Nigerian observer 08 10 2013

THE NIGERIAN

1

The Nigerian

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol. 38 • NO. 327 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 20 13 • N 100.00 NUTRITIONAL HEALTH AND DIETETICS Page 14

Measures to curb damages caused by eating meat

ISSUES Page 18 Curbing corruption among Nigerian leaders

EDSIEC to conclude LG election October 22

By KEHINDE OSAGIEDE

BENIN CITY - Edo state Independent Electoral Commission, (EDSIEC) has announced a new date, October 22, 2013 for the rescheduled Esan North –East Local

Government election, and for six wards across four other Local Government Areas in the state.

The affected wards in othe Local Government include Ward 9 and 11 in Ovia North-East, Ward 8

in Uhunmwode, Ward 6 in Etsako Central, and Wards 3 and 4 in Etsako West Local Governments Councils.

The Chairman of EDSIEC Solomon Ogo infermed journalists of the

new development yesterday at the Commission’s Head Quarter in Benin City during a press briefing.

According to Mr. Ogo, four political parties – PDP, Labour, Accord and APC- are expected to Continues on page 2

Confab won’t- Jonathan break up Nigeria

ABUJA - President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday inaugurated a 13-member National Dialogue Advisory Committee with the reassurance that the outcome of the assignment would lead to the disintegration of the country.

In an address at the who think the conference ceremony held at the will call the integrity of Council Chamber of the Nigeria into question.

Presidential Villa in “This national Abuja, Jonathan said the discourse will strengthen conference would not our union and address negotiate the integrity of issues that are often on the nation. the front burner, and are He assured that the too frequently ignored’’, outcome would further he said. strengthen national unity Specifically, the and address inequalities President said that the and injustices, among discourse would others. bequeath a better and a “For me, there is no greater Nigeria to the alternative to inclusivity, present and future equity and justice in a generations. modern democratic state.

He said the conference, “I will therefore like to a national project to be allay the fears of those sincerely and

fundamentally undertaken, aims at a realistic examination and resolution of l o n g s t a n d i n g impediments to national cohesion and h a r m o n i o u s development.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have wasted too much time and resources

. Inaugurates 13-member our nation stronger for bickering over sectional committtee our own interest and versions of what define reality. This is an openended luxury we can no longer afford.

“Let us move forward, with honest conviction and patriotic courage, to strengthen this Republic, and get it to work better and brighter, for all of us, to the glory of God.

“Of course you will also agree with me that over the period, we have been wasting so much time putting wedges on our frontlines.

“This committee and the assignment is to rather put a strong mortar that will bind our appendages and make

PHCN Severance benefits

Delta Central Senetorial District

APC calls for credible election

By ADAMS OYIBOKE/ OYENMWEN OMOREGIE

WARRI – The Chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC) Campaign Organization in Saturday’s Deltat Central Senatorial District by-election, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct free, fair and credible election.

Governor Oshiomhole made the declaration yesterday at the Delta State APC rally held in Evwreni play ground Warri, Delta State.

He said, “Delta Central Senatorial District will not and will never be for opposition party, the People Deceive People, Papa Deceive Pickin or Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

According to him, “No

threat, No intimidation or blackmail or death can stop anyone because everyone will die one day.”

“Therefore, I call on the Urhobos and all other people in this senatorial district to come out enmass on Saturday the October 12 and vote APC

candidate, Olorogun Otega Emerhor as senator for Delta Central.

“The symbol of APC is broom and the broom has a cure to all diseases plaguing NIgeians, and Delta State people need to use the broom to bring about the desired Continues on page 2

said on Monday that the ill-fated Akure-bound Associated airplane which crashed on October 3 in Lagos was an ‘inevitable act of God’.

Oduah, who spoke to State House correspondents after the inauguration of the National Dialogue Advisory Committee by President Goodluck Jonathan, said that

“Nigerian airspace is among the safest around the world’’.

She doused the fear and skepticism expressed over the safety of Nigerian airspace, and encouraged travellers to keep patronising the certified airline operators in the country.

“We have the safest airspace. Nigerians Continues on page 2

especially for the interest of our children yet unborn’’, he said.

The President said he was one of those who initially exhibited scepticism on the need for another conference or dialogue.

He said his scepticism was borne out of the name of such a conference, taking into consideration existing democratic structures that were products of the will of the people.

Continues on page 2

FG to complete payment Oct

Associated plane crash, an act of God ABUJA - Aviation - Oduah Minister Stella Oduah

CAMPAIGN: Governor Adams Oshiomhole (left) presents the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, APC candidate for Delta Central Senatorial District with them is Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State (2nd right) and Chief Tom Ikimi, APC leader (right) at a rally of the APC in Warri, Delta State yesterday. Photo: CHARITY OAIGBO-ESERE.

NSUKKA (Enugu State) - Prof. Chinedu Nebo, the Minister of Power, said the Federal Government would complete the payment of severance allowance of PHCN staff before the end of October.

Nebo stated this at the thanksgiving service of Nsukka Anglican Diocese marking the end of its 2013 Synod in Nsukka.

He said that Government was working round the clock to ensure that all authenticated PHCN staff received their severance allowance so as to end any form of protest from those involved.

“Government is working hard to ensure that all staff of PHCN are settled before the end of October. For now, what Government has given Continues on page 2

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

News

EDSIEC to conclude LG election October 22

Continued from page 1

participate in the Tuesday October 22 rescheduled election.

It would be recalled that Edo Local Government election was held in all the eighteen Local Government in the state, but was inconclusive in the affected

council areas hence the new date.

The EDSIEC boss has, however, expressed the electoral body’s determination to conduct a free and fair

rescheduled election this time around, even as he applogised to all the stakeholders for the delay in condueting the election which he ascribed to security concerns.

He noted that recommendations from several dialogues of such nature had been put to use by the government “The conferences that were held before 1960 were designed to produce a political system and a roadmap to Nigeria’s independence.

“The Constitutional Conference of 1957 in London, for example, effectively prepared Nigeria for independence.

“The Eastern and Western regions were granted selfgovernment in 1957, while the Northern region got its own in 1959.

“The Office of the Prime Minister was created and it was also decided that the federal legislature would be bi-cameral.

“Furthermore, the Constituent Assembly of 1978 gave us the 1979 Constitution and also created the current presidential

system with its attendant checks and balances and fundamental human rights provisions.

‘The 1999 constitution we operate today is a successor to the 1979 constitution and records show that the 1999 constitution also benefited from reports and recommendations arising from the 1994/1995 constitutional conference’’, he said.

The President charged members of the committee to formulate an all-inclusive process that protects the people’s interest in carrying out the assignment.

“This conversation is a people’s conversation and I urge that the views of the sceptics and those of the enthusiasts must be accommodated as you formulate this all important framework’’, he said.

Reports say that the committee was given six weeks

operators, the management, everybody has its responsibility and all must work in tandem for there to be an optimal, secured and safe aviation sector,’’ she said.

The minister debunked the criticism in certain quarters that her ministry abandoned safety issues and concentrated attention on beautifying the airports.

She said such criticism was borne out of ignorance, adding that her focus on infrastructural development was part and parcel of safety measures.

“When you talk about the issue of renovation, the terminal itself is the first safety and security facility that any passenger comes across.

“Everything we have done has been with security and safety as a pivotal of it all. You cannot do anything in aviation without this.

“And what saddens me really is that ICAO says just last week that Nigeria is way above the global average.

“We actually scored 65 per cent. ICAO says Nigeria has the 12th most-safe aviation airspace globally.

“I think it is ignorant to start with, because you cannot have security and safety without funding it, it has to be funded,’’ she said.

The minister said that investigation is still ongoing into the crash and the preliminary report should be out in weeks.

“The experts that are coming from France and the manufacturer of the aircraft, we must have them regardless of how we want to accelerate it.

“We are waiting for them to come so that we can open the engine and find out exactly what happened from them.

“You cannot do any of those without their presence. If you do that, then you have contaminated the investigation.

So, we must wait for them.’’

The minister also said that the suspension of operations of

mishap.

She said it was a routine safety and security measure taken by the regulator.

The crashed Embraer 120 aircraft with registration number 5N-BIT operated by Associated Airlines, was a private charter flight from Lagos to Akure.

The aircraft, carrying the remains of the former Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Agagu, crashed at the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

Thirteen of the 20 occupants of the airplane, including the crew, died in the crash.

“We have been anxious to do a good job, and we wanted the affected areas to be calm and secured before the election hence the delay. I want to say that the situation is okay now for us to conduct a credible election. We are ready”. he concluded

Confab won’t break up Nigeria

Continued from page 1

He said he had to bow to the consistent clamour by the majority of the people that Nigerians needed to sit down together and discuss.

“We are in a democracy, and in a democracy; elected leaders govern at the behest of the citizenry.

“As challenges emerge, season after season, leaders must respond with best available strategies to ensure that the ship of state remains undeterred in its voyage.

Nations rise to the challenges that each epoch presents.

“It is imperative, therefore, that in our march to nationhood, we have to be dynamic in our approach and response to the problems, even as we seek solutions to them’’, he said.

The President also assured the pessimists that the administration would implement the outcome of the discourse.

Associated plane crash, an act of Dana air was not connected to God the Associated Airline air should not be afraid to fly,

Continued from page 1

Nigerian airspace is very safe.

We do not pray for accidents but it is inevitable.

“All we do is to do everything to ensure that we do not have accidents. But it is an act of God. “Though, we do not speculate on the cause of accidents, until that happens, you cannot say this is the cause or that is not the cause.

“But what is obvious and the truth is that in aviation there are shared responsibilities.

“This starts from the man that carries your luggage to the man that makes sure that your boarding pass is issued to you.

“The regulatory agency, the

APC calls for credible election

Continued from page 1 change,” he stressed.

Governor Oshiomhole said, “The Urhobo people have always shown they can stand their ground anytime, any day.”

He reminded the people of Delta Central of the antics of the People Democratic Party (PDP), stressing that anyone given money should collect but vote APC on Election Day. According to him, all those who have taken what they don’t have will repay voluntarily or involuntarily; it is the law of redistribution.

“If they give you money, collect it but go to the voting centres and use their money to vote against them for the celebration of Olorogun Otega’s victory,” he maintained.

He reminded the youths never to compromise their stance in defence of Saturday’s election as foot soldiers of APC and leaders of tomorrow.

FG to complete payment Oct

Continued from page 1

the companies that acquired PHCN are licenses and share certificates.

“The physical hand over of PHCN will take place in some weeks to come,’’ he said.

The minister said that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan had invested much and was committed to ensure that Nigerians enjoyed steady power supply.

“By God’s special grace in the next six months, there will be double in the country’s generation capacity and by the end of 2014, the amount of megawatts generated will be fully transmitted.

“I must tell Nigerians that there are better days ahead as the country will witness great improvement in power sector,’’ he said.

On slow pace of work at Nru NIPP project Nsukka, the minister urged the people of Nsukka to write to enable him know the level that the work had gone so that he could communicate with those in charge of the project.

to submit its report.

The President said that the extension of time was to accommodate the opinions of some Nigerians of Islam faith who had already travelled for pilgrimage.

He also gave the committee the latitude to determine the name to call the discourse.

Chairman of the Committee, Dr Femi Okurounmu, commended Jonathan for demonstrating courage to convene the national conference.

He noted that by the move, the President had shown that he was a listening leader willing to accede to the yearnings of the majority of Nigerians.

According to him, for more than two decades, there had been clamour from many sections for the convening of a national conference in one form or the other “Advocates of such conference were prompted by what they perceived as the injustices and inequities prevalent in the polity, all of which they attributed to the inadequacies of the constitution foisted upon us by successive military regimes since 1966’’, he said.

Okurounmu promised that members would not let the President down or fail the nation in carrying out the assignment.

Other members of the committee present at the inauguration were the Secretary, Dr Akilu Indabawa, Prof George Obiozor, Senators Khairat Gwadabe, and Timothy Adudu, retired Col. Tony Nyiam and Prof. Funke Adebayo.

The members also included (Mrs.) Mairo Amshi, Dr Abubakar Sadiq, Alhaji Dauda Birma, Mallam Bukhari Bello and Mr. Tony Uranta.

Reports also say that a member of the committee, Prof.

Ben Nwabueze (SAN) was absent at the inauguration.

The Presidency explained that Nwabueze was absent because he was on a medical trip abroad and sent apology for his inability to be physically present at the event.

It will be recalled that the President had in the 53rd independence anniversary address the nation, constituted the Advisory Committee to set up modalities for national dialogue or conference.

The committee, as part of its terms of reference, would consult with all stakeholders with a view to drawing up a feasible agenda for the proposed national dialogue/ conference.

It is also to make recommendations to Government on structure and modalities for the proposed national dialogue/conference.

The committee will also make recommendations to government on how various interest groups at the national dialogue/conference would be determined.

It will also advise on a timeline for the national dialogue/ conference.

Press Council holds 2-day workshop on crisis, conflict reporting Tunde EIGBIREMOLEN/ IJEOMA UMEH UYO – A two-day sensitization workshop on Conflicts and Crises Reporting aimed at strengthening the capacity of Journalists in reporting issues that could become potential sources of conflict or constitute a threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria has ended in Uyo, the Capital of Akwa Ibom State.

The workshop, organized by the Nigerian Press Council with the support of Akwa Ibom State Government had 102 participants in attendance drawn from the six South-South States of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers including eleven Journalists from the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

The workshop came up with an 18 – point communiqué and seven guidelines on conflicts/crises reporting which was adopted and ratified by participants at the forum.

Presentations and discussions at the forum embraced such themes as the Role of the Media in

Identifying and reporting Potential sources of conflicts; Balancing the Maxim of “Facts are sacred, comment is free” and social Responsibility in Reporting Crises, Post Conflict Reporting in a multi-ethnic and Diverse Society; Journalism Code of Ethics and Social Responsibility as Parameters for Reporting Crises, Conventional Media, Social Media and Mediated Crises in the contexts of Social Responsibility among others.

The workshop inter – alia, recommended in its communiqué, that sensational reporting on sensitive issues involving loss of lives should be avoided as much as possible, so as not to unwittingly transfer the crisis from the streets into homes, thereby causing unnecessary agitations.

The Guidelines, however, noted that bearing in mind that during crisis or conflict situations, truth is always the first casualty, Journalists should avoid falsehood, and verify information at their disposal before going to press.

Neglect: Itsekiri youths

renew appeal to Oshiomhole, Benin Monarch BENIN CITY – The All Progressive Congress, APC, administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole has been called upon to avoid the mistake of successive administration who were adept at neglecting and marginalizing the Itsekiri in the state.

A nascent social-cultural group, United Itsekiri youths of Nigeria, UIYN, gave the admonition while on a recent courtesy visit to the Oba of Benin in the wake of a youth/ children cultural event which held in Benin City recently.

President of the group, Comrade Omajuwa Nesiangho Meni urged the Benin Monarch help prevail on governor Oshiomhole to urgently address the nonrepresentation of the Itsekiri in his administration coupled with their economic marginalization in the governance of the state.

According to him, “we are a direct off-spring of the

Benins.” Our union is not a political one, we have been left in the cooler by successive administration for years despite our electoral support during elections. We solicit the support of the Oba of Benin to use his good offices to ensure that Itsekiri occupy a place of pride and contribute their quota to the development of humanity.

Responding, the Oba of Benin who commended the Itsekiri for living peacefully with other ethnic groups in the state said he would channel their grievances to the appropriate APC quarters so that restitution would be made soonest.

In a communiqué, the UIYN, whose aims and objectives are to ensure peace and love among the inhabitants of the state and Nigeria at large, among others, appealed to Oshiomhole to consider one of their own for appointment.

LASUTH doctors render emergency services Plane crash:

LAGOS - Dr Oluwajimi Sodipo, the President, Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) chapter, Ikeja said his members were rendering emergency services, in spite of the ongoing strike.

Sodipo told newsmen in Lagos that though LASUTH ARD members joined the nationwide strike, they were rendering assistance to the victims of the Oct. 3 plane crash in Lagos.

The Associated Airlines plane, which was conveying the remains of Dr Olusegun Agagu, a former governor of Ondo State to Akure for burial, crashed immediately after take-off in Lagos.

It killed 13 persons, including some crew members.

“We have been on ground since the day of the plane crash, in view of the sensitive nature

of the occurrence, to ensure that no other life is lost.

“We have spoken with the national president of the association and he is very happy with our effort so far.

‘He has asked us to ensure that all emergencies are covered and that is why we are in the hospital, in spite of the strike,” he said.

At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), IdiAraba, NAN reports that health workers and consultants were seen attending to the patients, because ARD members were on strike.

Dr Emeka Ugwu, the ARD president, LUTH chapter, told NAN that effort were ongoing to call off the strike.

“NARD’s National Executive Council (NEC) will meet in Abuja to review the industrial action.

“The result of the negotiation with the Federal Government will determine when to call off the strike,” he said.

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

News Gunmen Kill Policeman KADUNA-The Kaduna State Police Command on Monday confirmed the death of a policeman shot by gunmen on Sunday in Ungwan Muazu area of Kaduna.

The attack came a week after a team of the state security outfit, Operation Yaki, came under attack from gunmen in Tudun Wada area of the city.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Olufemi Adenaike, who confirmed the two incidents said Sunday’s attack was carried out by gunmen on a motorcycle, who killed the police officer and took away his gun.

He said that the command would investigate the incident as the policeman was supposed to be on duty elsewhere as at the time of

the shooting.

On the attack of Operation Yaki personnel in Tudun Wada, Adenaike said they were also shot at by gunmen on motorbikes while on patrol.

The police commissioner said no life was lost in the incident but that some of the officers were injured.

Adenaike said no arrest had been made but assured that the perpetrators would be brought to book.

He urged the public to continue to assist security agents with useful information that would sustain existing peace in the state.

President Goodluck Jonathan (right), welcoming Kenyan Special Envoy, Amb. Amina Abdalla to the Presidential Villa recently.

Health Care: Commissioner Sues For Co-operation LAGOS- Plateau State Dakwak said that the Amongst Practitioners Commissioner for Health, Dr medical fraternity would make Fom Dakwak, called for collaboration among doctors to improve healthcare delivery

in the country.

Dakwak made the call at the launch of Apollo Global

Doctors Network-West Africa, in Lagos.

The Global Doctors

Edo State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Aanena Jemitola delivering her welcome address during the Tourism stakeholders meeting which held in Benin City last Friday. She is flanked by Prince (Engr) Yemisi Shyllon, a famous Art Collector, and Sir (Chief) Joseph Arogundade, former Commissioner for Finance, Edo State.

Expert Identifies Cause Of Flooding, Erosion BENIN CITY – A town planner, Mr. George Osagiede has attributed the flooding and gully erosion problem in the state to the total disregard for professional planning.

Mr. Osagiede gave the hint in Benin City while addressing a pre-inaugural meeting of stakeholders of Tour Planners Clubs of Nigeria.

He said many communities have been sacked, people rendered homeless and property worth million s of naira destroyed.

According to him, the stakeholders meeting was aimed at fashioning out ways finding lasting solution to the flooding and gully erosion

problem with a view to brining santity to community development.

When operational, he said the body will co-ordinate and regulate town planning activities in line with extant

Mr. George Osagiede

regulations.

He therefore appealed to town planners, community administrators and relevant stakeholders, including builders to support the club in actualizing its set goals.

The Head of Department, Town Planning, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi Mr. Vincent Okani expressed the need for communities to urgently embrace planning in view of the speedy growth and development of most communities.

He urged the Town Planners Club to be committed to set goals while incorporating all Town Planners in the situations that cause flooding and erosion in the state.

On her part, Professor (Mrs.) Lucy Airauisi sued for renewed commitment on the part of all stakeholders in order to have the political will to enforce compliance extant laws on town planning.

Network is an initiative of Apollo Hospitals Group based in India, launched to open medical fraternity with doctors in Nigeria and other West African countries.

The initiative also aimed at sharing experiences on medical innovation and advancement in medical research and access to worldclass clinical training and cutting-edge technologies, geared toward quality patient care and saving lives.

Dakwak said that the health sector was a dynamic sector with constant changes in technology and applications.

According to him, only collaboration and exchange of ideas with medical experts from developed countries will boost the nation’s health sector.

“Nigerian doctors outside Nigeria are performing well because they have facilities to work with.

“Now that Apollo Group is here, I implore our doctors to utilise every opportunity within the fraternity to boost and improve our health system.

“Collaboration among doctors in Nigeria and from outside Nigeria will enhance our healthcare delivery,” he said.

Nigeria a medical tourist centre and discourage brain drain in the health sector.

Dr Francis Faduyile, the President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos chapter, said the Apollo initiative was a wake-up call to Nigerian doctors to uphold their medical mandate.

Faduyile urged practitioners to tap from their wealth of experience and apply same to improve healthcare delivery.

“We have the personnel but we still need to develop ourselves to become super medical specialists as obtained in India,’’ he said.

Mr Jithu Jose, General Manager, Apollo Hospitals Group, said the initiative was triggered as a result of many Nigerians who had been travelling to India for treatment.

Jose said that as global healthcare provider, they wanted to help to develop the healthcare services of developing countries, especially in Africa.

“We don’t want patients from Nigeria travelling far to get treatment. That is why we are launching this medical fraternity, to bring down our innovation and technologies to Nigeria and help to develop the health sector,” he said.

LG Boss Defines Policy Thrust

IGARRA: Chairman, Akoko-Edo Local Government Council of Edo State, Hon. Joseph Akerejola said the policy thrust of his administration is predicated on the need to positively affect the lives of people in his area of predication.

The council boss disclosed this at Igarra, the

headquarters of the local government area when opinion leaders from Onumu/ Ogugu communities visited him.

He said he is aware and conversant with the developmental challenges of every community in the area and would give due attention to them within the council’s

available resources.

Spokesperson for the communities, engineer Adeaye Daniel Agbaje said their visit was to appreciate the council boss for giving the communities, a sense of belonging.

He pledged their loyalty and support to the Akerejola led government.

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Across The Nation FG To Promote Plantain, Banana Production

UMUAHIA - In a bid to create jobs and generate foreign exchange, the Federal Government has embarked on a programme that will promote plantain and banana value chain.

Mr Mike Kanu, the National Coordinator, Plantain/Banana Value Chain, said this in an interview with newsmen in Umuahia that promoting plantain and banana value chain would ease production, processing, storage, and marketing of the produce.

Kanu who is also the Deputy Director, Horticulture, in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the goal in the pilot phase was to provide uncontaminated plantain and banana suckers to farmers in four selected states.

The states are: Abia, Cross River, Delta, and Oyo. “What we expect to achieve is we want value to be added to plantain and banana products. In the past, products are not found in plantain and banana outside the chips that people fried.

“And if they did not sell what they produced, they returned them home as waste.

“So, we want to ensure that

produce are not wasted, value added, jobs created by way of

people coming into the production system to earn a

living through plantain and banana production.“

He said 800 farmers drawn from the four states had already benefitted from 80 suckers of plantain and banana.

Kanu said that an additional 275,000 stems of banana variety had been approved for distribution to farmers in the affected states.

“The minister of agriculture has procured 275,000 stems of banana variety that is exportable. Abia state has been allocated 10,000 suckers ready for collection now.

“The state director is going to facilitate the process. He is

Ekiti LG Staff May Lose Sept Salary

CDA Chairman, Evborhan/Oka Useni Community, Comrade Eddy Omo Osaghae (right) receiving Certificate of Registration from Mr. Omorogbe Jonathan who stood in for the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Orienation, Edo State at the presentation ceremony held at the community’s Town Hall in IkpobaOkha LGA recently.

ADO-EKITI - A total of 792 Local Government workers in Ekiti state may lose their September salary as a result of various offences, an official said in Ado-Ekiti.

Chairman of the State Local Government Service Commission, (LGSC), Chief Ranti Adebisi, told reporters that those to be affected included those found guilty of absenteeism and absconding from work.

“The figure represents those who were not at their duty

Ember Months: Transport Unions

Seek Intensive Patrols Of Highways OMU-ARAN (KWARA) Transport unions in OmuAran, Kwara, have called for intensive surveillance and patrols of major highways to reduce incessant crashes and robbery attacks.

The Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Mr. Niyi Ijoko,

told newsmen in Omu-Aran that the association was ready to partner with other stakeholders to ensure a crash-free ember months.

He said the association had started a sensitisation campaign to educate members on the need to abide by traffic regulations. “ We are not relenting in our

Pastor, Man Arraigned For Breach Of Trust, Cheating ABUJA - The police have arraigned Pastor Keneth Nzekwu, 36, and Sunday Agene, 30, in a Grade Two Area Court in Kado for criminal breach of trust and cheating.

The police prosecutor, Sgt. Simeon Ibrahim, told the court that Idoko Patrick of Kubwa Village, Abuja, reported the matter at the Utako Police Station on May 9.

Ibrahim told the court that Nzekwu, a pastor at the Imminent Coming of Christ Ministry in Byezhin Village, Kubwa, was entrusted with a Golf car with Reg. No. BT 37 BWR valued at N550, 000, and was to remit N2, 500 daily.

He alleged that Nzekwu

already aware. He will be given the official letter in the week.

“It is not just our intention to limit what we have to only these 200 farmers. There will be extension gradually.

“By the time we work for two years, we are sure we will be able to cover the 17 local government areas in Abia.“ He said that the project had the full support of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

He appealed to the youth and the unemployed to take advantage of the opportunity.

conspired with Agene and lied to the complainant that the car had been stolen by armed robbers.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code.

The offence carries a maximum of 10 years imprisonment with an option of fine or both.

The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the three counts of conspiracy, breach of trust and cheating.

The presiding officer, Mr. Ahmed Ado, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N 150, 000 each with two sureties each in like sum one who must be a civil servant.

Ado adjourned the case to December 11.

efforts in complementing those of other stakeholders in the transport sector to make our roads free and safe.

“Apart from the fact that our members have been sensitised on the need to have all their vehicle particulars updated, the need to respect other road users was also emphasised,” Ijoko said.

He urged the Federal Road Maintenance Agency to expedite action on the asphalt

filling of the numerous pot holes identified on some of the highways in the area.

Ijoko listed Omu-AranIlorin, Kabba-Lokoja and Ipetu- Aranorin as some of the highways requiring urgent government attention.

On his part, the Chairman of RTEAN, Mr Adedayo Ajiboye, urged the police and the FRSC to be alive to their responsibilities.

He said experience had

shown that there was tendency for rise in road traffic accidents and robbery attacks during the ember months due to increased traffic volumes.

“With this in mind, the law enforcement agencies should also plan ahead through increase in logistics and personnel to be able to meet up with such demand,” Ajiboye said.

posts when the Task Force set up by the state government to authenticate the actual number of staff at local councils arrived at their respective local government areas,’’ he said.

Adebisi, who dismissed the rumour that those affected were those to be sacked, said the state government had no intention of sacking any staff at the councils.

“There is no truth in the rumour that this Commission is about to sack 800 council workers. There is a biometric team that has been going on and monitoring the attendance of workers to determine ghost workers in the local governments.

“I have not recommended that those affected should be sacked. What the committee recommended was that salaries of those affected should be suspended,’’ he said.

Adebisi said it was not true that the state governor, Kayode Fayemi, had listed those affected for punishment.

Those affected were said to be on the list for participating in a rally on September 17.

The rally was organised by an APC governorship aspirant, Mr. Michael Bamidele.

Parents and relatives of the four students of University of Port Harcourt killed at Aluu at the one year memorial service for the students in Port Harcourt.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

News

Security: Archbishop Kaigama Tasks Security Agencies

LAGOS- The President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, urged security agencies to be proactive in securing lives and property of

the citizens.

Kaigama told newsmen in a telephone interview that Boko Haram insurgents had continued to grow in sophistication in the use of arms,

“The sect continues to grow in sophistication in the use of arms, Internet, and warfare strategies which are a great

challenge to our security agencies.

“Boko Haram has redoubled

L-R: Acting Secretary, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kaduna State branch, Dr. Mohammed Khalid, treasurer, Dr. Luwa Sofeme and Chairman, Dr. Aliyu Bappa, at the State Executive Council meeting in Kaduna on Sunday.

Decline in Education: LOKOJA- Kogi State Government has been urged to arrest the decline in education in the state by recruiting new teachers to fill the 2,167 vacancies in its secondary schools system.

The state chapter of the Academic Staff of Senior Secondary Schools (ASUSS), which made the call in a statement in Lokoja has said that the figure represented the number of those retired over the past 10 years.

It said that the government had yet to fill those vacancies.

The statement signed by the state Chairman of ASUSS, Mr Ranti Ojo said that the retiree teachers were mainly those in core subjects like English Language, Mathematics and other sciences.

It said that presently, a number of public secondary schools in the state depended on PTA and youth corps members to augment the shortfall in the number of qualified teachers.

It noted that this was not good enough for the state’s educational development.

The association, therefore, appealed to government to recruit teachers to shore up the performances of the students in public examinations like West African School Certificate (WASC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations.

The statement called the attention of government to

the dilapidation of secondary school buildings in the state, saying that many of them also lacked instructional materials.

It urged government to commence the implementation of the Act

its effort at destruction.

Initially, it wanted to eliminate western culture, Christianity, and agents of government.

“Now it attacks and kills innocent people. It attacks travellers, markets, and schools.

“Even in conventional warfare one does not attack indiscriminately. Now it attacks children, women, Christians, Muslims, traditional leaders, and anyone it could kill,” he said.

The cleric also called on Nigerians, irrespective of ethnicity, to join hand in order to overcome the menace.

“Nigerians must join hands across ethnic, political and religious divide to overcome this evil,’’ he said.

Kaigama appealed to the insurgents to respect life, adding that “life is sacrosanct and should not be toiled with.

“We plead with Boko Haram to respect life. No one should take life except God. To kill in the name of

ASUSS tasks Kogi

establishing the National Secondary School Commission and reinstatement of the payment of 27.5 per cent to teachers in the state.

The ASUSS said that it used this year’s Teachers’ Day celebration to honour 247

secondary school teachers who retired from service in 2011/ 2012 and 2012/2013 academic sessions.

It asked government to harmonise the monthly pensions of those that retired before the introduction of new minimum wage to enhance

their welfare.

Speaking on behalf of the retirees, Mrs Christiana Agamah thanked the leadership of the association for the gesture and the gift of a set of power generating set to each of them.

Navy Commandant Tasks Teachers On Selflessness

PORT HARCOURT- Capt.

Elizabeth Okoh, the Commandant of Nigerian Navy Secondary School in Port Harcourt, has tasked teachers on selflessness and quality education to improve the standard of education in the country.

Okoh made the call in Port Harcourt in an interview with newsmen.

She said that quality education was key to peace, unity and nation building.

She urged teachers to reflect on accountability in their calling as they had great role to play in rebuilding the nation to achieve greater heights in world global economy.

The commandant advised the teachers to be role models to all Nigerians and students they were teaching.

“Teachers should prepare their lesson notes, read wide and give their best in teaching and imbibing good moral to the students,’’ she said.

She expressed her joy for being a teacher and urged other teachers to be proud that they were teachers.

“I am proud am a teacher because teachers are the most honoured, without teachers there would be no doctors,

lawyers, nurses, engineers and others.

“Teachers are the success behind any developed country and no nation can be developed without teachers,’’ she said.

She urged teachers to give quality education to the students who would in return be good ambassadors of Nigeria.

Okoh advised teachers to reflect on the current situation of the country and go back to the basics and teach peace.

The Commandant urged every Nigerian teacher not to lose hope in tomorrow’s leaders rather they should work hard to imbibe good morals in them.

She appealed to Federal

Government to motivate teachers and always train and retrain them for the development of the country. koh assured parents that teachers would put in their best to ensure that Nigerian students were better citizens.

She called on Federal Government to invest more in education to achieve economic development of the country.

God or religion is a contradiction.

“God is love. They must use religion to love, bestow dignity on fellow human beings and promote peace among all irrespective of creed or ethnicity,” he added.

Plane Crash

Jimoh Ibrahim Commiserates With Ondo Govt IGBOTAKO (ONDO STATE)- Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, the Chairman of Global Fleet Group, has commiserated with the Ondo State Government over the death of a cabinet member in a plane crash on Thursday in Lagos.

Ibrahim condoled with the government while speaking with journalists at his Igbotako residence, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Newsmen reports that an Associated Airlines plane conveying the corpse of former Ondo governor, Dr Olusegun Agagu and 20 passengers crashed at take off in Lagos.

Mr Deji Falae, a Commissioner for Tourism in the state was among those that died in the crash.

Ibrahim, the Publisher of the National Mirror Newspapers, said that the news of the crash came to him as a rude shock and a big surprise.

He described the late Falae, as a talented young man, whose life was cut short.

“I sympathise with Governor Olusegun Mimiko for losing prominent cabinet member. I pray God to give the government and family of the dead, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,’’ he said.

Ibrahim, however, described the late Agagu as a nice man, simple, humane and a community leader, who did his best for his community while alive.

Agagu, a former aviation, power and steel minister at different times, was buried on October 4 at St. Paul’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Iju Odo, Ondo State.

O f f i c i a l s immunising children at the commencement of nationwide immunisation against measles at Omu-Aran in Kwara weekend.

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Across The Nation Chairman, Finace correspondents of Nigeria (FICAN), Mr Cohham, NSA; DirectorGeneral, Debt Management Office, Dr Abraham Nwankwo; Head Organisational Resources Department, Mr Atiku Danbatta and media facilitator, Mr Justus Nduwugwe (R), at a retreat for FICAN and investment journalist in Kaduna recently.

A child being given polio vaccine during the 2013 integrated measles campaign in Gombe weekend.

Gov Wada Pledges To Equip Judiciary KOTON-KARFE (KOGI) – Governor Idris Wada of Kogi, weekend pledged that his administration would equip the judiciary with necessary wherewithal, as part of efforts to promote speedy dispensation of justice.

The governor made the promise when he inaugurated the newly constructed state high court complex in Koton-Karfe.

Wada noted that failure to provide a conducive atmosphere with all necessary facilities for courts to enable them to perform their constitutional responsibilities well, would be counterproductive to efforts to have a vibrant judicial system in the country.

“The law courts essentially exist as custodians of the rights of our citizens. It is to the courts that the individual turns when there is an encroachment on those basic rights and interests.

“A courthouse is, therefore, the factory where peace and

KWASIEC Trains 200 For IIORIN - The Kwara LG Poll Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), has concluded the training of 200 Facilitators ahead of the local government election scheduled for October 26 in the State.

Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Uthman Ajidagba, said in Ilorin on weekend that the training was part of efforts to achieve successful polls.

Represented by Mr AbdulRauf Ajao, the Commissioner in charge of Administration, Ajidagba

Expert Canvasses Traditional Pest Control Measures LAGOS - Dr Olusola Longe, a crop scientist at the Ekiti State University, has suggest the adoption of traditional pest control measures to reduce the incidence of post-harvest losses.

Longe told newsmen in Lagos that the traditional measures consisted of crop rotation and deep tillage practices such as deep ploughing.

The crop expert of the Department of crop, soil and entomology, also listed clean weeding, using resistant crop varieties and animal breed for reproduction.

He also identified proper timing of farm operations that avoided the period of pests prevalence and trap cropping as other methods.

He explained that trap cropping entailed growing a small portion of crop, or crop most liked by a particular pest, near a major crop.

“This is done such that the minor crop on the small plot helps to attract and lure the pests from the major crop.”

Longe noted that the incidence

of pest invasion had done great harm to crops on the farms as well as after harvest.

“Pests have led to reduction in the market value of crop and animal products and reduction in their nutritional value.

“For instance, a large storage of maize grains or cowpea seeds or beans ravaged by weevils, commands little or no commercial value.

“Also, a herd of cattle infested with tapeworm is prohibited from being slaughtered for human consumption.” while urging the government to assist local farmers in pest control which reduced farmers’ profit, however, observed that pests had positive effects on agriculture in spite of the negative ones.

“Despite the destructive effects and activities of pests on both crops and animals, some pests are very useful in agriculture and agricultural production.

“For instance, the bees, butterflies and moths are very important agents of plant

reproduction, as they aid flower pollination. Bees also produce honey, which is a very valuable agricultural product.

“The silkworm is also very useful in production of the highly valued silk material.

“Many pests are very useful as food and good sources of income to farmers, for example rodents, crickets, and birds among others.”

Commenting on the negative effects of pests its implication for agricultural export, he said:”It is obvious that pests can cause damage and reduction in crop and animal production, or even a total loss in production in extreme cases.

“Examples abound in the country in the areas of cocoa, groundnuts, palm oil and other crop and animal products,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, another expert in Lagos, Mr Taiwo Otiti of IBM West Africa has advised the Federal Government to protect

indigenous ICT research products to make the sector more viable for Nigerian youths.

Otiti, a former IBM country manager, told newsmen in Lagos that many indigenous research products in the sector were being stolen because they were not patented.

He said that some research

security are manufactured in order to create the right climate for government to achieve an egalitarian society,’’ he added.

Wada said that the court was also a symbol of democracy and a “symbol of our faith in the rule of law and administration of justice under the constitution and a renewal of our faith in the system.’’

He commended the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah, for executing the project with passion.

He noted that the passion demonstrated the need for an urgent transformation of the state’s judiciary.

In his address, Ajanah commended the State Government for providing the resources to execute the project.

“Together, we have shared and signed on to a common cause in the pursuit of liberty, freedom and justice in the state under democratic governance,’’ he said.

products were not patented either because the researchers were ignorant of the patenting process or did not have the required financial resources to patent them.

Reports say that patenting is an exclusive right officially granted by a government to an inventor to make or sell an invention.

added that the commission would recruit and train 3000 ad hoc staff before the election.

He said the commission was working in consultation with relevant stakeholders to ensure credible, transparent and acceptable poll.

The leader of the facilitators and Dean Faculty of Education, University of IIorin, Prof. Adekunle Oloundare, assured KWASIEC that they would leave up to expectation in the discharge of their assignment.

He urged the commission to abide by its pledge to create a level playing field for all the candidates in the election.

The training of the facilitators was attended by all the commissioners and other officials of the commission.

Reports say that the election would hold in 15 councils except Offa where re-run election took place on August 31.

Osun To Prepare Youths For Leadership Roles EDE (OSUN) - The Osun Delivery Sub-committee, Government said that it would re-orientate youths in the state on the essence of moral values to prepare them for future leadership roles.

Mr Stephen Kola-Balogun, the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Special Needs, said this in Ede at a briefing organised for stakeholders on the formation of Omoluabi Boys/Girls and Youth Clubs in

the state.

“The aim of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in creating the clubs is to re-orientate and redirect the youths on the essence of sound etiquette, as part of efforts to equip them for the future.

“The Governor has approved the formation of the Inter-Ministerial Committee and the Omoluabi Clubs

which are saddled with the responsibility of formulating good policies for the clubs,’’ he said.

Kola-Balogun said that part of country’s problems could be attributed to the eroding moral values in the society.

He said that the Omoluabi Youth Clubs would inculcate values such as honesty, courage, methodology and innovation in the youth.

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News COREN To Tackle Quacks

Plane Crash

NMA Calls For Probe LAGOS - The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called on the Federal Government to investigate the October 3 air crash in Lagos.

The President of the association, Dr Osahon Enabulele, said in a statement in Lagos that the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should speed up a holistic audit of the aviation sector.

He said the audit and recertification of air planes and aviation equipment should be intensified.

“We also re-state our call on the three tiers of governments to be more committed to the development of the transport system,’’ he said.

Enabulele urged the government to step up efforts to fix and maintain bad portions on Nigerian roads.

“Greater efforts must be made to revitalise and bring to quick completion the rail transportation project of the federal government,” he said.

The NMA boss commiserated with the families of all those who lost their lives in the plane crash.

He wished those who suffered various degrees of injury quick recovery.

“We mourn with other Nigerians and we pray God to grant all of us the fortitude to overcome the trauma.

L-R: Gov Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State; Chairman, Dangote Group Plc, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Chairman, Governing Council, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Prof Ango Abdullahi and former Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Mu’Azu, during a condolence visit to Gov Yuguda over the death of his younger sister, Hajiya Ummi Yuguda in Bauchi recently.

LG Autonomy: LAGOS - Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, Lagos State’s Commissioner for Education, said that efforts should be made to protect the education rights of the youth, while deliberating on issues regarding local government autonomy.

She said this at the 2013 World Teachers Day Celebration, organised by the state chapter of the Nigeria Union Teachers (NUT) in Lagos.

Oladunjoye conceded that the calls for local government autonomy were constitutional, adding, however, that it was the responsibility of government to provide education to all its citizens within the limits of its

Commissioner

financial resources.

“The demand for local government autonomy is constitutional but it has little to do with government’s social responsibility of providing education for all school-agechildren.

“Already, there are structures and institutions on the ground to facilitate continuous provision of education; I think we should not begin to politicise the rights which our younger generation must enjoy.

“Education still remains the only legacy that any nation can bequeath to its upcoming generation, it is our responsibility and we cannot run away from it,’’

Cleric Tasks Minister On Air Safety

LAGOS - The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale-Martins, has called on the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Odua, to intensify efforts towards making air travel in the country safe.

Adewale-Martins, who described Thursday’s plane crash in Lagos as “most unfortunate,“ urged all well-meaning Nigerians to intensify prayers to avert more bloodshed in the country.

The Archbishop said this in a statement signed by the Director of Social Communications,

Monsignor Gabriel Osu, which was made available to newsmen in Lagos.

“The plane crash is so unfortunate, especially coming at a period when the country was yet to recover from the shock of the several loss of lives recorded in multiple attacks.

“Especially by members of the Boko Haram sect on the eve of the nation’s 53rd Independence anniversary,” he said.

The Archbishop, while condoling with families of the deceased and the people and

LAGOS - Electronic engineers have constituted a monitoring team to work with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) to tackle the menace of quacks in the profession.

Mr. Adekunle Makinde, National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE), said this in Lagos at the weekend during an interview with newsmen.

He said the team would assess engineering works,

government of Ondo State, prayed God to give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.

At about 9.32 a.m. on Thursday, October 3, 2013, the aircraft belonging to Associated Aviation Ltd., conveying the remains of former Ondo State Governor, late Dr Olusegun Agagu, crashed shortly after take off in Lagos.

Urges Caution

she said.

Oladunjoye, however, stressed that the nation must necessarily invest in teachers, saying that any investment on teachers was a direct investment in the future of the nation.

“No nation can develop ahead of its teachers, as teachers are major assets that cannot be undermined,’’ she added.

The commissioner, however, urged teachers to re-assess their roles in the campaign for a better and self-reliant nation.

“The personal development of teachers through research and scholastic pursuit should naturally translate into better delivery of curriculum and guarantee confidence among teachers,” she said.

Mr. Adesegun Raheem, the NUT Chairman in Lagos State, said that one of the objectives of the world teachers’ day was to initiate enlightened discourse on issues affecting academics.

He said that education was the bedrock of individual and corporate development, adding that the interests of teachers, who were the facilitators of education, should be protected.

Raheem urged the legislators

Tsangaya “Teachers reciting the Holy Qur’an during the third day prayer for the Late Hajiya Ummi Yuguda, younger sister of Gov Isa Yuguda in Bauchi recently.

not to grant local government autonomy because of what he called “self-serving attitude of some local government officials’’.

He said that the constitution was explicit about the functions of state and local governments in the provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education.

“The state government, therefore, remains the major player and should not abdicate its functions to the lower tier of government,’’ he said.

Dr Abdulganiu Sopeyin, a consultant in management and educational matters, said that the country’s local governments were not mature for autonomy because of the bitter experience of the past.

“There are some parts of the constitution that need to be amended before such decision is taken,” he added.

determine the owners, the contractors, the consultants and ascertain their qualifications and suitability.

“It will also advise the owners where necessary’’, he said.

Makinde said the institution would collaborate with COREN to combat quackery in the profession.

He stressed that quackery was a serious issue that must be tackled for the development of engineering.

He added that the activities of quacks had negatively affected engineering and other professions in the country.

“It is not only in engineering that we have quacks. They are everywhere; in journalism, in the judiciary and all other professions.

“So, it will take the collective efforts of all to stop them from practising’’, he said The chairman stressed the need to sensitise Nigerians on the disadvantages of using quacks under any guise.

“That is why NIEEE is collaborating with COREN and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to checkmate the activities of quacks’’, he said.

Makinde said that the institution would organise a conference in Onitsha, Anambra before the end of October to proffer solution to epileptic power supply in Nigeria.

He said that inventions in the power and telecommunications sectors would be exhibited during the conference.

Housing: FG Urged To

Involve Private Sector LAGOS - Mr. Ladipo Lewis, the Chairman of Lagos State Chapter of Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), has advised Federal Government to encourage private investors to go into large-scale housing development.

He told newsmen in Lagos that government would encourage investors by creating the enabling environment.

Lewis said that the nation’s housing deficit of over 16 million could be drastically reduced if operators in the private sector were well motivated According to him, it is evident that the country needs mass housing to tackle its accommodation problem.

“The government should encourage private developers to go into large-scale housing development and also subsidise

rents to enable the poor to have access to the scheme.

“Government should have a way of subsidising rents to make sure that people do not pay more than 10 per cent of their annual income as rent.

“This is in line with what obtains in the UK. If you are poor and you need housing, government will subsidise your rent to make sure that you live in a decent house,” he said.

The NIA Chairman said that government had to remove all the difficulties being encountered by people in accessing land for mass housing schemes to work.

“Scraping the Land Use Act of 1978 will enable people to have easier access to land and build,” Lewis said.

He urged the government to always consult professionals for necessary advice on the sector.

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Across The Nation Interim sole Administrator of Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau, Mrs Vou Dido (R), presenting relief materials on behalf of Plateau Government to a victim of Nasarawa State Communal Clash, Mrs Jemila Lawal (L), during the distribution of relief materials to the victims in Jos recently. With them are officials of Plateau Emergency Agency.

Abuja Residents Call For Proper Handling Of Waste ABUJA - Some residents of the FCT have called for proper handling of refuse by waste disposal contractors.

In separate interviews with newsmen in Abuja, some of the residents said waste evacuation should be done in a way to enhance environmental cleanliness.

Mr. Ola Goke, an estate agent, expressed concern over the manner in which contractors littered refuse while evacuation was ongoing. “ The whole idea of evacuating refuse is to keep the environment clean but what some of these contractors do is to handle refuse haphazardly,’’ he said.

Another resident, Mrs. Mabel Mba, a teacher, noted that some residents did not obey the rules because they littered their refuse without dumping it in the dustbin.

discussed at the forum would inform policy formulation, policy review and programme implementation.

Members of the conference secretariat include New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society, World AIDS Campaign, Institute of Public Health and National Agency for the Control of AIDS.

“ Now we can say that we are improving; because for those of us in the city centre, our refuse can be collected right from the front of our homes. “ The manner in which we dump our refuse is one thing and the way those collecting them do it is another; I think the authorities in charge of the environment should monitor this refuse collection,” she said.

Mrs. Helen Olabisi, an environmentalist believes that to keep the environment clean, there must be some measure of supervision to ensure proper evacuation of refuse.

“Our society is such that people are not moved by what goes around them; for example the climate change issue — people seem not to know that their activities are the single cause of this change.

“I suggest that proper measures are put in place to enforce discipline and compliance to environmental rules, she said.

In his reaction, Mr. Joe Ukiro, Head of Information Department, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), said that such acts were not supported by the board.

Commission (FRSC) has said that one person was found dead while 22 others sustained various degrees of injuries in a lone accident on the Abeokuta-Lagos expressway.

The FRSC Unit Commander in Ogun, Mr. Fatai Bakare, told newsmen in Ewekoro that the accident occurred at about 11 a.m around Awowo village in Ewekoro Local Government Area.

Bakare said the accident involved a white Toyota Hiace passenger bus marked (Lagos) BDG 307 AG. He said the occupants of the

bus were family members and friends who were heading for a wedding at Ojota in Lagos State.

The commander, who attributed the cause of the auto crash to over-speeding, explained that the driver lost control and it somersaulted. ‘’One female occupant died while 14 other females and eight male occupants sustained varying degrees of injuries,” he said.

Bakare said the corpse of the female victim had been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital in Ifo while the injured persons were also receiving treatment at the hospital.

Group To Hold HIV Prevention Forum Nov

ABUJA - The Coordinator of the New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society, Dr Morenike Ukpong, said the organisation would host a biomedical HIV prevention forum in Nigeria next month.

Ukpong told newsmen in Abuja that the forum would create a platform for intellectual discussion and sharing of perspectives.

“The 2013 Biomedical HIV Prevention Forum (BHPF) is the first in a series of conferences on biomedical HIV Prevention research and development to be held in Africa.

“It promises to be an exciting and memorable

experience. It shall serve as a forum for HIV prevention researchers, programme managers, policy makers and stakeholders in and around Africa.

“Participants will meet and discuss with regional and international researchers on investments in research and some recent ground breaking findings in the field.’’

According to her, the forum will provide a platform for intellectual discussions and sharing of perspectives among stakeholders in the field, which can influence HIV prevention research and development in Africa.

Ukpong said the forum would help in identifying research gaps that could feed into the biomedical HIV prevention agenda as well as identify how best to translate research findings into policies and programmes.

“Evidences from results of HIV prevention trials between 2010 and 2012 point to the blurring of the divide between AIDS treatment and HIV prevention.

“Treatment is as good a prevention measure as prevention is as tool for HIV treatment. “ Within this evolving trend

Opposition Parties Boycott Ebonyi LG Polls ABAKALIKI - Saturday’s local government election in Ebonyi suffered a boycott by opposition parties as only the ruling PDP presented candidates for the exercise.

The other political parties declined to field candidates for the elections, saying there was no level playing ground.

According to reports, that the situation left only the PDP to contest for the 13 chairmanship positions and 215 councillorship seats.

The election was the fourth to be conducted since 2001 in the state.

It was also observed that materials for the election were distributed as early as 8 a.m. in all the local government headquarters.

Similarly, accreditation of voters in the polling units in Ebonyi North senatorial zone started at 9 a.m. and ended at noon while voting took place shortly after.

At Ohaukwu local government, top government officials conducted the people and helped to supervise the distribution of the materials.

The Commissioner for Education, Mr. Chibueze Ndubuisi-Agbo, described the exercise as orderly and calm.

The PDP chairmanship candidate in the local

government, Mrs. Chinyere Elom, said the distribution of the materials had been peaceful and smooth.

The presiding officer for Effium Ward II, Peter Idika, decried the low-turnout of voters for the election.

“We received the materials for the election on time yet the people are nowhere to be seen.

They just trickle in and leisurely.

This attitude does not portend enthusiasm on the part of the electorate,’’ he said.

At the Abakaliki Local Government Area, the situation was the same as voter apathy characterised the exercise.

Mr. James Omeri, the electoral officer for the area, told newsmen that the distribution of materials started early.

At Alike Square, the presiding officer, Gloria Morgan, said accreditation of voters had not started as at 10 a.m. because they had not started showing up.

At 11 a.m., no single voter had visited the polling units in Izzi Local Government Area just as there was no security presence.

Also at Igbeagu Ward I, the presiding officer, Lawrence Mbeke, also told newsmen that only one potential voter had been accredited by 11:15 a.m. while there was only a few voters at the TTC polling unit.

Mr. Andrew Nkwuda, a

former vice chairman of the local government, said he appreciated the smooth arrangement of the electoral process.

When newsmen visited Ebonyi local government, the situation was different as voters turned did in large numbers to cast their votes.

is the growing interest in pursuing a cure for HIV, something not dreamt about years before now.”

According to Ukpong, while the world drives the HIV cure agenda, many countries in Africa, Nigeria inclusive, lag behind in addressing the HIV epidemic.

She said that access to HIV prevention and treatment tools remained challenging as well as the fight to eliminate mother-tochild transmission.

“There is the need to sustain discussions on best practices and lessons learnt from behavioural change communication (BCC), prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) as HIV prevention tool.

“This forum will help stakeholders evaluate successes, gaps and identify ways for sustainable and integrated country led HIV prevention response.’’

Ukpong said the forum would also serve as a discussion platform for stakeholders engaged in HIV prevention and control programmes.

She said that synthesis of HIV prevention issues to be

I Die, 22 Injured In EWEKORO (OGUN) Autocrash The Federal Road Safety

Relief materials for distribution to victims of Nasarawa State Communal Clash taking refuge in Qua’a Pan Local Government Area of Plateau recently.

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Across The Nation Expert Urges Farmers To Adopt Organic Farming JOS- An agricultural expert, Mr Samuel Ayodele, said organic farming was less expensive and could increase the level of production by 80 per cent.

Ayodele, a consultant with Zenith Energy Enzymes Ltd., a manufacturer of agro-allied products told newsmen in Jos that crops produced using organic fertiliser enjoyed greater patronage in the market than those cultivated with inorganic fertiliser.

According to him, organic farming relied on ecosystem management, including the use of pesticides and fertilisers derived from plant, animal wastes and minerals.

“Research has shown that inorganic fertiliser has harmful effects on crops, whereas organic fertiliser are less harmful and environmentally friendly.

“Organic fertiliser which is very affordable, helps to boost the nutrients on the ground, and therefore, allows the soil to absorb them, which makes the production of crops very high and does not waste much time.

“For instance Planting maize with chemical fertiliser takes up to four months for the maize to be ready for harvest, while with organic fertiliser, you will harvest your maize in two months.”

He noted that most developed nations were promoting organic farming.

“In the U.S. for instance, organic farming is rapidly one of the fastest growing sectors of their economy today.

“In 2006, organic food sales reached 16.7 billion dollars, reflecting an increase of seven billion dollars as against the 2001 figure.

Japan and Europe are also recording tremendous improvements in that regard.

“Today, in most developed countries, food produced organically are specially labelled and sold at higher prices.”

Ayodele called on Nigerian farmers to adopt organic farming.

The expert also said that the less time, energy and resources farmers invested, the more qualitative products would be realised to make farming at all levels profitable.

He called on the government to encourage farmers to go into organic farming to attract more Nigerians into farming.

L-R: Assistant Comptroller-General of customs, Mr Austine Nwosu; representative of the Chief of Defence staff, Commodore Isaac Kilik; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Fatima Bamidele and Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mr David Daradang, during the decoration of Newly promoted comptrollers of Immigration in Abija recently.

Kabo Airlines Finally Transports Intending intending pilgrims from Kebbi Pilgrims are among those aboard the

NDLEA Discovers New Mode Of Smuggling Kolanuts GOMBE - The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Gombe State has discovered a new method used by pilgrims to smuggle kolanuts to Saudi Arabia, the Commandant, Mr Aliyu Adole, said.

Adole told newsmen in Gombe that the method was discovered during screening of pilgrims at the Gombe International Airport, Lawanti.

He said “what interested me was not the quantity of the kolanuts, but the mode of concealment.

“We found that about 200 pieces of kolanuts were concealed inside bread.’’

The commandant added that such pilgrims, however, went through all the screening procedures with the product on them and were not caught until they got to the NDLEA checkpoint.

He appealed to those nursing such ambition to stop it as taking kolanuts to the Holy Land is prohibited.

He added that “the agency will continue to enlighten pilgrims on the dangers of smuggling kolanuts and other drugs to Saudi Arabia as it attracts stiff penalties.’’

Newly promoted comptrollers of immigration in Abuja recently.

SOKOTO- The 400 intending pilgrims from Kano, who were aboard the ill-fated Kabo Airline’s Boeing 747 aircraft at the Sultan Abubakar International Airport, Sokoto, have been finally transported to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Madu Bukar, the Acting Manager of the Sokoto airport, told newsmen in Sokoto that the intending pilgrims departed for Saudi Arabia around 5 p.m. at the weekend.

Bukar said that another aircraft, with registration number 200-3, took off from the airport with 537 intending pilgrims Governor. Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi, his wife, Zainab, and 48

18 Persons Die In Boat Mishap MINNA- The Niger Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) says 18 persons died in a boat mishap which occurred on River Niger at Kokoli village, Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger.

Alhaji Mohammed Shaba, the Special Adviser to the Governor in charge of NSEMA, made this known to newsmen in a telephone interview in Minna.

Shaba said that the boat was conveying 80 traders and their children to Kokoli village after the

weekly market in Ulakami village when the accident occurred around 4 p.m.

“The boat reportedly broke into two parts at the middle of the river and the boat, with all the passengers and its driver, sank.

“The most touching aspect of the tragic story was that a family lost six daughters in the accident.

“We have so far recorded the death of 16 women and two men; we have recovered 15 bodies from the river and they have been

given mass burial by the river bank,’’ he said.

Shaba said that efforts are underway to recover the three remaining bodies from the river with the help of local swimmers in the area,” he said.

He, however, said that the state government was planning to deal with the recurrence of such tragedies via the enforcement of the regulation on the use of life jackets by boat and ferry passengers.

Emirs Harp On Peaceful Co-Existence GOMBE - The Emirs of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, and Pindiga, Alhaji Mohammed Seyoji-Ahmed, have stressed the need for peaceful co-existence to ensure national development.

The emirs made the remark when Seyoji-Ahmed paid homage to Abubakar in Gombe.

Seyoji-Ahmed thanked Abubakar for his fatherly role in the state and the country in general.

He said that traditional, religious and community leaders from Pindiga were in Abubakar’s palace to appreciate him for his support and assistance to Pindiga

emirate.

“We are here to show our 100 per cent support and loyalty to you”, he said.

Seyoji-Ahmed called on the people to ensure peace and unity among themselves for the development of the state and country in general.

He prayed for long life and prosperity for Abubakar and Gombe emirate.

Earlier, the Iyan Pindiga, Alhaji Shehu Hadi-Ahmed, said Pindiga emirate was grateful for the support and cooperation shown

by Abubakar which led to the reinstatement of Seyoji-Ahmed.

“We are paying this homage to you as the leader and Chairman of the State Council of Emirs and Traditional Rulers,” HadiAhmed, also Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, said.

Responding, the emir of Gombe said he and the emir of Pindiga had a long history of cordial relationship and mutual co-existence.

Abubakar congratulated Seyoji-Ahmed for returning to his throne as the emir of Pindiga.

“You were removed for no just cause; and it is God’s will that you return to your throne.

“The government will also ensure strict adherence to the rules and regulations governing water transportation,’’ he added.

Mr Umar Ibrahim, one of the persons who survived the boat accident, told NAN that they were in the middle of the 10-km journey when the boat suddenly broke into two parts.

Ibrahim said that he was able to rescue about 10 women and children, adding that his efforts had gone a long way to reduce the casualty figure.

Malam Mohammed Garba, the Village Head of Kokoli, confirmed that the village lost 18 women and children, adding that they could not swim a long distance after the accident.

He said that a total of 58 passengers had so far been rescued by local swimmers.

Mr Richard Oguche, the Police Public Relations Officer in Niger, confirmed the accident, adding that the police had dispatched its Marine personnel to the area to assist in the recovery of the remaining passengers who drowned.

It would be recalls that a similar incident happened in the same locality a week ago.

aircraft.

It will be recalled that the illfated Kabo Airlines’ plane developed a fault on Friday and another Boeing 747 aircraft flew from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to convey the intending pilgrims.

Meanwhile, the last batch of intending pilgrims from Sokoto State has been transported from the airport by Max Airlines.

The Boeing 747 aircraft left the Sokoto airport around 4 p.m. on Saturday with 484 prospective pilgrims from Sokoto South Local Government Area and some state officials.

Bishop Kukah Calls For Proper Parenting SOKOTO- Bishop Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, has called on parents to intensify the teachings of their children about sound morals, as part of efforts to promote a better society.

The cleric made the call in Sokoto at “The Children’s Day with the Bishop’’ Forum, organised by the Sokoto Catholic Diocese.

He stressed that children must have good moral upbringing at a very early age, so as to enable them to be useful to themselves, their parents, the nation and humanity in general.

“It is only by so doing that the children would be responsible for the common good of the society, while contributing positively to nation building,’’ he said.

Kukah also called on the children to remain steadfast in prayers for God’s guidance and for the country to overcome its current security challenges.

He urged all the citizens to pray for God’s intervention in the nation’s affairs, adding: “With God on our side, we shall overcome all our difficulties.’’

THE NIGERIAN

10

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Kogi To Spend N1bn On Roads LOKOJAKogi Government has commenced the construction of three roads at the cost of about N1 billion.

A statement released on Sunday in Lokoja said the roads include the Okura Township roads in Dekina Local Government, to cost N263 million, the OjokuOkaba and Odagbe-Otukpa roads in Ankpa, awarded at the cost of N713 million.

The statement signed by Mr Jacob Edi, the Special Adviser to Gov. Idris Wada on Media, said the projects would be completed within six months.

It said that Ojoku-Okaba

News

road was initiated to facilitate easy evacuation of coal from the Okaba Coal Mining Factory.

The statement urged the contractors to executive the projects on time and within specification.

Meanwhile, Governor Wada has inaugurated the Akatapia electrification project in Ankpa Local Government, urging the community to protect the facility.

According to the statement, the governor also inspected an ongoing Erosion Control Project at Ogane-Aji in Ayangba.

AIG Zone 4, Mr Michael Zuokumor (L), with Commissioner of Police, Plateau, Mr Chris Olakpe, during the AIG’s visit to Police Headquarters in Jos recently

L-R: Secretary, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees ( A U P C T R E ) , Corporate Affairs Commission (CAZC) Chapter, Ibrahim Kirfi: Vice Chairman, Bivan Stephen; Treasurer, Shamsuddeen Umar aznd information officer, Mustapha Ibrahim, addressing newsmen over CAC workers’ indefinate strike in Abuja recently

National Conference Will Not Disintegrate Nigeria -Lawmakers LAGOS- A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Rotimi Olowo, has said that the country will not break up as a result of the National Conference.

Olowo, Chairman, House Committee on Works and Infrastructure, made the assertion in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

He said: “Nigeria will not disintegrate as a result of the national conference; such pronouncement is misleading and incorrect.

“We have become united through inter-tribal marriages, and we are connected with one

LASG Tasks Public On Precautionary Measures

LAGOS- Lagos State Government advised the public to maintain adequate personal and environmental hygiene as part of precautionary measures to prevent outbreak of cholera epidemic in the state.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, made the call in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

The statement noted the need to ensure high standard of hygiene at all times, following suspected outbreak of the epidemic in some states in the country.

It explained that cholera was an acute contagious bacterial disease characterised by severe form of sudden painless watery stools, nausea and profuse vomiting.

The statement said that cholera was acquired through the ingestion of an infective dose of contaminated food or water that could be transmitted through many mechanisms like direct or indirect contamination of water or food by faeces of infected individuals.

“Cholera should be suspected in any person who develops diarrhea with or without vomiting, weakness, restlessness,

irritability, dry mucous membrane, low blood pressure, leg cramps and excessive loss of body fluids (dehydration).

“Or any person who dies from frequent stooling. Adequate measures should be taken in order to reduce the risk of contracting the disease,’’ it said.

The statement urged members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspected case — dead or alive, to the nearest health facility and the directorate of disease control in the state Ministry of Health.

It listed measures to be taken to include, washing of hands with soaps and water frequently and thoroughly and boiling of water before drinking.

According the statement, other important measure include, washing of fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating, cooking of food thoroughly, disposing of waste material properly, and keeping of water containers clean.

It warned that in the case of suspected cholera, members of the public should prepare oral rehydration solution and thereafter visit the nearest hospital.

It advised the public to ensure they avoided possible back flow connection between water and the sewage system.

The statement added that government had already evolved an inter-ministerial collaboration involving the Ministries of Health, Environment and Information, Lagos State Waste Management Authority and Lagos State Water Corporation.

It said that health and environmental status assessment of prone communities was ongoing.

According to the statement, emergency preparedness and response (EPR) committees at local governments and state levels had been sensitised on preparedness and response to cholera outbreak.

“Government has also purchased and distributed to all health centres in LGs, drugs for the management of the disease.

“Healthcare workers in both public and private hospitals are also being sensitised on surveillance and management of

cholera.

“Fact sheet and information, enlightenment and communication materials on disease have been distributed to all health workers in public hospitals.

“Health education and public

enlightenment on personal and environmental hygiene in epidemic prone communities have also been intensified,’’ it noted.

The statement urged health workers to be on the alert and report suspected outbreak of more than five cases in their facilities to the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

Carrington To Deliver UNILORIN Convocation Lecture ILORIN- A former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Walter Carrington, will deliver this year’s convocation lecture of the University of Ilorin.

A statement issued in Ilorin by the university’s spokesman, Mr Kunle Akogun, said the convocation lecture is entitled: “ On the Dawn of Nigeria’s Second Century: Challenges of a new Generation.’’

The lecture, billed for the university’s main auditorium, would hold on October 21.

Akogun said Carrington’s lecture was part of programmes organised for the university’s 29th Founder’s Day and Convocation ceremonies holding

between October 14 and October 23.

He also said President Goodluck Jonathan would inaugurate some infrastructural projects on October 22.

The spokesman further said a total of 6,713 students would receive first degrees and postgraduate degrees as well as Diplomas in various disciplines.

Out of this number, he said 5,063 had first degrees, 756 Masters Degrees, 95 PhDs and 84 Postgraduate Diplomas.

He also said 41 of the graduating students had First Class degrees while a total of 1,088 had Second Class Upper degrees.

another in one way or the other, so, the national dialogue will not split us,’’ he said.

According to Olowo (APCShomolu I), if the conference is properly handled it will bring about justice, development and fairness to the citizenry.

The lawmaker added that people must be well represented in order to carry them along to move the country forward.

He urged the advisory committee to see every Nigerian as one and not to treat any tribe or ethnic group as minority.

“Being a politician, a retired military general, doesn’t matter and the issue of minority or majority should be avoided, everybody should be subjected to the same opportunity,’’ he said.

Another lawmaker, Mr Bisi Yusuf (APC-Alimosho I), also told newsmen that the intention of the national conference was not for the country to break up but to restructure it.

Yusuf, who is Chairman, House Committee on Transportation, Commerce and Industry, said the conference should be handled in such a way that it would serve its purpose.

He stressed the need to include all sector in the conference, and that people must be given the opportunity to choose their representatives.

“We are all Nigerians; groups must have a stake and be given equal right at the conference, be it military, traders, politicians and civil societies.

“Politicians are also human being, they must also partake in the conference, but not as a party member,’’ he said.

The spokesman, Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said the North was not afraid of the break-up of Nigeria if its citizens vote for it at the conference

THE NIGERIAN

11

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

NSE DAILY ACTIVITY SUMMARY (EQUITIES) AS AT YESTERDAY (07/10/13) Stocks

Open

Close

Change

Deals

Units

Value

LIVESTOCK

3.9

3.9

0

0

345,200

1,336,246.00

ABBEYBDS

1.49

1.49

0

0

22,200

31,524.00

MANSARD

2.13

2.15

0.02

0

758,231

1,581,787.44

ABCTRANS

0.81

0.83

0.02

0

232,748

193,483.84

MAYBAKER

2.2

2.31

0.11

0

1,155,021

2,614,275.45

ACCESS

10.61

10.6

-0.01

0

13,576,430

141,922,315.50

MBENEFIT

0.5

0.5

0

0

5,000

2,500.00

AFRIPRUD

1.87

1.87

0

0

24,197

45,763.84

MOBIL

110.05

110.05

0

0

8,000

853,287.45

AFROMEDIA

0.5

0.5

0

0

5,200

2,600.00

NAHCO

6.3

6.3

0

0

139,019

859,350.02

AIICO

0.78

0.8

0.02

0

2,915,714

2,318,952.32

NASCON

12.09

12.09

0

0

148,651

1,812,916.06

AIRSERVICE

3.82

3.63

-0.19

0

645,100

2,341,713.00

NB

173

170.23

-2.77

0

624,315

106,852,206.20

ASHAKACEM

20

20.55

0.55

0

200,985

4,059,184.87

NCR

16.83

16.83

0

0

25

399.75

ASOSAVINGS

0.5

0.5

0

0

49,580

24,790.00

NEIMETH

1.2

1.2

0

0

25,674

29,508.30

BECOPETRO

0.5

0.5

0

0

100,000

50,000.00

NEM

0.7

0.67

-0.03

0

838,730

568,528.35

BERGER

8.7

8.7

0

0

43,125

357,543.75

NESTLE

998.5

1002

3.5

0

201,057

200,921,878.50

BETAGLAS

12.46

12.46

0

0

4,490

53,277.50

NPFMCRFBK

0.8

0.82

0.02

0

500,000

410,000.00

BOCGAS

6.5

6.35

-0.15

0

59,250

377,633.52

OANDO

10.5

10.5

0

0

2,625,195

27,413,841.01

CADBURY

48

49.95

1.95

0

184,906

9,086,579.77

OASISINS

0.5

0.5

0

0

180

90

CAP

37

37

0

0

191,632

7,434,184.32

OKOMUOIL

42.15

42.3

0.15

0

311,201

13,268,173.61

CAPHOTEL

4.55

4.55

0

0

60

259.8

PAINTCOM

2.3

2.2

-0.1

0

163,632

359,685.08

CCNN

9

9

0

0

217,848

1,959,992.44

PORTPAINT

5.6

5.32

-0.28

0

66,707

354,881.24

CHAMS

0.5

0.5

0

0

4,000

2,000.00

PRESCO

34.7

34

-0.7

0

151,417

5,141,880.61

CONOIL

28.8

28.8

0

0

44,580

1,232,557.07

PRESTIGE

0.57

0.57

0

0

31,189

17,153.95

CONTINSURE

1.2

1.2

0

0

96,000

111,510.00

PZ

38

37.01

-0.99

0

388,368

14,456,280.38

CORNERST

0.5

0.5

0

0

249,300

125,450.00

REDSTAREX

4.49

4.49

0

0

6,940

29,813.80

COSTAIN

1.13

1.18

0.05

0

270,819

311,367.88

ROYALEX

0.51

0.51

0

0

574

292.24

COURTVILLE

0.61

0.63

0.02

0

434,400

264,228.00

RTBRISCOE

1.37

1.37

0

0

134,565

182,953.44

CUSTODYINS

1.5

1.57

0.07

0

5,875,295

9,097,192.02

SKYEBANK

4.15

4.18

0.03

0

4,144,392

17,219,651.92

CUTIX

1.9

1.86

-0.04

0

301,058

560,386.55

STACO

0.5

0.5

0

0

1,125

562.5

DANGCEM

190

190

0

0

60,800

11,545,592.95

STANBIC

19.2

19.2

0

0

712,370

13,704,680.40

DANGFLOUR

9.05

9.05

0

0

319,884

2,896,161.20

STARCOMMS

0.5

0.5

0

0

71,515

35,757.50

DANGSUGAR

11.3

11.7

0.4

0

3,360,686

38,747,529.80

STERLNBANK

2.25

2.3

0.05

0

4,071,039

9,224,949.36

DIAMONDBNK

6.21

6.3

0.09

0

4,143,078

25,945,120.00

TOTAL

157

157

0

0

380,111

59,669,796.95

DNMEYER

1.9

1.9

0

0

6,632

12,003.92

TRANSCORP

1.85

1.82

-0.03

0

69,206,889

128,682,763.00

ETERNA

2.76

2.76

0

0

71,838

204,859.60

TRANSEXPR

1.26

1.32

0.06

0

54,525

71,837.25

ETI

13.61

13.56

-0.05

0

5,990,234

81,431,769.93

UAC-PROP

15.8

15.8

0

0

10,910

172,844.23

EVANSMED

3.45

3.45

0

0

4,000

13,120.00

UACN

61.2

61.2

0

0

869,156

53,015,353.95

FBNH

16.56

16.5

-0.06

0

5,660,589

93,404,963.42

UBA

7.45

7.3

-0.15

0

10,889,874

79,815,923.42

FCMB

3.82

3.8

-0.02

0

10,960,402

41,661,870.60

UBCAP

1.5

1.45

-0.05

0

1,276,954

1,903,498.54

FIDELITYBK

2.68

2.78

0.1

0

9,585,834

26,073,009.65

UBN

10.21

10.42

0.21

0

640,865

6,618,993.94

FIDSON

2.06

1.96

-0.1

0

1,285,100

2,542,518.00

UNILEVER

61.01

61.01

0

0

230,894

13,990,475.11

FLOURMILL

83

80

-3

0

684,494

54,663,631.01

UNITYBNK

0.56

0.57

0.01

0

13,942,315

7,903,859.88

FO

41.34

43.4

2.06

0

324,472

13,840,079.80

UNITYKAP

0.5

0.5

0

0

280

140

FTNCOCOA

0.5

0.5

0

0

10,100

5,050.00

UPL

3.99

3.99

0

0

87,375

347,618.57

GLAXOSMITH

64

64.05

0.05

0

311,205

19,936,696.17

UTC

0.61

0.64

0.03

0

371,750

237,810.00

GUARANTY

25.6

25.4

-0.2

0

13,669,410

347,846,743.70

VANLEER

12.68

12.68

0

0

200

2,410.00

GUINNESS

249.64

249.64

0

0

41,019

10,065,548.26

VITAFOAM

4.08

4.05

-0.03

0

282,349

1,149,154.42

HMARKINS

0.5

0.5

0

0

50,000,000

25,000,000.00

WAPCO

99

98.5

-0.5

0

21,108,593

2,079,166,625.00

HONYFLOUR

2.95

2.97

0.02

0

542,293

1,618,790.04

WAPIC

0.85

0.88

0.03

0

15,597,816

13,420,359.96

IHS

2.81

2.81

0

0

22,300

64,425.00

WEMABANK

1.07

1.12

0.05

0

9,941,950

11,129,984.00

IKEJAHOTEL

0.8

0.78

-0.02

0

88,055

68,600.90

ZENITHBANK

20.18

20.2

0.02

0

12,377,086

250,007,910.40

INTBREW

19.89

19.99

0.1

0

341,273

6,752,148.75

INTENEGINS

0.71

0.68

-0.03

0

660,694

454,794.04

IPWA

0.96

0.96

0

0

50,000

46,000.00

JAPAULOIL

0.5

0.5

0

0

402,066

201,033.00

JBERGER

78.5

77.85

-0.65

0

296,425

22,710,681.22

JOHNHOLT

1.14

1.14

0

0

5,013

5,685.97

LEARNAFRCA

1.86

1.78

-0.08

0

179,333

322,959.09

TOP 10 GAINERS Stock NESTLE FO CADBURY ASHAKACEM DANGSUGAR UBN OKOMUOIL MAYBAKER FIDELITYBK INTBREW

Close 1002 43.4 49.95 20.55 11.7 10.42 42.3 2.31 2.78 19.99

TOP TOP 10 10 LOSERS GAINERS Gain

Stock

3.5 2.06 1.95 0.55 0.4 0.21 0.15 0.11 0.1 0.1

FLOURMILL NB PZ PRESCO JBERGER WAPCO PORTPAINT GUARANTY AIRSERVICE BOCGAS

Close

Loss

80 170.23 37.01 34 77.85 98.5 5.32 25.4 3.63 6.35

-3 -2.77 -0.99 -0.7 -0.65 -0.5 -0.28 -0.2 -0.19 -0.15

THE NIGERIAN

12

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

ON the occasion of the 53rd independence anniversary of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan in a nationwide broadcast announced an Advisory Committee mandated to establish modalities for a national conference aimed at resolving issues that currently cause friction in the polity.

PRESIDENT Jonathan said that the committee, which will have Dr. Femi Okurounmu as its Chairperson and Dr. Akilu Indabawa as its Secretary. While inaugurating the 13-member committee yesterday at the State House, President Goodluck Jonathan told the team to complete their assignment within six weeks.

WE welcome the decision of President Jonathan since it takes into cognizance suggestions over the years by well-meaning Nigerians on the need for a national dialogue on the future of our beloved country. There is consensus that there has been discontentment in the land. The discontentment and alienation has fueled extremism, apathy and even predictions of catastrophe for the country. This means that, if one united Nigeria is still cherished, the bases for such unity must be negotiated and agreed upon.

WE must be quick to point that the conference must not be the soap opera that was organized by former President Olusegun Obasanjo or Abdulsalami Abubakar which select friends and well wishers were the attendees.

WE are also in agreement with Mr. President that “when there are issues that constantly stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss.” We are also glad that the Senate President, David Mark who is well known opponent of a national conference with the argument that “there cannot be a sovereign within a sovereign,” was the harbinger of the President Jonathan’s announcement. Mark,

THE NIGERIAN

Task Before CONFAB Advisory Committee while welcoming senators from their seven-week annual vacation, said “every matter about the union of ethnic groups that made up the country should be opened to discussion but warned that the dismemberment of the country should be a no-go area for the conference.”

IN setting clear agenda for the Advisory committee which will be inaugurated by Mr. President next week, we disagree with Senate President and all those thinking along with him on “no-go areas.” There should be no restrictions as to the issues to be discussed by the conference.

We believe that the first item that should be on the agenda is whether Nigeria should remain or not. Nigerians must be in agreement to remain as one indivisible entity. Nobody can force a union that so many have questioned in the country on the people. That is the beginning point of discussions. If Nigerians from various backgrounds decide to go their separate ways peacefully, no one should halt them. Professor Ango Abdulahi, Spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum has said the north is not afraid of a break up. Chief Uwazuruike of MASSOB has offered their willingness to go their own way. The people of Oduduwa, have equally aired their position. Nigerians know the benefits of our diversity but we must agree as a people to continue with the union or not.

SECONDLY, if we agree to remain as one Nigeria, we must also look at the current structure if we are satisfied with the military balkanized country. Thirty six states, with only four viable is

not sustainable. The conference must review and agree on either a return to the 1963 constitution that provides for regional government or a reviewed structure of such, so that with or without crude oil, the regions can survive. We also recommend that the local government structure should be discussed. We cannot continue with military contrived states or whatever nomenclature the federating units may assume should determine how many local governments or counties they can sustainably put in place, perhaps through a plebiscite after the conference.

THIRDLY, we expect a loose federation if Nigeria is to remain one at the end of the day, whereby the regions or states will observe strictly the true fiscal federalism, producing and generating their incomes and paying an agreed percentage to the centre. We believe that for sustainable economic productivity and faster development, we must make the centre less attractive to avoid the “do or die” politics currently witnessed at the centre.

There should be devolution of powers to the federating regions or states to further make the centre less attractive.

FOURTHLY, parliamentary system of government is desirable for a country like Nigeria because, the presidential system of government is very expensive to maintain.

Nigeria has experimented this system in its early days post independence and could jolly well return to the arrangement.

LASTLY on expectations at the conference proper, Nigerians look forward to a new constitution at the end of the day if they agree to be one or a number of constitutions for the number of countries that may emerge.

We believe that if transparently and honestly executed, the planned conference would resolve once and for all the myriad of problems buffeting the Nigerian state.

THE NIGERIAN

13

(Continued from last week)

TRUE wealth, according to Biblical injunction, is more of a spiritual undertaking than anything material. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible’s view of heavenly wealth remains constant.

Christ in several analogies spoke about the vanity and banality of material possessions; about the stupidity in putting ones faith in such perishable items that cannot stand the test of time; about the foolishness in chasing after transient things that will not guarantee us a future of limitless enjoyment (Luke 12:15; 16:19-31; 18:22).

The Eden debacle is one of the most graphic expositions on the emptiness of material wealth in juxtaposition with its spiritual equivalent. God created man in His image and likeness, equipping him with all that was required to make his life on this earthly plain successful and fulfilling (Gen 1:26-27; 29,30; 2:8,9). Man was spiritually empowered by the Almighty to the extent that nothing was impossible for him to achieve. He was free from all the challenges associated with earthly pursuits (Genesis 1:28-30).

That was before he fell from his exalted heights.

When man disobeyed his maker by siding with the rebellious “sun of the morning”, Lucifer, in his insurgency against the Most High God, he instantly became poverty-stricken. He fell from the pinnacle of his first estate into the depths of penury, pain, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, helplessness, and death. In his former station, he had all he needed at his finger tips, while in his decadent state, he had to struggle to make a living; now had to scratch a living out of an earth that had been created for his enjoyment; now had to work hard to eke out those things that were initially his for the asking – material possessions that were originally his before he blew it all by taking those false steps of disobedience that led him off course.

Man’s fall from his Olympian heights was of both spiritual and physical significance.

Spiritually, man died; the kind of death that prevented him from having a relationship with Jehovah, his life source; a relationship that had kept him supplied with all his needs; a relationship that had kept him rich and wealthy.

Physically, man’s disobedience opened him up

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

to the challenges he currently grapples with; challenges that are fitting consequences of his betrayal of the trust reposed in him by a loving, gracious Father (Genesis 3: 17-19).

Let it not be misconstrued that I am against material prosperity. Far from it, my chief grouse is not with material wealth per se, but against its pursuit at the expense of the one true

seek to always do God’s divine will during our brief stints on earth, we consequently pile up future heavenly riches that will last us for eternity. As true children of God, we must not focus on trifling empty pursuits that are strictly directed at satiating our sinful canal appetites, for it is written that “man must not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from

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True Wealth According To Christ (2)

wealth that matters most; the kind of wealth that should form the primary basis of a true Christian’s relationship with God, and the chief parameter on which we shall be judged “guilty or not guilty” on the last day; spiritual wealth against which our physical accoutrements pail into insignificance; the kind of wealth that is not subject to the vagaries of the elements or the passage of time; the kind of wealth that leads to everlasting peace, tranquility, contentment and immortality (Matthew 6:19; 6:20-21; Luke 18: 22). That is the kind of wealth I am talking about.

The children of God are not supposed to surfer on this earth and in the hereafter, for Christ has won our liberation from the dire consequences of the mortal sins of our first parents – Adam and Eve – which initially condemned us to death (Romans 5:12) in its tripartite dimensions: in our relationship with God (Isaiah 59:2; Colossians 1:21; Habakkuk 1:13), in our bodily existence (Psalm 104:29), and to a future joy – the second death (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8).

It is that redemptive sacrifice of Christ that brings every true believer back into a new relationship with God – the source of true wealth, and the only one who ultimately determines those that are qualified to enjoy it to the fullest, when the time comes.

True Christianity produces true spiritual wealth; the kind of wealth that produces the fruits of love, patience, charity, tolerance, forgiveness, obedience, meekness et al. Any church where these spiritual fruits are in short display is not a safe haven for any wise, paradise-minded child of God. When we steadfastly

the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). When we adhere completely to the commandments of God pertaining to our earthly

expects to be taken seriously.

The subsisting ideas on this subject are not only misleading, but constitutes sacrileges against the pure standards of the Most High – anathemas that must be checked; purely human constructs; mercantilist

speaking, nothing! We stand to gain nothing if after enjoying all the material trappings of life, we end up in Hellfire – that place of everlasting torment – that place of real poverty; that state of emptiness that cannot be filled by anything material.

concentrated much of your time and energy serving two masters – God and Marmon (Luke 16:13). Promise to, from this day onwards, focus only on seeking his face always and obeying His commandments. Thank Him for answering your prayers.

conduct, we shall accordingly reap abundant wealth both here on earth and in the afterlife.

In these end times, the true church of Jesus Christ must revert to the strict teachings of the Bible on what constitutes true wealth, if it

inventions that have estranged the flock from the truth that material wealth does not guarantee us access to heaven or eternal life.“What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and losses his own soul (Mark 8:36)?” Biblically

Wherever you are right now, as you read this article, go down immediately on your knees and start asking God to forgive you for having been a two-faced Christian all these while; for having not been fully committed to serving him; for having

God bless you as you do this.

May the good Lord imbue us with the wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and grace to keep to the terms of His relationship with us, in Jesus name, Amen!

(CONCLUDED)

“Man’s fall from his Olympian heights was of both spiritual and physical significance. Spiritually, man died; the kind of death that prevented him from having a relationship with Jehovah, his life source; a relationship that had kept him supplied with all his needs; a relationship that had kept him rich and wealthy.”

THE NIGERIAN

14

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Nutritional Health And Dietetics EATING meat sabotages your cells promote aging along with heart damage and cancer. But some simple measures, including the way you cook meat, can help curb the damage.

produced five to eight times more HCAS than frying fish.

The most HCAS are found in fried bacon and not surprisingly, regularly eating fried bacon raises your risk of heart disease and cancer.

Tree radical monster make

With

O.C. Madu

mitochondria in heart muscle cells, triggering call death.

The mitochondria are the energy factories such destruction, Davis speculates, might be involved in cardiomyopathy, a characteristic disease of

often performed in meat such as bacon, needing no further bodily chemical reactions to make them potentially hazardous.

Brain cancer- researchers recently discovered that youngsters who ate hot dogs

aging in which heart tissue becomes inflamed and deteriorates often eventually, resulting in heart failure.

Nothing is more hazardous to your youth than attack on

once a week or more had twice the risk of brain humour compared with nonhot dog eating kids.

Moreover, youngsters eating the most other cured meats

cure the meat said researchers.

Colon cancer- eating processed meats, namely sausage, hiked colon cancer risk, according to a Dutch

the mitochondria. Such destruction of the cells mitochondria is thought to be the primary underlying causes of overall premature aging.

Danger in meat-another danger in meat, unrelated to fat, is the potential formation of nitrosamines chemicals that can cause virtually every type of cancer. Nitrosamines can form inside stomach after eating sodium nitrite in cured meats, such as ham, hot dogs, bologna, salami and other cold cuts and bacon. Further, nitrosamines are already

such as, ham, bacon and sausage had an 80 per cent higher risk of brain cancer.

Kids taking vitamins were less vulnerable to the brain cancer suggesting that the antioxidant vitamins countered free, radicals and carcinogens in cured meats.

Leukemia- hot dogs are tied to childhood leukemia, according to research, youngsters eating more than twelve hot dogs a month, had nearly ten times the risk of leukemia as kids who ate none. The most likely culprit is nitrite and nitrate used to

study of about thirty seven men and thirty seven women.

The researchers primarily blamed sausage’s curing agents.

The iron connection- meat is also high in iron, which can foster production of cell damaging free radicals in your body. Iron has been incriminated specifically in colon and breast cancer and heart disease.

Extra danger- fat and cholesterol in meat also, trigger free radicals that promote many aging diseases, including cancer, clogged arteries and inflammatory problems including, arthritis.

Defusing Meat’s ProAging Time-Bomb- counter with Antioxidants when you eat meat of any kind, be sure to eat plenty of high antioxidant foods, such as fruits, vegetables grains and tea at the same meal or around the same time. And

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Measures To Curb Damages Caused By Eating Meat

Research has shown that it is not just fat in meat and poultry that make them an aging threat. Meat has other hidden hazards that can steal your youth and vigour, and hasten the onset of major diseases associated with aging, namely cancer and heart disease.

But the good news is that if you do not want to give up meat entirely, you can dramatically, diminish meat generated attacks on cells, partially defusing the proaging damage.

When you cook meat, poultry and even fish to a much lesser extent, substances called HCAS (Heterocyclic amines) are created. These HCA’s are born of reactions with animal proteins during the browning process. But they are not on the surface of the meat. Thus, you cannot scrape off the char of a burger or barbecued chicken and be rid of them.

HCAS arise from heat induced reactions within the muscle and are actually embedded in cooked meat.

However, the temperature at which you cook meat makes a big difference.

Cooking such meats at high temperature as in frying, grilling, boiling and bar becuing produces loads of the nasty chemicals. Oven roasting and baking produce fewer HCAS and stewing, boiling poaching and microwaving generate virtually no HCAS. Research shows that fortunately, the danger is not nearly as great in cooked fish. One study found that frying chicken and beef

no mistake about it, HCAs are powerful mutagens that can stimulate free radicals and extensively, damage cells’ genetic material (DNA). In animals, HCAS cause colon, breast, pancreatic, liver and bladder cancer.

Some are “extraordinarily efficient and rapid at inducing liver cancer monkeys, our closet relatives, says researcher Dr. John Weishurger obviously stated that people who eat broiled and fried meats are more apt to develop colon cancer. HCAS may be partly responsible for breast cancer in women who eat meat, along with the typical American high-fat diet.

When fat was discontinued, one study found that women who ate meat-beef, real lamb, pork every day were still about twice as likely to develop breast cancer as women eating mostly fish and poultry, according to a study at New York University Medical Centre.

Women who ate 150g of lamb, pork or beef a day had twice the adds of colon cancer as women eating it less than once a month.

Therefore, primary targets are the colon, breast and pancreas.

HACS can also, attack the heart. After observing severe heart damage in monkey with liver cancer due to HCAS, Cindy Dewis and colleagues did some experiments. They found that certain HCAS destroy the

“Another danger in meat, unrelated to fat, is the potential formation of nitrosamines chemicals that can cause virtually every type of cancer. Nitrosamines can form inside stomach after eating sodium nitrite in cured meats, such as ham, hot dogs, bologna, salami and other cold cuts and bacon.”

take vitamin as insurance to keep blood levels of antioxidant high.

Studies show antioxidant vitamins C, E and A, carotene, selenium, glutathione and tea

compounds can help neutralize the formation of HCAS along with other cell destroying free fruits and vegetables and vitamin E also, block formation of nitrosamines so do garlic, green peppers, pineapple, carrots, strawberries and tomatoes.

The nitrosamine blocking antioxidants in fruits and vegetables are many including quercetin, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids as well as vitamin C, researchers have found.

Eat garlic- new studies have found that garlic not only can prevent formation of dreaded nitrosamines that can block the intact, nitrosamine molecule from becoming biologically activated and thus, dangerous to cells.

Remove fat, eat smaller portions of meats, making meat the centre piece of every meal is a good way to grow fast.

Thanks for reading.

THE NIGERIAN

15

ADDRESSING the nation on the occasion of Nigeria’s 53rd independence anniversary, President Goodluck Jonathan announced a 13-member advisory committee to work out details of a proposed national dialogue.

The committee which comprises eminent Nigerians is headed by Dr Femi Okurounmu. It includes Prof.

Ben Nwabueze, Prof. Funke Adebayo, Prof. George Obiozo, Sen. Khairat Gwadabe and Dr Abubakar Sadiq.

The committee has a seven-point mandate, including consultation with relevant stakeholders with a view to drawing up a feasible agenda for the proposed national dialogue.

It is also to make recommendations to government on the structure and modalities for the conference, and also recommend on representation of the various interest groups at the dialogue.

It is mandated to advice on a framework for the national dialogue, and provide a legal framework for the exercise.

Lending his support for sustenance of national unity, Jonathan said that Nigeria’s place on the world stage was strong and safe, adding that the nation had earned a place of dignity and respect.

“We must continue to build on this by remaining a nation and a people committed to ideals, the noblest humanitarian values, and the rule of law.

“I am an advocate of dialogue. When there are issues that stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss.

“In demonstration of my avowed belief in the positive power of dialogue in charting the way forward, I have decided to set up an advisory committee whose mandate is

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

to establish the modalities for a national dialogue or conference.’’

Jonathan’s proposed national dialogue, analysts say, was a timely intervention and one that demonstrated his response to the various calls by individuals and organisations for the way forward for the nation.

Calls for a national conference had often arisen in response to various issues plaguing the nation and raising questions over the continued existence of Nigeria as one and indivisible entity.

Amidst the calls for national conference to redefine the place of the various ethnic nationalities of Nigeria, some notable personalities opine that the sovereignty of the country must be a “no go’’ in any national dialogue.

Speaking recently, Gov. Babangida Aliyu told Senate President David Mark that Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable.

“The unity of Nigeria is extremely important. The strength of Nigeria is in our unity not in our division; so let us all work for the unity of this country.

However, many Nigerians are skeptical whether or not the National Assembly would allow for a national conference to forge a way forward for the nation.

Analysts feared that members of the National Assembly see themselves as the embodiment of Nigeria’s sovereign status, been the representatives of the electorate.

For Mark, the proposed national conference is a collective effort in nation building, adding that the National Assembly will not oppose it.

He, however, added a caveat, that resolutions of such a conference of ethnic nationalities convened under the auspices of the

Issues As Nigerians Await Another National Dialogue

government of the federation will carry tremendous weight but must have limitations.

“Such a conference, if and whenever convened, should have only few redlines, chief among which will be the dismemberment of the country.’’

Mark said that a constitutional conference, whether sovereign or not, was not a ‘magic wand’,

By CHIJIOKE OKORONKWO

“Despite the various challenges that we are still facing, I remain inspired by the fact that Nigerians continue to repose their faith in this country.

“I must commend that

Senate President, David Mark

President Goodluck Jonathan

noting that the task of nation building requires patience, honesty, sacrifice and massive investments in the future.

However, some governors of Nigeria’s federating states, leaders of thought and civil society groups, have at various times expressed their support for dialogue among the various stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos, congratulated Nigeria at 53, and urged them to do all they could to preserve the nation‘s unity and live peacefully with one another.

“Violence is not a part of our national life. It is not a part of our national fabric, and neither did it form a part of our noble and dignified struggle for independence from colonial masters.

Governor Theodore Orji

Anthony Sani, ACF National Publicity Secretary.

Many stakeholders and interest groups have also lent their support for the proposed national dialogue.

Dr Ukoha Ukiwo of the University of Port Harcourt, described the Federal Government’s decision on

spirit of resilience that propels us to always forge ahead in the face of all odds,” he said.

“Today as we gather to commemorate our 53rd independence anniversary, I think it is a good time to remind ourselves about the history of our independence and the cost and sacrifice that was made to secure it.’’

Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom shared the same view when he appealed to Nigerians to eschew violence and embrace peace, unity and oneness as a nation.

“I am an advocate of dialogue. When there are issues that stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss.”

whose Abia state was part of Nigeria’s secessionist Biafra, expressed optimism on the continued existence of Nigerians in spite of nation’s current internal challenges.

“Thank God that we have endured despite our conflicting individual and collective aspirations and we will continue to endure,’’ he said.

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), an umbrella body of leaders of thought in the north, said it will support any dialogue that will bring about the strengthening of the Nigeria project.

“The ACF has made it clear long ago that it is not opposed to any national dialogue that can calm nerves and bring about the strengthening of the Nigeria project.

“Provided that the dialogue will take the form of a sovereign national conference,’’ said Mr

the matter as a victory for Nigerians, saying it was an indication that government was listening to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

“In retrospect, government has admitted that the existing institutions for representation that we have seem not to be truly representing the interest of Nigerians and that Nigerians need another vehicle.

It is the views of most analysts that Nigerians welcomed President Jonathan’s proposed national dialogue. They, however, caution that for it to work and meet the aspirations of Nigerians, the exercise must be executed in the spirit of truth, honesty, equity and fairness to all sections of the country.

For them, this is a veritable platform to chart a new course for a viable, peaceful and united Nigeria.

THE NIGERIAN

16

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Perspective

Being A Paper presented by the Zonal Manager Edo State ADP Central Zone, Irrua, Deacon Olumese Mark during A OneDay Training on Snail Farming organised for EDO (YES) Staff posted to EDO ADP Irrua recently.

IT gives me great pleasure to be called upon to deliver an address to mark the Orientation Course of Newly admitted Pre-National Diploma (PreND) Students of Edo State College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi Campus.

Before discussing the subject matter “The importance of the Agricultural profession in the 21” century, with emphasis on Snail Farming”, let me on behalf of the Provost welcome you to this great institution of higher learning, while trusting God that you will discipline yourself both in Character and Learning to obtain a worthy Certificate at the end of your Education at this College.

AGRICULTURE AS A PROFESSION. The origin of Agriculture as a noble Profession can be traceable to the story in Genesis in the scriptures (Genesis Chapter 2 verse 8)I quote “Now the Lord God had planted a Garden in the east in Eden and there he put the man he had formed verse 15. And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Like any other Occupation, Agriculture is often regarded as a Business or Career or Profession whereby the trainees are expected to be thoroughly trained to equip them with the skills and knowledge required to make them self reliant, self employed or in some cases employers of labour in the

21st century.

WHAT IS A PROFESSION? In my own opinion, a Profession is any work of life that gives a person his or her means of livelihood.

WHY IS A G R I C U LT U R E REGARDED AS A PROFESSION? Recently, during the 9th matriculation ceremony held at Iguoriakhi campus of Edo State College of Agriculture on 6th March 2009, the Provost of the College (Chief Julius Oziegbe Obahayujie PhD) in his address pointed out that this College is in the business of training, research and general agricultural education. In other words, we are training professional agriculturists that are prepared to go into practical farming and not necessarily “White-collar-job” seekers.

On graduation, they should be able to access loans from either the Agricultural cooperative societies or Micro Finance Banks, to establish their farms or poultry ad thus become employers of labour.

To our youths who have just been admitted to this College you are to seize every opportunity to train in the different areas of specialization in agriculture for example, Crop Production, Animal Production, fisheries, forestry and wild life, Agricultural Economics and Extension etc. Bearing in mind that in this 21st Century where the rate of graduates unemployment from tertiary institutions in Nigeria is on the increase, that once you graduate after obtaining the O.N.D. certificate in General Agriculture, you should aspire to become art employer of labour rather than seeking for white-collar-job in government which are very scarce.

HINTS ON SNAIL FARMING M E D I C I N A L

Importance Of Agricu 21st Century With Em

IMPORTNACE OF SNAILS Research studies have confirmed the usefulness of snails in the treatment of some diseases of human beings as a result of certain substances found in snails.

Snail meat is low in sodium, fat and cholesterol but contains high amounts of protein, iron and calcium hence it is useful in the treatment of Arterioscierosis, Anaemia, Hypentension, High Blood pressure and other fat related ailments, Asthma and poor eye sight. It helps to reduce haemorrhoids and Constipation.

In traditional African medicine, snail meat is used in the preparation of concoctions for various cases such as reduction of labour pains and blood loss in pregnant women during delivery and preparation of love medicine to restore peace between husband and wife and among wives in polygamous houses. Various preparations are also made from snails and snail parts to restore virility and fertility and to cure small pox.

WHAT IS SNAIL FARMING? Snail farming simply means the art of rearing one’s own snail either in your backyard or on old tyres or concrete trench.

SOME ADVANTAGES OF REARING SNAILS. High potential for huge returns with low inputs to rear your snails. ii. High price of the meat in hotels and restaurants. iii. Cheap feeding and locally available feeding materials. iv. Regular availability of fresh snails throughout the year particularly during the

dry seasons. v. Easy handling of operations even by women and children. vi. Easy to combine with the normal schedule of services of a government worker. vii. Easy to combine with other farming activities. viii. Easy to operate without fear of injury from the snails. ix. Ensures adequate supply to satisfy the high local demand for fresh snails x. Brings additional income to the family. xi. Improves the health of the family. xii. Prevents the depletion and/or gradual extinction of the natural snail population.

COMMON BREEDS OF SNAILS TO REAR i. Archachatina marginata ii. Achatina achatina Archachitna marginata: Has bulbous shell with brown stripes and a wide apex. The foot is usually brown to black in colour.

Species with white coloured foot exits.

Achatina achatina: Has a brown shell with onspicuous zigzag streaks and a narrow pointed apex. The foot is usually grey in colour.

SOURCES OF FOUNDATOIN STOCK OF EDIBLE SNAILS TO REAR 1, By gathering wild snails directly from the bush.

2. By buying from those who gather wild snails from bushes to sell to others.

3. By purchasing from other snail farmers.

1.6 HOUSING OF SNAILS The following housing units can be used for rearing snails.

• Old tyres • Earthen pots

“In traditional African medicine, snail meat is used in the preparation of concoctions for various cases such as reduction of labour pains and blood loss in pregnant women during delivery and preparation of love medicine to restore peace between husband and wife and among wives in polygamous houses”.

* Baskets * Raised wooden cage • Concrete trench • Snail pen FEEDS AND FEEDING OF SNAILS From experience, the following feeding. materials are recommended for feeding snails.

1. Unripe pawpaw fruits, pawpaw leaves and unripe pawpaw fruits Carica papaya.

2. Wet chaff from fermented milled or grained maize (locally known as “eeri”).

3.

African spinach (Amaranthus spp), Milk weed (Euphorbia hirta), Cocoyam leaves (Xanthosoma spp) Cassava leaves (Mannihot esculentum).

4. Ripe plantain (Musa paradisica) Banana (Musa sapientum), Guava (Guajava spp,) Oil Palm fruits (Elaeis guinnesis).

5. Melon or squash 6. Prepared human food, for example solidified pap (locally known as “agidi” or “eko”).

7. Snail mash prepared by milling dried maize seeds as

By DEACON OLUM

carbohydrate source, blood meal, dried shaft from peeled cowpea seeds and fish meal as protein sources, bone meal, oyster shell and powdered chicken eggshell as mineral supplements, plus vitamin supplements.

3. Powdered chicken eggshell can also be fed separately as

calcium source.

The experience of many who tried keeping snails reveals that the use of Talinum triangulate (water leaf) as Snail feed causes them to have diarrhoea which leads to reduction in weight.

It is therefore suggested that this plant, which was previously acclaimed to be one of the best feeds of snails, be used with caution in intensive snail farming.

WATERING OF SNAILS Snails should be sprinkled with plenty of water from time to time. Water can also be served in shallow plastics or other suitable containers for snails to drink from.

Because of the possible effect of plasmolysis of the snail flesh, treated or chlorinated

wa to sn an rai or mu set ho

bef C S as n the He alw and acti ear E sna the are pre paw from (“e sho to inc rate thu gro

THE NIGERIAN

17

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Perspective

ultural Profession In The mphasis On Snail Farming

MESE MARK

ater should not be offered snails. Suitable water for ails could be obtained from ny of the following sources, in, river or stream, borehole wells. Where tap water ust be used, allow it to ttle in a container for a few ours for the gas to diffuse

fore use.

CONCLUSION: Snails have been described nocturnal animals because y are more active at night. nce the tendency has ways been to restrict feeding d other maintenance ivities till the evening and rly hours of the night.

Experience has shown that ails can feed at any time of day especially when they e offered their specially eferred feeds: Unripe wpaw fruits and wet chaff m fermented milled maize eeri”). Research has also own that exposure of snail continuous light at night creased their activity and e of food consumption and us promoted their rapid owth. Also, that though

snails are nocturnal, they do not feed continuously throughout the night.

Feeding is sporadic, interspersed with exploratory movements or rest periods.

Thus less food would be consumed at normal darkness hours, which makes snails reared under perpetual darkness to grow less than

those reared under perpetual light (Hodasi 1982).

Finally, snails should be fed once or twice daily (morning and evening) depending on the rate of food consumption.

Reminants of the previous clay’s feeding should first be cleaned before putting in any new feed. in feeding the snails, arrange them in row side by side or in small groups of four or five. Cut the fruits into small pieces, and place in front of each snail. Serve the wet maize chaff; snail mash, solidified pap, or powdered eggshell on pawpaw leaves in front of each snail.

When leaves are the feeding materials used, place them on the snails at

feeding times. It is worthy of note to mention that snails can and do struggle for their feed, and the more aggressive ones get the larger share.

Size also plays an important part in the amount

of feed consumed, with the bigger snails taking in more feed than the smaller ones.

This is one major reason why the housing of adult and younger snails together should be discouraged.

Research has shown that a few snails practice

cannibalism but not on live and active snails but on moribund or fleshly dead ones. And in such cases, it is the food of the snail that is consumed.

Where snails are reared in pens, suitable shelter and food plants should be grown

in such pens. Such plants should be those that the snails like. Examples include pawpaw tree (Carica Papaya), Banana trees (Musa Sopientum), Horse -radish, Leaf beet, Burdock Asparagus, etc.

After feeding, cover up the snail with mulching materials such as plantain, banana, pawpaw and cocoyam leaves to keep in moisture and also to keep snails cool especially during the dry harmattan period when snails tend to aestivate naturally.

Understanding Pig Farming (1) PIG or swine is a domestic, monogastric animal that is commonly found in most part of West Africa. However, the production of pigs is unpopular in Moslem communities. The reason is purely because of religion.

In addition, many people dislike pig meat as a source of animal protein as a result of the dirty nature of the animal and the belief that they are secondary host for tapeworm that is a parasite of human.

Suffice to mention that under intensive management system, the rearing of pigs, inorder to make the animals product attractive to consumers has been hampered by the heavy capital outlay in involved in the project.

Has the rearing of pigs any advantages compared to other domestic animals.

The answer is in the affirmative.

1. Pigs produce large litters, twice a year and an average litter consists of 8 piglets.

2. Pigs are good converters of food and eat any edible thing. They are fed with under good management, pigs can attain a weight of about

By DEACON OLUMESE MARK

90kg in six month What are the common breeds of pigs found in West Africa?

Breeds of pigs are: 1. The local West African pig-: this is the breed that is kept or reared by the local farmers in towns and villages in most parts of the South and in the region of West Africa.

This breed is small in size, short and with compact body frame. The breed possesses short, brown or black hairs.

They are mostly found under poor management system.

Despite this, some of the good breeds produce large litters and care for them till adult age 2. Imported breeds of pig.

Unlike the local, these are breeds of pigs imported to most West African countries from Britain, America and others. The animals are generally large in size.

Some of them are (a) Large white-This is a popular pork and beacon producing type of pig. It is white in colour with an average size. This pig is the most adaptable to the

tropical conditions and are very prolific. It is free from epidemic diseases and resistant to trypanosomiasi.

The large white has American origin. (b) Land race: This breed was imported into West Africa from Norway.

It has white hairs and skin.

The animal has large size, with 16-17 pairs of ribs and larger than other types of pigs. Land race has large ears which are pointing forward. The animal has outstanding meat quality sows are prolific satisfactory mothers and excellent foragers. (c) Duroc This breed which originated from New York in U.S.A has large and broad body. It is golden yellow in colour or may be cherry red. The ear is droopy and the size of the matured boar is 408-454kg. the animal produces large litter with early maturity. (d) Large black Like the large white, the animal originated from America. It is black in colour with Droopy ears.

The animal is a heavy breed used in producing pork bacon. (e) Yorkshire

This animal originated from England. The animal has white body of medium size. The body is long, smooth with broad and dished face and the ears erect. The meat quality of the animal is excellent and it is the most prolific of all pigs and has good mothering ability. (f) Tamworth The breed originated from Ireland. The colour is red, the head long with straight snout. The animal has trimmed body, small legs and is a good baconer.

It is not a very good fattener. The animal is fairly prolific with excellent mothering ability. (g) Chester White The animal originated from pennsylvamia, U.S.A. It has solid white skin and has very attractive carcass.

The ears are droopy fairly dished faced and its body is heavy as duroe. The sows are prolific good mothers and milkers. The animal is prone to sunburh in the twins.

The writer is the zonal manager, Edo State A g r i c u l t u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t Programme, central Zone Irrua-Nigeria.

“After feeding, cover up the snail with mulching materials such as plantain, banana, pawpaw and cocoyam leaves to keep in moisture and also to keep snails cool especially during the dry harmattan period when snails tend to aestivate naturally”.

THE NIGERIAN

18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Issues

Curbing Corruption Among Nigerian Leaders CORRUPTION in high places has been a major factor impeding Nigeria’s economic development since we got our Independence.

This cankerworm has eaten so deep that one continues to wonder if it will ever come to an end.

Nigeria is a corrupt country.

Corruption may never end.

All efforts by the government so far to fight corruption, seem to be an illusion.

Fighting corruption is one of the most urgent tasks facing Nigeria today. The core issue before our President and every Nigerian Citizen is to confront how to significantly reduce corruption.

It is only an exemplary leadership that can significantly reduce corruption in Nigerian.

Without a great leader, Nigeria will continue to wallow in corruption. ‘’Corruption cannot be stopped from the bottom because those at the bottom often react to the impunity at the top. Only a leader with enormous discipline and restraint can solve Nigeria’s corruption problem. It is not the place of EFCC or ICPC, but the place of the number one leader in this country’’.

When Olusegun Obasanjo was President of Nigeria, he persistently impressed it upon Nigerians and the international community that the uniqueness of his administration lies in his single-minded commitment to fight corruption. According to him, “Nobody, nobody, I repeat nobody, is above the law. If you commit any criminal offence, I will not arrest you. The Inspector General of Police will do that’’.

He followed this up by setting up the national anticorruption commissions like the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial

By FAMOUS IGUISI

Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fight corruption to its barest minimum.

But most unfortunately, the anticorruption stance of the past and present administrations has not yielded positive results.

Almost on a daily basis, we hear billions and now trillions of Naira either allocated or voted for roads rehabilitation or construction, but year in year out not one road has been rehabilitated; rather more and more are allocated.

The issue of corruption in Nigeria has become a societal malice. This is a classical case of a sign of a failed state, especially when people who arrogate to themselves the authority to lead, turn around to steal people’s common wealth Thank God President Jonathan has equally vowed that his administration will not shield any corrupt person from investigation or prosecution by the anti-graft agencies in the country.

He has promised that government would continue to support and encourage the EFCC and other anticorruption agencies to confront the monster of corruption more decisively and charged them to spare no culprit regardless of his status or position.

According to him, “We will give all the necessary support and encouragement to all the anticorruption agencies to vigorously enforce the enabling anti-corruption laws.

I urge these agencies to do their work fairly but firmly within the ambit of the law without regard to position or status. There shall be no sacred cow. This government will not protect any so-called sacred cow. The wheel of justice must run its full course in tackling anti-corruption cases”.

It is my expectation, that our President is concerned about the economic future of all Nigerians, including himself, such that instead of being distracted by uncertainties about his future, he is busy building the future for all Nigerians.

“All well-meaning Nigerians must, therefore, not only say no to corruption but also do something about it.

contribute to strengthening accountability and transparency in the public sector’’.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, once said that corruption in high places will continue to mar the nation’s development. He said that Nigeria has been governed in the past 30 years by “very unserious characters.”

According to him, “there is no record of how much the

was an item on it which says unspent funds. These are monies to be returned to the National Assembly at the end of the year and it was N21 billion.

“This is a budget of over N650 billion and you are returning N21 billion. What this means is that the budget must have performed over 95 per cent.

“The budget apparently performed about 30 to 40 per cent just like every other budget. I went to see the late President to tell him that I was not going to agree to this because where I come from; they will ask me about the money. “Within six weeks, N21 billion became N450 billion that was returned to the treasury’’.

Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC Chairman

Every little effort counts; whistle blowing, vigilance in budget implementation and projects monitoring, calling public officers to account; all go a long way towards assisting the anti-corruption effort. The historic signing of the Freedom of Information Bill into Law in 2011 has provided citizens with a veritable instrument to

nation earns and spends’’. He recounted how the Ministry of Works brought a budget of N100 billion to spend and later discovered that N40 billion of that money was dedicated to roads already built and completed.

“A week after I became Speaker, the late President brought a budget to the National Assembly and there

“Therefore, it is critical for the EFCC and other financial Agencies to brace up and carry out their constitutional responsibility without fear or favor; stop the international community from accepting looted funds from government officials. Corruption in government must be nip in the bud if Nigeria must achieve its vision 2020:20.”

If this is true, then one would like to know what could have happened to the balances within the last 12 years of our Democracy.

Since corruption constitutes the greatest bane of all vices hunting Nigeria it is high time that National Assembly began to explore legislative intervention as well as constantly build workers’ capacity in order to enhance their wellbeing and productivity as well as facilitate industrial peace and harmony.

Until Nigeria changes and undergoes a reform, the future for Africa’s development is bleak since Nigeria represents a regional influential.

Greed in government officials is thriving in a way

we as a people do not and cannot approve of. It is heartbreaking to continue to hear of the unending craze among government officials to loot public fund without a blink of the eye or even considering the effect this could have on the people.

Most government officials and other public officers have created a tradition: “get to the scene, loot and disappear from the scene.” They do this without a genuine desire to serve. There is no doubt that there cannot be any meaningful economic development if government officials continue in their illicit looting activities.

We will definitely not go beyond being a developing nation, while other developing countries, especially in Asia, who had the same economic indices with Nigeria have all gone ahead; because they have a sense of purpose.

Therefore, the relevant anticorruption agencies, EFCC and others must step up their game. Nevertheless, I must give it to them for the several land mark achievements in this regard especially the indictment of the former speaker of the house of Representative and his deputy over a controversial loan scam. But there is need for them to do more. There should be no sacred cow in this fight. It requires courage and selfless service to be able to break the big head of corruption in Nigeria. I quite agree with former president Obasanjo’s comments recently in Geneva Switzerland when he accuses the EFCC and ICPC of ineffectiveness and inefficiency because the EFCC was supposed to have gotten him arrested the moment he left office and investigate his obscure dealings while in office. There are indeed a score of corrupt public officials who walk the streets freely today with impunity.

Therefore, it is critical for the EFCC and other financial Agencies to brace up and carry out their constitutional responsibility without fear or favor; stop the international community from accepting looted funds from government officials.

Corruption in government must be nip in the bud if Nigeria must achieve its vision 2020:20. Otherwise, I see an upsurge of the kind of revolution that is currently swiping across the Arab World in Nigeria very soon.

THE NIGERIAN

19

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Drumbeats

Ingredient For Living A Successful Life Continued from last week

MOST people don’t know and believe that living and walking by faith can help one to have and enjoy ingredient for living a successful life.

What is faith?

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not see”. Hebrew 1:6 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen, then you need faith to achieve your success.

“But faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receiving for an inheritance obeyed, and he went out not knowing whether he went.

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise for he look for a city, which hat!: foundation, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised”. Hebrews 11 vs11.

The bible says, Abraham believed God and it was counted for him for righteousness God gave Abraham a promise, but he needed faith to bring his future promise into existence.

Many people are dejected, rejected, confused and discouraged because they fail to realize that it takes faith to succeed in life and it also takes faith to preserve and protect ones and wealth.

Any thing you get by covenant you need faith and grace to sustain it.

“For I am no ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles For therein is the righteousness of God revealed form faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith”. Romans l vs 6v l7 Many people complain that they don’t have faith. Can you see the air that you breath in?

Why do you complain of

not having faith to achieve your success? Air is a substance just as faith is a substance. The bible says God hath dealt to everyman the measure of faith. There are stea1er and killers of faith.

Don’t associate with them.

Any Christian or believer that is always negative in his or her speech avoid Him or her.

They are of those that kill ones faith for success. Friend, walk, live, act and talk your way to success.

Faith is a must, if you must enjoy and have ingredient for1ivingsuceesfu1 life.

Please read 1 Samuel I 7vs 1 -51 looking at he story of King David it was obvious that the faith David had for success provoked him to confront and defeat Goliath.

To me I can imagine David saying; God whose hands anointed me king ahead and gave me great promise concerning my future saw Goliath ahead. For this reason by faith Goliath I will bring you down and you would have fallen before me already.

Just as Goliath was a ticket to David’s greatness so will your enemies become ticket to your greatness in Jesus name. Amen.

“And we know that all things work together for good to him that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

What shall we them say to these things? if God be flit us, who can be against us?

He that spared not him own so but delivered him up for us all How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Who shall separate us form the love of Christ? Sit all tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written, for they sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for slaughter, Nay in all these things we are more than eon conquerors through him/that love us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angelic no principalities, nor power, nor thing present, or things to come.

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from love of God which is in Christ

With Apostle Dr. Raphael O. Ayemere 08035459593

Jesus our Lord”. Romans 8vs28, 31,32,35, 39.

These are the works of a man that lived by faith, worked in faith, and ready to die in faith, A man that allows doubt to characterize his or her life would no speak like this “but as ills written, eye bath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have it entered into the heart of a man, the thing which God hath prepared/or them that love him or that walk by faith and live in faith

right to do so. Christ is saying that he has given believers power, right and authority to succeed in anything they do and to tread on serpents and scorpions and over anything that will give you discomfort in your business, politics academic and career.

The unexpected tragedy of many Christians is explained by their belief in God for so little owing to fear which totally stagnates their hope in

saying, lord, if thou will, thou const make me clean.

And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean.

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed”. Matthew 8vsI -3.

This leper achieved his success because lie was bold enough to find out if it was God’s will and his right to be cleansed from his leprous

said, look on us.

And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

Then Peter said, silver and gold have! None, but site as I have give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

And he took hint by the right had, lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

for their success to be achieve and emulated by others “. I Corinthians 2vs9 Faith help your destiny to be activated, thereby bringing your dream to fulfillment.

RECOGNIZE YOUR RIGHT IN CHIRST Your ability to recognize your right in Christ and use it judiciously will give you access to have the, and enjoying ingredient for living successful life.

In the secular word, if you know your right. You cannot be cheated. So it is in the spiritual realm. Many Christians are poor, defeated, wretched and miserable today, because they lack knowledge of their right in Christ.

Your right is your power and authority. Authority is a form of power hase3d on the recognition that the person utilizing the power has the

Life.

God has given many Christians power, right and authority to tread over serpent and scorpions in the course of discharging their duties, but now the reverse is the case.

Instead of many Christian to be treading upon serpent and scorpions, it is now serpent and scorpion that are now treading upon them and causing a hindrance in their businesses and career. This unfortunate act in the lives of Christian is making God to be sad in heaven. Failure to exercise our right over Satan and his agents will make us to be slaves on earth and cause retrogression and delay in all our undertakings.

“When he was coming down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

And, behold, there come a leper and worship him,

state and God who is rich in mercy. Settled the doubt in his mind by saying “I will, be thou clean am! he was cleaned’ Friends, it is your right to succeed in any thing you do on earth. It is you right to buy a good car, build a house, live in a comfortable apartment and to live in good health.

Why worry when heavens resource is at your disposal “now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the night hour.

And a certain man crippled from birth was carried, who they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple, who, seeing Peter and John about to go into tire temple, asked an alms.

And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John,

And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple walking and leaping and praising God. And they know that it was he which sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him”. Act 3vs1-10 Majority of Christians are like this lame mart who take delight in begging for a peanut of Gods miracle. Just as God use Peter and John to restore this lame man back to his original position, God is also sending his angles to restore you back to your original position this year in Jesus name.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty where with Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”. Galatians 5vs I

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Discourse

Applying Electronic Medical Records In Effective Treatment

MRS Amina Taofeek was rushed to a hospital in a state of coma after she slumped, and was received by medical personnel who had never treated her before.

They, therefore, needed her medical records to provide an insight to her condition.

Unfortunately, the records were not accessible because the personnel in charge of manual medical records were not on night duty.

Considered as an emergency case, the medical staff decided to place her on drip while they conducted some tests on her.

Taofeek died before the result was ready. The result, however, showed she was diabetic.

The scenario brings to fore the importance of having electronic medical records of patients for effective treatment.

Experts say that medical record is the systematic documentation of a single patient’s medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider’s jurisdiction.

They say it consists of the patient’s name, address, age, sex, occupation, disease, modes of diagnosis and recommendations by doctors in the course of treatment.

It also includes information entered over time by healthcare professionals, including records of observations and administration of drugs and therapies.

Apart from these, it contains orders for drug administration and therapies, test results, and X-rays, among others.

It is important because it provides a patient’s medical history to professionals who are permitted to access it

even when they have not attended to the patient before.

Observers note that many people have yet to understand the importance of medical records in effective healthcare delivery.

They argue that whereas the storage equipment for medical records remains the property of the healthcare provider, the actual record belongs to the patient who may obtain copies on request.

Dr Timothy Jatau, Director, Planning, Research and Statistics Department, Nasarawa State Hospitals Management Board, opines that accessing medical records will be easier for effective treatment if preserved electronically.

According to him, accurate electronic medical records can also help to determine disease pattern in an area.

Nancy Stimpfel of TransforMED, a subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians, insists that a patient’s medical record serves as a legal document that can be used by an injured patient against other parties.

“Proper documentation in medical record creates a legal document which accurately and completely reflects the care provided to a patient.

“In a courtroom setting, it is similar to a witness who gives details of the events which occurred; and the rule is, if it is not in the record, it didn’t happen,’’ she notes.

Mrs Amudat Abubakar, Head, Department of Health Records at the National

By FOLASADE FOLARIN

Hospital, Abuja, says, ‘Medical records are important; to the patient, it guarantees continuous treatment and enables the doctors to know where to stop or continue.’’

“The doctor sees so many patients everyday and if what he has documented is

Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

She cautions patients against seeing doctors without reference to medical records, saying a situation may arise where past records will be needed for proper treatment.

Stressing the need for

not properly preserved, he will not know where to continue.

“Where there is repeated medication and no improvement, it is only the record that will tell the doctor what he has been treating the patient with,’’ she says.

Abubakar stresses that the types of ailments in patients must be coded and indexed according to the World

electronic medical records, Dr Dorcas Angbazo, a nephrologist, says going through the records for every patient is quite a difficult task in Nigeria as doctors attend to too many patients daily.

“Ideally when the doctor sees a patient for the first time, the records are taken to enable other doctors have the data and information about the patient.

“The doctor sees so many patients everyday and if what he has documented is not properly preserved, he will not know where to continue.”

“He or she is to flip through the file to have a general idea of how the patient was before, what has been done, what are the current medications are and what stage to continue.

“But because of pressure of work and the fact that you have a large number of patients waiting, the doctor just looks at the last prescription and goes ahead

patients increase or grow in age, the records have to be upgraded.

“If a patient is transferred from one facility to the other, the same record goes with him in summary.

“So if you have a health system where everybody’s record is in a database, even when the physical medical record of the patient is not there, you can access information about the patient,’’ Adegbite says.

He agrees that electronic

to administer medication,’’ she observes.

Abubakar agrees that although it is a wrong approach, it is what is obtainable in most hospitals, adding “There is nowhere in the world where a doctor sees up to 60 patients in a day.

She, therefore, advocates that medical records should be computerised to make it easier for doctors to get them faster.

Dr Emmanuel Adegbite says records should not be undermined as they distinguish one patient from the other and separates their condition no matter how similar they may seem.

“Keeping records of patients is just a way to say that the health system is organised, because as

medical records will ease the burden for both the doctors and medical records department.

“You go to some hospitals, you can find a whole building dedicated to files; sometimes a patient comes to the hospital and the file is nowhere to be found,’’ he observes.

All the same, medical experts note that electronic records will facilitate communication between the various departments of a facility without having to carry files from place to place.

They agree that medical records should not be undermined as lives may depend on them no matter how simple they may appear to be.

THE NIGERIAN

21

THE Federal government’s coordinated war against terrorism and other acts of criminality witnessed a major boost recently with the arrest and detention of a kidnap kingpin, Mr Kelvin Oniarah, who is believed to be the mastermind behind all kidnap cases in the South East and South South regions.

Without any doubt, Mr Oniarah’s eventual capture by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the oil city of Port Harcourt brings to an end the dark days of increasing kidnap cases in the Niger Delta region. I am a Niger Deltan and we should all have reasons to celebrate over this huge achievement. It is gratifying to affirm that even members of the international community are indeed pleased with the successes Nigeria has so far recorded against terrorism.

Nigerians equally woke up within the same period to be greeted with wild claims by the Boko Haram group that its former leader who was believed to have been fell by JTF’s bullets sometimes in July is still alive!

Discerning Nigerians, especially those who have come to understand the game plan of the Boko Haram sect and its apologists and local collaborators have since discovered that the video clip released by the group was to divert attention from celebrating the capture of kidnap kingpin, Oniarah by the DSS. Nigerians are too advanced and knowledgeable a people to fall for dummies as presently bandied around by the terror group.

Forget about what President Goodluck Jonathan said about him not knowing whether the man

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

was alive or dead. I believe he was only playing the usual security trick of diverting attention from key events so as not to compromise other efforts of the security agencies.

Nigerians have since realized the obvious fact that the Boko Haram group and other terror groups are their common enemies. These groups have indeed visited mindless terror on Nigerians of different faiths, tribes and ethnicity. We cannot afford to fall so cheap for this grand plan to divert attention from rejoicing over the capture of Mr Oniarah. Believe you me, the capture of Oniarah

and Shekau’s concocted video clip should be seen for what they are,- a planned coincidence by the terror group to divert attention.

This incident further revealed the extent to which these bloodthirsty elements could go in their resolve to make the country u n g o v e r n a b l e .

Unfortunately for them, the

Issues Opinion Terrorism: Between Shekau orchestrated plan has fallen flat on its face. Nigerians have discovered that these terror groups and kidnappers are birds of same feather whose past time is to instill fear in people. There appears to be between them a coordinated network system through which they communicate and share ideas on ways to perpetrate evil.

Long before now, while suicide bombers visited terror on innocent Nigerians living in the North Eastern part of the country, kidnap

groups made life meaningless and miserable for Nigerians in the South South and South East regions. These twin issues gave government at various levels, especially the Federal government cause for concern. Government, obviously was not pleased with the wanton destruction of lives by suicide bombers

And Kelvin, Any Link?

By GABRIEL GOODHEAD

in the north and rising kidnap cases in the South. A government insider recently said that as a responsible and responsive government, the Federal government never considered the inglorious option of abandoning Nigerians in the aforementioned regions to their fate. It stood beside them all through these perilous times. It vowed

known as Ibruvwe calls for celebration and commendation for the DSS .It was gathered that Oniarah was apprehended by a combined team of SSS officials from Abuja and Delta State Command in collaboration with the troops of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shields.

This kidnap kingpin is

never to allow criminal elements lay claim to any part of the country. To achieve this feat, it deployed troops to the troubled states as well as going ahead to declare partial state of emergencies in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

These wise moves no doubt produced immense results.

The arrest of Kelvin also

said to be the mastermind of several high profile kidnap cases in different parts of the country. Report says he was responsible for the recent kidnap of a senior lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, in Edo State, during which four policemen were killed. We are also told of how he was said to have maintained operational bases and detention camps in Warri and Kokori communities in Delta State and Ugbokolo community in Benue State.

A highly elated Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Adaba, who confirmed the arrest to newsmen, described the development

“The million dollar question is, why did Kelvin Oniarah’s capture by the DSS coincide with Shekau’s claims of being alive? I smell conspiracy in this act. How come Shekau and his collaborators have remained silent for months only to resurface that day? Answers to these questions are not far-fetched, infact, we can find the answers in the questions.”

as a great achievement in the war against kidnapping and other vices. Government had earlier declared the kingpin wanted over his involvement in deadly escapades, especially armed banditry and kidnapping in which over 100 persons have been killed in different parts of the Niger Delta. Also on his list of atrocities were the attacks on some high profile personalities in that region.

He is also linked to a bloody operation in Warri Federal Prisons, where he allegedly freed some members of his gang, after killing prison wardens.

With the barrage of terror acts perpetrated by Mr Oniarah and his gang, especially in the Niger Delta region and the lives and material possessions lost to their attacks, Nigerians, indeed have every reason to celebrate his eventual capture. While it will be rather too premature to roll out the drums for celebration, it is not out of place to congratulate security agencies on this great feat.

With the wide jubilation that greeted the news of the arrest of Kelvin across Nigeria, I am further convinced that Nigerians are more than ever before united against terrorism. Terrorists and kidnappers don’t carry out their nefarious acts based on ethnic, religious or political considerations. In fact, these elements tend to be more united in visiting terror on Nigerians.

The million dollar question is, why did Kelvin Oniarah’s capture by the DSS coincide with Shekau’s claims of being alive? I smell conspiracy in this act.

How come Shekau and his collaborators have remained silent for months only to resurface that day? Answers to these questions are not far-fetched, infact, we can find the answers in the questions. It should be seen simply as an orchestrated attempt to divert attention from the arrest of Kelvin.

THE NIGERIAN

22

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Issues View Point

A Celebration With Mixed Feelings

Nigeria @ 53:

By SANI ADAMU

BY all accounts, Nigeria’s political history has shown that the struggle for independence and nationhood has not only been tortuous and cumbersome but daunting and tasking.

Historically, while it is true that not much blood was spilled in the struggle against colonialism as was the case in some African countries, many of Nigeria’s founding fathers suffered untold hardship in the hands of the colonial masters.

Observers point to the fact that the doggedness and determination of most Nigerians to keep the nation united in spite of obvious challenges made it impossible for agents of division and fragmentation to succeed in breaking up the nation.

This, according to them, explains why superior reasoning had always prevailed against attempts by a few individuals to cause disaffection and division in the country.

Although not all the aspirations of the founding fathers have been met, observers believe that significant progress had been made in 53 years to sustain and ensure that Nigeria remained an indivisible sovereign entity.

Malam Sanusi Mohammed, a public analyst, believes that the country has not done badly in the last 53 years.

“It is a big score; we may not have reached the “Promised Land’’, the kind envisaged by Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Tafawa Balewa, but the country is steadily making progress and gaining global recognition as a leader on the Africa continent.

“This is not to say that all is

glossy as we must admit that there are still developmental, economic and social challenges which we have to contend with,’’ he said.

Mohammed argues that with the opportunity given to Nigeria to address the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, the third of such opportunity since independence, the country will eventually attain its dreams of becoming among the top 20 economies by 2020.

In the same vein, President Goodluck Jonathan expresses confidence that Nigeria will be stronger and united despite her challenges.

He told the 2013 World Igbo Day congress in Enugu that he was optimistic that the future was still bright for the nation in spite of the challenges facing it.

To further strengthen his optimism, the president declared that the amalgamation of Nigeria by Lord Lugard in 1914 was not an accident.

According to him, the amalgamation was an act of God, designed to bring together the nation’s diversity for positive purpose.

“As we look up to our centenary celebration, there are quite a number of questions people ask themselves.

“People ask, may be Lord Lugard made a mistake to amalgamate the northern and southern parts of the country.

“This informed why some talk about sovereign national conference and so on and so forth.

“But those of us who are Christians know that God does not make mistake. God has a reason for Lord Lugard

to amalgamate the northern and southern parts of this country.

“So, those people who are trying to exploit our diversity to create problems for us as a nation will surely not succeed.

that the nation has faced both in recent times and in the past, the country is still united and is moving forward,’’ he said.

Oshiomhole said that independence anniversaries were celebrated, not because the nation is perfect or without challenges, but because

The challenges we are seeing now are very transient; we will surely get over them,’’ the president assured.

Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo shares similar sentiments when he said that Nigerians have cause to celebrate the nation’s 53rd independence anniversary despite the challenges facing the country.

“In spite of the challenges

birthdays are usually celebrated.

In his sermon to mark the nation’s independence anniversary, the Catholic Archbishop of Benin, Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze, noted that although some Nigerian leaders had fallen short of the expectations of most Nigerians, the country is still united.

“Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo shares similar sentiments when he said that Nigerians have cause to celebrate the nation’s 53rd independence anniversary despite the challenges facing the country.”

He decried the attitude of some politicians who, he said, placed their selfish interests above national interest.

Analysts believe that although Nigeria achieved a significant growth in GDP in the last 53 years, the growth was yet to translate positively on the lives of ordinary citizens of the country.

Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, shared similar sentiments when he expressed regret over the failure of the country to attain

‘progressive governance’.

He noted that in spite of her 53 years of existence, Nigeria still lacked purposeful leadership, adding that it had deprived the nation the ability to take its pride of place as the giant of Africa.

Martins chided past and present leaders for failing to properly address the root cause of the widening disenchantment among the various ethnic nationalities.

“I want to thank God for making it possible for us to come together once more as a country to celebrate independence anniversary.

“However, I am sad that we have yet to evolve into a truly united and progressive country as was envisaged by our founding fathers at independence.

“There is so much disenchantment owing to unemployment, lack of electric power and general decay in the polity; our educational and healthcare sectors are in a state of comatose.

“All these have led to endemic state of insecurity and corruption in the system.

It is time for us to appraise where we are as a nation, and where we are heading to.

“Unless we do this, I am afraid the unity of this country will continue to remain a

mirage,’’ he stated in a statement released recently in Lagos.

Analysts, however, have harped on the need for purposeful leadership to consolidate the gains of the country’s existence since the past 53 years.

For them, Nigeria must begin to think seriously on how to reduce its dependency on foreign loans; move from a mono-economy to a diversified economy.

But all said and done, for Nigeria to overcome its current political, economic and security challenges, analysts opine that leaders at all levels of governance must put the interest of the nation uppermost above their selfish political, sectional, and economic interests. (NAN)

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Healthy Living

Overcoming Obstacles In Managing TB, HIV Co-Infection

GEORGINA Ahamefule, a dedicated auxiliary nurse at a medical centre since 1989, had her appointment terminated in 1995 because she tested positive to the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV).

After a nerve-racking 12year legal battle with her employer, a Lagos High Court handed down a landmark judgment describing her termination as “illegal, unlawful and actuated by malice and extreme bad faith’’.

Ahamefule was awarded N7 million as damages in a verdict given by Justice Yetunde Idowo.

This is just one lucky case out of several cases where people have been stigmatised in their places of work and the society generally for being HIV-positive.

Miss Patience Peters (not real name) who is co-infected with HIV and Tuberculosis, admits life has been tough with her.

“When people find out I have HIV, they stay away from me, so disclosing my status has really been a problem for me.

“I feel that by the time people know I have TB also, they will avoid me altogether.

“I had to quit my job as a salesgirl and rely on my family for support but I must tell you it has not been easy. People look at me with disdain and avoid me completely.”

HIV and TB are closely linked because TB is frequently the first opportunistic infection in people living with HIV, according to experts.

The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), says more than 11 million out of the 34 million people with HIV also have latent tuberculosis infection. They are 21 to 34 times more likely to develop active TB than people without HIV. The Union states that tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death in people living with HIV with more than one million people needing simultaneous treatment for TB and HIV, adding that about one in four AIDS-related deaths in 2011 were attributable to TB. Experts have noted that stigmatisation is still a huge cause for concern especially in developing countries; however, governments globally have begun taking steps in addressing the issue.

In Nigeria, a bill seeking to prevent discrimination against

people living with HIV and AIDS is before the Senate.

The Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof. John Idoko, says that 3.4 million Nigerians are now living with HIV. “Most successful initiatives recognise the role of legislation as a tool against stigma and discrimination, hence the effort of the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass the anti-stigma bill.

Idoko says stigma is the major reason people do not get tested and those who do rarely disclose the results to their partners.

“Stigma is the reason why people will not adhere to the drug regime and the reason why we have not broken the silence and denial,” he says.

Idoko is of the opinion that if the bill is passed, it will strengthen legal protection for the vulnerable group and ensure their access to prevention, treatment and care services.

According to Dr Valérie Schwoebel of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), what happens in places where HIV and TB coinfection is highly prevalent is that having TB may be viewed as a sign that the person is HIV-infected.

“These perceptions, as well as the stigma attached to TB, may be more frequent in some countries than in others, and within the same country, may vary widely according to levels of education.

“The effectiveness of the TB treatment is becoming well known among the communities; however, this may help combat this prejudice.”

Dr Paula Fujiwara from the Union, says he cannot say if the stigma is more in a positive person co-infected with TB. “However, I think that the HIV community has done a much better job of getting people to know their status and not hide it, and to live

By OKEOGHENE OGHENEKARO

positively.

“Anecdotally, I have seen that people may be afraid of stating they have TB disease because they know the link between TB and HIV.” Fujiwara calls for increased education on TB and HIV and how to prevent them, to reduce stigma and discrimination.

Apart from stigmatisation being a major challenge to

integration of collaborative TB/ HIV services into the general health services.

These challenges, says the Union, may have an adverse impact on patients’ treatment access and outcomes.

Schwoebel, from the Union, says the key element is the coordination between the TB and the HIV and AIDS national

‘effective’ as a general statement.

Nosa, however, says the problem is with implementation, noting that more needs to be done to ensure treatment drugs are available as at when due. ‘’HIV and TB treatment is largely available in the urban and semi-urban areas, and as a result, patients in the rural areas go there for treatment after they

Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, Health Minister

effective management of HIV and TB, experts are of the opinion that there are still barriers to effective HIV/ TB care especially in developing countries.

According to the Union, the main obstacles to managing persons with TB and HIV are weak coordination between TB and HIV programmes and slow

programmes, both of which exist in most countries.

She says in order to achieve this, good communication and collaboration mechanisms up to the highest level is required.

Dr Orhue Nosa, a Consultant Public Health Specialist, says that management of persons coinfected with HIV and TB in Nigeria can be said to be

“Experts agree that for effective diagnosis and management of TB and HIV, the issue of discrimination must be addressed nationally and wholistically.”

have tried traditional forms of treatment without success.

“In rural areas, it will be difficult to find a doctor who handles TB and HIV because of the nature of the infections, so experts are usually needed in the rural areas.”

Nosa calls for the creation of HIV and TB budget line in government hospitals for proper management of the diseases.

“The Ministry of Health does not handle patients directly, it is the hospitals and primary health centres that deal with these patients directly. ‘’These funds will be channelled into the management of HIV and TB

and will cover things such as admission and blood transfusion which many patients cannot afford.’’

Fujiwara says: At the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), we have extensive experience in this and we have published a guide on scale-up of TB and HIV activities entitled ‘Implementing Collaborative TB and HIV Activities: A Programmatic Guide’.

The guide is aimed at exploring the feasibility of delivering integrated HIV care for adult TB patients living with HIV and AIDS and the usefulness of TB control programme in the response to HIV and AIDS. The union says the rationale for this model was rooted in both patients and health systems observations that TB was frequently the first opportunistic infection in people living with HIV, “Thus TB services are an important entry point for HIV diagnosis and care and offer the opportunity to manage both diseases simultaneously at least for the duration of the anti-TB treatment. ‘’In many countries, particularly in the peripheral areas, the same health worker has the responsibility for providing care for the two diseases. ‘’Collaborative HIV and TB activities present an opportunity to strengthen TB and HIV services as well as the entire health system in terms of service provision, procurement and distribution of medications and supplies.’’

The guide says that some of the advantages of integrated TB and HIV services is that ‘’patients receive comprehensive care where one time visit is sufficient and the patients get the entire test done there.

Experts agree that for effective diagnosis and management of TB and HIV, the issue of discrimination must be addressed nationally and wholistically.

There should also be room to scale up effective TB and HIV treatment where they do not exist especially in the rural areas and improve effectively the already existing programmes and services.

This, they say, will ultimately reduce the number of people who die as a result of coinfection of TB and HIV. (NAN).

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

International Kerry Defends US Raid On Libya, Somalia

ECB Urges Germany To Form Govt BERLIN - European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen has urged Germany’s political leaders to press on with negotiations to form a new government in order to avoid further delays in crucial decisions for European integration.

The euro zone crisis and progress on the planned banking union will be among the main talking points at the upcoming autumn meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, Asmussen said in a written response to Reuters questions.

Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy, has slowed the project for closer financial integration because of its federal election in September and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s subsequent search for a coalition partner to secure her a third term.

“Swift formation of a government would certainly be helpful from a European point of view as there are important decision to be taken for Europe, for example on banking union,” Asmussen told Reuters.

Time was short in the run up to the European Parliament elections next year, he said.

Asmussen, who was a deputy finance minister before joining the ECB last year, has been tipped by some media to become the next German finance minister, but said recently that he planned to fulfill his ECB contract, which lasts until the end of 2019.

The most pressing decision now was to agree by December on a common mechanism to wind down or restore ailing euro zone banks and Asmussen said the timetable was “ambitious, but manageable”.

The ECB is particularly interested in having a single resolution mechanism in place by the time it starts supervising euro zone banks from late next year.

“Without doubt it is preferable for the common European supervision and the common European resolution to start roughly at the same time,” Asmussen said.

Asmussen said Germany’s international partners recognized the euro zone has made progress on emerging from the crisis. Spain was set to complete its bailout program by the end of the year and probably Ireland as well, he said.

If Greece was not able to regain sufficient market access by the second half of next year, additional aid would be needed, as agreed in November last year, Asmussen said.

NUSA DUA - Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday insisted the capture of an alleged Al-Qaeda operative in Libya in a US raid was legal, after Tripoli demanded answers about the “kidnap”.

Abu Anas al-Libi, who was indicted in connection with the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and has a $5 million FBI bounty on his head, was captured on Saturday.

It was one of two US raids at the weekend, with US Navy Seals also storming a Shebab stronghold in the southern Somali port of Barawe, although the success of that assault was unclear.

The operation to capture Libi drew fury from the Libyan government, which said it was unauthorised and described it as a “kidnap”.

But Kerry yesterday defended the operation as within the law.

“With respect to Abu Anas

US Secretary of State John Kerry

Egyptians protesting

Americans, German Win Nobel Prize STOCKHOLM — Americans James Rothman and Randy Schekman and Germanborn researcher Thomas Suedhof won the 2013 Nobel Prize in medicine yesterday for discoveries on how hormones, enzymes and other key substances are transported within cells.

The Nobel committee said their research on “vesicle traffic” — the transport system of our cells — helped scientists understand how “cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time” inside cells.

Disturbances to the system can contribute to diabetes and neurological and immunological disorders, the committee said.

Rothman, 62, is a professor at Yale University while Schekman, 64, is at the University of California, Berkeley. Suedhof, 57, joined Stanford University in 2008.

“My first reaction was, “Oh,

my God!” said Schekman in a statement released by Berkeley.

“That was also my second reaction.”

The university said Schekman’s research led to the success of the biotechnology industry. Schekman studied normal and defective yeast to identify the process of vesicle transport, the university said.

The Nobel committee said Schekman discovered a set of genes that were required for vesicle transport, while Rothman revealed how proteins dock with their target membranes like two sides of a zipper. Sudhof found out how vesicles release their cargo with precision.

“These discoveries have had a major impact on our understanding of how cargo is delivered with timing and precision within and outside the cell,” the committee said.

Rothman and Schekman won the Albert Lasker Basic

Medical Research Award for their research in 2002 — an award often seen as a precursor of a Nobel Prize.

The medicine prize kicked off

this year ’s Nobel announcements. The awards in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will be announced by other prize juries this week and next. Each prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million).

Egypt Crisis: Death Toll Hits 53 CAIRO - The death toll from clashes in Egypt rose to 53 yesterday as calm returned to the streets after one of the bloodiest days since the military toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July.

Traffic flowed normally in central Cairo where thousands of Mursi supporters had battled security forces and army supporters on Sunday on the anniversary of the 1973 war with Israel.

State radio said security forces had regained full control of Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. In addition to the dead, the Health Ministry said 271 people had been wounded in the clashes.

Most of the casualties were Mursi supporters, security sources said.

Further confrontations may shake Egypt this week. An alliance that includes Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood has urged Egyptians to stage more protests against the army takeover from Tuesday and gather on Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday.

Political tensions since the army unseated Mursi on July 3 have unnerved foreign investors and hammered tourism, a pillar of the economy, but there is no sign of reconciliation between the Brotherhood and the armybacked government.

Security forces smashed proMursi protest camps in Cairo on August 14, killing hundreds of people. In an ensuing crackdown, many Muslim Brotherhood leaders were arrested in an attempt to decapitate Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement.

al-Libi, he is a key Al-Qaeda figure, and he is a legal and an appropriate target for the US military,” Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Indonesia.

He added that Libi had committed “acts of terror” and had been “appropriately indicted by courts of law, by the legal process”.

“The United States of America is going to do everything in its power that is legal and appropriate in order to enforce the law and protect our security,” he said.

But when asked whether the United States had informed Libya before the raid, Kerry refused to say.

“We don’t get into the specifics of our communications with a foreign government on any kind of operation of this kind,” he said.

His defence of the operation came after Libya on Sunday demanded an explanation from Washington for the “kidnap”.

“The Libyan government has been following the reports of the kidnap of one of the Libyan citizens wanted by the authorities in the United States,” a government statement said.

“As soon as it heard the reports, the Libyan government contacted the US authorities to demand an explanation.”

Libi was taken to a US Navy warship in the region after the raid and was being questioned there, a US official said.

Libi, 49, had been indicted in the US federal court in New York for allegedly playing a key role in the east Africa bombings — which left more than 200 dead — and plots to attack US forces.

The Tripoli operation ended a 13-year manhunt for Libi, whose given name is Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie. FBI and CIA agents assisted US troops in the raid, US media reported.

His arrest paves the way for his extradition to New York to face trial.

Citing surveillance camera footage, Libi’s son, Abdullah al-Raghie, said his father had been seized by masked gunmen armed with pistols, and that some of them were Libyans.

He claimed that the Libyan government was implicated in his father’s disappearance, a claim Tripoli vehemently denies.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday the operations sent “a strong message to the world that the United States will spare no effort to hold terrorists accountable”.

“We will continue to maintain relentless pressure on terrorist groups that threaten our people or our interests, and we will conduct direct action against them, if necessary, that is consistent with our laws and our values,” he added.

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

International Shipwreck

Italy Recovers 194 Bodies ROME - Coffins of children are seen alongside coffins of other victims from a shipwreck off Sicily, in a hangar of the Lampedusa airport L AMPEDUSA, Italy -

Coffins of bodies of recovered victims of Italian Shipwreck

Fallout Of US Raid on Somalia, Libya

TRIPOLI/MOGADISHU Two U.S. raids in Africa show the United States is pressuring al Qaeda, officials said on Sunday, though a failure in Somalia and an angry response in Libya also highlighted Washington’s woes.

In Tripoli, U.S. forces snatched a Libyan wanted over the bombings of the American embassy in Nairobi 15 years ago and whisked him out of the country, prompting Secretary of State John Kerry to say that al Qaeda leaders “can run but they can’t hide.”

But the capture of Nazih alRagye, better known as Abu Anas al-Liby, also provoked a complaint about the “kidnap” from the Western-backed Libyan prime minister, who faces a backlash from armed Islamists who have carved out a share of power since the West helped Libyan rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi two years ago.

CHANGE OF NAME

NDINOJUO – I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ndinojuo Ify now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okwendi Ifeyenwa Ify. All former documents remain valid. Concerned authorities, Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) and the general public should please note.

ADDITION OF NAME

I, Akhanene Onolemnehmhen Anthony wish to bring for the information of the general public that I am the same person as Akhanene Anthony as appeared in my First Bank Account. It should be known therefore, that I am properly known and addressed as Akhanene Onolemnehmhen Anthony. All former documents remain valid.

Concerned authorities and First Bank Plc should please take note.

In Somalia, Navy SEALS stormed ashore into the al Shabaab stronghold of Barawe but, a U.S. official said, they failed to capture or kill the target among the Somali allies of al Qaeda.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the target was a Kenyan of Somali origin known as Ikrima, described as a foreign fighter commander for al Shabaab in Somalia.

Ikrima, whose real name is Abdikadar Mohamed Abdikadar, was linked with now-dead al Qaeda operatives Harun Fazul and Saleh Nabhan, who had roles in the 1998 embassy bombing in Nairobi and in the 2002 attacks on a hotel and airline in Mombasa, U.S. officials said.

One official said the U.S. operation in Somalia was not in direct response to last month’s al Shabaab attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi that killed at least 67. It was not known if Ikrima was connected to that attack, the official said.

Kerry, on a visit to Indonesia, said President Barack Obama’s administration was “pleased with the results” of the combined assaults early on Saturday. “We hope this makes clear that the United States of America will never stop in its effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror,” he said.

Two years after Navy SEALS tracked down and killed al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, a decade after al Qaeda’s September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, the twin operation demonstrated the reach of U.S. military forces in Africa, where Islamist militancy has been growing.

The forays also spotlighted Somalia’s status as a fragmented haven for al Qaeda allies more than 20 years after Washington intervened in vain in its civil war and Libya’s

descent into an anarchic battleground.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said they showed Washington would “spare no effort to hold terrorists accountable.”

Clearly aware of the risks to his government of complicity in the snatching of Liby, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said: “The Libyan government is following the news of the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen who is wanted by U.S. authorities.

“The Libyan government has contacted U.S. authorities to ask them to provide an explanation.”

Kerry declined to say whether his government had told Libya of the raid to capture Al-Liby, whom he called a “legal and appropriate target” for the U.S. military.

Another U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the Libyan government had been notified of the operation, but did not say when.

“The United States of America is going to do everything in its power that is legal and appropriate in order to enforce the law and protect our security,” Kerry said, when asked what perception was left when the U.S. military snatched people off the streets of foreign countries.

Italian search teams have recovered 194 bodies after a migrant boat sank off the southern island of Lampedusa last week, with divers working to bring up as many as possible from the wreck ahead of expected bad weather, officials said on Monday.

The boat, carrying around 500 mainly Eritrean and Somali migrants, capsized and sank on Thursday, throwing hundreds into the water. Only 155 survivors were rescued and more than 300 are feared dead.

After rough seas at the weekend held up recovery of scores of bodies trapped in the submerged wreck, the weather on Monday morning was fine.

But officials said stormy conditions were expected later in the day.

Lampedusa, a tiny island halfway between Sicily and Tunisia, has become one of the main entry points for clandestine migrants from Africa into southern Europe, with tens of thousands arriving

in unsafe and overcrowded boats over recent years.

Thousands have died attempting the perilous crossing, but last week’s disaster was one of the worst single incidents in the decadeslong problem.

Putin Backs Obama’s Asia Trip Decision

NUSA DUA, INDONESIA- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he understood U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to cancel his trip to Asia and would have done the same if faced with the same domestic challenges.

Obama cancelled his visit to Indonesia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week due to the U.S. government shutdown.

“We see what is happening in U.S. domestic politics and this is not an easy situation. I think the fact that the U.S. president did not come here is quite justified,” Putin said at APEC.

John Boehner, Speaker, Houses Representatives

Congress Faces Crucial Week

WASHINGTON - As the U.S. government moved into the second week of a shutdown yesterday with no end in sight, a deadlocked U.S. Congress also confronted an October 17 deadline to increase the nation’s borrowing power or risk default.

The last big confrontation over the debt ceiling, in August, 2011, ended with an eleventh-hour agreement under pressure from shaken markets and warnings of an economic catastrophe if a default were allowed to occur.

A similar last-minute resolution remained a distinct possibility this time as well.

In comments on Sunday political talk shows, neither Republicans nor Democrats

offered any sign of impending agreement on either the shutdown or the debt ceiling, and both blamed the other side for the impasse.

“I’m willing to sit down and have a conversation with the president,” said Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, speaking on ABC’s “This Week.” But, he added, President Barack Obama’s “refusal to negotiate is putting our country at risk.”

On CNN’s State of the Union, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said: “Congress is playing with fire,” adding that Obama would not negotiate until “Congress does its job” by reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling.

The two issues started out separately in the House but have been merged by the pressure of time.

Conservative Republicans in the House have resisted funding the government for the current fiscal year until they extract some concession from Obama that would delay or defund his signature healthcare law, which launched October 1.

Many of those conservatives want a similar condition placed on raising the debt ceiling, but in his list of debt-ceiling demands Sunday, Boehner did not mention the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

“It’s time to talk about the

spending problem,” said Boehner, including measures to rein in costs of entitlement programs such as the Social Security retirement system and Medicare, the government-run health insurance plan for seniors.

Harry Reid, leader of the Democratic-led Senate, is expected to decide soon on whether to try to open formal debate on a “clean” bill - without extraneous issues attached - to raise the U.S. Treasury’s borrowing authority.

Passage of such a measure would require at least six of the Senate’s 46 Republicans to join its 54 Democrats in order to overcome procedural hurdles that opponents of Obamacare could erect.

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Tourism & Development

Edo Tourism Stakeholders Bare Their Minds On State Of The Sector

THE need for the Government of Edo State to urgently address the long standing issues of developing bankable tourism content/ tourism master plan, adequate funding, as well as sincerely committing to creating tourism-friendly policies, programs and the enabling ground for tourism to truly thrive in the State, has once again been stressed by a cross section of Art, culture and tourism stakeholders in the state.

At a one-day “Tourism Stakeholders Meeting” which held last Friday, October 4, 2013, at the instance of the Edo State Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism, the Honourable Commissioner of the ministry, Aanena Jemitola set the agenda of the meeting as being convened to dialogue on future tourism content for the State as well as to “create the awareness of the importance of the sector to the economic development of Edo State.”

The Hon. Commissioner said, “As you may be aware, the State and Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) has been responsible for Registration, Grading and renewal of all Tourism enterprises in the State. But recently, the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos ruled that it is the responsibility of State to collect revenue from all tourism establishments. The ruling is applicable to other States of the Federation, including Edo State.

Therefore, modalities are being put in place to commence massive revenue drive by my Ministry on behalf of the State government to increase internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Your cooperation in this regard is highly solicited”.

In a speech on future tourism content, the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism and Inter Governmental Relations, represented by Mrs. Aduke Gomez, Senior Special Assistant to the governor of Lagos State/secretary, Hotel Licencing Authority said Lagos State “accounts for a high percentage of all tourism and leisure services in Nigeria. This includes the activities and contributions of various establishments such as hotels, resorts, guest houses, night clubs, cafeterias, event centers, shopping malls, bars, restaurants and fast food outfits…” The Lagos Tourism Commissioner recounted the recent appeal court judgment in Lagos regarding the collection of

providing greater income than oil. Nigeria generates about twelve billion dollars in oil annually, but I can tell you that start with some major tourism stakeholder, Prince Nigeria can generate two projects - even to train tour (Engr) Yemisi Shyllon, also times that, if we develop our guides, as simple as it is, it speaking, said “we all owe a tourism industry.” hasn’t been done in the duty to our country and our Prince Yemisi Shyllon history of Edo State. Tourism State, here, to develop argued that apart from is knowledge-driven, tourists tourism. Tourism is about providing huge employment, have become very attracting people to this tourism unites the country and sophisticated, and tourists are place. This place, Edo State, promote cultural exchanges not going to be led by tour is a very, very rich place in and hospitality domestically.

“We have the potential to develop tourism in Edo State and provide employment; again it unites the country, people can come different parts of the country to see this place and, it unites us as a people. So it a big industry; it is about you and I believing in ourselves, believing in what we have, believing in our culture, and welcoming people to our State, providing an environment that will ensure that people feel safe to come here; it is for us to be our own guardians, to ensure that people feel safe when they come here, so we all have a role to play, to make tourism develop and provide employment for our people, provide income for the State, Ya’u Mailajiya, representing the Conservator of Park, Okomu National Park, and help our economy to grow.

Benin City, presenting a paper on ecotourism during the Tourism stakeholders It is a very serious business…”

On his part, His Royal meeting held in Benin City on Friday, October 4, 2013 at the instance of the Edo State Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism.

Highness, Sule A.T. Lolaiye,

taxes from tourism establishments/practitioners in Lagos State and encouraged Edo State and other states of the Federation to leverage on the recent appeal court verdict in Lagos to prevent over taxation of tourism practitioners and institutions, as well as improve on tourism policy implementations in their domains.

Responding to the Commissioner’s welcome address, various participants at the occasion were of the opinion that Edo State was far from tapping the benefits of tourism as the emerging global economy/ foreign exchange earner largely because the State government was yet to take the sector very serious over the years.

According to one of the participants, Mr. Andy O. Ehanire of the Ogba Zoological gardens, some ten years after proposals and recommendations by key stakeholders, “Edo State is yet to develop a comprehensive tourism content and tourism master plan”, a situation he believed would continue to hinder the State from making any headway in the tourism sector as a serious business.

Mr Ehanire reiterated that a process-driven, allinclusive State tourism master plan that considers all stakeholders’ interests, peculiarities, etc, should be urgently put in place by the Edo State government, adding that to develop tourism in the State certain major issues must be considered such as tourism resource, such as Culture and Ecology. He said, “There are so many pilot schemes that are supposed to be kicked off by the State government. We don’t know of any; because if you want to develop a sector, you can

By FRANCIS ODUPUTE AND KELVIN ISAAC

guides that have not been properly trained and certificated. In fact we proposed an annual certification of tour guides so that they will know the ethics of the profession”.

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, ably represented by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Moses Eguavoen, warned that “while we are discussing on how to harness tourism here in Edo State, let us not overlook the security challenges that are inherent in it. It is only when we are aware of this we can properly manage, overcome, and or avoid it when the time comes.

But the necessary measures need to put in place.” The Commissioner of police maintained that efforts at boosting tourism in Edo State would not work if the security of its citizens and visitors/ tourists to the State cannot be guaranteed, hence the need for government to involve all security agencies of government like the police, the SSS, etc in all its tourism development plans, dialogues and strategies. “I want to believe that if the necessary framework is put in place to ensure maximum security across the State, at the end of the day we will have cause to rejoice” he concluded.

A Lagos-based popular Nigerian Art collector and

when they say, what is there in South Africa… that most of these things that they go to South Africa for, they are all here”.

The royal father appealed to Nigerians, especially government officials to “reduce cost of spending outside this country; come and relax in Ososo, Somorika… so we will be happy if the State can take care of those things that can open up tourist potentials in Akoko- Edo because before you get to where we are talking of now you need a good road… all these we have to beg the State to help us put in place so that the tourist centers can be open to the general public”.

Adding his voice to his colleague’s appeal, the Ado iii of Ugbishi – Afe, HRH Oba Jaojefo, clan head of Central Akoko – Edo, appealed to the Edo State ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism to make some more discovering in Akoko –Edo, of areas that have not been visited, emphasizing that there are more areas that are rich in culture that are not visited, calling on the Commissioner to engage her team to visit some of the unreached areas and discover the hidden cultural treasures therein.

Other participants who spoke or delivered papers at

Sir (Chief) Joseph Arogundade, former Commissioner for Finance, Edo State delivering his keynote address as Chairman of the occasion during the Tourism stakeholders meeting held in Benin City on Friday October 4, 2013, while (from left to right), Mr. Fraser Neil Johnson of Protea Hotel, Benin City, Prince yemisi Shyllon and Mrs. Aduke Gomez, looks on. culture. It is place that attracts people like honey attracts bees. We have the great Benin Kingdom, with the great artworks you have here”. The famous art collector said “…the great people of Benin are known for great works of art, and I’m sure there are a lot of people that’d love to come here, but in doing that we have to provide the ambience to ensure that domestic and international tourism can flow. Tourism provides a very great income; I can tell you that tourism in other parts of the world is

the Inah of Somorika, AkokoEdo L.G.A, Edo State, pointed out that “…tourism potentials in Edo State have not really been discovered so well because, in my own area in Akoko Edo - the Ososo axis, Somorika, Igarra, Okpe, these areas are the main areas where we think the government can actually begin to look at. But, surprisingly, when you come to these areas you will discover that nobody is even doing anything about these areas. People who visit us, just by chance, we hear them

the meeting included Mr. Roland N. Osunde, the chairman of Association of Hotel proprietors of Edo State; Mr. Fraser Neil Johnston, General Manager of Protea Hotel, Benin City; Sir (chief) Joseph Arogundade, former Commissioner for Finance, Edo State; Ya’u Mailajiya, representing the Conservator of Park, Okomu National Park, Benin City; Michael Udukhomo James, SSA on Entertainment and Tourism, representing the Chief of Staff, Government House, Benin City; and other contributors.

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Sport Features “IT (the Nigeria League) is the only league in the world where HOME TEAMS ALWAYS WIN THEIR MATCHES. By the time you add that to the leadership crisis plaguing the body, you will agree that we have a major problem at hand and that nobody wants to watch matches in this circumstance” —Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, (NSC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi.

The Nigerian Premier League (NPL) was founded in 1972 with only six teams and in 1990, the League was rechristened the “professional League” with a goal to modernize the game and make clubs self-sufficient.

The league today accommodates 20 teams which vie for the ultimate prize at the end of each season.

In 2006, the League changed its calendar to march closely with that of European leagues which start around August and ending in may.

The Nigerian league has passed through developmental stage to the present level it is today and it is popularly regarded as the best in Africa between the late 1990s and the early 2000s.

However, the league has since let its pride as the best in Africa and one factor behind this is the ever growing trend among football clubs in the league which want to win home matches at all cost which is now being called the “the home win syndrome” by followers of the league”.

Despite relatively good pitches and live television broadcast of the game, it is sad that referees of NPL matches always compromise standards to the benefit of the home teams.

This ugly feature has took the shine off game. On Wednesday the 24th of July, 2013, when head coach of Gombe United, Maurice Cooreman, threatened to use his connections to make the world football governing body, FIFA, beam its searchlight on what he described as “daylight robbery” perpetrated by match officials.

“I am not happy with the officiating in the Nigerian League at all”, the Belgian remarked. “Is it compulsory for the home team to win at all costs? The state of poor officiating is so very alarming. I have not witnessed such outside Nigeria” This came in the wake of Gombe United’s 1-0 loss to ABS

Home Win Syndrome And The Nigeria Premier League of Illorin on Sunday the 21st day of July, 2013. The poor officiating in the match took the shine off the game suspicious officiating and a goal disallowed by the refree brought to the fore, the bad officiating of Nigerian referees. The officiating in that match calls for questioning.

Aside from Cooreman, other coaches with ties to Nigerian local football, including Shooting Stars coach Hakeem Busari; Dolfins FC coach, Stanley Eguma; Kano Pillars coach, Baba Mohammed Ganaru, have also had harsh words for Nigerian referees especially after the conclusion of away games.

Insecurity is most times picked as the obvious reasons why referees favour home teams as they (the home teams) are responsible for not only their upkeep but their safety.

Many a time, we have seen referees brutally assaulted mostly by home fans when the results favour them. This ugly trend in our football league has send the wrong signal to the word.

This trend will continue until adequate security is provided for referees in all matches, as some referees have received the bearing of their lives in some matches.

Making an appeal to clubs in Nigerian League, Henry Ochei said.

“There is always the believe that home matches are to be won at all cost, and when it does not turn out that way, home team fans become aggressive. Such a mindset should be discouraged by clubs.”

Judging from this factor, it may be safe to assume that the trend of home teams always winning will continue for some time as long as insecurity remains an issue as the referees will do their best to ensure their personal safety.

Bribery and corruption issue to contend with if we must revve the league and restore the lost glory.

Corruption can most times be brought into the mix when explaining anything ‘UNFAIR’ in Nigeria. Bribery in the form of cash, properties or even, shamefully, women are elements

By SUCCESS OSAYI/GEORGE OGBOLU

used in bribery, and Nigeria referees are not in any way excluded.

Even with the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Addullahi pointing fingers at the referees

objective: not to lose the game no matter what.

Then again there is the question of money, not on the part of the referees this time but that of the administrators of the

sportsmanship—to achieve their goal of either promotion or avoidance of relegation. Take for example, the world-wide disgrace that was brought upon Nigerian football by four amateur league clubs that recorded astonishing goals.

Bolaji Abdullahi, Sport Minister

as the major culprit, one cannot exclude the fact that this corruption also spread to opposition players, coaches and teams. After all where there is a taker, there is most certainly a giver.

We often ask WHY? Why do we have this embarrassing situation in the most prestigious football tournament of a country like Nigeria. The answers however are not far from our perception.

The “do-or-die affair” of Nigerian politics has since spread to our football. No league club wants to end on the losing side. It is a well known character displayed by Nigerian football clubs who tend to go the extra mile just to grind out a win.

If in their quest they do it by hook or by crook, it doesn’t really matter to their main

different football clubs in Nigeria.

They say money answers all things but it is also said that the love of money is the root of all evil. The bumper financial package that a team gets after winning the league serves as motivation for the owners and administrators of the different clubs to cut comer to win.

They believe one cannot get money without spending money and so they hire thugs or bribe referees with money just to make sure that their bidding is done.

Relegation from and promotion to the NPL is another reason behind the continues perpetuation of this embarrassment and tarnishing the image of the league.

Clubs have gone the extra mile—even when it is completely void of

“Match-fixing cannot be practiced without the knowledge and consent of the opposing team. If not, how on earth did those two amateur league matches in Nigeria produce an astonishing 146 goals earlier this year? It is certainly not by the power of the referees alone.”

Plateau United feeders were 79-0 victors over Akurba F.C. while Police Machines F.C. demolished Babayaro F.C. 67-0.

Although the four clubs have since been banned from the game for 10 years each, it spelt the very same problem which the lot of Nigerian football lovers have been advocating against.

The fear of being beaten and disgraced in front of your home fans strikes fear in the heart of club owners (for reasons that remains largely mysterious).

This however, should not be the case as even great clubs from Europe and other parts of the world tend to lose in front of their home fans time and again.

Take for example the 2012/ 2013 Copa Del Ray season where Real Madrid trashed Catalan titans, F.C. Barcelona 31 in front of the Barcelona faithful, with this coming a season after Manchester City trashed rivals Manchester United 6-1 in front of their home fans.

Could any of the above outcomes be seen in the NPL? definitely not in the nearest future or probably in this lifetime, except there is a total

re-orientation and a total change of our mindset.

One should not say that because you play at home, you must win because when you do not achieve this, you tend to pour your anger out on something or someone and in most cases, the match officials.

The win at home syndrome has since turned into an epidemic, affecting majorly all clubs in the Nigerian Premier League. If the league is to move forward and compete with the likes of the Egyptian league, South African league or even the European leagues, the mindset of owners, players and fans has to change.

Match-fixing cannot be practiced without the knowledge and consent of the opposing team. If not, how on earth did those two amateur league matches in Nigeria produce an astonishing 146 goals earlier this year? It is certainly not by the power of the referees alone.

Continuous occurrences like this make a core part of the reasons why Nigerian referees are hardly deemed good enough to take charge of proceedings on a global scale and sometimes even within the continent.

Even with the exception of the implication of this trend on Nigerian referees, the clubs trying to benefit from this are the ones that suffer the most when considering the long term implications.

Lack of sponsorship being one of the long terms effect of this syndrome, Nigerian clubs have suffered this seriously. When taking into consideration their finance and government input, one would discover that these clubs are practically broke and left alone without government support.

The impact of sponsorship to any league or its participating clubs cannot be over estimated.

In addition to given the institutions the needed financial strength to even stand alone, it also gives the leagues the added publicity and the needed publicity required if any form of growth is to be expected.

When the outcome of matches become highly predictable because they are good, sponsors tend to use the opportunity to sponsor such clubs. During the early 2000s when Eyimba F.C. was flying high, they had Nokia Incorporated to thank for their success.

Every stakeholder involved in the NPL—the clubs, the referees, the fans, the players and even the board in charge of the league’s administration—must strive as much as possible to erase this “win at home syndrome” or risk getting surpassed by leagues from Zambia, Ethiopia, or even Cape Verde.

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Wenger Pleased With Jack

ARSENE Wenger was pleased to see Jack Wilshere in the spotlight for the right reasons as the England midfielder ended a difficult week with his first Barclays Premier League goal in almost three years.

Wilshere was placed under the media spotlight ahead of the visit to West Brom when pictures emerged of him apparently smoking on a night out.

He responded by claiming his side’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns, albeit via a Jonas Olsson deflection.

It was not Wilshere’s finest ever performance, with the England midfielder struggling to impose himself in the first half, but it was an apt time to end a remarkable league drought which stretches back to a 4-2 win at Aston Villa in November 2010.

“He is an honest lad and when he’s wrong he knows it,” said boss Arsene Wenger, whose side go top of the table by virtue of scoring more goals than fellow pacesetters Liverpool.

“Today the players do not get away with anything - we got away with a bit more. But they know that is the rule of the game and the rules of modern society and they have to deal with it.

“But what is more interesting for England and for Arsenal is that he shows the right response on the

pitch.

“He had a difficult first half where he was fouled a lot but showed he has character and kept going. At least that (barren run) is done now.”

Wilshere was clearly delighted to find the back of the net - and celebrated accordingly - but Wenger suggested there is no real pressure to up his scoring rate considerably.

“I don’t think he will ever be a goalscorer,” said the Frenchman. “He’s a player who can create chances and provide for others. In our job it is quite simple: you need players who score and players who give the ball to those who score.

Mesut Ozil ‘Can Win Title For Arsenal’

Mesut Ozil

We ’ve Let Moyes Down - Rooney two goals.

Arsene Wenger

MANCHESTER United striker Wayne Rooney believes the players have let manager David Moyes down so far this season. here and we’ll be fine.

Moyes replaced Sir Alex “This will be a transition Ferguson at Old Trafford this season, because it’s a new summer and United have manager with different styles claimed just 10 points from and we have to adapt to them. their opening seven Barclays “More importantly we need Premier games under his tenure.

The Red Devils looked to be slipping to a fourth league defeat of the season on Saturday after a poor first half against Sunderland before two goals from Adnan Januzaj handed them a 2-1 win.

And while Rooney believes a period of transition is inevitable with a new manager. he still insists the players have to do better for their boss.

“Obviously the manager is under a bit of pressure, but we know as a team it’s us who have let him down,” he told national newspapers.

“We have to pull together for the manager and show the Wayne Rooney sort of fight we have done

A Tottenham Hotspur was arrested for chanting the word ‘Yid’ according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper claims that the arrest happened at half-time of Spurs’ 3-0 defeat to West Ham, despite thousands of fans in the crowd chanting “Yid army” inside the ground in defiance of a police warning.

Police had told fans of both teams prior to kick-off that they could be arrested if they sang the word.

Yid is a term for Jew which is often considered derogatory, but fans of the north London

club chant the word as an act of defiance against those who taunt them because of their links with the Jewish community.

Despite the police warning, home fans sang “Yid army” and “We’ll sing what we want” before kick-off and the chants did not cease throughout the match, which ended in a surprise 3-0 win to West Ham. However, a Met spokesman confirmed to the Telegraph that one arrest had being made.

They paper reports: “The supporter, who was in the stadium’s East Stand, was held

to do better for him than we have been.”

Moyes handed Januzaj a surprise first start against the Black Cats and the young Belgian repaid his manager’s faith with a stunning performance as well as his

Loss To West Ham Is A Wake-Up Call - AVB

Tottenham Fan Arrested For Using Y-Word on suspicion of committing a section-five public order offence. Police are continuing to review footage of the match and it remains possible that further arrests will be made.”

On one occasion during the match when Spurs fans sang “Yids”, West Ham supporters responded with loud shouts of “Racists! Racists!”

Last season in the corresponding fixture, a small section of West Ham fans shocked the football world by using anti-Semitic language.

Just four days after Spurs fan Ashley Mills was stabbed in

Rooney admits that throwing the 18-year-old into a struggling team could have been considered a risk but was pleased that the decision paid dividends.

“There was big pressure on us, but the manager has trusted him and he has repaid that,” he added.

“He’s very confident, that’s great to see. A lot of the young players who come through are a little bit timid and shy, but he looks comfortable and he’s confident in his own ability, which you need to be.

“It was a brave move to play him in the circumstances and we’re delighted it’s paid off.”

MESUT Ozil’s “genius” can propel Arsenal to the Premier League title, his former Real Madrid teammate Sami Khedira has said.

Ozil, who joined the Gunners for a club record £42.5 million shortly before the end of the transfer window, has proved an instant success, notching four assists in his first six games to help the Gunners top the Premier League table.

Khedira told the Daily Mirror his fellow Germany international had added the extra quality Arsene Wenger’s side needed to challenge for the biggest trophies.

“They already had a strong team in any case, but Mesut makes them into the best team in England,” he said. “I am sure he can be the player that makes things happen for them and win them the championship. Mesut is a genius on the field — there is no other way to describe him.”

Meanwhile Ozil’s former side have been stumbling in his absence, and Khedira admitted his exit had been blow. “There was some disappointment among Madrid’s players because he is the best in the world in his position, but I understand his decision as a player and a friend,” he said.

Rome, Hammers fans sang “Can we stab you every week?” and hissed, mimicking the gassing of Jews in the Holocaust.

But after pleas from owners David Sullivan and David Gold, as well as manager Sam Allardyce, there was no such chanting from the away end on this occasion although the Telegraph reported that some fans were heard to sing “We won’t say his name, he’s coming for you,” which was an apparent reference to ““Hitler’s coming for you” which had been sung at the corresponding fixture last season.

TOTTENHAM Hotspur manager AndreVillas Boas believes the loss to West Ham United at White Hart Lane on Sunday is a wake-up call for his side.

Spurs went into the game in good form and were expected to cruise past the Hammers, who have struggled to find the back of the net all season, especially away from home.

Tottenham controlled the first half but were unable to break the deadlocked. West Ham came out a different team after the break, bagging three goals in quick succession to register their first victory at White Hart Lane since 1999.

Goals from Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te and

Ravel Morrison handed Villas-Boas the worst home defeat of his tenure.

Spurs fans booed their team off after the final whistle, but Villas-Boas is refusing to panic.

Talking to the Evening Standard, Villas Boas expressed that the defeat is a wake-up call to react, but it’s in no way a crisis.

“It is a wakeup call that we have to react to, we have to bounce back and I trust the team to do that,” said the Tottenham boss.

“I think we can’t undermine what we have been doing up to now.

Obviously it is a defeat. Had we won this game we would have been tied at the top.

“It is something we don’t like, but we have to put into perspective of what we’ve done before.”

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Pep Satisfied With Bayern Draw

Pep Guardiola

Thomas Muller

European Round-Up

Barca, Atletico And Roma Stay Perfect

BARCELONA and Atletico Madrid maintained their perfect records in La Liga while Premier League club Arsenal dropped points but returned to the top of the table.

Bayern Munich went top of the seems still to be in working order Bundesliga and Andrea Pirlo was after 18-year-old Adnan Januzaj in sparkling form as Juventus beat struck twice as they came from AC Milan in Italy where AS Roma behind to beat Sunderland 2-1, won their seventh straight match. avoiding a third straight league Paris St Germain got the better defeat. of bitter rivals Olympique The shock of the weekend came Marseille in Ligue 1. at White Hart Lane where ENGLAND Tottenham Hotspur were stunned Arsenal returned to the top of the 3-0 by West Ham United while Premier League on Sunday after surprise package Southampton Jack Wilshere rescued a point for won 2-0 at home to Swansea City them in a 1-1 draw at West to move fourth.

Bromwich Albion, but rivals They are one spot above Liverpool, Chelsea and both Manchester City who beat Everton Manchester clubs all made up 3-1. ground with wins.

SPAIN Liverpool are level on points Alexis Sanchez struck twice and with Arsenal after strikers Luis created a goal for Neymar as Suarez and Daniel Sturridge both Barcelona recovered from scored for the second week running conceding early to maintain their on Saturday in a 3-1 win at home perfect La Liga start with a 4-1 win to Crystal Palace, while Chelsea at home to Real Valladolid on won at Norwich by the same Saturday. scoreline to go third.

An eighth victory in eight games Jose Mourinho’s team were 1-1 for the champions restored their until the dying stages of Sunday’s five-point advantage over archmatch but a raft of attacking rivals Real Madrid who needed a substitutions and late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo goal in the Eden Hazard and Willian helped fourth minute of stoppage time to give them a comfortable victory. secure a 3-2 triumph at Levante Manchester United’s conveyor earlier. belt of exciting young players Atletico Madrid kept pace with

Barcelona with Diego Costa scoring both goals in a workmanlike 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday.

ITALY AS Roma made it seven wins from seven games when two goals from 37-year-old Francesco Totti helped them to a stunning 3-0 win at previously unbeaten Inter Milan.

A breakaway goal from Alessandro Florenzi completed the rout to leave Roma on 21 points from seven games and making them early title favourites.

Napoli and defending champions Juventus both won to stay two points behind.

Napoli demolished promoted Livorno 4-0 while goals from Andrea Pirlo, Sebastian Giovinco and Giorgio Chiellini gave Juve a 3-2 win over Milan, who had taken the lead through Sulley Muntari after 20 seconds. Muntari also scored Milan’s consolation.

GERMANY Treble winners Bayern Munich reclaimed top spot in the Bundesliga despite a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen.

Franck Ribery beautifully set up Toni Kroos for Bayern’s 30thminute lead but Leverkusen, a point behind on 19 in third place, struck straight back through Sidney Sam. Bayern, who were the better team

throughout and missed half a dozen clear scoring chances, have 20 points from eight matches, one ahead of Dortmund and thirdplaced Leverkusen.

The Bavarians, who were last beaten in the league by Leverkusen last year, have now gone 33 league games without defeat - three shy of the record.

Dortmund slipped down to second after missing a bagful of chances themselves and conceding two late goals to slump to a 2-0 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach for their first loss of the campaign.

Lionel Messi

Guardiola was still disappointed that his side had not emerged victorious.

“Congratulations to my players. I am proud of our performance,” the former Barcelona boss told Sky Sports Deutschland. “We have played very, very well.

“Nevertheless, we have not won. I do not know what to say. But that’s football. [Bernd] Leno is a very good goalkeeper.

“We had done everything, but we are still in first place.”

BAYERN Munich attacker Thomas Muller has refused to take the blame for his side’s 1-1 Bundesliga draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

The Germany international wasted a big chance to give his side the lead in the 35th minute after a good cross from David Alaba, with Muller putting his closerange header over the bar.

Nevertheless, the 24-yearold feels it would be unfair to blame his miss for

Bayern’s draw.

“I do not feel responsible for the draw. That’s simply not the way things go,” Muller told TZ. “The header was not as easy as it seemed to be. I ended up under the ball, which caused it to go over the bar.

“I feel really bad about it, both for the team and for myself. This really hurts.

Things like this happen in football. It’s hard to really explain it. It should obviously have gone in.”

The supporters were hinting at recent tax troubles that the Bayern CEO and president have both found themselves in.

However, Leverkusen officials were quick to apologise for the banner after the game, with the club’s media department telling tz: “We did not know about this. We are very surprised and upset.”

The club also explained that Leverkusen supporters had smuggled the banner into the BayArena.

The banner proved to be the only thing to infuriate Rummenigge, who was full of praise for Bayern’s dominant performance.

“We top the table and have delivered a super game,” he said. “We continued where we stopped in Manchester [against Manchester City] — a worldclass performance.

“Sadly, the Leverkusen goal was boarded up and a good ‘keeper was in goal as well.

Otherwise we would have won.

“It is important to play good football and this we do on an absolute top level.”

been in charge of Bayern for just over 100 days now, Rummenigge believes that the Spaniard’s impact can now be seen on the pitch.

“We are on unbelievably high level. We play wonderful football,” Rummenigge said.

Meanwhile, Bayern winger Franck Ribery enjoyed another impressive performance on Saturday, setting up Toni Kroos’ opening goal.

Ribery has gone 38 consecutive league games — since April 10, 2012 against Borussia Dortmund — without having been on the losing side.

He has equalled the 30year-old record of Holger Hieronymus, who had been unbeaten in 38 straight games from September 1981 through to January 1983.

Bayern have currently not been beaten in 33 league games and look on course to break Hamburg’s record of 36 consecutive league games without a loss.

Muller Refuses To Shoulder The Blame

Leverkusen Issue Apology For BAYER Leverkusen With Pep Guardiola having Banner have apologised for a banner hitting out at Bayern Munich officials Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness.

During the 1-1 draw between the two clubs on Saturday, Leverkusen fans displayed a sign criticising the Bayern pair, saying: “Hey, Uli and Kalle! How does it feel to get done by the law?”

Messi Is The No 9

BARCELONA forward Neymar says Lionel Messi will continue leading the attack when he recovers from injury.

The Argentine has missed the past couple of games due to a thigh injury, with Neymar being called upon to spearhead the attack, but he says this is a temporary solution.

Neymar scored one goal and provided one assist for the Catalans as they came back from behind to beat Real Valladolid 41 on Saturday night and also had a couple of penalty shouts turned down.

Barcelona continue unbeaten start.

“The number 9 position is for

BAYERN Munich coach Pep Guardiola remains only partially satisfied at going top of the Bundesliga following Saturday’s 1-1 stalemate at Bayer Leverkusen.

Toni Kroos had opened Bayern’s account only for Sidney Sam to equalise immediately, and the Bavarians to subsequently miss a hatful of scoring opportunities to win the game.

And though admitting that the dominant nature of the display pleased him,

the best player in the world - Leo Messi,” he told the club’s official website.

“For me they were penalties, and I’m grateful to Alexis for the assist. I’m very happy.

“There is always a lot of expectation; we’re improving with each match.”

The Brazilian also earned praise from Chilean teammate Alexis Sanchez, who scored a brace on Saturday.

“Neymar is a different kind of player; he put in a great match,” said Alexis. “It’s easier for us when Leo (Messi) is on the pitch, without him we have to work harder.”

THE NIGERIAN

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Renard Quits Zambia

HERVE Renard has stepped down as Zambia coach to take up the job at struggling French Ligue 1 club Sochaux.

The Football Association of Zambia confirmed in a statement yesterday.

“FAZ and Herve have consulted and it has been agreed not to stand in his way.

It is a compliment for a coach working in Africa to be headhunted by a top European Club. It makes us proud to be able to take ownership of Herve’s rise as a successful international coach,” FAZ stated.

“FAZ wishes to thank Renard for his dedication to duty, hard work, proficiency and wish him well as he takes up his new coaching job.”

Renard wants Sochaux job Renard’s long time assistant Patrice Beaumelle has taken over as coach.

Beaumelle’s first game in charge will be on October 15 in an away friendly against Brazil in Beijing.

Renard leaves Zambia with the huge legacy of having led them to their debut Africa Cup victory in 2012 in his second coming after replacing his successor Dario Bonetti.

However, he failed to defend the title in 2013 and flopped in his bid to qualify Zambia to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The 2013 Cosafa Cup win was his last honour after beating Zimbabwe 2-0 in the regional tournament on July 20 in Ndola.

In his first tenure, Renard also led Zambia to the 2010 AFCON quarterfinals, their first since 1996 and prior to then won bronze at the inaugural CHAN finals in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009.

Renard will be reunited with Zambia striker Emmanuel Mayuka who is on a 12-month loan deal at Sochaux from Premier League side Southampton.

UEFA Denies Euro Expansion Report

EUROPEAN football’s governing body has denied a report that it is considering expanding the European Championship.

The report, in the event would include Brazil, Independent on Sunday, Argentina, Mexico and said UEFA wanted to Japan.

But a spokesman for the upgrade the tournament and governing body dismissed introduce competitors from the claims and said: “UEFA outside the continent, is not aware of the plans making it a rival to the mentioned in the story.”

World Cup. The prospect of such a It claimed other teams that could play in the revamped move — which would

effectively create a second World Cup — seems improbable, with FIFA unlikely to countenance anything that would undermine its showcase event.

Changes to the European Championship have already been introduced, with the

Three Changes In Algeria’s W/Cup Squad ALGERIA have named German-based striker Mohamed Amine Aoudia to replace Inter Milan’s Ishak Belfodil in a 26-man squad for Saturday’s World Cup playoff against Burkina Faso, the Algerian Football Federation announced on Monday.

French-born Belfodil was dropped after winning two caps in as many months after a lengthy bid to persuade him to play for Algeria was followed by a lack of game time in Serie A and mediocre performances at national team level.

Aoudia returns for the first time since the African Nations Cup finals at the start of the year after scoring three goals in recent game for Dynamo Dresden.

The French-based pair of Faouzi Ghoulam and Foued Kadir have also been recalled after being dropped for last month’s World Cup qualifier against Mali.

Algeria host the second leg of the playoff in Blida on Nov. 19 with the aggregate winner qualifying for next year’s finals in Brazil.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Azzeddine Doukha (USM Harrach), Rais Mbolhi (CSKA Sofia), Cedric Si Mohammed (CS Constantine), Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche (USM Alger) Defenders: Essaid

Belkalem (Watford), Majid Bougherra (Al Lekhwiya), Liassine Cadamuro (Real Sociedad), Faouzi Ghoulam (St Etienne), Nacereddine Khoualed (USM Alger), Carl Medjani (Olympiakos), Djamel Mesbah (Parma), Ali Rial (JS Kabylie) Midfielders: Yacine Brahimi (Granada), Abdelmoumene Djabou (Club Africain), Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Adlene Guedioura (Crystal Palace), Foued Kadir (Stade Rennes), Amir Karaoui (Entente Setif), Medhi Lacen (Getafe), Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio), Saphir Taider (Inter Milan), Hassan Yebda (Granada) Forwards: Mohamed Amine Aoudia (Dynamo Dreden), Nabil Ghilas (FC Porto), Hilal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb), Islam Slimani (Sporting Lisbon).

Keet Gets New Deal

Michel Platini

World Cup

Australia ‘Need To Strike Balance’ AUSTRALIA captain Lucas Neill feels the Socceroos need to strike the right balance between youth and experience for the side to make an impact at their third consecutive World Cup finals next year.

A lacklustre qualifying campaign and a 6-0 humiliation by World Cup hosts Brazil in a friendly last month have seen the Australian team and coach Holger Osieck come under intense scrutiny back home ahead of the 2014

tournament.

Neill, who played in the last two World Cups, feels the younger members of the squad will play a key role in Australia’s ambitions of matching or improving on their exit at the last 16 stage in 2006.

“It’s a big debate now in our country about out with the old and in with the young,” Neill told Japanese media in an interview on Monday. “But my feeling is that the guys are young and they still need some

Cole Injury Worry For Hodgson

ROY Hodgson faces an anxious wait to see if Ashley Cole will be fit for England’s

Ashley Cole

2016 tournament to be expanded from 16 to 24 teams and the 2020 event being played in a number of different European countries.

Earlier this year, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said holding the tournament across the continent would mean it “lacks heart and soul”.

But UFA president Michel Platini said: “Everyone has the right to an opinion on UEFA projects.

“I have no problem with that, and I respect everyone’s opinion, including, of course, that of Mr Blatter, with whom contrary to what I have read in some places — I get on perfectly well.

Our relationship is intact, even though we obviously cannot always agree on everything.”

qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland.

Jose Mourinho substituted Cole in the second half of the Blues’ 3-1 win at Norwich and revealed afterwards that the leftback was suffering from a rib injury.

Mourinho hopes the 32-yearold will be fit for the game against the Montenegrins at Wembley on Friday and the visit of Poland four days later. ‘’He had something in his ribs that we need to assess, but hopefully it’s fine,” the Chelsea manager said after the match on Sunday. ‘’He goes for a scan now, when we arrive (back in London), on his ribs. I hope he is fine. ‘’I want England to do (well),

so I hope he’s fine.’’

Although Hodgson has a topclass back-up in Leighton Baines, the England manager will need experienced heads like Cole around the camp for the two matches.

England top Group H by just one point thanks to their draw in Ukraine last month and the only way they will definitely qualify is if they win their final two games.

The squad will meet up for the first time at St George’s Park in Burton on Monday.

The England manager will spend the next four days trying to put together a masterplan to defeat Montenegro, who held the Three Lions to a 1-1 draw in Podgorica in March.

experience around them.

“They’re still learning how to play football. They’re still learning how to play domestically and how to play internationally,” the 35-yearold added.

“We need a good chemistry, a balance of old and young. We have some young players now, everybody’s got the tag of potential. And we’re just hoping one or two will step out.”

The defender, who recently signed for Japanese club Omiya Ardija, has been part of a squad trying to make the tricky transition from an ageing generation to a younger group.

The presence of players such as Neill, Mark Bresciano and Tim Cahill (both 33), and 41year-old goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer in the latest squad suggests they have only partially succeeded in achieving the target.

Neill, who has also played for English Premier League clubs Everton and Blackburn Rovers, and Turkish side Galatasaray, added that he planned to hang up his boots after the Asian Cup on home soil in 2015, of which he is the official ambassador.

The tournament would be the “perfect time” to hand over the mantle to the younger Socceroos, Neill said.

BAFANA Bafana goalkeeper Darren Keet has signed a new contract with Kortrijk in Belgium.

The former Bidvest Wits stopper is in his third season at Kortrijk but has added an extra year to his current four-year deal and is now tied to the club until mid-2016.

It is a move that not only keeps a key player at Kortrijk but is also designed to offer the provincial club an asset they can sell at a future date for a tidy profit.

Kortrijk have already told Keet they feel he is too good for their club and that they hope to sell him to a richer club soon but by tying him down for longer there is no need to rush into any deal just yet for fear his contract will run out.

Last season the 24-year-old was named the club’s player of the year and finished top of the points rankings for marks given to players after each match in the Belgian league.

A long anticipated national team debut came for Keet last month in a 2-1 loss to Zimbabwe at the Orlando Stadium.

Darren Keet

THE NIGERIAN

31

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

Ethiopian Underdogs Ready For Nigeria IN matching blue jerseys and red shorts, Ethiopia’s footballers confidently criss-cross their home pitch, launching the ball back and forth.

Having played Nigeria last The players press on under the blistering morning sun for over January at the Africa Cup of two hours. At this crucial stage Nations, Ethiopia are familiar in the 2014 World Cup Africa with the strength of Nigeria’s zone qualifiers, the team knows ‘Super Eagles’, who won the that every minute of training game 2-0 before moving on to win the lift the trophy in South counts. ?We have tried to prepare them Africa. ?We are ready for this match, physically as well as mentally in the first week and now we are we are very ready. We learned a doing our tactical work and we lesson from the mistakes we will continue in the coming few made last time,? said midfielder days to combine the two,? said Menyahil Teshome.

Coach Sewnet said despite Ethiopian ‘Waliya Antelopes’ coach Sewnet Bishan as his team Ethiopia’s defeat, the Nigerian waged a practice match behind squad is not a better team and the ‘Waliyas’ maintained their him.

Ethiopia are preparing to face strength until the last 10 minutes Nigeria on Sunday in their of the game. ?If you look seriously at that toughest qualifying match yet. match, Nigeria were not a better Though the odds are stacked against Ethiopia — Nigeria rank team than us. Up to the (end) we 36th in the world, according to were performing good. But in the international football governing last 10 minutes they used their body FIFA, while Ethiopia clocks experience, so they got two in at 93 ? the ‘Waliyas’ maintain penalties,? he said. ?I think we will have a better an unflinching resolve to win.

Having beaten 2010 World Cup game in the coming match hosts South Africa to land at the against Nigeria,? Sewnet said.

But he admits training has been top of their group, it is the closest the Horn of Africa nation has set back by the absence of the team’s four professional players, come to reaching the finals.

Ethiopia know the next match including star striker Saladin will be far from easy. On top of Said, who are expected early this their impressive global ranking, week.

Ethiopia — a country better Nigeria have more international known for their renowned experience and boasts several players from top European runners than their footballers — have amazed supporters by leagues.

But the ‘Waliyas’ refuse to let making it this far in the qualifiers.

Menyahil said his team, that spook them.

regarded as underdogs among powerful African national football teams like Ghana and Ivory Coast, is bolstered by a strong sense of nationalism and a refusal to be intimidated. ?Our strength is our team spirit,? he said, sweating after training at Addis Ababa’s national stadium, which is lined with posters of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. ?We have nothing to fear. Until now, we’ve been supported by our people,? added Menyahil, who was fielded illegally in a match against Botswana, costing the team three points.

Though preventing Nigeria from scoring away goals is

crucial if Ethiopia want to proceed, coach Sewnet said the team is focused on both defending and attacking, and is not prioritising one over the other.

And while he insists he is focusing on winning each match individually, instead of pressuring his team to reach Brazil, he does not scoff at the idea of making it to the World Cup. ?Why not? I don’t know Brazil, so I want to see it,? he joked.

The return match is scheduled for Calabar in south-east Nigeria on November 16 and the aggregate winners qualify for the World Cup.

PREPARATIONS have stepped up several gears leading up to Sunday’s World Cup final playoff between Ethiopia and Nigeria in Addis Ababa.

At the weekend, Ethiopia’s top stars led by Getaneh Kebede joined up with the rest of the squad ahead of the epic clash.

Kebede, who missed his team’s final group qualifier against CAR due to injury, has been in fine form for South African club Bidvest Wits, where he has so far scored four goals.

He was not available for his South African club at the weekend because of a

We Will Do It For Ethiopia

ETHIOPIA coach Sewnet Bashan says they cannot afford to disappoint the nation in the 2014 World Cup playoffs against Nigeria.

The Walia Antelopes host Nigeria in the first leg on October 13 in Addis Ababa.

Sunday’s meeting will be the first time the two sides will be meeting since January 29 when the Super Eagles beat Ethiopia 2-0 at the 2013 Africa Cup in both sides final Group C game in at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

“I am optimistic that if we can begin our preparations as soon as possible we will get

Sewnet Bashan

positive results since we have drastically improved since we last played Nigeria at the AFCON,” Sewnet said.

“We have a huge task ahead of us and as you know the entire country is expectant of good results and we cannot afford to let them down at this important time.”

Ethiopia’s qualification to the final playoff stage of the Brazil finals caps a dramatic year for them.

This is after qualifying to the Africa Cup this year for the first time in 31 years although they bowed out at the group stage after finishing bottom of Group C on one point from their three games.

Mikel

Ethiopia Step Up Preparations nagging ankle injury.

On Tuesday, elections into the executive committee of Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF) will conducted and it is already known that the affairs of the EFF will no longer be piloted the current boss Sahlu Gebremariam after he failed to get nomination from his constituency.

Some have seen the FA polls as a huge distraction before the country’s most important football match.

All the same, expectations are sky-high in Ethiopia that the Walya Antelopes will stun star-studded Nigeria on Sunday with coach Sewnet Bishaw saying his team have improved from the one who lost 2-0 to Nigeria in an AFCON group game in January.

Omeruo says he is fit for Ethiopia Nigeria, on the other hand, expect a full house at their training camp in the country’s capital city of Abuja by Tuesday.

They are expected to put in at least four full training sessions before their departure to Addis Ababa.

The Super Eagles have called up 23 players, 18 Europe-based and five from the domestic league.

Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi was a major injury doubt for Sunday’s showdown but coach Stephen Keshi has assured the experienced front man will be available for selection.

Nigeria’s Three Key Men

NIGERIA will count on Chelsea ace Mikel Obi, Victor Moses of Liverpool and Turkey-based striker Emmanuel Emenike to beat Ethiopia on Sunday.

MIKEL OBI Mikel has enjoyed a new lease of life with the national team and this was underlined when he was picked as the best player when the Eagles flew past Malawi in Calabar last month.

He has been given a free license in the midfield with Ogenyi Onazi and Sunday Mba grafting for him in the middle of the park, he has often found himself in front of goal with a chance to

add to his four goals for the national team.

He was not in action as Chelsea won 3-1 at Norwich City on Sunday and so will be fresh to give everything for the African champions to get a result on the road.

E M M A N U E L EMENIKE The big striker has yet to score for new Turkish club Fenerbache since his transfer from Russian club Spartak Moscow, but he seems to have found his range with the Eagles since he top scored at the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.

Last month, he scored against Malawi in a World

Cup qualifier and then in a friendly against Burkina Faso to prove he is back and better for Nigeria after long-term injuries sidelined him for several months.

He was most certainly the missing link at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, where the Eagles struggled in front of goal.

His directness and his purposefulness should trouble his Ethiopian markers as he remains the top bet to get in the scoreboard in Addis Ababa.

VICTOR MOSES Ethiopians already know the man after his two

penalty goals sunk their darling team in January.

More bad news for Ethiopia is that Victor Moses is again enjoying his football with Liverpool on loan from Chelsea after manager Jose Mourinho found him surplus to requirements.

He scores and creates goals and he will yet again be one of the reasons the Eagles will really fancy their chances against their hosts on Sunday.

He only needs to be less elaborate as his showboating forced coach Stephen Keshi to haul him off against Malawi last month.

THE NIGERIAN

CMYK

32

IF history truly repeats itself-without bias to geographical space or sociopolitical differences, then I believe one of the most obvious proofs of the dictum may soon present itself in Nigeria. As the politics of the 2015 presidential election heats up, there is every possibility that the advantage could still swing in any direction. If we were

Goldwater, is elected, with TV ads that had the effective imagery of a little girl’s playful flower picking and counting to ten, suddenly superseded by a barritone voice mimicing the countdown to a nuclear launch. Jonathan’s campaign handlers, on the other hand, seemed bent on selling the possiblity of an open conflict between religions if his

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013

some point, Johnson had been warned that he would lose some states by 100,000 votes.

For many, frustration over the war in Vietnam and too much federal spending had inspired public distrust. In response to the criticisms, Johnson’s team claimed that wages were the highest in U.S history, unemployment was at a 13year low, and corporate profits and farm incomes were

Between Presidents Johnson And Jonathan:

Learning The Right Lessons From Experience hoping to hinge the outcome solely on the advantage of incumbency, it would be wise to learn from the experience of the Americans, whom we so willingly make reference to on all issues political.

For those who have read a bit of American political history, the Lyndon B Johnson experience is food for thought. Just like Johnson’s fateful assumption of the presidential seat in 1963, after the death of president John F Kennedy, President Jonathan became president after the death of his superior, though surmounting immense challenges the likes of which Johnson would never have imagined in a well structured democracy like the U.S.A. Their assumption of the presidential office had been determined more by constitutional demand than by their public appeal or political craft. Beyond similar circumstances that created the opportunity to lead, the experiences in office reveal obvious similarities also: both men rode on the prevailing public sentiment that welcomed them into office to build strong bases for their future political designs; they had both secured the support of their parties to run for full first terms as president, fighting tough battles with political opponents who appeared strong enough to surmount the advantage of incumbency. Even their campaign strategies for their first attempts at winning the presidential seats had an uncanny similiraty: Johnson’s campaign warned of a possible nuclear war if his Republican rival,Barry

strongest opponent, retired General Buhari, won the elections. While in office as elected presidents, however, they had become enmeshed in conflicts that seemed to have slowly eroded the public support they had garnered previously.

The similiraties do not end there. With victory at the polls came even greater challenges for both men: with Johnson, it came in the guise of the Vietnam war; a raging conflict that saw Johnson fighting a tougher battle at home than in Vietnam; with Jonathan, it is the anti- terror campaign in northern Nigeria that has swelled the numbers of his critics who question the methods and aims of the federal government. Unlike Johnson’s experience, there has been no national demand on president Jonathan to withdraw our troops from the battle, but there have been widespread criticism of the way the anti-terror war has been fought so far. During president Johnson’s term in elceted office, signs of his imminent unpopularity werw usually played down by his supporters and spokesmen; such predictions were usually blamed on the antics of cynics and a media that was determined to see the collapse of the government. To Johnson’s team, the reasons for this alleged media attack was anything but the obvious failings of government policies. Juxtapose this with the claims by our presidential spokesmen when the policies of this administration are criticised.

When the signs became clear that Johnson would run for a second term in office, public assessment of his achievements became more vehement. It was clear that the second term attempt would not be easy for him, judging from public opinion trends. At

badly. It was clear by this time that Johnson had lost control of the Democratic Party, the party had also split into four factions, each competing for supremacy. I guess the juxtapositon here is obvious: We have witnessed the growing opposition that president Jonathan faces within the People’s Democratic Partt (PDP) and the potential problems this may pose for his reelection bid. If president Johnson’s experience is anything to go by, president Jonathan’s battle for control of the party is a battle of wits that may prove his undoing.

President Goodluck Jonathan greater than ever. And so it seems that some leaves have been reaped from the Johnson experience in countering the challenges of public dissatisfaction with the policies of this administration. First, the response to public dissatifaction has been to blame the press for a morbid dislike of the president for no clear reason; then to present facts- a la Mid-Term Reportof growth in the same areas that the Johnson government chose as evidence of success; drop in unemployment and wage increase. However, like the Johnson administration, while these successes are being bandied, there has been total ignorance of a failure in directing the benefits to those who need it the most; the teeming population of poor and unemployed.

In Johnson’s time, a 4.5 percent jump in consumer prices

seemed like nothing to worry about, as was the rise in interest rates. In Nigeria, it is a jump in consumer prices and the absence of necessary services.

Even more telling of the similarity between both men is in the manner they broached issues that questioned their popularity.

Once asked to explain why he was unpopular, Johnson responded, “I am a dominating personality, and when I get things done I don’t always please all the people.” For some reason, he blamed everyone but himself for the challenges that he faced; how much this same approach resonates in Nigeria.

Where the juxtaposition of both leaders gets really interesting is the glimpse the experience of one offers into the possible outcome of the other ’s ambition. When Johnson initially indicated his

interest in the 1968 election campaign for a second term, no prominent Democratic candidate was prepared to run against a sitting president of the Democratic party.

However, when one candidate decided to throw his hat in the ring, he exposed Johnson’s weakening support base and the over hyped myth of incumbent power. When the results came in after the primaries in one of the states, Senator Eugene McCarthy won 42 percent of the primary vote to Johnson’s 49 percent, a strong showing against someone whom no one had wanted to stand against and whose support base had been considered very strong. Four days later, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York entered the race. If that result was bad, it seemed to be getting worse: internal polling by Johnson’s campaign team in another state showed that he was trailing

There are several opinions about the factors that led to Johnson’s surprise decision to finally pull out of the recae for a second term in office: some say he wanted out of the race but also wanted vindication; when the indicators turned negative he decided to leave; others suggest that Johnson had neglected the party, was hurting it by his Vietnam policies, and underestimated the strength of his opponents until the very last minute, when it was too late for him to recover; some others say Johnson realised that he needed to leave in order for the nation to heal.

While others believe that Johnson had no other meaningful domestic goals, and realised that his personality had badly damaged his popularity. I guess the narrative exposes the insinuation.

The Lyndon Johnson experience may just be a warning that, while winning a first term election as president may prove easy for vice presidents who assume office on the back of constitutional legitimacy, a second term is not so easy to obtain.

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