famished Eels’ (Fiji). The regional winners

will compete with each other to become the overall winner, which will be announced in London on September 8. The prize provides a platform for writers from the 53 countries of the Commonwealth to inspire others by bringing compelling short stories to a wider audience. This year, unpublished stories were entered by 4,000 writers from the five regions of the Commonwealth. The international judges reflect these regions: Leila Aboulela, (Africa), Bina Shah (Asia), Marina Endicott (Canada and Europe), Fred D’Aguiar (the Caribbean) and Witi Ihimaera (the Pacific).

Okorocha advised on governance Pamela Eboh

overnor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okoroacha was yesterday advised by the South-East chapter of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, to carry everybody along in his administration irrespective of party affiliation in the state. Briefing reporters yesterday in Awka, the CNPP South-East leader, Hon. Oby Okafor, said Okorocha should forget whatever insult he received from his enemies during the campaign period and give everybody a sense of belonging. Okafor, who is the president of Nwanyibuife

group in Nigeria and Diaspora, also vied for the Anambra Central senatorial seat on the platform of Advanced Congress of Democrats The group in the zone however congratulated Okorocha for winning his second term bid against Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party. CNPP said, “Okorocha’s victory has shown that working for your people when elected into office pays. Some people never believed that the governor would make it the second time from the All Progressives Congress in Igbo land.”

Armed men kidnap expatriate in Edo Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

eavily armed men have kidnapped an expatriate worker with a construction firm in Auchi, headquarters of Etsako West Council area of Edo State. Already, hordes of vigilante groups from the agrarian Auchi and neighbouring

Ivbiaro in Owan East Local Government Area of the state are working round the clock, combing a forest in the two communities since Friday in search of the expatriate worker. The victim was among the workers at an erosion site in Auchi where the abductors swooped on him on Friday morning. It was learnt that some

persons who disguised as job seekers had earlier visited the site manager at the erosion location. This was followed by another set of outlaws who arrived at the site heavily armed and engaged some policemen guarding the workers in a gun battle during which one of the officers was seriously injured. But the defiant kidnappers

succeeded in taking away the victim and zoomed into the forest which is the boundary between Auchi and Ivbiaro. Angry hunters and youths from Auchi community were said to have quickly mobilised alongside members of the town’s vigilante groups with the support of policemen who also alerted their colleagues at Ivbiaro.

No contact had been established between the kidnappers and the staff of the construction firm as at the time of this report. The Police Public relations Officer in the state, DSP Stephen Onwochei could not be reached on his phone. However, sources close to the Auchi Palace, yesterday, confirmed the kidnap of a “worker in the erosion site

by suspected kidnappers”. He said: “They (kidnappers) were fully armed and took their victim away into the forest between Auchi and Ivbiaro. Vigilante groups from both communities have been mobilised and with support from the police are searching the forest because that was the route they were said to have taken with their victims”

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

News

Pamela Eboh Awka

nambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has moved to expand the scope of agriculture in the state by attracting $61m worth of investments in commercial poultry farming in order to reduce dependence on oil revenue. The move, which has become imperative in view of the dwindling oil prices the world over, has been taken to ensure the state remains self-reliant without having to continue its total dependence on oil revenue from federal allocations. Signing a memorandum of understanding with Lynden Integrated Farms

Obiano attracts $61m investments

Limited yesterday at the governor’s lodge in Amawbia for the establishment of a modern poultry production and processing farm in the state, Obiano said that agriculture remain the major pillar in his economic agenda. He noted that the proposed ultra modern poultry farm which will be located on seven hectares of land in Igbariam will not only generate 250 jobs in the course of the construction but will also create 200 permanent jobs and 2000 indirect jobs. On the plans of his administration to alter the ag-

ricultural landscape of the South-East, the governor noted that the practice of getting all the day old chicks sold in the South-East from Oyo State must be changed, insisting that all the day old chicks from the area must come from Anambra State. He explained that his plan is to approach agriculture in two ways - to create a favourable environment for commercial agriculture to thrive and roll out programmes that will upgrade the machete and hoes wielding farmers by encouraging them to adopt the use of new implements and im-

proved seedlings. He said: “We have mapped out specific areas where cassava, rice and maize will be best harnessed and establish cooperatives in those specific areas. We plan to play to our full strength in agriculture”. Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of Lynden Integrated Farms Limited, Mr. Clem Nwogbo explained that his company planned to develop a two-phased modern integrated poultry production and processing farm with day-old chicks saying that they would subsequently upgrade the facil-

ities in order to provide high quality meat, eggs from layers, fresh and frozen poultry meat from broilers. “The first phase of this facility comprises the setting of 200,000 broiler houses with eight pens, 93000 layer house with three pens, 33,000 pullets house with one pen, 2000 birds per house, slaughter house and a feed mill. “We plan to double the production capacity on this farm by extending the broiler and layer houses

Duchess of Cambridge delivers baby girl

L-R: Wife of Anambra State Governor, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano; Auxilliary Bishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Dennis Isizoh and Governor Willie Obiano, at the reception mass for the new Bishop at St Joseph Catholic Church, Aguleri, Anambra State…yesterday

‘Folarin, Adeojo to blame for PDP’s loss in Oyo’ Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

socio-political group in the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, operating under the “Progressive Youth Frontiers,” has blamed the party’s governorship flag-bearer, Senator Teslim Folarin, a chieftain of the party and some power brokers for its abysmal defeat in the last governorship election. In a statement by its Secretary, Comrade Abiodun Adeniyi, in Ibadan at the weekend, the group lamented how the PDP that was people’s toast was reduced to smithereens “just because of the inordinate ambition of its governorship candidate and the overbearing influence of some leaders who refused to sacrifice ego and personal aggrandisement on the altar of merit”. The group blamed the duo of Folarin and one of the party’s leaders, Chief Yekeen Adeojo, for their refusal to heed the voice

of reason which advocated that Senator Rashidi Ladoja of the Accord Party be accommodated into its fold and to contest as the governorship candidate of the PDP. The group said those who worked with Ladoja at the 11th hour were only saving democracy and sowing the seed of strengthening the PDP in Oyo State to which Ladoja could have returned after winning the election. The statement added that these same “retrogressive

elements pushed Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Mr. Seyi Makinde, Elder Wole Oyelese and others out of the party just to gratify selfish ends. “They took hold of the National Working Committee of the PDP in Abuja, embarked on a zero-sum game and tilted the party to a near abyss all because of selfish interest and unrealistic ambition,” the statement said. The group further said that the results of the governorship election and

the abysmal performance of the PDP was a telling testimony of the non-popularity of the candidate the party fielded and the waning influence of some of the leaders. The group, however, commended the Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory and others who heroically stood by the PDP in cash and kind, as it enjoined all stakeholders to learn from past mistakes and restructure the party to attain enviable height again.

to accommodate 400,000 broilers, 186,000 layers and 66,000 pullets after three years of full operation of the first phase”, Nwogbo said. The traditional ruler of Umoji and Chairman of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, Igwe Cyril Enwezor explained that the equity ratio of the company is 90 per cent for the investing company, six per cent for the state government and four per cent for the host community.

he Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine, has been delivered of a baby girl. The Duke, Williams and Duchess presented their new daughter to the world for the first time early on Saturday evening as they left hospital just 10 hours after the birth of their second child. The new Princess of Cambridge slept soundly cradled in her mother’s arms as the couple posed on the steps of the private Lindo wing at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, London. Earlier, Prince George was the only visitor as he was taken to see his mother and be introduced to his baby sister, who was born at 8.34am, weighing 8lbs 3oz. Crowds cheered wildly as William, who had briefly re-

turned to Kensington Palace to pick up his son, carried the infant prince up the hospital steps, with George, looking a little overawed, managing a small royal wave. The duke proclaimed the couple to be “very happy”. The duchess had been admitted to hospital in the “early stages of labour” at 6am and the duke attended the birth. Their daughter is the fourth in line to the throne and the Queen’s fifth great-grandchild. She will be the first to take the title of princess for 25 years and will also be the highest ranking female in line to the throne. A girl has not been born this high up the line of succession in the UK for nearly 65 years, since Princess Anne was born.

Abuja Chief Imam is dead Yekeen Nurudeen

he Chief Imam of National Mosque, Ustadh Musa Mohammed, is dead. He died of an undisclosed ailment at the early hours of Saturday at the National Hospital, Abuja where he was rushed to on Friday afternoon. Imam Mohammed was the first Imam of the National Mosque and was there for over 20years. According to the Director of Communications at the National Hospital, Dr. Tayo Hastrup who confirmed the death of

the imam to Sunday Telegraph, the late Chief Imam was rushed to the hospital Friday afternoon in bad shape and was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit. He said the cleric was immediately attended to but was brought from an undisclosed hospital to the hospital. “The man is dead. He was rushed here Friday afternoon in a bad shape. We admitted him immediately and took him to the ICU. He died this morning (Saturday), and his body has been taken away,” he said.

Ladoja challenges Ajimobi’s election at tribunal

he governorship candidate of Accord Party in the April 11 election in Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, yesterday filed a petition against the declaration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi as the winner of the election. Ladoja has assembled a legal team headed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to marshal his arguments before the threeman election panel.

Filing the petition, which deadline expired today, Ladoja yesterday laid to rest, speculations that he was being pressurised by the Ibadan Establishment and other eminent personalities in the state not to challenge the outcome of the election. Ladoja believes that he won the election, while the INEC declared the sitting governor winner. Meanwhile, the three-

man Tribunal will tomorrow hold its inaugural sitting to entertain the petitions already filed by aggrieved candidates in the National Assembly election held on March 28. Twelve petitions had been filed before the expiration of the deadline on Monday, April 20, for petitions arising from the March 28 elections. Some of those who have already filed their petitions

are Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Oyo South Senatorial for Accord), Chief Bisi Ilaka (Oyo Central Senatorial candidate for Accord) and 10 House of Representatives candidates from the Labour Party, Accord and the Peoples Democratic Party. Secretary of the Election Petitions Tribunal, Eleazu Kalu, told Sunday Telegraph yesterday evening that the Tribunal would

begin sitting tomorrow at 9 a.m, while the proceedings are scheduled for Court 15 and 21 of the state High Court, Iyaganku, Ibadan. Senator Lanlehin, who joined the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, as a respondent in his petition, is alleging that the election was marred by manipulation which he said was orchestrated by Akeju.

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

OPINION

The discerning traveller

Jonathan Coen

he act of travelling goes beyond moving from Point A to B. The purpose behind a trip itself informs every aspect needed to make decisions. This can be seen in the case of the average business traveler for whom efficiency is key. Time spent on a trip is result-driven; quick check-in, security screenings, and avoidance of lines as much as possible. Typically, for business travel, the only down time the individual gets is at the airport; waiting to board or connect flights. Insignificant as it may seem, the travel experience is greatly tied to this wait time. It takes a discerning traveller to maximise the opportunities that comes with it. Airports around the world have continued to improve their physical structures and retail services to make waiting time more convenient for travellers. Following extensive passenger research and investigation into industry developments – London’s Heathrow airport that welcomes more than 70 million passengers every year from more than 180 destinations – is now embracing three key trends in travel which look to improve air travel for even the most discerning traveller: Personalised luxury

While Heathrow has been internation-

ally acclaimed for its range of fashion and luxury boutiques for some years, the expectations of customers are constantly evolving. The airport is now being challenged to match the expectations set by even the most sophisticated of London boutiques. On the back of research revealing that more than 75 per cent of passengers from Heathrow travelling alone and 26 per cent of customers saying they didn’t feel they could make a fashion choice without asking others for a second opinion, the airport turned its attention to providing customers with a new level of personalised luxury. Professional stylist support is now available complimentary to every passenger departing from Heathrow, to assist with navigating the 400 plus fashion brands across the airport. Whether it’s an extraordinary dress for an evening event, a new season update or even advice on the latest beauty trends,

Insignificant as it may seem, the travel experience is greatly tied to this wait time. It takes a discerning traveller to maximise the opportunities that come with it

customers can now expect a Personal Stylist to be available from the first to last flight of the day, mimicking the kind of service customers can expect from brands such as Selfridges or Harrods. Premium dining

In 2008, Heathrow challenged the traditional expectations of airport dining by opening the first restaurant created by a Michelin-starred chef in an airport. Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food made it possible for passengers to enjoy a dining experience they would normally have to book months in advance. The opening of the new Terminal 2 in 2014 continued this spirit of innovation with the opening a restaurant by Michelinstarred Heston Blumenthal called The Perfectionists’ Café. Today, Heathrow is the only airport in the world with two restaurants designed by Michelinstarred chefs. Inspired by Heston’s years of research and development work, the menu at The Perfectionists’ Café celebrates some of Britain’s favourite dishes and embraces the eccentricity of Great British invention with a wood-fired pizza oven and a liquid nitrogen ice cream maker. There’s also an element of theatre, burgers are made by grinding all the meat grains in the same direction to maximise the juiciness of the meat while ice cream sundaes are created with spec-

tacular bursts of liquid nitrogen and pizzas are cooked in just 60 seconds in full view of passengers. Making the exclusive accessible

With an unconquerable number of luxury destinations, hotels, restaurants, bars and other unforgettable experiences on offer, travellers have never had more ways to enjoy their time away. Heathrow has risen to the challenge of integrating luxury experiences into the airport by opening up a VIP service previously the preserve of royalty and heads of state to the public. Affectionately referred to as ‘Heathrow in 50 steps,’ Heathrow’s VIP service is a completely private and exclusive journey through the world’s busiest international airport. The service is designed for even the most discerning traveller with a private airport approach road, champagne on arrival and an executive transfer across Heathrow’s airfield to the aircraft steps. Passengers can even choose whether they would like to be the first or the last passenger to board their flight. As traveller expectations continue to evolve, no doubt airports across the world will continue to be challenged to develop their services. •Jonathan Coen is at the helm of Heathrow retail overseeing the passenger offer of shops, restaurants, luxury and media spaces.

Pain of execution and drug trafficking Gidado Yushau Shuaib

“A

n idle mind is the devil’s workshop” is a popular saying. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime defines drug trafficking as “a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws.”

It is longer news that four Nigerians have been executed in Indonesia for drug related offences. The Nigerians - Martins Anderson, 50, was charged with possession of heroin; Okwudili Oyatanze, 41, also charged with smuggling heroin; Jamiu Abashin, 50, was executed for smuggling heroin; while Sylvester Nwolise, 42, was executed for the same offence. They were executed by firing squad despite pleas by the Nigerian government, United Nations and Amnesty International for the death sentence to be lifted. The four Nigerians had originally been sentenced between 1999 and 2004 for different drug-related offences. It could also be recalled that in 2011, a 25-year old Nigerian drug courier, Chilaka Ogbonna Emmanuel, died aboard an aircraft on his way to Malaysia enroute Doha. His sudden death forced the pilot to divert the plane to India. Chilaka re-

portedly took off from Lagos Airport on Tuesday, August 2, 2011. A post-mortem revealed that he had ingested narcotics. This unfortunate incident occurred barely few months after Nigeria lost a suspected drug trafficker, Offiah Gozie Vincent, who was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos, but died few days later in a Lagos hospital. There are more and more of these instances where most couriers claimed they were lured into the illicit trade while others blame it on joblessness. The reality, however, is that they must have been looking for fast money which led to their untimely death. Drug trafficking is a reflection of the activities of some youths in the society, who lack career expectation. Experts have identified major causes of drug trafficking as peer pressure, weak parental control, child abuse, imitation, emotional stress, availability of narcotics and ineffectiveness of the laws on drug trafficking. On the other hand, most Nigerian movie stars, musicians and their like have not set a good example for the youths giving the way and manner some of them abuse drugs in their films and in reality. This writer believes that that idleness

contributed to drug peddling. When youths are jobless, there is the temptation to occupy themselves with not only drug trafficking but other illegal acts. A lot of youths are restive, and this can make them to commit crimes such as drug trafficking and other drug-related offences. The way out of the menace is simply through the provision of employment so as to productively engage the youths. Gainful employment will give youths focus and discourage them from committing crimes. There is the need to provide orientation for Nigerian youths and review school curriculum, placing less emphasis on paper qualification and ensuring vocational training. There should be re-orientation in primary and secondary schools as well

There is the need to provide orientation for Nigerian youths and review school curriculum, placing less emphasis on paper qualification and ensuring vocational training.

as tertiary institutions. The use of public enlightenment programmes to sensitise the youth to the dangers of drug trafficking by government parastatals, private organisations and different youth movements would go a long way in minimising drug related activities carried out by youths. If the war on drug abuse and trafficking will be won, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency must be well funded and detached from all forms of political interference. There is a need for better awareness creation on the evils of illicit drug use and merchandising. Moreover, the legal framework requires strengthening to ensure that those involved in illicit drug trade are adequately punished to serve as deterrent. Lastly, the youths should be watchful and careful about the type of activities individuals lured them into. Why won’t the so-called drug lords transport their illegal substances themselves but would require your service to doing such? There are a lot of entrepreneurship programmes we could learn from and you could establish a small or medium enterprise to start from, as patience is the key to success. •Gidado Yushau Shuaib writes from the Department of Mass Communication, Baze University, Abuja

Sunday Mail MAY 3, 2015

You have a right to be heard! Send your letters and photographs to sundayletters@newtelegraphonline.com. Letters should not be more than 150 words and must have the name and address of the sender. Buhari and conducts first election

Dear Editor, President Goodluck Jonathan conducted the most free, fair and credible election in the history of Nigeria and got a strong beating and sack from the Presidency. Major General Muhammadu Buhari will conduct his first election sometime this year in Kogi State. I hope he will learn from Jonathan and allow the people of Kogi to have a say and choose their own Governor. As it stands now, all eyes are on Kogi as APC took over the senatorial seats and PDP took over the assembly in the election. My confusion now is, does it mean the people of Kogi hate Jonathan and love Gov. Wada? The time is around the corner, please editor, tell President Buhari to extend to us his hands of fellowship like Jonathan did and allow us to have free and credible elections. Johnson Musa, Lokoja

Ondo South epidemic

Dear Editor, Information getting to me from Ode Irele in Irele Local Government Area in Ondo South Senatorial District of Ondo State is that a strange epidemic similar to but more dangerous than Ebola is now ravaging the community. The said epidemic will first make its victim blind and the blind eye and tongue will now pull out abnormally. The epidemic is said to have killed over 25 People in the last 24 hours. It was said that dead bodies now litter Ode Irele land as people are afraid to touch the dead bodies to avoid being infected. Please editor, I want to use this medium to appeal to WHO, Federal Ministry of Health and Gov Mimiko of Ondo State to as a matter of urgency move medical personnel and equipment to Irele. I also call on NEMA and other relevant organisations to come to the aid of Irele People and Ondo State at this critical period. Olu Babalaye from Ondo

My observation during the last polls Dear Editor, I noticed that during the last elections that were conducted in Nigeria, the youth came out massively to exercise their franchise. In Kogi State in particular, most of the people on the field from all the political parties were the youths. Sadly, the elders and the so call leaders were nowhere to be found. Editor, does it mean the youths have decided to take their destiny in their own hands? I pray that this decision of ours should be respected and stand the test of time. Ali Ocheni from Dekina in Kogi State.

Politics, What a game on ITC! Dear Editor, Before the presidential election that was held on March 28, in the cause of the electioneering by both political parties APC and PDP, defection was the order of the day. Big guys who benefited under PDP are set to move to APC. I was confused when I heard the role call as the lead decampees. My question now is will the landlords of the new home APC quit for the new comers? What do they want to do there? If they are popular, aren’t they supposed to take a neutral party and prove their popularity? I am also aware that political parties are all about the people so APC need these people so well. But again when they had their opportunity to touch lives, whose live or lives were they able to touch? Most of them are moving to APC to pick a ticket for Governorship, Who told them that their landlords are not interested in governing the State? I have now decided to use this medium to advice the masses to be decisive in order not to fall prey to our politicians who are changing parties like clothes Oluwa Tosin from Ilorin.

Strange way to flee South Africa xonophotic attacks

Let Nigeria come first Dear Editor, To some extent, politics in Nigeria is not about ideolog. Some are into politics because it is a ready source of wealth and that is why they cross carpet from one party to the other when things do not favour them as they wish. The masses have the power to vote people of proven integrity irrespective of their political party. Politics is just a business centre where people come to make some money and go. I know that sooner than later, it will no longer be business as usual. Whatever you do or say, let Nigeria come first, change is eminent. Joseph Ali from Jos

State of underdevelopment

Dear Editor, I feel disinclined each time I come back to Kogi State and Igala land in particular. The height of our underdevelopment and backwardness are enormous and can be attributed directly to bad leadership. From August 27, 1991 when Kogi State was created till now, from Brigadier Danladi Mohammed Zakari August 28 1991- January 1992 to Capt. Idris Wada 2012 to present, with the exclusion of Prince Abubakar Audu whose administration 1999-2003 produced surface development which was marred by pride, kogi State and Igala land have suffered backwardness in terms of leadership which translates to underdevelopment. Editor, in your candid views, don’t you think we need new leaders that will lead us to the Promised Land? I therefore wish to use this medium to call on my fellow Kogites to come and let us transform Kogi State our mega city, we have all it takes and we can make it. Dickson Ojone from Lagos

The trek from Lagos to Abuja Dear Editor, Suleiman Hashimu, is said to be the man who trekked from Lagos to Abuja in honour of Buhari’s victory at the polls and finally met with the President-elect General Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Friday. Giving the details of his journey to the president-elect, the trekker noted that he didn’t care about what people would say of him. Hashimu stressed that what matters to him was the fulfillment of his promise to God and himself. Editor, it is on this note that I wish to know if there is any concrete evidence to back his claim, was there any minute by minute coverage of his acclaimed journey? My people we are in a world of technology. Not everybody can be fooled. I don’t believe that trash. Andre Francis fom Kaduna.

Still on racism Dear Editor, Racism will never end as long as white cars are still using black tyres. Racism will never end as long as we still wash first white clothes, then other colours later. Racism will never end if people still use black to symbolise bad luck and white for peace! Racism will never end if people still wear white clothes to weddings and black clothes to funerals. Racism will never end as long as those who don’t pay their bills are blacklisted not White listed. Even when playing the snooker, you haven’t won until you sink the black ball, and the white ball must remain on the field. But I don’t care so long as I am still using white tissue paper to wipe my black ass, I am fine and I believe that one day God will give us victory over this so called whites. Robinson Dumelo from South Africa

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Moments

Chairman, PDP Presidential Campaign Committee Dr. Mohammed Ali (right), presenting the report of the last general elections to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja…on Thursday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Kayode Opeifa (left), with Corp Marshall, Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, during a public enlightenment mega rally on enduring road safety in Lagos…on Thursday

L-R: National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu; Bauchi State Governorelect, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar and Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda, during a condolence visit to Yuguda over the death of his mother, in Bauchi…on Thursday

L-R: Secretary General, World Customs Organisation, Mr. Kuno Mikuriya; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Vice Chairman, World Customs Organization of West Centre Africa; Mrs. Libom Lilikeng and Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, during a courtesy visit by the Organization to the Presidential Villa in Abuja…on Thursday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dame Gesila Khan (left), presenting Certificate of Return to Rivers State House of Assembly members-elect, Mr. Michael Chinda, in Port Harcourt …on Thursday

L-R: Member-elect, Hon. Babangida Ibrahjim, Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on House Services, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and a member-elect, Hon. Herman Hembe, during Dogara’s declaration of his intention to vie for the Speakership of the House of Representatives in Abuja…on Thusday. PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

L-R: President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYC), Alhaji Shettima Yerima; Head, Post-Training Unit, Presidential Amnesty Program, Mr. Dortimi Tawari; host, Otunba Gani Adams; Minister of State for Works, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye; Onigbaye of Igbaye Land, Osun State, Oba Joseph Oni and President, Women Arise Initiative, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, at Adam’s 45th birthday celebration in Lagos…on Friday. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

L-R: Director, Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, Mr. Emma Anasi; Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam and Chairman, League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC), Mr. Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo, at an interactive section with the Airport Correspondents in Lagos…on Friday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

NewsExtra Cephas Iorhemen

M Makurdi

ore facts have emerged on why outgoing governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam deposed the Ter Nagi and Chairman Nagi Traditional Council, Chief Daniel Ayua Abomtse. Sunday Telegraph gathered that Governor Suswam vented his anger on the traditional ruler for casting his vote for the Presidentelect, General Mohammadu Buhari, and the state’s governor-elect, Dr. Samuel Ortom of the All Progressives Congress. Suswam, who coordinated the presidential campaign in the North-Central

How monarch was deposed for voting Buhari, Ortom for the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, and lost his own state, Benue, to Buhari due to alleged gross fiscal mismanagement, is not happy that the All Progressives Congress has captured the state. Sunday Telegraph gathered that, since results of the presidential and governorship elections were declared in favour of APC by the Independent National Electoral Commission,

Governor Suswam has been restless, more so that he had lost his bid to transmute to the National Assembly as well as install a successor. The presidential election results in Benue State as announced by INEC saw Gen. Buhari scoring 373, 961 votes with PDP’s Goodluck Jonathan polling 303,737; while the governorship election results showed Dr. Ortom polling 422,932 to beat the PDP’s Terhemen Tarzoor who polled 313, 878

of the total valid votes cast. But immediately after the general elections, Suswam allegedly started witchhunting APC supporters, and employed civil servants, and appointed traditional rulers through the controversial chieftaincy law in the state Assembly. Suswam’s first casualty is Chief Abomtse whose monarchy has been shortlived over what the governor linked to “acts of gross misconduct and embarrass-

ment to the Tiv Area Traditional Council”. Abomtse was removed 25 days to the handover to the incoming governor, The governor in a letter dated May, 30, 2015, and signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Asen Sambe, said, dethroned monarch has been replaced by Chief Edwin I. Nienge as the district head of Sengev, Naka in Gwer West Local Government Area. The removal of the traditional rulers ignited protests in some parts of the state as youths, women and children carried placards with bold inscriptions like “Suswam, pay salaries before you appoint first class chiefs”, “ We don’t need first class chiefs now,” “leave Abomtse alone” among others.

But reacting to his deposition, Chief Abomtse said that governor Suswam decided to remove him because he had voted for the APC’s governor-elect, Dr. Samuel Ortom and General Mohammadu Buhari during the March 28 and April 11 governorship and presidential elections. Abomtse stated that as a prelude to his removal, Governor Suswam had ordered security operatives to forcefully eject him from one of the government lodges located within Government House premises where he was staying as a result of sustained Fulani attacks on his palace in Naka. Governor-elect, Dr. Samuel Ortom had at a media briefing in Makurdi, requested Governor Suswam to stay action on the issue of appointment of first class chiefs.

Sambo, govs, Dangote condole with Yuguda Alhassan Yusuf Bauchi

L-R: Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma and Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, during a courtesy visit to Zuma at the Presidential Residence in Durban…yesterday

Group raises the alarm over campaign against Dickson

head of the 2016 governorship election, a socio-cultural organisation, Bayelsa Youth for Good Governance, has raised the alarm over desperate attempts by some politicians in the opposition to resort to the use of smear campaigns against the state governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson. The move is said to be an attempt by the opposition to cover lost grounds, following the humiliating defeat they suffered in the hands of the Dickson-led PDP government at the just concluded National and State Assembly elections in the state. A statement signed by the group’s President, Mr. Tari Tonye-George, said: “We wish to alert the Nigerian public, the peace loving people of Bayelsa State and all lovers of democracy of an evil plot by the duo of a former presidential aide and a former governor to unleash series of smear campaigns and devilish propaganda against the Restoration gov-

ernment. “The devilish design consists of a vicious smear campaign against Governor Seriake Dickson, in form of newspaper adverts/ articles, Facebook and sponsored television documentaries dripping of lies and slander as well as the move to orchestrate street protest”. The group has called on unsuspecting members of the public to beware of the plot of the opposition, mostly made up of persons, who misused the opportunity given to them by God while they were once in power. “As a body, we are calling on members of the public, particularly unsuspecting members of the public not to allow themselves to be deceived by the antics of the opposition who are mostly made up of past leaders who out of sheer greed and obsessed with a power drunk mentality, misused their opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people”.

‘Taraba education sector needs state of emergency’ Sabiu Mustapha JALINGO

group in Taraba State known as ‘Taraba Volunteer Group’ has charged the new Governor-elect for the state, Mr. Darius Dickson Ishaku to consider the sacred mandate given to him by the people of the state and govern the state in trust for the benefit of all Tarabans. Addressing the media yesterday in Jalingo, the Secretary of the group, Mr. Charles Nyanganji said that the group has joined hands with other groups and wellmeaning Tarabans to keep watch on the activities of government in the state. While calling on Ishaku to consider the unity and peaceful coexistence of the people of Taraba State as paramount for the state to prosper, the group also called on the governor-elect to declare a state of emergency on the educational sector as well as to rejuve-

nate the agricultural sector in the state, for social and economic developments. The group further advised Ishaku to ensure that only competent hands are deployed in the act of state building. “The governorelect should not adopt the reward pattern of ‘ Monkey dey work baboon dey chop,” rather deliberate measures must be taken to improve the working standards of our civil servants.”

he Vice President, Namadi Sambo, yesterday condoled with the governor of Bauchi State, Malam Isa Yuguda over the death of his mother, Hajiya Hauwa Yuguda, at Ramat House Bauchi. Sambo, who arrived the state at about 2:30pm, said the purpose of the visit was to condole Governor Yuguda and his family on behalf of Mr. President Goodluck Jonathan and himself. He described the death of Hajiya Hauwa as a great lost to the people of the state and the nation, and by called on the governor and his family to continue to pray for the deceased for the eternal rest. According to him, Hajiya Hauwa was a great mother with enviable good spirit. He prayed that Allah grants her eternal rest and the fortitude for the family to bear

the irreparable loss. Sambo also seized the opportunity to call on the people of the country to continue to pray for peace and stability in the nation. Speaking earlier, Yuguda thanked the Vice President and Mr. President for the condolence and their concern over the demise of his late mother. He disclosed that Hajiya Hauwa had spent 15 years on sick bed adding that every human being must pass through and same way as the dead. He also thanked the Governor of Katsina State Alhaji Ibrahim Shema; and his counterpart in Gombe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Dan’kwambo; Alhaji Aliko Muhammad Dangote, Senator Babayo Garba Gamawa, the Bauchi Governor-elect, Barrister M.A. Abubakar, emirs and chiefs from various works of life for their concern.

‘We are not settlers in Edo’ Cajetan Mmuta Benin.

he people of Gelegele, Ikoro and Abiala communities in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, yesterday, kicked against a recent advertorial in a national newspaper which tagged the in as Ijaw settlers in the state. Leadership of the Ijaw Youth Vanguard in a state-

ment signed by Stanley Aladfin, Youth president Ofunama Precious, vicepresident and Omaghomi Olu-Derimon, Public Relations Officer, frowned at the notion that Governor Adams Oshiomhole should facilitate the movement of the Okao to his house in Gelegele as was proposed in the advertorial. They called on President Goodluck Jonathan, President-elect Muhammadu

Buhari and all peace-loving Nigerians to call the sponsors of what they described as ‘offensive’ advertorial to order in the interest of peace, harmony and good neighbourliness. The group stressed that the ideas proposed in the advertorial, if not rejected, could act as a setback to the. peacefull co-existence of the Ijaws in the communities, their neighbours and other ethnic nationalities.

SUNDAY

Fashion

Celebrity styling guide 22&43

Bed, Work & Life

Hubby didn’t father my son! 20

Body Soul SUNDAY, MAY 03, 2015

I’ll love again

- Shan George

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

heart y m m o r f Straight

e itself refuses to makad and at th em bl ro waste on a p hed for my iP ell, no time to work to be done. So, I reacit hit me. I needed to W d be to t as n w I wen known. There the first few sentences whey and the next. My heart te about when d da wanted to wri he I at t nc th u ha se p w ea d of ha ith ea ew or had an id if I would mov ident-elect, Maj ght. of fuel which d that the pres dependent televi- get fuel ed like a drum! ar he on Thursday ni I n 00 for 20 litres ised my folly he 0, w 40 ed m 3, in ri m N or an y ha w w ed pa en rr urse, had ba I had be y, I had to hicle. I real madu Buhari, activities. Of co The previous daon the fuel gauge of my vee fuel-efficient car but it General Muhameria, AIT, from covering hisbounds it during the ed or er m st a gos traffic. out with its Nig barely regi sion station in ion that AIT went beyondith an agonising past -part too late -I should have gone ouldn’t run into the crazy Laas long as I on the way I’m of the opinmpaign. Haunting a man w name of electioneering is was too late. I prayed that I w ry few vehiclesng the product in town. Ve e . ca l th ed be tia er in l to en sw al id an rm es er as pr n that was selli because a friend paid ing your platfo d no control ov That prayer w of which he ha and utterly wicked. AllowBut then, I had worried didn’t drive near a fuel statio Everythis morning ri . ve more wor ed nerator the previous night!n away. as very insensiti purpose is unprofessional od for democracy. I was w I , er ev ge ow H his row used for such t for tat’ decision was not goCongress administration N3000.00 for 10 litres to fuel gone bad and had to be th tever price d ‘ti ha es w ’s ha iv es ri at ss or ay ha y re at bu Bu er he og ig ‘T to Pr at fr th ould continue ia houses into e incoming All thing in his re worried that thjournalists and railroad medI heard that the president- He had to buy the fuel and w t their lives. ations bu n d , that the fuel st from ly food gh on t would houn n. So, I exhaled loudly whe ou no en ve d er ba es el is pr fu It . A wrong to is is where it pains most. wickedly-high prices to get is present have it’ positio owledge of the decision. Th y his media teamlers of the th n pa kn up he e to ed w ak ni ve g m de in ha t ill s rt ec w er ce el e dry and us see those that e media hand se and discon ompany of I’m waiting to l doom for him...just like th caused him more harm ar e black marketers. It is wor riod the Power Holding C th , pe el . a an ly sp at less ck Jonath choice will city is coming t to er users relent esident Goodlu d on fuel scarhas been dealing with pow spend N3000.00 every nighs bebe to t incumbent, Pr en w I ia as to ha er t s d ig ou or go N ab aff La ople can eather in d to write than good. How many pers? And to think that the w day and night without t I had in min ning... or e m That was wha to th ay ra e id ne iv Fr t. power ge tired on can barely surv Thursday nigh However, I woke up very for comfort, I’d say. so hot that you least, a fan! e m co r Blackberry ed d tir an o at to mi, posted on hearket only to oners or kers’ Day la iti or ko nd -W Bu 1 , co r nd ay ai ie M fr m orkIt was injury, a ng black k-free day for w To add insult too that station in Berger selli oooo! Continue!” therefore, a wor , however, is not for u “T yo P: g D in quesge atch ers. Such luxury work everyday of messa Rover (owners), God is w ndants in the fuel station in came te ge ho ho at Ran journalists w ice to those w d she said the I called her an at ‘black market’ pump pr I drove out later in the g in th t the year. rs n ‘fi ng he o! W ere selli stomary of fuel. This is I drank my cu’ water and tried to tion w ge Rover SUVs. There’s God .00 for 10 litres 00 40 an N t R ng ni ou in l or el m to sh gy that in the I realised I had a new month. strange lethar d month shake off the ve enveloped me. I day,ng! What a way to usher in my dear readers. It’s a blesse , lli ha ay ki M to g of awin seemed month ething was gn Welcome to the couldn’t...somI just couldn’t lay my e. m Juliet na s in Jesu my mind and fingers on it.

Fashion

Pregnant but sexy! 22&43

Bed, Work & Life

The joy of a newborn 20

Body Soul

I’d like to be remembered for my ‘kickass’ (pardon me please) expository, corrective movie

-Shan George

} 18-19

Fashion

Bed, Work & Life

Keep fashion cool in the heat 22&43

How long can you hide a secret? 20

2015 SUNDAY, APRIL 26,

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2015

I studied law for my mother

- Peace Anyiam– Osigwe

Contents 03.05.2015 COVER

Body Soul SUNDAY

SUNDAY

FASHION I regret raising my child without a father nda

Nothing says celebrity like a little sparkles and glitters on your clothes

- Monalisa Chi

T h e Te a m Juliet Bumah (Editor) Vanessa Okwara (Correspondent)

} 22&43

Wole Adepoju

BEAUTY A good toner is especially effective in keeping away environmental debris and pollutants

} 21

Biwom Iklaki (Correspondent)

MY PASSION I love fashion and I love taking risks and pushing the boundaries in fashion

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

} 17

GLAM DUDES To avoid creating wrong impressions, form the right grooming habits

} 44

Associates

BED, WORK & LIFE “Sister, you can’t pretend that James is the father of your son. He knows the baby is not his,” Kathryn says. Alice sighs. “My sister, James is not the father of my baby. However, I didn’t know he had health challenges.

He never told me anything. I slept with another man once and got pregnant

} 20

Helen Paul

Eyitayo Aloh

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Body&Soul

My red carpet dresses are controversial - Toni Tones From a very young age, Toni Tones has loved all things creative. She started with photography where she won various awards. Since then, she has infused all of her passions - photography, acting and music - into becoming the multi-talented creative that she is now. She spoke with VANESSA OKWARA

What was growing up like? I grew up in Lagos, the last born of five children, to strict parents who brought us up the Christian way. I attended Queen’s College Lagos, after which I went to the University of Lancaster in the UK where I studied marketing. I moved back to Nigeria in 2009, with the intent of chasing my dreams and conquering the photography, music and motion picture industries. Is Toni Tones a stage name? Yes, it is. My actual name is Anthonia Gbemisola Adefuye. Toni is short for Anthonia and Toni Tones is a nickname derived from Toni. Why photography? I have loved taking pictures even as a little girl. If you asked me to take a picture of you with your camera, I would automatically start to direct and make you strike a pose. I wouldn’t take the picture till I thought you looked nice. The urge to pursue photography professionally came while I was in the university. I just became increasingly obsessed with it till one day, I went out and bought a beginner’s semi pro camera. I would practise and practise. Yes the industry is dominated by men, but that fact has never deterred me in anyway. How successful has your photography career been? I am extremely thankful for the opportunities that God has brought me in terms of photography. I’ve had the privilege of working with personalities like Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage, Joke Silva, Wizkid, Banky W, Waje and numerous others. I’ve also worked for numerous publications such as Genevieve Magazine, Vanguard, ThisDay, Made Magazine, Ellan, Allure etc. I have also had the opportunity to shoot several prominent political figures, including President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Fashola. I was also the photographer for the reality show, Koko Mansion. I got to do their photo shoot live on air and that gave me a lot of exposure at the time. I also shoot for several companies. I’m extremely happy with all God has helped me accomplish and I look forward to even greater heights with my photography. Have you won any award in that art? Yes! I have won the ELOY awards’ Photographer of the Year twice; Fab awards;

I have loved taking pictures ever since I was little, if you asked me to take a picture of you with your camera, I wouldn’t take the picture till I thought you looked nice

Fashion Photographer of the Year; African Photographers Guild’s Outstanding Creative of the year, to name a few. You made a switch from photography to music. Any particular reason? It wasn’t necessarily a switch because I’m still a photographer; it was more of extending my creative frontier. Music is something I have wanted to do since I was a child. I grew up with music. My brother was an artiste in the late 90s to early 2000. He was in a music group called Oxygen with Paul Dairo and other artistes. They would take me to the studio to sing backup for them. I was just a little girl then but that was how my love for music grew. Now, I believe it’s time for me to pursue my dream. I’ve been singing since I was eight years old. In 2011, I got into the studio and started working on my music, After spending over a year making numerous songs and working with various producers, in 2013, I released my first single titled ‘I know what you like.’ It was produced by Baby Fresh of Mavin Records and officially made my entry into the music industry. How long have you been singing professionally now?

I have been singing for about three years now. Mention some of your songs. There is ‘I know what you like’, ‘I know what you like remix’, ‘Aba’ and my new single comes out next week called ‘Hey boy.’ You also act... I have done mostly TV series - Gidi Culture, Deadline, Married to the Game. I am about to do my first feature film called ‘The happiness Limited’. Acting is a huge passion of mine, same as music; I always wanted to act since I was a little girl. When I was little, I would fight to take part in church dramas and plays and the like. How do you manage the various forms of entertainment? Don’t they give you a mixed personality? Balancing being an artiste, actress and photographer isn’t easy, because it’s a lot of work and quite time consuming. But this is the path I have chosen and these are the things I want to do. To be able to do all three is a blessing from God which I do not take for granted. In terms of having mixed personalities, I don’t really see

that happening. My personality is the reason I’m able to do the things I do in the first place. It’s who I am; it’s not a struggle at all because it’s how God has made me naturally. You have been photographed at events wearing some hot dresses that expose some skin. Are risqué dresses your signature style? I wouldn’t say risqué dresses are my signature style. I wear whatever I feel like at a time. It just so happens a lot of my red carpet dresses end up being controversial, but that’s just because people always like to form an opinion, which is their right. I love fashion and I love taking risks and pushing the boundaries in fashion. As a photographer, would you pose nude if asked to be on the other side of the camera? No. It depends on what is it for? Is it for a cause? Well, never say never. What is your beauty routine? I make sure to always wash off my makeup at night and keep my face always moisturised. Aveeno face cream is my best friend. Also I use raw coconut oil as lotion. It’s great for the skin. What is your favourite fashion item? That would probably my nude Louboutins shoes because they go with everything. I love Nigerian designers at the moment; they are doing a remarkable job. If I had to pick one, I would pick Iamsigo. What is your favourite perfume? I love Chanel Chance. Who is the lucky man by your side? And any wedding bells ring soon? I am very single, so definitely no wedding bells around the corner. What are the qualities you like in a man? He has to be God fearing, have integrity, a sense of humour and of course a good looking man is always appreciated. What is your passion? For now, my career is my passion, my music, photography and acting. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? I see myself as a cornerstone and a pillar of the entertainment industry. Describe Toni Tones in three words God fearing, determined and unstoppable.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Pirates started selling my N40m movie Being an only child, multiple award-winning Nollywood star, Shan George, had to take leave of the acting world to attend to her sick mother in Calabar, Cross River State - the reason she’s been off the limelight for years. Today, the delectable actress is not only happy that her mom is feeling much better, she is glad that she seized the opportunity to produce her latest movie, Finding Goodluck. She talks about these and more in this interview with JULIET BUMAH What’s your take on the present political environment in Nigeria, especially as President Goodluck Jonathan lost to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari? It takes an insurmountable amount of bravery to let go of power and authority. President Goodluck Jonathan is forever my hero. He could have held on and refused to let go peacefully, but he showed us that a good name is better than money and power. Congratulations to Gen.l Muhammadu Buhari for the victory. Now we await the change he has promised us. To Nigerians, you got the change you’ve demanded, don’t forget that change starts with you changing your ways for good. God bless Nigeria. You’ve been missing in the Nollywood limelight for a while. I’m still an active player. My latest project, Finding Goodluck, took two years to complete, plus the last three years my aged ill mom, who has been bedridden, needed her only child by her. That’s the reason I moved back home (to take care of my mom). But I used the opportunity to work on Finding Goodluck which I filmed in Calabar. It’s now out on DVD nationwide. Also, my mom is much better now. So I hope to be much more active now. How, in your opinion, has the film industry in

Nigeria fared? The industry has fared well in terms of artistic and technical input. But the marketing of our products is what is lacking. Pirates are making us work while they enjoy the fruits of our labour, leaving us hungry and in debts. Despite the huge challenge posed by pirates, you are still producing films. How do you make enough to cover your expenses and still make profit and what are the guilds doing to protect members’ work from pirates? The pirates have actually gone digital. But we can’t stop working because of them. Getting back the money invested in any film depends on how good your film is. With over 150 million Nigerians, one can reach enough people if the movie is well promoted. So even if it’s pirated, you can still get back your investment. Also, if it’s a film good enough for the cinema, you can get much of your investment before the pirates get their hands on the film. Don’t forget there are also online market and cable TV stations that buy movies. In the end, we still get by. If the police and courts do their job well, pirates can be arrested and penalised so as to serve as a deterrent to those who reap where they didn’t sow. The Actors Guild of Nigeria is doing the job of making sure every artiste’s welfare is taken care of. They don’t have the responsibility of handling pirates, rather, it’s the job of the marketers and the law enforcement agents. Once my movie was pirated, I got to the point of tracing the pirate, reported to the police and the pirate was arrested. But the Nigerian factor got in the way and he was let off the hook. Just like that. Also, when you think of the cost (money and time) of pursuing a case of piracy to the end, you find out it’s better to let it be and move on instead. My latest film, Finding Goodluck, which cost me almost N40 million to produce, is out on DVD. I tell you, pirates are having a field day with it, but what can I do? I won’t say I’ll stop producing because of that. Every business has its own hazards but we keep pushing and hope for the best anyhow. Also, people from other sectors are needed in Nollywood. We need lawyers, agents, marketers/ distributors. Those who graduated in such fields should create their own jobs in those spaces in Nollywood. Seriously, in a few years if they are focused, they can grow to employ others. Government cannot provide a big air conditioned office with Sport Utility Vehicles in Abuja and a fat salary for every graduate every year. People need to learn to start from the scratch. What challenges have you encountered in the course of acting for a living? I’ve faced usual challenges associated with the industry such as playing something that you ain’t (prostitute, wizard, mermaid, police etc). That’s not easy at all. Also, the challenge of people mistaking you for a wealthy person based on the roles of wealthy persons you play in different movies; they expect so much from you. The challenge of sourcing for funds to do a very good film and meeting with only brick walls. Even parastatals

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Body&Soul

before it was ready - Shan George that are meant to sponsor some informative and educative films refuse to do so because they’ve spent the money meant for such projects. Some of them could also give the project to their girlfriend or brother who would do a cheap, shoddy job in the end. Why did you choose acting as a career? I went into acting when I was in then University of Lagos as a means of getting funds for my school fees and bills. This was in 1996/7. When I left UNILAG, I produced my very first film titled All for Winnie, followed by Just Once, Made in Heaven, Grandmother, Wrong Number, Mother’s Love and many others. Which of your films got you into the limelight? I can’t say which movies got me into the limelight. I only noticed that as time went on, I was having more waves of hands and getting more smiles from people. You’ve been both in front of and behind the camera as an actress and a producer. What’s the difference for you? The gap between acting and producing is very wide. When it’s acting, you study the script, get into the character, play it, collect your money (fee) and go. But as the producer, you are the overall labourer. The whole work is put together by the producer, working constantly with other professionals to make sure the movie is a blockbuster and that you recoup the funds you spent in financing it. I love the acting part, but I have no choice there than to act what I’m given and in anyway the story goes. The producing aspect gives me the freedom to decide what message I want to focus on passing to the people. I choose my own message as a producer. What is the title of your latest film? My latest film is titled Finding Goodluck, starring Kalu Ikeagwu, Shan George and directed by David Uro. It’s a film that talks about the intrigues of politics and how under-equipped the police are in tackling the rising crime wave in our society. It’s based more on the image of the Nigeria Police. If you had an opportunity to pick another trade, what would it be? If I wasn’t a movie producer or actress, I would have been a lawyer. Why? I don’t like injustice and corruption. It would have been my pleasure to put criminals behind bars. You got married at a very young age and it didn’t work out. Then you married again and again... and more marriages were reported. My first marriage was when I left secondary school. After many years and two kids, the marriage centre wasn’t holding. When that marriage broke up, I tried to put myself together and went back to school (UNILAG). Then I got into Nollywood. Ten years down the line, I met my second husband and we courted for two years and got married; second marriage and none other. So the third, fourth or fifth marriages, I don’t know about. How come we kept reading about more marriages for you? There’s no smoke without fire, they say. Maybe na film marriage dem dey count for me.

Could you share your experience in your first marriage? It was traumatic being married at that age, (speaking for myself) but everything has its good side. Being married at a young age made me have those two hefty men - my sons. I didn’t have children from my second marriage. One would mistake your sons for your brothers. What’s your relationship with them like? Do you still scold them? Having those grown up sons feels awesome, considering how hard and rough the road of life has been. I can only praise the Almighty for everything. Yes, I still scold them. Our house is what can be classified as a mad house. We are all crazy in our own ways. (Yapping, singing, dancing etc). The love, bond and cordial respect for each other’s feelings and opinion is paramount. We are best of friends. Don’t forget I’m an only child, those boys and my mom play brothers, sisters, father and friends to me. We are very close. Who is the real Shan George? Shan George is still a case study to Shan George. I’m still trying to understand myself on a daily basis. Perhaps, an understanding of your background will throw more light on who Shan George is. I am from Ediba in Bahumono Kingdom, Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State. I grew up in the village, had my primary and secondary school education there. I’m the only child of my parents,Mr. & Mrs. Bessie and Gordon Walker George. My dad worked at the then Turners Asbestors Company, Enugu while my mom was a nurse at the teaching hospital. My dad died when I was five, so mom brought me back to Ediba where I grew up, schooled and got married after my WASC (seco n d a r y school). I left for Lagos where I later read Mass Communication in UNILAG. Why your obsession with tattoos? Y e s , I have m a n y tattoos, some vis-

ible, some not, but I won’t tell you how many. You continue to look so young... I’m 40 plus, don’t forget that that’s the new 30. What’s the secret of your ageless look? My mom always says, ‘If you keep your heart void of evil doings, your beauty lasts forever’. So, all I do is worry less, do my work and keep my heart void of evil or bitter thoughts. That’s my secret. Try it for one year or two; you’ll see you won’t age a day. By the way, thanks for seeing me as beautiful. What is

style to you? Style to me is just an appearance decision. How do I want to look at that event or occasion? What statement should I make at the awards, etc. I’m totally not the clothes/fashion person. What makes up your wardrobe? Skirts, trousers, shorts etc. My wardrobe doesn’t have a single native attire. I have all colours of denim. How do you relax? When I’m not acting, I’m writing in a resort somewhere or just generally ‘chillaxing’ at home watching Telemundo and hoping to still fall in love. Hahahahahahaha. What’s your passion, apart from acting? Learning...that’s my passion. That’s why I’m asking questions about all kinds of things all the time. Sometimes, I get misunderstood and get into trouble just because of my questions. What’s your philosophy in life? Life philosophy? Do unto others, that which you won’t mind done to you. What would you like to be remembered for? I’d like to be remembered for my ‘kickass’ (pardon me please) expository, corrective movie.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

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with

Juliet Bumah +234 81 1 675 9770

julietbumah@gmail.com

Hubby didn’t father my son!

ave and James perch on bar stools, sipping from flutes. They’re in a bar across the street. They’ve had a very hectic day. It was after they left the women in the private ward that they remembered they had not eaten for hours. They were ravenously hungry and moved to the bar to have a bite. After the meal, they popped Champagne. Yeah, it’s time to celebrate. They’ve called members of their families and friends to share in the good news. Dave’s parents are over the moon with joy. What a double blessing! It calls for celebration. “I can’t believe I’m a father now. It’s like a dream,” Dave says happily. “Yeah,” James squeaks and clears his throat. James looks up and regrets his earlier statement. The look on James face says it all. “Hey, my man! I understand how you feel but you can’t afford to wallow in self pity. What you need is solution to your problem. Fortunately, no one will know that you have such a challenge now your wife has given birth to a baby. You don’t have to announce to the whole world that...by the way, how come my wife knows about it? I just got to know about it some hours ago and couldn’t have told her. I know you two are not exactly kissing cousins, so you couldn’t have told her. Who else have you discussed it with? You shouldn’t go about telling people...” Dave trails off as he remembers his wife’s dented car booth, the fact that James knows about it and even has his wife’s key in his pocket. All the solid and liquid in James’ system travel downward in one fluid movement. Sweat beads appear on his forehead. “Wanna ease myself,” he says, sliding off the stool. “Sure,” Dave says after James who is already heading in the direction of the loo. After easing himself, James leans on the corridor wall. Those questions from Dave ruffle him. How does a man skirt around such questions? If he even succeeds today, will he keep skirting such questions in future? As he makes to join Dave, fluid rushes downward again and he goes back into the loo. After draining himself the second time, he musters courage and strides into the bar. “Yeah....you were saying...” James says, perching on the bar stool. “Yeah, was actually wondering how my wife got to

know about your secret and she didn’t inform me. I feel it’s strange...very strange. To think you just told me about it when it has become public knowledge,” Dave says casually. He’s actually fishing for information. His mind is beginning to play tricks on him. He’s suspecting monkey business. James relaxes a wee. “It’s actually my most closely guarded secret. Apart from the doctor...or could the doctor have told somebody?” James says. “Doctor? Why would your doctor divulge your secret? To who? Of course, doctors don’t do that. They can talk about a nameless patient’s challenge,” Dave says. “Sure...sure,” James strutters, frantically searching for another explanation. He creases his forehead, pretending to be thinking of

how his secret became public knowledge and willing something to happen that will end the present conversation. And something did happen! Fortunately, his phone rings and he gratefully picks it. If only he knew! ***** Kathryn and Alice stare at each other. Each wishing it is a dream. But it’s no dream. They’ve got some soul searching secrets to spill and each is reluctant to talk. “Sister, whatever happens, remember the oath we took before we took up our trade. We’re sisters forever,” Kathryn says, shifting on her bed. “Yeah, sisters forever we remain,” Alice intones, sliding off her bed. She feels a little woozy, but she just realises that she hasn’t set her eyes on Kathryn’s baby. “Where are you going, sis-

ter?” Kathryn asks her. “To see your baby, dear sister,” Alice replies her, moving to the baby’s cot. “Oh dear me. It’s true. Haven’t seen your baby, my baby,” Kathryn says and chuckles. As Alice sets her eyes on Kathryn’s baby, her face creases into a smile. “This is a female version of Dave you have here,” she says. “Are you sure? Your husband said she took my nose,” Kathryn says with pride. “Maybe...maybe...yeah, there’s a slight resemblance... yes, but Dave is dominant here o,” Alice says. “Can I see our son? I can’t walk to his cot yet. Not feeling strong yet,” Kathryn says. “Oh, no problem,” Alice says moving to her baby’s cot. She picks her baby and takes him to Kathryn who sits up to

cuddle the tiny tot. “OMG! This is a ‘beautiful’ boy! So peaceful,” Kathryn exclaims weakly. She stares at the baby for a few more moment, then Alice takes him back to his cot. Kathryn frowns. Who does Alice’s baby look like? Her head throbs suddenly and she winces. “Sister, who does he look like? Definitely not you. He’s so cute,” Kathryn says, looking Alice in the eyes. She continues, “Or better still, who is his father?” Alice stares at Kathryn. “Does he look like somebody you know? How did you get to know that James has a health challenge? Who told you?” Alice asks. Kathryn sighs. It’s so difficult to say certain truth but can she lie about it? “James, your husband told me,” she replies. “James told you what? But you are not even in good terms,” Alice says, incredulous. “He told me,” Kathryn says again, not knowing what else to say. The headache is getting worse. “What else did he tell you? I saw you with him in that hotel. You were so engrossed in your conversation that you didn’t notice me,” Alice says, exhaling. It’s Kathryn’s turn to gape. “What did you go there to do?” Kathryn asks. “To look for you,” she replies. Kathryn realises that lying won’t help here. She’s not sure what Alice heard them discuss. “Sister, you can’t pretend that James is the father of your son. He knows the baby is not his,” Kathryn says. Alice sighs. “My sister, James is not the father of my baby. However, I didn’t know he had health challenges. He never told me anything. I slept with another man once and got pregnant. It’s so sad that for years, I couldn’t get pregnant. The only time I cheated on James, I got pregnant. I should have known!” Alice says, her heart thumping. She’s worried that Kathryn will want to know the father of her baby. As if reading her mind, Kathryn asks, “Sister, who is the father of your baby?” ****** How will you feel if your most trusted sister/friend tells you that your husband fathered her son? Well, let’s find out Kathryn and James’ reaction to that shocking news on Sunday. •Send your observations to the email above.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Body&Soul

Toning for healthier skin Vanessa Okwara

smart skin care routine should include the basics -cleansing, toning and moisturising. A lot of people actually cleanse and moisturise, but some skip toning because they don’t understand the importance of a toner. The first and most important job of a toner is to restore the skin’s natural pH balance. PH simply means the level of acidity. The optimum pH for skin is 5.5. Your skin needs a certain amount of oil to stay waterproof and resistant to infection. Too little oil and you have dry skin which can lead to problems with wrinkles; too much oil will probably lead to acne. By using a toner, you bring your skin back to where it’s supposed to be in addi-

tion to making it resistant to harmful bacteria. Toning the skin keeps the pores clean and skin healthy. A good toner is especially effective in keeping away environmental debris and pollutants that can be detrimental to the skin’s health. It helps remove all traces of oil, dirt and makeup and revitalizes the face by closing the pores when patted on gently with cotton pads. It helps refresh and improve blood circulation to give a glowing skin. The regular daily cleansing and toning also helps the skin to become clearer and firmer. Toning should be done after a gentle but thorough cleansing of the skin and before putting on moisturisers. This will prepare the skin to be more receptive to the nourishing care that comes w i t h moisturising. Certain toners clarify and exfoliate the skin, leaving it completely oil and dirt free and removing all dead s k i n cells.

Such toners are strong and tend to contain alcohol, which is ultra-drying. If your skin is very oily, using a stronger alcoholbased toner should help reduce the oiliness, but there is a possibility that it could also cause more break-outs. The over-drying action of stronger toners causes skin to react by producing excessive oil to combat the dryness, leading to more breakouts. It is, therefore, safer to use an alcohol-free toner. Different skins react differently though. So, it is important that you stick to a regime for a couple of weeks before you can tell whether a particular product suits your skin or not. One of the gentlest toners is natural rosewater. Splash it on your face to keep face moisturized, fresh and to balance pH levels. This may not be ideal if you have oily skin, but since it is so gentle, it may provide you with just the right amount of moisturizing level you need. Skin care experts likewise agree that skin toners and cleansing products should be as chemical-free as possible. And using one skin care line (cleanser, toner, and moisturizer)

is a good idea. They are formulated to work together. Adequate sleep coupled with a healthy balanced diet help to retain a youthful look. Toning lotion leaves skin purified, toned, soft and smooth and definitely glowing!

Body&Soul

Pop with colour

You may wear a colour that pops as an ensemble or as a piece of your accessories. Sometimes, it only takes your makeup to pop in the right way. A pop of bright red lipstick can give you the old Hollywood glamour. The right pop of eye shadow is reminiscent of the 80s.

22, 43

Strictly casual

This is doing the celebrity look but on the down low. They too can pull off a casual look you know. They are not always on the red carpet every

rowing up as kids, most of us looked forward to a time when we would be rich and famous, no thanks to Walt Disney filling our heads with fairytales of princesses and their charming white knights. When we grow up, however, a few of us soon realise that this is not always the case. As we settle down to our new reality, we pick up a celebrity or two whom we admire, and proceed to live vicariously through them. Here are a few of our celebrities who interpret style their way. Recognise your style celebrity kindred? Here is a guide to styling like them to become a celebrity of your own.

Biwom Iklaki

Celebrity styling guide

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

SundayBusiness SUNDAY

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

News

Dangote plans N500bn gas pipelines p.24

Fears rise over non-performing loans

Brands Firm joins top 16 leading sovereign agencies p.29

News

Guinness commits N10bn to commercial printing p.25

Emefiele

Paul Ogbuokiri

Paul Ogbuokiri Head, Business paulogbuokiri@newtelegraph online.com

he Central Bank of Nigeria last Friday ordered banks to crack down on borrowers with non-performing loans, in a move aimed at avoiding a repeat of the 2009 industry bailout that cost the government about N5 trillion to clear up NPLs in the books of lenders. The directive confirms analysts’ warning early this year that banks in the country will seriously feel the pressure of the continuous fall in the prices of crude oil and the depreciation in the value of the naira. They had expressed apprehension that Nigeria’s Deposit Money Bank’s’ bad loan portfolio would rise significantly this year A sharp drop in the global price of oil has triggered a currency crisis in the economy and strained government’s finances, while also harming the cash flow of some companies with foreign currency loans. Some analysts have predicted that the NPLs may rise by 45 per cent to an estimated figure of about N812 billion. In the 2013 financial year, the total NPLs of 14 out of the 15 banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange was N422.4 billion, while those of the remaining seven added up to the industry total of about N560bn. Top bankers and analysts had said that the sharp rise was due to the challenging economic situation that is due to hit the financial sector and the economy in general this year as a result

Chike-Obi

In the 2013 financial year, the total NPLs of 14 out of the 15 banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange was N422.4 billion, while those of the remaining seven added up to the industry total of about N560bn

of the falling oil prices. The bankers said that less than one month into the New Year, majority of their corporate customers, whose loans were already due, had indicated that they might not be able to fulfill their loan obligations to the financial institutions. Sunday Telegraph gathered that a number of loans in the oil and gas and power sectors were affected. The affected customers, it was learnt, were being hampered by a number of challenging economic situations following the devaluation of the naira and falling crude oil prices. This came just as the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria said the falling oil prices would cause “serious economic headwind” this year and that banks would be forced to record very significant increase in the non-performing loans in their

books. The Chief Executive Officer, AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, said Nigerians and the government must prepare to carry out major adjustments in their spending habits, because “the economy is going to have a much tougher time this year than what we have been anticipating.” He said the industry regulator was already watching the NPL level in banks and expressed hope that it would not be allowed to rise to a damaging level where AMCON would need to intervene. According to Chike-Obi, the Ministry of Finance, CBN and AMCON are not prepared to buy NPLs from the banks in another bailout exercise. AMCON, a government agency created after the 2009 banking crisis, was the special purpose vehicle used by the government to acquire NPLs worth over N5tn from the sector. Chike-Obi told Bloomberg that, “The job of regulating the banks is that of the CBN and I think that the central bank is very alive to its responsibility in that regard. But we worry because we can see that there is an economic headwind coming to Nigeria this year; and when the economic headwind comes, it will certainly impact on the NPL levels. So, we expect an increase in the NPL levels this year. “But we do not think that it will get to the level that will be dangerous or very damaging to the economy. We are very happy that the CBN is watching the situation very carefully and we hope C ON TI N UE D ON PAGE 24

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Business/ News CONTINUED FR O M PAGE 23

that it gets resolved because an intervention by AMCON is extremely unlikely. “An AMCON intervention is very unlikely because we hope it does not get to that level and again because there is no way the Ministry of Finance, CBN or AMCON will embark on another exercise of buying NPLs in the banks.” The non-performing loans of banks have been rising lately and global rating agencies, including Fitch Rating, have predicted that Nigerian banks will record higher NPLs this year than they did in 2014. Analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Limited said Nigerian banks would have to navigate a difficult operating environment in 2015, as regulatory actions amid economic challenges cap loan growth. “With the continuous decline in global oil prices, banks’ exposure to the oil and gas sector has come under the spotlight with fears of possible loan default. This is even as the oil and gas value chain accounts for the biggest share (an average 25%) of banks loan portfolios; we forecast aggregate industry non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 4.6 percent for 2015,” Vetiva analysts said. Under best case scenario, analysts at Exotix Frontier Equity Research estimate the average cost of risk and NPL ratio increases by 100bp and 130bp in FY15 to 2.3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. “Base case scenario: we assume the average cost of risk and NPL ratio increases by 210bp and 200bp in FY15 to 3.4 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively. “Worst case scenario: we assume cost of risk for each bank increases to crisis-level highs and therefore estimate an FY15 cost of risk of 6.0 percent,” the analysts said in a report. A top official of the CBN, who spoke recently at the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria’s annual conference, said a number of banks had crossed the five per cent threshold, which the central bank had set for lenders not to allow their NPLs to exceed. The Central Bank explained in its directive to banks last Friday that the move is to halt the rising trend of NPLs in the industry and ensure that the industry NPL ratio does not exceed the prudential limit of five per cent. CBN in s statement signed by the Director, Banking Supervision, Tokunbo Martins, said under the new plan, banks will give bad debtors three months to square up their accounts. Failure to do that will result in them being named and shamed in the Nigerian media and being barred from currency and government debt markets. “The Central Bank of Nigeria has observed the rising trend of non-performing loans in the industry. “In order to ensure that the industry NPL ratio does not exceed the prudential limit of 5 per cent, and to improve the credit culture in the banking industry, banks and discount houses are directed to observe prudent credit underwriting and monitoring standards. “Furthermore, banks and discount houses are required with effect from May 1, 2015 to: i. Give the delinquent debtors three months of grace to turn their accounts from non-performing to performing status; ii. Publish the list of delinquent debtors that remain non-performing in at least three national daily newspapers quarterly (The delinquent debtors are those whose accounts have been classified lost and include the persons, entities, directors, subsidiaries and other related parties). The list must be sent to the CBN as soon as the publication is made. “Banks and Discount houses are also to note that delinquent debtors in the category described above will be blacklisted by the CBN and are therefore: i. Banned from participating in the Nigerian foreign exchange market. ii. Banned from participating in the Nigeria Government securities market,” the statement stressed. The Central Bank gave no estimate of the current level of commercial lenders’ NPLs.

Fears rise over non-performing loans An AMCON intervention is very unlikely because we hope it does not get to that level and again because there is no way the Ministry of Finance, CBN or AMCON will embark on another exercise of buying NPLs in the banks CBN has been battling to support the currency, which it has had to devalue twice despite spending billions of dollars from its reserves to defend the naira. However, demand for dollars, including for debt servicing, has not abated as oil prices and reserves remain low. Last month, the regulator limited the amount individuals can spend abroad on their debit cards to $50,000 per annum, down from $150,000, in order to support the naira. Following the 2009 banking crisis, which revealed huge NPLs in the books of the lenders and brought them close to imminent collapse, the Lamido Sanusi-led management of CBN ordered the financial institutions not to allow their bad loans to rise above five per cent of their total loan portfolio or risk assets. However, the CBN official at the BDAN

event said banks’ exposure to the oil and gas sector as well as power sector had taken the NPLs of some of them to over 10 per cent. Fitch Ratings had in a report released on October 8, 2014 said although the banks’ NPLs were below five per cent as of last year, it would not be sustainable in the long run. This, it said, was because regulatory measures by the apex bank might make the NPLs to rise further this year. The Fitch report added, “The banks are now seeing some asset quality deterioration with rising absolute non-performing loans, reflecting fast loan growth since 2011. “Most banks’ NPL ratios remain below the five per cent prescribed by the CBN, but Fitch views this as unsustainable in the long-run. Very high loan concentrations by borrowers and sectors expose banks, particularly the smaller banks, to significant event risk.” A recent study by Afrinvest West Africa, a research firm, revealed that bank loans to the oil and gas sector was about 150 per cent of their shareholders’ fund. Head, Research and Investment, Afrinvest, Ayodeji Ebo, said the trend was dangerous for the banking sector because should the loans go bad, the total shareholders’ fund of some of the banks might be wiped out. Ebo said, “Looking back, the 2009 banking crisis in Nigeria can be linked to the sharp decline in oil prices, resulting in the sudden accumulation of huge toxic assets, which wiped out the banks’ capital.

“As observed recently, some banks may have begun to tread that same path with huge exposure to the oil and gas sector relative to their shareholders’ funds. We suggest that the CBN should base the maximum sector exposure of each bank to its shareholders’ fund rather than total loan portfolio. This will effectively shield the banks’ capital in the event of any crisis in any of the sectors within the economy.” Sunday Telegraph, however, noted that Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, in which Robert Diamond’s Atlas Mara Ltd. holds a 30 per cent stake, expects its loans to grow by more than 40 per cent this year as business confidence rises following the March presidential election. The bank’s lending book, which totalled N313bn ($1.73bn) at the end of 2014, will expand “significantly in a variety of segments,” including companies producing oil and gas and consumer goods such as drinks and snacks, said Chief Executive Officer Emeka Emuwa. Loans grew 18 per cent in the first quarter, the bank said on Tuesday. Three months ago “everyone was concerned about what would happen on the political side,” Emuwa said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday in his 24th-floor at UBN headquarters in Lagos. “No-one is concerned about that any longer. It means people will get back to business more quickly. Some businesses have already started getting more active.”

Wife of the governor of Anambra state, Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano (extreme right) is standing with (from Left) Special Adviser to the governor on Youth, Dr. Onyeka Ibezim, SURE-P GIS Facilitator Anambra, Chief Ekene Enefe, Member Representing Nnewi South in Anambra state House of Assembly, Hon Rita Maduagwu at the Flag-off of Deployment of 200 SURE-P GIS beneficiaries sponsored by CAFÉ in Anambra State.

Dangote plans N500bn gas pipelines

resident of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, plans to quadruple the supply of gas to Nigeria by building two $2.2 to $2.5 billion (N440-N500billion) pipelines that may be backed by Carlyle Group LP and Blackstone Group LP, the world’s two biggest private-equity firms. Dangote, who has a net worth of $15 billion according to the Bloomberg Forbes Billonaires Index, said in an interview on April 25 that the two sub-sea 550-kilometre (341-mile) pipelines would run from the oil and gas-producing Niger Delta to the commercial hub of Lagos. The pipes will increase the amount of gas available in the country to 4 billion standard cubic feet per day from one billion, he said. While Nigeria has gas reserves of about 180 trillion cubic feet, more than any other African country, most of what’s produced is flared or exported because of a lack of infrastructure to transport it to local companies and households. Boosting domestic supply

will help increase electricity generation as about 70 per cent of electricity plants are fueled by gas, but having idle due lack of gas. “Having an additional 3 billion scf will sort out all the gas issues we have today in Nigeria,” he told Bloomberg. Dangote, who has interests ranging from cement to sugar and oil refineries, plans to start laying the pipelines before the end of the year, he said. The first one should be ready by mid-2017. Private Equity The International Finance Corp. is considering an investment in the pipelines as are Blackstone and Carlyle, Dangote said. Neither buyout firm responded to e-mails requesting comment. Desmond Dodd, a Johannesburg-based spokesman for the IFC, declined to comment by e-mail on Monday. “We have a lot of companies that are very interested in participating,” Dangote said. Blackstone and Carlyle said in August they would partner Dangote Industries Ltd., the holding company for the billion-

aire’s operations, to invest in sub-Saharan Africa. Blackstone said its Johannesburgbased partner Black Rhino would jointly invest as much as $5 billion with the company on energy and other infrastructure in the region. The pipelines could be used by oil producers in Nigeria that currently have little incentive to sell gas from their fields in the country, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc. and Exxon Mobil Corp., Dangote said. No Infrastructure “If today they process that gas, there’s no infrastructure to remove it, there’s no pipeline,” he said. “We’re trying to build that infrastructure.” Nigeria’s economy, which gets 90 per cent of export earnings and two-thirds of g overnment revenue from oil, has been hit by the 40 per cent fall in Brent crude prices since June. The naira has weakened 18 per cent against the dollar in that period, while the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index is down 20 per cent.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Business/ Interview

Raise gas prices to bridge $55bn investment gap–Osunsanya

Paul Ogbuokiri resident Nigerian Gas Association Managing Director Oando Gas & Power Limited, Bolaji Osunsanya has said that Nigeria must raise its gas prices to attract an estimated $55 billion of investment needed to plug persistent local shortages. Osunsanya, who is also the managing director of Oando Gas & Power Limited, said that the government increase of gas prices in August for power plants to $2.50 for 1,000 cubic feet from about $0.50 isn’t enough. He said this in an interview in Lagos with Bloomberg. According to him, these investments are needed to explore for more gas, set up five processing facilities at about $2 billion each and develop domestic distribution channels. International oil companies, which had been export-focused due to low domestic gas prices fixed by the government, have agreed to sell off $10 billion of assets over the past three years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Those assets are largely being taken over by local companies, such as Seplat Petroleum Development Co. and

Midwestern Oil and Gas Co. Ltd. Oando’s $1.65 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips’s Nigerian oil and gas assets in June made it the country’s biggest indigenous gas producer, with a production of more than 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent. “We should incentivize people with the best reward and encourage people to come into the fold,” said Osunsanya. “The strategicness of gas is what I wish Nigeria would take more seriously.” Electricity industry is being hindered by producers’ inability to raise finance and natural-gas shortages, curbing companies’ capacity to boost investment in output as Africa’s biggest crude producer suffers from daily blackouts, Sam Amadi, chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, which oversees the power industry, said last month. “Nigeria hasn’t given its gas sector the attention it should,” Dolapo Oni, the Lagosbased head of energy research at Ecobank Transnational Inc., said by phone on Monday. “From the domestic side of things, gas can transform the power sector.” While Nigeria was the world’s fourthbiggest exporter of liquefied natural gas in 2012, it’s struggling to meet local demand

Customs records 482 seizures Camillus Nnaji

he Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos recorded 482 different seizures valued at N228,906,100 during the fire quarter of this year. Disclosing this in Lagos on Thursday, Comptroller DC Usman Turaki said the seized products also attracted a payable duty of N65,538,209 and duty paid value of N294,444,309. He stated that 36 suspects were apprehended in connection with the seized products. Turaki said 133 different seizures of 50kg parboiled rice totalling 8,584 bags with a DPV of N55, 796,000 were taken by customs. “Others include 74 different seizures of smuggled frozen poultry products totalling 11, 647 cartons with a DPV of N62, 893,800 as well as 86 units of assorted fairly used vehicle valued at N108,540,000,” he added.

Osunsanya

The comptroller stated that 189 different seizures of general goods such as new and used textile materials, new and used footwear, vegetable oil, insecticides, wines, soaps and spaghetti were also recovered from smugglers. According to him, the report for the period under reference represents over 45% increase in terms of quality and quantity of seizures when compared with the corresponding period of 2014. He said, “We are confident that our renewed zeal and optimism will be the catalyst for optimal performance. The war against smuggling, no doubt, is a Herculean task, because of the natural tendency for smugglers to fight back each time their goods are seized. However, we have remained undeterred as we believe that we have a responsibility to secure the nation against influx of prohibited goods/items and we will not abdicate this responsibility for whatever reason.”

Guinness commits N10bn to commercial printing Edwin Usoboh

uinness Nigeria Plc, said it has established a N10 billion Commercial Paper firm that will commence operation on or before Friday, May 8, 2015. Speaking at a recent ceremony in Lagos, the Managing Director/CEO of Guinness Nigeria, Mr. John O’Keeffe, said; “We are very pleased with the successful launch of this Commercial Paper programme for Guinness Nigeria Plc and the support received from our advisors to get us to this point. This will be the first corporate commercial printing programme to be established in recent times, following the new CBN guidelines coming

We are very pleased with the successful launch of this Commercial Paper programme for Guinness Nigeria Plc and the support received from our advisors to get us to this point into effect, and we are pleased to be the first company to take advantage of this opportunity. We look forward to a robust uptake of this inaugural issuance imminently, whilst retaining the flexibility offered by the programme to

tap into the commercial printing market again in the nearest future.” Present at the event were representatives of the transaction advisors which include Stanbic-IBTC Capital Limited and Standard Chartered Securities Nigeria Limited as Joint Arrangers, Aluko & Oyebode as Legal Counsel, KPMG as Auditors to the Issuer, and Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited as Issuing Calculation and Paying Agent. Also in attendance were officials of FMDQ OTC, a Securities and Exchange Commission licensed over-the-counter market operator for fixed income securities. Also speaking at the event, Kobby Bentsi-Enchill, Head - Debt Capital Markets, of Stanbic IBTC Capital stated

that Guinness Nigeria has shown industry leadership in taking up the CP. According to him, this transaction is a unique milestone event, and represents the first CP Programme to be established by a non-financial institution corporate issuer following the new guidelines on commercial paper from the Central Bank of Nigeria, published in 2009. In that regard, Guinness Nigeria has again clearly demonstrated its innovative approach towards executing the company’s financing strategy, in an increasingly competitive market environment, he4 said, adding, “We at Stanbic IBTC are also proud to have partnered with Guinness on this landmark achievement”

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Earnings releases sway market direction

he Nigerian equities market, on Thursday, gained 1.93% to overturn the 1.38% loss accumulated in the five preceding trading days. The NSEASI closed the week 0.68% higher, pegging YtD return at +0.15%. The positive rally could be credited to the influx of earnings releases, as companies strived to meet the April 30th deadline for filing FY2014 and Q1:2015 results. Volume and value of transactions declined by 42.99% and 29.31% respectively. Market breadth (0.77x) tilted in favour of decliners, as 33 stocks advanced against 43 decliners in the week. PRESCO emerged as the top outperformer during the week, with a 15.73% gain to close at NGN30.09. VITAFOAM (+9.77%), AGLEVENT (+9.68%), ABCTRANS (8.62%) and CONTINSURE (+6.82%) all featured among the week’s top gainers. Contrarily, UNITYBNK rocked the bottom, shedding 22.20% WtD to close at NGN3.89. Other underperformers during the week included DANGSUGAR (-15.49%), AIICO (-10.53%), FO (-10.10%) and MAYBAKER (-9.44%). Based on our conviction that foreign investors remain skeptical about investment-related policies in the coming administration, we are of the opinion that the generally bearish market mood might be sustained until the new government is sworn in. In this report, we review events in the economy, laying emphasis on performance of different segments of the financial markets, while presenting our expectations for the week ahead.

Fixed Income Brief: Rates Temper on High Liquidity The market was relatively liquid during the week, as all money market rates declined. The buildup of liquidity was largely due to the technical issues experienced on the payment platform at the Central Bank of Nigeria, which extended from the previous week into the present week, coupled with the maturity of OMO Bills. OBB and OVN rates closed 1.00% and 1.21% down for the week, to settle at 8.25% and 8.79% respectively. Average WtD change in NIBOR across tenors was also -0.91%. After days of suspended trading at the T-Bills market, trading resumed on Tuesday, and average rate across tenors recorded a WtD change of +0.38%. We attribute the rise in yields on treasury bills to the OMO sales conducted to mop up liquidity, which was preferred on the grounds of higher yields. The 1M, 2M, 3M, 6M, 9M, and 12M T-Bills instruments consequently settled at 10.67%, 12.59%, 12.64%, 12.96%, 13.39%, and 15.31% in that order. Given the relatively attractive yields, we expect an upbeat mood in the coming week. The somber mood also permeated the bond market, as yields on all FGN bonds increased, save for the NOV-2028, MAY-2029, and NOV2029 securities, which closed with lower offer rates of 16.68%, 17.07%, and 17.50% correspondingly. The Meri-Bond index pared 0.52% for the week, as investors continued to factor in fundamental challenges facing the economy, and the accompanying increase in credit risk. In the FX space, Naira appreciated 0.61% in the week against the dollar. Mid-price settled at NGN197.94/USD while Year to Date change stands at -6.76%. Agric Sector: PRESCO bounces back after a 3-weeks bearish run The MERI AGRI index remained resilient as it continued in the positive zone, to peg WtD and YtD returns at 8.11% and 15.52% in that order. Sector breadth (2.00x) tilted in favour of advancers, as two stocks gained as against a sole decliner. PRESCO topped the gainers’ list after its 3-week long bearish run, surging by 15.73% to close at NGN30.09. This was on account of its impressive FY2014 result, which showed Revenue and PAT YoY growths of 7.69% and 94.83%. The company also posted a striking Q1:2015 result with Revenue and PAT growths of 2.09% and 36.87% respectively. OKOMUOIL followed suit with a 5.42% gain. Conversely, LIVESTOCK declined by 2.92%, while other counters traded flat. We posited that specific news flow will drive activity in the sector, like we have recently seen. We therefore opine that the coming week might be negative, as discerning investors engage in profit-taking. We however advise investors to tread cautiously. Banking Sector: Tempered market activities stall returns

…as NSEASI returns +0.15% YtD

Activities in the banking sector were down trodden in the week, as only 4 stocks advanced against 11 which declined. This resulted in our MERI-BNK index paring by 0.98%, to settle the YtD return at 13.02%. The gainers were led by STANBIC (2.79%), GUARANTY (2.28%), and WEMABANK (2.08%), while the losers’ list included UNITYBNK (-22.20%), UBN (-7.26%), and SKYEBANK (-6.72%). ETI, in its Q1:2015 results, maintained the impressive performances registered in 2014. The Group recorded gross earnings and earningsbefore-taxes YoY growths of 21% and 58% respectively. Given that many of the sector’s stocks currently trade near their fundamentally justified prices, we are not surprised that returns performance has been tempered since the rally that partnered the conclusion of the general elections. However, we anticipate that increased market activities which may partner the transition of government may result in another surge. Notwithstanding, we are of the opinion that there are many fundamentally justified stocks, which remain attractive even at current prices. Consumer Goods: Conglomerates appeal to Investors’ appetite Our consumer sector index (MERI-CMG) showed a WtD return of 0.60%, reflecting the predominantly negative sentiment on the counters during the week. VITAFOAM (9.77%) was the highest gainer for the week, trailed by AGLEVENT with a 9.68% gain. UACN, DANGFLOUR, NESTLE, UNILEVER, GUINNESS and NB also featured on the gainers’ list with respective gains of 5.00%, 0.82%, 0.21%, 5.78%, 1.19% and 3.98%. Some of the highest decliners were DANGSUGAR, PZ, 7UP, VONO, NASCON, HONYFLOUR and FLOURMILL recording WtD returns of -15.49%, -8.74%, -8.99%, -4.63%, -4.07%, 3.53% and -3.38% accordingly. DANGSUGAR and CADBURY released their Q1:2015 results which showed YoY declines in both companies’ revenues (-12.99%; -2.72%) and earnings (-36.82%; -126.37%). Contrarily, NB’s Q1:2015 result showed a YoY increase in both turnover (1.37%) and earnings (0.45%). GUINNESS’s Q3:2015 scorecard showed a YoY increase in revenue (8.63%) and a 12.23% decline in earnings. Given the current bearish mood, investors in-

clined towards conglomerates, taking solace in the diversity of their income base. We however continue to preach cautious trading, given the current state of the market. Healthcare Sector: Companies release poor quarterly results The Meri-Health index outperformed the market, appreciating by 2.82% WtD to settle the YtD return at 9.74%. Sector breadth pegged at 0.33x, in favour of decliners, as one stock appreciated against three stocks which shed points, while all other counters closed flat. GLAXOSMITH, the sector’s most capitalized stock, emerged as the top gainer for the week, appreciating by 2.90% WtD to reverse part of the previous week’s loss. On the flip side, MAYBAKER topped the decliners’ list, as it pared by 9.44% WtD. Also on the list were FIDSON and NEIMETH which declined by 0.90% and 8.85% respectively, to peg prices at NGN3.32 and NGN1.03 respectively. FIDSON and GLAXSOMITH posted their Q1 scorecards, which showed YoY revenue declines of 54.47% and 4.45%, and PAT declines of 79.46% and 52.07% respectively. Also in the week, NEIMETH released its Q2:2015 result, which showed a revenue decline of 45.42% YoY. The company’s current loss position represented a 1257% growth over the loss position in Q1:2014. The sector maintained the lackluster performance alongside the market, primarily due to the poor results released. In spite of the current performance, however, we expect some discerning investors to take advantage of stocks trading below their fundamentally justified prices. Insurance Sector: Gloomy first quarter scorecards deter investors Profit-taking on counters that gained in the previous week pressured both WtD and YtD returns to -2.34% and -2.25%, even as an equal number of stocks (3) advanced and declined respectively during the week. CONTINSURE, with a 6.82% gain, emerged as the top performer during the week, while CUSTODYINS and NEM followed closely with respective gains of 6.33% and 4.35%. On the flip side, AIICO led the underperformers, having shed 10.53% WtD to close at NGN1.02 (vs. NGN1.14 in previous week). Others included

MANSARD (-5.96%) and WAPIC (-5.45%), while all other counters traded flat. MANSARD released its Q1:2015 result, which showed that Gross Premium Written (GPW) grew by c.12%, while PAT declined marginally, by 0.14% YoY. CUSTODYINS Q1:2015 result mirrored its 2014FY performance, as GPW pared by 14.27% YoY, while PAT surged by 33%. AIICO released a fantastic 2014FY result, which showed top and bottom-line growth of 42.56% and 402% respectively; however, its Q1:2015 outing was gloomy, as top and bottom-line dipped by 9.88% and 51.58% YoY in that order. Other earnings releases during the week were CORNERST and LAWUNION, amongst others. Considering the unsurprising earnings releases by the sector giants, we do not envisage a bullish rally towards insurance stocks in the coming week. Industrial goods: Mixed performance for cement companies in Q1:2015 The industrial goods sector closed the week positive, with the Meri-industrial index appreciating by 4.86%. Two stocks recorded positive returns while 4 stocks ended the week lower. DANGCEM and WAPCO, which released their Q1:2015 results during the week, appreciated by 5.43% and 1.08% respectively, emerging as the only price gainers in the period. BERGER topped the sector laggards’ list for the week, declining by 9.21% WtD. PAINTCOM, ASHAKACEM and PORTPAINT also made the list, having depreciated in value by 5.00%, 3.01% and 0.26% accordingly. Lafarge Africa (WAPCO) recorded a 15% YoY growth in revenue, although profit after tax came in lower by 22% relative to previous year, due to higher production and operating costs DANGCEM’s Q1:2015 revenue was NGN114.74bn, up 10.78% from same period last year. The cement giant also expanded its bottom line by 44.10% on the back of a 1597% increase in finance income. CCNN on the other hand continued to struggle with control of the Northern market, as sales in the first quarter declined by 5.29% relative to Q1:2014. Owing to the lower revenue levels as well as lesser contribution from other income, PAT dipped by 9.58% YoY. Oil & Gas Sector: Sector Returns +0.57% MtD The Oil & Gas sector had a drab run in the month, gaining 0.57% according to the NSEOILG5 index. OANDO was the lone advancer in the month, with a MtD change of +24.14%. On the flip side, FO led the pack of decliners with -17.37%, followed closely by TOTAL (-13.61%). Other losers were ETERNA, CONOIL, MOBIL, and SEPLAT, declining 10.82%, 7.46%, 6.22%, and 5.28% accordingly. Other sector stocks traded flat. Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc. (MOBIL) and Eterna Oil Plc. (ETERNA) released their Q1:2015 results in the week. Mobil recorded 26.38% and 61.47% YoY declines in Revenue and ProfitAfter-Tax (PAT) respectively. An 11.31% YoY growth in OPEX contributed to the drag in profit. Eterna on the other hand grew turnover by 324.78% YoY, while PAT dropped by 48.56% YoY. This was so, as Cost-to-Sales ratio advanced to 98.72% from 92.92% YoY, while OPEX and finance charges increased by 6.54% and 25.11% YoY. We foresee continued investors’ reaction to the Q1 numbers released thus far in the coming week, even as we expect more releases. Services Sector: TRANSEXPR outperforms with an 8.93% gain The services sector ended the week on a morose mood as the MERI-SERVICES Index pared by 1.10% WtD. 4 stocks advanced against 4 stocks that also declined to leave the sectoral breadth at equilibrium. TRANSEXPR topped the gainers’ chart with an 8.93% price gain to close at NGN1.22. REDSTAREX, RTBRISCOE, and UPL all followed suit with respective gains of 5.00%, 4.12% and 2.77%. Conversely, LEARNAFRICA led the decliners with 4.67%. IKEJAHOTEL, CAVERTON, and NAHCO also made the list with 2.77%, 0.99%, and 0.94% declines accordingly, while others traded flat. The dearth of specific news flow in the sector seems to have reduced the level of activity on sector stocks during the week ended. We opine that the level of activities might increase in the coming week, as outstanding companies release quarterly results.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

SundayBusiness

Ten points to greatness (2) Success Nuggets Victor Okwudiri 08037674300 (SMS only)

ast week, we started this series with the first point - you are not too small to make an impact. Today, I’d like us to consider the second point. 2. You are not too old to make an impact. It is possible that one who read the exploits of the youngsters I discussed last week thinks that he is too old to make an impact. To any such person, I say, “That thought is wrong.” History is replete with people who have done remarkable things at old age. In the history of the nation of Israel, a man called Caleb, at the age of 85, took over a whole city. His body might have been weak, but his heart was vibrant. Ronald Reagan was President of the United States of America in his 70s. You may not appreciate that until you take cognisance of the fact that America is one of the biggest democracies in the world. A similar thing is about to happen in Nigeria with the President-elect being 72

already. This shows that it can happen virtually anywhere. Success is not jurisdiction-sensitive. Success is not an allocation that is sensitive to one’s location. The oldest person to have climbed Mount Everest was said to have done so at 71. Imagine a 71 year old climbing a mountain, whereas many youths will not dare an endurance trek. At 77, John Glenn returned to space, thus becoming the oldest person ever to travel to outer space. Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, wrote a book titled ‘Teacher’ when she was 73. It was her, who, when asked what was worse than blindness, said, “To have sight without vision.” George Bernard Shaw was said to have been at work on a comedy when he died at 94. He wrote ‘Back to Methusela’ at 66, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925, at 69. Luella Tyra, at 92 participated in 5 categories at the U.S. Swimming Nationals in California. Nelson Mandela became the President of South African at 74 and is still celebrated in death. Back home, Muhammadu Buhari, 72, became the oldest person to have been elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the first Septuagenarian to have been elected to that office in Nigeria. That was after a busy season of political campaign rallies across the country, at such age. Some young persons might not stand such schedule.

Chinua Achebe authored his last nook, “There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra,” at 82. Olusegun Obasanjo was reported to be eyeing a Ph.D at 77, when many young persons won’t even take their studies seriously. Friend, what it takes to do exploits is a ‘heart’ (bravery). It takes a HEART to face the HEAT of life. A young body with a heart that is FRAIL is bound to FAIL. The reason is simple: ‘MIND’ is more powerful that MIGHT. In other words, it is not about the muscle, but about the mind. What you need to survive a STRUGGLE is not MUSCLE, but mind (a brave heart). I have said it before on this platform that ‘OLD’ is not synonymous with ‘COLD’, ‘GREY’ is not synonymous with ‘GRAVE’ and AGE should not be a CAGE. It was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who said: “For age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.” My dear, spread your wings and fly. REFRENCES: • Great Achievers Over 55 by Thelma Mariano (www.u-unlimited.ca) • ‘Between Age and Success (2)’ Victor Okwidiri (www.newtelegraphonline.com/between-age-andsuccess-2/) Please follow me on Twitter @VictorOkwudiri

Living in abundance Making money or living in abundance is not Rocket Science. In fact, there are no secrets to making money. What there is, has already been. There are no new laws. What we have now are methods of application. Julian Atufunwa Without doubt, some of us are making efforts towards abundance, but 08032810713 (SMS only) surprisingly, we are held back by a lot I long to see more people get wealth- of factors. These factors include references stored up in our subconscious ier in soul, spirit, and body. This about money while growing up. That is because making money relieves is to say, we are and have been our people of some kind of pressure and makes us achieve our desired dreams own hindrance to acquiring wealth. Until your desire and pursuit are in and visions. A lot of people everyharmony with your belief you may where want to be well-off. I observe not arrive at Destination Abundance. that people are more fascinated and Beliefs to deal with respond quickly and actively when I grew up with the mindset that money issues are discussed in this money is the root of all evil. It was not column. This is great! I believe that most problems of my country, Nigeria until I started reading and questioning and the world can be averted if more some assumptions that I discovered that money has never been the root of people are empowered financially. all evil. Rather, it is the love of money But the question is: How many are or placing money where God alone willing to leverage on the already should occupy. existing principles or rules to make I grew up believing that some people lots of it? The universe itself is loaded are more fortunate than others. Well, with abundance. Nature is full of abundance. That is why when a grain having a poor background should not put your back permanently on of wheat or seed of corn is planted, the ground. The good news is, money at harvest it produces hundreds of does not discriminate, and money more seeds. All fruits have in then seeds in numbers that when planted, does not know who is handling it. It never traces your background to with time, produce trees that makes know if you are rich or poor or if you a forest. deserve it or not. It doesn’t know Also man was created to multiply not to add. There is a great difference whether you are a pagan, good, bad between multiplication and addition. person, educated or unlearned. Wherever and wherever anyone meets its When you add ten plus ten, it gives you twenty (10+10=20). But when you principles it comes clinging. Money corrupts: It depends on your multiply ten by ten, it gives you hundred (10x10=100). That is abundance; perceptions are but I know money is decent. As you read this, one in six but most of us just add instead of multiplying. Why are we not living in children dies in Africa due to preventable diseases like malaria. Tens of abundance?

The Big Picture

millions are deprived of health care and education. Millions are displaced due to violence, conflict and abuse or circumstances they know nothing about. Thousands of children in Africa can barely feed once a day. Money will provide health care services. Money could make drugs available for children suffering from pneumonia, diarrhea and measles. Money can provide facilities to acquire skills and build schools and get learning materials for poor children. Few days back, I was thinking of owning a primary and secondary school and making the first terms free. What impact that will make in our environment. Money is good. Money is a tool to save the world, to save African children. Another belief we have to deal with is that you can’t be spiritually pure when you are wealthy. Nothing can be further from the truth. This kind of belief clouds our minds and unwillingly restricts us from having or attracting abundance. No one can be more spiritual than God Himself and we are told that He holds all the wealth of the world in His hands so He is the richest. We ought to be too. Let’s be the world’s solutions and not its problems. Lastly, we are told that we must work too hard to get wealth. That is not absolutely true, although the importance of hard work cannot be ruled out. I’ve come to know by observing the rich that they do in one day what the poor do in a month. However, if hard work was the recipe for wealth, then truck pushers would be the richest in our world. What we need is smart work, working more with our brains not necessarily our physical energy.

‘Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio low’ Stanley Ihedigbo

artner and Head of Tax of the multinational professional services network, PriceWaterHouse Coopers, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has said that Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio is the second lowest in Africa and fourth lowest in the world. This is despite the many taxes that are collectible by governments at all levels and others not on the approved list. Nigeria currently ranks 179 out of 189 economies on the ease of paying taxes index. “This is because the figures include tax refunds and credits due to taxpayers which should really not be reported as revenue. If tax revenue is properly reported then Nigeria will most likely be the country with lowest Tax to GDP ratio in the world,” Oyedele said at the monthly breast fat meeting of the Nigeria South Africa Chamber of Commerce held recently in Lagos. Speaking on the topic: ‘The evolving tax and regulatory landscape: implications for business & investment growths,’ Oyedele said that the issue of taxes would no longer be business as usual. He added that the tax environment would change and due process would be followed as the government will pay more attention to tax matters. “Companies and individuals will face more tax audits and investigations as well as public scrutiny. There will be more focus on tax reporting by companies, businesses and investors who do not follow due process in obtaining tax rulings and tax waivers from governments are highly exposed,” he noted. He stated that Nigerians would pay more taxes and the cost of tax compliance would rise, resulting in higher cost of doing business.

Continental Re plans acquisitions across Africa C

hief Executive Officer of Continental Reinsurance Plc, Femi Oyetunji, says the firm plans to acquire rivals across Africa over the next three years as it seeks to expand on the continent. In each of the company’s five African regions, “one subsidiary has been given the responsibility to look for acquisitions,” Oyetunji said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Lagos. “A few names have come up in each region and we’re assessing them strategically at the board level.” Premium income for the insurance and reinsurance industry is improving in Nigeria, as regulators enforce rules requiring companies with at least five workers to provide life coverage. The National Insurance Commission is also making property insurance mandatory in the country. Continental Reinsurance plans to “raise significant capital” this year through equity sales to enable it to “take advantage of opportunities that abound in Nigeria and Africa,” Oyetunji said. The fundraising, initially planned for last year, was delayed after Emerging Capital Partners LLC, a Washington-based buyout firm, announced plans to sell its majority stake. The investor “is very close to concluding the exercise and will announce the preferred bidder for its 54 percent stake soon,” Oyetunji said.

Institute of Transport honours NPA Ag GM

he Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (C.I.L.T) has bestowed the its Fellow on the Acting General Manager of Nigerian Ports Authority ,Eastern Zone, Mr. Dele Alabi. Alabi became a student member of the Chartered Institute of Transport in February 1980, and completed the Institute’s professional module in 1987. He served as Zonal Chairman of C.I.L.T., Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, in 2004 to 2006 and Member of the National Council in 2012 to 2013. Alabi has achieved three decades of meritorious service to the nation in Nigerian Ports Authority; He rose from the position of Traffic Officer 11 in 1982 to become the present position of Acting General Manager, Eastern Ports. He served as Port Manager, Rivers Ports, and Port Harcourt for over five years, and also as Assistant General Manager, Operations, Eastern Zone.

SUNDAY

BRANDS SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Peak Milk celebrates 60 years amidst rivalry Frieslandcampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc (WAMCO), makers of the popular milk brand, Peak Milk, is celebrating 60 years of existence amidst competing brands, writes DELE ALAO Dairy market The dairy industry in Nigeria, according to experts, can provide millions of jobs and generate about N300 billion monthly into the economy if appropriate technology needed to boast the sector is deployed. The Director General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) Engr. Umar Bindir, noted that milk consumption was an index of quality of life, said that if a half of Nigerian population estimated at a hundred million consume a glass of milk estimated at only N100 per glass, it could generate N10 billion per day, which in turn could create millions of jobs and translate into a N300 billion monthly revenue. Berth of Peak Milk Peak Milk, now from the stable of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc (WAMCO), berthed in Nigeria through import in 1954, while local production began in 1975. The company produces and sells evaporated milk, instant milk powder and other dairy products in three brands: Peak, Three Crowns and FrisoGold. For many years after its launch, Peak assumed a generic name for all other milk products. The challenge In the earliest days of Peak Milk in the market, Carnation and Coata for instance, posed a challenge. But, none of the two posed a more serious challenge than the berth of Cowbel from the stable of Promasidor, then known as Wonder Foods, in 1992. Cowbell came in both powder and sachet packaging. It was the first of such to be launched into the Nigerian market. Many consumers who could not afford Peak Milk found solace in Cowbell. Cowbell was sold at N5, which many consumers considered much more affordable. Other milk brands that compete and challenge Peak Milk market relevance besides Cowbell include; Dano, Nunu, Loyal, Hollandia Milk among others. Drinking milk products especially from Bobo, Viju, Chi and several others in the market also posed serious challenge to the Peak Milk brand. 2013/2014 posed another treat to Peak Milk as the market witnessed two major identical launches targeting the same demographic – children. The launches, from both Bobo and Chi focused on milk drinks with fruit juice, as this combination is thought to provide both nutrition and taste. According to EuroMonitor, as at last year, Promasidor Nigeria’s Cowbell Choco brand, ahead of Peak Milk, was

one of the most popular powder milk drinks amongst Nigerian children, who constitute a good percentage of consumers drinking milk products in Nigeria. “Its marketing (such as the happy cow) and flavouring are targeted at children. The company’s wide brand range and presence in a broad range of categories in drinking milk products explains its leading position compared with its competitors, such as FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, which has one strong major brand – Peak,” EuroMonitor said. Survival strategy Meanwhile, over the years, FrieslandCampina Wamco was the first dairy company in Nigeria to be ISO certified in 1997. Realising the infringements on its market share, the company started the first powder factory in 1999 while it commenced the second powder factory (packing plant) in 2005. Other activities aimed at surviving the market onslaught include; revamping of the Peak Milk brand in 2007 and the introduction of Peak evaporated milk in 35g sachet in 2009. Justifying the 35g sachet, the company said that the objective of launching it was to make evaporated milk accessible to more Nigerians. The firm said the technologies used in the manufacture of the product has never been used anywhere in the world. “It is the first time evaporated milk is produced in a sachet, an undeniable result of the Nigeria-Holland relationship. This has placed Nigeria in the centre of the world with WAMCO as the pioneer innovator. As an added advantage, this will

Peter-Eshikena-CEO, WAMCO

generate employment for more Nigerians, thereby developing the economy,” said the company, which also joined the drinking milk product market with the launch

of Peak Milk School Smart. The company equally relaunched Three Crown Milk to fight in the lower segment of the market where Nunu and Coast are players.

Mortein affirms support for anti-malaria campaign Dele Alao

n furtherance of its commitment to Nigeria, Reckitt Benckiser, a leader in health, hygiene and home care, through its number one insect-killer brand, Mortein, has pledged its continued support for efforts aimed at achieving total elimination of malaria in Nigeria. Speaking off the back of a ministerial press briefing organised by the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, the nation’s capital to commemorate the 2015 World Malaria Day, the Marketing Director, West Africa, of the company, Oguzhan Silivrili, expressed the readiness of the firm to support the new five-year National Malaria Strategic Plan announced by the Federal Government. Mortein was one of the corporate bodies that mounted exhibition stands at the press briefing venue in solidarity with government’s renewed initiative to stamp out malaria in the country. “Mortein has been at the forefront of the fight against malaria in Nigeria via a number of initiatives targeted at empowering Nigerians so that together we can defeat malaria. We believe malaria can be eliminated in Nigeria which is the reason Mortein owned by RB Nigeria is championing the cause for a malaria-free Nigeria”, Silivrili said. While disclosing the company’s collabora-

tion efforts on anti-malaria campaign, he said they included; strategic partnerships with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the lead agency of the Federal Ministry of Health on the elimination of malaria, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) and other relevant government bodies. “In the last few years, we have gone around Nigeria with our Mortein AntiMalaria Campaign to equip Nigerians with the right information they need to know to protect themselves from mosquitoes and stay healthy. Our New Mum Programmes (NMP) has reached approximately 5 million new moms in the hospitals since inception; we also have the mobile clinic, Health On Wheels (HOW) going door-to-door across Nigeria and open market activations across Nigeria”, he said. Silivrili added that another over 10,000 mums have been reached through activation at the Primary Health Centres across Nigeria jus as many more are being reached through the church/mosque activations pan-Nigeria even as other platforms are being designed to reach more Nigerians. He said 500,000 moms would be reached this year. The Minister of Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute, said the efforts put into the fight against malaria since year 2000 have

significantly reduced maternal child mortality in Nigeria. He emphasised the need for more collaboration. “When we started this journey 15 years ago, the statistics we had were so disturbing. Today we have made progress, but the world has shifted from malaria control to malaria elimination, justifying the theme for this year’s World Malaria Day,’Invest in the future. Defeat malaria,” he said. He explained that the National Malaria Strategic Plan 2014-2020 was the result of a painstaking effort after the grand initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health supported by development partners. According to him the partnership has enabled the ministry to come up with the strategic plan, which is a credible template for mutual accountability in the effort targeted at malaria management and elimination in the country. The National Coordinator, (NMEP, Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe, in her overview of the National Malaria Strategic Plan, explained that the plan was developed as a road map for a coordinated fight against malaria in Nigeria derived from the national Strategic Health Development Plan. “Before now Nigeria had implemented three previous plans. 2001 to 2005 the plan was developed immediately after African summit on roll back malaria on 25 April of 2000, it launched Nigeria into the RBM (Roll Back Malaria) initiative”, she said.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

igeria’s evolving full service communication group, Noah’s Ark Communications Limited, has been listed among the top 16 World’s leading Independent Agencies for 2015. The World’s Leading Independent Agencies is published annually on a non-profit basis by thenetworkone, the world’s leading independent agencies organisation, in association with Campaign Magazine, London. The publication is not a ranking by size, or success in awards festivals; but rather, a series of inspirational articles written by 16 agencies, from around the world, judged by this editorial board to be creative and thought leaders in the marketing communications industry. According to the organizers, inclusion in the global ranking is strictly by invitation decided by a joint editorial board of thenetworkone and Campaign Magazine based on the assessment of the dexterity of the creativity of the Agencies from different countries across the globe. Speaking on the development, the Managing Director, Noah’s Ark Communication Limited, Mr. Lanre Adisa, noted that the inclusion of the Agency in the

SundayBusiness/Brands

Firm joins top 16 leading sovereign agencies list of 2015 World’s Leading Independent Agencies marks another significant milestone in its annals. Adisa said that the achievement signifies another bold step in pursuant of the vision of the Agency to be in the league of the most successful brand builders out of Africa with a mission to continue to be an invaluable extension of our clients’ marketing department. “We are very proud as Agency to have made the list of the top 16 World’s leading Independent Agencies for 2015 not only because we are the only Agency from Nigeria but also that we are one of the two Agencies that made the list out of Africa’’ he said. Adisa added that Noah’s Ark was evolving as a new group of full service integrated marketing communication with two new businesses under the groupIntegrated Indigo Limited (A Public Relations, Events & Experiential Marketing firm) and Underdog (A Radio/TV and Content development firm). Some of the agencies fea-

NIPR charges new graduands on integrity, others Shola Adefuwa

he new sets of graduands of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) have been advised to make integrity their watchword while also imbibing the culture of hardwork. The Dean, College of Social and Management Science, Caleb University, Imota Lagos, Prof. Nosa Owens Ibie, gave the advice during the 4th Convocation ceremony for the Institute held in Lagos recently. The convocation had the theme: “Building Leadership with Integrity and Reputation for Good Governance.” Ibie said:“We want to have a crop of professionals managing communications, relationships and reputations with absolute best practices of integrity.” The Dean, who lamented the bad taste of political campaigns at this years general election, said that it was not good for any professional who knows his onions too well to engage in such political campaigns. Ibie said: “I can’t be used as a public relations profes-

sional for such political campaigns in bad taste.” Earlier, President and Chairman of Council, NIPR, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, also charged the graduands to be good ambassadors of the Institute. He said the Institute would not condone any act of unprofessionalism on the part of any of its member, adding that the occasion was part of the Institute’s responsibility as spelt out in the Act that set it up. While calling on the graduands to upgrade themselves, the NIPR presidents said that the Institute was working with relevant authorities to reduce quackery or totally eliminate it. Established in 1963, NIPR, the professional body of qualified Public Relations Practitioners, attained charter status in 1990 with Decree 16 (now Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria). The law mandates NIPR to regulate the practice and direct the development of Public Relations as a profession in Nigeria. The law also makes it illegal to practice Public Relations, under any title, in Nigeria without NIPR certification.

tured in 2015 according to the statement from Noah’s Ark, include; Baldwin& – USA, BSUR– The Netherlands , Creature of London

– UK, Goodstein – China, Gravity Road – UK, Hasan & Partners Group – Finland, Noah’s Ark – Nigeria, Repense – Brazil, Scarecrow

– India and Serviceplan Group – Germany. Others are Thinkhouse – Ireland, Thjnk – Germany, The Jupiter Drawing Room

– South Africa, The Monkeys – Australia, The Newtons Laboratory – Greece and The Secret Little Agency – Singapore.

L-R: Marketing Manager, Spectranet Limited, Mr. Samson Akejelu; Head of Marketing, Mr. Mike Ogor; Director, Chief Ezekiel Fatoye and Account Director, Lowe Lintas, Mr. Hycent Nwabuisi, at the launch of Spectranet new logo in Lagos.

FCB DP Partnership adopts house colour

he Nigerian local affiliate of the FCB global network of agencies, FCB DP Partnership, has adopted the global agency house colour for its corporate manifestation materials and interior scheme. The decision to adopt the rainbow colours which, the agency owners in a statement said, symbolises creativity and multiple ideas that can turn things around, stems from the FCB Africa meeting, which held recently in South Africa.

According to feelers, managers of the business want some level of uniformity in the look and feel of the agencies’ offices around the world in such a way that the network’s global clients will feel welcome same way in any part of the world. This decision is follow-up on FCB Africa’s decision to re-order its priorities on the continent’s business landscape with a conscious decision to be more visible in its approach to Advertising, media and associated businesses in Africa.

On the corporate identity, Managing Director, FCB DP Partnership, Lagos, Odun Fadoju said: “The adoption of a standard corporate identity material is a followup to the 3-day FCB African Agencies Congress 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa at the close of last year.” In a related development, the FCB Creative Rumble was recently concluded in Cape Town, South Africa. 13 countries including Nigeria, Ghana, China, Johannesburg, Australia, Brazil, London, Lagos and

New Zealand took part in the creative workshop designed for Creative Directors of member agencies of the global network according to a statement. Creative Director, FCB DP Partnership, Lagos, Chris Opia, who attended the creative summit said: “FCB Creative Rumbles was an exciting gathering of brilliant minds from across the world. The platform afforded member agencies at the CD cadre to exchange ideas with fresh insights and perspectives.”

Volvo sets for first global campaign

olvo has partnered with Swedish DJ Avicii, in its first global campaign. The campaign effort according to a statement, is to mark a “new generation” of the brand as it looks to change its image from predictable to “progressive”. The campaign, titled “A New Beginning”, will kick off this week with an online music video and track remaking Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”, created in collaboration by Volvo, Avicii and Universal Music. Senior Vice President, sales, marketing and Customer Service at Volvo Car Group, Alain Visser, said that the campaign marked a “new generation” of Volvo, which would see it launch the a new line of products including the Volvo XC90, a premium model aimed at competing with the likes of BMW and Mercedes Benz,

set to launch alongside the campaign. It will also renew all of its existing models over the next four years. The brand according to the statement, will also attempt to reach a younger audience through less “traditional” marketing, using the likes of Twitter and YouTube to promote the new campaign. “Yes, we are a family brand, but we also want to be a bit more progressive in the way we go out. In the design of our new cars and technology, we’re starting to be more progressive and we want to show that in our marketing as well.” Visser said. He added that Avicii’s fan base, which he calls “young, trendy, cool 25-year-olds” are younger than Volvo’s target audience, opening up an opportunity to reach new consumers. However, he added that by using a classical Nina Simone jazz song, the brand still

hopes to reach an older age group. “He stretches us a bit outside our comfort zone, but we like that despite being a world star he’s still quite understated. Volvo likes to be that as well. We leave it to the other car manufacturers to be aggressive or arrogant,” he said. The company, in 2013 teamed up with Swedish House Mafia, to feature its XC60 car in the trio’s music video and last year worked with Swedish artist Robyn. “We indeed see other companies aligning with DJs, but in our case it continues a trend that we started a couple of years ago. For us, the audience is new in this case – we’re going to go after a lot of younger people who probably don’t see Volvo as a brand with young appeal. We want to become more relevant to that younger audience,” Visser said.

The campaign is the latest step in the overhaul of Volvo’s marketing strategy, which it announced last year. The strategy included a bid to become a ‘digital leader’, with the company launching an e-commerce platform. This also involved a decision to focus on just three international motor shows in Detroit, Geneva and Shanghai to cut millions in costs. The strategy appears to be paying off, as Volvo president, Håkan Samuelsson, said in February that profits rose by 17 percent to $271million for the company in 2014, driven by record car sales of 465,866, up by 8.9 percent on 2013. Total sales were also up 6.3 percent. Samuelsson added that overall sales would hit 500,000 cars in 2015, up from 465,866 in 2014, largely due to the launch of the XC90.

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

SUNDAY

Politics SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015

Kingibe: Return of a power broker

The Sunday Interview

Boko Haram has turned my house into a prison, says Ex-gov Ibrahim p.32, 33

Interview

Keshi: Buhari should pursue confident, assertive foreign policy p.34 ‘Conceding defeat doesn’t make Jonathan a hero’ p.38

Less than a month to the inauguration of the incoming administration in Nigeria, there are strong indications that flamboyant politician, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, might emerge as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. In this piece, ONWUKA NZESHI and BIYI ADEGOROYE revisit the Kingibe persona and the likely role and stature he will assume in the new government

‘Corrupt officials will soon return money’ p.40

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

abagana Kingibe is an astute politician and retired diplomat. Born in 1945, Kingibe hails from the Kanuri ethnic group in Borno State, in the North-East. After his elementary education in Nigeria and higher education in England, he joined the Nigerian Foreign Service as a career diplomat. Kingibe’s mastery of international relations, especially with reference to diplomacy and intelligence gathering, and utilisation of same in the conduct of state affairs in the international arena is widely known. Such secret operations and intelligence, some observed, have also become useful tools in domestic relations. During the Murtala Muhammed/ Olusegun Obasanjo government of 1975 to 1979, Kingibe was in the Foreign Ministry, as one of three astute diplomats and top intelligence officials who were members of the inner circle of the administrations. He was at various times Nigerian Ambassador to Greece and Pakistan. After his tour of duty, he was appointed Permanent Secretary (Special Services), where he was in charge of security matters in the Presidency. This privi-

leged position exposed Kingibe to top state secrets even at a very youthful age in the service of his country. Kingibe served as Member of International Advisory Board of Council on Foreign Relations and as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1993. He also served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Power and Steel until 1998. He was a member of the Inter-Congolese Facilitation team. He is currently the African Union’s special envoy to the Sudan Peace Process and Chairman of Nigeria’s Euro-Bank. Between October 2002 and September 2006, he served as African Union, Special Envoy to Sudan and subsequently Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Head of the AU Mission in Sudan and Dafur. Political Limelight For those who witnessed the political transition programme of the then military government of President Ibrahim Babangida, the name Kingibe rings a bell. Kingibe was the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, one

of the two political parties that dominated the politics of that era. He later rose to become the vice-presidential candidate of the SDP and was the running mate to late Chief MKO Abiola, the presidential candidate of the party in the June 12, 1993 election. At the vice-presidential debate that heralded the historic election of that year, Kingibe won the hearts of millions of Nigerians. In his handling of one of the issues he debated upon with Chief Sylvester Ugo, his counterpart in the National Republican Convention, he brought down the roof with laughter when he said the Biafran economy and currency managed by Ugo “fell like a pack of cards.” His broad smiles were infectious; his power of oration unbeatable while his broad knowledge of the history and economy of Nigeria earned him and his party massive support across the country. June 12 betrayal However, there came a low moment. The military government that midwifed the political transition annulled the popular mandate given CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 S

The Sunday Interview

Boko Haram has turned my house into a prison, says Ex-gov Ibrahim

Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim is a former Governor of Yobe State and ranking member of the Senate representing Yobe East. In this interview with ONWUKA NZESHI, he addresses the issue of Boko Haram, the cardinal focus of the incoming government and gives reason why the North-East must produce the next Senate President

Ibrahim

How was the induction course for members of the National Assembly? Was there anything significantly different from what it used to be in previous years? No. The induction course has always been like that; there is no difference between this one and the last one. There is not likely to be any difference between this one and the next edition. It is essentially to get those newly elected legislators to become familiar with what is happening in the National Assembly. It’s all about lessons in democratic principles, legislative practices and legislative nuances. So, it is very good for those who are coming to the parliament for the first time. From here, they will go to the floor of the Senate or House of Representatives after the leadership issues have been settled and then start the proper legislative business for which they were elected by their people. Of course, they will be working with us, the old timers and we will be guiding them; we’ll be showing them the way and teaching them how to go about the business of legislation. Some of them already have some experience because they have been either members of the

House of Representatives or members of the state Houses of Assembly. The procedures in parliaments are basically the same. As far as the National Assembly is concerned, induction is very necessary and it will continue to be done. Just like retreats, the induction also brings the members together. Since I came in, I have met a lot of new senators - people whose names I have been hearing but I had never met them in person. I have also met those whose names I have never heard and whose faces I had never seen before this programme. I have already made some new friends and that is why this induction is very useful in bringing us together. After all, it has been a fantastic eight years of National Assembly without crisis. Senate President, David Mark, has given such a fantastic and first class leadership. For eight years, we’ve been free of any crisis; no banana skins, no disruptions. Everything went on smoothly. We are telling the newcomers how all these things came about and they are learning very fast how things are done in parliament. Are there are things that ought to have been

brought into this induction that were not been incorporated in the programme? In other words, are there gaps that you think should be closed to further enrich the programme? Well, whatever you bring in, there is always something you are likely to miss. That is how it is with every human resource development programme. You can never cover everything. But by and large, we have covered the major aspects and the other ones will definitely fall in line as time goes on. After this four-day induction course, the new people would have learnt the basic things that would enhance their job as legislators. We are entering a new dispensation and people are already taking positions on the leadership of the Senate. There is a contest for the position between the North-East and North-Central. What are your thoughts on this race? I think it is only fair that the North-East takes the Senate Presidency this time around because the North-Central has done it four times in the past. If they get it again, it will

be the fifth time and the North-East has never done it. The North-East has never produced a Senate President and has never produced a Speaker of the House of Representatives. They have not even been privileged to occupy the office of Deputy Senate President. The highest office we have ever held at the national level and in the National Assembly is Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. That was between 2007-2011 when Hon. Usman Bayero Nafada served in that capacity. So, I believe that even though a committee set up by the party has zoned the position to North-Central, I think that the party will have to reverse that decision. If they don’t, the President-elect should reverse it. If he doesn’t, of course at the end of the day, we members of the Senate will have the final say. On the floor of the house, we will slug it out. After all, nobody can dictate to us whom our leaders should be more so after spending some time with the new members of the National Assembly. We will guide them in getting the best leadership so that we will have peace. Everybody needs peace.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

portant of them all is free and compulsory education. Even though in our manifesto in APC we have free education, it should be made compulsory. We put it there earlier but somebody went and removed it. We must bring back the word ‘compulsory’ because in some parts of the country, thousands of people will never go to school unless you make it compulsory. Some people are not ready to take their kids to school but if you make it compulsory they would be compelled to embrace education. It is done all over the world where people are resistant to education. We must introduce similar legislation here so that every child will go to school. I believe that once we are able to work seriously on these for fundamental issues, we would have solved four fundamental problems and other things will just fall in line. There are so many expectations from the incoming government. Do you see Buhari being able to meet these expectations? Well, I see Gen. Buhari’s government and that includes me, making a very good start. Yes, the expectations are high and the kind of problems we have cannot be solved in for years; not eight and not even 20 years. But it is very important to make a good start, hit the ground running and then try to minimise these problems that we are facing in Nigeria. I think we will make a good start and the younger people will come and take over from where we would stop. Look at the problem that has bedeviled the North-East for about six years. Are you satisfied with the way things have turned out in recent times? Oh yes! In recent times, things have changed for the better and in our own interest. Very soon, Buhari will take over and complete it. Programne of ridding the region of insurgency. You see, earlier our neighbours never took this matter seriously. Boko Haram people were running into Niger, Chad or Cameroon whenever we pushed them out from our territory. They were running there to hide, regroup and attack us again. But now that all the three neighbouring countries are involved and have joined Nigerian troops in the fight, there is nowhere to run to and that is why things are getting better. I feel very happy at the development. For the first time in over a year, I will be able to go to my home town very soon. I haven’t gone there yet, but very soon, I should be going to see what has become of my home. I have heard so many stories. They said the insurgents occupied my house; they said they turned it into a prison or whatever. But I am not in a position to confirm anything until I get there.

What is the significance of the APC’s victory in the last presidential election? This is the first time the progressives are coming to power in Nigeria. All the while, Nigeria has always been ruled by the conservatives. Even during the military era, those that came to power were conservative elements. So we are very happy about the last elections because it is also the first time that an opposition political party would defeat a ruling party and a sitting government in this country. What should Nigerians expect in terms of programmes and policies when the new government comes on board? The President-elect has very carefully and very impressively analysed the three fundamental problems of Nigeria today. The first one of course is security and the problem of insurgency. The second one is fighting corruption which is a very difficult human problem. The President-elect has already made a name in that field. The moment you mention the name Buhari, all corrupt people are afraid. The moment you mention the name Buhari, all corrupt people hate to even hear the name.

But the fight against corruption is not about running after individuals. We should have an institutional framework that makes it unnecessary for corruption to thrive. The incoming government will make our institutions corruption-free and incorruptible. The quickest way of fighting corruption to ensure that we do not allow individuals to corruptly enrich themselves and get away with it. The next one is the economy. We must improve the economy. We must do more to reposition our economy. We must run away from this Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala and IMF/ World Bank ideas and policies. We want to have indigenous ways of solving our economic problems. After all, everybody knows what is right and what is wrong. You don’t have to blow big grammar to run the economy. What is most important is sincerity. If you believe in what you are doing and you are doing it right, when you make a mistake, you correct it and move forward. We can have our own indigenous solutions to our economic problems. We don’t want the World Bank and IMF-induced problems which they use to exploit us. The final issue which is even the most im-

When last did you visit Yobe State? It’s over a year since I went there last. Even during the political campaigns, I could not campaign. In fact in Yobe, there was hardly any politician who could campaign due to the insecurity. But by the grace of God, we won because the people knew us; the people trusted us and they loved us. We will continue to do our best to serve them and solve their problems because they believe in us and we believe in them as well. In the heat of the Boko Haram crisis, some people blamed it on poverty and lack of education. Is that why you are now championing free and compulsory education? No. The crisis was not brought about by poverty. Boko Haram is a just a religious sect. We have many religious sects and all religious sects have their own beliefs and problems. Of course poverty aggravated it because we have many young people who should be educated but they are not educated and this added fire to the petrol. Poverty and lack of education also aggravated the problems. In the heat of the Boko Haram crisis, some people blamed it on poverty and lack of education. Is that why you are now champi-

oning free and compulsory education? No. The crisis was not brought about by poverty. Boko Haram is a just a religious sect. We have many religious sects and all religious sects have their own beliefs and problems. Of course poverty aggravated it because we have many young people who are supposed to be educated but they are not educated and this added fire to the petrol. Poverty and lack of education also aggravated the problems. As I said earlier, injustice being done to the northeastern part of the country also aggravated it even though it was not the direct cause. When the thing started, they had a lot of people who are ready to go into the crisis to try their luck and get something because of poverty. You cannot fight poverty without education that is why I am advocating for free and compulsory education. In the long run, it would it impossible for this kind of thing to even happen in the first place. Peace is what is needed. Peace is desirable and absolutely what we need and we are now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As somebody who has been a state governor in that region and knows the in and out of the place, what would you say is the primary cause of Boko Haram? As I just told you, Boko Haram is just a religious sect. When I was a governor, the so called Nigerian Talibans started and it was these Nigerian Talibans that metamorphosed into Boko Haram. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the military at that time were able to nip it in the bud. That was why for years, the thing died down. But later on it reappeared in Maiduguri. This is a religious sect that had existed for a long time. The Boko Haram leader was originally an Egyptian who was beheaded by the then President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Asser in the 1950s. That was when the sect first started and gradually it spread to other countries and came into Nigeria. Even when it came into Nigeria, it didn’t start in Borno or Yobe; it started in Minna, Niger State. They later moved to Kano, Kaduna and then they settled in Maiduguri after the other previous town were able to put a stop t their emergence and development. So, as I said, the injustice and poverty aggravates this kind of things. If you are educated and comfortable, you will not embrace this kind of ideology - that education is bad, that people should not be educated. Only illiterates can believe in this kind of philosophy. So on the long run, education is what is going to solve our problem. When you say injustice was done to the people of North-East, what exactly do you mean? This annual budgetary allocation of small amount of money to certain parts of the country vis-a -vis other parts of the country brings about lack of development in those areas where they have less allocation. Then gradually, poverty creeps in, poverty grows in those areas with less resources. This is what I mean by injustice. If there is equitable distribution of national resources, the difference between the haves and have not wouldn’t have been too glaring. There is a huge difference between the North-East and other geo- political zones of the country. All the other geo- political zones are by far more developed than the North-East and the North -East is the largest geo- political zone in terms of land mass. It is one third or 33 per cent of Nigeria’s land mass and yet it is the least developed. So that is what I mean by injustice on a large scale. With the Nigerian troops recapturing most of the towns and villages in the North-East, we learnt that many people who were displaced have started returning home. What is exactly the situation? It is not true. People are not returning to their liberated homes. In fact, the military and the government are the ones discouraging them from going back because there are

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SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Politics

Keshi: Buhari should pursue confident, assertive foreign policy Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immediate past Chairman of the Bank of Africa, Ambassador Joe Keshi, in this interview with BIYI ADEGOROYE, talks about the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa as well as the killing of four Nigerians for drug trafficking in Indonesia What is your reaction to the execution of four Nigerians in Indonesia for drug trafficking and the fact that about 15 more are on death role in the same country? What can Nigeria do to protect its citizens? It is most unfortunate but against a determined President of Indonesia who had vowed to rid his country of drug criminals and who refused all international entreaties for clemency for those who have been convicted, there is very little, if anything, anybody can do. That said, what we need to do now is first, to utilise the execution in Indonesia to enlighten and educate our people and warn them of the danger apparent in breaking the laws of other countries. They need to know of the consequences of their actions, that it could cost them their lives as we have seen in the case of the Indonesia four. That campaign should start now, more because as we speak, there are those who are planning to traffic in drugs, believing they can beat the security personnel at the airports. We should stress that if drug traffickers are caught, there is little the government can do, and they are likely to face execution or long term imprisonment. Secondly we have to improve the capability and capacity of the drug agencies to detect and arrest drug carriers either before they board any aircraft out of Nigeria or for those who use Nigeria as a transit, before they enter the country. With the statement of the Zulu king which provoked the recent xenophobic attacks on Africa migrants including Nigerians in South Africa, what are your views on the attacks on foreigners in South Africa and how it was handled by the South Africa government. Will this affect South Africa-Nigeria relations? First, this is not the first xenophobic attack on Africans resident in South Africa and it is unlikely to be the last, unless the South African government takes necessary measures to fulfill the promise of a free independent South Africa. The first was in 2008. Even before these, there had been minor incidents which did not receive media or global attention. We need to understand that these attacks are not isolated, and are to a large extent a reaction to the economic challenges confronting South Africa and the growing failure of the ANC leadership and government to restructure the apartheid economy to meet especially, the expectations of the lower segment of the economy. Like in a number of African countries at independence, the people actually thought that, with the end of apartheid and white rule their lives would dramatically or automatically change. This did not happen. Worst still; they were not properly and adequately prepared for the realities of post-apartheid black rule, which produced a new class of super-rich blacks and a growing black middle class. To com-

pound the situation, they woke up one day to see the inflow of people into their neighbourhoods, the good, the bad and the ugly, many doing all kinds of menial jobs, some establishing ‘businesses’ and taking over houses South Africans cannot pay for. Because of lack of exposure and the isolation brought upon them by the apartheid regime, they also do not understand the psychology of migrants and foreigners who left their countries in search of a better life in another country. They work hard, engage in all sorts of activities to survive. They also sacrifice personal comfort. As they succeed, they bring in their relations to help them out and before you know it, they have grown in numbers to the consternation of their hosts. In some cases, the criminals among the new arrivals displace the local criminal gangs and take over their operations. In a situation like this, you have a perfect storm. This, in a way, explains the nature of the attacks, which were not directed against the government which has failed the people, by not pursuing pro poor policies to ensure inclusiveness, by not creating jobs nor preparing or empowering them with skills. The protesters did not also attack corporate South Africa or the big corporations, more because the protesters do not see themselves having any connection with corporate South Africa. They lack the skills, the knowledge and the expertise to work in corporate South Africa and naturally, their frustrations were turned on those they could see around them who arrived maybe with nothing and overnight are not just doing well, they have taken over the whole place. With a situation like that, it would take any anti foreigner’s statement to spark off a crisis. I am saying that from what we saw, the feelings against Africans at that level runs deep and the manifestations were the attacks and the brutality of the protesters. The South African government was certainly too slow in responding to the attacks and the uncoordinated statements by some of its ministers were not helpful. In terms of relationship between Nigeria and South Africa, this is an irritation and unlikely to cause any serious rupture if well handled. That is not to suggest that South Africa should not take our feelings and that of other countries affected for granted. The government, the people and the media should empathise with the victims rather than engage in statements that could inflame the situation. South Africa cannot be a true rainbow nation if the people do not have the proper and positive disposition to their African brothers who harbored them, sheltered them and expanded their personal resources to help them gain freedom and equality. Should Nigeria and other affected African countries reciprocate these actions as have been suggested by a number of com-

Keshi

Buhari must demand that Nigeria is respected and that the rules of engagement are respected especially by our traditional friends whose current hallmark is to lecture us at will and degrade us as a nation mentators and demonstrators? No. First, the attacks were not government-driven even though government initial response was slow. Secondly to do so is to demonstrate lack of proper appreciations of the problem which affects not only South Africa but almost all nations - the lack of inclusiveness. Governments across Africa needs to expand the economy to include everybody and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. We need to seriously attack poverty across the continent. In the case of South Africa, the people, especially the young generation needs to be educated about the support and sacrifice Africa gave and made for their freedom. This is important for during the apartheid regime it was illegal I believe to report on the African National Congress in the media. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been suspended by the President over this matter. What exactly went wrong in the handling of this crisis? First let me appeal and plead with the President to reconsider and rescind his decision. I will not claim to know all the facts that informed the President’s decision, but as a former Permanent Secretary in that Ministry, I know that Ambassador Danjuma Sheni is an experienced and seasoned diplomat and civil servant, and I do not see

him unilaterally taking a decision to recall our envoys in South Africa for consultation. Second, the Ministry’s first reaction which advised Nigerians to stay indoors was the proper advice to give at that time. Bear in mind that at that time, Nigerians were not attacked. When the attacks got to the Nigerian section, they appealed to the government of South Africa to take measures to protect Nigerians and all others who were the targets of xenophobia. Now, when the attacks escalated, and against the backdrop of the anger of Nigerians as demonstrated by the hearings at the National Assembly and demonstrations, I believe the Ministry felt the need and urgency to be directly briefed by its staff on the ground. Bear in mind that the officers involved are not accredited representatives and as such, the minister or the PS can instruct them to come to brief them. I believe what went wrong was the public communication in which the word recall was used. To recall an ambassador is a clear sign of a rupture in relations as we have seen by the decision of the government of Australia to recall her ambassador from Indonesia in protest against the execution of two of her citizens for drug offences. The recall of an ambassador must be with the express permission of the President or head of government. The situation was not helped by the unnecessary and intemperate press release by the South Africans. It was unmeasured, hasty, in bad taste and a clear manifestation of unfriendly disposition. What do you think should be General Muhammadu Buhari’s foreign policy focus? The overall outcome of the elections in Nigeria, the assumed transparency of the process, the President Goodluck Jonathan concession give General Buhari ample opportunity and the credibility to pursue a confident and assertive foreign policy. It gives him a respectable global leadership role and he must utilise it effectively to speak up for Nigeria and Africa. He must demand that we are respected and that CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015

Politics

Kingibe: Return of a power broker

Oghiadomhe C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

to Abiola and Kingibe. This development triggered a mass revolt from the people, a conflagration that forced Babangida to “step aside” for an Interim National Government to clear the mess. Unfortunately, when the ING led by Chief Ernest Shonekan could not contain the revolt of the people, the then Secretary of Defence, Gen. Sani Abacha, took over the reins of government, presumably to right the wrongs. The coming of Abacha in a subtle palace coup was celebrated by pro-democracy groups who thought he had come to revalidate the June 12 election and install the duly elected government. But while Abiola was still waiting to be sworn in as President, Abacha made a surprise move and appointed Kingibe the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Though considered a back stabbing by the SDP and Abiola, the appointment was a master stroke that signaled the beginning of the end of the struggle to actualise the June 12 presidential mandate. Though Kingibe was eminently qualified to serve in the capacity of a Foreign Affairs Minister, having been in the diplomatic service before, not a few Nigerians believe that the circumstances surrounding his appointment portrayed him as a traitor.Needless to say, he wore that negative toga throughout his stay with the Abacha junta. It has been said that his inability to bear the guilt of betraying the June 12 mandate, forced Kingibe to leave the Abacha regime and disappear from the political radar. Yar’Adua’s SGF While he was in that political wilderness, in 2007, President Umar Yar’Adua fished him out and made him Secretary to Government of the Federation, a position that saw him taking a full charge of the administration. However, this second incarnation in government ended in a fiasco as Kingibe was accused of using his position to undermine his boss. His greatest undoing started when Yar’Adua was sick and flown to Saudi Arabia for medical care. Kingibe allegedly connived with some powerful politicians and retired military officers outside government in a bid to scheme Yar’Adua out of power. An unconfirmed report said that the group believed that it was better to get Yar’Adua out of the way and replace him with another Northerner than for him to die in office and allow his deputy (then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan) to take over the government.

Arogbofa

At some point, it was alleged that Kingibe was rallying support for himself to take over from the then ailing Yar’Adua as a way of recovering the presidential ambition he lost by serving the Abacha regime. These alleged plots, however, failed when the government got wind of the scheme. Hence, Kingibe was sacked; thus sending him back to political oblivion. He was said to have relocated to Niger Republic for undisclosed personal and official activities. A second incarnation? There are strong indications that Kingibe might return as Chief of Staff when President-elect Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in as President on May 29, 2015. Insiders who are privy to the power permutations in the All Progressives Congress told Sunday Telegraph that Kingibe is highly favoured to clinch the powerful position in the incoming government. Earlier, many had thought that Buhari had a natural choice for Chief of Staff in the person of Col Hamid Ali (retd), who has served him in that capacity for about 12 years. Sources within APC told Sunday Telegraph that though Ali, a former military governor of Kaduna State, has performed creditably well all these years, being the Chief of Staff to the President requires more than military discipline. In addition to discipline, the office requires an influential personality who will administer the State House with some political sagacity. Aso Rock plays host to a lot of eminent personalities on a daily basis. Foreign heads of state and governments, members of the diplomatic corps, ex-heads of state, ex-governors and other political figures who worked for the election of the President would be flocking to the Presidential Vila for various reasons, and the President needs a man with a certain degree of international clout and exposure to handle these visitors. Duties of Chief of Staff The office of the Chief of Staff to the President has great influence. The occupant of this office in the Presidential Villa is the third in command, next to the Vice President. The duties of Chief of Staff vary greatly from one administration to another. In fact, there is no legal requirement that the President must fill the position. As a principal aide, he handles all issues relating to arrangements and preparation of the President’s itinerary. He prepares official schedules on the day’s event and ensures that they are judiciously carried out.

The current Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Brig-Gen. Jones Arogbofa, is the second since Jonathan assumed the leadership of the country. The retired general replaced former deputy governor of Edo State, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe, as chief of staff. An Aso Rock strongman in the position typically oversees the actions of State House Staff, manages the President’s schedule and decides who is allowed to meet with the number one citizen. Because of these duties, the chief of staff has at various times been labelled ‘The Engine Room’ by presidency staff. His roles can therefore be said to be managerial and advisory and can include the selection of key State House staff and supervising them, structuring the staff system and controlling the flow of people into the Oval Office Unlike Arogbofa, Ogiadomehe was a personal friend to Jonathan. Many believe that this ought to be the situation. In fact, the chief of staff also protects the interest of the President, facilitating interface with other cabinet members. He advises the President on various issues. In the days of Ogiadomhe, there was the belief that he became powerful, handling many issues of government. In liaison with the Chief Security Officer to the President, the Chief of Staff decides which function that the President attends. The White House experience In countries like the United States, the White House Chief of Staff is an Assistant to the President. The Chief of Staff oversees the Executive Office of the President . This office was created in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and is responsible for a variety of critical functions in support of the president’s work and agenda. The duties of the White House Chief of Staff vary greatly in each administration, according to the needs and desires of each president. The position typically plays both a managerial and advisory role that encompasses several important functions: Select and supervise key White House staff, control access to the Oval Office and the President, manage communications and information flow, negotiate with congress, executive branch agencies, and external political groups to implement the president’s agenda. To fulfill these duties, the Chief of Staff oversees and coordinates the efforts of the following offices within the EOP and White

House Office: Council of Economic Advisers, Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Residence, National Security Staff, Office of Administration Office of Management and Budget, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Office of the Vice President, Domestic Policy Council, National Security Advisor, National Economic Council, Office of Cabinet Affairs, Office of the Chief of Staff and many more. On January 25, 2013, Obama appointed Denis McDonough as his Chief of Staff.. As Chief of Staff, the former Congressional staffer has made greater outreach to Republican Senators a major priority, with several Republicans referring to his tenure as Chief of Staff as a breath of fresh air. Apprehension These are the duties Kingibe is expected to perform. However, some watchers of the development in the APC are wondering about his choice for the position. An executive member of the party in Borno State said the former diplomat had been moonlighting in Niger Republic in the past few years and contributed nothing to the election of Buhari. However, a top member of the party insisted that his appointment might be strategic, because as a technocrat with international connections, he would bring in such expertise and experience to run the Villa. On the other hand, some even wonder whether Kingibe would not betray the trust this time around, considering his antecedents. If he eventually becomes the chief of staff, would he be able to subsume his political ambition and concentrate on his duties? Would Kingibe not return to his alleged old habit of scheming to use his position to advance his personal cause? And given the fact that a lot of persons contributed in no small way to the success of the APC and Buhari at the last election, would Kingibe be able to accommodate some of them, including former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo? In Kingibe’s last outing as Secretary to Government of the Federation, he was alleged to had been the brain behind the frosty relationship that sprouted between Yar’Adua and Obasanjo. This manifested in the cancellation of many of the programmes and policies of the Obasanjo years no matter how relevant they were. Would there be a repeat of such actions or would Kingibe have learnt some lessons from his past? This remains to be seen in the years ahead.

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Politics

‘Buhari should pursue confident, assertive foreign policy’ C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 4

the rules of engagement are respected especially by our traditional friends whose current hallmark is to lecture us at will and degrade us as a nation. This will depend however, on how Nigerians especially at home, abroad and at official levels conduct themselves. If we continue with the negative narratives of Nigeria and refuse to be positive about this country and her people, if we continue to promote our ethnicity and faith rather than our unity and the strength of our diversity, the current wrong perception of Nigeria will linger on and in some ways affect our ability to promote our national interest in particular, our economic interest. He must effectively re-engage our neighbours and reinvigorate our policy of good neighbourliness. Here again, Nigerians

Obaze

need to understand that it is in our best interest to maintain strong and cordial relations with our neighbours. We must build strong bridges with them and where and when necessary, assist them. He must be a strong advocate and defender of democracy and the rule of law, not only in Nigeria but across the African continent. He should push to reform the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union to make them effective in accomplishing their mandates and we must work through and with the United Nations for global peace and security. On this we cannot take a back seat and with his pedigree or antecedents he can do a lot even as an advocate. Look at the chaos in the Middle East for example. Nigerians do not see or appreciate the nexus and the influence of the crisis in the Middle East on

the rise and behavior of Boko Haram and why it is necessary for us to encourage as much as we can political resolution of the various disputes in that part of the world. In the final analysis, the success of the President’s foreign policy would depend to a large extent on his domestic policy especially what he does in the first one hundred days and the first year of the administration. It would depend a lot on the effectiveness of the policies put in place. This is why it is imperative that the administration must hit the ground running. It must see government as continuum and resist the temptation of focusing on the Jonathan administration, what it did or failed to do, of dismantling everything Jonathan did. He must learn from the Umaru Yar’Adua experience. Where there is the need for adjustments and corrections in

terms of policy, this should be done and he should move on to effect the change promised Nigerians. But it seems international cooperation against Boko Haram and the failure of Nigeria to exploit benefits of existing agreement especially among the African countries have not helped in addressing the insurgency issue. You are right. There is that tendencies among neighbours to play the ostrich when another neighbour is in trouble. Often times, this has to do with the fact that they have no indepth knowledge of the crisis in the other country. In our case, we also do not have the same knowledge nor the danger posed to our existence until the whole situation got out of hand. Worst still, we politicised the issue and gave cool comfort to Boko Haram. You can also argue that the failure was also a reflection of our failure to uphold our policy of good neighbourliness, so much so that it took French to break the ice. That would have happened years ago. Going forward, we should continue to engage our immediate neighbours and those on the West Coast and Central Africa especially on economic and security issues. What is your impression of the illegal migrant issue and associated death in the sea in Italy and Europe? I am indeed surprised that government has not focused or commented on the crisis that is claiming hundreds of immigrant lives. This is because Nigerians are involved. There are many Nigerians who have been using this route to Europe and indeed the CNN interviewed some who claimed that they are determined to go across despite the risks to avoid the hardship at home. This is not an issue we should leave to Europe alone and the unstable situation in Libya is not helping matters. Whatever be the case, this and the execution of Nigerians in Indonesia as well as the attack on Africans in South Africa strengthen the case for public enlightenment about travelling abroad illegally and without the requisite skill. Besides, Europe and America in recent time, as a result of their own problems, are no longer favourably disposed to immigrants and they are strengthening their borders and regulations to stop the inflow of immigrants. Follow the British election and you will see that next to the economy, immigration is a major issue in the campaign. Indeed one of the parties is campaigning to pull Britain out of Europe because of this issue. On the other hand, all these should serve as a wake-up call to our leaders, especially the governors on the urgent need to create a diversified economy that creates employment for Nigerian youths. It is also a call to review our educational system and give due attention to vocational education so as to equip youths who can’t make it to higher education with the skills to live a decent life. It’s a call for a national diversified economy and an economy that is inclusive.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015

Politics

Honing skills of legislators-elect From the

Red Chamber chukwudavid68@yahoo.com

Chukwu David

he four-day induction course for the newly elected members of the National Assembly ended in Abuja last Thursday. The programme was packaged and executed by the National Institute for Legislative Studies. On a general premise, the fundamental objective of the training programme is to equip the politicians, who are assumed to be coming to the parliament for the first time with the knowledge of lawmaking. It was actually designed for the 109 Senators-elect and the 360 members of the House of Representatives, who were elected to the nation’s highest legislative body in the March 28, 2015 National Assembly elections. While some of the lawmakers are entirely new to legislative business, some of them have had experience at their respective state assemblies, while others are serving members of the National Assembly, who were re-elected in the last general polls in the country.

However, the targets of the training are those who might be regarded as neophytes in the art of legislation. These are people, who were elected into the parliament from their various fields of endeavour. Some of them were politicians but never served at any level of the legislature, not even at the local government council level; and others are completely from non-political background. In view of these varied backgrounds of the elected lawmakers, it was observed at the venue of the event that the ranking members of the National Assembly, who were re-elected were not keen to sit down and profit from the training since they have already undergone similar training in the previous assemblies and/ or the extant Seventh National Assembly. Consequently, the ranking members, both the Senators and the Reps were essentially seen come in; stay for a little while and then go out of the International Conference Centre, venue of the training programme. This made some observers, who noticed this attitude to start murmuring that they only came to sign their allowances and go away. Whatever the situation, the aim of the training was to bring all the elected politicians to the same page of the fundamental responsibility of the Legislature and the

Ibrahim: N’East needs Marshal Plan

legislators, so that when they are inaugurated on June 4, 2015, they will not be totally ignorant of the preliminary functions and activities of parliament. For instance, the legislators-elect were taught the core functions of the parliament, which are lawmaking, oversight and representation. Moreover, other major topics introduced to the incoming legislators include: leadership in the National Assembly; representation and constituency relations, bill process and constitutional amendments, budget process and money bills as well as activities, challenges and procedures for committees. The Director-General of NILS, Dr. Ladi Hamalai, earlier in her address of welcome to the lawmakers, stressed that the institute’s commitment to making sure that members of the National Assembly enjoyed maximum performance by organising periodic trainings on legislative procedures would be not be broken. This promise if fulfilled, will no doubt raise the level of parliamentary performance to a measurable standard of professional competence, which will in turn boost the contribution of lawmakers for effective governance. This is because greater percentage of the lawmakers coming to the Eighth National Assembly

is new. Apart from training the new legislators, several other events took place at the venue, including the visit of the Presidentelect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), who used the opportunity to address the members of the apex parliament and solicited for their support to enable him succeed in tackling the national problems in the country and take the nation to a higher level of development. The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and other principal officers of the Senate, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and other principal officers of the House of Representatives all attended the induction course. Also, some of the former principal officers and members of the last assemblies attended the event and served as resource persons to enrich the new members with their wealth of experience. Looking at the fact that there are more new members-elect coming to the Assembly than the ranking members, it is imperative that this kind of training be conducted at intervals throughout the lifespan of the Assembly, to bridge the gap created by ranking lawmakers that were not re-elected in the last general elections.

‘Umahi will run inclusive govt’ Biyi Adegoroye

Ibrahim C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 3

still pockets of Boko Haram insurgents in small bushes all around the area. Recently, they killed many people. The military has not yet cleared or completely mopped up the area of insurgents. They are still in the bushes near the villages that have been liberated and that is why the military are directly telling the people not to go back to their villages yet. It will take some time before they are able to clear it and allow the people to go back home. Some persons were blaming the Federal Government for the problems of insurgency and they accused the Jonathan administration of sponsoring Boko Haram. Do you share that kind of view? I don’t share in the view that government is sponsoring Boko Haram. I just told you that Boko Haram started from a religious sect just like any other sect. But of course, the Nigeria Police have a share of the blame. They pushed the sect too much. They even pushed them to the wall and members of the sect had nowhere to turn to but to fight back. The police definitely have a share of the blame but not government per se. The police and some other security agents contributed to making them totally radicalized such

that they took arms against their own fatherland. What should the government do to reintegrate the north east into the country after this crisis? I have been saying it that we need a Marshal Plan for rebuilding of the NorthEast because it as suffered so much devastation in the last few years. We need that plan over the next four to five years to be able to bring back what we have lost. We have been pushed further backwards by a minimum of 20 years and we need a deliberate reconstruction plan to recover from our losses. In three local government areas in Yobe State, over 300 primary schools have had their roofs blown off. Children are no longer going to school in those places. Think of all the other local government areas that have suffered the same fate. In Borno, they have up to 27 local governments; Yobe has 27 local governments and you can imagine the kind of destruction that has taken place across these places. They destroyed many schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, people’s houses, people’s vehicles and what have you. There have been a massive destruction all over the place and we need a Marshall plan.

bonyi State Deputy Governor-elect and a co-head of the Transitional Committee in the state, Dr. Kelechi Igwe has expressed optimism that the committee will midwife a successful and rewarding assumption of office on May 29. Dr. Kelechi Igwe also expressed satisfaction on the makeup of the transition committees and assured that the incoming administration will run an all inclusive government and address the problems of the people of the state to deliver dividends of democracy. The committee which was inaugurated by the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Boniface Chima, with the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Dr. Ifeayi Ike while Igwe is leading that of the incoming government. Sources said at least 27 sub-committees have been constituted and are currently meeting with various ministries, departments and agencies in the state to ensure smooth take over later this month and facilitate easy running of state affairs thereafter. “We have been meeting with various ministries and departments and interestingly, we have uninhibited access to documents, government activities, finances and all commitments the out-going government has made in order to put the Divine Mandate Group (Governor-elect David Umahi’s campaign platform) in a good stead when it assumes office,” the source said. Speaking in the same, Peoples Democratic Party chairman in the state, Chief Owen Joseph Owen, said the party made history in being one of the few parties whose deputy governor succeeded the seating governor despite the stern opposition he received in the primaries and election itself. ”My party made history in the state and in the country by not only ensuring that the deputy Governor, Comrade Dave Umahi is succeeding the governor, and that we also won the three senatorial seats, six members of the House of Representatives as well as the entire lawmakers in the state House of Assembly..

Umahi

“The victory, coming at a time when the seating governor was vehemently opposed to the emergence of his deputy, we are very elated, and we see it as a victory for justice and for the entire people of the state, Hence we promise not to let the people down,” he said. In spite of the victory, however, and in agreement with the post-election reconciliations, Owen said that his party is committed to the on-going efforts of some eminent people of the state, to ensure they bury the hatchet, adding that that was vital for its overall development. “We know that the there are some people who were aggrieved over the preelection and post election activities. We are reaching out to these aggrieved ones in the general interest of our state. The most important thing to us is the growth and development of the state and unit of our people. These are very important hence we are committed to this,” he said.

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Politics

‘Conceding defeat doesn’t make Jonathan a hero’ Businessman and philanthropist, Deacon Iyke Kanu, in this interview, bares his mind on why he jettisoned his Abia State governorship ambition to support Chief Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the reasons behind President Goodluck Jonathan’s loss to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and why the Igbos need a leader like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to move the region forward politically. EDWIN USOBOH reports The general elections have come and gone but the ripple effects still reverberate across the length and breadth of the nation. What is your take on the conduct and outcome of the elections? I will say that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria. This is the very first time we are witnessing such level of maturity in this nation and within our neighbouring countries, where an incumbent President concedes defeat and quickly congratulates the winner of the election. The underlining understanding of the whole exercise is that Nigeria is fast developing in governance and democratic norms; and I hope the coming generations will emulate this commendable trend. Does President Jonathan’s conceding defeat and congratulating his opponent make him a hero as being celebrated, especially, considering the fact that his party, PDP, had objected to his candidature for re-election, leading to the defection of some PDP governors to APC? First of all, let me correct an impression that PDP is destroyed. The fact that it losts the presidential election doesn’t mean the end of the party. PDP is going to go back and regroup to come out stronger. In spite of what has happened, it can become stronger to present a formidable opposition to APC. Now about Jonathan being a hero or not, that I don’t understand what you mean by hero or the entire hullabaloo about it. He lost an election and has nothing else to do than to hand over to the winner. That is democracy. He did not contest that he didn’t lose the election. The process of the election was free and fair, at least, to the best of our ability for now. As a gentleman, there is nothing he could do than to accept defeat because he was actually defeated. So, I don’t know what you mean by being a hero. In what way? He lost an election and that’s not heroic or do you mean he shouldn’t have accepted the outcome of the election? That will amount to transiting the nation to chaos. That he lost an election and concedes defeat to me does not make him a hero, rather I see him as a gentleman, who has seen that his people desire change and have to accept their wish. What in your opinion could be responsible for his losing the election? I think the people were fed up with the PDP and secondly, this Jonathan’s tenure was rooted deeply in corruption. Evidences abound here and there to buttress the claim. Again, the electorate are better educated politically now. Questions are being asked and our people are not just following the order of the day. People are ready to speak up and make their voices heard irrespective of whatever you give them as inducement. For instance, there was a situation in this past election where people collected money from a certain political party but went ahead to vote their desired party and candidate. I think one of the major factors that made him lose was bad governance and corruption in high places. He was unable to control those working under him. He lacked the charisma of a president. He’s so soft that even when the corruption is staring him in the face, he lacked the will to either question or bring the culprits to book. Recall that in the past six years that his tenure lasted, nobody has been taken to court or jailed for corruption in spite of the massive outcry of looting that was the order of the day. Does it mean that all was well,

everybody was upright or that everybody is now saint in Nigeria? No! But he lacks the propensity to act or prosecute those working under him who were enmeshed in high level corruption. I think Nigerians don’t want that anymore; we want to protect the sanctity of our nation. If he has the opportunity of being the President again, he should sit back and look for the right crop of people to work with who are not corrupt-minded like the legions he surrounded himself with. Do you see the President-elect, General Buhari, as the messiah this nation yearns for? It is only God, who can determine who is a messiah in a country and it’s only Him that reserve the prerogative to send one. I have never seen the President-elect as one, at least, for now. I cannot judge if he is a messiah or he is going to be the best or worse President for this nation. We never can say until he sets up his machinery of governance. But looking at the kind of people around him, with one questionable character or the other, one can be forced to say that we are still in the same situation except he can come up as the nation has anticipated him to call the bluff of even those who helped him to actualise his mandate if he discover they have inordinate ambition to drag his administration in the mud, and bring everybody to justice irrespective of positions and involvements to his ascendance to power. Judging by his past records, I think he is an anti-corrupt crusader that could bring the hydra-headed corruption in this country to its knee. You know people are judging him based on his military era where he had a knack for high level of discipline but you know he is coming back as a democratically elected President who does not have all the autocratic powers to carry out what he wants at will. He has the House of Representatives, the Senate and other agencies of government to pass through appropriately, who will contribute to the day to day running of government as required under democratic setting. As a politician who was actually prepared to run for the office of Abia State governor during the governorship election, looking back at the entire scenario, do you regret not participating in the election? I don’t have any regrets whatsoever. One of the reasons I stepped down was that when I was about obtaining my nomination form, I met a very trusted brother, Alex Otti, who was equally from the same village with me. We had detailed discussion and I decided to step down since we share almost the same vision for our dear state, though he eventually lost the election gallantly. But seeing what transpired in Abia State, casting my mind back to your earlier question if we can see Jonathan as a hero for conceding defeat. There are some people who cannot for one reason or the other do that, they will rather die than concede defeat to their opponent even when it’s obvious they lost; that was the situation we found ourselves in Abia before the election was declared inconclusive for a rerun where my brother was eventually schemed out. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fast assuming the status of Yoruba political leader. Only recently, was he compared to the legendary Pa Obafemi

Kanu

Awolowo. How do you see this, bearing in mind that at a point, he remained the only visible opposition in the South-West The only way I can describe Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is that he is a political enigma. He is a king and also a king maker. He has the well being of his people at heart and his people, on realising that, gave him all the support. He’s a great leader. I can recall attending a political event at the TBS sometime ago. The way Tinubu came down to the downtrodden mingling and chatting away with them without being conscious of his social status tells a lot about him and such disposition can build confidence around his followers. Tinubu is a bridge today between the South and the North because of his political charisma. He’s a great leader and people like him are made by God for a purpose. If not for people like Tinubu today, we’ll not be talking about the change that we have today. Recall that at a time, Tom Ikimi and Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, in separate statements, told the nation that PDP would rule Nigeria for the next 60 years. Now, if people like Tinubu are not there, there wouldn’t have been much that Buhari would have done because if the whole North gave him their votes, I don’t think he would have won the election but the likes of Tinubu were able to galvanise the whole South-West together as someone who enjoys the trust and confidence of his people and then the change came. So I will say that Tinubu has done creditably well. Take a look at Lagos State today which has become a model for the nation, the leadership is being navigated by him. You can see peace prevailing. The most secured state in Nigeria today is Lagos State. The most developed state in Nigeria today is Lagos State. I think we should allow this political colossus to extend his tentacles and see what he can do nationally. Being an Igbo man, do you think the Igbos are lacking a character like Tinubu? Greatly! There is nobody like Tinubu in the entire Igboland and it didn’t start with this political dispensation. The problem with the Igbos started during the colonial era. When the colonial masters came to Nigeria before the amalgamation, they used the leadership pattern in the Northern Protectorate provided by the Sultan of Sokoto and other Emirs to govern them. They came to the

West and the Obas were on hand to assist in governing the people of the region because the people are subjective to what the Obas say. So it was easy because of the trust and confidence they reposed on their Obas. But in the East, there is a popular saying that ‘Igbo enwe Eze’, meaning Igbos have no King. Everybody is a king in his father’s compound, so it will be very difficult for them to come together and say let us listen to one man. This or that man can take us to the promised land. No! That is lacking in Igboland. I think it is high time the Igbo political tink tanks started thinking of the best possible way out of this quagmire; otherwise the Igbos will continue to lag behind in the polity of Nigeria. What do you think is the place of the Igbos in the coming political dispensation? Well, we are part and parcel of the nation. We are pure first class citizens of this nation and we still have our pride of place. The fact that we do not have an arrow head does not stop us from being part and parcel of the nation after all the bulk of the nation’s wealth comes from this divide of the nation. Secondly, I don’t believe General Buhari’s administration will marginalise any part of the nation for that matter. The Igbos have the right to integrate and belong to any political party they so wish, it’s a matter of choice. The fact that we don’t have APC senators from the whole of South-East, though regrettable, does not stop us from having part of the national cake. I think there must be an adjustment to bring an Igbo man in for reason of federal character. There could be important appointments and don’t forget that it’s all politics. Some senators and high ranking Igbo politicians might decide to defect to the APC to actualise the place of the Igbo man and I think in future, the Igbos will align with the national government. The truth was that there was massive belief across the SouthEast that President Jonathan was going to win, and they decided to offer him massive support. You may call that political suicide.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015

Politics

Race for Speaker and replay of Tambuwal fiasco From the

Green Chamber ternyam@gmail.com

Philip Nyam

ith barely a month to the proclamation of the Eighth National Assembly, the scramble for presiding positions in both chambers of the parliament is at a feverish pitch. Although, the party that would form the majority in both houses - the APC - is having a tough time deciding on its zoning formula, candidates are not resting on their oars to sell their ambitions for various positions. In the House of Representatives, a repeat of the 2011 protest that produced Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and his deputy, Emeka Ihedioha from North-West and South-East respectively against the PDP’s zoning arrangement for South-West and North-East is brewing and may happen. The candidature of Hon. Yakubu Dogara is poised to upstage the APC’s apple cart. Dogara, currently House services committee chairman is from Bauchi State (NorthEast) and is a serious contender for the position of speaker and judging by his antecedents and popularity amongst members, he may emerge the speaker with or without the party zoning the position to the North-East. The North-East is most unlikely to be given the slot of speaker by the party hi-

erarchy if recent permutations are anything to go by. The same zone is rooting for the position of Senate President and if it is eventually ceded there, the speaker is likely to go to the South-West. Even if the Senate President is zoned to NorthCentral, the North-East may get Deputy Senate President and this may make it unlikely for speaker to go the zone. But Dogara is in the race to win and not to bargain for any principal position. Although, Dogara came to the House in 2007, he seems to be more acceptable to a majority of the members than the minority leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who is also a leading contestant. There are about 10 candidates now but for those familiar with House politics, this game is between Gbajabiamila and Dogara. Many factors will however, work in the favour of Dogara. Although there are other contestants from the North-East, Dogara is many steps ahead of all of them. He is the only Christian amongst them. Secondly, his candidature is seen as an independent position in the House. The PDP members are more at home with him largely based on the rumour that Gbajabiamila is the candidate of APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The message is fast spreading amongst the fresh members who have also been lectured on the need to curtail the alleged over-bearing influence of Tinubu on the party. The party can only overlook this allegation at its own peril. While making his formal declaration to run for the position, Dogara made it clear that zoning “is a delicate balancing” and

must exude “equity and justice” to thrive. When asked about whether he intends to go the way of Tambuwal and defer the party should the zoning arrangement does not favour him, the Bauchi legislator said “I know there can’t be change if we don’t exude virtues of justice and equity” The APC must learn a lesson from the horse trading that led to the emergence of Tambuwal/Ihedioha leadership or it will go the way of PDP. The House is made up of young brilliant and independent upcoming leaders who are out to make a statement and if the party underrates their

feelings, it may have itself to blame. Perhaps, the party will allow the lower house to choose its leaders without interference. The House has in the recent past voted against candidates endorsed by parties. In 2007, though the first female speaker, Hon. Patricia Etteh was the PDP candidate, she did not last for more than four months. Hon. Dimeji Bankole defeated George Jolaoye, who was the preferred candidate of the party in November 2007. And in 2011, Hon. Tambuwal dusted Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, who was the sole candidate of the PDP. APC beware!

...Freshmen head to court

he members-elect, who are coming to the National Assembly for the first time are also brimming fire and hailstorm on the ranking provision in the Standing Orders of the House that bars them from contesting for the positions of speaker and deputy speaker. Order II, Rule 4 (a) of the House of Representatives Standing Orders provides that “A member-elect, addressing the clerk, shall propose another member-elect with legislative experience as member of the National Assembly to the House to be speaker and shall move that such member-elect, do take the chair of the House as Speaker of the House of Representatives.” This provision clearly rules out the possibility of a new member emerging as speaker. Worst of all, it can’t be amended

or suspended before the election of the presiding officers because the rule only allows for election of speaker on the first day and prohibits any other business. But a new member who is making case for the freshmen, Hon. Philip Shuabu from Edo State has described this provision as “undemocratic and unacceptable.” He is giving thoughts to challenging the suitability of this rule and its acceptability in a democracy. Shuaibu is presently the majority leader in Edo State House of Assembly and wonders why an experienced lawmaker such as him will not be eligible to vie for position of speaker. Although the new members are about 301, their numerical strength has been rendered half-useless by virtue of this provision.

Lawyers, activists flay killing in 2015 elections Chijioke Iremeka

ince the dawn of democracy in 1999, Nigerian political process has been characterised by election related violence and killings. The twin misdemeanor have claimed a number of lives and forced many out of real political participation in the country. While the 2003 and 2007 elections recorded some level of pre-election and post election crises which led to many deaths, that of the 2011 was the most bloody. Records by the Human Rights Watch have it that over 800 people lost their lives in the elections four years ago. The victims were killed in a three-day post election riots in the 12 northern states. The violence began with widespread protests by supporters of the main opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim from then Congress for Progressive Change, following the re-election of incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the Niger Delta, who was the candidate for the ruling People’s Democratic Party. The protests degenerated into violent riots or sectarian killings in the northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara. Relief officials estimated that over 65,000 people were displaced during the unrest. “The April elections were heralded as among the fairest in Nigeria’s history, but they also were among the bloodiest,” said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. More so, the presidential election divided the country along ethnic and religious lines. As 2011 election results trickled in on April 17, and it became clear that Bu-

hari had lost, his supporters took to the streets of northern towns and cities to protest what they alleged to be the rigging of the results. In the just concluded 2015 general elections, a conservative report revealed that over 180 lives were lost while scores were injured before and during the polls. The violence again rocked at least seven states across the country. Scores of people were killed in Benue, Rivers, Lagos, Plateau, Bauchi and Ebonyi states. In Rivers State, heavy shooting was reported in Ozuoba and Rumuolumeni in Obio Akpor Local Government Area, which prompted soldiers to move into Buguma in Asari Toru LGA, where two persons were killed, as well as police officers at work. The shooting allegedly emanated from political thugs and this had prompted stakeholders’ reactions, seeking a peaceful electoral process in the country. Sequel to this, and in their bid to prevent its reoccurrence, a security expert and an Associate Professor of International Relations as well as Secretary of American Society of Industrial Security, Lagos Chapter, Dr. Femi Adegbulu, said the violence is as a result of poor management of information. Identifying inflammatory statements by the politicians as the major cause of post election violence, he urged the politicians to shun inflammatory statements that would spur uninformed Nigerians into negative actions that would be regretted afterwards, arguing that bad communications system was what led to such loss of lives, especially in 2011 general elections, where perception of people was that some people have been rigged out. “When an election is free, fair and transparent, people will be carried along and

everybody will be monitoring the election to the end and there won’t be any form of violence. Having said this, plans to rig and rigging of election are other causes of violence during elections in the country. If the Permanent Voter’s Cards become nationalised and operational in Nigerian election, then we will experience violencefree elections,” he said. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the former Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof. Itse Sagay said, election shouldn’t be do-or-die affair, adding that the politicians should be able to adopt the spirit of sportsmanship in politics, which President Jonathan has set on motion. “He has been saying that he will keep to the handover date. He had earlier said that he would respect the outcome of the election. So, political violence will stop, when we see politics as a call to service. I’m very encouraged with the president. Once that is done, there will be some calming down in the country. Once we can get through that, we will successfully begin to establish ourselves as future developing democratic country.” An Abuja-based constitutional lawyer and the Principal Partner, Charles I. Ndukwe & Co., Charles Ndukwe, said the major reason for such level of political killings and violence in the country is lack of political awareness among the people, especially when inflammatory statements are involved. “We should be able to see election in the country as sporting activities that when one fails, he goes back and finds out what made him to fail and re-strategise, instead of seeking whom to kill or instigate violence in order that the election will be cancelled. It’s lack of education and poverty that one would say what will make people move about looking for whom to attack in

an election, especially when given N2, 000 or less. They foment trouble even when they are not the contestants but just because of money involved. It’s unfortunate but I think with political awareness, this things will be nipped in the bud,” he said. According to Emeka Ngige, SAN, the violence that characterised Nigerian electoral processes is an indication of low penetration of democracy in the country. “The violence will stop when the country’s democracy had developed reasonably and people will begin to see election as the process of changing government and brining in those, who will manage the affairs of the country well. “We have to be civilised about this. It’s through voting that we remove bad leaders. The leaders should see themselves as public servants, who come to serve and not to kill the people they come to serve. But any form of violence is unaccepted,” he added. Chairman, Centre for Law Enforcement Education, one of the civil society organisations which monitored the elections, Prof. Etanibi Alemikan, however, said that some deaths were recorded in the elections; it witnessed a lot of improvements over those of previous years. To him, early arrival of the security agencies at the polling units during the elections, the presence of soldiers in the precincts of the polls helped a great deal. “In the past, several hundreds of people were killed either before, during or after elections. But the situation reduced greatly because of the maturity displayed by political leaders especially when the results were released,” he said. He added that a great factor was the decrease in the trouble caused by security agents who accompanied politicians to polling booths.

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Politics

‘Corrupt officials will soon return money’ Yomi Okunnu is the principal partner, Yomi Okunnu & Co. He speaks to CHIJIOKE IREMEKA on the proposed General Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war, the power of the National Assembly to override the President on constitution amendment and other issues What would you say about the president’s rejection of the amendments to the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly and what do you think of the amendments itself? First of all, the constitution is very clear about the powers of the President and that of the National Assembly as it affects constitution making. Constitution making is not the same process as the resolution and the passage of bills. But in respect to the amendments to the constitution that was sent to the president, as long as the President has given reasons and has written the NASS, communicating his position on the bill, he has not done anything outside his jurisdiction. What he has done was that he looked carefully at what was presented to him, and said, ‘I’m unable to append my signature to this.’ So, he wrote a letter to the National Assembly, giving his reasons. But, there is a position in the constitution, where such happened within a certain period, NASS can override the President’s action and pass the bill into law. Don’t forget that being a constitutional matter, the amendments have gone through the same NASS and therefore, has satisfied the amendment procedure. There is compliance from the House in pushing to the President but I still don’t think that there is provision in the constitution for the President to assent the constitutional amendments going by what we have before. Are you saying that there is no constitutional provision where the President is required to assent to the amendments to the constitution? No, I don’t think so because, if you look at the previous alterations, which were tantamount to amendments, they were passed by the two-third of the House. In the previous amendments in the constitution, the House passed them into law without the President’s assent. Then where do you place the issue of ‘Separation of Power’ which President mentioned as one of the reasons for rejecting the amendments, especially as it affects National Judicial Council and President on appointment of Attorney General of Federation? All the ministers appointed by the President must be confirmed by the House. NJC is constituted by the constitution and the people that make up the NJC are picked by constitution, which are the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Attorney General of Federation, President of Court of Appeal and others. It is a constitutional body under the judiciary. The Attorney General is the member of the executive, appointed by the President subject to confirmation of the legislature. Don’t forget that the legislature will have to screen and approve. In this, what I think the amendment of that section is trying to do is to remove executive appointment of

professional. Let’s start from NJC. NJC is made up of lawyers and lawyers know themselves. Now, we are saying that if the body of lawyers were to pick an Attorney General, they will pick the person that has the capacity. Don’t forget the President appoints based on recommendation of the NJC, it does not relegate the powers of the President. Even in the appointment of judges, the president does not appoint, he approves the appointment recommendation and he will announce. It is judges that appoint judges. The NJC appoints judges and that’s the way it has been. Now, don’t forget that the same NASS, which proposed that NJC should appoint Attorney General, also suggested that the office of Attorney General be separated from Minister of Justice. What it means is that, the President can appoint the Minister of Justice, who will be a member of executive and political appointee, but the Attorney General is a serious office which is better picked from those who know, outside political consideration. He is a chief law officer and manages it professionally. So, it’s better picked from the ones who know. Then, the issue of National Economic Council picking the Accountant General, I support it in a way, because it takes away from the executive the monopoly of patronage. Now, where accountants, say ICAN and accounting bodies, pick Accountant General, it’s not only responsible to the nation, there is also a level of independent it enjoys to offer correct accounting. There is an amendment, where the principal officers of NASS – Senate Presidents and deputies, Speakers and deputies among others officers – will be considered for life pension. What is your take on this? Until there is a constitutional amendment for provision for even pension, such will not happen because I’m not aware that executive members are pensionable because they are there for a term or there about. If you are there for a term you can be paid certain allowance because I’m aware that they are paid severance allowance at the end of their tenure. I think we will get it right. The service for the legislature should be part-time and not full-time. When this happens, it will not stop anybody from becoming and pursuing his career. Then, when there is the need for the House to sit, he will go and sit. It only requires one’s commitment and if that is the case, the pension, and certain allowances will not be paid. The amount of money spent on the legislators is unquantifiable for the number of hours that they put in. Mind you, they do oversight function notwithstanding their allowances and payment. I will consider them heavy leakage to the

Okunnu

available resources to service to the whole nation. Many have faulted Jonathan’s administration for not tackling corruption. Now, after Buhari’s victory, his campaign manager, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that going after missing funds and corruption in Nigeria will distract the incoming administration. What hope does this give to the multitude of his supporters? Well, because I’m a strong believer in his government, I have so much trust in his government. My understanding of the utterances of Ameachi and his plan; is there is so much work to be done in Nigeria. It will be a distraction probing people but that does not mean that those, who have committed atrocities will not be brought to book. As a lawyer, for instance, if the agencies of the government in power such as the EFCC and ICPC are given independence as well as police and asked to go and do their jobs, I can assure you that law lies in governance and things will improve. People will have to render account for anything they do. For instance, if you come to the Federal Ministry of Works and somebody presents a document and said this contract has been given out and somebody somewhere will ask what happened? In the course of asking what happened, there will be an investigation into money that has been paid for that job. It may be discovered that 40 per cent of the money has been released but on the site, five per cent was on the ground, so you will be able to trace what happened with the contract. That’s the kind of government that I’m looking at. I’m looking for the government that will call people to account for what has been done. Don’t forget that it’s no longer a military government, not the government that will rally people in the jail, convicting them without them proving their innocence. Our constitution allows for anybody to be innocent until proven guilty. So, a lot of people have expressed the fear that if he didn’t face headlong corruption, he will miss it. I don’t share that view. I share the view that those, who have done wrong will go and those who are coming in will know that they can’t do anything wrong anymore because if they do they, they would have fallen into a serious trap

set already. What I know is that at the end of the day, many people will return the money they have stolen willingly and Nigeria will recover a lot of stolen money in the country. I don’t see the new government filling up the prison with the people. In a criminal justice, time does not run against the state. Many have died because of corruption and system stunted and decomposed. If it warrants the prison walls to be extended to accommodate more looters of Nigeria treasury, it’s utmost necessary. In Brazil today, a former President and seating Senator are being tried for atrocities of 2004. So, what are we saying here? I don’t want you to misunderstand what Amaechi said. The issue of corruption in Nigeria is not something that is going to be cleared in one day because the foundation of the nation is already eroded in all ramifications. Well, you cannot leave what should be done and chase after corruption. If the emphasis is on corruption, we are going to miss it. Let me tell you something, from the night of election and Buhari declared winner, do you know that many things have happened in Nigeria’s economy? Stock exchange, banking sector and business are looking better. Why, because there is a trust in the charisma and reputation of the person coming in. What we need in his first four years is stoppage of leakage. The world corruption has the branches but I want to cover it all with leakage. If I want to buy a generator and I know this can be brought to me by the manufacturers, why do I need to contract it out? That’s a leakage. If I want to buy 10 cars and I know that if I go to any of the auto dealers, they will bring it for me and give me discount, why do I need to contract it? It’s a leakage and that is corruption. It gets to a stage where business as usual ceases to be so and things work normal. When you get to USA, if you have your money you get services but here in Nigeria, with your money in your hand, you have no service and you have to tip somebody for service you have already paid for. This is corruption. So, anti corruption is not just about probe. It’s setting up a system that will not have leakage or a system, where leakages are seriously reduced.

Life SUNDAY

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

How bank managers, police assist us to rob victims–Fake EFCC agents Leader poses as EFCC director

Juliana Francis hey enjoyed life as suspected fraudsters and robbers while it lasted, raking in thousands of dollars. It was as if it would never end. Seeing that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was feared by all Nigerians, they chose to use the agency’s name to strike awe in the hearts of their victims. Like the alluring bait in a fish trap, the only female member of the six-member gang, 32-year-old Amira Abdallahi, used her stunning looks to pin down potential victims for her alleged co-conspirators to fleece of their foreign currencies. A mother of five, Lebanese-born Amira was an interior decorator who abandoned the profession sometime last year to go into full-scale armed robbery. The leader of the gang was known as Princewell Arinze (Eze) alias Nwobodo. Police described them as armed robbers because they operate and dispossessed their victims of dollars using guns, branded EFCC vests, walkie-talkies, handcuffs and a dismissed policeman. The gang leader, who insisted during an interview with Sunday Telegraph at the headquarters of the Lagos State Police Command, that they were not armed robbers, admitted to impersonating EFCC operatives and engaging in fraud. Amira, whose youngest child is just six months old, was born by a woman from Edo State. She told Sunday Telegraph that she was deceived into joining the gang because of easy money. She and her fellow gang members were arrested by policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the state police command. Since her arrest, investigators have been digging into her background and activities. A police source said: “She married overseas and was brought to Nigeria by her husband. When she teamed up with the Senator Nwobodo-led gang of conmen, she made enough money in her first operation with them. She gave her husband N1 million out of the money to start a business, but he squandered it. This was the major reason she divorced him. She said her husband was not capable of taking care of her and the kids. Police believe that the husband knew that Amira was into crime. He came to SARS office to complain that since his wife met Princewell, he had not being seeing her and she later left him.” According to the police source, Amira met Princewill at the airport. She gave him her call card and introduced herself as an interior decorator. Princewill later invited and introduced her into the sort of business he and his gang do. CO NT INU ED O N PAGE 42

Love for my kids pushed me into robbery – Amira Abdallahi When Sunday Telegraph sought to interview Amira Abdallahi, she was quite taciturn. She, however, reluctantly had a chat with our correspondent. Excerpts: How are you involved in this crime? It wasn’t my intention to get involved but, I didn’t know. Are you educated? Yes, I studied overseas. I studied in Cyprus. I studied Hotel Management. You came back to Nigeria. Did you get a job? No, I came back to Nigeria with the father of my kids whom I’m divorced from right now. How many kids do you have? I’m a single mother of five. Where is your husband now? I don’t know. We went our separate ways after the divorce. How did you come in contact with this gang? Are you dating any of them? No, I’m not dating anyone of them! I do interior designing. I got a contract to decorate one of Senator Nwobodo’s hotels. That was how I got to know him. How did you get involved in the crime? He said he needed to buy some dollars from some bureau de change operators. He said that he needed me to talk with them. That was how I got involved. Was it your role to call the victims? Something like that. I thought it was his

money he wanted to exchange. I thought he was a senator. I used to see mobile policemen around him. I thought he was a respected man. When I realised the truth, it was too late for me to step back. I was already involved. What was your part in the gang? My job was just to talk to the bureau de change operators on phone that I wanted to buy some dollars. What happened next after that? I only talk to them. That’s all! At what point did you realise you were working with fraudsters? That was actually a few months ago. How many years have you been with them before you realised? It’s not up to a year now. That was towards the third quarter of last year. I just had my last baby and that was six months ago. Who’s the father of the baby? My ex-husband! I had all my kids for my ex-husband. What made you to know? Did you see a gun with them? No! I just saw the EFCC uniforms. That’s

all! How did you know you were with criminals? It was actually when they took the money from the bureau de change operator. They took the dollars, but didn’t give the operator naira. How much was your share the first time? It’s whatever they gave me, I took. The first time was about $5000. For the job you did? Yes. How many times were you involved? I was involved about six times. Do you receive $5000 after every operation? Yes! Something like that; but I cannot really remember. Did you come to Lagos to make such calls? Yes. I came to Lagos. When you realised they were criminals, what was your reaction? Did you confront senator? I couldn’t do that. Why couldn’t you do that? It was just the situation on ground. Was it that you needed more money? No. I just take care of my children. That CO NTINUED O N PAGE 42

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Life

‘How bank managers, policemen assist us’ Initially, she refused to join the gang, but Princewill had already interviewed her and found her very smart. He told her that it was not really a criminal job, but one that needs someone pitting his or her brains against another. The police source continued: “When she received her cut from the first operation, Amira felt it was an attractive job. She walked out of her marriage and husband, and went full swing into the illegal business with Princewill and his gang.” Investigators discovered that Amira was the key member of the gang who used to set up the bureau de change operators before Princewill and others would appear in EFCC vests. Disclosing how Amira’s role in the gang was critical to the success of every operation, another police source said: “Once any gang member brought a bureau de change operator’s phone number, the person would hand it over to Amira. She

Most times, bank managers from targeted banks would come out in a hurry to assist them with arrest or to answer any question. Bank managers wouldn’t ask for identity cards because they see the EFCC branded vests would call the operator. She would tell the operator to meet her at a particular hotel, eatery, airport or bank. Most times she would go to the airport, put a call across to an operator and say she was at the airport, that her husband had just arrived Lagos. She would tell the operator that she needed a reliable bureau de change operator to change dollars for her. “Sometimes, she would suggest to the

bureau de change operator to meet her at the bank to change money for her. Once she was in the banking hall, waiting for the operator, she would put a call across to Nwobodo and other members of the gang. Princewell and others, dressed in the branded vests of the EFCC, would come into the banking hall. They would come in their car, with Princewell sitting in the back of the car, posing as one of the directors of EFCC. They would have walkie-talkies, guns and handcuffs. Once they arrived at any bank premises, Princewell would introduce himself to the mobile policemen attached to the bank as an EFCC director, claiming that he and others came to the bank to check out allegations of money laundering. “The mobile policemen usually fell for the ruse because of the siren blaring car, walkie-talkies, guns and handcuffs. In fact, they would escort him into the bank. They would arrest the bureau de change operator that came to the bank to transact business with Amira. The mobile

policemen, unaware of what was going on, would assist in the arrest, beating the person and bundling him into the conmen’s car. “Most times, bank managers from targeted banks would come out in a hurry to assist them with arrest or to answer any question. Bank managers wouldn’t ask for identity cards because they see the EFCC branded vests.” Police recovered N11 million from Amira. Eleven SUVs were also recovered from the gang. Amira confessed to investigators that if she was going for an operation, she would dress to kill, get a chauffeured car and relax in the ‘owner’s corner’ like a rich woman. She confessed that in that guise, nobody would doubt that she was a genuine business woman. The gang, however, frequented banks to carry out their operation in order to douse suspicion. Once they take the operator out of the banking hall into their vehicle, they would take his dollars and push him out of their vehicle.

‘My youngest child is six months old’ CONTINUED FR O M PAGE 41

I handed everything over, even my car, to SARS. When you saw senator and his men in EFFC uniforms, did you try to talk them out of it? No. I didn’t. Have you been arrested before? No. What is your advice to people who want to go into crime? Well, they should live a clean life and try and do positive stuff. If police allow you to go, won’t you go back to crime? No, I’ll not. If you’re sentenced to jail, who do you really think would take care of your kids? I’ve not really thought of that. I mean about going to jail. I will get my relatives to come and take care of them. The oldest of my kid is 13. Do your relatives know you’re into crime?

was what I did with my money. You knew what you were getting into! Nobody tricked you. She keeps mute Why didn’t you report to police? She keeps mute What led you into this? I said it earlier. Were you not making money in interior decoration? Sometimes I do, but sometimes I don’t. There were times I wouldn’t work for like three to six months. Senator told me he slept with you. Is it true? No! I did not sleep with any of them. Never! Ever! He’s a married man. I don’t engage myself in such! Why didn’t you walk away after you made your first millions? No one is above mistake. I hope I’ll have a second chance to do something positive. I’ve realised my mistake. So you made the mistake six times? Sure. You’re a half-caste? Yes, but I was born in Nigeria. I work here. Your parents are from where? My mum is from Edo State and my dad from Lebanon You grew up in Benin? No, I grew up in Lagos. Senator explained everything and you agreed. Didn’t you? She keeps mute Was the money the attraction? That’s it! How much did you make in all? If I convert it to naira, it should be about N10 million. What have you achieved with the money? Nothing really. You bought a jeep? Yes, I bought a jeep, a Toyota. What about your kids? My kids? I sent them to school. You changed their schools to better ones? Yes! But it’s just a normal school. You invested the money? I invested the money on my kids and I bought a car. If EFCC operatives start tracing your account, how much would they find? My account has been drained! I don’t have any money in my account. Are you serious? N10m just gone? What happened?

No! Didn’t they ask how you were making your millions? No. I had something I was doing. You used interior decoration to cover up your criminal life? I worked sometimes. I also did supplies. Would you say financial frustration pushed you into this? I had a big responsibility to carry. I needed money to carry on and for a long time now, I’d been catering for my kids alone. I was paying for my accommodation, school fees and the feeding of my kids. It was because of these responsibilities that I left my kids’ father. He refused to work. Are you saying you did all this for your kids? Yes! I love my kids. I did all this for them. I would do anything for my kids!

Fear of Boko Haram got me fired – Dismissed policeman Mr. Paul Irior, 37, is a dismissed police corporal and member of the gang. He says he was dismissed from the Nigeria Police after he was posted to Bauchi State, but refused to report for duty What brought a dismissed policeman to SARS? I’m here because of a case. When did you join the police? 2004. Why were you kicked out of the force? I was transferred to Bauchi State, but I refused to go. Why didn’t you report to Bauchi? It was in the heydays of Boko Haram. They were everywhere! Didn’t you want to fight Boko Haram for Nigeria? The fight was too tough. Since 2014, what have you been doing? I have been at home, helping my wife How many kids do you have? I have two children. How did you now team up with Senator and his gang? There was a day I went to my former office at Area F Police Command. I met a friend called Steve, although the guy is no longer alive. He gave me Senator Princewell Nwobodo’s phone number. What was his aim in giving you the phone number? The senator is from my state. I’m from Epoma, Uje (in Enugu State). I called the senator and he asked me to come and meet

him. I did. What did you tell your friend before he gave you the senator’s phone number? The guy told me there was a senator who used to assist people. He said the senator is from my place. He said the senator is a very good man. When you got there, what did he tell you? He told me there was a work he would like me to follow him to do. Are you telling us that you didn’t know the work you were going for? The first time I didn’t know. But by the time I went for the second operation, I knew. What did you do when you realised you were with criminals? The first time we went out, I was outside the bank when Senator called some people to come and meet him. They discussed at length and he later called me to come inside the car. I saw two bureau de change operators inside his car. He said we should arrest them. Were you wearing any police or EFCC vest? No. I just had handcuffs. I didn’t have any gun. Where did you get the handcuffs? It’s for me. The handcuff was the one I was using when I was a policeman. What about your police ID card? I didn’t surrender it. You showed him all those things before he said you should work with him. Yes!

Why did you now say you didn’t know what you were supposed to do with Senator? The first time I didn’t know, until we got there. How much was your share the first time? I can’t remember. What year was that? 2014. You don’t want to tell us? No! It’s because we have done a lot of work. How many operations have you done? About seven or eight. How much property do you have? I love cars! I used all my money to buy cars. How many cars do you have? I have three cars - one Lexus and two Camry cars.

Show stoppers, they are often called. Nothing says celebrity like a little sparkles and glitters on your clothes. You shine bright like a diamond and cannot go unnoticed wherever you are. You become a headturner. So, incorporate a few shiny pieces of clothing to your wardrobe for instant chic.

Glitters, glitz and glam Make a statement

Your accessories can make a celebrity of you. An ‘It’ bag, a neck piece, earrings, bracelet, cocktail ring and more. All these worn in moderation, often a piece at a time is enough to make that statement.

70s vibe

You can be as eccentric as you want or you could ‘travel’ into a time when you were most comfortable. It could also be that that era had ideals or a dress sense that appeals to you. Do just that! Accessories like hats and purse-styles to heighten this style experience.

day of their lives. So, you can own a print wrap dress and style it in your own way. Pick jewellery that depict your personal style as well as shoes that suit your life style.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Habits of well-groomed men Vanessa Okwara

e are judged by the way we look. Even if you are a top executive in a bank or you are making tons of money as an entrepreneur, if you are dressed shabbily -food stains on your clothes, rumpled shirts, mouth odour and with two days’ stubble on your face -you will be judged accordingly. To avoid creating wrong impressions, form the right grooming habits. Here are a few grooming tips for that man that is finicky about his overall appearance. Get in the shower This the basic step to staying clean and smelling good even without any cologne. Whether you’ve just come back from the gym, woken up or going for a party, a shower is necessary. Keep hands clean always Hands play important role in business meetings because of the importance of a handshake. Cut and file your nails regularly and also make sure that they don’t habour any residue of food or dirt. Keep a nail clipper, file and other items you may need for a good manicure handy. Wash your hands frequently because smelly and sweaty hands are the biggest turn off. Also use a bit of hand lotion on them to prevent your hands from getting too tough. Brush your teeth twice daily It goes without saying that keeping a good oral habit will endear to the hearts of everyone you meet. It keeps mouth odour and plague away.

Manage excess hair

Since hair grows regularly, you have to always keep a check on when your ear, nose, chest hair needs a trim. It’s best to trim hair from these parts at least once a week. Shave regularly If you sport a beard or a mustache, then make sure it is trimmed neatly and has no stray hairs sticking out in multiple directions. Sense of style Clothes that fit well and which are clean, neatly ironed and smell good are very important. Don’t recycle clothes that have been chucked into your laundry basket because you have run out of clean, ironed clothes. The fit also is very important to keep looking good. It’s no use wearing expensive shirts and branded trousers if you’ve got the wrong fit. Shiny shoes Men are judged by their shoes. If you don’t know this yet, you’ve obviously no idea about the typical standards used to judge men. If you are wearing formal shoes, make sure they’re not scuffed and dirty. They should be polished and shiny. Casual shoes should also be clean and avoid tattered shoes at all costs! Smell good all the time Don’t go overboard and douse yourself with strong fragrance after using strong smelling toiletries. Pick one cologne and stick with it. Don’t ever go cheap when buying perfume. Not only may it react badly with your skin, it can also never smell as good as the original.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Body&Soul

The burden of parental consent

got this e-mail recently and would like to treat it publicly because I believe it would help someone who might be in the same predicament. Getting parental consent in marriage is an age-long issue that still generates heated debate in some quarters in our society today. Let’s read this e-mail and have an open discussion. Please feel free to send in your own observations and comments.

Dear Aunty Vanessa, I love reading your column a lot. Your write-ups are always inspiring and I’ve learnt a lot. Right now, I seriously need your advice and I’m quite desperate. I met this guy last year and we have been dating seriously for the past 10 months or so. Aunty, I love him so much and want to be his wife. He has even asked me to marry him and I accepted. The only problem now is that his mother is against our union. I have met her several times at my fiancé house and she has always been cold to me. In fact his elder sister was the one that boldly told me to my face that they don’t believe I am good enough for their brother since I came from a poor family background and also from a village their family does not like getting married to. Aunty, I’m so confused and desperate. Do I go ahead and marry him in spite of his family disapproval of me? I don’t want to lose this guy but at the same time if I eventually go ahead and marry him, will his family not trouble my marriage? Thanks and God bless Ucheoma

CONNECT NG vanessaonsunday@yahoo.com My answer Ucheoma’s plight all goes to show the impact parents have on their children having successful marriages. Gaining parental approval of the person you choose as a wife or husband is an important issue especially in Africa where it is embedded in our culture to seek the approval of both parents before exchanging marriage vows. Even modernisation and the western world influence especially on the youths have not completely eroded the value of seeking approval from parents when it comes to the choice of a life partner. From my little observation of some Nigerian marriages and stories I have heard over time, when parents are against a union, watch it, few years down the line, you may hear about serious issues in that marriage; sometimes resulting in separation, divorce or even untimely death. Before you crucify me, I am not saying this happens all the time. Of course, there are cases of people who married their partners against their parents’ wishes and are genuinely happy today. All the same, being “in love” and in cloud nine tends to blur our vision to see clearly in the journey of love. I know sometimes people voice unappealing

opinion about someone we love either out of spite or ridicule and it’s best to ignore such remarks. But when you notice vehement opposition and outright rejection from people who are very close to you or from the family of the person you want to marry, pause and take a few steps back to do a serious rethink. Find out the reason behind their rejection and see if it is something you can iron out with them. If this proves abortive, seek out emissaries who you know they respect to plead

But when you notice vehement opposition and outright rejection from people who are very close to you or from the family of the person you want to marry, pause and take a few steps back to do a serious rethink

on your behalf if need be. I know that some parents’ decisions can be quite irrational. Sometimes, they’re simply based on selfish reasons like tribal or social status and in such cases, it can be very difficult to get them to change their minds. The only thing you need to do in such situation is to appeal to them to soft pedal on their clamp down and understand that the world has become a global village where people get hooked up with foreigners they meet even on the Internet. You can only win this type of war through reasonable argument rather than forcefully taking decisions that exclude them, thereby, infuriating them the more. If you still get the inner signal to go ahead with the marriage in the face of opposition, then make up your mind that you will do all you can to win the opposing faction with love and the right attitude. You do this by going out of your way to be exceptionally good to your inlaws and doggedly purse peace with them at all cost. Marriage is not always smooth sailing. There will be a time in life that you may need the intervention of either your own parents or that of your in-laws, so it’s best you court their approval from the beginning. Remember your parents/parents in-law will always be in your life and will also become grandparents to your children, so ask yourself if it is really worth getting married without their blessing. I’ll advice that you gain the approval of both parents before venturing into marriage. That way, you kick start your martial journey on a smooth sail rather than one filled with rancour and unnecessary oppositions. •Send your views to the email above!

More nostalgic musings on the ‘Pacesetters’

here is always a connection between nostalgia and memory that once either of these emotions is piqued, it simply gets people talking nonstop. Nostalgia is that longing for something in the past that connects us with a happy place, the kind of memory that we always want to have. Well, I think I achieved this with my piece two weeks ago. Many of the comments were from people of my generation and perhaps, from those a little earlier and a little later. Not only were they happy that someone still remembers the ‘Pacesetters’ series of novels that we read as kids, some felt I did not do enough justice to the piece as I still mentioned Mills and Boon (or ‘M and B’ as one respondent reminded me it was called among the chickest of the class). They also felt that by pointing in the direction of technology, I was proclaiming the death of books. Far from it. Reading and books will always be with us in one form or the other, that is the crux of the piece. I take all of the comments to be a good thing; a confirmation that my people still read and that people really care about what I say every week on this page. Thank you all for the lovely e-mails. I can now say it out loud that we still have a passion for the written word and reading. A close friend on social network actually took pictures of some of the classic novels in the series and posted the pictures to me. Thank you Bukky Alabi. Glad to have inspired you. I got the challenge of recollecting more of the pacesetters books and I even surprised myself when I listed them. Take for example Kalu Okpi’s ‘Coup’. As a

young child who grew up with martial music as a staple on my radio, I had no idea what the concept of a coup was. To me, it was just a bunch of guys with guns fighting it out until one comes out the winner and makes himself the leader of the country; until another set of guys with guns come along and then press repeat. However, the planning, military strategy and general backstabbing that goes into the entire process was laid out in prose in that book, of course, with a bit of romance. The same author also gave us ‘The South African Affair ’. Full disclosure, I had no idea what that book was talking about until I read it later. What a shame the man who wrote that book has to gaze upon

South Africa today and see the people he supported with a literary piece killing his brothers. I also recall ‘Too Cold for Comfort’ by Jide Oguntoye and ‘Director’ by Agbo Areo. Scandalous relationships in the family and the office were subjects treated and indeed, these are still thematic issues that bedevil our society. I can piece those novels together and they will make my own lifestyle section of a newspaper today, believe it. ‘Sisi’ by Yemi Sikuade was a hit in my class. In fact, ‘Sisi’ became popular for one reason; it was part of the class lore that you were a hip guy if you can pronounce the real name of ‘Sisi’ in the novel. I still remember it: ‘Gele’t’odo’. Eat your hearts

As a young child who grew up with martial music as a staple on my radio, I had no idea what the concept of a coup was. To me, it was just a bunch of guys with guns fighting it out until one comes out the winner and makes himself the leader of the country; until another set of guys with guns come along and then press repeat

out if you don’t like books. I also recall the one by a Kenyan author called ‘For Mbatha and Rebeka’ by David Mailu, a tragic yet soulful love tale of the triumph of the human spirit. And talking about the human spirit, how my spirit was lifted by Bode Osanyin’s epic ‘Rich Girl, Poor Boy’. I read that book three times and eventually got it confiscated by my teacher, never to be returned. And by now, you know I loved Helen Ovbiagele’s titles in the series and so no surprise if you hear me talk about another one this week, ‘Forever Yours’. Set in the northern part of Nigeria, this is a love story that defies the stereotype of an era and indeed an entire country. A love story that says we are all humans irrespective of where we live and our desire to love and be loved is the same. My, I miss those books and I miss those times of youthful exuberance before the responsibility of adulthood, fatherhood and even more. I can’t mention you all, but I doff my hat to all the authors who contributed to the series. Thanks for molding a generation of happy readers. And if anyone has a copy of all the books listed above and indeed any original Pacesetters in their closet, please let me know. I will also appeal to Macmillan Books to make e copies of these books available. There are people in their 40s and 50s (Have I just given my age away?) who long for them and will pay just to relive their childhood through the pages of these books that shaped a generation. O, the joy of reading and the treasured memories.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul with

Wole Adepoju 07037763410

woleadepoju@yahoo.com

Gbemi Saraki over the moon

Emami Ayiri celebrates

a n y were not aware of how much Emami Ayiri was worth financially until some years back when he Ayiri delved into entertainment by floating multimillion naira entertainment outfit, 911. Many artistes, especially from the SouthSouth, sought to belong to the label. People became conscious of his existence beyond Delta State where he lives when he replaced 2face’s stolen Range Rover with another new onethe same automobile some years back and he has since then remained a news maker as a young billionaire. What has further kept people curious of him is his spending ability. Well-built Ayiri penultimate weekend clocked 40 and in his usual way of not sparing cost, he went all out to celebrate his newly added year in Warri, Delta State. He provided drinks and edibles to guests and dispensed petroleum products to the people of his community free of charge. Notable musicians and comedians were also hired to add some spice

to the birthday gig. It is also still very fresh in the memories of many how the billionaire oil dealer spared no cost when his wife, Asba, celebrated her birthday not too long ago during which he gave her a Rolls Royce gift. On another note, this young billionaire came under heavy criticism in some quarters when a picture in which he was shown with All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, went viral. He came under knocks for lobbying the APC leader when President Goodluck Jonathan, whom Ayiri has been supporting was still hoping to win a second term.

Good times for Damola Kasumu

side from those who are close to the household of the late IyalojaGeneral, Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, and that of political heavy weight, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the grandson of the late Mogaji who is a nephew to Asiwaju Tinubu was relatively unknown to many. StayKasumu ing in the background became a

aughter of the late godfather of Kwara politics, Chief Olusola Saraki, Gbemisola, many would readily agree, did not go out of place to have taken interest in being a partisan politician. She grew up knowing her father to be a man of many parts, having people around him in large numbers and attending to their needs. This made him a factor in the political space of their state and by extension, in the country. A graduate of a London university, pretty Gbemi, like her elder brother, Senator Bukola Saraki, had years back been contented with attending to their various family businesses. When it was time, their interest in the game of politics manifested. While Bukola got the backing of their father and was helped to achieve his governorship ambition, Gbemi got a seat in the National Assembly as a senator and she waxed stronger politically. However, interest divided the Saraki dynasty in 2011 when Gbemi attempted to take over the mantle of leadership of the state from her brother who was winding up his two terms as the governor of the state. Bukola was not favourably disposed to her aspiration as he anointed a candidate in the person of the current governor, Fatai Ahmed. With the backing of their father, Gbemi floated another party, Action Congress Party of Nigeria, where she tried unsuccessfully to realise her governorship dream. But a lot of factors worked against her aspiration, thereby forcing her

to withdraw into her shell. In her bid to retain relevance in the scheme of things, she returned to the Peoples Democratic Party, becoming a member of the opposition to her senator brother. Bukola had by defected to APC and the game continued. Seeing herself as a factor, Gbemi engaged in a supremacy battle with the top echelon of the party in Kwara while she hoped her dream would come through. However, less than two weeks to the presidential election, Gbemi defected to join her brother in APC. Her defection no doubt had a negative impact on the outing of the party in the state. However, it’s being said in some quarters that Gbemi dumped PDP because she could not get the ministerial appointment or deputy governorship slot she was allegedly penciled for. She is currently over the moon with a number of reasons. While some supporters of the PDP have been caught napping as the electioneering victory did not swing their way, Gbemi is happy she made a smart move which has actually paid off. She’s also in a good mood as she clocks 50 in a matter of days. A bash, it’s said, is going to be thrown to celebrate the brain and beauty on her Golden Jubilee as well as election victories. On another note, information from reliable sources has it that she’s most likely to be handed an assignment that will make her represent Nigeria abroad when President-elect Muhammadu Buhari is eventually sworn in.

thing of the past sometime last year when a story that he had been abandoned by Asiwaju spread across high society. Tinubu’s daughter and current Iyaloja-General, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, was equally not spared in the maligning as she was alleged to have deprived Kasumu of his rights as the only surviving grandson of her predecessor. Some observers, however, dismissed the tales as a calculated attack on the APC leader and his daughter. Damola, according to insiders, was said to have taken some steps which led to disciplinary measures by his guardian and Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu. Damola, who is a graduate of a British university, won a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly in the April 11 polls. It’s been jubilation and celebration all the way for Damola. An upscale bar in Ikeja, which is owned by a set of twins known to be his main backers, Colours, is said to have become a beehive of activities since their man was declared victorious at the polls.

tions where they are performing. She is not only given to social life, she also has compassion running through her Bola Dare veins. This made her to open a standard orphanage in Abuja where she resides. Out of being able to position herself, Yeye Bola Dare, as she’s called, has risen to the level where she’s relevant in the political world. Being one of those with access to outgoing first lady, Patience Jonathan, she was also one of the coordinators of President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection campaign group. All these made her the envy of her peers. With the loss of her principal at the March 28 presidential election poll, that naturally puts her in a not too nice mood. As if that is not enough sad news, Yeye is currently grieving over the death of her father.

Dull moment for Bola Dare

electable Bola Dare from Osun State started her working life in the media but positioned herself so well that fortune eventually smiled on her. She has been visionary enough to have moved from strength to strength. As a socialite, she is the delight of some musicians who pray she is present at func-

Shehu Sani faces fresh hurdle

ight skinned and soft spoken Shehu Sani means different things to different people. While his face is

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Body&Soul

Thinking

registered in the minds of some as a playwright of note, some others appreciate him as an author. But to many others, his Sani activities as a comrade appeals to them the most. His days in the world of activism date back many years but the pivotal role he played in the dark days of military rule to see Nigeria liberated and restored to democratic governance cannot be said not to have been part of what threw him under the spotlight. Sani was among those condemned to life imprisonment over the phantom 1995 coup. He was let off the hook when democracy was restored in 1999. Most recently, he has been the arrow head of a move to initiate a dialogue with Boko Haram but which has yielded little or no results. Sani took a shot at partisan politics recently by running for a Senate seat.on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. He was victorious at the March 28 polls a and will represent Kaduna Central. Comrade Sani now has a fresh hurdle to cross. Give past experiences of the electorate with elected public officers, who usually abandoned the people after getting into power, Sani’s would-be constituents are watching to see whether he will serve them faithfully or join the bandwagon. Perhaps, Sani is cognisant of the fact that there were comrades in the past who rode on the back of popular acclaim to power and later abandoned the people. On a TV programme recently, he clearly pointed out to callers that he would be on the side of the people always.

Dan Nwanyanwu off the radar

hile the Labour Party held sway in Ondo State and a few other states where its chances appeared bright, one man whose influence on the prospects of the party could not be wished away was no other than the former national chairman, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu. The party’s fortunes began to dwindle not long after Dan stepped down as its chairman and the only governor elected on its platform, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, later defected to Nwanyanwu the Peoples Democratic Party. However, the 10 years during which Dan oversaw the affairs of the party at the national level had given him a voice nationally. But since he left the scene, little or nothing has been heard of him; which is very much against his usual practice. While tongues have been wagging about his sudden silence, those who claim to be in the know allege that President Goodluck Jonathan’s loss may have hurt Dan badly. As such, he may for a long time stay off the radar.

Aloud

Runsewe lobbies OBJ

paulhelenproductions@yahoo.com

oing by his antecedents, Otunba Segun Runsewe caught the attention of some people in the corridors of power as one who pays attention to details, is hardworking and result-oriented. These virtues paid off and he was appointed to oversee the Nigeria Orientation Agency after which he was moved to the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation. While he lasted at NTDC, many would attest to the fact that he turned the organisation around and gave it a positive image. He got commendations from far and near for a Runsewe job well done. Runsewe was eventually relieved of his job due to power play between former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is believed to be his godfather and President Goodluck Jonathan. As the supposed adversaries of Runsewe are about to leave office and individuals are lobbying whom they know to be relevant in the scheme of things, the former NTDC DG is said not to be leaving any stone unturned. He is said to have likely got himself on the list of those who will enjoy Obasanjo’s favour as far as the incoming government is concerned.

Titi Oseni’s dashed hope

iti Oseni, after her long sojourn in the United States of America, returned home to contribute her quota to the development of her people through politics. Almost immediately, things started moving in her favour. She was nominated in her constituency to represent them in the Ogun State House of Assembly. She got an additional blessing as she became the first female speaker of the assembly. Her tenure did not go without some controversy. All of that is now history as she has since moved on with her life, focusing on her private business in her office at Ikeja area of Lagos. Having stayed at the background since she left office, she actually considered the idea of going to the House of Representatives in the just concluded elections. She had the backing of people like Bi-Courtney boss, Wale Babalakin, who promised her necessary support. But on the verge of getting into the ring, she changed her mind and rested her ambition. Sources close to her have, however, revealed she was prevailed upon not to embark on a futile effort as another candidate appeared to have been chosen. She was said to have been promised a juicy position if Jonathan was re-elected but unfort u n a t e l y, her hope has been dashed as calculations did not work out in her favour.

Titi Oseni

) 0807 270 9777

with Helen Paul

See no phobia

ho says the end times are me, those who embarked on the not near? Whoever feels killings are the lazy bones and bad otherwise should start eggs, who perhaps wanted to use having a rethink now because the same opportunity to loot and events around us are making the steal. reality dawn on us by the day. One If they are not lazy, they will of the signs of end time is that na- SEE NO PHOBIA in the fact that tions will rise against nations, and foreigners are coming to work in all manners of strange diseases their country. As a matter of fact, will plague people. it is the same foreigners’ sweat I hope we have not forgotten that is growing the South African Ebola in a hurry. I hope the re- economy and making it a delight cent incident in Ode-Irele, Ondo to watch. After all, no foreigner is State, is still fresh in our memory. working there without paying tax. Of course, we still have the likes Even the exploitation on monthly of Boko Haram, Isis, Al-Qaeda and accommodation system is enough their barbaric activities in mind. pain for a foreigner to bear in Xenophobia is that country. the latest now. And to add A good atmosphere Sometimes, I salt to injury, wonder how some laidfor employment daft some back citizens people can be. embarked on should be created, While I still a killing spree. and our government can’t find any They call it xejustification for nophobia, but policy should be the killings of I call it ‘see no fellow Africans phobia;’ which friendly enough by South Afriis an advice to to accommodate can protesters, them anyway. I find their acI will not investors and small tions barbaric speak for other and inhuman. Africans living scale entrepreneurs. Coming from in South Afa country like rica, but I can Basic amenities South Africa speak for my should also be put in makes it worse. compatriots. This was a counThe xenophoplace try that African bia campaign nations fought in South Africa for during the apartheid days. Is is a big slap on the face of Nigeria, this how to repay the good ges- and it is high time our leaders rise tures? up to the occasion. Good enough, the South AfriIs it impossible to make our can government has dissociated country better so that our people itself from the violence; likewise can begin to come back home? A other corporate companies with good atmosphere for employment roots in the country. But I think should be created, and policies they should do more to prevent should be friendly enough to acfuture occurrences. That they are commodate investors and small not in support of the killings is scale entrepreneurs. Basic ameninot enough, protecting the lives ties should also be put in place. I and properties of our brothers and don’t think these should be a tall sisters there is paramount. order for our government if they But come to think of it, I heard the are really keen on making a difaggrieved South African youths ference. are attacking black foreigners for Today, it is xenophobia; it could taking jobs in their country, while be something worse tomorrow. So, the citizens are unemployed. This all hands must be on deck to make has only exposed their deficien- Nigeria a country of our dreams. cies further because many South I rest my case. See no phobia. Say African men are quite lazy. Trust no to xenophobia.

GLOBAL FASHION

Body&Soul

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Dressing celebrity baby bumps L

Biwom Iklaki

ike education, fashion certainly has taken giant leaps forward with respect to women. From the passing of the bustle to be replaced by more comfortable fabrics and styles, to dropping the full regalia that was once the swim wear, to one piece and then the two piece swim suits. There was also once upon a time when women who were pregnant never came out in public. They were seen as being in a situation that would embarrass other people. Today, the reverse is the case. This is obvious even in the revolution of the maternity wardrobe and styles. Even though most women hardly even change their styles or even dress sizes, there are others till who prefer to flaunt their baby bumps in the most figure hugging clothes possible. They are often photographed doing their most mundane daily tasks and their pregnancy is exciting news to the public who follow them and look forward to their delivery. Some of the cases in point are the Duchess of Cambridge whose maternity clothing sold out and many designers created styles to tempt her knowing that such a style will sell out as soon as she is spotted wearing it in public. Kim Kardashian’s baby bump was one of the most dressed up and most photographed in the history of celebrity pregnancies. Even though she came under many a bad mouth on the style choices she made, she did not relent in her continuous nonbaby-bump styling. Here are a few other baby bumps dressed stylishly.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Wine & Dine

Body&Soul

Pop the bottles moderately Ibukunoluwa Kayode

ine is a relaxant for the palate and it leaves a lingering experience. This feature of wine makes it a refreshment that lightens up the mood. The daily consumption of wine keeps rising while new brands are continuously introduced to the market. New research in wine intake keeps increasing on the benefits and dangers

Banga soup served with starch Biwom Iklaki

ew homes in the southern parts of yhe country, especially the South East and south-west are not familiar with the banga soup. There are variations of course from one tribe to the other, with names ranging from banga soup to ofe akwu, but most of the ingredients stay the same. This recipe is from our Deltan sisters and is served with starch. INGREDIENTS 1 kg palm fruits (boil and pound then strain with hot water to remove oil and palm stock) or 800g tinned palm fruit concentrate Cowleg (seasoned and cooked till tender) Smoked fish Dried and crushed bitterleaves 2 medium onions

1 cup ground crayfish Salt and Chilli Pepper (to taste) Ogiri Okpei (Iru) 2 big stock cubes PREPARATION Set the pot of palm fruit extract on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice some red oil at the surface of the stew. You need to cook the extract until it has thickened to the consistency you like. Now, add the cowleg, smoked fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and leave to simmer. Add the bitter leaves and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about one more minute and your banga soup is ready. You may serve with starch or white boiled rice. Enjoy this absolutely sinful and calorific meal this Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day weekend!

of the palate tranquilizer to the health. No one says you shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pop the bottle to enjoy the smooth lavish lingering taste of your wine of choice with friends or enjoy at home. Research shows moderation is the watchword when indulging in wine. According to a study published in the Journal, BMC Medicine, those who drink moderate amounts -two to seven glasses of wine a week - has a low possibility of developing diseases due to the natural

powerful substance of polyphenol and flavonoids found in the grapes wines are made from. While anyone that drinks more than the suggested serving glasses per week is at higher risk of suffering from life threatening ailments like stroke, diabetes, heart disease, liver malfunction, lungs disease and break down of kidney. Regardless of your choice wine, always take caution in order to maintain a healthy balance of enjoyment.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Look before you leap

nce upon a time, a fox was roaming around in the dark. Unfortunately, he fell into a well. He tried his very best to come out but all was in vain. So, he had no other alternative but to remain there till the next morning. The next day, a goat came that way. She peeped into the well and saw the fox there. The goat asked,”What are you doing there, Mr. Fox?” The sly fox replied, “I came

here to drink water. It is the best I have ever tasted. Come and see for yourself.” Without thinking even for a while, the goat jumped into the well, quenched her thirst and looked for a way to get out. But just like the fox, she also found herself helpless to come out. Then the fox said, “I have an idea. You stand on your hind legs. I’ll climb on your head and get out. Then I shall help you come out too.”

Celebrations!!!

The goat was too innocent to understand the shrewdness of the fox and did as the fox said and helped him get out of the well. While walking away, the fox said, “Had you been intelligent enough, you would never have gotten in without seeing how to get out.” That’s why we say, “Look before you leap”. (www.kidsfront.com)

Hurray is Sophia 1!

Beautiful Sophia reaches out for her cake as she clocks one. We wish her favour, blessings, prosperity and uncommon grace above her peers everyday of her life. Amen!

Gags What do you get from a pampered cow? A: Spoiled milk.

Cross word puzzle

What do lawyers wear to court? A: Lawsuits! What gets wetter the more it dries? A: A towel. What do you get if you cross a cat with a dark horse? A: Kitty Perry

What did the pencil say to the other pencil? A: You’re looking sharp. What did Bacon say to Tomato? A: Lettuce get together! What is the most hardworking part of the eye? A: The pupil How do you make a tissue dance? A: Put a little boogey in it!

MOYIN & FRIENDS

LITTLE LINDER

By Ayo Oyerinde

08034407393

By eei

SUNDAY

Faith 51

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Sermon Oh Lord, trouble the king for my sake (3) p.54

Interveiw Dad drove mum and I out at night -Taribo Westt p.53

Our fears over Buhari’s election - Northern clerics

News ‘You can’t sue God’ - UK court tells Anglican Church vicar p.58

Buhari

Oritshejafor

Tai Anyanwu

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

ome Christian clerics have called on President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to stand firm against fundamentalism and religious discrimination in the North under his administration. Speaking in separate telephone interviews with Sunday Telegraph, they said that Northern Christians, especially those in the troubled North-East, had good reasons to be worried about the likelihood that some extremists might want to exploit Buhari’s presidency for personal gains. “I don’t have anything against Buhari as a fundamentalist except some of his alleged previous utterances which we at a point held him to. Let me tell you, it is not the man himself. It is his followers and his ability to contend with his followers,” Bishop of Bukuru Diocese, Church of Nigerian (Anglican Communion), Jwan Zhumbes, said. Headded, “We may not rule out some fundamentalism. There is a possibility that some people may take advantage of Buhari being president of this country. Some Muslims might take advantage of it to unleash mayhem on people who are not Muslims. “If he is unable to stand his ground, if he

I don’t have anything against Buhari as a fundamentalist except some of his alleged previous utterances which we at a point held him to. Let me tell you, it is not the man himself. It is his followers and his ability to contend with his followers

allows them, if he gives them an inch to do the things they want to do, then they are sincerely going to make life for the Christians in the North, particularly where they are in the majority in the core North, very difficult. There is no doubt about that.” Speaking in the same vein, Pastor Haruna Yola, who monitored the April 28 presidential election, recalled that as thousands of Muslims celebrated Buhari’s victory in the streets of Northern cities, familiar sectarian notes could be heard.

“The joyful mobs chanted ‘Allahu Akbar’ meaning Allah is the greatest, a jihad song of victory. In Mubi and elsewhere, celebrating residents were reported to have said they would get rid of the ‘aruna,’ the Hausa word for ‘infidels,’ which refers to non-Muslims,” he said. Yola also noted that Northern Christians had mixed feelings about the election. “On the other hand, the fear of violence kept many Christians away from the polls, as in the local government areas of Tudun Wada, Kibiya, and Rogo, all in Kano State, and which, combined, have 370 churches. “Voting was impossible for more than 100,000 Christians who had fled their homes – and home voting precincts – to escape Boko Haram violence, especially in Christian enclaves in southern Borno and northern Adamawa states. They were ineligible to vote in the places to which they had fled,” he added. The Regional Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam, added: “In his campaign speeches, in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections, he expressed strong commitment to Islam and CO NTINUED O N PAGE 57

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Faith

Should Christians wear a cross? By Josephine Damisa, Helen Nzerem and Damilare Omosanya

I T

he cross is a symbol for Christians/ Christianity. Just like a name which is a label for an identification and sign post for a direction. Some criminals may wer it or to mislead someone or hang it in the cars to deceive others and gain acceptance. And that is why, I don’t that the cross should be displayed in such way. To me, the cross is a symbol of as Salvation and the place of redemption •Pat Odigie

attend a white garment church. To us, putting on the cross points you out as a Christian. It serves also as a protection. We also cherish the cross because it carries on the image of Jesus Christ who came to die for our sins. •Mrs. Shola

don’t attach any special feeling or interest to putting on the cross. All I believe is that Christ came to die for our sins and I believe in His resurrection. But that doesn’t mean I have to wear the use the cross for anything. I only believe in the word of God and Christ Himself. •Mrs.Ngozi Anyancho

he cross reminds me of the place where Jesus Christ paid the price for my sin. people should not wear it for any other reason. •Adetutu Agbabiaka

’m from the Eastern part of Nigeria. I strongly believe in hanging the cross on my neck. As you can see, I have a very big one in my house that I use for prayers. It reminds me of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and makes me avoid sin. •Kingsley Enmeyelo

T T

he cross is where Jesus Christ died to wipe away our sins. Wearing it is not bad, one can easily tell or identify where you belong or who you are by seeing it on you, though it’s not the wearing of it that matters, but who you are in Christ. And again, so many christian wear it for some believe or the other, while some don’t, the point is, be it unto you according to your faith. As a christian, I am not ashame of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is the power of God unto salvation, am identified with Christ. •St Emma Okhilua

he cross is the symbol of Christianity and it is meant for those that are pure and true believers in Christ. The cross is not an ordinary object as it is symbolic of the supreme sacrifice that Jesus paid on the cross of Cavalry for the salvation of mankind •Mr. Valentine Orji:

o my own understanding, the cross is a logo that identifies you as a Christian. It vividly brings the image of how our Lord Jesus was crucified. The size of the cross you wear does not really matter; it just goes to depict the one who wears it as a Christian. Putting on the cross at the same time doesn’t mean that one is sinless; purity has to do with your mind and your faithfulness or relationship with God. •Godwin Oriekwe

he cross is all about Christ and His death on the cross of Calvary for mankind, for our reconciliation with God. Therefore I can put it that cross bring us closer to God. •Mr. Paul:

don’t believe in wearing the cross, because I don’t use it. I only believe in Christ who came to die for our sins. •Mr. Tochukwu

he cross has a lot of significance as regards the christian life. It was a means to punish offenders in the olden days, of which Jesus went through to take away our sins. Some Christians believe in it for protection by puting it on, while some just wear it for fashion. Well, whatever motive for which anyone wear it is up to the person, but I know that the cross has a lot of possitive. •Mrs. Deborah Ogida

y understanding of the cross is that it is a sign of redemption, whereby the king of glory died to set us free. Whenever you see a cross, it reminds you of what Jesus went through for mankind. It signifies the suffering which Christ Himself says anyone who comes after Him must bear his or her own cross. •Albert Ejiofor:

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Faith

Dad drove mum and I out at night -Taribo West

Former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West ,continues with a gripping account of his life story in this interview with TAI Anyanwu

What was your upbringing like? My upbringing wasn’t a sweet, silver and dandy one. My father was a disciplined person. His intension for me was to be a roadside mechanic. As a son, I have no objection than to obey my father’s wish. He and my mother clashed when he said I should go and ‘do’ roadside mechanic. My mother tried to persuade him to allow me finish secondary school so that I could read and write. They clashed and one night, he drove my mother and I out of the house. That was how my journey into limelight started. We were living in Diobu. Most journalists have literally written my story upside down. They said I was living in Ajegunle, that I grew up in Orile. I didn’t grow up in Ajegunle. I grew up in Port Harcourt, in Diobu community; it is a popular community in Port Harcourt. I schooled in St Andrew’s Elementary School, Diobu. It is an afternoon school. The reason I had to attend an afternoon school was because in those days, my mother was selling akara, garri, beans. So in the morning, I would hawk these things before classes started at 12noon. I attended a government community secondary school which is a 30 minutes drive from Port Harcourt. In the middle of this, I was taking care of myself. I went to learn fishing in the fishing ponds; I left home because the only way to learn fishing was to go to the fishing ponds. I learnt how to kill fish, crayfish, crab, cut fire wood and I could paddle and roll a boat. I would sell my own portion and send the money to my mum and also save some. They used to hire me to go fishing with other people. After my services, they would render me my own portion. I would sell my own portion and whatever profit I made, I would send to my mum. I would also go for firewood. I did a lot of things just to sustain my mum and I. I did all these for one year and saw that there was no life there. I decided that I was going back to Port Harcourt to struggle for living. One day, the boat that used to come from Port Harcourt to the village came. They used to give us plantain, yam garri and we used to give them snail, fish, crayfish, bush meat, crab. It was like trade by batter but money was changing hands. I know how to set the trap. See this guy, e no know say I don suffer oo. If you see me de pitch like that, when I pitch oyibo man, dem dey know say this African man don suffer. I did all those things, but when I saw that there was no life in it, l just followed the boat. When I entered Port Harcourt, I had some good money. I went to meet with my old friend who used to play with me in Junior Sharks. Yes, when I was with my father, I was in Junior Sharks team. I was a very regular player. I was also the captain of my primary school. He told me about a friend of his who had spent his school fee. He said if I could give him his school fee, I could live with him. I did and that was how I started a new life. I started hawking. I would go to slaughter to buy goat meat

play in the junior team and go to school with my friends. His wife later enrolled me in a school. I was taken to the senior team in Ijebu when I was in my final year. I left them to play with Union Bank in Lagos. That’s how my football career started. Let’t stop right there. We’ll start from there another time.

Taribo West

Yes, when I was with my father, I was in Junior Sharks team. I was a very regular player. I was also the captain of my primary school. He told me about a friend of his who had spent his school fee. He said if I could give him his school fee, I could live with him. I did and that was how I started a new life and sold from door to door and made like N20.00. From there, I learnt brick-laying and later went into panel beating. One day, one friend came to the garage. He said, ‘What are you doing here?’ It is God that sent that guy to me. He said, ‘Come out of here. This is not your gift, you are a great star; go play football, you will make it. Comot here, you will not end up here’. I will never forget him, Elijah. That thing struck me and I started gathering money.

Any customer that came, I would negotiate and render the service and save some money. One guy came to do his car, his name is Victor, and he said he needed a conductor. I started doing conductor for Victor. I saved enough money from that ‘conducting’ job. A youth football tournament was staged in Port Harcourt and they selected two of my friends and took them to Lagos. I was not part of the tournament but I wanted to go to Lagos. I met one of my coaches who knew when those boys were selected and where they were. He gave me a recommendation letter to the coach that picked them. He gave an address and said if I did not see the coach, I should go to the National Stadium. I went to the National Stadium and met the coach. He took me to my friends and promised to feature me in a contest due the next week. I went for the game in Ajegunle, I was good. The coach took me to the owner of the club, Chief Ibukun Oluwa, who asked me if I wanted to play with my friends in the junior team and go to school or go to Ijebu to play in the senior team. I chose to

No, there is just one important question. Now you are a minister, and ministry is always a family thing, Nigerians want to know about your marital life. Somebody asked, ‘When is Taribo taking another wife?’ Who has taken another wife? Nobody has taken another wife. I had this Nigerian lady some years back, Sister Tinuke. It was a big occasion, everybody knows about that. And that was one of those periods when I was going through this my madness. I did not even come to Nigeria to meet anybody. I just came into Nigeria for one week and flew back to America. I met her at the Embassy when I went for visa. To cut the long story short, I met her there. In less than one week, we planned our marriage. The relationship lasted only three weeks. She had to write a letter to her boss to release her for her to leave; because of that, she stayed three months in Nigeria and that was the marriage. She came to Italy one week, the next week she took her bags and left. The next thing, she said it was wife battery. You can’t do that in Europe. They will kill you now. They will even use you to make money. I preach it today. In Europe, you don’t try that or you are gone. I wasn’t in the house when she came. I took her to America for a convention the week she came. After the convention, I brought her back home. Then I was having an issue with the AC Milan team. They said I had a cardiac problem and couldn’t play again. They wrote in the newspaper that I was having that problem and couldn’t play again. As I was returning with her from America, the driver that picked us from the airport asked, ‘Are you not Taribo West?’ I said, ‘How did you know?’ He said, ‘Ah! Everybody knows you. Didn’t you see yourself in today’s paper?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘They wrote that you can’t play football again’. He showed me the paper and I screamed. I said, ‘It is a lie. Madam look what they are writing about me oo’, not knowing that when I did that, I was causing trouble for myself. I took her home and called one of my cousins, Christy, to come and meet me in Milan before I left; because Tinuke could not stay alone. My house is big and she is a new person. Christy my sister was already in Millan to meet us in the house. So, I left her with Christy and hit the road with the same man that dropped us. He took me to the airport. I travelled to England and signed my contract with Derby County. That was the week Tinuke left my house till today. And she said I beat her, that we fought and she was bleeding, that that was why she ran away. You can’t try that in Europe. And one thing about that girl, till tomorrow...until I enter my grave, I never had problem with her, she had never insulted me or did any bad thing to me. I can’t tell you anything that Tinuke did that was bad. None. A very nice girl. If any misunderstanding, we had it here (Nigeria). That was the night she went to her boss; she said they had a send forth for her. She went around 7pm and came back almost 1am and I asked why she came back so late.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Faith

Hillary’s rage against religion Firm Faith:

Right Reason Most Rev.

Emmanuel A. Badejo fradebadejo@yahoo.

0803 949 4219 (SMS only)

The heathens still rage Enough would have been said on the dangers of the aggressive promotion of abortion, contraception and gay unions, components of the Culture of Death, if an apostle of that school did not recently utter a preposterous declaration about religion. Hillary Clinton, well known wife of former President of the United States of America Bill Clinton herself now a candidate for the exalted office, at the Sixth Annual Women in the World Summit raised the stakes of the imbroglio. Claiming to be pushing some “great unfinished business of the 21st century” which she termed the advancement of the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of their society, Clinton said: “Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth, and laws don’t count for much if they’re not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice — not just on paper.” All that would sound really great except that in Clinton’s context it is all about unrestricted access to contraception and abortion on demand. For good measure she then added: “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.” Many interpretations have followed that particular statement, some suggesting that Clinton was targeting

Christianity, being the staunch anti-abortion defence line, to change its beliefs to fit modern fads. One could conveniently dismiss Clinton’s position as the opinion of an obsessed individual but considering that she might just become President of the most powerful nation in the world in 2016, then perhaps, Christians should all pay a little more attention. The UNFPA contradiction It is no longer news that many organisations now work in Nigeria which have no other business but to promote such ideas as Mrs. Clinton’s. Prominent among them is the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, which has former Nigerian Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, as Executive Director. On paper, UNFPA basically promotes “the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity....” One of its aims is to ensure that “every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.” Its work involves the improvement of reproductive health; including creation of national strategies and protocols, and providing supplies and services to minority groups, as well as internal migrants and refugees, the elderly and the handicapped. The organisation has been known for its worldwide campaign against obstetric fistula and female genital mutilation.” For all these activities no one would fault UNFPA and the entire world would embrace its programmes. The problem is in explaining UNFPA’s vigorous pushing of contraception, abortion rights and other dangerous artificial family planning methods as means of

population control and qualitative living thereby saving many lives and destroying many as well. Someone does get killed when an abortion takes place and that human being is certainly not considered in UNFPA’s scheme. So often, such organizations deploy dubious statistics and fabricate fake consensuses to back up spurious claims about population and development. As a result of their clout, many people of goodwill simply give up and resign to fate. Truth is never conquered In the face of falsehood truth is never fully conquered. Good news filtered in right after the 48th Session of the Commission on population and Development (CPD) that abortion activists had failed in their bid to push abortion into the Post 2015 agenda for development and outline of the new development goals. Developing countries simply rose against the profuse references to decadent programmes of population control, adolescent sexual activity abortion and comprehensive sexuality education for children at the expense of real developmental needs. The developing nations, refreshingly led by Nigeria through Ambassador Usman Sarki (God bless him) perhaps for the first time ever, grounded the attempt to impose, after a whole week of deliberations and negotiations, a dubious consensus which would compromised values and beliefs that respect life from conception and which value the critical role of the family. Supported by other nations like the Pacific Islands, developing nations overcame blackmail and organizational intimidation to rather demand the simplest of needs like life-affirming healthcare, potable water, food, sanitation, education and employment, all services

that affirm the dignity of human beings. They simply showed that while decadent civilizations see population growth as an obstacle to development, developing nations count their population as part of the resources which enhance development. They have the right to do so. Marie Smith, Director of the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, put it neatly “The failure to reach consensus at CPD sends a strong message to the United Nations that countries have had enough of the pressure to conform to a ‘radical foreign agenda’ at a crucial time as the process to determine the Sustainable Development Goals continues through July with the General Assembly adopting the goals and targets in a special session in September”. This too is Good News One man, however, expressed reservation at this affirming outcome. Babatunde Osotimehin regretted that the text was not adopted because inside it is “all the things we wish to see” in order to jump -start a sustainable world in Post 2015. He obviously was dancing to a different tune from the developing countries who rejected the text and all the things Osotimehin saw in it. As Pope Saint John Paul II wrote in his encyclical letter, Evangelium Vitae, “Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has charactreristics making it particularly serious and deplorable”. Considering Hilary Clinton’s declaration, people of all faiths simply must resist the mixed imperialist agenda which sounds attractive but relentlessly undermines human life, family and time-tested spiritual and cultural values. People like Ambassador Usman Sarki deserve our admiration and support in that regard.

Oh Lord, trouble the king for my sake (3) Insight Rev.

Femi Akinola

www.thehebrewsng.com

01-790 3163; 0808 584 5864

“O

ne day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive – anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Samuel 9:1 (NLT) There is so much ‘enjoyment’ in the palace that it would be difficult for the king to remember the less-privileged around him. But in this scripture, the Lord troubled the peace of David; he could not sleep because he remembered the good deeds of Jonathan towards him when Saul was after his life. The sleeplessness of David became the enthronement of Mephibosheth. “Then Ziba said to the king, Your servant will do according to all my lord the king commands. So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in Ziba’s house were servants to Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table, [even though] he was lame in both feet.” 2 Sam 9:11 (AMP) Mephibosheth lived in the palace all the days of his life. When God lifts you, He does not lift and drop you, He lifts and sustains you. This very month your

name will terrify anyone in custody of your miracle and they will become restless until you are blessed in Jesus name. How can the lord trouble the kings? If God will trouble the king for your sake then the following things you must do to win or qualify for His approval. Accept the invitation of God “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” Matthew 11:28 (AMP) Before God can disturb the sleep of great men for your sake, you must be ready to accept His invitation to be a ‘born again’ child of God, until then will you be ready for the invitation of the kings of this earth. One idea from God can sort your destiny forever. Before the kings of this world will remember you, you must take the invitation of the King of kings seriously. Don’t look down on anyone If Joseph had belittled the butler, he might never have had the opportunity to get to the palace. You must not be sentimental about helping other people. Some years back, a German lady came to me and said she wanted her Pakistani husband to be a Mayor in Germany. While I was asking and wondering how difficult or possible this is, she held onto her faith in tears and I heard God re-echo in my spirit, ‘with Me all things are possible’. I relayed this word to her and she left. Seven years later, by divine providence, I met her again. This time, God had answered her prayers, though she did not get back to me. To cut the story short, God used the same occasion

“One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive – anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Samuel 9:1 (NLT) to get my entitlement from her. I need to tell you that your helper may not appear in clean/attractive garb, rather, could appear in ‘rags’, therefore you must be sensitive. Be loaded When you are loaded, you will be needed. Joseph was loaded, Daniel was loaded and by reason of such, they were needed by kings of this world. If you are opportune to face the kings of this world, what can you offer? Joseph appeared before Pharaoh and he did not return to prison. If he had failed, Pharaoh could have ordered him to be put him in a maximum prison for wasting his time, but Joseph had something to offer. What can you deliver, where can you fit in? What skill and/or expertise can you demonstrate? Stop praying for a miracle when you are shallow in thought and idea, you need to be a specialist in one thing. The day you will stand before your helper, you will not talk nonsense if he would give you audience. So how prepared are you? The people celebrated in the media today are not better than you are, they are just privileged; as the Lord lives, when your turn comes, you will not mess up in Jesus name.

Be a giver God does not allow stingy people get to the top because He knows that such would hardly remember the Kingdom. Have a heart of giving; give God your talent and time, there is a place the Lord is taking you to and you will get there in Jesus name. Nurture your gift “A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.”Proverbs 18:16 (NKJV) …not his/her beauty. It is in discovering and putting to use your gift that gives you a platform to stand before great men. Gifts become treasure when they are discovered and nurtured, what have you discovered about yourself? Pray for revelation When you have revelation, then you have access to revenue. Don’t just be tied down to your salary or one stream of income alone, pray and let God direct your focus to other sweat-less streams through the use of God’s gifts and potentials inherent in you. Your entitlement that will make men to rejoice with you will not elude you in Jesus name. Prayer points Oh Lord, withdraw the peace of those that are holding my breakthrough without mercy! My Father, close up every gap between me and my new level. Oh Lord, open your book of remembrance for my promotion! Father, anywhere my blessing is, let them locate me. Oh Lord, show me the right button to press to experience breakthrough this year!

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Desolate land shall be tilled Mystery ofAnxiety Bishop

John Ogbansiegbe

0803 341 6327

efore our present age, earthquakes were seldom occurring. But today, there are frequent cases of earthquakes in diverse places. There is always one major earthquake at least once a month. From the present historical data, it has been gathered that over one million people have been killed in this century and over $10 billion damages have been incurred through earthquakes. These earthquakes are continuously on the increase. In recent times this generation has recorded the most tragic earthquakes such as; Great Kanto Earthquake: 142,000 died on September 1, 1923; Messina Earthquake: 123,000 died on December 28, 1908; Ashgabat Earthquake: 110,000 died on October 5, 1948; Ancash Earthquake: 75,000 died on May 31, 1970. Changma Earthquake: 75,000 died on December 25, 1932; Sichuan Earthquake: 68,712 died on May 12, 2008; Balochistan Earthquake: 60,000 died on May 31, 1935; and Manjil-Ru’dbar Earthquake: 50,000 died on June 21, 1990. Others include Izmit Earthquake: 45,000 died on August 17, 1999; Gulang Earthquake: 40,000 died on May 22, 1927; Erzincan Earthquake: 32,962 died on December, 26, 1939; Chillan Earthquake:

30,000 died on January 24, 1939; Khait Earthquake: 28,000 died on July 10, 1949. Bam Earthquake: 26,271 died on December 26, 2003. Spitak Earthquake: 25,000 died on December 7, 1988. Guatemala Earthquake: 23,000 died on February 4, 1976. Gujarat Earthquake: 19,727 died on January 26, 2001. Tonghai Earthquake: 15,621 died on January 4, 1970. Tohoku Earthquake: 15,269 died on March 11, 2011. Agadir Earthquake: 15,000 died on February 26, 1960. Tabas Earthquake: 15,000 died on September 16, 1978. Bou’in-Zahra Earthquake: 12, 225 died on September 1, 1962. Dasht-e Bayaz and Ferdows Earthquake: 12,000 died on August 31, 1968. Mexico City Earthquake: 10,153 died on September 19, 1985. San Juan Earthquake: 10,000 died on January 15, 1944. Diexi Earthquake: 9,000 died on August 25, 1933. Xingtai Earthquake: 8,064 died on September 30, 1993. Latur Earthquake: 7,928 died on September 30, 1993. Great Hanshin Earthquake: 6,433 died on January 17, 1995. Valdivia Earthquake: 6,000 died on May 22, 1960 Jara Earthquake: 5,782 died on May 27, 2006. Huna Earthquake: 5,300 died on December 28, 1974. Nicaragua Earthquake: 5,000 Earthquake: 5,000 died on December 23, 1972.

There is always one major earthquake at least once a month. From the present historical data, it has been gathered that over one million people have been killed in this century and over $10 billion damages have been incurred through earthquakes

Balochistan Earthquake: 4,000 died on November 28, 1945. Fukui Earthquake: 3,769 died June 28, 1948. Pene Earthquake: 519 died on August 15, 2007. Sichuan Earthquake: 69,197 died on October 28, 2008. Pakistan Earthquake: 215 died on October 28, 2008. L’Aquila Earthquake at Central Italy, 294 died on April 16, 2009. Sumatra Earthquake: 1,115 died on September 30, 2009. Samoa Earthquake: 189 died on September 29, 2009. Haiti Earthquake: 316,000 died on January 12, 2010. Chile Earthquake: 525 died on February 27, 2010. Yushu Earthquake: 2,698 died on April 13, 2010. Sumatra Earthquake: 408 died on October 25, 2010. Christ Church Earthquake: 185 died on February 21, 2011. Tohoko Earthquake at Japan: 18,184 died on March 11, 2011.

Faith

Burma Earthquake: 150 died on March 24, 2011. Van Earthquake at Turkey: 604 died on October 24, 2011. Visayas Earthquake: 113 died on February 6, 2012. East Azerbaijan Earthquake at Iran: 306 died on August 11, 2012. Lushan Earthquake: 193 died on April 20, 2013. Laghman Earthquake: 18 died on April 24, 2013. Aceh Earthquake at Indonesia: 35 died on July 2, 2013. Dingxi Earthquake at China: 95 died on July 21, 2013. Pakistan Earthquake: 825 died on September 24, 2013. Dnejdodn oeihjd isoike Bohol Earthquake at Philippines: 222 died on October 15, 2013, 300,000 people were injured. Hurricane Katrina The most deadly hurricane to strike the United States made landfall in Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. This was also the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the U.S, claiming more than 8000 lives when the storm surge caught the residents of this island city by surprise. Recent earthquakes in far East Japan and China Some events remind us of our frailty. Such was the March 11 earthquake that shook Japan and provoked the tsunami that washed away towns and villages in the Tahoka region. The pictures reminded us of humanity’s insignificance in the face of large natural disasters, and with over 20,000 dead, of their appalling personal consequences.

The Passover separates from the world the Oracles of God Frank Oboden Olomukoro frankolomukoro@yahoo.com

0703 362 1866

eclaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. (Isaiah 46:10) Before the foundation of the world, God purposed His plan of Salvation. He made decisions about how His plan of Redemption would come to fulfillment. Amidst the history of mankind, the plan of salvation is coming to pass. It is imperative that you recognise what God has in mind for His own and that you let yourself be placed into this plan. Passover is about separation. After partaking in the Passover, God separated Israel enmasse in an Exodus from Egypt. That is what Christianity is all about. Total separation from unbelief, total separation from the world (Egypt). The reason too Abraham was separated from his kindred unto God in a new found relationship. “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). Three stages for total separation We notice, the separation led them through the Red Sea; • A type of water baptism by immersion in the NAME of Jesus Christ. We must experience this baptism as a first step for our admission into the fellowship of the saints. (I Corinthians 10:1-2). In the

wilderness, the separation took a new dimension, as God began to renew the minds of the Israelites from all Egyptian lifestyles (Rom. 12:1-2), through the 10 commandments, statues and ordinances. • This is sanctification process whereby too, the blood of Jesus is used to cleanse us from all our sins. (Acts 2:38, Heb 9:22). God not only physically separated the Israelites from Egypt but ensured Egypt was removed from their hearts and minds. It took a whole 40 years to accomplish, clean and set aside the Israelites to enter the Promised Land; • Another symbol of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the final rest of the believer. Whoever attains this level of receiving the Holy Spirit in his or her soul to rid away the occupancy of other unclean demonic spirits: witchcraft, astrology, occult, sorcery, religion, Ancestral, fear, unbelief, self righteousness, denominational amongst others too many to mention receives the seal of the Holy Spirit, can best describe itself as a true partaker of the Passover or Easter as church tradition calls it. The Passover is an annual memorial with an impact for change, for regeneration, for conversion unto eternal life by the quickening power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Before the foundation of the world It is essential that we recognise God’s plan of salvation and that we take our foreordained places therein. From eternity (Acts 15:18), before time began, that is before the foundation of the world, God made a plan for humanity and a plan of Salvation for His church. The Redeemer was ordained before the foundation of the world (John 17:24; I Pet. 1:20).

The chosen ones were also foreordained before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). From the beginning, God equipped human beings with a free will so that everybody could decide for or against Him. But because He knew who in the world would accept His offer of grace, He could write their names in the lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:18, Rev. 17:8; Rev. 21:27) PETER UNVEILED THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST’s DEATH The entire plan of salvation is only intended to separate the children of the Kingdom to God through the Passover, from death to life, through Christ’s sacrifice as a lamb on the cross. Peter applied the key of the kingdom given to him by Christ thus: In his first sermon after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Peter explained how everything that happened with Jesus was part of the counsel of God and His plan of Redemption. He said this about the Redeemer: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (John 19:16-17). “Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Acts 2:23-27, Psalm 16:8-11). In His second sermon, Peter emphasised that God had declared His intentions in advance: “But those things, which God before had shown by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled” (Acts 3:18, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53). Also in his third sermon, Apostle Peter addressed the subject of predestination: “For a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod,

and Pontius Plate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:27-28). IT IS FINISHED…THAT IS OUR VICTORY The Resurrection of the LORD was the visible evidence and the triumph that death, hell and Satan are conquered. The risen LORD could proclaim the message of victory unto His own: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18). At the Rapture, we shall likewise exclaim: “But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through LORD Jesus Christ.: (I Cor. 15:57). His victory is our victory. “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15). Our Redeemer, same as our Passover Lamb has finished the work of redemption as it is written in Isaiah 42:1-4 and confirmed in Matthew 12:17-21. Even a smoking flax shall He not quench until He has completed all things and has sent forth judgment unto victory with all the overcomers. Amen. The Passover Lamb has come and gone finishing his redemptive work for your soul to be separated from the world unto Himself. This is the true Passover, though born a sinner and dead in sin and trespasses but Resurrection power quickens us. “This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: (Isaiah 14:26-27) For the LORD of host hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? “He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18).

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Faith

Saved and watered by grace Taming your Emotions Bishop

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

o and read about David, God said this is a man after my heart. See what grace can do - a man after your heart? An adulterer is a man after your heart? A killer is a man after your heart? God must be seeing what we cannot see. Anyone that stood against David had to pay for it dearly including his wife who had to become barren for laughing at man of God while he was dancing. You don’t meddle on the issue of people carrying grace, be warned! Even though Eli failed to discipline his children, he was still the one who inspired and introduced Samuel to his mission on earth. Be careful; be very careful, grace is something that you cannot explain. You cannot question God about it. You know I boast of God when I tell you, I have never knocked on any door for money in church for 22 years. I have not carried my phone to call anybody to say please can you help me pay my children’s school fees. Never not once but that is not the story of pastors that I know. Mine is the story of a man saved and watered by the grace of God. If I do not know anything about you, I know for sure that God loves you. He could not have given His only Son to die that shameful death on the cross only to bring you to this level to hate you. God does not hate you. Look at somebody, a disciple of Jesus inconsistence in everything. Peter is his name , today he is happy , tomorrow he is very sad; the next day he knows what

to do following , day he does not know anything at all. Unstable Peter, once Jesus looked at him and said: ’Peter, Peter Satan has decided to shift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you. ‘At another occasion Jesus turned to him and said: ‘Peter someday you will deny me’ and he marveled that Jesus said that, yet it came to pass that before cockcrow he had denied the master three times. Unstable Peter: you cannot predict him .Jesus was talking about His death and resurrection and how He will fulfill His mission on earth, Peter heard and said “God forbids, why you would think of a shameful death to end your successful ministry on earth. and Jesus sensing that the devil was speaking through Peter said:” get behind me Satan”. But this same Peter when grace came upon him, in one crusade over 5000 men gave their life to Christ. At a time while he is walking the street, his shadow was recorded to have healed the sick because he could not lay hand on all. You are the one looking at the outward appearance; God is looking at the inside. God knows what He has put inside you that He wants to use. God will pour his grace mightily upon you. The eyes of grace that see what no man can see ; that qualities the unqualified will sought you out for signs and wonders this season . You may look unqualified today, you may look like nobody today, you are not regarded for anything by so many people today but the grace of God will make you the one that will be sought after Halleluyah Glory to be God. How to avoid a disgraceful life When God told Samuel to stop lamenting about Saul for He has rejected him from reigning over Israel as a king, it was obvious that something terrible would have occasioned such total rejection for Saul the son of Kish was once the choice of the Lord for the leadership role of Israel . This simply forewarns that there are

God desire you to create a heart that is retentive of the word of life. A heart that is able to carry the word of the living God things that can deprive someone from enjoying the glory and grace of God even though the person may once have been God’s favoured and preferred one. And that is what I am led to share with you in this chapter so that you can avoid a disgraceful life. I am to start by convincing you that God created you for honour and glory; not for shame and reproach. Of Jeremiah we read the Lord saying before you were formed in the womb I know you and have chosen you as a vessel in the prophetic ministry. Jesus speaking said for this reason was I born. Certainly, the reason God brought you this far is to honour you and glorify His holy name. The bible says: I know the thoughts I think towards you, thoughts of peace and honour and to give you an expected end. You and I were not created for shame. You were created to manifest the dominion, power and honour of the Lord upon the earth. Disgrace is not your portion. To be disgraced is to fall out of grace. Disgrace indicates that one has fallen short of grace; it suggests living a life of humiliation and shame. To be disgraced is to live a regrettable life. It implies that God has withdrawn His hand from the affairs of a man’s life and I pray that will not be your experience in Jesus name. God told Samuel: “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? (1 Samuel 16:1) The same Saul was once God’s preference for the first kingship of Israel. Somewhere along the cause of life he erred and

became God’s rejection. May you not do what will make God reject you in Jesus name. When Saul was rejected, all he had and was were stripped off him. Though still physically seating upon the throne, but the honour , majesty and fame of lordship had left him for not long an evil spirit began tormenting him. In Proverb 3, God speaking warned: My son forget not my law. In order words let the word of living God become the centre of your life. Don’t forget it; don’t let it skip your mind. Let the word of God be the controller of your life not the word of man, not circumstances and situations of life; not even your feelings. Many people are controlled by their feelings and that’s why they are not making any meaningful progress in life. You feeling will never bring the glory of God to you. My son forgets not the law of God; make the law of the Lord the centre of your life; the centre of your desire. God desire you to create a heart that is retentive of the word of life. A heart that is able to carry the word of the living God. Let tell you, the word of God in your heart is the assurance and the guarantee of a graceful and a successful life on earth. Without the word of God is place in your heart disgrace is inevitable. It does not matter how far you have gone in life; you probably maybe the one sitting on top of billions of dollar; without the word of God controlling your destiny, you will soon hit the rock. There are people who made so much money in smart ways and had every luxury life could afford. They became very influential but have no fear of God; it did not take long before they were doomed. Society history has their records. Today they are no more and their wealth became the snare that has dragged their children and family’s name to the mud. And this is because without the word of God is your spirit, there is nothing you achieve on earth that is guaranteed to be sustained

Engaging the Power of Faith for Fulfilment of Prophecies! The Voice of Dominion by

Bishop David Oyedepo

7747546-8 (SMS only)

very prophecy from God is ordained for fulfilment. However, we must understand that prophecies are not religious wishes, but the unfolding of God’s agenda as it relates to individuals, people, institutions or nations. Thus, it would require our faith to be fulfilled (Luke 1:45; Deuteronomy 18:21-22). Furthermore, it is important to know that the Bible is a bank of prophecies because every statement therein is prophetic in nature (Isaiah 34:16; see also 2 Peter 1:19-21). However, we must understand that only God has the capacity to fulfil prophecies but until our faith is activated, God is not committed to perform. What is Faith? •Faith is not a religious theory, but a mystery of the Kingdom: Faith is a spiritual force that invokes God’s hand into our situation and delivers unbelievable results. For instance, when the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He felt virtue flowed out of Him and she was made whole instantly. When Jesus later

met her, He said, “Thy faith has made thee whole.” This means faith taps into divine virtue for our change of story (1 Timothy 3:9; Isaiah 53:1; Mark 5:25-31). •Faith is not a belief system, it’s a spiritual weapon: We understand from scriptures that through faith Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego tapped into divine nature and quenched the fiery furnace. Their understanding provoked their faith and translated their bodies from the terrestrial to the celestial realm; thus, they could not be consumed by the furnace (Hebrews 11:3334; 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 6:16; Daniel 3:28; 1 Corinthians 15:38-41). •Faith is not a principle or a strategy, it is a spiritual force: It is important to know that faith is a living force that is drawn from the living Word of God to produce living proofs. It is a spiritual force that always delivers victory over evil forces that are arrayed against us (Romans 10:17, 1 John 5:4; Hebrews 11:32-34). But what makes Bible-based Faith Unique? •Bible faith is of the heart and not of the head: When Bible faith takes root and comes alive in our hearts, it rules and dominates our minds (Romans 10:10). As a result, we operate at levels higher than our natural understanding (Mark 11:23; 1 John 5:4; Isaiah 55:8). •Bible faith manifests its power through the tongue: Bible faith is impotent without the active engagement of our tongues. Whatever we are

not willing to declare with our mouths, God is not committed to deliver (Mark 11:23; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Proverbs 18:21; Matthew 12:37). We must also understand that there are angels who are dispatched for our rescue and delivery of our breakthroughs, but they only hearken to the declaration of our faith-filled words (Psalms 103:20). Let’s examine some principles that engender the fulfilment of prophecies in our lives: •Inject your faith into the prophetic word. It is by God’s hands that prophecies are fulfilled; however, it is our faith that invokes His hand to perform (Romans 4:19-20; Hebrews 4:2; Acts 27:25; Luke 1:45; Isaiah 53:1). •Expect to see prophecies fulfilled: The reason many people’s faith do not deliver is because it lacks the required expectations. For instance, Abraham engaged the force of expectation until he saw the manifestation of Isaac in his life (Romans 4:18). Again, the Bible says: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for… (Hebrews 11:1). “Hoped for” here connotes expectations. That means, our faith is what substantiates our expectations but when we lack expectations, our faith has nothing to substantiate (Proverbs 23:18). •Engage faith-filled thoughts: The thoughts of fulfilment of prophecies must occupy our minds because if God said it, then He is too faithful to fail. Therefore, we must not allow our minds to wander in doubts, because

a double-minded man cannot receive anything from God (Hebrews 6:18; Proverbs 23:7; James 1:6-8). Finally, it is important to know that faith is no cheap talk; it is hard work and it grows by our level of spiritual understanding. However, we must note that our faith does not only grow by revelations from scriptures but also through anointed books of proven authors (Romans 10:17; Acts 8: 26-39). Moreover, building our faith begins with being born again. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord? If you are set to accept Him, please say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!” For further reading, please get my books: Unlimited Power of Faith, Exploits Of Faith and The Law Of Faith. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Faith

Ademowo urges Nigerians to turn to God

Tai Anyanwu

he Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion) Most Rev Adebola Ademowo, on Tuesday urged Nigerians to turn to God in prayers for peace and tranquillity in the country. Ademowo said this at a press briefing to herald the third session of the 32nd Synod of the Diocese of Lagos, Anglican Communion. He said, “There is an urgent need for all to go back to God in prayers, the author of peace. ``With the goings-on in our world today, false doctrines and false teachings

abound everywhere. The synod want to enjoin members to go back to the basics. ``We should confess our sins, repent and pray to God to return our nation back to the era of peace and progress,’’ he said. Ademowo said the theme of the synod is: ‘The Authority of the Scriptures.’ According to him, no prophesy ever came by the impulse of men but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. He said, “The word of God is inspired and it speaks to every situation. Emphasis will be laid on the word of God, encouraging our members more than ever before, to read, mark,

learn and inwardly digest the word of God. “The word of God is therapeutic. It is a necessary lubricant to our souls and bodies.’’ Ademowo prayed that the

season would usher Nigerians to a season of new hopes and abundant blessings. He also prayed that God would shower His love and protection on the nation “so that we may unite and abide

in love and peaceful co-existence.” The bishop said the synod’s opening service would be on Sunday May 3 by 4p.m at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina,

Lagos. According to him, the official opening will be on Monday, May 4 at 1a.m at Our Saviour’s Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos with distinguished personalities in attendance.

Bible Society celebrates Bible Week Tai Anyanwu

he Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) is set to mark this year’s Bible Week to enable bible users to celebrate the life changing word of God. The BSN spokesman, Bejamin Mordi, who made the information available to journalist in Lagos, explained that the event had been slated for May 4-10. “The theme for this year’s celebration, which is an annual event of The Bible Society of Nigeria, is: “Servant Leadership. ”The weeklong celebration will feature lectures, Bible quiz, debates, exchange of pulpit and prayers among other programmes,” he said.

Mordi added that the Bible week celebration was organised yearly to raise consciousness for Bible work in Nigeria, offer prayers and raise fund to support the Bible translation, publishing and distribution efforts of The Bible Society of Nigeria. “The Bible Society of Nigeria is a non-profit-making interdenominational Christian organization that translates the Bible into local languages, publishes, distributes and raises funds for the Bible work. “So far we have completed Bible in 24 Nigerian Languages. Bible translation/revision is going on in 16 different Nigerian Languages,” he said.

Youths are change agents-Cleric Stanley Ihedigbo

youths should be engaged in creative programmes and become agents of change.

enior Pastor of The Light Sanctuary, Ayo Fadumiye, has said that the youths have an important role to play in nation building. He was addressing the media in Lagos, on the church’s transformation programme tagged: ‘Evolve 2.0: Power to Transform Yourself.’ Speaking on the programme, which comes up in June, he noted that there was crisis all over the world and little or no effort was being made to improve the situation. This situation, he added, underscored the need to devise a proper transformation strategy. Rather than being used for political thug- Ayo Fadumiye gery, he advised that

L-R: Resident Pastor, El-Shaddia Bible Church, Pastor Peter Aiyegoro; Chief Executive Officer, Emmys Entertainment, Mr. Bielonwu Onyekachi Emmanuel; Chief Magistrate of Lagos State, Mrs. Toyin Oghre and Guest Speaker, Mr. Dayo Isreal, during the award presentation on laugh with Motherless by Emmys Entertainment in Lagos…recently. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Our fears over Buhari’s election – Northern clerics CO N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 5 1

Sharia law. Such a position has reinforced this kind of fear in the hearts of Christians. “But the Buhari we’ve confronted in 2015 is not the same Buhari we have seen in the past. He met with Christian leaders and assured them that he has no Islamic agenda. This was reiterated in his campaign speeches.” Para-Mallam also warned against setting lofty goals for the President-elect. “It’s in our own interest to down play our expectations, before we are all disappointed. We cannot expect Buhari to make miracles, without the collective cooperation of all Nigerians. He has a strong history of fighting corruption, but if people around him don’t resist corruption, I don’t see how he, as an island, can make a difference.” The Christian leaders also expressed concern about how Buhari would address the incessant attacks on Northern Christian communities by Fulani herdsmen. They also said they were waiting to see how Buhari would address the marginalisation

Para-Mallam

of Christians in Muslimdominated areas in the North and how he would reconcile his alleged agenda to promote Islam with the freedom of religion for nonMuslims.

Zhumbes

“In the first, we will approach his government with positive minds. And we will watch carefully to see what is happening. If he wants to continue in power then he must do the right

thing. If he doesn’t, I’m sure Nigeria is beyond the time when they just watched things going the way they shouldn’t be and kept quiet. People will speak out,” Zombes stated.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Faith

‘You can’t sue God’ - UK court tells Anglican Church vicar

vicar who claimed he was forced out of his job by a four-year hate campaign has lost his case for constructive dismissal after a judge ruled he cannot sue God. Rev. Mark Sharpe, 42, claimed members of his ‘toxic parish’ slashed his tyres, smeared excrement over the family car and threw broken glass over his drive at the rectory he shared with his wife Sara, 43, and their four children, Daily Mail reports. During the four-year hate campaign he claimed parishioners in Teme Valley South, near Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, even poisoned his pet dog, tampered with his mail and cut his phone lines. He said he was eventually forced to resign his post as rector in September 2009 so he could rebuild his ‘shattered health.’ Rev. Sharpe launched an Employment Rev. Sharpe

As the established church, the Church of England has occupied a central position in English Society for several hundred years. Despite that, it has no legal personality Tribunal claim against the Church of England for damages after claiming the Diocese of Worcester failed to protect him from the bullying parishioners. But the case for constructive dismissal was thrown out last week af-

ter Employment Judge Alan McCarry ruled the Church ‘cannot be sued’ in a pre-hearing review in Birmingham. He said: “I do not see that within the complex statutory structure of the Church of England it is possible to imply that any relationship between a freehold rector in the Church such as Mr Sharpe and any identifiable person or body which could be said to be consensual and contractual. “Certainly, Mr. Sharpe has failed to demonstrate to my satisfaction that such a relationship existed with either of the respondents. ‘As the established church, the Church of England has occupied a central position in English Society for several hundred years. Despite that, it has no legal personality. It cannot sue or be sued.” Rev. Sharpe, who was ordained in 2001, initially moved to the rural Teme Valley South Ministry in January 2005 after resigning as a Navy chaplain. He left his post after claiming he was ‘continually’ exposed to violent hardcore pornography and won an employment tribunal against the Ministry of Defence for sexual harassment in 2006. But after moving to his parish in rural Worcestershire, Sharpe began receiving ‘sinister’ anonymous letters telling him it was not ‘his church’ but ‘a local church for local people.’ Speaking at the time, Rev. Sharpe said: “My family and I have been living in a climate of fear in a supposedly rural idyll. “There have been too many incidences of harassment over the last four years for them to be the odd coincidence. “My career has been ruined, my health and that of my wife and children has been shattered, and my family has suffered terribly from all the strain. “When we came here in 2005, I was told by the church they were looking for stability, as the last vicar had left after 18 months for health reasons.” He added that the campaign of terror had begun after he highlighted administrative mismanagement and financial problems in the parish. Church leaders hailed the legal victory and called for Rev. Sharpe to “draw a line under this.” Bishop of Worcester Dr. John Inge said: “The employment tribunal has recognised that those clergy who are freehold incumbents are not employees of the bishop, the diocesan board of finance or anyone else. “Clergy themselves have repeatedly said that they do not see themselves as employees and do not wish to be seen as such. “This case has shown that Church of England vicars are not subject to any employment contract but are free to exercise their ministry as they see best within the framework provided by the law of the land. “We hope that Mr. Sharpe and Unite will respect this judgment so that we can all draw a line under this.”

SUNDAY

Sport 59

SUNDAY, MAY 03, 2015

Football

Geremi Njitap: My people killed football in Cameroon p.60

Golf

Andrew: Nigerians will appear at the Majors someday

HAKEEB ADELAKUN PROFILE Full name: Hakeeb Adeola Abiola Ayinde Adelakun Date of birth: 11 June 1996 (age 18) Place of birth: Hackney, England Playing position: Forward Current team: Scunthorpe United Number: 16 Youth career: West Ham United Senior career: 2012– till date Played 51 matches scored five goals

p.61

EPL

Mourinho plans brief title celebration p.62

Wrestling

Anambra wrestling association opens camp for Africa Junior Championships p.62

Deputy Sports Editor Dapo Sotuminu

Hakeeb Adelakun: Surprised by own progress

Dapo Sotuminu

cunthorpe United of England t e e n a g e r, Hakeeb Adelakun, has expressed his surprise as he was named among the Football League’s best 11 Under-18 players today. What this signifies for the 17-year-old Nigerian-born prodigy, is that he has made tremendous impact and progress from t h e fringes of the first team to starting games regularly this season. His rise up the Scunthorpe United ranks has been almost as quick as his feet. And man of the moment Hakeeb Adelakun admits he is as surprised as anyone by his own progress. Less than a year after he became the Iron’s youngest ever player – coming off the bench in the 1-0 defeat at Tranmere Rovers aged 16 years and 201 days he has become a familiar face on match days. ‘The 11’ as the select side is known, is picked by League Football Education - a partnership established by The Football League and The PFA in 2004 to deliver the Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme to all league clubs. This recognises the football and academic progress of 11 selection. The competition runs four times each season - in October, December, February and May. “This competition is directly associated with apprentice players, while also taking into account other factors including involvement in charity or community based initiatives. It is a great way to showcase the achievements and progress of talented young footballers on the apprenticeship programme.” In December 2012 he became the club’s young-

est ever player when he made his debut as a substitute at Tranmere Rovers when he aged just 16 years and 201 days. Asked if he could believe how far he’s come, the 17-year-old Londoner said: “To be honest, I can’t! I’m still trying to get to grips with it. But it’s all good. It’s nice to experience it so young as well. I didn’t really expect it, to be honest. Even my family didn’t expect it. “Moving up here, I just thought, ‘I’ll just play in the youth team for a bit and hopefully go through the steps, as everyone else does’. “I didn’t expect the big jump straight from the youth team to the first team, so quick as well. It’s just been a few months or half a year - I didn’t expect it.” Adelakun said he is growing in confidence when it comes to firstteam football. “At first it took a bit of getting used to, but I think I’m getting to grips with it a bit more,” said the United winger. “I’m just trying to express myself more and get more comfortable with things. “The tempo of everything is the biggest difference. I would say the tempo of the youth team is much more relaxed, but with the first-team, the players are much stronger and faster, and also smarter as well. “With the youth team, I might be able to get away with stuff, whereas here, it can make a big impact - like losing the ball, the other team can come back and score. “In the youth team, you can maybe cover it up quicker because I’m stronger for them and faster. “Here, you’ve got quick, strong players, who can nudge you off the ball. “I don’t really feel nervous when I’m out there, I’m quite relaxed.” Adelakun born June 11, 1996 began his career with West Ham United before joining Scunthorpe United and made his professional debut as a 72nd-minute substitute for Adda Djeziri on December 29, 2012 in a 1-0 defeat against Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park. He became the club’s youngest player at the age of 16 years and 201 days. The others are defender Mark Atkins, a future Premier League winner, who was 16 years and 256 days when he came on at Wrexham in April 1985; goalkeeper Alan O’Meara, who was 16 years and 307 days when he made his debut at Crewe in October 1975; and defender Nathan Stanton, currently still playing with League Two Burton Albion, who was 16 years and 342 days when Brian Laws handed him a debut at Scarborough in April 1998.

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Sport

Geremi Njitap: My people killed football in Cameroon

Dapo Sotuminu oor management and failure to invest in modern sports facilities in Cameroon were largely responsible for the death of football in the country, says former Indomitable Lions star, Geremi Njitap. Njitap told Sunday Telegraph in an exclusive interview in Lagos that, the fact that all Cameroon’s national soccer teams are still playing beautiful football is not a big deal for a typical soccer lover, the problem is that they have stopped doing what put smiles on the faces of the people, winning valuable laurels. The former Real Madrid of Spain player who had 118 caps for the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon said, the bane of top class football in his country is nothing but the failure of the people saddled with the responsibility to run sports in the country to develop sporting facilities. “Those who have been appointed to look after football in Cameroon has been sleeping compared to what the situation is in Nigeria. The same applies to the general development of the country. I was taken round Lagos and I saw a country that is far above what we have in Cameroon. I have a duty to go back and tell my people that they have to brace up in terms of development because Nigeria has gone very far in infrastructural development. “To have a good team you must start from the basics, this is not happening like that in my country. In Cameroon, the people do not construct facilities for the youth to play football again. “I made it this far in my football career together with other world class Cameroonian stars because when we were young we had plenty open lands to play football. Today, it is not the case. The same problem is affecting the coaches as they do not have the facilities to train young players and sustain the brilliance of matured players. So, we have

very little number of qualified coaches in Cameroon. You will see that on several occasions when we did well in international competitions, we were always tutored by foreign coaches. It is because we don’t have a large number of quality coaches in Cameroon.” Geremi added: “These are the consequences of the failure to provide facilities. Of course this is wrong as other countries of the world including top African football playing countries like Nigeria and Egypt are investing heavily on provision of facilities. Countries like Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Niger have been able to develop strong national teams in all categories because they have invested so much in infrastructure development for sports. Today, these three countries can compete favourably with top contenders like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire. This is not so in my country as they have forgotten this in Cameroon. It is sad.” Geremi who played 72 games and scored four goal for Chelsea FC of England from 2003 to 2007, said he was glad to return to Nigeria first time after helping the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon to beat Nigeria in the final of the 2000 edition of the African Nations Cup. “The victory against Nigeria was a very difficult one looking at the arrays of stars in the Eagles squad then, but it was well deserved as our players worked very hard for it. After that time, things have changed a lot in Nigerian sports as the authorities have improved on sports facilities

a c ro s s the country that is why the country national teams have been doing well in world championships. “ T h e Nigerian Under-17 team won t h e F I FA

World Cup title in the United Arab Emirates because those incharge of football worked hard to make sure Nigeria emerge victorious. The female teams too have been doing well as the Under-20 team also played in the finals of the World Cup. These are not mean achievements that is why I

Geremi Njitap

kept congratulating Nigeria for doing well in the area of facilities development across the country. I learnt that, international standard artificial pitches spread across Nigerian cities and they are accessible to young players to play soccer.” He said he loves Nigeria very well and over the years he has played in same teams with some top Nigerian players and he also has some Nigerian friends who have been pestering him to come to the country. The former Newcastle of England star who was a guest at the Heineken House in Ikoyi for the Uefa Champions League, expressed his delight to the management of Heineken who made his trip to Nigeria possible. He appreciated the tight security deployed to him and was marveled by the hospitality given him by Nigerians who met him at the Heineken house. He however stated that, his important trip to Nigeria wouldn’t have been possible if he was not a world class soccer star. He however used the opportunity to appeal to youngsters in Nigeria

and other parts of Africa to take their football career very serious and remain dedicated to the game with high level discipline which are the things that would take them to the top. Geremi played in the 1995 U-20 Youth World Cup finals. He made his senior debut against Gabon in October 1996. He captained and won Olympic Gold with Cameroon in Sydney in 2000. He won two Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002. He was part of the Cameroon side that qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan. Geremi played in the finals of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations against Egypt. He earned his 100th cap for Cameroon on 11 February 2009. Geremi was part of the Cameroon squad that took part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Playing in all three of Cameron’s matches as they finished bottom of Group E. PERSONAL INFORMATION Full name: Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso Date of birth: 20 December 1978 Place of birth: Bafoussam, Cameroon Height: 1.80 m Playing position: Right back, Midfielder Club Career: 1995-1996: Racing Bafoussam 1997: Cerro Porteño 1997-1999: Gençlerbirliği 1999-2003: Real Madrid 2002-2003: Middlesbrough 2003-2007: Chelsea 2007-2010: Newcastle United 2010: Ankaragücü 2010-2011: Larissa National team 1996–2010 Cameroon 118 matches.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015

Golf Weekly

Oparaku hoping to land Puma deal A

buja-based golfer, Kingsley Oparaku, is in the United Kingdom to feature in the 2015 season of the mini pro golf series, the Jamega Tour, in the hope of landing an endorsement deal with kit manufacturers, Puma. The German sports apparel company currently sponsors a number of top male and female golfers such as Rickie Fowler, Jonas Blixt, Graham Delaet, Greg Norman, Lexi Thompson, Blair O’Neal, Amy Boulden and South Africa’s Lee Anne Pace. The outfit also has a long-standing relationship with Nigerian footballers John Utaka and Chinedu Obasi. And Oparaku would love nothing more than to become the first Nigerian golfer to be signed by Puma.

“I love the Puma brand and I spend a fortune just trying to appear like Rickie Fowler, who endorses Puma,” said Oparaku. “While playing in the Jamega Tour last year, I met a top shot of Puma and he has assured that a deal could happen if I play myself into the European Tour.” Getting into the European Tour won’t be an easy feat for the Nigerian but in a bid to see his dream come to pass, the Imo-born golfer would, while in the UK, periodically visit his personal trainer to prime his game before returning to play on the Nigerian Tour later in May. “I would be back for the CMCL Open” he said, expressing optimism that his international exposure and the workout would give him a better standing in the Nigeria PGA rankings.

Andrew: Nigerians will appear at the Majors someday

Stories by Ifeanyi Ibeh

irector of Operations of the Professional Golfers Association of Nigeria, Dominic Andrew, feels the absence of “enough worldclass courses in Nigeria” has been one of the major reasons behind the absence of the country’s golfers at any of golf’s four major tournaments in recent years. The Abuja-based golfer is however hopeful that the country’s flag would in the nottoo-distant future be hoisted at one of the sport’s major championships. Nigerian golf legend, Peter Akakasiaka, was the last player from the country to take part in any of the sport’s Big Four when he participated at the 1988 British Open won by the late Seve Ballesteros. But since then no Nigerian has qualified for the world’s oldest running golf championship or any of the other three Majors, which take place in the United States of America. Although there are scores of golf courses across the country, only a handful of these are world-class, most notably in Abuja, where the IBB International Golf and Country Club is situated; in Uyo, where the Le

Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort is based; and Lagos, home of the Lakowe Lakes Golf Country Estate. And with the Open in Augusta set to be concluded later today (Sunday), Andrew feels it would be a while before the country’s flag gets hoisted at any of the sport’s biggest venues. “It’s still going to take a while before that happens as most of our players are not on the US PGA Tour or the European Tour,” said Andrew. “But I am confident the situation is going to change in the foreseeable future.” “But it would be a while before we get recognised as a major golf nation because of the low number of international standard golf courses in the country. Only in South Africa there are close to 800 golf courses, with more than 80 per cent of them of championship standard. “But we don’t have such numbers here and this is one of the reasons why they [South Africans] are able to produce so many top class golfers. Just imagine if one championship course is able to produce at least one world-class golfer,” added Andrew.

Ex-Miss World hopeful swaps catwalk for caddying F ormer Miss World contestant Ingrid Martens has swapped the catwalk and high heels for knee-high rough and unflattering golf shoes as a Ladies European Tour caddie but the Norwegian would not have it any other way. There is precious little time for painted nails and lip gloss when she trudges across the fairways of the world carrying the heavy bag belonging to her daughter, 28-year-old Caroline.

“There’s no mother-daughter relationship when we are out on the course,” 49-year-old Ingrid told Reuters in an interview at the tour ’s Buckinghamshire Golf Club headquarters on the outskirts of London. “When I am caddying she is the boss. It works very well, we never fight and she always takes the final decision on picking the right club to use. She ultimately makes the decisions after I give her the yardages but I don’t tell

her, for example, whether to use a seven-iron or an eight-iron.” Ingrid certainly does not hanker for the limelight having had her fair share of attention in the past working as a model and as a television game-show host. “I was once Miss Norway and was in the Miss World competition in London in 1984,” she said. “I didn’t win and I probably wouldn’t tell my kids to do what I did but it was a great experience.

Kingsley Oparaku

SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Sport / News

Rio Ferdinand loses wife to cancer

io Ferdinand’s wife Rebecca has died following a short battle with cancer. The QPR defender revealed in a statement released on the club’s website that his wife passed away aged 35 on Friday night in hospital. ‘My soul mate slipped away last night. Rebecca, my wonderful wife, passed away peacefully after a short battle with cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London,” he said. “She was a fantastic loving mother to our three beautiful children. She will be missed as a wife, sister, aunt, daughter and granddaughter. She will live on in our memory, as a guide and inspiration. “Myself, my parents Janice and Julian, along with Rebecca’s parents Lesley and Stephen, would like to thank our families, friends and my club colleagues who have rallied around in these desperate days, weeks and months. “I would also like to express my gratitude for the dedication and expertise of the staff led by Professors Johnstone and Clarke at the Royal Marsden. Their valiant efforts to prolong Rebecca’s alltoo-short life will not be forgotten. “Our grief, as a family, is total. We would appreciate being allowed to mourn privately.” QPR added: “The thoughts of everyone at Queens Park Rangers Football Club are with Rio and his family at this immensely difficult time.” The couple were married in the summer of 2009 after Ferdinand had helped Manchester United win a third successive Premier League title and the club, where he won six league titles and the Champions League, were among those to pay their respects.

Rio Ferdinand and wife, Rebacca

RESULTS

Barclays Premier League Leicester 3 - 0 Newcastle Aston Villa 3 - 2 Everton Liverpool 2 - 1 QPR S’land 2 - 1 South’pton Swansea 2 - 0 Stoke City West Ham 1 - 0 Burnley M. United 0 - 1 West Bromwich Germany - Bundesliga Augsburg 0 - 0 Cologne Freiburg 1 - 2 Paderborn Hoffenheim 1 - 1 Dortmund Schalke 3 - 2 Stuttgart Bremen 1 - 0 Frankfurt Wolfsburg 2 - 2 Hannover Leverkusen 2 - 0 Bayern Italy - Serie A Sampdoria 0 - 1 Juventus Spain - Liga BBVA Real Sociedad 3 - 0 Levante Cordoba 0 - 8 Barcelona Atl. Madrid 0 - 0 Bilbao France - Ligue 1 Metz 0 - 2 Marseille Lyon 2 - 0 Evian Thonon

Mourinho plans brief title celebration C helsea FC manager, Jose Mourinho, says he will only take five minutes to celebrate before turning his thoughts to next season if Chelsea seal the Premier League title this weekend. Mourinho’s side know victory over Crystal Palace today will be enough to secure their first league championship since 2010. The Portuguese, who already

boasts seven league titles from spells with Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid, has fond memories of previous successes, but plans to swiftly refocus once silverware is secured. “I have replicas of every cup I won, and I don’t care about the replicas. Or the medals. They’re in my houses. I have some in Portugal, some here, some in my son’s room. I really don’t care,” said

Mourinho. “What stays forever is the feeling, the emotion, the memory of the moment. I have clear in my head every one of these moments I lived. “What motivated me are the basic things in football, like when you are a kid, you play in the street with your neighbours, three against three, four against four, and you want to win. That’s

the most pure feeling in football. “The meaning is the important thing: the feeling, the emotion … that’s what stays with you forever. “If you are in a championship, you want to win it. It doesn’t depend on the level you are. To be champions in the Premier League is not a different feeling to winning the championship in League One, League Two or the Conference. The happiness, also the frustrations … in terms of human feelings, they’re exactly the same. “But the moment itself, it only lasts for a flash. For that moment a final finishes, or the game that gives you the league ends, you have like a flash of the people you love most, the people who are with you, a little bit of the most important moments that lead to that trophy. “It’s like a quick flash. And, with me, five minutes later, I move on. I have to think about next season, to prepare. We need to think about that.”

Suarez’s hat-trick edges Barca closer to title

L Barcelona forward Lionel Messi weaves his way through the Cordoba defence during the Catalan side’s 8-0 victory on Saturday

Odemwingie: Stoke City boss trust my ability

uper Eagles striker, Peter Odemwingie, has stated that his early return to first team action early after his injury was due to the believe Stoke City manager, Mark Hughes, has in ability. The 33-year-old player saw ten minutes of action on his return to the Potters’ line up after an eight month break owing to his cruciate knee ligament injury. According to him, it feels great with the reception and motivation plus his manager’s believe in him. “I feel really, really happy, espe-

cially with the reception, and the encouragement I’ve had throughout my injury,” Odemwingie said. “It was very motivating to come back because people didn’t think I would come back before the end of the season. “Mark Hughes trusts my ability, which is a big lift for me,” he added. “He believes that with my experience over so many years in the game, I will still be able to do the right things when picked. “I was surprised to come back

Eagles face dark horse in Chad

igeria’s quest to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations might seem to be a straight fight between the Super Eagles and the Pharaohs of Egypt on paper - and rightly so. Both countries are the highestranked sides in the group and have between them ten Afcon titles which clearly points to a twohorse race for the sole automatic qualifying ticket to Gabon 2017. The Super Eagles will however do well to remember the ghosts of Calabar past, when the Congolese team overran them 3-1 to pick three away points which precipitated a downward spiral that lead to Nigeria failing to qualify for the 2015 event in Equatorial Guinea. Tanzania and Chad might look relatively easy on paper, quite cliche to say, but truly evident in the way so-called smaller teams have done a number on much fancied sides on the continent recently. Chad are considered by many to be the dark horse in Group G, a dark horse that might put spanner

in the works for the bigger sides when hostilities commence in June. Coached by Emmanuel Tregoat, a man who has barely five years experience in top flight coaching, Chad are ranked at 151 on the latest FIFA rankings and have never qualified for an Africa Cup of Nations event or the World Cup. They however want to change all that as Tregoat has insisted he is going to scour France and Europe in search of foreign-born talent who are eligible for Chad to compete with the local-based players and a few professionals to make a solid team. The Federation Tchadienne de Football (FTF) want to raise a team that will qualify them for their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations and have given Tregoat the mandate to scour round France for players who are eligible for Chad. Chad drew 0-0 with Yemen in a recent friendly in Doha as they prepare to face Nigeria in their first game in Group G on the weekend of June 12-15.

because I was planning to play a few games in the reserves, but I got a few goals in training and I was happy because the faster you meet the enemy the better life can be.” He also expressed his hopes for the future here at Stoke when it comes to qualifying for European football. “If it doesn’t happen this season, it will happen soon,” he continued. “Mark Hughes is a big attraction himself to players and after two solid seasons, maybe the next one will be even better. “We don’t look like a team whose ambitions are just to stay in the league. “We are aiming for higher things and we have the feel of a big club,” he concluded. The former Cardiff City player was on parade on Saturday afternoon as his side crumbled 2-0 to Swansea City. He replaced Jonathan Walters in the 81st minute of the encounter played at the Liberty Stadium.

uis Suarez scored his first hattrick for Barcelona as they edged closer to the La Liga title with an emphatic victory over bottom side Cordoba. Ivan Rakitic and Suarez put Barca 2-0 up at half-time and Luis Enrique’s side turned on the style after the break. Lionel Messi scored twice to reach 51 goals for the season, while Gerard Pique and Neymar were also on target. Barca are now five points clear of Real Madrid, who face Sevilla this evening, while the result relegated Cordoba. The Catalan club’s victory stretched their unbeaten run to 16 matches - winning 15 - in all competitions. Uruguay striker Suarez was the standout performer with his first treble since he joined Barcelona from Liverpool for £75m last summer. The 28-year-old scored Barca’s second - after Croatia midfielder Rakitic had opened the scoring with a half volley - when he finished from close range. Suarez headed in after the interval and rounded off the scoring late on with a clinical finish after the ball had fallen kindly to him from a deflected shot.

Anambra wrestling association opens camp for Africa Junior Championships

he Anambra wrestling team has begun training in preparation for African Junior championships billed to begin in Cairo, Egypt, on May 24. The team is currently in open camp at the makeshift Sports Hall of the Awka Township Stadium. The Chief Coach, Emeka Obidimma, said the team was on intensive training because they intend to make Nigeria and Anambra proud at the championship. Obidimma said the team, comprising of no few than 12 athletes

would feature in the 50kg, 55kg, 58kg, 60 kg and 69kg. He pointed that four of the athletes, including Ifeoma Nwoye and Vivian Nweke were on special invitation. He called on the Anambra Government to help their preparations by granting the requests of the team which had been submitted to the state’s Ministry of Youth and Sports. Contributing, Emeka Nwafor, promised that he and his team mates would not disappoint at the competition.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015

Xenophobia: When a people subscribes to majority foolishness

habo Mbeki, a Xhosa (the second largest tribe in SA after Zulu, which President Jacob Zuma is) inherited a sophisticated South African economy from the legendary Mandela, the late first post-apartheid South African President who himself inherited a sophisticated, practically First World economy from the white minority rulers of Apartheid South Africa. Mbeki, a Western educated economist built on what he met. It is recorded that by the time he left office in 2008, millions of impoverished South Africans had found themselves with access to water, electricity and infrastructure networks. Indeed, Mbeki is credited with creating the macro-economic space needed to increase infrastructure spending and roll out social grants in South Africa. Seven years after Mbeki’s ouster barely nine months to complete his second terms as President, South Africans are beginning to look back and ask questions: did Mbeki deserve to go the way he did? Was the cause of democracy (and South Africa’s progress) served by Mbeki’s resignation as President following trumped up charges of masterminding the corruption trial of his then estranged deputy and Zulu nationalist, Jacob Zuma, now President of South Africa? The answer is, of course, no. In an article published on the South African Civil Society Information Service website in September 2013 under the headline ‘Lessons from the (political) Demise of Thabo Mbeki’, Jane Duncan wrote (permit this generous quote from the article): “This month marks one of the most troubling anniversaries of South Africa’s post-apartheid history. On the 21st of September, five years ago, Thabo Mbeki was forced to resign as President of South Africa, a mere nine months before his second term of office expired. He did so following a deeply flawed judgment by Chris Nicholson on the pending trial of Mbeki’s rival for the presidency, Jacob Zuma, and this judgement implicated Mbeki in political interference in the trial. “The Nicholson judgement unleashed havoc in the country’s elite politics, and paved the way for Zuma’s rise to power. While the removal of Mbeki did not amount to a coup d’etat, as his former Director-general, Frank Chikane, has alleged, Mbeki’s removal was an ill-founded move made with unseemly haste… No apology was forthcoming when the Nicholson judgment was overturned, and clearly there was a strong likelihood that this would happen as the judgment was flawed even to a layperson. “Had Mbeki waited for the appeal that overturned the Nicholson judgement, which is what should have been allowed to happen, then he would most likely have seen out his term. He probably would not have served a third term as ANC president, but a more orderly change of guard could have taken place.” Imagine that. Of course, Mbeki could not have waited because those who had masterminded his downfall were already baring for his blood. The barbarians had arrived ready to destroy the Rome that Mbeki had built! Seven years after Jacob Zuma rose to power on the back of Zulu conspiracy, South Africans have found that it’s not enough for a leader to be charismatic and enjoy popular appeal; he or she must have what it takes to lead the people and provide them with dividends of democracy. Where Mbeki offered the people water, electricity, roads and homes, Zuma offers them poverty and crumbling infrastructure to the point where power outages have now become a feature of South Africa’s energy supply and consumption dynamics. Where the educat-

Sunday w

Felix Oguejiofor Abugu

abugufex@gmail.com 08076290498 (sms only)

Zuma

ed, efficient but ‘aloof’ Mbeki offered the people hopes of economic prosperity and ran a country which was Africa’s economic power house, the Zulu herd-boy offers the people no such hopes but instead runs an economy in which there is neither a burgeoning middle class nor mass employment. And simply because the Zulu-led

“The ugly event in South Africa should inspire a rethink in us Africans. To make progress, we must use our best to build our institutions of government and business and run them for the good of all”

government in South Africa has nothing to offer the people, it now tries to turn their attention away from its incompetence and make them see foreigners, indeed black African immigrants, as their problem. I am told that most Nigerians who live in South Africa are people who found and run small businesses; if you like, they are traders. As small business owners, I like to think that they are job creators not job snatchers. Rather than initiate a national programme of apprenticeship to enable their disorientated youths learn one or two business tricks from these smart Nigerians, the Zulus find it more convenient to instigate these youths against those that should otherwise be their benefactors. What xenophobic attacks against fellow Africans means is simply this: the majority Zulu-led government in South Africa has woefully failed to prepare the citizens for the challenges of a global economy and a South Africa which is an economic leader in Africa. This is the problem we face when we dispense with leaders not because of their lack of competence but because we believe the so-called numerical superiority of our ethnic group confers on us the eternal privilege, even right, of always leading but never following—which is absolute nonsense. And this is particularly African problem –from Sierra Leone, Kenya to Nigeria. In

our quest for political preeminence for our ethnic group, we seem often unperturbed even when one of our own has nothing to offer the rest of the country. Here in Nigeria, we have just had an election in which a sitting President was defeated not for lack of performance but simply because he comes from the wrong tribe. To the applause of another major ethnic group, one of the major ethnic groups in the country employed the tools of blackmail, vile propaganda and even terrorism to cow the country into snatching power from a lowly minority President and ‘returning’ it to where it rightly belongs. And we are shouting change has come! You know, when people shout this ‘change’ slogan, I always ask the question: change from what to what or from whom to whom? Change from an administration that has performed better in about five years than any other federal administration since independence to one to be headed by someone whose pedigree in administration isn’t exactly stellar? Change to a region that ruled the country for all of four decades and all we’ve got to show for it is that we are a potentially great country? Change from an administration that revolutionised agriculture in the country, especially in the North and gave otherwise hopeless northern youths known as almajiris access to modern education, to one to be run by the self-same people who had made it impossible for progress to be recorded in these two key areas of the political economy over the years? Change from an administration that worked so hard to promote peace in the country, one that recorded no political assassination in five years of its existence, to one to be run by people who openly promoted anarchy in the country as a means to power? Change from a system that promotes equity, justice and minority rights to one that is anchored on might is right, big is beautiful and small is ugly? Although Thabo Mbeki comes from Xhosa, the second largest ethnic group in South Africa, his is a minority tribe compared to the Zulu ethnic nationality which has almost half of the entire South African African population. Where Mbeki, a serious-minded leader would spend days and nights poring over the problems facing his government and seeking solutions thereof, Zuma would sit with bare-bodied women in some marriage ceremony in Bantu hinterland where he has gone to take a fifth wife! But, because he is Zulu, the people would appear not to mind because the voice of the minority is easily drowned in the oft-violent war dance of the spearwielding Zulus. We sat here in Nigeria and watched as under-aged children in veil voted and millions of votes were returned from crisis-prone areas and we could do nothing because the biggies used violence and media propaganda to coral us into accepting what they told us, namely that the election was the best ever. The ugly event in South Africa should inspire a rethink in us Africans. To make progress, we must use our best to build our institutions of government and business and run them for the good of all. The average northerner has fared better under Jonathan than was ever thought possible for the poor up country. But, even the same person couldn’t avoid throwing stones at Jonathan on campaign stomps (for the simple reason that he is not one of their own) and shouting sai Buhari! We must work hard to change this narrative, this idea that one group must have its way at all cost, if we hope to make any meaningful progress as a people and nation.

SPORT

Rio Ferdinand loses wife to cancer }62

FELIX O. ABUGU

Sanctity of Truth

SUNDAY

Xenophobia: When a people subscribes to majority foolishness

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015

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The Presidential Election The winners and losers (4) The Nigerian Project

DRAWING THE CURTAINS

have in the last five weeks discussed the Presidential election, winners and losers, inductees into the Halls of fame and shame, the partem and spread of voting that denied GMB a Pan-Nigerian mandate and a check list of his litany of promises. Today, in drawing a curtain on this important national discourse, we shall attempt to set agenda for GMB, drawing up a roadmap for his success in governance. I sincerely hope he listens and learns from history.

SETTING AGENDA FOR GMB THE WAY FORWARD: A ROAD MAP FOR GMB General, please listen to me, Sir: You need to move fast. Very, very fast. Begin to build bridges of understanding, bandage raw wounds, balm bruised egos. Give strong leadership. Set up a Government of National Unity, drawing the best brains from your party, the opposition, the non-partisan, or party card-carrying technocrats of the land and other independent minded Nigerian patriots. You must immediately unify this gravely fractured Nation by setting up a genuine Peace and Reconciliation Committee, to re-align all centripetal and centrifugal forces which threatening to tear apart our weak national enterprise. You have been given a rare opportunity to show that you are a “born again” democrat (your own words), transmuting from a military dictator, to a democratic president, driven by due process and Rule of Law. Your life can be likened to that of Abraham Lincoln, former American president and the one who spearheaded the abolition of slave trade in 1865. Lincoln had failed serially in life: lost his wife in 1831, defeated in run for Illinois state Legislature in 1832, failed in business in 1833, lost his sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) in 1835, suffered nervous breakdown in 1836, defeated for Illinois House Speaker in 1846, lost re-nomination in 1848, rejected as Land Officer in 1849, defeated for Senate in 1854, defeated for VP nomination in 1856 and defeated yet again for Senate in 1858. But he was elected President in 1860, and emerged as one of America’s most famous and adored presidents, with his face ever incandescent on America’s $100 bill. Will Buhari turn up as the 4th Nigerian president since 1999, to be another Abraham Lincoln? Only time and his actions will tell. However, GMB, you must now quickly separate government and governance from party politics, the structure of government from your APC party structure. You must eschew witch-hunting of perceived enemies, or presumed rabid opponents. You must give room to robust criticians and a virile opposition, to flourish, in the same way GEJ allowed you and your opposition to, not only blossom, but be actually consumed by a level playing political ground that he had carefully prepared for you and your party, APC. Remember the crass arrogance of PDP that consumed it. At a time, it curiously embarked on de-registration of members, rather than retaining old members and registering new ones. I had predicted then, that PDP will self-destruct, self immolate and self

MIKE OZEKHOME san, ofr mike.ozekhome@yahoo.com 08094777755 (sms only)

implode. That is what has just happened. Remember GEJ’s wobbly, fumbling and selfish kitchen cabinet that “imprisoned” and derailed him. Remember Sir, strong public perception that you are surrounded by some of the most crooked and corrupt elements in Nigeria, who have unduly appropriated (misappropriated is better), the people’s wealth. Some observers have described your position as pathetic as that of “Alibaba and the forty thieves”. I pray not, Sir. KILL CORRUPTION BEFORE IT KILLS US I heard, during your campaign, when you changed gear and declared that you will no longer probe past cases of corruption, but will only start from May 29, when you are inaugurated. No Sir. That will be making the first fundamental mistake of your government and turn around present public perception about your own person as incorruptible, to one of compromise and abdication of your avowed anti-corruption stance. Let me, in this, borrow from the inexhaustible dictionary of flamboyant and colourful politician, Dr K. O. Mbadiwe, of blessed memory, whose hifalutin and grandiloquent grammar was only equalled and perhaps, surpassed by, that of the one and only “Zik of Africa”: GMB, if you want to kill corruption, rather than allow corruption kill us all, then you must probe all the probeables, investigate all the investigatables, arrest all arrestables, detain all the detainables, jail all the jailables, confiscate from thieving Nigerians, all the confiscateables, get to regurgitate all regurgitables, but exonerate all exoneratables. It is only by probing past governments and corrupt persons that the ugly spectre of recidivism and impunity will vanish from our national life, and deterrence fully enthroned and respected. Corruption is now said to be the 37th state in Nigeria, and ob-

viously the wealthiest. GMB, kill it before it consumes us all. Not later, but immediately. Reason? Today is the tomorrow we talked about yesterday. IMPLEMENT CONFAB REPORT One of the greatest achievements of GEJ was braving all odds to set up the National Conference in 2014. The report is ready. Your APC party and its chieftains never bought into this laudable national project that will surely give Nigeria a total rebirth and reengineering. Surprise your APC handlers by executing the over 600 commendable recommendations of the Confab. If you fail to do so, all your anti-corruption platitudes, attempts at growing the economy and wiping out insecurity will be forlorn, because the Confab report adequately took care of these challenges, how to solve them, and more. Do you hear me, Sir? Please Sir, do it as urgent as yesterday.

which has greatly degraded Boko Haram and its insurgency. We cannot continue to operate a “disarticulate economy” (apologies to Claude Ake), where we consume what we don’t produce and produce what we don’t consume. In this wise, refurbish all our refineries as you promised, build new ones and encourage the private sector to be fully involved in this national enterprise. AND NOW THIS The stakes are very high, the hopes and expectations even higher. Most Nigerians are expecting miracles from you. Don’t tell them you are not a miracle worker. They will not buy that. You must be one. That was why they ignored your despotic Military background and decided to give you another chance. Are you going to fail them? Will you be a recluse, or a transparent president? How would you deal with the human hawks and vampires surrounding you? How would you raise money to govern in this austere era of dwindling oil prices? What is your take on FOI, Sharia, OIC, insecurity, anti-gay legislation, National Conference Report, international conspiracy, neo-colonialism, ethnic militias, xenophobic attacks on Nigerians, affirmative action for women where GEJ excelled, etc? Remember the proverbial banana peel in Aso Villa? Nigerians are a wonderful set of people that tumultuously shout “Hosanna” today and unanimously scream, “crucify him” tomorrow. They are very impatient. They are not foolish. They are easy to govern, extremely difficult to rule; and nigh impossible to tyrannize. Remember your era of WAI, your draconian, iron fist rule, IBB’s coup, and how Nigerians hailed and welcomed it? That is Nigerians for you. They cherish their freedoms and liberties. So, GMB, beware the “ides of March”. Like the Hausas would say, “Ga fili ga doki” (Behold the horse, behold the large plain field…). You now have both the knife and the yam, the stick and the carrot. You cannot ask for more from God and Nigerians. To whom much is given, much is expected. Have GMB, VP Professor Yemi Osinbajo (PYO) and other kitchen Cabinet membersin-the making, been reading and digesting these five part Presidential election Sunday sermons on the “The Nigerian Project” by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, OFR?

REDUCE HIGH COST OF GOVERNANCE Perhaps, the biggest bane of past governments lies in the humongous cost of governance, where over 75% of our National budget is spent on recurrent, rather than on capital expenditure. You do not need more than the 36 constitutionally prescribed Ministers. To have a lean government, and plug all leakages and wastages, you must drastically reduce, if not totally eliminate, the laughable number of Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants, Personal Assistants etc. You must halt all unnecessary foreign trips by Government workers, strengthen the capacity of our hospitals and health institutions to handle health challenges and improve on general infrastructure. You must do something very quickly about education, agriculture, transportation and perhaps, more importantly, the power sector. Get back our Chibok girls and build on the present efforts of Government against terror, • Follow me on twitter @ MikeozekhomeSAN

BUSY BODY

By Aliu Eroje

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