Nigerian observer 07 10 2013 by Nigerian Observer

THE NIGERIAN

The Nigerian

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol. 38 NO.326 • MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2 013 • N 100.00 ARCHIVAL MATTERS cmyk

Page 21 Gender Mentors For Young Girls

Violence: Reach Out Nigeria Campaign BENIN CITY – The Reach out Nigeria Campaign has warned youths against taking up arms or resorting to violence in order to survive.

warns youths campaign, a

The programme of the Christ Embassy, celebrated yearly through concerts nationwide as part of

Nigeria’s independence anniversary enjoined youths to shun acts of criminality, kidnapping,

vandalism and corruption, among other vices. In his address to the occasion, delivered by Continues on page 2

War on Terror

Nigeria, US, UK joint

DISCOURSE Pg. 23

Coping With Menopause

military training begin

ABUJA - The military, in conjunction with Special Forces from the UK, U.S., Spain and Netherland have begun a joint training to enhance its capacity to combat terrorism in the county’s maritime environment. Rear Adm. Babalola armed forces, Army, Ogunjimi, the Nigerian Navy and Air Force while Navy’s Chief of Training 739 are from the foreign and Operations, who Special Forces. stated this at news Ogunjimi said that the conference in Abuja, training called “African said that the exercise Winds’’, began on would involve personnel. October 3, and was He said that 150 of expected to last for 14 them are drawn from days and would be units of the Nigerian followed by four days

exercise. He said that the exercise would be

conducted by Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) of the Special Forces in

Lagos and Calabar, respectively.

“It is expected that the Continues on page 2

Doctors to suspend strike soon - Minister ABUJA - The Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Nwogu, has expressed optimism that the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) would suspend its ongoing industrial action after the association’s meeting scheduled for Monday. Nwogu stated this in a statement by the Head of Press/ Public Relations, Mr. Samuel Olowokere after a resolution jointly signed by the National President NARD, Dr Jubril Abdullahi, permanent secretaries of Federal Ministries of Health and Labour, Alhaji Sani Bala, and Mrs. Chinedu Dike, respectively. He said that a highpowered committee to be chaired by the

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu would tackle the challenges of implementing Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as identified by the striking doctors during a “protracted meeting’’ with the association. The statement named the following as members of the committee, the Permanent Secretaries of Federal Ministries of Labour and Health, Accountant-General of

the Federation, the Chairman of the National salaries, Income and Wages Commission. Others are the Director General, Budget Office, the Director of Finance Continues on page 2

BENIN CITY – Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has ordered the payment of

monthly allowance to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members

serving in public schools in the state. Governor Oshiomhole gave the directive when

BENIN CITY Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has criticized the ongoing strike by the Association of Resident

Doctors in Nigeria, saying it negates their professional ethics. Oshiomhole spoke when he received National President of

Nigeria Medical Association Dr. Osahon Enabulele in his office, in Government House, Benin City, at the weekend.

Oshiomhole said “part of the problem of Nigeria’s medical practice has to do with resident doctors. I was Continues on page 2

SYMBOL OF HONOUR: Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (left), receiving a symbol of honour as Associate Member of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) from Dr. Roland Aigbovo during a visit by officials of the NMA to the governor in Benin City. With them are the National President of NMA, Dr. Osahon Enabulele and 1st Vice President, Dr. Uche Ojinmahi. Photo: CHARITY OZIGBOESERE.

Oshiomhole orders payment of corpers’ allowance By ADAMS OYIBOKE

. . . Berates Doctors’ strike

the new State NYSC Coordinator, Mr. Olanrewaju Sunday Ologun and other senior staff of the scheme visited the Governor in Benin City. Oshiomhole said that, “all corpers posted to public schools must receive their allowances monthly”. According to him, “it is

not right people are posted to schools and they don’t get any stipend. “They should get something to augment the minimum wage they are being paid even as graduates. “When I made promise that we would pay corpers who are deployed to schools, the promise must be kept”. He therefore directed Continues on page 2

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

News Oshiomhole orders payment Continued from page 1

the Head of Service, Princess Ekiuwa Inneh to notify appropriate authorities for prompt implementation of the directive. Commending the role of the NYSC to the development of Edo State, the Governor maintained that

the Orientation Camp in Okada will be retained adding that parament structures would be put in place at the camp. “The pace of work may have been slow, but the project will definitely continue; my hope is that we will find resources to

complete the project very quickly so that we have a standard camp where corpers can have a level of comfort expected in a civilized society,” he said. Governor Oshiomhole noted that “now that the camps are every other quarter, twice or thrice in a year, the need to have a

Oshiomhole Berates Doctors’ strike

Continued from page 1 watching television and I learnt that resident doctors are on strike. Resident doctors are considered as student doctors in other environment. As student doctors, they cannot be behaving as if they have become experts already. “And because they are students, they are supposed to go through certain routine that are rigorous. “In the U.S., the resident doctors, even if he become a chief resident, his or her pay may be about half until when he becomes a consultant. “When apprentice resorts to strike, there are other issues, issues of ethics and commitment”, he noted. The Governor remarked, “If a man were to take ill, now that resident doctors are on strike, the man will wait until the strike is called off before he goes to the hospital. Somebody told me that in some countries, it borders on treason if a doctor watches a patient die on account of his or her personal welfare. If he chooses to read medicine, you have offered first and foremost to save lives, compensation will follow. Issues of appropriate compensation cannot be an excuse why a man should be allowed to die. “I think all of us have to begin to do something differently. Nigeria is becoming famous or infamous, more from the days we don’t work rather than the days we work.” Oshiomhole noted that the idea of a medical check-up for individual is important, saying, “most medical conditions, if discovered early, certain steps can be taken to manage it much more than would be the case if the illness assumed certain complications. “It is fair for me that health being part of our responsibility, whatever we can do to promote and sensitize our people to check their health status, it would be worth while”, he added. He urged the NMA, “To help us to sensitise the people to recognize that some of our public obligation require that we collect more taxes and that it is in the interest of those who earn taxable income to pay tax so that we can provide for the security of our people and keep our environment going. He asserted, “we must rebuild our country and manage our resources more prudently and fight corruption in our government and ensure that we have government that is

accountable”. Oshiomhole said “If we are not making the right level of investment, in building infrastructure, insecurity will continue. Without investment we are not going to have the jobs”. President of the NMA said that the Association has commenced free medical mission in various states of Nigeria. He said “to improve the health behaviour of Nigerians, and ultimately ensure a healthy polity, the Nigeria Medical Association

is zestfully working to advance the frontiers of health check-up and health awareness in Nigeria. “We call for your Excellency’s political and legislative support in this direction by taking the lead as the first state to create a day for free health check-up for her citizens. “If this is done, we assure our Comrade Governor that the disease burden in Edo State, particularly the incidence and prevalence of Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) will be drastically reduced”, he noted.

befiting quarter for the corps members have become more imperative. “And we are happy that they have been generally safe here in the state”, he added. The NYSC state Coordinator thanked Governor Oshiomhole for his fatherly disposition, generousity and gesture of goodwill to the scheme in the state. He said his visit to the Governor was to formally introduce himself and to appreciate the Governor and all the people who have been making the NYSC function in the state. The State NYSC Coordinator used the occasion to intimate Governor Oshiomhole of activities for 2012 Batch C Corps members passing out programme scheduled for October 10, 2013 at Sam Ogbemudia Stadium as well as the 2013 Orientation course commencing November 5, 2013.

Doctors to suspend strike

Continued from page 1

and Accounts/IPPIS Coordinator, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and NARD representatives. Nwogu said that part of the

meeting’s resolution was that resident doctors would remain with the IPPIS, while the identified problems in the programme were being sorted out. The statement directed the

War on Terror

Continued from page 1

African Winds training and exercise will further improve the capacity of the Nigerian armed forces to deal with numerous security challenges in the Gulf of the Guinea.’’ He said that some of the challenges include crude oil theft and attacks on merchant ships. Ogunjimi explained that the programme was in furtherance of the Chief of Defence Staff’s drive to promote effective joint services operations among Nigeria’s armed forces and friendly military from other countries. According to him, the exercise in Lagos will take place between October 15 and Oct. 18 at Ibeshe Beach and the Navy ordinance Depot (NOD) Waterfront. “The exercise that will be conducted in Lagos include Amphibious Raid, Maritime Counter Terrorism, Vessel Boarding Stop and Search in an opposed environment and Hydrographic survey,’’ he said. He said that the Calabar exercise would hold between October 21 and October 24 at the Tinapa and Muddy Beach in the state and Oron Beach in Akwa Ibom. Ogunjimi said “other exercises to be conducted in Calabar include Riverine and Jungle operations which would be carried by a combined force from U.S., UK and the Netherland marines. He said that an amphibious raid exercise planned and executed by troops from the Army, Navy Special Boat Service and the NNS Jubilee would be conducted at Oron

Beach to end the exercise. “Under the programme, the Netherland Maritime Forces is providing an ambphbious logistic support ship, the HMNLS ROTHERDAM to support the training and exercise,’’ he said. The chief of operations said that the ship contains 688 troops, four helicopters and six special boats called Landing Craft Utility (LCU) and Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP). He said that other facilities in the ship include Fast Raid Interception Special Forces Craft used in inserting small number of specially trained troops from sea to land, particularly in the creeks.

Chief Medical Directors of health institutions to compile within four weeks the list of resident doctors and the amount of arrears owed them, and submit same to the minister of health for necessary action. The minister advised NARD to write a letter to Enugu State Government on issues concerning their members in the state in the spirit of social dialogue. The resident doctors in the country, under the aegis of NARD had commenced an indefinite strike on October 2, the failure of government to fund training resident doctors both locally and overseas. The association’s president, Dr, Jubril Abdullahi, also threatened that all his members at the state hospitals would join the strike. “All state hospitals will also shut down if Enugu University Teaching Hospital does not implement the consolidated medical salary structure within 21 days,’’ Abdullahi had said.

Reach Out Nigeria Campaign

Continued from page 1

the zonal Pastor, Christ Embassy, Benin, Pastor, Mary Owase, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, PhD enjoined youths not to destroy the nation or her collective assets but should rather preserve and use them rightly. According to him anyone who takes up arms and resort to violence to survive has lost his sense of purpose, adding that beside eternal doom appointed for such an individual he would also live on earth as a vagabond. “If the government has not created enough jobs, make one, create work for yourself, anything you do that is good for God and good for men would be blessed,” he stated. Pastor Oyakhilome emphasized the need for realignment of values, saying they should reflect finer and greater essence of love, honesty, diligence and selflessness against the

background that the nation is on a journey of greatness for which “we are bound to become even greater because we can.” He however pointed out that Nigerians owe a responsibility to pray for the nation and its leaders as well as talk right about the nation and leaders. He recounted the achievements and influence of the campaign in the past seven years, through the distribution of its devotional Rhapsody of Realities in 196 languages and 246 countries, resulting in positive changes. This year ’s campaign which was full of frills and thrills tagged “Reach out Nigeria 2013 concert with Generation Next,” held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Friday night, spiced with live music by the church bands that wafted irrestible spirit filled songs of praise and worship which electrified the atmosphere.

Stakeholders condole with EIRS over death of agency’s Secretary By VICTOR OMOALU BENIN CITY - More stakeholders have continued to express condolences with the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) over the death of the agency’s Permanent/Board’s Secretary, Elder Sunday Nosakhare Okundia. Separate condolence visit to the Executive Chairman and management team of EIRS, included that of the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Folunso Adebonjo, the National President of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr. Mark Anthony Dike who led a delegation of thirteen states District Societies of CITN, including Benin District Society, the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB) and the New Benin Youth Organization (NBYO). They described the death as not only a loss to the family, but to the agency and the state in general. The stakeholders, who described the late Elder Okundia’s death as unfortunate, also described him as a selfless man. According to the commissioner of police, Mr. Folunsho Adebonjo, “I came to express my own condolence,

we have lost a great Nigerian”. The Commissioner of Police who described death as inevitable, however declared that it is unfortunate, “when it is sudden”, adding that he was at the EIRS corporate headquarters to commiserate with management staff. National President of CITN, Mr. Mark Anthony Dike paid tribute to the late Elder Okundia whom he described as a man of pedigree, selfless and whose doors are opened at all times. The NABTEB Director of Finance/Account, Mr. Okigala Felix said, “we received with Shock and deep sorrow the sudden death of Sunday Okundia. Describing the late Okundia as a good friend of NABTEB, Felix said the management team decided to come and commiserate with the Executive Chairman and his team. He acknowledged the relationship existing between the EIRS and NABTEB and solicited for continuous relationship. Responding, the Executive Chairman, EIRS, Chief (Sir) Oseni Elamah thanked the bodies for the visit and thanked God for the opportunity of using the late Okundia as member of the revenue family to achieve positive results and achievements.

Ugolor to brief World Assembly in Dublin

BENIN CITY - Front Line Defenders, an international organization committed to global protection of Human Rights activists has invited the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, (ANEEJ), Reverend David Ugolor to brief the world on his experiences in the hands of the Nigeria Police over the killing of the principal private secretary to the Edo State Governor, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde. A Press Release signed by the Special Assistant to the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, Mr. Osazuwa Akonedo indicated that the ANEEJ left the country at the weekend to honour the invitation. According to the press release, Front Line Defenders, the world organization for the protection of human rights activists at risk invited Reverend David Ugolor to also brief the world assembly on the denial of right to associate in Rivers State following the political crisis in the state. The meeting scheduled to commence from Wednesday October 9 – Friday October 12, 2013 in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland will be declared open by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association, Mr. Maina Kiai with several human rights defenders from more than 85 countries expected to be in attendance. The Press Release

indicated further that the ANEEJ Boss, will first visit Germany where he would meet with officials of the German Ministry of Economic Development and the Human Rights community to discuss economic issues as it concerns Nigerians. He would thereafter travel to Ireland to honour the Front Line Defenders invitation, visit Oslo, the capital city of Norway to hold meeting with the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, after that, to Geneva in Switzerland where he will participate in the 17th session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review before going to England to attend other human rights community meetings. It would be recalled that Reverend Ugolor was arrested and detained for 41 days by the Nigeria Police over the killing of Olaitan Oyerinde. Therefore, an Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City ruled that the police acted wrongly on the ground that Ugolor was arrested and detained without reasonable suspicion and therefore awarded N5 million as damage against the police. The police appealed the High Court judgment and the Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City ruled that the N5 million damage cost awarded against the Nigeria Police be paid into an interest yielding account pending before proceedings but the police went to Supreme Court to appeal the Appeal Court ruling.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

News Enugu Teachers Ask For Life Assurance ENUGU - Teachers in Enugu State have called on the state government to establish a life assurance scheme for them for improved productivity. Speaking during the World Teachers Day celebration in Enugu on Saturday, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in the state, Chief Chumaife Nze, said such a scheme would motivate teachers into doing more work. He noted that the scheme would also give teachers, especially those in the rural areas, a sense of belonging. Nze, who lamented the dearth of teachers in the state, called for concerted efforts to recruit more teachers to match the increasing number of retirees. “We appeal to the governor to institute a welfare package known as ‘rural allowance’ for teachers based in the rural areas. “This will serve as a motivating factor to retain a large number of teachers in the rural areas,’’ he said. Speaking on the occasion, Governor Sullivan Chime called on all stakeholders in the education sector to assist in the training and retraining of teachers to improve their capacity. Chime, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of education, Mr Joe Ikwueze, assured the union of his commitment toward

ensuring improved welfare for the teachers. The governor, who bagged the ‘Governor of the Year Award’ from the union, thanked the leadership of NUT for the gesture. In a speech to mark the day, the National President of NUT, Mr Micheal Olukoya, reiterated the demand for the retirement age of teachers in primary and post primary schools to be raised to 65 years. He, however, appealed to the government to desist from recruiting unqualified teachers for the development of the country. Some of the teachers who spoke to newsmen called on the relevant authorities to promote them as and when due.

L-R: Ambassador of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Nigeria, Mr Salim Al-Naobi; UAE Minister of Power, Mr Suhail Mazrouel and President Goodluck Jonathan, during the vist of Mr Mazrouel to the President in Abuja recently

ASUP Chairman Says Union Strike Due To Desperation By SUCCESS OSAYI

BENIN CITY – The Chairman of the Academic

Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, Chibuzor Asomugha has

Supervising Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri (left), welcoming the visiting United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Power, Mr Suhail Mazrouel during his visit to the Ministry in Abuja recently

Criticism Trails Planned Police Restructuring By NDIDI OJIEH

BENIN CITY – The Chairman, Edo State Neighbourhood Watch, Major General Charles Omoregie (Rtd) and some eminent Nigerians have expressed divergent views on the recommendation of the Chairman, Police Service Commission, Retired Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro for the

given desperation as the reason behind the union’s decision to embark on

restructuring of the Nigeria Police. Okiro had recommended the redeployment of Deputy Inspector General of Police to Head Zonal Headquarters as a means to strengthen the Nigeria Police at the regional level. The Neighbourhood Watch boss said the recommendation is misplaced as what is needed now is the adequate

equipping, as well as training and retraining of the police personnel. According to him, what is important now is performance and not the rank of who does what. Besides, he said the police need incentives that could elicit more commitment to duty. Mr. Jacob Oshiomogho, a retired commissioner of police described the move as

a welcome development, saying it would enhance discipline, efficiency and quick resolution of issues. On his part, the Chairman, Edo State Tipper Drivers Association, Comrade Godwin Omogiomwan noted that while the plan is laudable in promoting efficiency, it is capable of promoting nepotism.

another strike. He made this statement in an early morning discussion programme on Channels Television monitored in Benin City. He said, “as far as I’m concerned, strike is not something you do because you love striking, strike is something we do out of desperation”. “When it comes to the last page of your demands, of your engagement, out of utter desperation about the system, that’s when people now go on strike”. He further said that he hopes the strike finally motivates the federal government to meet the demands of the union and also put pressure on the legislature to review the Federal Polytechnic Act.

Benin Monarch Settles Property Dispute BENIN CITY – The Palace of the Benin Monarch, His Royal Majesty, Oba Erediauwa has affirmed Mr. Robinson Osaretin Ohonba as the rightful owner of House No. 3 Ugiayugbo Street, Adesogbe quarters, Benin City being property he inherited from his late father, Late Pa Iyen Ohonba as his eldest son. According to the palace, the house is an Igiogbe, being property of Late Pa Ekhator Eguavoen Ohonba which he bequeathed his eldest son, the Late Pa Iyen Peter Ohonba in line with Benin Custom and

tradition. The palace also affirmed that the land measuring 35 feet by 109 feet by 25 feet by the said house was bequeathed to his son Mr. Daniel Agbama Ohonba by the late chief. A statement endorsed by Osazuwa Oronsaye Secretary to the Monarch, said the palace decision was arrived at after much deliberation on the disputed property of the Late Chief Ohonba and therefore directed Mr. Robinson Osaretin Ohonba to take possession of his father’s inheritance.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

News

CJN Eulogizes Retired Justice Stanley Alagoa ABUJA - The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar, described retired Justice Stanley Alagoa, as a “distinguished judicial officer and a tireless worker’’. Muktar made the remark at the valedictory session for Alagoa at the Supreme Court in Abuja. Reports say that Alagoa attained the age of 70. She said that Alagoa was born to the family of Mr. Wilberforce Alagoa (MBE) and Mrs. Elizabeth Alagoa of Ogholomabiri Nembe in Nembe West Local Government Area of Bayelsa. “In the course of his voyage on the High Court bench, Alagoa was truly outstanding as he clearly displayed immense industry and scholarship. “In consequence, he was appointed Chairman of several Electoral Petition Tribunals across the country. “Alagoa’s knowledge and experience in legislative drafting, was brought to bear when he was appointed Chairman, High and Magistrates’ Court Rules Committee, to review the rules of those courts in Bayelsa. “His knowledge of the law spreads over wide field. “His long and extensive experience in administration and his capacity for methodical consideration of issues and sound judgment have been of great value to the court. “Alagoa is a perfect gentleman, calm, diligent and incisive analyst on the fact of cases and was of great assistance to the court. “He is certainly going to be missed by us all,’’ Mukhtar said. On his part, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, the Minister of Justice, said Alagoa should be celebrated because he had given 39 years of dedicated service to the legal profession. Adoke said the retiring judge spent 23 years at the superior courts bench. The minister said that the judge spent one year, two months and 24 days at the Supreme Court, nine years in the court of appeal and 13 years at the High Court. “This is in addition to the several years he served in

various capacities in the private and public sector before his appointment as a judge of the old Rivers State in 1990. “It is on record that during these periods, Alagoa served our great country and profession with characteristic candour,’’ he said. In his tribute, Mr. Okey Wali, the President of the Nigeria Bar Association, described the sojourn of Alagoa at the Supreme Court as short but worthwhile. According to him, commendably for him, the shortness of his tenure in this court does not directly reflect on his output and performance. “Between December 2012 and February 2013, he delivered at least four well reasoned lead opinions; this is good work. “So, one can only imagine the quantity and quality of work he would have put in if he had the privilege of spending more time in this court,’’ he said. On the appointment of justices to the court, Wali, represented by Chief Adetokunbo Kayode, a former Attorney-General of the Federation, said a lot required to be done to bring quality hands to the bench. “The debilitating effect of a very high turnover of justices of the Supreme Court has been commented upon by several legal writers. “Appointment and promotion to the court is now generally accepted to be based on seniority, on a geopolitical basis from the court of Appeal. “This practice, strangely, not based on any known law or regulation is patently responsible for the position the Supreme Court has now found itself. “Take for instance, all the justices in the court as at 2004 are now retired. As today, only six out of the 16 justices of the court in 2008 are presently serving. “In the past seven years, we have had six Chief Justices of Nigeria. By 2016, which is in three years, at least nine justices of this court as presently constituted will have retired. “The Federal Judicial Service Commission, National Judicial Service Commission and the presidency must change the approach and procedure for appointment to the court.

L-R: National President, NUT, Comrade Michael Olukoya; Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike; Gov Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara and Vice President Namadi Sambo, at the 2013, World Teacher’s Day celebration in Abuja weekend

L-R: Representative of NUT National President, Comrade Charles Obi; Representative of Enugu State Government, Mr Joe Ikwueze and NUT Enugu State Wing, Chief Chumaife Nze, at the 2013 World’s Day celebration in Enugu weekend

APC May Not Participate In National Confab

IKEJA - Chief Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) , has said that he could not confirm if his party would participate in the proposed national conference. He said this in Ikeja, while fielding questions from journalists after his arrival from a medical trip to Chicago in the U.S., where he underwent knee surgery. Tinubu said that he was just a member of the party and could

NUT Urges Removal Of Teachers ASABA - The Delta wing of Salaries From LGs the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has re-echoed the call for the removal of teachers’ salaries from the local government system. The Chairman of the union in the state, Mr. Jemirieyegbe Jonathan, made the call in Asaba Weekend during the 2013 World Teachers Day celebration. Jonathan said the union was not against the proposed local government autonomy but that placing teachers’ salaries on the first-line charge was one condition under which the autonomy could be more realistic. He said that legislators at all levels should exercise caution in handing the constitution

amendment as it concerned the local government autonomy. The chairman said that primary education had continued to suffer neglect under the local government while the teachers had been left at the receiving end. He said the time had come for teachers to oppose any policy considered inimical to the growth of primary education in the country. “Never again shall primary school teachers be returned to bondage and penury through unpatriotic and inhuman control of their salaries by the sadist local government operatives,”

Jonathan said. During the occasion, Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan instituted a cash prize of N50,000 for the best primary school teacher in the state. Uduaghan said the prize would be awarded yearly in honour of his Primary III teacher, Mrs Uwawa, who inspired him and never caned him or any child in the class. The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Hope Eghagha, said his administration was committed to raising the standard of primary education in Delta.

not take decisions on behalf of the party without consultations. The APC chieftain, however, said that if the proposed conference must succeed, it must be all-inclusive one, adding that its agenda must also address fundamental issues which would aid the nation-building process. Tinubu said that he was excited to be back in the country after a long absence. “I am happy to be back in Nigeria today, after a successful surgery, which was performed with a 21st Century approach in medicine in Chicago, United States of America. “Some of those experts who

facilitated the surgery are Nigerian medical practitioners. “This is my longest absence from the political scene since 1993; I have never been away for so long except when I was in exile. “I am glad I am back; I am as fit as a runner and I will beat anybody running,’’ he said. “The surgery was absolutely necessary, I told Nigerians and I went for it. I am a political leader and I am accountable to my people,” he added. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tinubu, who had been away for three months, arrived in a chartered jet marked

CS-DPF at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, around 1.35pm. It was also reports that the APC leader, looking fresh in a white Kaftan, was escorted out of the plane by his wife, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti . Party chieftains and supporters, family members as well as some members of the National Assembly, including Sen. George Akume, Sen. Ganiu Solomon, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila and Rep. Yakub Balogun, were also at the airport to receive Tinubu.

FG Determined To Reduce Unemployment OBUDU (CROSS RIVER The Supervising Minister of National Planning Commission (NPC), Amb. Bashir Yuguda, has said the Federal Government would partner with other organisations to reduce the unemployment rate in the country. Yuguda made the disclosure at Obudu, Cross River, at the opening of a three-day retreat organised by the NPC for the

successful implementation of the Stakeholders on State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR) project. SEEFOR was introduced by the World Bank two years ago to improve the living conditions of the people in the Niger Delta. It is also part of the World Bank’s contributions to the Amnesty programme of the Federal Government. The minister said that the

-Minister

project was also aimed at enhancing opportunities for employment, especially among youths; and improving public financial management in the participating states. According to him, the retreat is timely and it is for the realisation of the present administration’s commitment toward reducing unemployment to a manageable level.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Across The Nation

Ante-Natal Attendance Increases

Conditional Cash Transfer Programme: ABUJA - The National Primary Health Care Development Agency said that ante-natal clinic booking has increased in FCT from 300 monthly to more that 1,000 after the introduction of Conditional Cash Transfer. Dr Ugo Okoli, Project Director, Sure-P Maternal and Child Health in the Agency told

newsmen in Abuja that the programme was ongoing in five primary health care centres. Reports state that the new strategy, known as Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), was introduced to enhance the health

care services in the country. The CCT is an innovation built into the SURE-P Maternal Child Health (MCH) to increase demand for Primary Health Care (PHC). The objective of the

programme is to provide adequate incentives for extremely underprivileged families in rural areas. Okoli said from July, 1 to August 30 a total of 3,274 women have been registered for

Ante-Natal Clinic (ANC) at the five FCT facilities. “ANC visits and bookings have increased and averaging monthly at 156 per cent above baseline. “The baseline ANC booking in FCT was about 300 women a month before the CCT started and it is now over 1000 bookings every month,” she said. She said the programme had

also started in some health facilities in nine states to ensure reduction in maternal and child mortality in Nigeria. “The programme has also started in some facilities in nine other states and we hope that women who are now attending ANCs where they receive cash support will continue after 2015. “I believe by then they would have seen the benefit of receiving care from a skilled birth attendant and would also be able to advocate to other women.

Agency Begins Desilting Of Drains FCT:

Protest posters pasted on locked gate of the Corporate Affairs’s headquarters as workers commenced indefinite strike in Abuja on Friday.

Group Spends N42m On Cancer Patients IKEJA - The Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) has said that it had spent about N42 million on the treatment of 35 female cancer patients in the state. Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, the chairperson of the committee and wife of the state governor, said this in Ikeja while briefing newsmen on the forthcoming 13th COWLSO National Women Conference. She said the beneficiaries, who were mainly breast and cervical cancer patients, were treated in local and foreign hospitals. “We have so far spent about N42 million on the treatment of 35 female cancer patients in the state.

“We have also sponsored 600 other women to undergo breast and cervical cancer screening and supported the renovation of the Oncology building at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) with about N2.4 million. “Cancer is a major threat to life and we believe by supporting the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, especially in our state, COWLSO will be helping to save lives,’’ Fashola said. According to her, the committee has, in the last 18 months, also intervened in the education sector with the renovation of eight public schools across the state.

LAGOS - Dr David Dodman, a Senior Researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), has tasked the media to be proactive in building climate resilient cities. Dodman said in a statement that the media would be needed in monitoring, and ensuring that funds set aside for such projects were efficiently utilised by the authorities. “Cities are today on the front-

line of climate change. “Not too many people are aware of the existence of funds that their cities could use to build resilience to climate change. “The media should, therefore, begin to inform citizens about such funds, so that citizens can in turn make the right demands from their authorities,’’ he said. The environmentalist also urged the media to always investigate the availability of such funds before writing their

She listed some of the schools which benefitted from the N37.2 million intervention fund as Wesley School for the Hearing Impaired, Surulere, Yaba Model College and Ansar-U-Deen School, Ebute Meta. The chairperson said COWLSO in partnership with the private sector also spent N17.5 million to construct a block of six classrooms at Abule-Egba Primary School. Fashola said the recently completed N350 million Old People’s Home in Lekki was part of efforts by the committee to improve the wellbeing of residents. On the forthcoming

conference with the theme, “See Beyond Today: Enhance the Quality of Life’’, she said the objective was to empower women through information and ideas. Reports state that the conference which holds from October 22 to October 24 at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, will be chaired by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo. Two dons — Prof. Dapo Ashiru and Dr Abimbola Ajayi — will also speak on topics affecting women.

ABUJA - The Satellite Town Development Agency (STDA) has started evacuating silt from drains in satellite towns in the FCT. Mr. Segun Olusa, the Deputy Director, Environment, STDA, disclosed this in Karu, Abuja, after monitoring the exercise in Gwagwalada, Kubwa and Karu satellite towns. He said that the agency decided to carry out the exercise to avoid flooding in the satellite towns “as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) has warned of imminent flooding if drains were not cleared’’. “We are reacting to NIMET’s warnings on flooding. That is what prompted the cleaning of drains in the satellite towns,’’ Olusa said, adding that the drains were usually cleared at the onset of the rainy season. He said that the STDA, in collaboration with the area councils, had licenced waste management contractors to evacuate waste from every household. “Initially we were going to collection points to move waste, but now, we go from

house to house to pick up waste.’’ The deputy director said that the contractors evacuate waste from ‘normal waste density areas twice a week and thrice or four times a week from highly populated areas. He called on residents to stop patronising truck pushers, popularly known as ‘Mai bola’, who evacuate waste for little stipend. Olusa said that the agency had started a public awareness campaign to sensitise residents of the six area councils of the FCT on the need to cultivate the culture of cleaningness, and warned on the dangers of blocked drains. He said that the biggest challenge in cleaning the territory was the people’s attitude to waste management, adding that most residents had formed the habit of dumping waste indiscriminately. Mrs Juliet Nwagbo, a resident of Gwagwalada, said she was delighted with the efforts of the STDA and urged it to sustain the speedy disposal of refuse.

Expert Tasks Media On Building Climate Resilient Cities reports. Dodman also advised them to monitor whether “such funds” were spent on building climate change mitigation structures in such communities. “The media and local activists should intensify their awareness on the availability of such funds and how they are being expended in their communities. “This will include their reporting on projects and activities, asking how and if lowincome resident communities benefited from the use of the funds,’’ he said.

Locked out staff of the Corporate Affairs Commission’s headquarters, as workers commenced indefinite strike in Abuja on Friday.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

South-West Army Reiterates Commitment To Combat IBADANMaj.-Gen Terrorism Muhammed Abubakar, Chief of

and I have with me the receipt of the purchase. “The NSCDC impounded 118 kegs and claimed they were filled with adulterated diesel. “I don’t know about that, but since I have been buying diesel from the filling station, our engines have not been affected,” he said.

Administration, Nigerian Army, has reiterated the army’s commitment to check the current insecurity in the country. Abubakar said this at a two-day workshop for officers under the 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Odogbo, Ibadan. He said that the army would hold series of training for its men and officers to overcome the challenge. The theme of the training is: “Capacity Building in the Nigerian Army towards Combating Contemporary Challenges.” According to him, our nation is currently undergoing a transformation process, which comes along with a number of contemporary challenges. “The Nigerian Army is saddled with the leading role of tackling the various security challenges facing the nation,” he said. He commended the division for contributing troops to some of the internal security operations nationwide. Abubakar lauded the army’s efforts in the fight against the current threat to security. Earlier, Maj-.Gen Ahmed Jibrin, the division’s General Officer Commanding (GOC), told the participants that the training was not a jamboree but a training that must be taken seriously. The Guest Lecturer, Dr Dhikrullah Yagboyaju, a Senior Lecturer in the Political Science

She said the Ministry had begun revenue monitoring in order to ensure that money meant for the government accrued to it. Mr Babajide Odubanjo, the chairman, Ogun Internal Revenue Service (OGIRS), said the agency was working against

some tax operators who failed to remit tax to the government. Odubanjo said that the OGIRS had sent out task force to sensitise people on payment of taxes and to ensure that all taxable revenue went into government coffers.

L-R: Director, Ogun State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Timothy Oyenekan; Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South West Zone, Mr. Iyiola Akande; General Manager, Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Osasona Olufemi and National Coordinator, Centre for Disaster and Crisis Management, Mr. Kolawole Hamzat, during the consultative forum on camp management in Ibadan recently.

NSCDC Parades Suspects With Adulterated Diesel IBADAN- The Oyo State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) paraded three suspects arrested for being in possession of 209 kegs of adulterated diesel in Ibadan. Reports say that the suspects were paraded at the command’s headquarters in Iyaganku, Ibadan. The state commander of the NSCDC, Mr Shem Obafaiye, said the suspects included a 27-year-old student believed to be the owner of the product. The two other suspects were the driver of the vehicle marked KRD 391 XC and a motor boy. Obafaiye said the driver and the motor boy were arrested on Aug. 24 on the Ogbomoso-Ilorin expressway while the owner of the product was arrested recently after investigation. “Our men went for night patrol; when they saw the truck, they attempted to stop the driver, but he ignored them. “They chased him and eventually stopped the vehicle. “On inspection, they discovered that it was conveying 209 kegs of adulterated diesel without any genuine paper to back its conveyance,” he said. The commander said that samples of the diesel were

sent to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) where it was confirmed to be adulterated. The suspected owner of the adulterated diesel, however, denied the allegation against him. He told newsmen that he bought the diesel from a

filling station in Ondo State and was taking the product to Eiyenkorin in Ilorin. “I bought the diesel to be used on my father’s cassava processing industry at Ilorin and not to be sold. “This is not my first time of buying diesel from the filling station at Ondo State

Ogun Assembly Threatens To Sanction Commissioners ABEOKUTA-Mr Akanbi Bankole, the Chairman, Ogun House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation, has said commissioners in the state who were not present during oversight functions by the Assembly would be sanctioned. Bankole said this on Wednesday in Abeokuta during the committee’s oversight tour to the Ministry of Finance. “I am not impressed with the absence of the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mrs Yewande Muoyo. “They are the ones we have come to see, we want to hear from them personally, instead of the permanent secretaries or directors. “I want to sound a warning to other ministries yet to be visited that the commissioners, the permanent secretaries and directors must be available at every visit by the Ogun Assembly,” he said. The chairman, however, said that the tour was to enable the House to know the extent of progress so far made by the ministries. Mrs Ajibola Chokor, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Finance, said that the state had

introduced cashless policy in its tertiary institutions since August. Chokor also said the Ministry had reduced cash handlings by officials of ministries to ensure that revenue leakages were reduced.

Department, University of Ibadan, attributed injustice, unemployment and leadership failure to the root cause of terrorism. According to Yagboyaju, those factors, over the years, brought frustration and aggression which has led to the current security challenges in the country. “As a country of diverse backgrounds, Nigeria must take the practise of federalism more seriously” he said. He spoke on: “The Emerging Terrorist Image in Nigeria: Implications and Possible Remedies”.

Group Advises FG On PHCN Handover

OSOGBO- The Committee for Democracy and Rights of the People (CDRP) has called on the Federal Government to ensure that the handing over of the PHCN to private investors will be rewarding to all Nigerians. The committee made the call in a statement issued by Mr Saka Waheed, the acting National Coordinator of the group in Osogbo. It called on the Federal Government to consider the plight of ordinary Nigerians in the privatisation exercise, and expressed the hope that the taking over of the PHCN would not be to the detriment of Nigerians. The statement urged the government to consider the “poor masses’’ who had been receiving arbitrary electricity bills. It also urged the Federal Government to pay the severance allowance and exit package of all electricity workers, stressing that the payment of all their entitlements should be without further delay.

Sensitisation campaign for the 1st round of children immunisation against measles by health officials at Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State recently.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Lagos Mysterious Death Of CCECC Worker he said. Stalls Work spoke five local languages, man,” Gabriel Atule, 26, also from

Cars wading through the flood at Iganmu area of Lagos

Commuters waiting at Costain bus stop during the early morning rain recently.

LAGOS - No fewer than 200 workers of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) downed tools to mourn the death of one of them who died in mysterious circumstances overnight. The body of the dead Nigerian worker of the Chinese company was found near the police post of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, less that 500 metres away from the main train station being constructed by CCECC. A senior police officer, who pleaded anonymity, told newsmen at Iganmu that the deceased, known as Alex Swagger, was observed to have been drunk when last seen the previous night. The policemen at the National Theatre said investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of Swagger was ongoing and that the body had been moved to a public mortuary for autopsy. Some of the dead man’s co- workers, who spoke with newsmen, described the deceased as “a cool-headed guy’’ who was in his 20s. It was gathered that the relations of the deceased was yet to come forward and that his state of origin could not be established as he was known to speak many Nigerian languages. “All I know about him is that Alex Swagger is neither a drunkard nor a smoker. He

including Yoruba, Igbo, Efik, Hausa and Tiv fluently,’’ said Emmanuel Lough, a carpenter with the CCECC. The 27-year-old Lough, who claimed to have come from Benue and had worked in the carpentry section with the late Swagger, said although the deceased spoke Tiv, he was not from Benue. “We have a colleague who used to speak Ibo with him. I believe that Swagger was related to an Igbo man, but we know that he was not an Igbo

Skeletal Services Rendered In Lagos Hospitals

Doctors Strike:

LAGOS - As the nationwide indefinite strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) entered its second day, skeletal services were being provided at some hospitals in Lagos. A check at the hospitals indicated that consultants were attending to patients at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba. The situation was the same at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja; the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, and the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos. Dr Emeka Ugwu, President of the association’s LUTH Chapter, told newsmen in Lagos that they joined the strike on Wednesday.

Remanded Accused Not In Prison, Complainant Tells Court

LAGOS - An Ogudu Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos witnessed a mild drama when an accused, Modestus Ihenro, who was remanded at the Kirikiri Prisons, Apapa, was reportedly sighted on the streets. Reports say that Ihenro, who was to appear for trial, could not be presented in

court by the prison authorities on demand by the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Omolade Awope. The complainant, Mrs. Shirley Ukpaka, told the court at the resumed hearing of the case that the accused, who

had yet to perfect his bail, was seen walking in the streets. “My Lord, I saw Ihenro walking along the streets. My sister also saw him too,” Ukpaka said. The Chief Magistrate, who expressed dismay at the development, summoned the

Tourism: Laywer Wants Regulatory Body

LAGOS - Mr Gbenga Ajayi, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, has urged the Federal Government to set up a tourism practitioners registration council to regulate the activities of practitioners. Ajayi told newsmen in Lagos that the sector had been infiltrated by quacks due to the absence of a regulatory body. He expressed a strong belief that setting up a regulatory

Established

body would help to curb activities of illegal operators in the sector. “Government needs to set up a tourism practitioners registration council of Nigeria as it is done in other professions. “This is to instil discipline and maintain high ethical code of conduct for the industry.” He urged tour operators and

travel agents in the country to exhibit professionalism in their practice because unwholesome practice was capable of eroding the efforts of genuine stakeholders. “Illegal operators had defrauded many travellers, therefore, it is necessary to checkmate them and cleanse the industry, ‘’ Ajayi said. He also advised tourism practitioners to maintain good moral conduct in the industry.

prison warder, Mr Emmanuel George, and queried why the accused was not present in court for trial. “My Lord, I was only given four names of those to be presented in court and they are all here,” George told the court. Counsel to the accused, Mr Adesola Adenike, told the court that the accused was brought to court for trial on September, 30. Responding, Awope, said; “Why was the accused brought to court on September, 30. “I did not adjourn this case till September, 30, but October, 2. I will not support criminality,” she said. Awope, however, ordered

Benue and co-worker of the deceased in the carpentry section of CCECC, said he was shocked at seeing the corpse of Swagger by the roadside this morning. “The guy does not drink or smoke and he was a very jovial person”, Atule said, adding that he suspected foul play in the death of a hitherto healthy young man. No Chinese member of staff of the company was around to throw light on the bio data of the deceased.

the prison official and the counsel to the accused to ensure that he was brought to the court before she adjourned the day’s sitting. The accused was arraigned on September, 4 for allegedly stealing a Toyota Corolla car with Registration No. LSR47BF, valued at N2 million. The accused, of No. 9, Church St., Ikeja, Lagos, is facing a two-count-charge of stealing and conspiracy. He, however, pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Cpl. Adeniran Adekemi, said the accused committed the offences on August, 27, at No. 40, Ogudu Rd., Lagos, at 11:30 a.m. Awope had granted the accused a N200,000 bail, with two sureties in like sum, and adjourned the case till October, 2.

His LASUTH counterpart, Dr Oluwajimi Shodipo, said there was an ongoing deliberation to decide whether to join the strike or not. Shodipo said some doctors were still working at the hospital. Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, said that the resident doctors at the hospital joined the strike at midnight on Tuesday. An anonymous resident doctor at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, said that they have also joined the strike. He said the strike was to address alleged lapses on the side of government, to improve healthcare delivery in the country. NARD had directed its members nationwide to proceed on an indefinite strike from Tuesday. Its President, Dr Jibril Abdullahi, gave the directive at a media briefing in Kano, and expressed regrets over the untold hardship the decision might cause Nigerians. Abdullahi said NARD was protesting what it described as the poor funding of the residency training of its members. He also said that the association had demanded that the funding gap be improved through supplementary budgets, but that the Federal Government had yet to respond to the proposal. Abdullahi, however, said that the directive became necessary in view of the government’s failure to meet the union’s demands, as contained in its earlier ultimatum, which expired at midnight on September, 30.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Across The Nation Murder

Court Sentences Soldier To Death

Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Health Care, Dr. Nisser Umar vaccinating a baby during the commencement of vaccination against measles in Bauchi State weekend.

ABUJA- An FCT High Court in Jabi, Abuja, has sentenced a soldier, Kabiru Abdullahi, to death by hanging for killing one Musa Tanko. Abdullahi was a private in the Nigerian Army when he committed the crime. He was found guilty of stabbing Tanko to death with a knife. Abdullahi was charged on one count of culpable homicide, punishable with death under Section 221 of the Penal Code. Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu while delivering

Proposed National Conference

NBA Applauds Jonathan NSUKKA (ENUGU STATE)The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in Nsukka, Mr. Gerald Eze, has applauded President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision on a national conference to dialogue on the country’s problems. Eze told newsmen in Nsukka that the approval showed that Mr

President was sensitive to the wishes of Nigerians. “It is a welcome development and I commend him for having the interest of Nigerians at heart. “Nigerians are happy about the national conference as announced by the president; this will give Nigerians the opportunity to find solutions to

Pension: NPA Retirees Appeal For Settlement LAGOS- Some retired workers of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has urged the authority to include them in the monthly pension scheme and settle their outstanding benefits. The 2006/2007 retirees made the appeal in Lagos at a briefing to protest the continuous delay in the payment of the entitlement in spite of various entreaties. Mr Charles Binitie, the Chairman of the association, said that the 2006/2007 batch had not received their pension entitlement since they were downsized following the port reform in April 2005. Binitie said that those to be laid off made a choice for receiving their entitlements which were categorised into three phases following a Federal Government circular. He said that rather than pay off the workers according to their choice, all the affected employees were asked to complete the employment disengagement benefit option form. “The workers affected in the 2005 disengagement were paid their full gratuity and were placed on monthly pension. “The 2008 batch were also paid their full gratuity and five years statutory pension. They

are not to return to defined pension payroll. “But when the 2006/2007 batch was laid off, the NPA management paid the retirees their entitlements, but did not include the workers in the monthly pension scheme,’’ the chairman said. He said that the retirees had written several letters to President Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister of Transport who directed the NPA to comply, but nothing had been done. He appealed to the authority to return the 2006/2007 retirees to the defined pension scheme. Reacting to the development, Mr Iheanacho Ebubeogwu, General Manager (Public Affairs) in NPA, told newsmen that a committee had started to work out the pension entitlement for the retirees. “We have a committee that is already working out the entitlement of the retirees. We are already looking into their issues. “It is a committee made up of the finance, legal and human resource departments,’’ Ebubeogwu said. He assured that the committee would be ready with their report in two weeks to resolve the issue of the NPA retirees.

the numerous challenges facing the country. “To me, that conference is a special 53rd Independence anniversary gift to Nigerians,’’ he said. The chairman expressed satisfaction with the membership of the conference advisory committee, describing them as men and women of proven integrity. “Somebody like Prof. Ben Nwabueze is a seasoned constitution lawyer with many years of experience. “I am optimistic that members

HIV/AIDS

of the committee will ensure that Nigeria gets the best from that conference,’’ he said. However, Prof. Jonah Onuoha, the Head of Department of Political Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said it could have been better if the conference was sovereign in outlook. “A national sovereign conference is backed by law and resolutions immediately become part of the country’s constitution. “But in a national conference, the government has the power to select resolutions to implement and the ones to dump,’’ he said.

judgment, said the testimony of the witness regarding what transpired between the convict and the deceased was “credible” and clearly showed the guilt of the convict. Ogakwu said the convict intentionally and with the knowledge that death or grievous bodily injury would be the probable consequence of his action, stabbed the deceased in the neck. “I, therefore, find and hold that the prosecution has established the guilt of the accused person as charged. “I accordingly find the accused guilty as charged on the sole count of the culpable homicide,” Ogakwu said. It will be recalled that a

Embrace letter Writing, NIPOST Boss Urges Students ILORIN- The Director of the Nigeria Postal Service in Kwara, Mr Lawrence Tunwase, has called on students to embrace the habit of writing letters to improve their writing skills. Tunwase told newsmen in Ilorin that the use of postal services by students would improve their writing skills.

Agency Intensifies Campaign BIRNIN KEBBI- The Kebbi State Agency for the Control of AIDS (KBSACA) has said it has commenced intensive community based campaign against the spread of HIV/AID virus in the state. Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad, the coordinator of the agency, made this known at the NorthWest zonal meeting of the agency in Birnin Kebbi. Muhammad said that the

agency had established committees in 21 local government areas for effective campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the rural areas. “We expect the committees to work jointly with the civil society groups to ensure the success of the campaign,” he said. Muhammad said that fresh approach would be adopted to curtail the mother-to-child transmission of the scourge,

witness, Cpl Solomon Samson, had told the court that the convict was arrested and taken to the crime branch of the Zuba Police Station by Insp. Ogbeh Godwin. He said Godwin, who was on special duty in Madalla in Niger, reported that the convict had killed someone. Samson said he visited the scene of crime where he saw a young man, identified as Musa Tanko, lying in a pool of blood. He told the court that the corpse was moved to the Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital where the deceased was confirmed dead. Samson said a confessional statement of the convict was recorded where he admitted committing the offence.

considering the fact that women were more vulnerable than men. Alhaji Muhammad Abiodun, the Chief Programme Officer, National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), said that the meeting was part of the efforts to reduce the spread of the virus. He commended the state government’s efforts in the fight against the spread of the HIV virus.

According to him, the influx of cell phones and the internet has diverted the attention of youths from postal services. “Students and youths don’t see it as necessary to improve on their writing skills anymore since they have their cell phones where they can abbreviate words and make easy calls,’’ he said. He urged parents to encourage their children to write letters and essays to boost their writing skills. Tunwase, however, noted that the poor numbering of houses and streets in urban areas was a major challenge facing NIPOST. He also lamented that some ministries and schools in the state were owing NIPOST a lot of money in rental fees for mail bags.

Children waiting to be vaccinated at the vaccination against measles in Bauchi State weekend.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Abuja Forgery: ICPC Arraigns 2 UBEC Officials ABUJA - The anti-graft agency, ICPC has arraigned Beatrice Molokwu and Jasper Erekosima, employees of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), for producing false documents to Embassy of Belgium for a visa. The ICPC prosecutor, Mr. Michael Adesola, told the court that the accused in June conspired and produced a fake UBEC document and presented same as genuine to the embassy with the intention to procure a Belgian visa. Adesola said Erekosima also in June procured a false statement of Account Number 0034172650 of GT Bank, with the intent to deceive the embassy to get visa for one Udoka Cyril. Adesola also told the court that, Erekosima on or about the month of June, made a false stamp bearing the Department of Public Health, with the intent to use it to get a yellow card. The prosecutor said that the offence is contrary to the provisions of Section 97 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 364 of the law. If convicted, they may be sentenced to 14 years in jail each or with fine or with both. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The counsel to the accused, Mr. Oyikachi Ikpeazu (SAN), urged the court to admit his clients to bail. Ikpeazu assured the court that if granted bail, the accused would ensure that they attended

their trial. The ICPC counsel did not oppose the application for bail. In his ruling, Justice Mudashiru Onyangi, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of two million each and one surety in like sum. Onyangi ordered that the surety must be resident within the FCT and must produce proof of ownership of a landed property. The judge also ordered that if the accused failed to meet the bail conditions, they should be remanded in Kuje Prison. He adjourned hearing in the case to November. 6.

Financial Crimes

EFCC, INTERPOL To Hold Conference

outcome of the conference. The National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, (AD), Mr. Rafiu Salau, said the conference had become imperative as it would enable government to tackle the problems of restiveness. Salau cautioned states government to allow the people to choose their representatives to the conference.

ABUJA - More than 25 African countries are expected to participate in the 6th Interpol Global Conference on AntiCorruption, Financial Crimes and Asset Recovery starting on October 7, 2013. Mr. Ayo Olowonihi, the Commandant of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Academy, Karu, Abuja, made this known to newsmen in Abuja. He said the EFCC, in conjunction with Interpol, organised the 7-day conference for senior investigators and prosecutors of financial crimes to share ideas on curbing financial crimes in African countries He said the conference would also be an opportunity for the academy to showcase its activities to the world. “We are trying to make this academy a regional body that will be able to train financial crime investigators and prosecutors in African,’’ he said. The commandant added that the idea is to shift focus from Asia to Nigeria as a destination of choice for anti-corruption training. He said that two participants were expected from each participating country, adding that interpreters would be engaged due to the multilingual nature of the event. The commandant said that an efficient anti-corruption operation would address the security challenges in Africa. “Corruption funds terrorism and an effective fight against corruption in Africa will go a long way in checking terrorism,’’ he said. Olowonihi said the academy had made adequate arrangement for security, adding, “We are taking the issue of security seriously because of the calibre of people expected at the conference.”

seeks to strengthen NAFDAC by providing for a fine of N100, 000 or three years imprisonment or both for any person who obstructs an officer of the agency while on duty. This he said was against the N5, 000 and or two years imprisonment as provided in the agency’s Act, 2004. He said that the amendment in Section 8 was aimed at forestalling arbitrariness and indiscretion in the exercise of the agency’s powers under this section. The legislator said that the

basic thrust of the amendment was to punish promoters of companies found guilty of fake drug offences. He said that the amendment would not alter the original structure or operations of the agencies but to enhance it. Rep.Aminu Shagari (PDPSokoto) said that with the amendments, NAFDAC would be able to perform its functions better without much difficulty. Speaker Aminu Tambuwal referred the bill to the House Committee on Health for further legislatives inputs.

L-R: Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Mr. Micah Jiba; Esu Bwari, Dr. Ibrahim Yaro; Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide and Chairman, Bwari Area Council, Mr. Yohanna Peter, at the inauguration of Bwari Area Councils’ secretariat extension and tricycles at Bwari in Abuja recently.

Cross section of District heads at the launch of FCT Area Councils’ Health Insurance Scheme at Bwari in Abuja recently.

National Conference ’ll Enhance National Unity - Omisore

ABUJA - A former Deputy Governor of Osun, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has cautioned Nigerians against politicising the proposed national conference or view it as a ploy to hoodwink Nigerians. Omisore told newsmen in Abuja that the conference would go a long way to resolve issues emanating from political, ethnic and religious differences in the country. He commended the initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan for coming up with the idea of national dialogue describing it as a way forward for the country. The erstwhile Senator said that the conference would protect the inalienable rights and interest of every Nigerian. He said the quest for such conference had been in the agenda of the Yoruba Sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, for a long time. Omisore said the group was so happy that their quest in the

last 20 years had finally come to light. “Just last Friday after, our meeting in Akure under the leadership of Chief Reuben Fasonranti we expressed our commitment and belief to have a national dialogue. “We even went further to set up a committee to work out modalities on the conference,’’ Omisore said. He said it was an indication that the president had a listening ear, and willing to accommodate various interest groups to discuss the problems of this country. He said Afenifere had set up a committee to look into possible areas such as political and economic structures of the country in enhancing true federalism. In a related interview, the National Chairman of Accord party, Mr. Lawal Nalado, said the committee set up by the president to work out modalities

for the conference should look into the key issues that would promote the unity and progress of Nigerians. He said it was a good and timely intervention by President Jonathan, adding that his party would ensure the success of the conference. Nalado said the committee must be ready to do a good job and leave above the office that gave them the job in order to come up with reasonable ideas. Dr Yunisa Tanko, Chairman Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), advised members of the committee to be transparent and non-partisan in their assignment. According to him, though the exercise is very technical and daunting, the committee must strive to be transparent and must not allow the exercise to be hijacked by the oppositions. “Everybody that finds himself on the committee should be mindful of local and

international interference as they are always ready to catch in on our misfortune,’’ “Nigerians must come together to form a template that will move them forward, he said. He said there must be an immediate action on the

NAFDAC Act:

Ammendment Bill Passes Second Reading

ABUJA - A bill to amend the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Act 2004 in Abuja passed second reading at the House of Representatives. The bill seeks to amend the principal act to empower the agency to effectively carry out its functions. Rep. Dan Abia (PDP-Akwa Ibom) said that the principal act was intended to make the representatives of the InspectorGeneral of Police and Controller-General of Customs members of the governing council of NAFDAC. According to him, the bill

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Business + Economy Tourism: Association Renews Call For Intervention Fund LAGOS - The President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Mr. Tomi Akingbogun, has renewed the call for the establishment of a N2 billion tourism intervention fund by the Federal Government. Akingbogun told newsmen in Lagos that the association had been asking the government for the fund since 2012, but no response had been forthcoming. He said that the fund would help to exploit the nation’s tourism potential and increase the country’s internally-

generated revenue. Akingbogun said that the government ought to have been generating huge revenues from the sector, if proper attention was given to it. He also appealed to the government to provide incentives for tourism investors, to expand the tourism environment. “The incentives could be capital-based; it could be the provision of good roads to tourist centres or the involvement of the private sector in the development of

MAIDUGURI - The Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) has said that it had distributed 3,000 waste bins to enhance sanitation in the state. The General Manager of the Agency, Mr Abba Agid, said this in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri. Agid said the agency would distribute 1,000 incinerators on roads and streets of the metropolis to serve as dumping points. He said the agency had employed 1,500 workers under its Environmental Vanguard Scheme (EVS) to carry out sanitation in the metropolis. He said that the workers included women, youths and others drawn from the 27 local government areas of the state. According to him, the agency had also brought 40 compacted trucks to help in clearing waste dumps in parts of the metropolis. He then urged the public to always clean their

environment to control spread of diseases. “People should always clean their environment because sanitation is next to Godliness. “If you abuse the environment, the environment will also abuse you. People must engage in sanitation activities to safeguard the environment.”

tourism. “Other incentives could be the recruitment of professional personnel, enlightenment and programmes on the importance of tourism and adequate budgetary provision for the tourism sector.

“Kenya, South Africa, Dubai, and some other countries depend on tourism as their major source of revenue. “It is high time the Nigerian government shifted its attention from the oil sector to tourism, because the country is blessed

with enormous tourism potential to depend on, ‘’ Akingbogun said. He said that Nigeria had the greatest tourism potential in Africa and investing in the tourism sector should be a national priority.

“Tourism development should, however, not be left in the hands of the Federal Government alone, but there should be a synergy between all tiers of government and stakeholders, ‘’ Akigbogun added.

Borno Distributes 3,000 Waste Bins

L-R: Representative of Gombe State Governor, Mr Abdulhameed Ibrahim; Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Sagir Saleh and Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Mr Elias Mbam, at the North-East Zonal Public hearing on Review of Revenue allocation formula in Bauchi recently.

Lagos Park Records 15,000 Visitors

LAGOS - The Heritage Park at Oshodi, Lagos, recorded no fewer than 15,000 patronage from January to September, an official has said. The Assistant Manager of the park, Mrs Ngozi Umeodinka, told newsmen in Lagos that the park had been attracting local and foreign visitors since its inception in 2012. “More than 15, 000 tourists or fun seekers have visited the park from January to September,’’ she said.

The park which was inaugurated on October 28, 2012 by the Lagos Ministry of the Environment is being managed by a private firm — Edge Media. Umeodinka said of the 15, 000 visitors, 6,000 were adults, 8,000 were children and 1,000 were foreigners. She attributed the high patronage to the modern facilities and the aesthetics at the centre. “The patronage has been encouraging since the park was built in 2012.

“Despite people’s perception of Oshodi as a former slum, the patronage is still encouraging. “The high patronage is as a result of the aggressive publicity we gave the centre, provision of security and maintenance of the facility,’’ Umeodinka added. She said the state-of-the art facilities and the welcoming ambience of the park had made it a tourist’s destination.

NUJ FCT Chairman, Mr. Chuks Ehirim; National Secretary, Mr. Leman Shu’Aibu; NUJ National President, Malam Garba Mohammed and Senior Assistant to the National Secretary, Mr. Bamidele Gbenga at a news conference on the state of the nation in Abuja recently.

“We enjoy highest patronage particularly during festive periods and public holidays. “With the N500 gate fee we collect which some people consider too high, we still

record high patronage because of the standard of the park.’’ On the revenue being generated at the park, Umeodinka said part of the money would be channeled into maintenance of the facility and payment of tax and other government levies.

Wema Bank To Secure National Banking Licence

LAGOS - Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, Managing Director of Wema Bank, says the bank will soon secure a national banking licence following successful completion of N40 billion special placement. Oloketuyi disclosed this in a statement issued by the bank and made available to the newsmen in Lagos. He said that the bank would, in the next couple of days, commence the process of securing a national banking licence. Oloketuyi also said that the bank had successful completed its N40 billion special placement and allotment of the shares as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

He said that 26.68 billion ordinary shares of 50k each valued at N40 billion were allotted to successful institutional and private investors at N1.50k per share in two tranches. “With this development, the share holding structure of the bank remains diverse with no single investor having controlling shareholding in the bank,” he said. The managing director commended all its stakeholders for their support in ensuring the success of the capital raise drive which began few months ago. He said that the board and management would remain committed to ensuring that the bank regained its pride of place in the industry without compromising on values and standards.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

NSE DAILY ACTIVITY SUMMARY (EQUITIES) AS AT FRIDAY(04/10/13) Stocks

Open

Change

Deals

Units

Value

MANSARD

2.09

2.13

0.04

1,000

2,190.00

ABCTRANS

0.78

0.81

0.03

451,571

364,762.51

MAYBAKER

2.2

83,652

176,373.18

ACADEMY

1.8

53,000

99,110.00

MBENEFIT

0.5

100

ACCESS

10.5

10.61

0.11

8,020,047

84,166,139.30

MOBIL

107

110.05

3.05

70,282

7,676,865.95

AFRIPRUD

1.87

63,834

120,567.63

MRS

36.14

425

14,594.50

AGLEVENT

1.65

298

473.82

MULTIVERSE

0.5

2,000

1,000.00

AIICO

0.78

1,728,726

1,339,885.09

NAHCO

6.3

193,467

1,223,791.34

AIRSERVICE

4.02

3.82

-0.2

1,475,110

5,634,940.20

NASCON

12.09

982,501

11,892,332.65

ARBICO

5.05

500

2,425.00

169.4

173

3.6

1,372,212

232,349,682.20

ASHAKACEM

20.9

-0.9

759,024

15,237,064.28

NEIMETH

1.2

3,025

3,448.50

ASOSAVINGS

0.5

50,000

25,000.00

NEM

0.7

1,379,688

956,026.95

BECOPETRO

0.5

29,000

14,500.00

NESTLE

998.5

47,928

47,428,080.05

BERGER

8.7

33,600

280,192.00

OANDO

10.55

10.5

-0.05

5,201,719

54,525,324.56

BETAGLAS

11.87

12.46

0.59

521,011

6,029,442.96

OKOMUOIL

41.53

42.15

0.62

303,253

13,039,384.35

BOCGAS

6.5

16,611

102,988.20

PAINTCOM

2.22

2.3

0.08

121,000

275,020.00

CADBURY

416,799

19,980,157.10

PORTPAINT

5.6

7,000

37,240.00

CAP

6,341

242,358.50

PRESCO

33.5

34.7

1.2

273,968

9,394,560.92

CAPALBETO

95.49

120

12,000.00

PRESTIGE

0.6

0.57

-0.03

165,000

94,050.00

CCNN

22,742

202,571.22

162,699

6,127,419.50

CONOIL

28.8

6,200

170,139.00

REDSTAREX

4.49

40,000

170,800.00

CONTINSURE

1.2

90,000

102,600.00

RESORTSAL

0.5

3,000

1,500.00

CORNERST

0.5

1,971,850

985,925.00

ROADS

8.46

16,657

134,921.70

COSTAIN

1.13

76,553

86,322.89

ROYALEX

0.5

0.51

0.01

131,562

67,146.62

COURTVILLE

0.59

0.61

0.02

359,408

218,625.31

RTBRISCOE

1.44

1.37

-0.07

287,197

402,558.89

CUSTODYINS

1.45

1.5

0.05

2,040,208

3,083,296.31

SKYEBANK

4.19

4.15

-0.04

4,863,548

20,236,712.02

CUTIX

1.9

18,000

34,780.00

STANBIC

19.28

19.2

-0.08

1,150,904

22,194,832.27

DANGCEM

190

584,746

111,100,800.00

STARCOMMS

0.5

1,000

500

DANGFLOUR

9.05

841,798

7,626,350.06

STERLNBANK

2.28

2.25

-0.03

1,084,666

2,471,578.83

DANGSUGAR

11.2

11.3

0.1

1,210,633

13,433,650.73

TANTALIZER

0.5

5,000

2,500.00

DIAMONDBNK

6.2

6.21

0.01

887,995

5,568,360.15

THOMASWY

0.95

4,000

3,640.00

DNMEYER

1.9

45,000

81,900.00

TOTAL

157

18,950

2,960,383.10

ETERNA

2.9

2.76

-0.14

171,720

476,454.55

TRANSCORP

1.93

1.89

-0.04

256,338,821

496,675,233.70

ETI

13.63

13.61

-0.02

16,103,404

219,061,957.00

TRANSEXPR

1.26

22,000

28,900.00

EVANSMED

3.45

37,765

123,869.20

TRIPPLEG

2.07

4,200

8,274.00

FBNH

16.7

16.56

-0.14

9,540,528

157,832,611.10

UAC-PROP

16.35

15.8

-0.55

98,652

1,561,058.05

FCMB

3.88

3.82

-0.06

654,361

2,504,086.50

UACN

61.2

163,022

9,851,313.36

FIDELITYBK

2.64

2.68

0.04

3,752,406

9,859,066.69

UBA

7.5

7.45

-0.05

32,441,715

243,227,280.60

FIDSON

1.97

987,394

1,922,002.52

UBCAP

1.5

1,999,683

2,971,669.96

FLOURMILL

207,451

16,588,377.49

UBN

10.21

267,399

2,732,535.24

37.51

39.38

1.87

116,277

4,578,988.26

UNHOMES

0.5

1,000

500

FTNCOCOA

0.5

196,000

98,000.00

UNILEVER

59.5

61.01

1.51

1,125,577

68,360,651.67

GLAXOSMITH

65.5

-1.5

220,539

14,331,737.10

UNITYBNK

0.57

0.56

-0.01

12,116,165

6,914,244.00

GUARANTY

25.7

25.6

-0.1

6,432,029

163,860,375.90

UPDCREIT

10.5

1,820

18,163.60

GUINNESS

256.04

249.64

-6.4

148,709

37,188,218.11

UPL

3.93

3.99

0.06

195,630

771,703.70

HMARKINS

0.5

50,000,000

25,000,000.00

UTC

0.59

0.61

0.02

94,636

57,720.92

HONYFLOUR

2.97

2.95

-0.02

604,393

1,794,749.84

VITAFOAM

3.94

4.08

0.14

177,425

720,858.25

IHS

2.93

2.81

-0.12

2,256,300

6,717,632.00

WAPCO

169,190

16,170,316.55

IKEJAHOTEL

0.8

55,045

43,975.55

WAPIC

0.87

0.85

-0.02

88,064,902

74,897,492.70

INTBREW

19.84

20.4

0.56

177,825

3,584,769.50

WEMABANK

0.98

1.02

0.04

2,242,381

2,287,228.62

INTENEGINS

0.71

82,561

59,098.20

ZENITHBANK

20.18

0.18

6,789,950

136,365,788.30

JAPAULOIL

0.5

1,200,331

601,365.50

JBERGER

76.99

78.5

1.51

1,182,136

91,776,583.64

JOHNHOLT

1.09

1.14

0.05

75,242

85,754.28

JOSBREW

3.78

1,250

4,500.00

LASACO

0.5

10,000

5,000.00

LEARNAFRCA

1.86

87,186

155,331.08

LIVESTOCK

3.75

3.9

0.15

492,000

1,891,765.20

TOP 10 GAINERS Stock NB MOBIL FO JBERGER UNILEVER PRESCO CADBURY OKOMUOIL BETAGLAS INTBREW

Close 173 110.05 39.38 78.5 61.01 34.7 48 42.15 12.46 20.4

TOP TOP 10 10 LOSERS GAINERS

Gain

Stock

3.6 3.05 1.87 1.51 1.51 1.2 1 0.62 0.59 0.56

GUINNESS GLAXOSMITH ASHAKACEM UAC-PROP AIRSERVICE FBNH ETERNA IHS GUARANTY STANBIC

Close 249.64 64 20 15.8 3.82 16.56 2.76 2.81 25.6 19.2

Loss -6.4 -1.5 -0.9 -0.55 -0.2 -0.14 -0.14 -0.12 -0.1 -0.08

THE NIGERIAN

Very recently, gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect attacked Government College of Agriculture, Yobe State, Killing over fifty students while they were asleep in the middle of the night. It was reported that some victims were severed with sharp knives by the attackers, others were shot while trying to escape. Several other students were said to have sustained various degrees of injuries as they tried to flee and are reportedly in critical conditions in the hospital. The Same group reported killed 29 Secondary school pupils and their teachers at night in Potiskum, Yobe State not too long ago. some of the pupils were set ablaze alive and others shot at close range. Also, the same group killed seven pupils and two teachers in Damaturu, the state capital in a similar attack in a Primary school in June. As a fact, a total of 48 pupils and seven teachers have so far been massacred by the insurgents since June 16 in addition to the latest figure. We are shocked at the continued targeting of harmless school pupils/ students by the dare devils who cruelly killed the harmless and innocent students while asleep at night in their hostels and condemn their gruesome murder in its entirety. The killings are

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013 THE NIGERIAN

Killing Of 50 College Of Agric Students By Boko Haram barbaric and unimaginable in a 21st century global world. It is our view, there can be no justification, whatsoever for the deliberate targeting of students and those looking after them. Ordinarily, in a war situation, women and children and even innocent civilian populations are not fired by warring parties as a rule. But sadly, Boko Haram disregards these war time rules in their armed campaign whose mission or grouse is still unclear to many Nigerians, including the Islamic community. It is highly reprehensible targeting harmless children and their teachers who did not contribute to the problem of society in any way. It is sad that this ugly incident occurred in an environment where a State of Emergency is being implemented. The question is where were the security men at the time of incident? Why did government chose to disconnected mobile telephony in affected states where the emergency rule is operational? We believe that if the cell phones of residents were

functional, the miscreants would not have been able to escape after perpetrating the dastardly act. We therefore call on the federal government to track down the perpetrators of this heinous crime against humanity and bring them to justice. Nigeria cannot be reduced to a barbaric society where innocent children would be massacred with impunity by Boko Haram insurgents. Government has to take further steps to forestall any other occurrence of this wickedness by beefing up security around all public schools and institutions in troubled parts of the state. We equally appeal to military authorities and the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC, to take urgent steps to restore mobile communications services in the affected states , so that information could be easily passed by citizens to security authorities, when the unexpected occur. We believe that if mobile telephones were functional, citizens around the schools would have made contacts that would have dealt with the impunity of the hoodlums. Beyond the recent activities, we are still worried about the unending bloodletting in Northern Nigeria by this group. We urge a more holistic approach to dealing with the insurgency and impunity of the insurgents to put a final stop to this menace.

THE NIGERIAN

The Blindness Of A World With Sight

IT is my point that, the end of political independence is diplomatic resolutions, while the end of economic independence is diplomatic negotiations. The egress of global untidiness is not in the fact that the international community lacks the dynamic decoy to polarize global tranquility but, in the cliché that diplomacy is for national and continental sloppy peace. However, I have chosen my line in the sand that, global tranquility can only be fronted through the threshold of international insensitivity dying on the sea shore. It therefore, behooves on the international community to cycle the parameters of their excesses by deploying well guarded garrisons on all decisions of policy ascertained onwards. As if, the socio-political ado taking a huge toll on the nations of our world are not enough astride the nativity of national impasse and the violations of universally entrenched human rights principles. A recognition that the juniper of international politics is a well breasted approach to ensuring stronger political ties as a panacea to the ranging conflagration and inferno looming our world. We must not get ourselves entangled in the web of self disillusion at the expense of the underdogs who are preyed on at the slightest opportunity by the big wigs. I do not mean to be modest that the viral global insurgency has spread its tentacles like the hydra and is taking over the whole scene like pirates. The epicenter of the whole issue is that all and sundry seem to be at home with the toll of insurgency wrecking the docks of international stability. I must confess am at sea. By this we lay credence to the preposition that a great chunk of persons want to strike the big drums, so many are at large from dancing to the music and a handful wants to play second fiddle. I am full of the joys of spring, when I look at this cosmos

through a rose colored spectacle and thereafter discover that the world is not all together spherical but dynamically orchestrated to engender both peace and doom depending on which cord we strike and where we stand on the circuit. I refuse to be twisted around the little finger of ingenious ignorance. The global ethnic blast is such that a whole lot of persons bestride the greatest solution to universal problems as against running full pelt for well bleated and sounded trumpet of solutions. Against this back drop, the comity of nations has blown muted trumpets without acknowledging same. Yet has the world blathered on the rostrum of public speaking, frustrated the power of the altar, submerged the density of advocacy and blown away the baseline and saddle of continental crossbar. We must put on the raiment and helmet of selflessness as a mass exodus of international recidivist will be held incommunicado. The world is a geographical abstraction that consists of the emptiness of mans thoughts amidst circumstances that defile the insignia of pointless imaginations. I submit that not on till we become decisively incisive and seductively instructive there shall be no way. The cloudy rainbow of the west has become so mischievous that even the greatest propaganda of unsung heroes has sunk in the pacific of timeless betrayal of trust. On account of this,

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Law With IKHUEBOR VIKRAM OSARUMEN

international mischief transformed into a beast of burden which drives international impasse and national mayhem to the gallows of both self distrust and endless Pandora. Much as we want the rain of reprisals to fall on the hectors however, the eccentric cloud of peace must be conceded to take its pride of place. Suffice it to say that the vector of peaceful existence has been compromise and the

The cross section of continents have evinced over the years that a vent of discord has been opened as an orifice between injustice and the justice of the day in that they have become obscure and manically elusive. Just as the term justice is subjective so the decisions handed down by international courts are subjectively objective. We the people of knowledge believe that the astronomic

are launched because the aegis of humans being affected would come on the scene as a defense. The armed conflicts should not be a function of reasons but that the principles of humanity are not applied as a factor of violations but as a functional approach to embarking on both non international and international armed conflicts. I am who I am when I say

melting point of peace has been the demise of negotiations. Permission is granted to adduce that being rigid is good, being flexible is better and exercising a great dosage of discretion is much required.

rise of armed conflict is more of a question of function rather than factor. The function theory is that an avalanche of nations cross pollinates the idea of reason and humanity as such justifying why attacks

I am who I want to be. This is the foundation of international politics and this is why complacence has ravaged most international decisions. Politics has become a tool in the hand of most nations

to extinguish the tyranny of equality. My people have become prisoners of conscience in their own land both voluntarily and involuntarily. Alas, I am well informed that the days of tyrannical rule is virtually coming to an end and the spate at which the end of man’s inhumanity to man draws near is exponential. Are we strangers in the land of the living? Then if the answer is no why then do we permit the upsurge of undisciplined rulers bathing in the influence of the office they occupy. We are not puppets to be controlled involuntarily. My people suffer from consistent gang rape in India; they have become prisoners of conscience in China, the deprivation of their right to self determination in a lot of nations as these have taken common place in the palace of nativity. It has proven to me a reoccurring decimal that the crescendos of political marginalization and economic instability have heralded ninety nine percent of global problems currently in issue. Amidst these challenges, we have decided to survive when survival is for the jungle and good living for the people of God. The greatest brickbat of man is not hatred, wickedness, and complacence but that man lacks the zest to love genuinely. I must confess that records have made history but history has not made record. Is it true that power only comes through the barrels of the gun?

“We must not get ourselves entangled in the web of self disillusion at the expense of the underdogs who are preyed on at the slightest opportunity by the big wigs. I do not mean to be modest that the viral global insurgency has spread its tentacles like the hydra and is taking over the whole scene like pirates.”

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Opinion Internship: Bridging The Gap

Between Town And Gown

IN life, especially education, one cannot understate the importance of practical knowledge of what he/she was taught in school. With this in mind, the federal government established the Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES). After scaling through the JAMB and POST-UTME hurdles, the stage was now set for UNIBEN with Mass Communication as the preferred course. As Mass Communication is basically a practical oriented course, the need to get a first-hand experience in the field of communication which is so vast, cannot be wished away. And so, when the 300 level first semester examination it was time to put the theoretical knowledge into practice with Bendel Newspapers Company Limited (BNCL), Benin City, being “questions and answers.” Leaving the classroom for the newsroom was not quite easy initially, but with time the phobia for the practical nature of journalism – a big part of Mass Communication, become history. Often times christened the “MAD HOUSE,” the newsroom provided much of the radical skills that had been in theory back in the classroom. Now, we understood that news writing is not just about putting the 5W’s and H (who, what, when, why, where and how), into the lead (first paragraph) into a news story as two of the five elements, can comfortably fit in. Again, staying in the newsroom has provided the opportunity to know that a writer’s, especially journalistic writer’s aim is to get across the message to the readers/audience as fast as

really imparted the writing spirit in us in addition to knowing that different

a good number of readers and vice versa. Though most titles were retiled by the editor, it taught us to be more creative in crafting them. Editing, according to most communication

topics, require different approach; some will need the first person point of view, others the omniscient narrative method. Besides, the importance of getting a good title for an article/feature cannot not be toyed with. A good caption,

experts, is what differentiates from a bad one. Editing news stories from News Agency of Nigeria, features/articles etc, have in no little measure, created an eye for plugging loose ends in stories. The dictionary was always a companion

By EMMANUEL EGOBIAMBU/WINIFRED OSASOBO IGEORGE OGBOLU

possible. So, in doing this, one has to put himself in the famed shoes of the reader making him avoid redundant works in the course of the write up. Similarly, the paragraphs have to be short and flowing” from one to another; not disjointed; the writer, must also not make use of verbose and grandiloquent words which will invariable help the flow of the news/story. All these the newsroom provided. In terms of n e w s g a t h e r i n g , opportunities were never unavailable for such. Often, assignments were given by the editor, which availed us the opportunity to know what it means to be in the field. When our lecturers were using the term, “NOSE FOR NEWS,” it seemed dead but working in a media outlet as BNCL, has given a practical answer to that. When one is on the field, what usually runs in the mind is “which angle or point will I take the story from?” This has made us develop that nose for newsy stories,” around. Also, in the world of journalism, features and articles, are not just mere essays or long compositions, laden with emotional out bursts but a fact-ridden, logical and comprehensive story. During the internship, the corrections, instructions and teaching garnered from the feature editor Eghosa Idehen and other senior reporters or writers, were needed impetus to develop that innate love/ability to write. Just as the saying goes: THE ONLY WAY TO WRITE IS BY WRITING To WRITE, features writing has

“Also, in the world of journalism, features and articles, are not just mere essays or long compositions, laden with emotional out bursts but a fact-ridden, logical and comprehensive story.”

when the bell for editing is rang in the “MAD HOUSE,” leading to better understanding and usage of the Queen’s language and what communication, entails. In addition, being given deadliness to submit an article has imputed the culture of determination, discipline and proper management of limited time

in us. This is because in the media word, MAKING HEADLINES IS ALL ABOUT BEATING DEADLINES; NO DEADLINES, NO HEADLINES. A media practitioner is not supposed to give excuses when he/she is commissioned to do a story because the business is all about headlines. If assigned to cover an event, one has to be there on time so as not to miss any action, a good trait that needs to be coveted. On several occasions; some person –co-interns and a senior reporter, taught the

rudiments of page planning. It feels good when one gets to know that the way a newspaper appears, is a prototype of the dummy sheet. Whether the page is going to be six or sevencolumn, three or five stories, two or three pictures, the dummy sheet, says it all; it is the skeleton of a newspaper page. The newsroom can at times live up the term “MAD HOUSE.” At times when one is busy scribbling down works, it will take concentration and focus when the noisy newsroom, not to become distracted. It could be really funny, interesting and lively for one to hear the jokes, analyses of happenings in the country and beyond, not forgetting the interactions among the student journalists (interns). An African proverb has it that a man cannot be inside an ocean and uses spit or spittle to wash his hand. This has proved useful and true, as we have never been bereft of latest happenings across the globe. Little wonder, our lecturers will always say that a media practitioner must KNOW EVERYTHIGN ABOUT SOMETHING AND SOME THING ABOUT EVERYTHING. In all, we would thank the management of BNCL for giving the platform to express our abilities/talents and also the Federal government for SIWES. To our editor, Mr. Andy Egbon, you are a father and with your advice and teaching; the features Editor, Mr. Eghosa Idehen you will remain unforgotten, Mr. Richard Eweka a brother and friend; our sub-editors, Mr. Kester Ogiesewu and Mrs. Flora Okoye; thank you; Mr. Lamai Cassius your advice and help, is invaluable; the Sunday Editor, you are highly appreciated; Mr. Nicholas Eboigbe, thanks for encouraging sports jornalism. And to our friends; co-interns — Oyenmwen, Evelyn, Osayi, Faith, Kelly, Blessing, and others, though it is time to bow out, you people still remain ingrained in our hearts. Emmanuel, George and Winifred are interns at The NIGERIAN OBSERVER FROM MASS C O M M U N I C AT I O N , UNIBEN.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Relationship

Handling Heartbreaks ACCORDING to Bess Myerson, “to fall in love is awfully simple, but to fall out of love is simply awful. Especially if you are the one who wanted the relationship to last. There is no easy way to stop you heart from hurting so much. It is never easy to mend a broken heart. For me, when someone is going through heart break, I always advise that the person should go through it, feel it, cry if that is how you can express the fact that you are hurting within. Crying clears you head and shows you are human. There are many psychological reasons that contribute to the healing power of tears. Some of them have been documented by biochemist William Frey who has spent 15 years as head of a research team studying tears. Among their findings is that; emotional tears (as compared to tears of irritation, like when you cut an onion) contain toxic biochemical by-products, so weeping remove these toxic substance and relieves emotional stress. It is very laughable when I heaar people say they don’t want to love again because of past experience; but it clearly shows that you have not allowed your heart to heal. Because it is only a heart that is free from past hurt that can build a good standing relationship. We as human need love and it is only when we give that we receive. So to stop loving is not an option, when your heart is broken. Author Henri Nouwen once wrote that, “when those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, you heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful”. When we get hurt, that’s not the time to start hating and restricting yourself from loving, rather, it is time to get past that stage and look forward for brighter and better days or times. It is a time to look for ways to get better and move

BY PRAISE EGHWRUDJE

on. Below are some ways to get passed your hurting stage: Go through it; not around it: it has been discovered that one of the most difficult task to perform by any person with a broken heart is to stand still and feel the fracture. But this is exactly what anybody going through heart break should do, because there is no shortcut to go about it; taking shortcut means you will stumble on it later in future. By going through the intense pain, you will eventually surface stronger and ready to tackle other problems. Fill the void yourself: some people because they are afraid of staying alone or afraid being lonely, they quickly jump into another relationship; but the good (or bad) news is, that will not help. You need to sit down, stay by yourself and fill the void. Start doing something that will occupy the space. Read up books and do things you like doing and you will notice the pain is reducing. I remember when I had a bad breakup some years back; I thought I was going to die because this was someone I loved so much, what I did was, I started going to church more often and whenever praise songs are on (because I love dancing), I dance so much and when they start singing worship songs I sing with all my heart and cry very well, pour my heart and love to God, before I knew, I started feeling better. Talk to your friend(s) or family: one thing that makes the pain of a broken relationship more intense is when we don’t have people to share it with. You feel the pain alone and it hurt so much that you feel it will soon rip your heart from your chest. As they say, a problem shared is half solve. The reason we have friends and family is not just for happy moments, but for both happy and sad moments. When you open

up to someone, they will definitely sympathise and help you go through it. Sometimes when you carry the burden of a broken relationship alone, you will be drying up and people around will be wondering if you are sick, because some people lose appetite to eat,

but if you tell your friends or family, they can help to make you stay healthy and happy at the end. Fantasize: when I say fantasize, I mean you should allow yourself imagine the kind of things you want to do, achieve and become without that person. Create a new world for yourself via you imagination. That will lighten you up. Whenever I have a broken relationship, I begin to imagine myself in a better relationship and living a better life that would attract that guy who broke up with me to come back begging. And that makes me feel better because I would begin to work towards achieving that. Help someone else: when you turn your attention to another person, especially someone who is struggling

with the same kind of pain, you forget about yourself for a split moment. If you help someone else out, you will feel good and have a chance to take your mind off the pain. Focus on moving on and rebuild your life: focus for a while on your career and family, keep on going with your day and focus on

work. Get engrossed in new things and try not to be looking back on the past. The more you move forward, the less it will hurt. Accept it: you might never quite be happy about the event that caused your heart break, and you might always shed tears thinking about it, but eventually you will find that you can live without it getting in the way. Just remember that every relationship is a

learning experience and every learning experience will positively affect your future. Work it out: work out your grief by exercising, exercise such as running, jogging, swimming, walking etc, is going to give you immediate relief. On a psychological level; because exercise increases the activity of serotonin and/or norepinehrine stimulates brain chemicals

the Holy Spirit and the word of God in your life; the word of God don’t condemn you like man will. God accepts you unqualified and qualifies you, but man accepts you only when you qualify. The Holy Spirit would fill that void in no distance time as you pray, study the word of God and participate in other activities. The truth is God is the one that mends any broken

that foster growth of nerve cells. But also in an emotional level, because you are taking charge and becoming the master of you mind and body. Most times when we have a bad breakup we tend to ask ourselves questions like; what went wrong, what did I do wrongly, am I no longer pretty or handsome? Since we can’t answer all these questions, we feel hurt the more. But this is the period we need

heart faster than anything you do or steps you take. The Holy Spirit refreshes you daily because He is closer than any friend you think you have around. Friends fall asleep, they go to work and they go about their businesses leaving you to yourself for some time, but the Holy Spirit doesn’t fall asleep at mid night when you cry and His major duty is to comfort you. It is better to hold on to Him during this time of your life.

“The truth is God is the one that mends any broken heart faster than anything you do or steps you take. The Holy Spirit refreshes you daily because He is closer than any friend you think you have around.”

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Focus

IN the last five years of or thereabout, Governor Adams of Oshiomhole of Edo State has taken measured steps, even drastic actions to raise the standard of education in the troubled sector. But none of his actions was greeted with the frenzied uproariousness that meant the last, where a female teacher demonstrated disastrous illiteracy that reminds one of kindergarten literacy. The incident has forced the Administration to embark on total overhauling of the comatose education system that was left to decay and derailed before now. The Governor in 2012 had sent 41 zonal inspectors and chief inspectors of education and local government education officers packing over non-performance and negligence of duty in a bid to sanitise the state education sector. The decision was the outcome of a thorough performance audit carried out by the Governor. The incident coincided with the demotion of the Vice Principal of New Era College, Mr. S.E Akhabue, from Grade Level 15 to Grade Level 14 for being a perpetual latecomer. The time-book of the teachers, which the governor went through showed that the vice principal sometimes got to the office as late as 9:55a.m. The deterring punishment didn’t go down well with political opponents who exploited the sentiments of some misguided labour leaders who made spirited efforts to revert their punishment. Add to that was the teachers recruitment sagger embarked upon by the state in 2011 which was later discontinued due to massive money-for-employment scam by the officials of the State Universal Basic Education, SUBEB. Even though some of the teachers had worked for upward of two months or thereabouts, Governor Oshiomhole

Administration paid them off and asked them to reapply afresh; this time with thorough scrutiny. The Governor didn’t stop at that. He swiftly dissolved the board and sacked all the officials who where remotely involved in the racket. This has rein in, to some extent, the corruptive tendencies of SUBEB officials and others in the ministry of education. The lapses in the education inspectorate come to the open when the governor paid series of unscheduled visits to public schools across the state where he made mind-boggling discoveries bordering on absenteeism or dereliction of duty by teachers. Oshiomhole intoned thus: “It’s obvious from what I’ve seen today and from what you’ve told me that you’ve all breached your basic duties, which is to monitor schools and file basic reports, which among things, should include reports on those present and absent so that government can take steps to assist those who want to work to remain and those who don’t want to work to go home. “Edo State Government has lost millions of naira of taxpayers’ money because of your failure to do your duties. “You are guilty of negligence of duty and even abandonment of your duties. I believe that most times, you don’t even come to work. We do not need this set of zonal inspectors of education, chief inspectors of education and local government education inspectors. “The days are gone when people don’t do their jobs. It’s shocking that you recognize that you are supposed to have written reports, yet you fail to do so. “I am happy that parents and guardians are returning their children and wards to public schools as a result of the massive investment we have made in the education sector, yet, you who are to ensure that teachers work do not do so. “I’m not hiding the fact that only those who are willing to

The Price Of Ed

work will keep their jobs. Everybody must be accountable.” I am accountable to the Edo people, the House of Assembly is accountable, and so if we are accountable, who are you not to be accountable. “If the teachers don’t teach, we have no future and your brief is to ensure that the teachers work and yet you failed to do that. “It’s a new Edo, everybody must be put on notice to work and justify their pay. I have a duty to remind you that when you have abandoned your job, you have also lost it.” Teachers, as it were, are the backbones of any nation because they are responsible for shaping and nurturing the leaders of tomorrow, if indeed such nation is ready to remedy and rescue the future from the present. They too have to be sufficiently equipped to undertake the task of knowing how and what to teach the pupils, coupled with moral value. They must be responsible to the pupils as much as the state must be responsible to them, with descent working condition, regular training and liveable wages, so that they wouldn’t have any reason to be distracted from their core duties of impacting positively and cognitively on the younger generation. Governor Oshiomhole, to a reasonable extent, has done that in Edo State. It would be foolhardy to expect Edo State Government to fold her arms after spending billions of tax pagers money renovating schools and pupils turn up to be taught only to be left on their own to count the beautiful looking ceilings, ceiling fans, attractive walls and the alluring aesthetics while the inspectors that are suppose to make sure these schools are ran effectively

abandon their jobs. The question is should, Oshiomhole give a face to those who think they can subvert the system and then take refuge under the pavilion of mercy? What kind of education can a teacher who is incapable of reading, write properly on the board? give to If Nigeria is to attain what it is

teacher’s-drama. The incident offered the country a classic evidence of the collapse of the foundation of education in an astounding literacy drama. A female primary school teacher who had taught for upward of 20year was unable to read her age declaration affidavit. Even when the governor encouraged her by reading

By DAVE IKHID

certificates at between the ages of eight and nine. “We found that of all our primary school teachers, only 1,287, representing nine per cent, out of 14,484 teachers, had proper and accurate records in our system,” says Oshiomhole. The incident which

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State envisioned to be, we must get our acts right. The only way we can achieve that is to rededicate the Nigerian teachers to their jobs training and retraining them so as to making our schools a heaven for raising global leaders and intellectual portals. But the people of Edo State and the country at large may not have be sufficiently taken aback on the parlous state of the nation’s educational system until the recent Oshiomhole-primary-

the text and asked her to repeat after him, she floundered. The drama lasted for a few minutes. That absurd drama watched by Nigerians on television which has now become the butt on the internet is not Edo specific. It is a national crisis, which demands decisive response. The springboard of this serio-comic was the massive discovery of teachers’ age falsification in which some of them claimed to have obtained their primary school

“Edo State Government has lost millions of naira of taxpayers’ money because of your failure to do your duties. “You are guilty of negligence of duty and even abandonment of your duties. I believe that most times, you don’t even come to work.”

attracted wide commentary including some critical editorials - is most shameful, to say the least. It is a serious indictment on the teachers and the supervisory organs of our primary education system. As this was shown across the country and beyond through prints, electronic and instant or social media, the country’s image of the civilised world tumbled. It sends the wrong signals that we are less likely to meet the 2006 UNESCO target for equitable and qualitative education. It was a grand spectacle of the enormity of the suppurating rottenness, its cancerous effect and corrosive toxicity we are passing on to the future leaders of this country as education. As demonstrated in Edo State, teachers’ credentials audit may have unfurled some of the worse cases, but what is most critical is how to redeem the system from its self-inflicted harm. An embarrassing and destructive

issue s tough p Govern in Edo society trainin essence danger. Ther governm not on found c forgery to also the onl take in of the N the case eschew and ha States a Assemb to spa nationa educati up to t makin mandat into un is the problem The g Oshiom the po write m the stat more th Nigeria when warran crimina governo It’s Nigeria veil tim densen good g moral h being tr jobbers truncati So m country the prof rule t teacher Person Manag the way get to t where t their o future recruitm process scrutin applic politica is no w teache rackete disgra witness

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Focus

ducation In Edo State

DE DAVE

uch as this calls for a policy decision just as nor Oshiomhole is doing State. The good of the y, achieved through ng of the mind – the e of education – is in . efore, Edo State ment is encouraged to, nly sack the teachers culpable in the certificate y and perjury scandal, but prosecute them. This is ly reasonable action to order to save the future Nigeria child. As always e, the policy makers who w themselves in the cozen allow recesses of our and National Houses of bly are not duty bound are a thought on the al embarrassing state of ion in the country, from the bottom. For them, g laws that forcibly te 13-year old girl child nconscionable marriage solution to Nigeria m mirage of woes. general believe is that mhole has demonstrated litical will needed to majority of the wrongs in te’s educational sector han any other state in a; the same way he acted he signed the death nts of condemned als, becoming the first or to do so since 1999. believed amongst an’s, even elsewhere that midity, sympathy and ness are antithetical to governance when the health of the society is rifled with, by political s who are hell bent on ing the system. many states across the y are yet to checkmate fiteering syndicates that the employment of rs by the officials and nnel of State Schools ement Boards. One of ys to ensure that we do this embarrassing state teachers can’t read even own document in the is to subject teachers ment and employment s to external body for ny who may not ants affinity to the al party in power. There way we can separate the ers employment eering and the attendant ce like the we just sed in Edo State from

politicians who are notorious for bending the rules for political patronage. What we are witnessing in Edo State and elsewhere in Nigeria is a clear departure from what we were used to in our early school years. The primary teachers’ scandal evokes the question of death of the Inspectorate Division in our education system. In the past, inspectors made unscheduled visits to schools to investigate teachers’ punctuality and performance in the classroom. We must necessarily return to the weekly or monthly monitoring of our public and private schools by tested and trusted inspectors who will not compromise the value and quality of the nation’s

education no matter the financial inducement. As I noted earlier, Edo State is not alone in the disheartening destruction of the nation’s educational system. In February, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Usman Mohammed, at an education summit, stated that 1,300 out of the 1,599 state teachers failed arithmetic and basic literacy tests. The 1,300 teachers scored below 25 per cent. Similarly, in Kwara State, 259 teachers, among them university graduates, flunked a test meant for primary four pupils in 2008; while 16,000 teachers in Ekiti State (primary and secondary), shunned a competence test that

Insurgency: By OSAZE SUNNY WHILE President Goodluck Jonathan was calling for a stronger global consensus and determination to end the scourge of terrorism in faraway New York an unfortunate event occurred in Apo area of Abuja, over an alleged exchange of gun shots between security officers and Boko Haram members. In his meeting with President Barrack Obama of the United States of America, President Jonathan said Nigeria is doing its best to contain the insurgency and therefore added that unless the international community unites and deploys its enormous resources to eradicate terrorism, it will continue to be embarrassed by terrorist outrages such as the heinous attack on defenceless shoppers in Nairobi which both leaders strongly condemned. While Jonathan urges more supports and encouragement from international community over the fight against domestic terrorism, the home-front was in a state of flux over the labelling of alleged miscreants as Boko Haram suspects. The Department of State Services (DSS) reported that it had arrested 12 members of the Boko Haram while various other reports indicated that at least 7 persons were also killed when security operatives stormed an uncompleted

Governor Kayode Fayemi had set for them in June 2012. That there is a grand rot and purposeful pervasion by the minders of the nation’s education system across the country to ruin the most critical sector of the supposed national pride is to stress the issue to a breaking point. The collateral damage of equal indifference visited on the unsuspecting kids at the formative years is partly, if not wholly responsible, for the quality of graduates churn out every year, and their inability to write comprehensible application letter for employment. Obviously, there is cause for alarm at a time Nigeria is in dire deficit of UNESCO’s education sect target -

Education For All (EFA) by 2030. The nation is still struggling indeterminately with itself to keep the over 10 million children of school age out of the street; have them enrolled in schools, as a mechanism to checkmating destitution and security challenges that plagues the country in recent past. In its 2006 Education Policy Series, UNESCO suggested that all new teachers should participate in quality induction and mentoring programmes; make working environment in schools learning friendly for both the educators and students; reinvent professional development for teachers and ensure better pay for teachers who demonstrated knowledge

and skills that contribute to improved student achievement. The Oshiomhole-femaleteacher’s tragic episode in Edo calls for rearmament: a total overhaul through national education policies that will reinvent the wheels of inductive education, qualitative mentorship and practical teaching of the kids. The modest achievement Governor Oshiomhole has made in the last 5-year would remain a flash in the pan if there is no institutional sustainability. It will be particularly grim for Edo people at the end of Oshiomhole’s tenure if the loafers positioning themselves after him have their ways.

terrorists since last year. Most of their attacks have been confined to very few states in North-Eastern Nigeria. The success of some of the operations even in Borno and Yobe State are due to colloboration with civilian populace which the establishment of volunteer group known as Civilian JTF. The obvious missing link in the Abuja operation, which is causing unnecessesary panics in the mind of an average Nigerian is the fear that some of the security agencies are not relating or cooperating among themselves. It is therefore not surprising the recent observation of top security officers at an interagency peace-building conference organised by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Abuja that lack of collaboration amongst the country’s security agencies was one of the factors responsible for the growth of Boko Haram. The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd), who also addressed the session pointed out that unless security agencies co-operated and collaborated, they would not succeed in fighting insecurity. The NSA, who was represented by Major General

Sarki Y. Bello said: “It is pertinent to note that this lack of collaboration among our security agencies was one of the factors that permitted the growth and, until recently, the success of Boko Haram terrorist attacks.” While declaring the programme open, the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, commended the Nigerian Army for the successes recorded in battling terrorism so far, adding that it would be a total turnaround if other security agencies could come together regardless of their uniforms as a team to combat the security challenges facing the nation. He said: “The achievements of Nigeria military today are concomitant of the unity of training, orientation and accommodation that exist in Nigerian military formation. In the same manner, we want all agencies, in addition to securing their mandate, work and relate well with others, bearing in mind the security of the country rather than shameless street fights.” The Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin, described the programme as an “interactive one” based on a field of experiences where they expect the security officers to establish and sustain their mutual relationship. He deplored the situation where security agencies engaged themselves in unnecessary quarrels over superiority contention.

As an observer, the infighting and lack of collaboration among security agencies can only create room for criminal activities and terrorism to foster. The live of an average Nigerian as it is now, depends on the almighty God and on the security officers. The inter-agency rivalry and mutual mistrust should give way for better understanding and respect for one another. The authorities should respond with appropriate measures to reduce interagency rivalry and conflicts, thereby facilitating cooperation and collaboration. It is gratifying to note that that the Office of the NSA has provided the platform to catalyse collaboration among security agencies with the establishment of the Counterterrorism Department to ensure that this synergy is achieved. It is therefore necessary that more joint trainings, retreats and conferences should be organised for the participation of response agencies to appreciate their delicate assignment and acknowledge ways of seamlessly relating with one another towards the common goals of protecting Nigeria and its image. He maintained that it is only when security agencies begin to cooperate that the environment will be appropriate for peace building activities.

Taming Inter-Agency Rivalry

building near Apo Legislative area in the early hours of the day. Circumstances of the deaths remained hazy. While security agencies alleged those killed were Boko Haram members, survivors of the incident insist they were homeless artisans squatting in the building. Human rights activists and politicians are demanding a thorough investigation into the killing just as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has commenced an investigation into the killing of the squatters in the uncompleted building. Although the debate and arguments continue, what could be glimpsed from the controversy is the seeming lack of coordination and of collaboration of response agencies during that sensitive operation. As the spokesperson of the Directorate of State Security insists the victims are Boko Haram suspects, other security agencies have distanced themselves from the incident. The Nigerian public too are becoming suspicious of the whole situation. Before this unfortunate development there have been noticeable improvement in the war against insurgency in various states, Abuja inclusive where there had not been any serious attacks from the

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Society Gayism And Spirituality Of Matrimony Jehovah, the High Potentate Yahweh, established the institution of matrimony as a union between a man and a

position on marriage. The Marriage Institution is not perfect, but it is the best pedestal that fulcrumises the basis of responsible child upbrining. The prevalence of

can it not do? It will bring the proud to their knees and the obstinate to servile compliance. But the love of women, that perishable article of commerce is ever at its command”.

convolution of civilization and a tenebrous apocalyptical precipitation of moral doom for mankind. Our children are now in the mortal moral dilemma of narcissistic regressionalism and

woman for the sole reason of procreation. The Bible scripturally substantiates this position ”Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it :and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth”. Even the Atheists, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Dialectical Logicians, in Mormonism, Laoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Krishna Consciousness, Traditional Religions in Africa, Asia, America and Europe e.t.c. concur with pertinacious exactitude, that have a nexial synergy with Yahweh and the Bible

‘LOVE’ is supposed to be the magnetic propellant and pull to brings Couples together. But, in a materialistic world befuddled by decadent normative standards ‘LOVE’ is virtually dead. The existentialist philosopher Wilcox Truman defined secularly mundane love as “a blitheful awe of uncontrollable emotion, which dies immediately the source of delight decays and extinguishes”. A sort of sentimental glamorization of lustful passion. The essayist Maria Coleridge wondered in her novel ‘VENDELTA’ saying, “Gold, gold forever. What

The vast majority of marriages are derobed and divested of love. But such marriages fulfill the divine avowal of a hymeneal relationship between a man and a woman. It is therefore a grotesque and weird abuse of nature and spiritual order for a man to crave after a man and to ask for the hands of a man in marriage. Marriage has within its entrapments and tentacles a preponderant presence of spirituality, because, it’s a Divine Command and afflatus concretized by unctuousness of Yahweh’s presence. Therefore, a marriage that venerates the Divine Order will radiate the luminosity and effulgence of light and it will bring out the promises inherent in the configuration and contours adumbrated in tartuffian ordinance. But the President Barrack Obama promoted, advertised, sponsored and approved gayism and same sex marriage is a horrendous serpentine twist and

atavistic Neanderthalism. For goodness sake, how can a man marry a man? Even if they adopt children, what about the moral rigours of parenting and parenthood? This is lunacy unlimited and the whole world must rise to protect our standards and values. Yes, if there is a hormonal defect in a man or woman. This is strictly a biological matter which can be diagnosed for cure and remedies. But the prevailing cases in America, Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Scotland, Canada, Holland and Germany e.t.c. are spiritual. And it is going to be difficult and pleonastic to deal with because it is been practiced, conjectured, postulated, defended, hypothesized and triangulated by the powers that be Oligarchs and the Joneses e.t.c. This moral dwarfishness is fueled by their curmudgeon and churlish civilization, nuances, equal right illusions and idiosyncrasies,

“The first bond of society is marriage; The next our children; then the Whole family and all things in common” - (Cicero-106-43BC-DE OFFICIIS). THE contemporaneity of met empirical and empirical evidences, unravels the truism that our world is swirling in the cesspit and epicenter of apocalyptical immorality, depravity and sacrilegious profanity. Nothing, yes nothing is sacred anymore. Indeed, the sanctum sanctorum of the marriage institution has become defiled, desecrated, arrantly polluted and lethiferous. What a shame! Without anachronistic whimsicalities, but with respect for traditional and theological stereotypes, marriage is a compact and a contract entered into by a man and a woman, to live together as husband and wife. A Wedlock with hymeneal, marital, connubial and conjugal characteristics. But, in the light of Man’s mercurial and grotesque values, marriage is now, a contract between consenting persons to live together as married couples, without bias for gender. It could be between a woman and a woman and between a man and a man. e.t.c. In some countries of the world, especially in America, Canada, Scotland, Britain, France, Italy and Spain e.t.c., there are existing signed and sealed statutes, laws, provisions and ordinances lending credence to this kind of marital practices. In short, homosexuality, lesbianism, sodomy, foeticide e.t.c. has recently received the sacrosanct legal blessings of the Supreme Court in America.

By CHIEF BOBSON GBINIJE

“Finally, the Nigerian Congress and the rest of humanity must speak with one voice against Gayism, Lesbianism, Homosexuality Foeticide, Sodomy Pederasty, Pedophilism, Same Sex Marriages and such other forms of sexual and matrimonial terrorism and reprobate moral perversions, notwithstanding what President Obama, America and other Nations on their civilizing mission thinks.”

theatricalized in Boeotian Legislations, bovine inanities, imbecilic fancies and asininities in action. Their clamour for equal rights, liberty and freedom to justify this terroristic terrorism against the sacred institution of marriage smacks of humanity cascading down the labyrinth of total self annihilation. They must know that freedom and liberty means responsibly. John Stuart Mills observed in his book “ON LIBERTY” that,” the liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people”. The essayist Marie Phlipon said, “O’ liberty! What crimes are committed in your name”and John Milton observed that,”Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties”. Finally, the Nigerian Congress and the rest of humanity must speak with one voice against Gayism, L e s b i a n i s m , Homosexuality Foeticide, Sodomy Pederasty, Pedophilism, Same Sex Marriages and such other forms of sexual and matrimonial terrorism and reprobate moral p e r v e r s i o n s , notwithstanding what President Obama, America and other Nations on their civilizing mission thinks. We commend the Nigerian Legislature for it’s unblemished averments against Homosexuality, Gayism and Same Sex Marriages. We hope President Goodluck Jonathan will sign the Bill criminalizing these immoral and lunatic acts into law with soldierly brevity. Charles Spurgeon admonishes us thus, “the doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our ignorance”. LET OUR LEADERS BE WISE. Chief Bobson Gbinije Mandate Against Poverty (M.A.P) WARRI 08023250378

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Success World

Sustaining Business Flow In A Downturn Economy (2) IN the last issue we began our discourse on this topic. We saw that even slow times have inherent opportunities and if we can master the methods that best work in down times, we will be able to gain more customers and boost our sales. The tips we looked at were: -Starting a new marketing campaign. -Re-packaging our products and services. -Reactivating dormant accounts.

By ADO ERHIRHI

implement for them. If business is slow, there is nothing wrong with tossing out a few quick ideas; things which may be obvious to you and you didn’t spend a lot of time coming up with, but which will be extremely valuable to your customer. So when things are slow, and customers aren’t calling, you can call them up and help them come up with assignments for you.

more than their money’s worth. PERFECT YOUR AFTER SALES SERVICE Research has shown that one of the greatest assurances for repeat business is good sales services. Selling is not just gaining the customer; it is solving the customer’s problem. The decision to patronize you is rooted in the emotions; you

rating is good. This does not however mean you should throw your standard out the window and work for anyone who calls you. DO NOT INCREASE FEES A recession, depression downturn, or soft economy is not the appropriate time for you to increase your fees or prices, even if you feel you deserve it, and that

a raise is long overdue. In such a period, you should defer any planned fee increase and instead focus on getting more business. STAY POSITIVE The most important thing about a slow period is not to be depressed by it. Don’t give up hope that things will change for the better. What you believe and accept has a way of manifesting in real life. “Our moods determine our moves.” If you are depressed, prospects can sense your desperation and fear, and

this will have a negative effect on your dealing with them. FINAL WORDS To remain profitable while others are closing shops or cutting back on production, you should market consistently and aggressively all year long, every week, not just when you need the business. Till we talk again. Ado Erhirhi, a GEMSTONE, is an insightful speaker. He c o - o r d i n a t e s MirrorView Services, a Human Resource Development outfit.

Health Tips Dealing With Sleeping Disorder In Pregnant Women By CLARA IKIKA

- Opening new leads, and -Trying to get more sales from existing customers. Today, we look at other ways to keep our business thriving, even in recessionary times. GET MORE SALES FROM EXISTING CUSTOMERS Usually customers request for what they want done for them. But if they don’t, you can generate additional revenue by suggesting ideas they can use. These are ideas which, if they go ahead with, they can ask you to

GIVE SUPERIOR SERVICE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS The best protection against a downturn in business is an active list of happy, satisfied customers. People who give you a steady stream of continuing assignment that pay the rent and feed the family. In times when business is slow, you want to do everything you can to hold unto your existing customers; your “bread and butter accounts.” The best way to hold on to your customers is not to give them their money’s worth, but

must meet this emotional need. Most successful people and organizations know this for a fact. WIDEN YOUR C U S T O M E R PROFILE During a business downturn, you may want to be more flexible in determining your customer profile than you usually are. For instance, if you normally do business with big companies only, you may want to consider taking on assignments from smaller local firms provided the pay is decent and their credit

IT is quite surprising to find the fact that pregnant women might experience the sleeping disorder phenomenon. According to firstworldfacts.com, it is revealed in some study that many pregnant women cannot sleep well in the early phase of pregnancy. It is gained that the data about 26% from 600 women admit that they cannot sleep well due to the horrible sensation on some parts of the foot. It is later recognized as the disturbance of restless leg syndrome. This sleeping disorder is caused by several factors and it can be solved nicely without consuming drugs since sometimes the drugs might endanger the fetus’ growth. The pregnant women should try those simple steps when they find the

disturbance in gaining the best sleeping time. The process for overcoming the sleeping disorder is not complicated and the pregnant women will get the finest way out in dealing with this sleeping disorder. It should not be really hard to prevent the worst condition of sleeping disorder for the pregnant women when it is revealed some simple and safe methods that will be great for pregnant women. It is really annoying when this sleeping disorder phenomenon cannot be stopped. Actually, this sleeping disorder can be handled really well about some safe treatment for this sleeping disorder phenomenon. At least, there are some safe methods in preventing the worst condition of this sleeping disorder such as:

Make The Right Agenda And Schedule Make the right agenda and schedule for gaining the qualified sleeping duration. Doing The Exercise For At Least 30 Minutes Doing the exercise for at least 30 minutes in a day will help a lot for dealing with such sleeping disorder. Sleep On The Left Side Of The Body It is suggested to sleep on the left side of the body, since it will be great for the blood flow during the pregnancy period. Minimize The Consumption Of Spicy Foods And Fried Ones Make sure to minimize the consumption of spicy foods and fried ones for better sleep and do not forget to drink the water some hours before going to bed.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Religion

An Analogy Of Almighty God

ON several occasion, we hear people saying God is in heaven. We also hear people affirm God is everywhere. Still, others state that God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and is absolute. In fact, people attribute many properties to God. Given all these views of God, these questions arise: Who is God? Also, where is He? Where is His abode? It is to find answers to these questions that encouraged me to write this article so that I can educate and provide information to the readers on the issue to the best of my abilities as an Okunist. Before I go on, let me say this. I appeal to readers not to dismiss me off with the back of their hands or underrate what I say in this article. Take time to understand what I would be saying with an open mind. Be knowledgeable enough to accommodate my views. After all, nobody knows it all in life. Knowledge forms a part of the learning in this life of ours while knowledge which everyman should seek is associated with God. Having said this, let’s begin our journey to understanding who he is. From creation, man has continuously wanted to know about the world around him, how things are and how they were formed by God. This spirit of discovery is in everyone of us, including Okunists and as a form of African traditional religion, Okunism is humble enough to believe that no single person knows it all and that no religion holds the key to heaven or knowledge of God. Okunist believe God created the world as said

in the bible. According to Genesis 1:1-27 for instance Almighty God created all living things on earth. Then in Genesis 2:7 it is also written: “And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.” In other words, man lives because of the breath of life in him. When this breath leaves the body the person is regarded as dead. Nobody sees this breath or air as it leaves the body before a persons dies despite the sound of “Hum” made by the dying person at that very time. May be, were it possible for us to see the “Hum” sound leaving a person, many of us would have got hold of it, pleading with it to return to the dying person most especially if that person is our mother or father. But then we cannot do so. It is the belief of Okunists also that immediately God breathed life into man, He evaporated into thin air never to be seen again. Right from that period, the Supreme God started to direct the affairs of the world spiritually. And, so, till date no one can see, touch or question Him or physically hold him accountable for our inability to meet out earthly demands. Tell me, which person can hold the air? None. But through faith, belief

By EKAIWE OMO OMOREGIE

and visualization man can still reach God, understand whom He is and seek His assistance. Okunists moreover believe that only the Supreme God is associated with the omnipresent, omniscient, Omnipotent and absolute. God is therefore

cannot keep away air from the room. The air will be there. God will be there. Also, take a dive beneath the sea water. You will discover air abundantly there. Of course, God is there, too, with you but you cannot see him. But you can feel his awesome presence.

Also God, according to Okunists, is omnipresent. His awesome presence is felt everywhere at the same time. No one can escape from His Presence, try as much as you can. He is there with you like the air around you even though you cannot touch Him. He is a spirit just like the air.

everywhere, all-knowing and totally all powerful but invisible just like the air which nobody sees but which exist underneath water, above the earth and up there in the sky, yes, build a room without a door or window. Deck the roof of the room. Still, you

All I am saying is that metaphorically God is air and air is God. He is omnipotent because He alone has absolute influence over human life and all other things. In fact, He created the earth and all livings things on it, including man come under his control.

In the same vein, Okunists believe that God is omniscient because of his extensive limitless knowledge of past, present and future events. Nothing happens without His preknowledge of it. There is nothing that occurs that He is ignorant of in this

“Following all I have said about God, you can understand my amazement when I hear people say they are looking for God by climbing mountains for a location to pray. I also get amused when people try to escape from God after committing evil. Such people are acting out of ignorance. The truth is that God is with us all the time like the air.”

world. In fact, He is like the air surrounding us. You can’t hide anything from the air. Additionally, God is absolute. He alone exists of Himself and is infinite in all perfections as some religious people put it. Given this fact, He has unrestricted power and is totally independent of all entities. He is, invariably, on his own accord and in full control of all His creations. Once again, comparatively, the air has absolutism in itself. Plants, animals and man depend on Him for growth and survival just as they depend on the air for life. Without God in our lives and without air we are doomed. We will perish. To capture this experience the Binis say the air is a carrier of information. So, they state proverbially: Ehoho oghi Ijenwen re n’edo gha hon. Science has proven the Bini statement right through the introduction of air waves communication systems in our modern times. Following all I have said about God, you can understand my amazement when I hear people say they are looking for God by climbing mountains for a location to pray. I also get amused when people try to escape from God after committing evil. Such people are acting out of ignorance. The truth is that God is with us all the time like the air. None of us can depart from his shadow or image. Or can we? Similarly, we cannot search for God or escape from Him. He is like the air around us and so He is everywhere. Indeed God is air and the air is God. That is the analogy all of us must never forget. He sees us all the time.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Archival Matters

Gender Mentors For Young Girls ON the 17th September 2013 when the House of Representatives resumed from recess, a human volcano erupted in its hallowed chambers. Ms Binta Masi Garba pounced on heckler-inchief, Hon. Afees Adelowo, for “disturbing” Hon. Abubakar Baraye while he was making a presentation to a causus of the house. For record purposes, Baraye is leading the anti-Jonathan forces in the house as 2015 Presidential Election beckons. Jonathan’s supporters are not on the same page with his group. Hence, they heckled him. An unstructured discussion with our young girls revealed several of them praising Ms Binta Masi Garba’s action. Well, this is telling them that it is unacceptable to hold up this former member of the House of Representatives as a gender mentor. She is not one at all. So, for our young girls’ information, here are the true gender mentors with cut-edge credentials. One of them is Dr. (Mrs.) Martha Dunkwu from Okpanam, hometown of the late entertainment guru and publisher of NEWBREED Magazine, Mr. Chris Okolie; as well as Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu. She is a study in poise dignity, feminine determination to excel and a human resource centre of vast knowledge in world affairs. Dr. (Mrs.) Martha Dunkwu, who was once a celebrated columnist in The Nigerian OBSERVER is the prestigious Omu of Okpanam and a media consultant to the revered Oba of Benin. In case you don’t know, she initiated the quarterly media parley with the Oba. A great achievement! There is a lot she can teach to the younger ones about media consultancy and chieftaincy decorum. Also, we have another amazon in the person of Mrs. Ekiuwa Inneh, currently

By MICHAEL ODIGBE Head of Service in Edo State. Her status makes her the top most public administrator, bureaucrat and civil servant in the state, today. A super role model, indeed, because of infectious humility even though she is also a Princess from Oba’s family. In the area of politics, we have someone like Mrs. Sarah Jubrin, the first woman who has aspired to become President of Nigeria on three occasions since 1999 and failed. But she isn’t deterred. Our politics of male chauvism has not drowned her ambition to be President one day. Remember, drowning is not the act of falling into a river. It is remaining at its bed. In Mrs. Sarah Jubrin, you find politics without bitterness. When in 2011, she lost the PDP primaries to President Goodluck Jonathan at Eagle Square, Abuja she walked up to him and raised his hand accepting defeat. She accepted to be his adviser on ethics and value orientation in Nigeria. The industrial sector equally parades a gender mentor. Here we find Dr. (Mrs.) Christie Enoyoze Onokpassa from Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State. Unknown to people in her capacity as chairman/ chief executive of Mid-Steel Industries Ltd, Aduwawa in Benin City, she is the longest – serving entrepreneur in steel work in the whole Nigeria even though she is also into aluminum works, today. Why? She founded the company in the days of the Mid-West region!! Invariably she is doing for the Nigeria consumer market what old brands like star, Omo, stout, coke, gala and Peugeot are performing for the global market. Yes, she has the secret of business survival

under her wraps that aspiring young female entrepreneurs can benefit from. From her, they will learn too that education is vital for success in life. She holds a

royal bead from the Oba of Benin in 2010 and a member of the order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2008. Lest one forgets, she provided virile leadership for the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Edo/ Delta State Branch for eight

from a features writer to that of managing director/chief executive of Concord Group of Papers. She holds a sound Ph.D in journalism which is an inspirational call to our young girls to aspire to be well educated and abhor acquiring puerde certificates that cannot be defended. Much more, men quake whenever they work under her because she is a calibrated workaholic not given to the trite vanity box syndrome of our modern young girls today. A day with her indeed a full one of 24 hours. It is never wasted.

• Dr (Mrs) Christie Onokpasa

first and second degree in public administration from UNIBEN. Also, our nubile girls will learn from her that you need God in all you do. This is because she is a devout catholic. Well, a hardworking labourer is entitled to her wages. For all her efforts therefore she has bagged over 50 awards. Among them is a

years as its chairman. Still talking of women in the long service of human endeavour reminds me of peoples like Dr. Doyin Aboaba, Mrs Bunmi Sofola and Mrs. Osakwe. Dr. Doyin Aboaba has bestrode the journalism profession in Nigeria with colossus feet. Her career ride saw her climb the slippery ladder of success

“The industrial sector equally parades a gender mentor. Here we find Dr. (Mrs.) Christie Enoyoze Onokpassa from Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State. Unknown to people in her capacity as chairman/chief executive of Mid-Steel Industries Ltd, Aduwawa in Benin City, she is the longest – serving entrepreneur in steel work in the whole Nigeria even though she is also into aluminum works, today.”

Remember, Mike Okri, the Crooner’s advice: “Time na money. Use your time well – oo. “That is her work line. How about Mrs. Bunmi Sofola? She is the longest – serving newspaper columnist around. Who loves altruistically to share her inner thoughts with readers. Since the eighties, she has been a columnist. Currently, she writes WEEKEND BLUES column for Saturday Vanguard. Old Soldier never dies! On her part, Benin-based Mrs. Osakwe is an easygoing, nonedescript and media shy personality in the world of natural medicine. If

there are persons who dislike press interviews and public advertisement of her works, she is one of them. I have known her since 1996 and from my file records she is the first person to open a herbal medicine (I don’t mean traditional medicine) shop in Benin where she dispenses alternative phyto therapy to her patients. The learning curve in her story for young girls is that one should know when to call it quits in a chosen profession and seek another greener pasture elsewhere. See, while in the teaching profession with the like of Mrs. Louisa Oghiadomhe – wife to Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan she felt the job wasn’t stimulating anymore after a while. So, she voluntarily retired and went into natural medicine practice under the tutelage of late Mrs. Elizabeth Kafara, Queen of herbs in Nigeria. Also, in Benin people who eat out would agree with me that two sisters have carved a niche for themselves as great care givers to hungry stomachs since the eighties. The two sisters own a restaurant at the Akpakpava/ New Benin Road axis. They teach us that if you put passion into whatever you do in life, keep away pettiness and abhor frivolous intra family feuds entrepreneurial success will smile at you. You become Queen Midas. Alas, my editorial page is running out. But not to worry. Let me add these useful hints. GLO’s X-factor music competition has ended September 2013. Miss Obianuju Udeh – aka DJ Switch – won it, pocketing N24 m and a recording contract with Sony Music. Who is she? A geology graduate and a disco jockey. Not even a singer or musician. Therefore, no one gave any chance against her nine co-constestants who were all singers/musicians. But she went on to clinch victory, all because of selfconfidence, listening to her mentor’s advice and striving for perfection at every of her appearances on the X-factors show. Therefore, there is much to learn from her success story. A word is enough for the wise. Not all women are true gender mentors for all seasons. Therefore, seek out those who are like the ones I have given biographical about. Remember the Holy Bible advises: “Go and check out the ants. Behold their diligence. Then, do likewise. “Yes, follow dose who know road. Or you go miss road – oo !!”

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Agriculture

Real Reasons To Worry About GM Foods

OVER the past decade, Americans have become more and more informed about where their food comes from. That’s a great thing, but it has led to a vocal, passionate debate about the role that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — in particular GM seeds — play in our diet. While I tend to sympathize with the view that we shouldn’t be tinkering with nature’s wisdom within the confines of a laboratory, it’s important to look at the real benefits and most pressing threats that GMOs pose to our population. Moving beyond the broad “Don’t mess with nature” argument, here are three key reasons GMOs could be harmful over the long run. Super bugs and weeds GMOs are engineered to have one of two key traits. In some cases (i.e., Bt corn), the crop is infused with a chemical that is only toxic to certain pests; in other cases, it is made so that when pesticides are applied, the crop itself is unharmed. Either way, the same basic strategy applies: Kill off the undesirable forms of life (pests and/or weeds) while maintaining the integrity of the crop that we want to harvest. But already, problems are arising from this paradigm. For instance, in 2011, Iowa scientists found rootworms that were able to withstand toxins that were a part of Monsanto’s (NYSE: MON) BT corn. Though farmers are supposed to grow nonGMO refuse areas to guarantee superbugs are less common, it hasn’t stopped them from developing. That has led some farmers to seek similar seeds from Monsanto’s other Big Four competitors: Syngenta (NYSE: SYT), DuPont (NYSE: DD), and Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW).

Meanwhile, super weeds that are resistant to treatments from any of these four companies are also developing. In 2012, US News & World reported that “after years of

constant exposure, certain invasive plants have also developed a resistance [to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide], leading farmers to use more of the chemical. In some cases, the weeds have grown completely tolerant to the chemical, giving farmers fits.” Using earlier data, The New York Times demonstrated the proliferation of superweeds. In 2000, only one state (California) had one type of weed that was resistant to glyphosate, a popular herbicide. By 2009, there were 22 states dealing with such problems — often on a much bigger scale. Monospeciation Giving a tour on his organic, sustainable coffee farm in Atenas, Costa Rica, Gabriel Calderon picks a leaf from a coffee plant that is infected with the potentially dangerous form of the rust fungus. “Every year, we lose a

small portion of our coffee to this fungus. Most years, other farmers don’t have it, but this year, over 15% of

where no such diversity exists, the use of chemicals has wiped them out. Though the crop and

this country’s coffee will be lost to the fungus. Why hasn’t our farm experienced such devastation?” Calderon asks. The answer is that his farm, which has been extensively studied by local scientists, has more than 700 different types of life forms on it, while a conventional coffee farm may have less than 100. In the case of the rust fungus, there is enough biodiversity on Calderon’s farm to keep the threat in check. On other farms,

pests differ greatly, the same story plays out in North America year after year. While this only tangentially refers back to GMOs, there’s an important connection. The way that farming is increasingly practiced now — where one or two crops are grown on huge swaths of land — biological diversity is sacrificed for short-term profits. This is all fine and good until a new bug or weed comes along (see above) that is resistant to

customary treatments. Then, because of a lack of diversity, that new threat can wipe out a whole year ’s harvest. While GMOs per se aren’t to blame for this

phenomenon, they help encourage and proliferate such practices. The great unknowns But perhaps the greatest threat — that which strikes the most fear in Americans — is the one we don’t yet know about. Genetically modified crops have been around on a large scale for only about two decades. In that time, no obvious and alarming health threats have been observed by reputable sources. In 2008, the National Center for Biotechnology

Information analyzed nutritional differences between conventional and GM wheat, corn, and tomatoes. The study found that the GM plants were “nutritionally similar to conventional varieties of wheat, corn, and tomato on the market.” But it’s still too early to know for sure that there aren’t any long-term consequences to eating GMOs. Several opponents focus specifically on the possibility of GMOs acting as dangerous endocrine disruptors. More studies need to be carried out before the veracity of such claims can be verified. Approach with eyes wide open In the end, if you’re investing in this sector, you need to keep a sharp eye on both scientific findings within this arena as well as possible legislation resulting from a large public outcry. No doubt, investing in food is smart, as its a resource who’s utility will never dissipate. But food isn’t the most precious resource in the history of the world. It’s not gold. Or even oil. Or food. But it’s more valuable than both of them. Combined. And here’s the crazy part: one emerging company already has the market cornered... and stands to make in-theknow investors boatloads of cash. We reveal all in our special 100% FREE report The 21st Century’s Most Precious Natural Resource. Just click herefor instant access!

“But it’s still too early to know for sure that there aren’t any long-term consequences to eating GMOs. Several opponents focus specifically on the possibility of GMOs acting as dangerous endocrine disruptors. More studies need to be carried out before the veracity of such claims can be verified.”

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Discourse

Coping With Menopause

MRS. Elizabeth Phillips, 60, started noticing symptoms of menopause in her early 50s. For her, this was a very unpleasant experience. “The symptoms came with irregular menstrual periods; once in three months, and my flow was usually heavy. “Thereafter, the irregularity increased to once in four to five months; and this continued until my menstrual period ceased. Then, I was about 54 years old. She recalls that she had hot flashes, especially at night and it disturbed her sleep. She felt heat on her legs accompanied with pains which made her very irritable and confused. “The hot flashes would last for more than 20 minutes at any given time, and my doctor had to prescribe some medication to help reduce the flashes. Philips recalls that she was able to get on with her normal life at home and at work after reading books on menopause. “The knowledge helped me not to be alarmed and unduly agitated,’’ she says, adding that sharing her experiences with family members, friends and medical experts helped her to embrace the changes. “If I was not discussing with friends and medical experts, I would have been very superstitious about the surging heat at night,’’ she noted. Experts say menopause is a natural stage in a woman’s life during when she stops ovulating and menstruating. But most women perceive menopause as signifying loss of youth and desirability, and the beginning of the end. Some even see it as metamorphosis into older stage of life. Medical doctors opine that although menopause is natural, coping with lead-up to it appears dreadful to most women. According to them, menopause manifests with several symptoms and effects, including having trouble remembering things, experience mental block or having difficulty in concentration. They also note that some women in menopause experience night sweat, irritability and stress, while others have sudden drop in desire for sexual activity or intimacy. With these symptoms and many others, they say, the situation can worry or confuse a woman; thus having a big impact on all aspects of her daily life. Observers have noted that lack of knowledge about pre-

By OKEOGHENE OGHENEKARO

menopause and menopause had led many women to become superstitious, or have the belief that they are sick. Dr Fred Achem, President of the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, explains that a girl’s first menstruation, usually between 12 years and 15 years, marks the beginning of her reproductive life. He adds that a woman has more than 900,000 eggs stored in her two ovaries to be released between this period and when she attends 45 years old when menopause may start. “Between 36 years and 40 years, a woman’s ovaries begin to tire out, thereby making the release of eggs more difficult. “A good egg factory releases its eggs regularly as it is supposed to, thereby making the woman to have her cycle every 28 days plus or minus one or two days. “But a time will come after these periods when the eggs start getting weary and tired; so the ovaries begin to retain fluid and ovulation becomes difficult,’’ he says. According to Achem, changes will begin to manifest in the woman’s life as fewer eggs get released, leading to pre-menopausal period. “The regular body shape begins to sag and the hormones which are supposed to be working correctly do not do so; and it gets to a point where there is no single egg left in the ovaries. ‘At this stage, the woman begins to feel more tired, becomes restless, loses appetite, and becomes very irritable,’’ he explains. Achem admits that other symptoms of menopause include, diminished sex drive, difficulty in having sexual intercourse as the virginal becomes dry and scaly. He notes that some women may not have full complement of 900,000 eggs, saying “by the time they are above 30 years of age, their eggs are finished and their menstruation will stop’’. Achem says that a menopausal woman can be treated with hormone replacement therapy to restore her hormonal status to what it was when she was not menopausal. However, there is an unresolved debate as to whether the hormone replacement therapy should be administered for life or stopped at the age of 60 years. “What is usual in our practice is that we treat for three months, and let the

woman rest for three months. But if she can rest for a longer period than the duration of her treatment, the better. Mr Adedotun Ajiboye, a clinical psychologist at Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, says menopausal women could visit a clinic where proper guidance and attention will be given to them. “To handle the inner disturbing thought as it regards

menopause among women, some therapy options such as anger management, stress management, individual psychotherapy and change management techniques or adjustment therapy can be administered,’’ he says. Ajiboye also recommends cognitive behaviour therapy or psycho-education as appropriate treatment for managing menopause. Achem adds that family

members, particularly husbands, should be supportive in the management of menopause in their wives. He notes that support from husbands will go a long way to mitigating the effects of changes caused by menopause. “It is important that women who suffer from menopausal symptoms be treated and addressed tenderly. “If they escaped the pain and difficulty of child-birth, they should be able to enjoy the

period of rest rather than continue to be burnt by the flames of menopause,’’ he advices. By and large, experts and women who have gone through menopause say proper assessment of psychological and physiological changes will lead to effective management of menopause. They also hold that proper understanding of menopause and support from husbands and relations will go a long way to mitigate its effects.

Effects Of Cyber Fraud On Youth Development THE youths are the major perpetrators of cyber crime in the world today. Their creativity, their initiatives, their zeal and their strength which is supposed to be put to better use, are channeled into committing all sorts of havoc online, thereby constituting nuisance to the society. Our country Nigeria has had its fair share of cyber fraud in recent times. Today, Nigerians are one of the world’s major perpetrators of online fraud. The Internet Crime Complaint Centre (ICE) statstics showed that 66.1 per cent of reported cases of cyber fraud were from the United State. The United Kingdom (UK) comes second with 10.5 per cent. Nigeria comes third with 7.5 per cent. Countries such as Canada (3.1%), China (1.6%) South Africa (0.7%) Ghana (0.6%) Spain (0.6%), Italy (0.5%) and Romaria (0.5%, are among other top global perpetrators of cyber fraud.

By UTI A. UDOH

Yahoo-Yahoo (as it is popular called in Nigeria), targets unsuspecting people which are mostly ladies in search of relationship, and also business men and women looking for business partnership. Most cases of cyber fraud in Nigeria are perpetuated by the youth. In fact, cyber fraud is widely celebrated and has become a norm among the youths of our society. Songs like Olu, Maintain’s ‘Yahoozee’, D’banj’s ‘Mobolowon, and a host of other have helped Olorified this crime in recent times. Today, cyber fraud has become a culture in Nigeria and due to unemployment in the country, and for the fact that the economy does not encourage the youths, the youths are now using their creative minds for negative vices such as cyber fraud. With their creative minds, these cyber criminals have been able to device new strategies of

wriggling out money from their recipients. Some have even gone to the extent of getting charms that would make their recipients totally cooperative. As Anniette Mcguire opined in her publication that “Nigerian con artist rings are nothing if not creative. With all the attention that has been brought to bear on the standard Nigerian scan letter fraud, the fraud rings have been under pressure to develop new concept, hey are very, very good at it”. From all indications these con artist are usually the youths with an itch to get rich quick at all cost. There is no telling the effects cyber fraud has on youths development in the country. Cyber fraud has destroyed the dignity of labour in the minds of the youths. It has destroyed the desire for education in many youths in a long run, the effect in the society would be lack of professionals in various disciplines, because those who

are supposed to be studying to be professionals channel their time and skills in perpetrating cyber fraud. Furthermore, cyber crime has destroyed our youths quest for adequate skill acquisition and proper training. It has destroyed their quest for entrepreneurship as most funds gotten from cyber fraud are misused. It has also destroyed our youths quest for productivity as no youths’ want to stress his or herself with starting up a productive enterprise. Nigeria today, has a bad image and reputation as people from other countries wishes not to help or do business online with a Nigerian. Though, the government has done little to tackle cyber fraud in Nigeria but the fact is that it all boils down to us, both young and old, men and women. We all need to refrain from cyber crime, we need to create a good image for ourselves and our nation. We need to make Nigeria a better place, we need to make the world a better place.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

View Point

Osun Hosts 44th National Council On Information THE 44th meeting of the National Council on Information (NCI) was held at the Women and Children Development Initiative Foundation (WOCDIF) Oshogbo from Wednesday 25th to Friday 27th September, 2013, with the theme; “Social Media and Public Information Management”. The Conference was attended by 500 delegates from 32 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The Host and Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola declared the conference open while Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku delivered the keynote address. Edo State delegate to the conference was led by the Honourable Commisioner for Information and

Orientation, Mr. Louis Odion. Other delegates from Edo State were Mr. Peter Aibueku, Director of Information, Mrs. Elizabeth Isuma, Director of Orientation, Mr. Lucky Wasa, Director of Publications and Documentation, Mrs. Sidi Igioh, Acting General Manager Edo Broadcasting Service and some EBS top officials. After exhaustive deliberations, Council resolved as follows: That the draft National Policy on Information is adopted in principle and that all States and Stakeholders should forward their inputs to the Federal Ministry of Information before the end of October 2013, in order to facilitate its conclusion and presentation to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for ratification. That the media should be effectively harnessed to mobilize and sensitize the

people on pipeline vandalization in order to give required information to security agencies in all States in the Niger Delta in particular and other parts of Nigeria in general as

proposed by Edo State. That the Media be mobilized for a media Agenda on Nigeria’s Future without Oil, as proposed by Ebonyi State, and that a media-driven nationwide

debates be encouraged and supported by stakeholders at all levels. That State Ministries of Information should organize publicity programmes and platforms

L-R: Mr. Peter Aibueku, Director of Information, Mrs. Elizabeth Isuma, Director of Orientation and Mr. Lucky Wasa, Director of Publications and Documentation, Edo State at the 44th meeting of National Council on Information held at Osogbo, Osun State recently.

similar to the Ministerial platform for the purpose of promoting good governance and accountability. That there is need of all States’ Ministries of Information to speed up efforts at transiting from analogue to digital transmission before January, 2015. That there is need to insulate public institutions at all levels from politics and strengthen them with responsive legislations. That there is need to monitor internet content and sensitize all users to the need for accountable use of the net. That the National good Governance Tour is very much on course and will resume in October, 2013. The Media to help Nigeria to balance positive and negative reporting especially the positive developments taking place in the country.

International Arab World Searches For Democratic Future FOR too long, many nations, including my own, tolerated, even excused, oppression in the Middle East in the name of stability... We must help the reformers of the Middle East as they work for freedom, and strive to build a community of peaceful, democratic nations.” — President George W. Bush in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 21, 2004 Almost a quarter-century ago, a young American political scientist achieved global academic celebrity by suggesting that the collapse of communism had ended the discussion on how to run societies, leaving “Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” In Egypt and around the Middle East, after a summer of violence and upheaval, the discussion, however, is still going strong. And almost three years into the Arab Spring revolts, profound uncertainties remain. That became shatteringly clear on July 3, when Egyptian generals ousted the country’s first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, installing a technocratic government in the wake of massive street protests calling for the Islamist leader to step down. He had ruled incompetently for one year and badly overstepped his bounds, they argued. A crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood has put

more than 2,000 of its members in jail and left hundreds dead, and a court has ordered an outright ban on the group. Although new elections are promised, the plans are extremely vague. All this happened with strong public support, especially among the educated classes where one might expect a strong yearning for democracy. Foreigners in Egypt were frequently stunned at how little many Egyptians cared that Morsi had been democratically elected. How could that be? Around the region people are asking the question, and the stirrings of a rethink, subtle but persistent, are starting to be felt. Few people — not even the absolute rulers who still cling to power in some places — would openly argue against democracy as a worthy goal. And people bristle at any suggestion that the region’s culture is somehow at odds with freedom. But with the most populous Arab nation having stumbled so badly in its first attempt, there is now an audience for those saying total democracy must grow from the ground up, needs time to evolve, and need not be the same everywhere. “Democracy is not a matter of principle or faith for most people” in the region, said political scientist Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. “It is something they believe in to the extent that it brings good results.

... If democracy does not bring those things, then people lose faith in the democratic process.” “That’s part of the story in the past three years,” he said. “When push comes to shove, many say, democracy is fine in theory, but is not actually improving our lives. If the generals can promise us a greater degree of security and stability, we prefer that instead.” Oil-rich Gulf countries, meanwhile, have largely avoided the Arab Spring as the wealthy ruling families offered what has essentially been a swap — generous handouts such as state jobs and discount-rate housing in exchange for political passivity. The exception is Bahrain, where an uprising has been led by majority Shiites seeking greater rights in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. Hamid, for example, is based in the Gulf state of Qatar, where no one expects democracy anytime soon. That’s more or less the situation in the entire Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf area, where emirs and monarchs are for the most part firmly in charge. The same goes for Jordan, where officials offer learned explanations about democratic reforms that do not extend to relieving King Abdullah II of his executive power anytime soon. “Most of the Arab rulers are trying very hard to give the

impression to the West that their peoples are not prepared for democracy because these rulers are afraid that they are going to lose in any fair democratic elections,” said Adel al-Baldawi, a history professor at Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad. The region’s experiment with democracy in recent years actually precedes the Arab Spring. The Palestinians, under the framework of their interim accords with Israel, held a number of parliamentary and presidential elections beginning in the late 1990s. Iraq has had several democratic elections since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein — part of then-U.S. President George W. Bush’s vision for democratizing the region. Few in the region today seem willing to credit that “Bush Doctrine” in the least with the Arab Spring that erupted in December 2010. More often cited are the explosion of satellite TV news stations, social media and mounting anger at decades of authoritarian rule. In swift succession governments fell in Tunisia and Egypt. Libya’s dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, was toppled — and killed by a mob — in a civil war. All three countries have tried to set up democracies, with elected governments. The results offer some cautionary tales. Sectarianism and tribalism

often override political debate — such ain Iraq, where Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites generally vote for their own parties. The violence-wracked country has ended up plagued by partisanship and political gridlock, its leader Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused by many of having authoritarian tendencies. Existing parties in Jordan are even more granular, with some representing tribes. Critics say a healthy democracy needs a contest of ideas instead. Another challenge is the level of education in some countries. All over the world voters face a challenge in grasping the increasingly complex issues of the day — but the problem is on a different scale in a place like Egypt, where about a third of the almost 90 million people are illiterate. That provided a major opening to Islamists led by the Muslim Brotherhood, which successfully convinced many in Egypt’s impoverished rural population that a vote for them was a vote for Islam. Critics saw an irony: Islamists, they argued, were great at using democracy for the ultimate goal of theocracy, nondemocratic to the core. In the Palestinian areas elections have been delayed for years and a split has set in between the West Bank’s autonomy zones, run by an elected Mahmoud Abbas whose

mandate has long expired, and the Gaza Strip, which was seized by the Islamic fundamentalists of Hamas, who make no democratic pretense today, although they did win parliamentary elections in 2006. “Our Arab societies largely lack a democratic culture,” said Majed Sweilem, a political scientist in the West Bank. “The democratic movements are weak and can’t get to power. The only ones that can get to power are the undemocratic forces that don’t believe in real democracy.” Once in power, they can rule more or less at will, elections having lent legitimacy to an executive unencumbered by the basic infrastructure of democracy — the institutions, checks and balances that prevent a tyranny of the majority. That prospect terrified the elites in Egypt, where people are less traditional and many feared their lifestyle was under clerical attack. Mohammed Magdy, a 27-yearold Egyptian, said the path to democracy would be long. “The ballot box is one of the means of democracy . but (it is) not everything. At a time when there is popular action, it is not the strongest tool for change, because there are other ways,” he said — such as protests and public monitoring of officials. There have been some calls for denying illiterate people the right to vote, although they have not gained traction.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

International 4 US Soldiers Killed In South Afghanistan

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the media after a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York.

KABUL — A bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in southern Afghanistan yesterday, American and Afghan officials said. They were the latest casualties in a 12-year conflict that shows no signs of slowing down despite a drawdown in foreign forces. The U.S.-led international military coalition says four of its service members were killed in the south, and a military official confirmed all were Americans killed by an “improvised explosive device.” Their deaths bring the toll among foreign forces to 132 this year, of which 102 are from the United States. At least 2,146 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. They are part of a total of

nearly 3,390 coalition forces that have died during the conflict. They were killed on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2001 invasion, which led to an insurgency that shows no signs of abatement and a war that has become largely forgotten in the United States and among its coalition allies despite continued casualties suffered by their forces on the ground. Javed Faisal, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, confirmed the four Americans were killed in the province by an IED. He had no further details. NATO said in a statement that the four were killed during an operation in the south alongside Afghan troops, but did not provide any further details or their nationalities. The NATO official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not

dismantle and ultimately destroy the chemical program, believed to include some 1,000 tons of toxic agents. The U.N. Security Council resolution set the tightest timetable ever for the OPCW, to completely eliminate the program by mid-2014. Their mission stems from a deadly Aug. 21 attack on opposition-held suburbs of Damascus in which the U.N. has determined the nerve agent sarin was used. Hundreds of people, including children were killed. The U.S. and Western allies accuse the Syrian government of being responsible. Damascus blames the rebels. The Obama administration threatened to launch punitive missile strikes against Syria, prompting frantic diplomatic efforts to forestall an attack. Those efforts concluded with September’s unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the elimination of

Syria’s chemical weapons. The inspection team’s mission is further complicated because they have to operate even as Assad’s military is battling rebels in the country’s bloody civil war. The conflict, which is rooted in what began as largely peaceful protests in March 2011, has laid waste to the countries’ cities, shattered its economy and driven more than 2 million people to seek shelter abroad. The violence affects every corner of Syria, which has become a patchwork of rebel-held and regime-held territory. In an interview in a state-run newspaper Sunday, Assad said the Syrian regime began producing chemical weapons in the 1980s to “fill the technical gap in the traditional weapons between Syria and Israel.” He said production of chemical weapons was halted in the late 1990s, but provided no further information.

Destruction Of Syrian Chemical Weapons Begins DAMASCUS — International inspectors began destroying Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons and the machinery used to create it, a United Nations official said yesterday, racing under a tight deadline aiming to eliminate President Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons program within nine months. The move kicks off the ambitious program, prompted by a chemical weapons attack in mid-August that killed hundreds of civilians on the outskirts of Damascus and brought a rare consensus at the U.N. Under a

Security Council resolution in September, the first stage is to destroy Syria’s capability to produce chemical weapons by November 1. He said that by the end of yesterday, a combination of both weapons and some production equipment would be put out of order. “Today is the first day of the phase of destruction and disabling. Verification will also continue,” said the U.N. official, who works alongside inspectors. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matters sensitivity. “The plan

was that two types categories of materials would be destroyed: one is equipment for making (weapons) — filling and mixing equipment, some of it mobile, and some it static. The other is actual munitions,” he said. He could not confirm what specifically was destroyed, nor where the destruction took place. “That is the plan — to do it today,” he said. An advance team of disarmament experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived in Syria earlier this month to set up the broader operation to

US Forces Hit Extremists Behind East Africa Attacks

MOGADISHU — In a stealthy seaside assault in Somalia and in a raid in Libya’s capital, U.S. special forces on Saturday struck out against Islamic extremists who have carried out terrorist attacks in East Africa, snatching a Libyan al-Qaida leader allegedly involved in the bombings of U.S. embassies 15 years ago but aborting a mission to capture a terrorist suspect linked to last month’s Nairobi shopping mall attack after a fierce firefight. A U.S. Navy SEAL team swam ashore near a town in southern Somalia before militants of the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group al-Shabab rose for dawn prayers, U.S. and Somali officials told The Associated Press. The raid on a house in the town of Barawe targeted a specific al-Qaida suspect related to the mall attack, but the operation did not get its target, one current and one former U.S. military official told AP. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the raid publicly. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman George Little confirmed that U.S. military

personnel had been involved in a counterterrorism operation against a known al-Shabab terrorist in Somalia, but did not provide details. U.S. officials said there were no U.S. casualties in either the Somali or Libyan operation. The Somali raid was carried out by members of SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed alQaida leader Osama bin Laden in his Pakistan hideout in 2011, another senior U.S. military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly. But this time, SEAL Team Six members encountered fiercer resistance than expected so after a 15-20 minute firefight, the unit leader decided to abort the mission and they swam away, the official said. SEAL Team Six has responsibility for counterterrorism activities in the Horn of Africa. Within hours of the Somalia attack, the U.S. Army’s Delta Force carried out a raid in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, to seize a Libyan al-Qaida leader wanted for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and

Tanzania that killed more than 220 people, the military official said. Delta Force carries out counterterrorism operations in North Africa. The Pentagon identified the captured al-Qaida leader as Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known by his alias Anas al-Libi, who has been on the FBI’s most wanted terrorists list since it was introduced shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Al-Libi “is currently lawfully detained by the U.S. military in a secure location outside of Libya,” Pentagon spokesman Little said. Saturday’s raid in Somalia occurred 20 years after the famous “Black Hawk Down” battle in Mogadishu in which a mission to capture Somali warlords in the capital went awry after militiamen shot down two U.S. helicopters. Eighteen U.S. soldiers were killed in the battle, and it marked the beginning of the end of that U.S. military mission to bring stability to the Horn of Africa nation. Since then, U.S. military intervention has been limited to missile attacks and lightning operations by special forces.

authorized to speak publicly. IEDs, which include remotely detonated roadside bombs and improvised landmines, are one of the top killers of Afghan and foreign soldiers as well as civilians. The attack came as Afghan security forces take over the brunt of the fighting after the coalition handed over security responsibilities for the country earlier this summer. This year, an average of least 100 Afghan soldiers and police have died each week, while foreign forces have stepped back from direct fighting and moved into a train and assist role. The insurgency has tried to take advantage of the withdrawal of foreign forces to regain territory around the country, especially in their eastern and southern strongholds. The anniversary also coincides with the registration of candidates for next April’s presidential elections, the first independent vote organized by Afghanistan without direct foreign assistance. By yesterday, the deadline for registration, at least a dozen people had submitted their candidacies for the top office. The 2001 invasion targeted alQaida and its Taliban allies shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Victory in Afghanistan seemed to come quickly. Kabul fell within weeks, and the hard-line Taliban regime was toppled with few U.S. casualties. But former President George W. Bush’s shift toward war with Iraq left the Western powers with reduced resources on the ground and allowed the Taliban to regroup. By 2006, the Taliban had turned into a serious military threat and President Barack Obama deployed more troops to Afghanistan, and casualties increased sharply.

Al-Shabab fighters march with their weapons during military exercises on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia. Foreign military forces carried out a pre-dawn strike Saturday, against foreign fighters in the same southern Somalia village where U.S. Navy SEALS four years ago killed a most-wanted al-Qaida operative.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

International Egypt Marks 40th Anniversary Of Mid-East War CAIRO — Egyptian jetfighters staged celebratory flights over Cairo yesterday ushering in a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the nation’s last war with Israel on a day when rival rallies by supporters and opponents of the ousted Islamist president carry the potential for violence. Security forces have been deployed across much of the Egyptian capital in anticipation of clashes, with thousands of troops and police manning checkpoints. October 6 has long been a major national holiday but the streets of Cairo, a city of 18 million, were uncharacteristically empty by late morning as many residents stayed home to avoid being caught up in possible clashes. Only the scream of some two dozen, low-flying F-16s that rattled the city broke the quiet. Yesterday’s rallies in Tahrir Square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak, are likely flashpoints. Authorities have vowed not to allow supporters of the ousted president Mohammed Morsi into the square and police and troops have erected barricades at all entrances to the sprawling plaza in the heart of the city. Morsi’s supporters are threatening to force their way into the square. The possibility of bloodshed on an occasion revered by most Egyptians is seen as a sign of the schism that began to surface soon after Morsi’s narrow election victory in June 2012. He was ousted in a July 3 coup that followed demonstrations by millions of Egyptians demanding that he step down. Yesterday’s faceoff will be the latest episode in the turmoil roiling Egypt since Mubarak’s ouster in February 2011. The military-backed government has since Morsi’s departure rounded up at least 2,000 members of his Muslim Brotherhood, including most of the Islamist group’s leaders. A crackdown on sit-in protest camps by Morsi’s supporters and subsequent violence left at least 1,000 people dead. Brotherhood supporters have since been staging near daily protests to demand Morsi’s reinstatement. Their numbers have greatly dwindled in recent weeks but they have been energetically mobilizing for Sunday’s rallies, claiming that they want to celebrate the war’s anniversary while denouncing the military leadership that toppled Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president. The Brotherhood claims that its protests are peaceful, but there have over the past three months been cases when Morsi’s supporters have carried and used firearms, clubs or firebombs. Liberal politician Khaled Dawoud was attacked by a mob of Morsi supporters this weekend when he was inadvertently caught up in a protest. He said he tried to drive away from the scene but heavy traffic allowed his pursuers to catch up and break his car’s windows with rocks. Dawoud said they stabbed him several times, including once near his heart, and attempted to saw off his left hand. Dawoud, who is the spokesman for the liberal al-Dustour party led by reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei, remains hospitalized.

Dawoud relentlessly campaigned against Morsi’s rule but has also criticized the violent crackdown against the Brotherhood and the media’s vilification of the group. It is rare for a figure as prominent as Dawoud to be caught up directly in the widespread political violence. Apart from the bloodshed, the deep political divisions among Egyptians are manifested in a multitude of ways every day as supporters of the military seek to ostracize Brotherhood members in government departments, the education system and trade unions, with heated arguments and fist fights now commonplace. Violence has meanwhile continued in the northern part of Egypt’s strategic Sinai peninsula, where militants, some with al-Qaida links, have been targeting security forces with growing frequency in what is fast becoming a full-fledged

Barack Obama, US President

US Captures al-Qaeda Leader In Libya

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces launched raids in Libya and Somalia on Saturday, two weeks after the deadly Islamist attack on a Nairobi shopping mall, capturing a top al Qaeda figure wanted for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, U.S. officials said. The Pentagon said senior al Qaeda figure Anas al Liby was seized in the raid in Libya, but a U.S. official said the raid on the Somali town of Barawe failed to capture or kill the intended target from the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab movement. Liby, believed to be 49, has been under U.S. indictment for his alleged role in the East Africa embassy bombings that killed 224 people. The U.S. government has also been offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, under the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program. “As the result of a U.S. counterterrorism operation, Abu Anas al Liby is currently lawfully detained by the U.S. military in a secure location outside of Libya,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said without elaborating. Liby, also known as Nazih alRagye, was arrested at dawn in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, as he was heading home after morning prayers, a neighbor and militia sources said. “As I was opening my house door, I saw a group of cars coming quickly from the direction of the house where alRagye lives. I was shocked by this movement in the early morning,” said one of his neighbors, who did not give his name, “They kidnapped him. We do not know who are they.” Two Islamist militia sources confirmed the incident. CNN reported in September last year that Liby had been seen Tripoli. It quoted Western intelligence sources as saying there was concern that he may have been tasked with establishing an al Qaeda network in Libya. That CNN report quoted counterterrorism analysts as saying that Liby may not have been apprehended then because of the delicate security situation in much of the country, where

former jihadists hold sway. It quoted one intelligence source as saying that Liby appeared to have arrived in Libya in the spring of 2011, during the country’s civil war. The Pentagon confirmed U.S. military personnel had been involved in an operation against what it called “a known al Shabaab terrorist,” in Somalia, but gave no more details. One U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on condition of

anonymity, said the al Shabaab leader targeted in the operation was neither captured nor killed. U.S. officials did not identify the target. They said U.S. forces, trying to avoid civilian casualties, disengaged after inflicting some al Shabaab casualties. They said no U.S. personnel were wounded or killed in the operation, which one U.S. source said was carried out by a Navy SEAL team. SOMALIA FIREFIGHT

A Somali intelligence official said the target of the raid at Barawe, about 110 miles south of Mogadishu, was a Chechen commander, who had been wounded and his guard killed. Police said a total of seven people were killed. The New York Times quoted a spokesman for al Shabaab as saying that one of its fighters had been killed in an exchange of gunfire but that the group had beaten back the assault.

Iran Foreign Minister

Iran Wants New Offer From World Powers Before Talks TEHRAN- World powers negotiating with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program must come up with new proposals before talks in Geneva on October 15-16, Iran’s foreign minister said. The United States wants Iran to respond to proposals made by world powers in February as a starting point for talks. If the parties cannot even agree on how to start the negotiations, it is less likely a resolution can be agreed within the six months in which Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says he wants a deal. Britain, China, France, Russia

and the United States - the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - plus Germany, the so-called P5+1, said in February they want Iran to stop enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, ship out some stockpiles and shutter a facility where such enrichment is done. In return, they offered relief on international sanctions on Iran’s petrochemicals and trade in gold and other precious metals. U.S. officials said last week that Secretary of State John Kerry had secured agreement from his Chinese counterpart calling for Iran to respond positively to

existing nuclear proposals by the six world powers. “The previous P5+1 plan given to Iran belongs to history and they must enter talks with a new point of view,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with Iranian state television late on Saturday. “The players must put away this illusion that they can impose anything on the Iranian people.” The election of Rouhani in June and his appointment of U.S.educated Zarif as foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator has raised hopes of a solution to the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.

It quoted an unnamed U.S. security official as saying that the Barawe raid was planned a week and a half ago in response to the al Shabaab assault on a Nairobi shopping mall last month in which at least 67 people died. “It was prompted by the Westgate attack,” the official said.

Iraq:

Suicide Bomber Kills 15 MOSUL, Iraq - A suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the playground of a primary school in northern Iraq and blew himself up, killing 14 students and their headmaster yesterday, police and medical sources said. The attack followed a suicide bombing minutes earlier on a police station in the same town, Tel Afar, about 70 km (45 miles) northwest of Mosul city, where Sunni Islamist and other insurgents have a foothold. There were no casualties in the police station attack. “We were exposed to two big explosions today in which dozens were killed or injured. The first was a truck bomb targeting a police station and the second was detonated inside the primary school,” the mayor of Tel Afar, Abdul Al Abbas, told Reuters. No group immediately claimed responsibility for either of the bombings, but such attacks are the hallmark of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, which views Shi’ites as non-believers and has been regaining momentum this year. The majority of Tel Afar’s residents are from Iraq’s Shi’ite Turkman minority, which in recent years has been the target of killings and kidnappings. “The fingerprints of al Qaeda are clear on both attacks,” said an official in the town who declined to be named.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Health

Addressing Sanitation, Water-Borne Diseases

ON Thursday 15, November 2012, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources put fears into Nigerians to prepare for a possible outbreak of water-borne diseases. It made the disclosure through the Head of Climate Change Unit in the ministry. It was in the event of the flood that submerged many parts of the country. Nigerians and indeed members of the international community were worried about the possible outbreak of water born epidemics given the poor sanitary situation in and around the camps. But individuals and organisations did not only ask questions; they also donated materially and financially in making sure that the menace is curbed. In an account with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Leadership newspapers of August 8, 2013, in its headline titled, “EU Donates 14.25m Euros For Water, Sanitation In Nigeria - UNICEF Official”, substantiated that the European Union (EU) is one such organisations that continue to help in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Nigeria through the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). It’s not that Nigeria is not blessed with water resources, but governments at all levels have not taken up the gauntlet to explore the enormous water resources of Nigeria. In an article published in the European Scientific Journal, August edition with the caption, ‘Health Implications Of Water Scarcity In Nigeria,’ by Dr Joseph Muta’a Hellandendu, Department of Sociology, Ahmadu Bello University said there was no gainsaying that Nigeria is blessed with abundant water resources, these have largely remained unharnessed. “Nigeria is blessed with abundant water resources, but largely untapped. In spite of the abundant water resources, government at all levels (federal, state and local) have not been able to successfully harness these resources to ensure a sustainable and equitable access to safe, adequate, improved and affordable water supply and sanitation to its

population...,” he said. The journal goes further to say that many diseases prevalent in the country are generally associated with substandard drinking water supply, poor sanitation conditions and inadequate health education programmes. There are water borne diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, gastro-enteritis, infectious hepatitis, hookworm, guinea worm, scabies, measles and other parasitic infections. In its research, “A Study of the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme Aimed at Achieving Millennium Development Goals in Eradicating Water Borne Diseases in Nigeria,” by Olusegun Adegoke Adewusi of Department of Economics, Federal University of Technology, Yola, most under-five mortality in Nigeria results from diseases that are associated with undeserving water supply, inadequate sanitary facilities and unhygienic behaviour. “The prevalence of diarrhea is higher in the rural than urban areas and in the northern zones than in the south. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 diarrhea-related deaths occur among children below five each year. “Onchocerciasis, caused by the black fly is highly endemic in Nigeria, because it’s commonly found around quick moving streams of the savannah and forest zones, with 40 million people exposed to the disease. Of this number, 22 million are infected and about 120,000 are estimated to be blind from the disease,” writes Adewusi. It is also estimated that water-borne diseases claim 868,000 children annually, according to a publication in The Tide newspapers of March 22nd, 2013. In a related development, a re-publication in the Environment and Health of April 16, 2012, but was apparently a courtesy of Daily Trust Newspapers, was with the headline: “Water scarcity: 64m Nigerians have no access to portable water.” An organisation called The Water and Sanitation Media Network, an alliance of journalists reporting water and sanitation issues in

By ODIMEGWU ONWUMERE

Nigeria, decried the high rate of infant mortality resulting from water-related bugs in the country, during this year’s World Water Day. A Representative of WaterAid in Nigeria, Michael Ojo, said that 103 million do not have access to sanitation. He disclosed this at a water works and art exhibition for select primary schools in Abuja as part of activities to

that Nigeria has not sincerely realised any of the twenty six Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program (WASH) assurances it willingly made in many high level meetings between 2000 and 2012. These promises were said by the group to have been made at four high level meetings between 20002012: the World Water Summit in Johannesburg

• Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister for Health mark this year’s World Water Day. Ojo purportedly said that only 58 percent of Nigerians have right-of-entry to portable water and only 31 percent have access to sanitation. The Water and Sanitation Media Network was worried that from the figure in The Tide, there is every tendency that Nigeria may not achieve the MDG’s water target before 2046 and that of sanitation by 2076. The group was also worried

2000, United Nations Assembly, New York in 2010, African Sanitation and Hygiene Conference, eThekwini in 2011, and the Sanitation and Water for All meeting in Washington, in 2012; but none of them have been fulfilled so far by the Nigerian government. “This explains why 35 million Nigerians still defecate in the open, about 90 million are without access to safe drinking water, and 130,000 under five Nigerian

children die annually from preventable water borne disease”, the group pointed out. The group said it was evident that Nigeria’s halfhearted approach to the matter are the results of unfulfilled pledges that include harmonization of water and sanitation policies, promoting the WASH programme in Schools, increasing water and sanitation budgets by 15 per cent, ensuring at least 0.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to promoting sanitation and hygiene, declaring access to water and sanitation a human right, encouraging state and local governments to create budget lines for sanitation, scaling up community led total sanitation in the 36 states, increasing national access to improved sanitation to 65 percent by 2015 and increasing national access to improved water by at least 5 percent by 2014. “The problem is particularly acute in the rural Northern Nigeria, where only about 30 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. This situation leads to high prevalence of waterborne diseases, which threatens the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, and contributes to low levels of school enrollment, especially among girls...” said an account. The story went further, “USAID is partnering with Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), a nongovernmental organisation through the Access to Water Sanitation and Hygiene program to increase access for poor Nigerians to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education in 46 communities in Bauchi, Kano and Sokoto States.”

“The problem is particularly acute in the rural Northern Nigeria, where only about 30 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. This situation leads to high prevalence of waterborne diseases, which threatens the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, and contributes to low levels of school enrollment, especially among girls.”

USAID mobilizes community unions, community water, environment and sanitation committees, parent teachers associations and local water and sanitation units and assists them to build, function and sustain borehole hand pumps, toilet blocks, urinal blocks, hand washing stations and rain water catchment systems. In addition, USAID works with these communities to put into practice a hygiene programme, creating Environmental Health Clubs, to teach healthy practices. Therefore, experts suggest that for Nigeria to control her deplorable sanitation condition and water related diseases, the country must channel floodwaters and garbage properly to avoid contaminating drinking water sources. Nigerians should also nurture the culture of keeping their surroundings clean and drinking reasonably high quantity of water daily. “Drinking eight glasses of standard water daily can decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45 per cent, bladder cancer by 50 per cent and it can potentially even reduce the risk of breast cancer... it flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues,” said Dr. Tunde Obajinmi of Queen of the Rosary Hospital, Lagos. The authorities must be in coalition with key organisations that are in the forefront of championing the provision of portable water to rural communities like the Global Development Alliance and Coca Cola, the Water and Development Alliance, WADA and the USAID, State Universal Basic Education Boards, WaterAid, Rural Water and Sanitation Agencies and selected local governments; EU and UNICEF, among others. The government should provide boreholes to communities, water supply and sanitation facilities in schools and clinics and in every public places and kickoff practical policies that will promote hygiene and sanitation practices among the populace.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Bonus Row Averted At Osaze’s Cardiff

Moyes Not Planning January Transfer Plurge MANCHESTER United manager David Moyes says his side’s early-season problems will not be resolved by quick-fix signings during the January transfer window. United have lost three of their first six Premier League games since Moyes succeeded Alex Ferguson, which represents their worst start to a season in 24 years. Moyes missed out on a number of transfer targets during the close season, including Everton left-back Leighton Baines and Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera, but he says fans should not expect a flurry of activity when the transfer window re-opens. “I’ll look at January, but I wouldn’t want people to have big expectations of what we would sign or do,” Moyes said, ahead of his side’s trip to Sunderland on Saturday. “In the main, January has not been a great month to sign at the top level. If you’re in trouble near the bottom, you might as you’re desperate for something, but we’ll be looking for the top players.” However, Moyes did admit that the club were on the lookout for players capable of improving the champions’ squad. “Undoubtedly we will, in time, try and make the squad better. The job is to make progress at Manchester United,” he said. “They won the league last year, but I want to try and progress on that, try to win it again, and try to win the cups if possible as well. “We’ll also look to add to the squad if the right players become available. We wanted to try and get one or two players in which, I said at the time, we wanted to buy players to come into the team if possible. “That was the goal. We didn’t need many more players, just one or two who could definitely help and affect on the first team.”

Chelsea’s Emboaba Oscar (left) celebrates with his team-mates after scoring his side’s first goal of the game.

Liverpool’s Rodgers Demands More From Deadly Duo LIVERPOOL manager Brendan Rodgers insists Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge can get even better after his in-form strikers inspired the Reds to a 3-1 win against Crystal Palace. Suarez and Sturridge both scored within the opening 17 minutes before Steven Gerrard netted his 99th Premier League goal with a penalty before halftime at Anfield on Saturday. Palace substitute Dwight Gayle got one back in the closing stages, but Liverpool easily held on for a win that took them one point clear at the top of the Premier League ahead of second placed Arsenal’s trip to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Uruguay striker Suarez has 19 goals in his last 22 games, while England forward Sturridge has 19 in 24 games since joining in January, including eight in nine matches this season, and Rodgers was quick to praise their partnership. “The two boys up front are as

Mourinho ‘Hates’ Diving CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho has said he “hates” diving and has urged the game’s governing bodies to take action in order to stamp the offence out. Mourinho was strongly critical of Jan Vertonghen for his part in Fernando Torres’ dismissal in their 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane last weekend, saying the defender “pretended” that contact had been made with the striker. The Portuguese has managed players who have had a reputation for simulation, such as Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben, but he insists he would chastise any of his current crop that were guilty of doing the same. “I have told the players many times, I hate it. It is very bad,” Mourinho said in the Telegraph. “And the search of a red card for another player is a disgrace. “I haven’t dropped a player because of it, but being strong and critical, I did it, yes. I spoke

CARDIFF City boss Malky Mackay has confirmed a dispute over bonus payments between his players and owner Vincent Tan has been resolved. Reports had suggested Tan was reluctant to pay end-ofseason bonuses in May next year but that a compromise had been reached. Cardiff issued a statement in which chief executive Simon Lim said: “Our 2013-14 bonus discussions were concluded in September ahead of the Hull City game and, as a club, we are all focused on the Premier League season ahead. “Our collective aim is to bring success to Cardiff City supporters.” When questioned on the situation after the 2-1 home defeat by Newcastle, Mackay said: “There has been a

about it with Drogba and Robben. “I am not saying I will drop someone. Maybe the player is very important for me and makes a mistake and maybe I don’t drop him. But I will strongly criticise him, yes. And if one day I win the game where I feel one of my players didn’t behave correctly, I will say it. “In some countries if you don’t do it you become like the naive one because others do. But you could see for example in the Champions League this week, what happened in Glasgow and Amsterdam. And for me that is fairly sad.” Mourinho added that he wants to see tougher action handed out by the likes of the Football Association to players who are caught trying to buy a foul. He said: “It’s up to the football authorities. Again, I am nobody, I just give my little opinion. Next week they will go again [if no action is taken]. It’s about priorities.”

good as any in the league, so you know you’re always going to be in with a chance with them,” Rodgers said. “There are not many better at combining. You can see the linkup that they have already. It was a really good performance by those two. “They give you a real thrust and a real edge. If we’re away from home and sometimes under the cosh, we counter-attack because we’ve got that pace and people willing to join in. It can be a real threat. “If teams sit off and drop in that bit deeper, those are guys that are really clever in and around the box and can get goals. “They were outstanding today. Those two occupy a back four on their own because of their movement and cleverness. “When they get other players around them, they’re a real

threat. You saw the telepathic nature they have to play with each other today. “For the team, it really bodes well for us going forward.” But Rodgers believes both Suarez and Sturridge are capable of even more prolific feats if Liverpool’s midfield provides a more consistent supply of chances. “I’m not the type of coach who only wants to win,” he said. “I worry about how the team plays and how we can control a game.

“In the final third of the pitch, it was hard to argue with the fact that we were outstanding - the movement, the combination play to arrive in there. “But we’ve still got a lot of work to do behind that because the lack of control in the game was disappointing. “Second half was nowhere near what we want it to be, but without playing great, we won the game and that was something that in the first season (of his reign) we were guilty of — playing ever so well but not getting the result.”

statement from the club on what you are talking about. I have not read it but there has been a statement put out in terms of the bonus situation. That has been sorted.” It has also been suggested Cardiff ’s players are no longer happy for Tan to be present in the dressing room on match-days. While he did not state whether the Malaysian had been banned, Mackay confirmed he did not go into the changing rooms after the defeat to the Magpies, while Cardiff’s players did not stop to speak to reporters following the game. The Scot was less than happy at his side’s sluggish first-half display and admitted it had proved very costly. Loic Remy netted twice for the Magpies before Cardiff, inspired by substitute Jordon Mutch, pulled a goal back through Osaze Odemwingie, but could not find a leveller. Mackay added “We gave ourselves too much to do, if you give a good team time and space as we did in the first half you can be punished and we were. “We gave ourselves a lot to do.”

Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay

Wenger’s Belief Is Arsenal Magic the manager never changed his MATHIEU Flamini insists Wand philosophy and believed very Arsene Wenger’s belief in the players has been key to Arsenal’s strong form this season. After losing to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season, Arsenal have secured five consecutive wins in the Premier League and could move back to

Arsenal Wenger, Arsenal Manager

the top of the table with at least a draw against West Brom on Sunday. “Many people were talking outside of the club but from the inside we knew we had a lot of qualities,” Flamini told the club’s official website. “We had a difficult period but

strongly in this team. I’m really happy he has proved what he did was the right thing. “We are trusting each other. This is the result of a lot of work. Trust is very important. The main thing is to have quality in the team but after that you need to find team spirit.” Flamini believes his midfield role at Arsenal is key to the club’s defensive solidity but admits his performances could be eclipsed by the likes of Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud in the attacking third. “I am not a striker, I am a defensive midfielder, protecting the defence, trying to find the best balance in the team between the defence and attack,” Flamini continued. “That’s very important. For a team to be strong defensively makes all the difference. If you want to win titles, if you want to travel anywhere, you have to be strong defensively. With the qualities we have in the team I am sure we will score goals anywhere. “Defensive work is maybe a bit more difficult to see than when you score or make an assist. But it’s very important as part of the balance of the team. Winning games is a quality of effort. It’s teamwork.”

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Ancelotti Praises Morata, Jese Impact At Real REAL Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti lauded young Spanish duo Alvaro Morata and Jese Rodriguez after they helped Los Blancos come from a goal down in stoppage time to win 3-2 at Levante on Saturday. Jese helped set-up his Spanish U-21 international teammate to level the match with his first goal of the season as the game entered injury time. And Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a remarkable revival with virtually the last kick of the ball when his deflected effort sneaked in off the post. Ancelotti has come under increasing pressure to start Morata ahead of the misfiring Karim Benzema in recent weeks and he hinted the 20-year-old could see more playing time in the coming games. “I didn’t need them to convince me because I have a lot of confidence in them,” he said. “Morata scored and Jese was very dangerous throughout. “They show a lot of desire when they enter the field, but I have the same confidence in them that I had before the game. “Morata could start, although he doesn’t yet have the experience of Benzema. He is a very important player for us and he is playing very well.” Despite the three points this was another unconvincing performance from Ancelotti’s men following defeat to Atletico Madrid last weekend and a controversial victory over Elche four days previously. And whilst the Italian admitted his side had been far from their best, he is confident that if they show the same fighting spirit they will soon start to improve. “The first-half wasn’t good, but the second was much

different. “We need more concentration because we gifted two goals, but the team showed great sacrifice until the end and never gave up. “When this team plays, it can only take five minutes to win a match. “From a tactical and technical point of view it wasn’t good, but the result ends up being fantastic due to the reaction of the players. When you have players that fight and never give up then there is no doubt you can improve.” Barcelona were also forced to come from behind on Saturday to extend their winning start to the league campaign to eight games before eventually running out comfortable 4-1 winners against Valladolid. Alexis Sanchez scored twice for Gerardo Martino’s men, whilst Xavi was also on target. But it was Neymar who was the star of the show and he rounded off a fine individual display with a goal of his own to seal the triumph 20 minutes from time. The Brazilian was playing in a more central role due to the absence of the injured Lionel Messi, but Martino insisted the 21-year-old’s quality shines through no matter where he plays. “He plays well wherever he plays. There is no coach’s secret,” said Martino. “At his age and the way in which he has integrated in just two months, there are very few

players like him. “He gives us goals, assists and he influences every facet of the

Alex Sanchez

attacking sensation Lionel Messi, but the ex-Udinese man believes Neymar must be recognised as more than just a replacement for the Argentine. “Neymar was disguised as Neymar, not Messi,” the 24-yearold told Gol TV. “It gives us more work when Messi is not there because it’s easier with him on the pitch.” Neymar has managed just two goals in La Liga since his sumemr arrival from Santos, leading to some question his +57 million pricetag, but Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has shrugged off the Brazilian’s doubters. “Neymar is growing and is one of those players who invent things,” he said. “He always has something more to offer. His entry into the team has been managed well.” Zubizarreta also highlighted the performance of another Blaugrana youngster, Marc Bartra, who continued his recent run in the first team against Juan Ignacio Martinez’s side. “He’s been very settled,” the

CRISTIANO Ronaldo scored in injury time to hand Real Madrid a come-from-behind 32 win over Levante in their La Liga clash at the Ciudad de Valencia on Saturday night. All five goals came in the second half with Sergio Ramos

and Alvaro Morata cancelling goals from Papa Diawara and Nabil El Zhar, before Ronaldo netted the late winner. The Granotes opened the scoring in the 57th minute when Diawara fired past Diego Lopez following a brilliant counterattacking move. However, the Whites leveled matters just four minutes later with Ramos volleying the ball into the back of the net following a corner from Angel Di Maria. The home side thought they had done enough to get a positive result in the 86th minute when substitute El Zhar restored their lead with a well-taken strike which caught Lopez unsighted. However, Morata brought his side back into the game four minutes later with a powerful strike from close range to set up an entertaining finish. Carlo Ancelotti’s side stole maximum points in the second minute of added time when Ronaldo beat Keylor Navas with a low shot which picked up a slight deflection off Juanfran.

Anything Is Possible With This Roma Team Alvaro Morata

Morata Urges Fans To Be Patient With Madrid ALVARO Morata has called for supporters to have patience with Real Madrid after they came from behind

Neymar More Than Messi In Disguise - Alexis

ALEXIS Sanchez has hailed Neymar’s performance against Valladolid for Barcelona, insisting the Brazilian is “not just Messi in disguise.” The Chile forward combined to devastating effect with Neymar during the 4-1 rout on Saturday, with the attacking duo directly involved in all four goals following Javi Guerra’s early opener. Speaking after the game, Sanchez was thrilled with his partnership with the former Santos star in the absence of

game. “I am sure he will keep improving, but there are very few players on his level.”

Ronaldo Wins It Late For Madrid

former goalkeeper added. “These type of games are sometimes more difficult than even the Champions League.” The win keeps Barcelona top of La Liga, with a maximum 24 points from eight games.

to win 3-2 away against Levante. Nabil El Zhar’s 86thminute strike looked set to give los Granotes a shock win after Sergio Ramos had cancelled out Baba Diawara’s opener. However, Morata struck in the 90th minute to bring the scores level before Cristiano Ronaldo’s deflected effort completed a late turnaround four minutes into stoppage time, and the young Spaniard has urged Madridistas to be patient with the team’s form after another laboured

performance. “We need a touch of patience,” the 20-year-old forward told reporters after the game. “I’m sure we will gradually start playing better. I am very happy - it was a match that we did not start well, but we’ve got through it and we were able to achieve victory. “At Madrid, from a young age they teach you to fight to the end.” Los Blancos remain in third in La Liga on 19 points, five behind leaders Barcelona.

“I would say that it’s tika-taka in Bavaria,” the retired midfielder told Sky Deutschland. “This is football as we have known it in the past from Spain. These are the innovations in the Bayern team.” Another significant shift this season has seen Philipp Lahm displaced from his accustomed position at full-back and utilised by Guardiola in midfield, an experiment Matthaus insists has been vital in the absence of Javi Martinez. “He smells the ball,” he said of Lahm. “He realizes what the enemy is up to. It is so important for Guardiola because he is a

defensive-minded player, not like [Bastian] Schweinsteiger or [Toni] Kroos.” Bayern moved a point clear of Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after their draw with Leverkusen, but Matthaus believes they have benefitted from favourable refereeing decisions along the way. “That’s a feeling you can get,” the former Bulgaria coach admitted when asked if die Roten received preferential treatment from officials. “There have been some situations this season and one can already get the idea that Bayern is preferred [by referees] in one situation or another.”

Tiki-Taka Has Arrived In Bavaria, Says Matthaus

LOTHAR Matthaus believes that Pep Guardiola has successfully imposed his tikitaka brand of football on Bayern Munich this season. The Bavarians have started the campaign strongly following the DFL-Supercup defeat to Borussia Dortmund, with the 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday moving them top of the Bundesliga just a few days after an indomitable performance against Manchester City in the Champions League. And former Bayern star Matthaus feels the 42-year-old has begun to mould the current Roten side into a similar shape and style to that of previous club Barcelona.

-Totti

FRANCESCO Totti believes that Roma must retain a cautious optimism over their Serie A chances after an impressive 3-0 victory against Inter. Totti struck twice and Alessandro Florenzi grabbed a third as the Giallorossi maintained their 100 per cent league record at the expense of the Nerazzurri on Saturday. The Italy veteran maintains Rudi Garcia’s side will not become distracted by growing talk of a possible title challenge, but believes the chances of success this season are made easier by the lack of expectation prior to the campaign. “For now, ‘Scudetto’ is a word that does not concern us,” the 37year-old told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “There are a couple of bigger teams that are stronger than us, but anything is possible with this group. We do not hide. We feel free to do whatever we can because nobody would have expected a start like that.” Totti has been inspirational in leading Roma to seven wins from seven so far this season, with Garcia describing the experienced attacker as one of the game’s best-ever players following the win at San Siro. The World Cup-winner’s form has prompted calls for a possible return to the Italy national team, but Totti has stressed he is concentrating solely on enjoying his club football for now. “I’m enjoying the moment,” the forward continued. “Winning in this way is always beautiful but I’m not thinking about national team for now. “We are a united group with world-class players. Everything is working beautifully.”

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Djokovic Wins 4th China Open Crown NOVAK Djokovic won his fourth China Open title in five years yesterday, prevailing 6-3 6-4 in the final against Rafael Nadal who will replace him as the men’s world number one today. The Serb continued his love affair in Beijing, improving his tournament record to 19-0 after brushing aside Nadal to halt his run of three defeats against the Spaniard. Nadal had to reach the final in the tournament to displace Djokovic from the top ranking and the issue was put to rest on Saturday when Tomas Berdych retired with a back injury in his semi-final against the Spaniard. “I needed this win today,” Djokovic told reporters. “I really wanted to get my hands on the trophy and win against Nadal, who has been

• Novak Djokovic

Olympic Flame In Russia For Epic Trip To Sochi Games

THE flame that will burn at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games arrived in Moscow on Sunday, starting an epic torch relay around the huge country and bringing Vladimir Putin’s campaign to stage Russia’s first postSoviet Olympics a step closer to completion. President Putin was to signal the start of the torch relay at a ceremony in Red Square 123 days before Russia’s first-ever Winter Olympics begin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on February 7. Protected by a small lantern, the flame was flown in from Greece after being lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics and handed over to Russia on Saturday at the marble Athens stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896. Gingerly carrying the lantern, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak stepped off the plane and onto a red carpet as an honour guard of rifle-toting soldiers in wooly Astrakhan collars stood by, chins jutting high.

“Today can truly be called a historic day for us,” Kozak said. “We - all Russians - have a right to be proud. The longest torch relay before a Winter Olympics will show off Russia’s variety as well as its sheer scale of taking the flame though all 83 regions in a more than 65,000 km (40,400 mile) journey around the world’s biggest country. It will go to the North Pole, to the top of Mt. Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak, to the depths of Siberia’s Lake Baikal and aboard a rocket to the International Space Station, whose crew will take the torch unlit - on a spacewalk. More than 90 percent of Russia’s 142 million people will be within one hour of the flame,

FIFA Clears Okwi To Leave Etoile du Sahel THE international football body FIFA has finally resolved that Uganda striker Emmanuel Okwi can leave Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel. Okwi deserted the Tunisian top side five months ago after claiming they had failed to clear his balance of about $50,000 for the signing-on fee when he transferred from Tanzanian side Simba SC. “FIFA has authorized FUFA to provisionally register Okwi with Sports Club Villa,” Rogers

Mulindwa, the FA’s spokesperson has said. Late last month Etoile du Sahel had written to FIFA insisting that the player was simply undisciplined and should return to the club. But Mulindwa explained that on September 4th, FUFA submitted a formal request to FIFA for the delivery of an Electronic International Transfer Certificate (ITC) to Federation Tunisienne de Football through the transfer matching system.

which Sochi Games chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said should help “ensure that all residents of Russia will feel involved in the Olympic celebrations”. But six years after he secured the 2014 Winter Games for Sochi with an impassioned pitch, it is Putin - who turns 61 on Monday - who is the most

invested in making the only Olympics staged in an independent Russia a success. Putin has faced international criticism over a law he signed this year prohibiting the spread of gay “propaganda” among minors, which activists and Western governments say is discriminatory and curtails basic human freedoms.

• The Olympic torch of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games is lit

the best player so far in 2013. “It’s very important for my confidence. It’s very important mentally and emotionally for me.” The 26-year-old Djokovic stamped his authority on the title match early, racing to a 3-0 lead and never allowing the Spaniard, who went into the match unbeaten on hard courts this year, to stage a comeback. The Serb broke Nadal, who has won 10 tournaments and added over $10 million in prize money in 2013, in the first game of the second set hitting winners almost at will. Since winning the MonteCarlo Masters in April against Nadal, Djokovic had lost to the left-handed Spaniard in the French Open semi-finals, the Rogers Cup semi-finals and the final of the U.S. Open. “I managed to stay tough and not drop my concentration, which I think (happened) in both Montreal and at the U.S. Open in the important moments,” Djokovic said. “I learned my lesson. It was

Brazil Could Play In Euro Championship

UEFA president Michel Platini wants to invite nonEuropean teams to compete in the European Championship in the future, a report claims. The Independent yesterday reports that sides like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Japan could be invited to the tournament as early as 2020. The tournament increases to 24 teams in 2016 but by inviting non-Europeans, UEFA believe they can make the competition a genuine rival to the World Cup. The Independent’s report says

Del Potro Boosts London Hopes TOP seed Juan Martin del With Title In Japan Potro beat Canada’s Milos Raonic in the battle of bigservers on Sunday to bag the Japan Open title and boost his chances of qualifying for the end-of-season ATP World Tour finals in London. The 25-year-old Argentine, a last-minute wild-card entry for injured Andy Murray, won 76(5) 7-5 with the lone break of serve of the match coming at the fag end of the second set as Raonic lost the final in Tokyo for the second year running. The win gave del Potro his third title of the year and moved him up to fifth spot in the race to London while Raonic is 10th

in the qualification race for next month’s tournament involving the top eight players of the world. Raonic, 22, who finished runner-up to Kei Nishikori last year, fired 17 aces and was untroubled in his service games before a crucial double fault in the first-set tie-breaker put del Potro ahead. The Argentine got his first break point opportunity in the 11th game in the second set and managed to convert the third to go 6-5 up before holding on in the next game to win in an hour and 43 minutes.

a few very tough and close matches that I lost against Rafa on hard courts, especially the last one in the U.S. Open final.” Such was Djokovic’s domination that the 27-yearold Nadal, who boosted his grand slam singles tally to 13 this year by winning the French and U.S. Opens, failed to create a single break point opportunity in the whole match. “I didn’t see the way to stop him this afternoon,” Nadal said. “This afternoon he was too strong for me. I didn’t play my best match, but he played at a very high level with his serve. “I was not able to have any chance when I was returning during the whole match. He had the ball staying very low. It was very difficult to create spin on this ball. “He was able to hit all the balls where he wanted. When that’s happening against a player like Novak, you are dead. You don’t have not one chance.” Djokovic also won the China Open in 2009, 2010 and 2012, while missing out in 2011 through injury.

“I played really well in the last two games of the match, returning all of his first serves,” del Potro told reporters. “It was a fantastic week for me as I played better and better with each match. “In the tie-break, he hit a double fault in the most important part of the match and then my chance came, which I knew I had to take. “I did what I could to win. When he serves well and hits aces, it means I have to be aggressive on serve. I threw in drop shots and came to the net to mix up my game.”

that the plans are still being finalised, let alone approved, but they quote a senior adviser to Platini as saying: “The ideas are at an early stage but they are very feasible. The South Americans have been doing it for decades, inviting teams from outside their continent to take part in the Copa America. So why cannot Europe?” Since 1993, the Copa America have invited countries from outside of South America into the competition. Mexico and Japan have both been invited to compete in the next edition in Chile in 2015. The report says that the idea is “another sign of the growing rift between Platini and FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter.” Platini’s adviser says: “Many in FIFA are talking of cutting back Europe’s power, reducing the number of European teams in the World Cup (currently 13 out of 32 in 2014) and also our representation on the FIFA executive (eight out of 24).” Platini has already got the go ahead for a radical new idea for the 2020 European Championship which will be hosted in 13 cities around the continent as opposed to all being hosted in one or two countries. 32 countries have since declared an interest in hosting matches in that tournament.

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Okpotu Wants More Goals In Libya

Team Sardauna Coach Attributes Victory To Hardwork

MUSA Ibrahim, the Coach of Team Sardauna yesterday attributed his team’s victory at the 6th Super 4 Para-soccer tournament to hard work. Team Sardauna defeated Team Awo, 2-1 at the finals of the one-day competition held at the Indoor Sports Hall, University of Lagos. Ibrahim told newsmen that the victory was well deserved and commended his players for their hard work. “I am so happy and excited at winning the competition. My players have done a great job and I am proud of them. We prepared well for the competition. The players’ determination and commitment contributed to the victory,’’ he said. He also commended the sponsors of the competition for supporting the physically challenged players through

• Bolaji Abdullahi, Sports Minister

the annual competition. The coach appealed to corporate bodies and publicspirited individuals to support the initiative by sponsoring more of its programmes. Four teams - Team Zik, Team Nkrumah, Team Awo and Team Sardaunaparticipated in the competition sponsored by Promasidor Nigeria Ltd., on Oct. 5. Each players in the winning team received N100, 000. Each of the players in Team Zik received N40,000 for placing second while players of Team Nkrumah and Team Awo received N30,000 and N20,000 for placing third and fourth respectively

• Victor Moses

Victor Moses Relishes Liverpool Combo

to be better citizens and our responsibilities....to stand up for our neighbour and society at all times.” He added: “Finally, I implore you to go out there and make out society a better place for us.”

score for us. I can see them both scoring more goals in every game because their linkup play is incredible. Liverpool top after Palace win “I’m just here to do my job and try to support them in any way that I can to make sure that they score more goals. “Daniel is the same in training as he is in the games. You can learn a lot from him because he is an experienced player as well. I’ve played a lot of games and I’ve been around him a lot, and it’s a pleasure to play alongside him.” Moses is naturally more accustomed to the wide role, Moses insists he relished the chance to play through the middle - and he’s comfortable at the prospect of continuing in a similar vein. “I’m very comfortable in the

female team, the Flamingoes, yesterday urged the Super Falcons to improve on their current form, so as to regain their lost glory. Akujobi, who spoke against the backdrop of the Falcon’ recent back-to-back loss to Nadeshiko of Japan, the reigning Women’s World soccer champions, urged the players to step up their game. She told newsmen in Lagos that the rate of decline of the former African champions

called for serious concern among soccer lovers in the country. The Falcons lost 0-2 on September 21 and another 02 on September 25 in their match with Nadeshiko in Japan. She called for “urgent restructuring” and immediate appointment of a full time coach to take charge of the female national team. The Falcons are currently currently handled by Edwin Okon as a caretaker coach.

VICTOR Moses has declared that he is happy to operate behind strikers Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge at Liverpool. Nigeria star Moses said the strikers and probably two of strike force combination is the best strikers in the Premier ‘incredible’ as he is learning League at the moment,” from both. Moses told Liverpoolfc.com. Moses operated in the No.10 “Suarez coming back is a role as Brendan Rodgers’ side big boost for us and linking up ran out 3-1 winners against his with Sturridge up front is former club Crystal Palace to really vital for us this season. go top of the English Premier “I think they can both do as League on Saturday. well as they want this season “We all know Suarez and as a pair of strikers. The most Sturridge are both great important thing is that they

Onazi Plays Super CopcallIn Rome to us all about the need

NIGERIA international Ogenyi Onazi made the headlines last week when he nabbed a thief, but he has said he did not do it for that. Onazi handed over a mugger to the police in Rome, but he insisted he was only being a good citizen. “A few days ago, news broke about how ‘Onazi Caught a Mugger’ in the

• Onazi

media across the world,” Onazi tweeted. “I wish to implore you all not to overplay my action as I am only a regular young man like you out there. “I did what I needed to do in the heat of the moment without any consideration for the headlines. “As a matter of fact, I consider this as a wake-up

No.10 role,” said Moses. “I don’t really mind wherever I play up front. “I’m confident with wherever the manager wants to play me. So, for me, it’s just about enjoying my football. “The manager has said he wants me to go out there and enjoy my football, create and score goals.”

EX-Lobi Stars striker Tony Okpotu has told MTNFootball.com he aims to score 15 goals in his first season with Libyan club Al Ittihad. Okpotu, who scored his first goal for Al Ittihad on Friday, said he wants to score more goals for his team. “My personal target here in Libya is to score nothing less than 15 goals in my first season with Al Ittihad,” Okpotu told MTNFootball.com “I have scored one already in my first start and my second game. I know with hard work and God, I will achieve that.” Okpotu, who posted a man-of-the-match display on Friday, scored the opening goal with a header connecting a pull out and assisted for the winning goal in 2-1 win over Al Tahaddi. “I am very happy and excited getting my first goal and I am so happy we won,” Okpotu said. “I am dedicating the goal to God and my mum. The goal will boost my confidence.”

Akpala Debuts For Turkish Side JOSEPH Akpala finally debuted for Turkish side Karabukspor Saturday in a game they lost 1-0 at home to Taye Taiwo’s Bursaspor. Akpala, who made a switch this summer on a loan deal from German side Werder Bremen started the game and lasted for 43 minutes before

Falcons Urged To Improve On GRACIOUS Akujobi, the Media Officer of the Current “Whoever Form country’s U-17 National will handle the

he was replaced by Yigit Incedemir. Akpala was a hero while in Belgium, where he played for Charleroi and Club Brugge. However, the story was not the same for the Nigeria striker since he moved to Werder Bremen in Germany. He suffered a long-term knee injury and failed to establish himself in the Bremen first team.

Falcons should try and get it back to what we know them to be. “In Africa we have been humiliated, so any coach coming in now should understand that it is serious business. “I want our teams to be rated the same way the Super Eagles are rated; our ranking has dropped and we used to be the pride of Africa,’’ Akujobi said. • Akpala

CMYK

THE NIGERIAN

32 THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007 charges the apex bank with the responsibility to control and administer the monetary and financial

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013 Vision 2020 objectives which aims at positioning Nigeria among the first 20 global economies. Lemo told Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia that the CBN was seeking partnership

Lemo told the governor that embassies and diplomatic missions were granted exemptions, adding that ministries, departments and agencies of the federal and state governments were

with the state government in the implementation of the new policy. He said that the project also aimed at modernising Nigeria’s payment system by reducing the amount of physical cash in circulation. Other reasons, he said, included a reduction in the cost of banking services, improved effectiveness of monetary policy, reduce high security and safety risks, foster transparency and curb corruption in the polity. “In the wake of the banking industry intervention, our analysis indicated that the high cost structure of the banks was partially responsible for their preference for lending to the capital market, and oil and gas industry which led to asset bubbles. “Embedded within lending rates and cost of banking services are operating expenses arising from inefficiencies in the provision of banking services,’’ Lemo said. He noted that the cost of handling cash to Nigeria’s financial system was high and increasing annually. He noted that Nigeria was behind other comparable economies in terms of payment systems maturity. “This novel policy that aims at reducing the quantum of cash in circulation introduced a ‘processing fee’ on daily cash withdraws or cash deposits that exceeded N500, 000 for individuals and three million naira for corporate bodies was introduced. “By this policy, third party cheques above N150,000 are disallowed from being cashed over the counter, while banks have been mandated to discontinue cash in transit lodgment services as cash in transit firms have been incensed to provide such services.

also excluded on lodgments for revenue collections accounts only. He said that the new regime would significantly eliminate revenue leakages by identifying fraudulent debit, diversion of funds and excess charges on

ByBy EMMANUEL ACHA (NAN) OKHAREDIA IHIMEKPEN

Achieving Economic Growth Via Cashless Policy policies of the Federal Government. It is also to promote a sound financial system and advise government on economic policies. The Money Laundering Act, 2004 stipulates a cash payment regulation on transactions outside the financial institutions to ensure audit trail, as disincentive against money laundering. The section also stipulates a N500,000 benchmark for individuals and three million naira for corporate organisations. Analysts say that despite the existence of the Act, cases of money laundering are assuming alarming proportions in Nigeria. They, therefore, suggested an alternative payment channels that may have positive consequence on the economy and considerably eliminate cash frauds. To address the challenges associated with heavy cash handlings, the Bankers Committee in collaboration with the CBN recently commissioned a study that identified cost drivers in the industry. The study also sought the possibility of achieving 30 per cent cost reduction with attendant positive impact on lending rates and bank charges. According to the CBN, the objective of its new cashless policy was to seek reduction in cash transactions in the banking industry. The effect was to encourage bank customers to try other payment options than cash. Mr Tunde Lemo, CBN Deputy Governor (Operations), said that the policy was introduced for a number of key reasons, including meeting the

working to increase the alternative channel penetration, functionality and ease-of-use. Analysts are also of the view that mobile phone, the cheapest electronic channel, is the easiest route to financial inclusion of the

scheme in terms of literacy and numeracy. Mr Lawrence Ukegbu, a businessman, said that the informal sector needed to be abreast with the policy in order to make the best out of it. He said it would impact

Mallam Lamido Sanusi, CBN Governor

government accounts. Analysts have opined that there is no doubt that the policy would open more avenues for electronic-based transactions. The avenues, they said, would include Point-OfSale Systems, Mobile Payments, Multi-functional Automated Teller Machines, Internet Banking, Instant Electronic Funds Transfer and Direct Debit. They also noted that industry stakeholders were

unbanked segment of the economy. Available statistics shows there are over 100 million phones available to serve customers. They said that with mobile phones, both the banked and the unbanked could open accounts, transfer funds, pay bills, purchase goods and services. However, this has thrown up some challenges, including literacy levels of prospective users of the

positively on the business climate, adding that the business environment would be more secure as handling of cash was associated with much hazards. For Gov. Orji, the policy had thrown up much challenge to the banking sector as the gap between the educated and noneducated in the society would need to be breached for the success of the policy. Orji said that the state government would

contribute towards the success of the project, and appealed for enlightenment of the populace. “There should be a lot of sensitisation, and if possible the CBN should establish an education unit at major industrial areas and strategic points,” he said. Mr Emmanuel Ogbonnaya, a financial and stock analyst, said that the interest of the non-formal sector needed to be protected in the policy, while the rural areas should be given special attention in terms of education and other enlightenment campaigns. He expressed concern on the activities of cyber fraudsters who may leverage on the dependence on ‘new technology’ to carry out financial transactions. But Lemo allayed the fears, saying that the CBN had through the instrumentality of the Nigerian Electronic Fraud Forum stepped-up surveillance on cyber fraud which, he noted, had reduced incidences of crime by 90 per cent. “We are in the process of acquiring a Payment System Oversight and Anti-Fraud System for online risk surveillance of the payment systems,” he said. He said that the apex bank was in the process of establishing the office of Ombudsman for financial services in order to strengthen users’ confidence and promote adoption of the policy. As Nigeria strives to become one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020, analysts say there should be the desire for all to ensure the success of the new CBN cashless policy.

Printed and published by Bendel Newspapers Company Limited, 24, Airport Road, P.M.B. 1334 Benin City. Telephone; Lagos: 01 4930929, Benin: 052 257492, 257531 Editor: BARR. SOLOMON IMOHIOSEN (KSJI)-(07030699646), Deputy General Manager-Marketing (08023457566), Assistant General Manager-Advertisement (08023808856) Lagos Office: 3/4 Amode Close, Kudirat Abiola Way, By Olushosun Bus Stop, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos. Abuja Office: Floor 1, Edo House, 75 Ralph Shodeinde Street, Central Business District, Abuja. Tel/Fax: 09-5237631. All correspondence to: 24 Airport Road, Benin City. E-mail: nigerianobserver@yahoo.com (ISSN 0331-2674)

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

Discourse

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013

THE NIGERIAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013