Nigerian observer 17 02 2014

The Nigerian

PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol . 38 NO.421• MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • N100.00

INT’L FEATURES

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Pg. 20 Population Plus Climate: Why Coastal Cities Will Face Increase Risk

ARCHIVAL MATTERS

Pg 21 Unloading The Shelltox Doctrine In 2014

Odubu urges students to be God-fearing

By CLIFFORD AGBAJOR BENIN CITY – Edo State Deputy Governor Rt. Hon. (Dr) Pius Egberanmwen Odubu has urged students of

the University of Benin to be dedicated and God-fearing in their academic pursuits.

He gave the advice at a valentine service which took place yesterday at All Saints

Chapel UNIBEN. Speaking on the Topic: “Life Is Like A Bank, No Deposit, No Return,” Dr. Pius Odubu encouraged the students of the University of Benin to be

hardworking and dedicated to their studies at this stage of their lives in order to become successful in future.

Continues on page 2

Cross-Carpeting

Edo Govt blasts Uzamere

BENIN CITY - Edo State Government weekend, described defected Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District, Arc. Edobor Uzamere as an ungrateful politician who was rescued by Governor Adams Oshiomhole from the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) attempt to render him politically irrelevant and thereby confining him to political oblivion.

Ladies Association who Secretary to the state endorsed him Government, Prof.

(Ihonvbere) for the 2015 Julius Ihonvbere made a senatorial contest. veiled reference to the According to Senator’s defection, when Ihonvbere, “recently, he received a delegation someone who was of Edo North women rescued from political group under the aegis of irrelevance and oblivion Oshiokhue Afenmai by the Comrade

Governor called a press conference to claim that he was now moving back to the same party

that tortured him, discredited him, disregarded him, humiliated and confined

him to the dustin of irrelevance and political hopelessness.

“That is representative

of the kinds of persons that have represented us for years since the Continues on page 2

Jonathan attributes peace to prayers

LAGOS - President Goodluck Jonathan has attributed the relative peace in the country to prayers offered by different religious faiths.

The President made the disclosure yesterday at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Olive Tree Parish, Ikoyi, Lagos, where he attended Church service.

The service was attended by the General Overseer of the Church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, his wife, Pastor Folu, and the Resident Pastor and former AttorneyGeneral of Lagos State, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).

The First Lady of

Lagos State, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, the Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs. Adejoke Adefulire were also at the service.

Also at the service was Ms Olajumoke Akinjide, the Minister of State for FCT and the Supervising Minister of Police Affairs.

President Jonathan said the country had experienced unfair share of global terror but remained united and unshaken because of the prayers of faithfuls.

‘I want to thank all of you for your prayers for this country. I thank

TIT-BITS “Even if the present time fails to record you in its achievements, someday, history would surely discover the missing link and acknowledge you for your contributions.”

- Kingsley Ogbeide-Ihama

Christians and other religious groups who prayed for this country, especially at the period the whole world is facing a lot of challenges.

“You will agree with me that whenever you tune your television, especially the international news centres like CNN, Aljazeera or Sky news, you always see breaking news.

Continues on page 2

SPECIAL VALENTINE SERVICE: Dr. Pius Odubu, Deputy Governor of Edo State (2nd left), receiving a special Valetine card from the President, Nigerian Fellowship of Catholic Students (NFCS), Okpara Benjamin (2nd right) with members of his executive, Ibenagum Julius, Andrew Obiyan, Parish Priest St. Albert Catholic Church, UNIBEN (left) and a Rev. Sister of the Parish during the special valentine service of the Church. Photo: MOSES OBOH.

Oshiomhole to commission road project

By ADAMS OYIBOKE

IGUEBEN – Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State is set to commission about 24 km Igueben/Ibundin road project in Igueben

and Esan Central Local Government Council in Edo Central senatorial districts in the next 73 days.

This was disclosed by Engr. S.A. Skaff during an inspection of ongoing

road projects in three Local Government Areas of Edo Central,

weekend, by the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Succour for rainstorm victims soon at the weekend assured

By FUNMI BABATOPE OZALLA – Hope has been rekindled for

victims of the rainstorms disaster, which occurred last week in Ozalla community, Owan West

- EDSG

Local Government Area of Edo State.

The State Government

them of its plan to provide succour and relief materials through Continues on page 2

During the tour, the Governor inspected the Irrua/Usugbenu, Ugbegun Ujogban/ Ibudin spanning Igueben Local Government to Esan Central Local Government Areas.

The Irrua – Usugbenu, Ugbegun – Ujogban to Ibudin road measuring about 17km, is presently at the stone base stage waiting for final Continues on page 2

News

Edo blasts Uzamere

Continued from page 1

return of democracy.

“I want to commend you for recognizing that Edo people and Edo North in particular deserve representation that is intellectually deep and vast, that has moral integrity with qualifications that are not questionable and subject to court action at any time, with moral rectitude, with personality you can be proud of, with track records that when they speak at the senate, people will listen.

“I am talking of people with track records and networks, both nationally and internationally to attract opportunities and resources to the senatorial zone and who has the credibility and strength of character to come to the state Governor to say, I am here to discuss my senatorial zone and the Governor will listen.

“I think we are already working in that direction and I believe that God is with us and if you, who are mothers also buy into this agenda of quality representation, of effective representation, of genuine and committed representation, of the kind of representation that when they climb the ladder, they don’t throw away the ladder, of the kind of representation that recognizes the privileges of those that sent them there, then the future is sure.

“If our mothers have bought into this agenda, then I believe that the red light that the Comrade Governor is already bringing to provide succour for us will not go off anytime soon or forever.

“So, I commend you for your kind words about my hope, my plans for the future and I remain totally undilutedly and unshakingly committed to the views of the Comrade Governor and his administration.

“I believe that the foundation the Governor is setting cannot be reversed by anyone because he has demonstrated what good governance is all about, what good leadership is all about, he has shown to us the meaning of focus, planning and dedication to duty and this is what have even encouraged many of us to say this momentum must go round.

“The time for mediocrity, for idiotic perambulation in the field of politics, the time for political opportunism and reckless rascalism is gone.

“We won’t encourage bootlicking, we want people with courage to speak the truth and stand to be counted. We want people who respect, in the first instance, the constituencies that sent them there, not constituencies that are located in London, Lagos or Abuja.

“The Comrade Governor has warned all of us that any meeting talking about 2016 is unpatriotic and unnecessary at this rime.

“He is still in charge as the

Governor of the state. He still has a long time to go; so any meeting holding in the night talking about 2016, they are basically wasting time, resources and energy but for 2015, the time table is out, registration is on-going and I hope you have all registered so that we can begin to move”, Ihonvbere stated.

Earlier, the group’s Coordinator, Lady Theresa Imokhai in an address said, “we wish to state here that we are aware of the assistance you have rendered to our people over the years, especially through the Julius Ihonvbere Foundation in the area of education, job

opportunities, health care services, utilities projects and many more.”

She added that, “many of these gestures were not extended to Edo North people alone but to other ethnic nationalities within and outside the state.”

Going down memory lane, the group said, “sadly however, successive representations have failed to impact positively on our people despite electioneering promises.

“Looking at your antecedents from Ford Foundation to the Presidency and your brief stay so far with the Comrade Governor as SSG, we believe that giving

you an opportunity to represent Afenmai people at the Senate will create great impact in our land.

“The time to showcase your achievements is now. People must be aware of what you represent and what your presence at the Senate will do for us. We must blow the trumpet of Professor Julius Ihonvbere that has hitherto been hidden to every nook and cranny of Afenmai land.

Just as we did during the second term campaign of the Governor, we are prepared to devote our time to join your team in reaching our people, especially women and youths who form over 70% of voters”, she promised.

today is that as we go along the road in the villages, both the people inside the bus and passers-bye, you can see the joy on their faces because of the ongoing work.

“Only those who passed through these areas before would know the difference and I am happy that we have made so much progress.

He said “I have seen where roads are built and before you finish the first part, it begins to spoil, but I am happy with what I have seen.

Everything is good”, he said.

Governor Oshiomhole, therefore, urged the contractor to always continue to pay attention to quality control and assured the people of Edo Central of more construction of roads in the area.

He said “people believed that when roads are built in the rural areas, they should be of sub-standard. But I believe that rural people are not sub-standard people and therefore the quality of roads we find in the city should be the same quality of roads in rural areas”, he said.

He said, “because the rural people are the forgotten majority and we are committed to extending development. We cannot fight and defeat poverty if the people cannot be accessed by motor vehicles stressing that nothing can be delivered if the people are not accessed”, he maintained.

Earlier while addressing the Governor, the contractor handling the road projects, Engr S.A. Skaff assured the state governor that the first phase of the project stretching from Igueben to Ibudin would be completely asphalted by end of April this year.

He commended the governor for the support and financial obligation towards ensuring the speedy completion of the projects.

According to Engr. Skaff, “the state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has been standing by us in terms of financial obligations and otherwise and by the grace of God, we shall complete the job to specification, he stressed.

Oshiomhole to commission road project

Continued from page 1 asphalting.

Governor Oshiomhole also inspected another on-going road project stretching about 11.1km Ewohimi/Igueben and Ewohimi – Agadaga road measuring approximately 6 km situated in Esan South East Local Government Council.

Also, in Esan South East, Governor Oshiomhole inspected another ongoing Emu/Okhuesan road project down to the river at Upper Emu road to the old “Biafran” bridge which measured about 16.2km and the Emu/ Ohordua road still at Esan South East Local Government measuring 8.4 km as well as the Ewohimi General Hospital completed and waiting for commissioning.

Addressing Journalists shortly after the 4hrs.25mins inspection tour, Governor Oshiomhole expressed satisfaction on the quality of work done by the contracting firm, Skaff Engineering International Limited.

He said, “the joy I have

Succour for rainstorm victims Continued from page 1 relevant agencies, including SEMA and NEMA to victims of the natural disaster.

The State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Blessing Maigida, disclosed government plan at Ozalla, when she led top management staff in her

Ministry, on assessment visit to the community, with a view to ascertaining the extent of damage done by the rainstorm.

The commissioner and her team were however conducted round several houses that the roofs were blown off by the storms by the Chairman of Owan West Local Government Area,

Odubu urges students

Continued from page 1

Dr. Odubu advised them that whatever benefits they derived from life is commensurate with the efforts they put into life.

The Deputy Governor told the UNIBEN Students to avoid cultism and form study groups that will enhance the quality of their lives now and in the future.

In a homily, Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Andrew Obinyan centred his message on seeing through the Eyes of Love.

The man of God said Love can only grow when man is

in Christ and harped on the need to have faith and knowledge of God to make it flourish.

Rev. Fr. Andrew Obinyan urged the congregation to love people within and outside the church as everybody cannot be in the house of God. He enjoined them to have a sense of commitment to each other noting that love may not always bear the needed fruits.

The student of the University of Benin also presented gift items to the deputy governor.

Hon. (Barr.)

Godwin Aigbodion who commended the state government, for its prompt response and interest towards alleviating the sufferings of the victims of the unfortunate disaster.

He said the rainstorm has displaced and rendered hundreds of families homeless.

While sympathizing with the victims over the unfortunate incidence, Hon. Maigida enjoined them to be comforted and thank God, that no life was lost in the process. While assuring them of government continued support.

According to her, the present administration in the state is committed to protecting the lives and properties of the citizenry.

On his part, the Council boss, Hon. Aigbodion promised that the council authorities will collaborate with the state government to provide accommodation and other relief materials to cushion the effect of the disaster on the rainstorms victims.

Cleric urges Nigerians to shun violence, corruption

LAGOS - A Catholic Priest, Rev. Father Anthony Erile, yesterday in Lagos, appealed to Nigerians to shun violence and show love to one another in order to conquer evil.

Erile, the Chaplain, Man of Order Movement, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, said people should avoid paying evil with evil and stressed the need for Christians to continually pray for the unity of the nation.

He told newsmen that the Federal Government should use every instrument at its disposal to fight evil and secure peace in the country.

He said “today, some parts of the country are gripped by hatred and violence; the government should use every instrument of power that God has conferred on it to ensure that this nation defeats violence.

“We must never return hatred for hatred; the way to conquer terror and evil is not for us to return hatred to the path of the enemy. This is the

time to have the strength in faith to show love even to those who hate us,” he said.

The cleric, who is a Major General in the Nigerian Army, said it was time for Nigerians to make sacrifices for the growth of the country.

According to him, leaders alone will not take Nigeria to where it aspires to be if citizens do not seek divine intervention.

On corruption, he said the vice was endemic in the country and charged leaders to have fear of God and trust in Him. He said the solution to problems in the country would be found largely in change of attitude by the citizenry “rather than change of policies and the constitution.

“We need a change of heart and not change of policies and constitution. It is not the constitution that has been corrupted but the man; the constitution did not abandon projects; the man did,” he stated.

Attacks on Benue communities

Group tasks FG

ABUJA - The Conference of Benue Journalists (CBJ), yesterday in Abuja, called on the Federal Government to urgently take steps to end the continuous attacks on communities in Benue by herdsmen.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Iffer, the group said the attacks were capable of further escalating the security situation in the country.

According to the group, the plea becomes necessary in order to bring the situation to an end.

“We cannot but passionately plead with the Federal Government, since no other level of government in the country has statutory control, or powers over any security organisations in Nigeria.

“We are pleading with President Goodluck Jonathan to quickly take steps that can put a stop to these attacks that have led to loss of many lives.’’

The group also warned that the situation was capable of causing food crisis in the country as the people in the area were predominantly farmers.

“It is common knowledge that Benue is the food basket of the nation, and most of the food eaten in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and other parts of Nigeria, comes from the state.

“It is however sad that farmers who produce these crops are either being killed or displaced, a situation that could negatively affect their productivity if nothing is done.’’

Jonathan attributes peace Continued from page 1 “All the breaking news are always negative, you hardly see any positive breaking news all over the world.

“In Nigeria too, we have been having our own unfair share of these negative news brought about by Boko Haram, but we believe that God knows it all. Without your prayers, probably it will have been worse than this.’’

The President, who said God had been faithful to Nigeria, added that “God will continue to hear our prayers so that our country will get out of these challenges and other crimes.’’

Jonathan specifically thanked Pastor Adeboye and the Redeemed family for the 100 days fasting and prayers declared since January,

saying “for the Redeemed family, we have to sincerely thank you because you declared 100 days of fasting which is not an easy task.

“Even to keep faith with the orthodox 40 days fasting during the lent period which I also participate, it is not easy.

“You fasted not because of your personal interests, but for the country. I have to thank the General Overseer and all of you who have been fasting. May God answer our prayers.’’

Pastor Adeboye said the Church would continue to seek the face of God for the country and its leadership.

He said “I can assure you that we are praying and we will continue to pray because we have no other place to go to and God has a reason for that.’’

News

Education: 15 Indigenes

Benefit From Trust Fund

By BETTY IDIALU WARRI – A total of 15 indigenes of Iwere land in various tertiary institutions in Nigeria, weekend benefited from the Itsekiri Education Trust.

This is coming in the wake of the Delta State Government disclosure that it spent over N1.5 billion annually for scholarship to youths alson in various higher institution.

State Commissioner for Higher Education, Professor Hope Eghagha who dislosed this in Warri, Delta State charged youths in the state to avail themselves of the scholarship scheme to enhance themselves academically.

The occasion was the maiden presentation of cheques for the Itsekiri Education Trust Scholarship to beneficiaries.

Professor Eghagha who was represented by Mr. Amromandi Peter said the state government had committed much in providing good and qualitative education to deserving students of the state origin to pursue postgraduate programme both in Nigeria and Oversea.

The State Higher Education Commissioner described the scholarship scheme as another plus to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan led government three point agenda of human capital development, while urging the recipients to make judicious use of the opportunity they have been given by vigorously pursuing their studies Chairman of the Itsekiri Education Trust, Dr. Mark.O .Erumi said the event gave them an ample opportunity to publicly acknowledge financial contributions of various persons and institutions and thank them for their partnership in the ongoing task of providing a supportive environment for upcoming generation, irrespective of family status in other to prepare them for the future.

Since our inauguration, the Trust has explored various ways to ensure that the education enterprise in Iwereland is placed on a sure footing, in other to meet the needs of our growing

generation.

“In that pursuits we have had consultations with various stakeholders to ensure that we are travelling on the right path,” he said.

Dr. Erumi said despite the challenges faced by the board of trustees, members remained undaunted as they are convinced that though their efforts seem unattractive now, in the long run will yield lasting fruits.

While soliciting for financial assistance from well meaning Itsekiri sons and daughters, he opined that education is an expensive venture.

According to him,” an astute observer once said if you think education is expensive, try ignorance .We the people of Itsekiri are convinced that it is better to spend money on educating our upcoming generation, so that they can find their niche in the economic, social and educational milieu of their time.”

Dr. Erumi posited that the Itsekiri people are convinced that it is better to spend money on educating the upcoming generation to take their niche in the social political economy of Nigeria than being allowed to wallow in ignorance. That is the driving motivation for the founding of the Trust “he said.

He added that “if accorded the needed cooperation by all stakeholders, we, the Itsekiri people will all benefit directly or indirectly, when in the years to come, the trust would have been able to raise our educational standard in terms of the availability of appropriate educational infrastructures and a robust human capital

development programme in Iwereland.

Also speaking, Chief Brown Mene noted that the scheme is in fulfillment of the monarch promise to the people on his ascension to the throne to enable every Itsekiri youth obtain good, quality education that will make them competitive in the global community.

He urged the recipients not to be adrift of the purpose for the scholarship, saying that they should always remember many people have sacrificed their time and resources to make it happen.

The event which held at the Olu of Warri Palace at Ajamimogha,Warri had in attendance HRM Ogiamen Atuwatse II (CON),the Olu of Warri; representative of the Delta State governor, Dr.Emmanuel Uduaghan; Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei; representative of the Delta State Commissioner for post primary Education Board; Barrister Robinson Ariyo among others.

The Itsekiri monarch appreciated guests for attending the epoch making event.

The scholarship scheme was inaugurated by HRM, Atuwatse ll last year to bridge the gap in the educational standard of Iwere people. Each of the beneficiaries goes home with N100,000 per session.

Education trustees include Prof.Grace Alele Williams, Prof.

Gabriel Yomere, Engr Alexander Neyin, Chief Nelson Utienoyen , Prof.J.N.Omatseye, Mr. William Kpere.

Daibo, Engr.Gbesdimi Akperi and Mr. .Lawrence Ukubeyinje.

By TUNDE EIGBIREMOLEN

currently causing waves in the international community, seeks to re-enact or reaffirm the cultural beliefs of Nigerians.

Hon. Osagie also said that the proposed National Conference is ill-timed, coming at a time elections will be around the corner, to distract the Nigerian populace.

L-R: Hon. Commissioner for Works, Osarodion Ogie, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State Governor and Hon. Joseph Ikpea, Chairman Esan South East during the governor’s inspection of project in the Esan Central, Igueben and Esan South East in Edo State over the weekend. Photo: CHARITY OZIGBOESERE.

NIJ Lauds Collaborations With Int’l Institutions

LAGOS - The Provost, Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Dr Elizabeth Ikem, has said that collaboration with some international institutions has improved quality education in the institute.

Ikem made the remark in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

According to the provost, such collaboration had proven to be a great investment as it had helped in widening the students’

Anti-Gay Law Seeks To Re-enact Our Cultural Beliefs - Osagie

BENIN CITY – Rt. Hon. Samson Osagie, member, representing Uhunmwode and Orhionmwon Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Abuja, has said that the Anti-Gay Law, which is

L-R: Edo State Commissioner of Police, Foluso Adebanjo, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo and Prince Kassim Afegbua during security meeting in Benin City. Photo: CHARITY OZIGBO-ESERE.

The Minority Whip in the House of Representative made the above declarations while exclusively chatting with The NIGERIAN OBSERVER on issues of National concern, yesterday.

On the spate of defection from the PDP to APC by federal lawmakers, Hon. Osagie observed that Nigerian people were tired of the ruling PDP at the centre, and therefore seeking changes by aligning with the All Progressive Congress (APC).

“That is why they are moving,” he said.

Rt. Hon. Osagie further asserted that come 2015 elections, he intends to seek from his constituency a renewed mandate, stressing that in all his 15yrs of legislative activism on behalf of his people, he had been able to attract a legion of projects in terms of Road, Health, Water, Solar Power Project, Schools and above all, has granted employment opportunities for the youths in his locality.

Osagie who noted that legislating for the peace, order and good governance of the nation at federal level is straightjacketted, explained that despite the challenges inherent in legislative activism, his people have immensely benefited from his representation and therefore sued for their continued support.

Details of the exclusive chat will be published soonest.

knowledge.

“Currently, we are having collaboration with the World Press Photo based in Amsterdam. This has helped us to build and sustain a photojournalism programme over the years.

“It is indeed a great investment as it has helped us to equip and train not just our students but also our personnel within and abroad.

“We have produced international award winners in the area of photojournalism,” Ikem told newsmen.

Ikem said that NIJ’s collaboration with UNICEF had made the institute to develop a curriculum on child rights.

“The collaboration with UNICEF has been waxing stronger and has resulted in training the trainers. “ We are abreast of local and international developments on child rights. ‘’The whole essence of training the trainers frequently

is to ensure that our products are seasoned.

“We also have collaboration with the Nigerian French Village, Badagry, where we expose our students to French Language,” the provost said.

Reports state that the NIJ was established in 1963 by the Zurich, Switzerland-based International Press Institute (IPI).

In February, 2004, the institute received the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE’s) approval to organise programmes simultaneously for Ordinary National Diploma in Mass Communication and Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication.

The school also runs Postgraduate Diploma programmes in some specialised areas of Mass Communication such as Print Journalism, Broadcast Journalism; Public Relations and Advertising.

Orubebe Declares For Delta Governorship Race ASABA - The immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, has declared his intention to contest for Delta governorship in the 2015 general elections.

Orubebe made the declaration in Asaba weekend during a civic reception in his honour by Delta People’s Forum (DPF).

The former minister said that he resigned as minister in order to return to his home state to serve the people better.

He said he had decided to heed the call by DPF to return to Delta and work for the good of the people.

“As I was driving past the streets of Asaba, I saw some posters with different inscriptions, including the one welcoming me as the next governor of the state.

“I want to let you know that as your humble servant, I will be there for you come 2015”, he said.

Orubebe said that he was in support of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration and would work with it to move the state forward.

He paid tribute to President Goodluck Jonathan and late President Umaru Yar’Adua for appointing him at different times as minister.

Orubebe called on Jonathan to run for a second term in office, saying that he had achieved a lot for the country and deserved to run again for presidency in 2015.

“On behalf of DPF, I ask Nigerians to give Jonathan a chance to serve the country for another four years”, he added.

News Poor Implementation Of Audit Reports Bane Of Extractive Sector - Mittee ABUJA Poor implementation of independent audit reports in oil and gas sector is hampering prudent management of the extractive sub-sector ’s revenue, Mr. Ledum Mitee has said.

Mitee, who is the Chairman of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) National Stakeholders Working Group, stated this in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday.

The statement, signed by Mr. Orji Ogbonnaya, NEITI’s Director of Communications, and made available to the newsmen said that Mitee spoke at a workshop organised

by NEITI in Lagos.

He said that the workshop marked the commencement of NEITI’s comprehensive audit

of the oil and gas sector activities in 2012.

“If NEITI reports were given the attention they deserved, such issues as confirmation remittances of funds to the Federation Account will not be a subject of controversy,’’ Mittee said.

According to him, the current controversy over allegation of unremitted funds should underscore the need by all relevant agencies to give NEITI audit recommendations the deserved seriousness and support.

He said that with adequate funding and support, the data collection processes of NEITI would be automated, adding that it would enable the organisation to get real time data which could be resorted

to in time of controversy.

“A properly resourced NEITI whose audit recommendations are promptly addressed remains vital not only to our economic wellbeing, but enable the citizens derive needed benefits from our extractive resources,’’ Mitee said.

He said that in auditing the oil and gas sector, NEITI was providing critical and reliable information required for the massive reforms in the sector.

He said that the audit was being done at a time when the issues of transparency and accountability were attracting increasing attention in the country.

“It is the first audit that could be conducted under the new set of NEITI requirement and standards that were approved in

May, 2013.

“It is coming at a time in our national history that the nation is embroiled in a very unfortunate allegation of nonremittance of oil revenues to the Federation Account,’’ he said.

Mitee said that the remittances controversy would not have arisen had relevant government agencies and institutions taken NEITI recommendations seriously.

He said the workshop would expose all the 88 oil and gas companies in the country and more than 24 agencies covered by the audit to information and data

NEITI required for the audit.

“Specifically, this audit will establish the quantities of hydrocarbons produced, exported or imported, and how the licensing processes and agreements were reached and implemented between government agencies and the companies,’’ he explained.

Mitte also said the exercise would examine and validate accuracy of royalties, tax payments, product importation, fuel subsidy management, measurement processes and pricing of federation equity crude.

According to him, it will also check remittances of funds due to government to the Federation Account, among

others.

Mitee said that the audit would cover key areas as hydrocarbon flows, volumetric analysis and technical assessment of hydrocarbons streams and examination of procedural system.

“The audit involves data reconciliation, aggregate reporting of hydrocarbons produced and computation of financial implications as well as value analysis during the period under review,’’ he said.

Representatives of 88 companies and government agencies including Shell, Chevron, Mobil, Agip, NNPC, CBN, FIRS, DPR and Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation participated at the workshop.

Presidency Spends Support Services N10.37bn Extension through the training of farmers.

Food Security: ABUJA - The Presidency says it has spent N10.37 billion in three years to boost food security in the country.

In a statement from the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Presidency said that N541 million was expended in 2011, N5.1 billion in 2012 and N4.73 billion in 2013.

The statement was signed by Mr. Desmond Utomwen, the Media and Communications Consultant to Dr Precious Gbeneol, the Special Assitant to the President on MDGs, and made available to newsmen in Abuja.

It said that the Federal Government was making every effort to ensure improvement in agricultural production to ensure food sufficiency in the country.

“In 2011, the sum of N541 million was provided for agricultural investment targeted at improving food security.

“In 2012, the sum of N5.1 billion was allocated while in 2013, the sum of N4.73 billion was appropriated in the Federal Budget to foster food security,’’ the statement said.

It explained that the increase in budgetary allocations in 2012

and 2013 was done to support the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

The objective of the ATA, it further said, was to improve production, processing and marketing infrastructure necessary for selected commodity value chains.

“With the support, the office has been able to train 5,000 youths in 10 different value chains and provided start-up packages for 6,000 youths, including access to credit and other inputs through GES. According to the statement, 2,500 women were trained in poultry production, bull fattening, sheep and goat production, bee keeping, crop value chains and extension.

It also said that 22,500 farmers were trained in agricultural practices to boost food production in the country.

It stated that the Presidency provided loans to trainees to purchase starter packs and to access the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme and other necessary inputs.

It added that the loans would help the trainees to re-invigorate

It said the loans also covered the procurement of 5,000 potable pesticide sprayers, construction of roads to staple crop processing zones and the rehabilitation of rural feeder roads in crop production clusters.

It explained that GES was designed to provide affordable agricultural inputs such as fertiliser and hybrid seeds to farmers, to increase their yield per hectare, making it comparable to world standard.

Edo State Deputy Governor, Dr Pius Egberanmwen Odubu (arrowed) in a group photograph with members of Nigerian Fellowship of Catholic Students, (NFCS), University of Benin (UNIBEN) chapter. PHOTO: MOSES OBOH.

JAMB To Hold April 12, May 17 BWARI (FCT)-The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, said paper-pencil test (PPT) and computer-based test (CBT) would hold on April 12 and May 17, 2014, respectively across 2,000 centres.

Ojerinde stated this in an interview with newsmen in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to him, the examination will be written based on Paper Pencil-based Test (PPT) as well as

Cross section of Benin Palace Chiefs at the burial ceremony of Oloi Omoye Erediauwa, Late eldest wife of the Benin Monarch, His Royal Majesty Oba Erediauwa in Benin City. Photo: SOLOMON ENAIGBE.

Computer-Based Test (CBT).

“We are ready for the examination even now; however we will give them time until April 12.

“We are going to do the examination on April 12, for paper, pencil and dual-based test all over the country, but the CBT (Computer-Based Test), will start on May 17, and it will continue for 12 days.

“In any case we are prepared; we have 300 centres for CBT while we have 2000 centres for PPT (Paper-Pencil Test).

“This is the last time we are going to do PPT; it will be all CBT next year, we want education to move forward, one of the ways of moving it forward is to eradicate examination malpractice.

“That is our ambition and Nigeria will join the committee of nations in terms of technological development.”

Ojerinde enjoined candidates to study hard to be able to pass as it will use the PPT. He, therefore, expressed the organisation’s resolve to eliminate examination malpractices.

The registrar explained

that the choice of the CBT was to help to curb examination malpractices, release results at the same time and encourage candidates to prepare adequately.

“Our experience last year showed that the CBT candidates passed better than the PPT ones; there was no single examination malpractice, there was no missing result and answer script,” he said.

The registrar said further that the reasons for limiting the choice of candidates to one university was outcome of the meeting held sometime at the Nigerian Universities Commission.

He commended the decision as it would help to tackle problems about cost and delay experienced by candidates seeking admission through post JAMB tests.

He said that candidates were limited to choosing from four institutions as against six to achieve target goal.

“We limited them to four institutions; one University, one College of Education, one Polytechnic and one I.E.I. that is Institute for Entrepreneurship, because of the actions of our institutions.

“They will call both first

and second choice candidates for Post UTME, collect money from them and when the second choice candidate even scores higher than the first choice; they will prefer first choice candidates.

“So, we are saying ‘take a university, let that university finish’.

“When it finishes we will send the rest of the material to the Polytechnic, instead of waiting for two Universities.

“Let us make it one choice.

It also will reduce cost of candidates going from one institution to another, doing post UTME. He cautioned candidate against registering for both PPT and CBT; saying “it is not possible for somebody to register for the two, you register for only one.”

The registrar, however, warned that there would be cancellation of registration for anyone caught registering for both exams.

He urged candidates wishing to change their choices of university, to do so on or before close of the registration or stand the risk of paying the sum of N1. 000. as fine.

Ojerinde said that the sale of UTME form would end on March 14, adding that sites would close on March 25.

South-South

Association Urges FG To Save Warri Port From Collapse WARRI (DELTA) - Mr. Johnbull Oribhabor, the National Financial Secretary, Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents (ANLCA), has appealed to the Federal Government to take adequate measures to save the Warri Port from collapse.

Oribhabor made the appeal in Warri, Delta State in an interview with newsmen.

He said that the Warri Port, which used to be a beehive of commercial activities in the past, had almost gone extinct due to prolonged neglect by successive governments.

Oribhabor said that the association had written to successive governments on the need to dredge the waterways leading to the Warri Port to revive the dwindling economic activities at the port.

“ANLCA has made frantic efforts by writing successive governments on the importance of the Warri Port to the economy and the need

to develop it for optimum performance.

“The Warri port has been inactive over the years and at various conferences and seminars, the association has consistently cried out on the need to give Warri Port the desired attention, but our efforts have been in vain.’’

According to him, Escravos water, which is the only entrance into the Warri port from the Atlantic Ocean, has not been dredged in the last 20 years.

He said that about 65 per cent of activities in the oil and gas industry which included drillings, survey-piping and wire line jobs occurred mainly between Escravos and associated creeks leading to Warri Port.

Oribhabor said that the continuous usage of the waterways by drilling rigs, houseboats and jackups had created silts on the water beds resulting in extreme shallowness of the Warri Rivers.

“Big vessels cannot come into shallow waters, hence

the need to regularly dredge same so as to increase its depth and draft.’’

Oribhabor stressed the need for the Warri Port to be given the same attention being accorded to both the Lagos and Port Harcourt ports.

“Ships suffer congestion in Lagos and Tin Can Island ports; they get diverted to neighboring countries, yet Warri port is idle.

“Senate Committee on Transport visit Lagos/Tin can regularly, they never visit Warri Port and when any team visits, they chat with port manager and depart,’’ he said.

Oribhabor decried the high freight charges on cargoes, adding that they were capable of scaring vessels and port users away from doing business in the Warri Port.

He urged government to adjust the freight charges.

He said that the facilities at the Warri Port were relatively new, functional and did not require refurbishment.

“All it needs is to dredge her water ways.’’

The side drain on the Irrua Usugbenu road in Esan Central Local Government Area in Edo State.

L-R: Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Hon. Francis Evbomwan and Barr. Osarodion Ogie inspecting an ongoing road project weekend.

Uduaghan Inaugurates Maternity,

By BETTY IDIALU Child-Care Centre WARRI - Maternal and Child Care Programme in Delta State got a boost with the Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan commissioning a new 100-bed for Maternal and Child Care Centre at the Warri Central Hospital.

Governor Uduaghan, who also inaugurated the Delta State Ambulance Service at the occasion, charged women to embark on family planning and promptly register for free antenatal care whenever they are pregnant.

Uduaghan explained that the government’s free maternal and child care schemes were borne out of the high premium it places on the health of women and children.

“Our unflinching resolve to protect the lives and health of our women and children led to the establishment of the Free Maternal Health-care Programme in 2007 and Free Under-Five Healthcare in 2010.

“These programmes have helped to ensure that all pregnant women in Delta State can access free healthcare throughout the period of pregnancy, delivery and

Uduaghan Speaks On Asaba Flood Challenge ASABA Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, has said that it would take more than four years to address the challenges of flooding in Asaba.

The governor, who led the state executive council members on project monitoring around Asaba, said that it would most likely take another four years to address the challenges of flooding around Asaba and environs.

He expressed the hope that the next administration would start from where his administration stopped in efforts to address the flood challenge in the state capital.

Uduaghan urged political

office holders to engage in project monitoring, to ensure that projects were executed to specifications and delivered on time.

The governor said he would spend lesser time in the office and be more in the field monitoring ongoing projects.

“We are determined to finish strong; this year is not for people to sit in the office, but, everybody must be in the field working, inspecting or commissioning projects.”

He said that the handing over of schools to their owners, including missionaries, had thrown up some challenges.

According to him, most of the students who were in the

schools that had been handed over, were moved to government schools where fees are not paid.

The governor said that “Osadenis High School‘’ had been upgraded to have 64 classrooms while staff quarters were also being constructed to accommodate teachers.

“We are building staff quarters because it is important that teachers are accommodated.

It will give them a lot of motivation and make them to monitor the activities of students.”

He warned against the felling of trees, especially in government schools, directing that more trees should be

planted in available spaces, to provide shade and protect the environment, while existing ones should be preserved.

Among the projects he inspected in Asaba were the Flyover at Ekwumekwu Roundabout, the Asaba Flood and Drainage project, some roads in Asaba as well as theongoing construction of classrooms and staff quarters at the Osadenis High School, Asaba.

In a remark, Mr. Bassam Kawash, the Area Manager, CCC constuction Firm, handling the Asaba and Warri Fly-over projects, assured the governor that the projects would be ready by December this year.

afterwards while our children, below the age of five years are guaranteed free medical treatment in all public health facilities.

“With these two programmes, we have greatly reduced the risk of injury and death in women from pregnancy related causes and in children, from diseases.

Our steadily declining maternal mortality and underfive mortality rates are attestation to these facts.

“These achievements further spurred us to improve on our successes given our belief that no woman has to die because she is pregnant nor should any child die owing to preventable and treatable diseases.

According to him, “This dream, fuelled and sustained by the passion to further protect lives of women and children, has led to the establishment of this ultra-modern edifice we now call the Maternal and Child Care Centre.

“This modern health facility is equipped with state of the art medical equipment and staffed with commensurate quality of manpower that can provide tertiary level maternal and child

healthcare.

“With this new centre, we would be better positioned to achieve the MDGs as related to maternal and child care by the year 2015.”

Addressing women at the occasion, Governor Uduaghan advised to embark on family planning and space their births to guarantee their health and those of their babies.

He also charged women to promptly register for antenatal care whenever they are pregnant and go to hospital for their deliveries and stop patronising quack birth attendants.

Uduaghan while inaugurating the state’s ambulance service, explained, “the increasing carnage on our highways due to road traffic accidents is the driving force for the creation of this ambulance service...The Delta State Ambulance Service is therefore aimed at the reduction of overall morbidity and mortality in the state.

Speaking at the epoch making event, Dr. Joseph Otumara while lauding the governor described the commissioning as another milestone recorded in the Uduaghan led administration.

Southern Nigeria Governors Forum Underway ASABA Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State said plans were underway to create Southern Nigeria Governors Forum to enable them to discuss issues of common interest.

Uduaghan made this known at the 4th General Conference of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA) in Asaba.

He said the country would not disintegrate in spite of its numerous challenges.

According to Uduaghan, the South-South and the South-East governors were meeting to involve the South-West in the proposed forum.

“If we are able to deal with

our political differences, we would be making a lot of moves and I want to assure everyone that the meeting will surely go on.

“This is because, apart from our political differences, there are issues that affect southern Nigeria that will be better resolved when the leaders of the regions meet”, he said.

“So, we should be hopeful and positive, because the future of Nigeria is bright.

“Nigeria will not disintegrate in the era of President Goodluck Jonathan and no ravaging fire of ethnic nationalism can consume this country’’, Uduaghan stressed.

South West Judge Laments Pipeline Vandalism out to advise these youths about IBADAN - Justice Abimbola- Judge changing to the positive side of Obaseki Adejumo of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, has said that Oyo State was becoming a haven for pipeline vandals Obaseki-Adejumo said this during a court session where 10 suspected pipeline vandals, who pleaded guilty to vandalism, were arraigned.

She expressed worry that the state was now becoming a safe

haven for pipe line vandals and Indian hemp peddlers. “ It is not all about pleading guilty, it is about knowing what pipe line vandalism is all about.

“If you divert your youths from genuine sources of income, you will find out that the whole community will be involved in these acts. “ You lawyers should take time

SUBEB Boss Commends Training Programme For Teachers

One of the houses destroyed by last week rainstorm in Ozalla, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

INEC Promises Credible Election

ADO-EKITI - The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.

Atahiru Jega, has said that the scheduled June 21 governorship election in Ekiti would be the best in Nigeria.

Jega gave the assurance at a stakeholders forum organised by the commission for political parties and their aspirants, ahead of the poll.

213 Die In Auto Crash OSOGBO - The FRSC in Osun has said 213 deaths were recorded from road traffic crashes in the state between January and December 2013.

The figure was disclosed by the state Sector Commander, Mr. Muhammed Husaini, in an interview with newsmen in Osogbo.

According to Husaini, 288 crashes occurred in the state within the period under review while 1,341 persons were involved.

He attributed the crashes to over speeding and the poor condition of roads, adding that the state government was redressing the situation through road construction and rehabilitation.

The FRSC boss, however, called on motorists to observe road safety rules, saying the commission was determined to secure lives on the roads.

He vowed that any one caught violating road traffic rules would be apprehended and prosecuted.

He said that everything possible would be made by him personally to ensure that Nigerians give INEC a pass mark at the end of the exercise.

The reports state that the INEC chairman also promised that the experience of Anambra governorship election would not repeat itself.

“After appraising the entire Anambra poll and the criticisms that followed it, I observed that the only area we had major problem was logistics which we have resolved to tackle headlong as far as Ekiti is concerned.

“I want to assure every election stakeholder here present that such experience will never repeat itself in Ekiti,’’ he promised.

Jega also vowed to deal with any INEC staff found guilty of allegations that bother on morality, manipulation and corruption

among others.

He asked that any staff of INEC in the state, including the Resident Electoral Commissioner found to be partial or partisan in his or her duty should be reported to the headquarters of the commission.

He assured all parties and aspirants of a level playing ground, and warned that any petition against his staff must be backed with facts.

Among the about 5,000 political stakeholders present at the meeting were former governors Ayo Fayose and Niyi Adebayo, and Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, a Labour Party member of the House of Representatives.

Others were Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, Chairman of the state PDP; his APC and Labour Party counterparts, Chief Jide Awe, and Mr Kunle Omole, respectively.

AKURE - Mr. Ade Adeniyi, the Chairman, Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), has commended the capacity building programme for teachers in the state.

Adeniyi gave the commendation in Akure on the sidelines of the just concluded teachers’ cluster training in the state.

“I personally commend those behind all these teachers’ training programmes.

“They are meant to reorientate our teachers and put them on the 21st century path in ensuring that our children are able to cope with their peers anywhere in the world,”he said.

He said there was need to improve on the capacity and teaching methods of the teachers for the nation to develop.

Adeniyi also urged teachers in the state to keep themselves abreast with modern developments in their profession to aid teaching.

“I urge our teachers to be alert to the happenings and innovations in ensuring that they teach facts and that they should ensure accuracy in delivery. “ Things change in this modern world and one must also be dynamic to align with them so that success can be attained.

“We all know that pupils rely solely and even believe in their teachers more than their parents and guardians,” he said.

The chairman, however, advised the teachers to implore other means of correcting the

pupils other than through corporal punishment.

“We are in the era where thrashing is not encouraged because of its negative impacts on the pupils.

“Therefore, other means of correction can be introduced like counselling and questioning the pupils rather than meting out severe corporal punishment which may be dangerous to the pupils,” he said.

life,” the judge said.

The reports state that many cases of pipeline vandalism and cultivation of Indian hemp had been prosecuted at the court.

Three suspected Indian hemp dealers were also arraigned in the court. Those arraigned were Akorede Ismaila, Raman Salami and Tunde Jimoh.

The counsel to the NDLEA, Mr Morakinyo Ayokunle, said that the defendants were arraigned on a one-count charge of unlawfully dealing in Indian hemp.

Ayokunle added that the defendants were separately arrested between 2013 and 2014 in different parts of Oyo State.

According to Ayokunle, the offence contravenes section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The pleas of the defendants were, however, not taken.

Justice Abimbola ObasekiAdejumo ordered the trio to be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case to Feb. 18 for further trial.

Court Dissolves 10-Year Marriage

ADO-EKITI - An Ado-Ekiti Customary Court has dissolved a 10-year-old marriage between Bukola Adegbite and husband Ayodele over frequent beating and lack of care for the children.

The court’s president, Mr Joseph Ogunsemi, in his judgment, observed that all efforts to reconcile the couple proved abortive and consequently dissolved the marriage.

Ogunsemi awarded custody of the children to the wife and ordered that the husband should have free access to the children.

He also held that the husband should be responsible for the payment of the children’s school fees and pay N3,000 as monthly allowance on each of the three children.

Reports state that the case had earlier been slated for judgment by the court’s president, Mr Ogunsemi Joseph, after hearing

from both parties on February 3.

The estranged wife, Bukola, 32, had sought for divorce over alleged frequent beating and lack of care for her and the children.

She said her husband was fond of beating her whenever there was quarrel between them.

The mother of three said that there was a time the husband poured black oil on her when they had an argument.

She added that since she packed out of his house two years ago, he had not been responsible for the welfare of the children.

However, the respondent, Adegbite 53, admitted that he used to beat his wife because she goes out at will and wears trousers, which was against his belief as a pastor.

He also admitted that he poured black oil on his wife because she provoked him.

NOA Tasks Self-Employed OSOGBO - The National Workers

Orientation Agency (NOA) in Osun urged selfemployed workers in the state to improve on service delivery.

The NOA Director, Mr Samson Adeyemi, made the call in Osogbo when selfemployed workers under the aegis of Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria (FIWON) paid a visit to the agency.

He said Nigerians would patronise home made goods if informal workers raised the standard of their work and products to meet international standards.

Adeyemi said when Nigerians develop faith and trust in locally made products, it would boost the nation’s economy.

He advised informal workers to rebrand in order to keep up with global best practices, adding that the NOA would partner with FIWON in capacity building for members.

Mr Ibrahim Olayinka, the State Coordinator of FIWON, lauded the efforts of NOA, stressing that the agency plays an important role in the nation’s development process.

Havoc wrecked by rainstorm in Ozalla, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State last week.

Across The Nation Police Arrest Man Over Girl Friend’s Death

ECOWAS Urges Rapid Response To Regional ABUJA ECOWAS Crisis Commission, has underscored the need for the regional body to respond rapidly and effectively to crisis situations in the region.

Dr Toga McIntosh, the Vice President of the Commission said this at the Joint Meeting of Ambassadors accredited to ECOWAS and its Technical Committee on Political Affairs in Accra, Ghana.

The meeting was to validate the Report of the Mali AfterAction Review “We cannot continue to do the same thing year in year out, there has to be a reference point.

“Today, Mali is once again on a democratic path, and is embarking on national reconciliation, reconstruction and development,’’ statement issued by the commission’s Assistant Director of Communications, Mr Sunny Ugoh quotes him as saying.

McIntosh urged the Accra meeting, to come up with consolidated recommendations for consideration and adoption by the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC).

The statement said that this was for onward submission to the Authority of Heads of State and Government.

Court To Pass Verdict In Stabbing Case Tomorrow ISEYIN (OYO STATE) - A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Iseyin, Oyo State, has fixed Tuesday for sentencing in a case of alleged stabbing instituted against one Mohammed Lawal.

The accused, who was arraigned in the court, had pleaded guilty when the case came up for mention.

Lawal, middle-aged, had admitted stabbing one Seidu Jibrin on January 2 while arguing over the ownership of a plate of food.

The incident was said to have occurred at Ajet mining camp in Iseyin.

The police prosecutor, Mr Friday Sule, had told the court that Lawal stabbed Jibrin with a knife on his right hand.

“An argument ensued over who owned a plate of food and the accused person thought the best way to prove ownership was by stabbing his friend.

“The friend, Jibrin, was wounded on his right hand and was subsequently rushed to the hospital for medical attention,” he said.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened section 338 of the Criminal Code of Oyo State, 2000.

The accused, who pleaded guilty to the charge, said, “I did not know what came over me.”

He, however, begged the court for leniency.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Abiola Richard, reserved sentencing for Tuesday and ordered that the accused be remanded in prison.

It also quoted Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Integration, Mrs. Hannah Tetteh, Dr. Kodzo Alabo, as describing the crisis in Mali as sad though it could serve as a corrective measure.

“The developments that occurred in Mali, however sad they were, served as a good case study to help us put our house in order and not to go along the same path.

“We must say ‘never again’ to such crisis that bring untold hardship to our people, particularly our women and children. “ It drastically derailed any progress on socioeconomic development,” the statement said.

2015:

Participants at a one-day conference organised by Kwara South Consultative Forum in Omu-Aran weekend.

Police Warn Politicians

ASABA - Mr Hashim Argungu, Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police, Zone 5, Benin, has warned politicians against making inciting statements that could cause violence.

He gave the warning at a meeting with representatives of all political parties and some other stakeholders in Asaba, Delta State.

Argungu said that politicians should cooperate with security agencies to sustain peace during the 2015 elections.

He said that the meeting was called to address politicians on issues bordering on security and

public safety in the state and the country in general.

“Although the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 guarantees freedom of association, the provision of the Public Act Cap P42 Laws of the Federation 2004 puts a limit.

“Also, the Electoral Act Cap E6 2004 as amended regulates the conduct of rallies, processions, assemblies and others.

“The essence is to avoid a situation where the state will be thrown into anarchy as the statements and body language of some politicians leave much to be desired,” Argungu said.

According to him, the

command will not allow anyone, irrespective of his or her position, to compromise the security of the state.

“Events in recent times have shown that there are elements within our society who, for their selfish interests, are engaging in activities inimical to security and public safety.

“Our democracy cannot flourish in an atmosphere of insecurity and threat to security.

“It is in the light of this that this meeting was called on the need to play the game by the rules,” he said.

He reminded the politicians that the police was empowered

by the law to stop any meeting that was considered a threat to the security and wellbeing of the society.

Argungu also warned the men and officers of the police not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to cause violence, as anyone caught would be punished.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba, said that the state, though a flash point, had remained relatively calm and urged the politicians not to heat it up.

He noted that the command performed creditably well in the fight against crime in 2013.

Aduba said that the command received 43 out of about 112 awards given by the InspectorGeneral of Police for crime bursting.

ONITSHA (ANAMBRA) The police in Anambra has confirmed the arrest of a 27year-old man suspected to have beaten his girl-friend to death in Onitsha.

The commands Public Relations Officer, Mr Emeka Chukwuemeka, told newsmen that the suspect was arrested while attempting to run away after the incident.

“A full scale investigation has commenced on the matter to unravel what really happened,’’ Chukwuemeka said.

A resident of No. 46 Old Market Road, where the incident happened, told Journalists on condition of anonymity that the suspect was in the habit of beating his girl friend even though the girl refused to let go of the relationship.

“It happened last night when we started hearing the usual beating and cry from their corner.

“At a time, it appeared that he noticed that his lover was no longer responding, so, with the help of his mother and some neigbours, they rushed her to a hospital where she was confirmed dead,’’ the witness said.

The incident reportedly happened around 12:30 a.m.

Following the development, some residents of the compound left their homes for fear of arrest.

I’ll Sign Death Warrant - Aliyu

One of the 22 free model houses inaugurated by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State weekend for Maffa Community in Maiduguri.

MINNA Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State said he would sign the death warrant of any person sentenced to death by courts in the state.

Aliyu made the statement in Minna when Alhaji Abubakar Falke, Assistant Comptroller of Prisons in charge of Zone ‘D’ comprising Niger, Kebbi, Kwara, Sokoto, Zamfara and FCT commands paid him a courtesy visit.

He told the comptroller to forward the list of convicts in the state who were on death row.

“Let me know how many inmates are on death row in

Reps Call For Rehabilitation Of Bridge ABUJA - The House of Representatives in Abuja has called on the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to take steps to reconstruct the Aduhanhan Bridge on BeninAsaba expressway.

The House said that the measure became necessary to reduce frequent accidents caused by the collapsed bridge.

The resolution was sequel to a motion by Representative Samson Osagie (APC-Edo), which was unanimously adopted

without debate when put to vote by the Speaker,Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal.

Osagie, while moving the motion said that the BeninAsaba expressway was a federal highway over which FERMA had responsibility for maintenance.

The lawmaker expressed concern that the Aduhanhan bridge had started breaking down, thereby resulting to several vehicles falling into the river.

He added that the collapse of the bridge had led to several fatal accidents which had claimed many lives.

He urged the committee on FERMA to urgently take action since FERMA had the statutory responsibility of maintaining federal highways including bridges anywhere in the country.

Similarly, the House also directed its committees on appropriation and works to ensure that adequate funds are allocated in the 2014 budget for

the reconstruction of the Chanchaji bridge.

The Chanchaji bridge is located on the Takum-Wukari road in Taraba.

Moving the motion, Representative Albert Sam Tsokwa (PDP-Taraba) said that due to the “ total” collapse of the Chanchaji bridge, yam farmers and traders had been subjected to harsh economic conditions.

“The Chanchaji bridge has now been completely collapsed and it is no longer useable,” he said.

Niger State and I will sign the death warrant because it is my job,” he said, adding “believe me, I will sign if there is anybody on the row’’.

He, however, urged individuals and society to treat prison inmates and ex-convicts well so as to assist them to resume normal life.

According to the governor, it is not good for inmates to come out of jail as hardened criminals, instead of being reformed.

The governor advised prison authorities to collaborate with the State Government to ensure the welfare of prisoners.

He promised to provide vehicles to the prison command in the state to ease movement of inmates to court.

Falke disclosed that the number of inmates in the eight prisons in the state was 1,039, adding that out of the number, 442 had been convicted while 597 were awaiting trial.

He said that the prison command in the state had only six vehicles for its eight formations and 155 courts.

The comptroller appealed to the governor to assist the command with vehicles, adding however, that no convicted person of Niger origin was serving jail term in the state.

Physician Advises Cancer Screening

ABUJA - Dr. Deborah Ojo, an Abuja based general physician, advised members of the public to go for cancer screening to know their status.

Ojo told newsmen in Abuja that it was also important for the government to educate people on the risk factors and the right ways to be cancerfree.

She said cancer could be prevented by eating healthy diet and regularly exercising, among others.

“Conducting regular selfexamination and screening for breasts, testicles, skin, colon, prostate and cervical cancer will increase one’s chances of discovering cancer early.

“When discovered early, treatment is most likely to be successful.

“Limit the number of sexual partners and use condom during sex. The more sexual partners, the more likely you contract a sexually

Abuja

transmitted infection such as HIV or Human Papillomavirus (HPV).

“People who have HIV have a higher risk for cancer of the anus, liver and lung,’ she said.

Ojo said that HPV is most often associated with cervical cancer, but it might also increase the risk for cancer of the anus, penis, throat, vulva and vagina.

“Exercise helps to maintain a healthy weight and it assists in lowering the risk for various cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney.”

Ojo said that one should also avoid smoking and steer away from second-hand smoking. She advised ladies

to conduct breast examination monthly, adding that it was better done between seven and 10 days after onset of menstruation.

She said older women should also conduct mammography at least once a year to pick breast problems early.

She said that cervical PAP smear should be done for sexually active and postmenopausal women.

She, therefore, recommended cancer screening and routine medical check-up. maintaining a healthy lifestyle, exercise and getting vaccination against cancer causing viruses such as Hepatitis B and C.

ABUJA - The Federal Ministry of Water Resources has dispelled the concern of some experts who fear that Nigeria’s

groundwater resources were being depleted, due to incessant borehole drilling.

Mr Kenneth Ogbonna, a

Ministry Allays Fear Over Groundwater Depletion

Dentist Advises Nigerians To Brush Twice Daily ABUJA - A dentist with the General Hospital, Gbagada, Lagos, Dr Adebayo Onisarotu, has advised people to cultivate the habit of brushing in the morning and night to prevent gum diseases.

Onisarotu told newsmen in Abuja that the disease was common among adults.

According to him, gum disease or gingivitis is the inflammation of the tissues surrounding and supporting the teeth and is most common as a result of poor dental hygiene.

“Gingivitis is a very common condition and varies widely in severity, It is characterised by red, swollen gums that bleed easily when teeth are brushed or flossed.

“Gum disease is mostly caused by improper oral hygiene which allows bacteria in plaque and calculus to remain on the teeth and infect the gums,’’ Onisarotu said.

He said gum disease is often silent, meaning symptoms may not appear until an advanced stage of the disease.

Onisarotu said the warning signs of gum disease include gums that were receding or pulling away from the teeth, causing the teeth to look longer than before.

“Another symptoms could be red, swollen or tender gums in your mouth, bleeding while brushing, flossing, or eating hard food.

“Pus between the gums and teeth, sores in the mouth or persistent bad breath and many more,’’ he said.

Onisarotu said brushing of teeth at night has beneficial effect as it removes plaque, food and other foreign objects.

He said many elderly persons experiencing tooth loss was as a result of improper care of the

Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Usman Jubrin (right), with his wife, Lamin at a reception in his honour by members of 24th Regular Combatant Course in Abuja recently.

teeth when they were young.

“Adults are more prone to gum diseases, the tooth fall off as a result of weak gums, which is not normal as people usually think it was only due to old age.

“Whether old or young, it is very important to take care of the teeth regularly and wash the teeth properly,’’ he said.

Onisarotu said if one must use chewing sticks; it should be used the proper way to get the best results.

He said the chewing sticks had some chemical substances that were beneficiary to the teeth.

“Many are just using the chewing stick and leaving it in their mouth for decoration and not actually brushing it the proper way.

“The process of chewing

involves continuous mixing and softening with saliva, in a process that is often absentminded during the duration.

“When the brush is formed, the fringe is used to scrub the surface of the inner and outer parts of the teeth,’’ Onisarotu said.

He said one must endeavour to brush twice daily to prevent gum diseases later in life.

Senior Hydrologist and Hydrogeologist in the Department of Water Supply, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said this when he spoke to newsmen in Abuja.

Ogbonna, who said recent research reports had shown that the country had abundant groundwater resources, however, expressed concern over uncontrolled borehole drilling across the country.

“We carried out a research on groundwater resources potential and it was estimated to be about over 150 billion cubic metres per year.

“Then we looked at the groundwater demand from now till 2030; it is just slightly above 8,000 or slightly above 9,000

cubic metres per day.

“So what it is telling you is that we have so much enormous groundwater resources in the country and it is our responsibility to tap into these resources.

“Some people might express fears that groundwater is depleting.

“But from the available statistics and study, we now know that we have enormous groundwater resources to support our growing population and I think it’s good for the economy.”

The officer, who was one of the coordinators of the groundwater research in the country, said the study was carried out as part of the ongoing

National Water Resources Master Plan review.

The master plan review is being developed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

According to him, the Integrated Water Resources Management Commission, a parastatal agency of the ministry, is the implementing office for the master plan.

Ogbonna noted that the plan, which captures water development and population growth up to 2030, would serve as a guide to the country’s development, considering the nation’s population growth and water demand.

address the source and preventive causes of cholera.

Representatives from the International Red Cross society and Nigerian Red Cross, UNICEF and National Orientation Agency all stressed the need for public enlightenment on sanitation.

Other organisation which made their input were the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, National Emergency Management Agency, WASH youth groups and other water activists.

They stressed the need for co-

partners to avoid duplication of efforts in emergency situations.

They reiterated the need for safe drinking water, improved sanitation, high hygiene promotion, construction of latrines and an end to open defecation.

Mr Samuel Ome, the Director, Water Quality and Sanitation Control in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said the ministry was embarking on preventive measures, such as awareness, water tests and sanitation promotion to curtail spread of the epidemic.

He said that officers from the Enugu Water Quality Laboratory had been mobilised to conduct water tests from Benue, one of the areas affected by the scourge.

Mr Bade Olokun, UNICEF WASH Officer, advised that sources of cholera be traced to aid effective intervention, adding that UNICEF was supporting affected areas with water treatment chemicals and other supplies.

Also, reports from Red Cross indicated that intervention was ongoing in Bauchi, Kano, Lagos, Oyo, Zamfara, Ogun and other states where cholera had been rampant since 2010.

Miss Idaraobong Ibanga, Department Head, Health and Care, Nigerian Red Cross, said the organisation carried out regular community campaigns, household visits, training and construct VIP toilets in the areas.

Stakeholders Outline Strategies To Tackle ordination and synergy among ABUJA - Stakeholders in the Cholera Outbreak the states, Federal Government Water, Sanitation and Hygiene agencies and development (WASH) sector in Abuja has highlighted different rapid responses needed to tackle the current cholera epidemic in some parts of the country.

They made their input at the WASH Sector Emergency Group Meeting organised by the Federal Ministry of water Resources to

L-R: Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Usman Jubrin; former Chief of Defence Intelligence, Retired Vcie Adm. Joseph Ajayi and former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Iko Ibrahim at a reception in honour of Chief of Naval Staff by members of 24th Regular Combatant Course in Abuja recently.

Nigeria’s Food Importation Drops MAKURDI - The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has said that Nigeria’s food importation had reduced from N2.3 trillion to N1.8 trillion annually, saving the country N906 billion.

Adesina said this in Makurdi when he paid a courtesy visit to Gov Gabriel Suswam of Benue State.

“Agriculture is vital for Nigerians; that is why the President has made it the centre of his economic transformation agenda.

“When President Goodluck Jonathan made the decision, the goal was to add our domestic food supply, 20 million metric tons of rice and create 3.5 million jobs in a period of four years.

“In two years, we have added 15 million metric tonness of food and food importation has reduced from N2.3 trillion to N906 billion.”

He said that the Federal Government had delivered 16,744 tonnes of fertiliser, more than 450 tonnes of hybrid seeds and 738,000 cassava stems to farmers in Benue State.

Adesina added that the Federal Government had also completed two 2,000-tonne capacity warehouses and was committed to developing Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZ) that would enable farmers to add value to their produce, with Benue State as a beneficiary.

He said that the SCPZs, when completed across the country, would add N1.4 trillion to nation’s GDP. The minister said that four agricultural hiring equipment

centres would be established in the state, to enable registered farmers to engage in mechanised farming.

He called for greater collaboration among the tiers of government and commended the governor ’s support for Agricultural Transformational Agenda.

Responding, Suswam assured the minister of the support of his administration and that of the people of Benue.

He said he was pleased with the establishment of SCPZs stressing that with the development would put Benue on the map of development.

He told Adesina that his name would be written in gold in the history of development in the country.

Suswam said hitherto the coming of the minister, agriculture was only seen as a means to access food and not a business that would fetch a lot of money as it is today.

He appreciated the commitment of the minister to agricultural development in the country, saying: “the quality you brought to the sector is outstanding.”

Suswam suggested that more attention should be given to yam processing as the state was one of the highest producers of the commodity in the country, yet little was known about it.

The governor identified the major problem confronting farmers as land clearing as they lacked proper equipment which made them turn to smallholding.

He said with the agricultural equipment hiring centres, Benue alone would feed the whole of Africa.

LAGOS - The Catfish Association of Nigeria (CAFAN) has said that Nigeria produced 420,000 metric tonnes of fish after aquaculture was included in the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme.

The National President of CAFAN, Chief Tayo Akingbolagun, told newsmen in Lagos that Federal Government’s ban of some fish species was to stimulate local production.

Akingbolagun said that the ban was also to help fish farmers expand their tentacles to produce other fish species and to make them available in the market.

“The Federal Government in 2013 included aquaculture in the GES scheme, which has helped to increase fish production to about 420,000 metric tonnes per annum.

“Under the first phase of aquaculture in the scheme, 840 fish farmers in 10 states were each given 500 fingerlings. The

second phase will begin soon in another 10 states.

“I commend government’s efforts toward stimulating local production that will boost the economy, especially in the ban on importation of tilapia fish.

“We can produce tilapia and other species here because the weather is good and we have everything working in our favour in that regard.

“So, this is to encourage farmers to spread their tentacles to produce other species,’’ he said.

On the Federal Government’s 25 per cent ban on fish importation, the president described the ban as a laudable gesture.

Akingbolagun said that it was a roadmap to improve the country’s export capabilities as it was done in many advanced countries.

According to him, it is a process that needs time before fish traders will adapt to the development.

“I will encourage fish traders

Business+Economy 73,695 Retirees Adopt Programme Withdrawal – PenCom

The host University, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife contingent at the 24th Nigerian University Games in Ife weekend.

Theatre Arts Department students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, entertaining guests at the 24th Nigerian University Games in Ife weekend.

Nigeria Produces 420,000 Metric Tonnes Of Fish – CAFAN to be patient at this stage because this policy is just kicking off and will take time before we begin to see the gains.

“This is aquaculture, it does

not take three or four years, just about six months to one year, and everything will be normalised.

“This will help our export

LAGOS - The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has said that the 2015 general elections would not affect the nation’s investment potential.

Johnson made the assertion in Lagos at the Renaissance Capital 5th Annual Pan-Africa 1:1 Investor Conference tagged “Unlocking Africa’s Potential”.

She said that the nation’s ongoing economic reforms would not be reversed, even with a change of government in 2015, because the reforms were based on inclusive growth and development.

Johnson said that the reforms,

targeted at the critical sectors of the economy, were necessary for the development of the country.

The minister also urged investors not to be afraid of 2015, stressing that the elections would come and go like others.

“If you are waiting for outcome, you will wait in vain and might end up missing investment opportunities,” she said.

She said that the Federal Government would continue to strengthen the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) because of its

capabilities; that is we will be able to export our locally produced fish for economic stability,’’ Akingbolagun said.

He also noted that jobs would be created, adding that the more the country imported fish, the more the youth would be jobless.

ABUJA - The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said that 73,695 retirees have adopted the Programmed Withdrawal option for the payment of their pensions.

The commission’s acting Director-General Mrs. Chinelu Anohu-Amazu disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

Programmed Withdrawal, is a system whereby a retiree is paid his monthly pension for a maximum period of 18 years by his Pension Funds Administrator (PFA).

Anohu-Amazu said the retirees were from the federal and state services as well and the private sector.

She said that 59,748 of those who adopted the programme were men and 13,947 women.

Similarly, the acting directorgeneral said that 5,717 adopted annuity as an option for payments.

She said of the number, 1,679 were men, while women accounted for 4,058.

Anohu-Amazu said the commission had paid N189. 7 million as lump withdrawal to retirees at the end of the second quarter of 2013.

“The Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 allows a retiree to utilise Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance for programme withdrawal through Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) or annuity for life from a life insurance company.

“It ensures that every person who worked in either the Public Service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory or Private Sector receives his retirement benefits as and when due,’’ she said.

2015: Minister Allays Investors’ Fear contributions to economic development.

According to her, the ICT sector contributed about 27 per cent to the nation’s economy in the past five years, adding that its contribution to gross domestic product in 2012 stood at eight per cent.

Johnson said that the Federal Government would establish a venture capital fund for the development of the sector to unlock investment potential.

She urged foreign companies to partner with Nigerians to unlock the nation’s investment potential.

Johnson said that the country would stop importation of SIM cards in the next two years through funds saved from the local content initiative.

Also speaking, Dr Doyin Salami, Member, Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Committee, called for development of risk management strategy in African markets.

Salami said that Nigeria and other African markets were under pressure due to lack of risk management structure to guard against policy change and external factors.

Issues

THE world is gradually moving towards destruction. The sins that afflicted Sodom and Gomorrah which led to their destruction in the Biblical days of lot have penetrated the current generation. Now, Adam marries Steve while Eve now marries Evelyn. This is an abominable act that should not be tolerated by righteous people. People have been celebrated for engaging in same sex marriage. Regrettably, some men of God who vowed to spread the good news of the Lord are readily available comsummate such sinful and shameful union in the UK, USA and some other Countries in the World.

The struggle to legalise same sex marriage has become topical and a major theme in Global discourse in recent times.

Some developed and industrialised Nations are in the fore front of the campaign which strongly supports this abominable act not minding that it goes against scriptural command and God’s injunctions. According to authentic research, eleven out of the fifty states in United States of America (USA) have approved same sex marriage for her citizens calling on others to follow suit. Yielding to the American call, some countries have given their citizens who practise homosexuality and lesbianism the Iicences to go ahead and even marry if they so desire.

This evil practise is largely not African. Most African Countries have consistently refused to yield to the America call to join the bandwagon of sodomy but hitherto only South Africa has ignoriously decided to follow the America step.

Same sex marriage has been approved and a few of such have been shown on National Television for public visibility. What a big shame? This act is not African because Africans value culture, tradition and heritage. Nigerians have rejected same sex

Same Sex Marriage Has The World Gone Crazy?

By RICHARD OKORO EWEKA

marriage in totality. Our leaders voted against it in the upper and the lower chamber of Parliament which led to President Goodluck Jonathan to sign into law a bill which forbids same sex marriage in the Country. A penalty of 14 years imprisonment is prescribed for outlaws. The signing into law of the bill has elicited reactions from home and abroad as religious, political, academic and cultural groups as well as, students and all well-many Nigerians have appropriately applauded the courage of the president despite the condemnation from the western world which is threatening to sanction Nigeria on the issue.

Commending President Goodluck Jonathan for signing the anti-gay law. Assistant Inspector General of Police and a-two-time Military Administrator in Taraba and

her to the man. He did not create man and man nor woman and woman. People who are advocating same sex marriage should remember that those who practised same sex marriage and disobeyed God in Prophet Lot’s generation were violently killed with brick stones and fire. Lot and his two daughters only survived in that generation because they obeyed God. The situation we have created for ourselves is not only sinful but ungodly. God created man and woman for procreation and other things but it has gone his own way sinfully. Man will soon go into extinction. The act of same sex marriage is against the will of God. God is tolerant but could be angry and punish mankind for committing such grievous sin. Anger is traceable to God in the book of NUMBERS 14 verse l8 - which traces

Oyo state, Dr. Prince Edore Oyakhire said that same sex marriage is a sin, unnatural, ungodly and not in our culture, as Nigerians. Same sex marriage is wrong because it will end procreation. Mankind will go into extinction if continuously practised. We are commanded to go into the World and multiply. All the 25 Scriptural Prophet married except Jesus. Prophet Muhammad married nine wives but believers in God as Muslims are allowed to marry four. This clearly shows that celibacy is a sin against God. Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Job, Muhammad and others individually married wives and had many children. Dr. Oyakhire gave a vivid illustration of what transpired in the Garden of Eden where God created Adam. Eve was created by God from Adam’s rib. This act shows that God had compassion and mercy for human beings. God said it is not good for a man to live alone and as such He created the woman and brought

anger to God and says, “I, the Lord, am not easily angered.

I show great love and faithfulness. I forgive sin and rebellion”. It is bad to fall negatively into the hands of God. The World is playing negatively into the hands of God. Our sinful actions clearly indicate that we are due for destruction. Prince Oyakhire said that the new law which outlawed same sex marriage is not strange because as a people, Nigerians are against sodomy. Our people are unhappy because of such ungodly act. The fact that it is being practised in Europe does not make it right. Europe is the home of knowledge. The UK is believed to be the place where the Bible was first written but her stand on same sex marriage does not make the act right. Nigeria has distanced herself from such evil act. The world has gone crazy by actualising same sex marriage. We have abused the freedom God gave us. There is no freedom that is unlimited. We should be very careful, otherwise,

“This evil practise is largely not African. Most African Countries have consistently refused to yield to the America call to join the bandwagon of sodomy but hitherto only South Africa has ignoriously decided to follow the America step.

we will experience the anger of the Almighty God sooner than we expect.

Commenting on the just release Time Table by Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Prince Edore Oyakhire express doubt as to whether the activities of Prof Attahiru Jiga and the Electoral Body will lead to a free, fair, peaceful and transparent election come 2015. “The problem of our democracy is the lack of credibility on the part of INEC. Since 1999 democracy has continued to suffer losses due to the failure on the part of INEC. If we must develop, INEC should be transparent and patriotic in the conduct of election so that the best among us are truly elected into strategic positions.

Where is INEC’s biometric programme which consumed millions and millions of naira recently?

Indeed positions, it is in National interest that a retired Judge of Supreme Court be appointed as INEC Chairman. Nigeria’s political stability will be enhanced by INEC’s election of good, knowledgeable, compassionate, merciful and God-fearing citizens into leadership. To assemble the best informed minds, brightest brains, most resourceful and patriotic citizens to tackle the problems of the Country. The best part of Nigeria’s prosperity has been lost to corruption.

Corruption harms society, weakens democracy, impedes developmental growth and undermines the rule of law.

Corruption, cupidity, indolence, ineptitude, incompetence and indiscipline have majorly inhibited Nigeria’s development and growth.

Government must show sincerity of purpose and demonstrate strong political will in dealing with ethical issues including indiscipline and corruption decisively.

OBVIOUSLY, Journalism practice is getting tougher by the day. Media practitioners the world over now have varying degrees of occupational hazards to contend with on a daily basis. In the course of their duties, they sometimes get attacked, bombed, maimed, unlawfully incarcerated, shot or killed outrightly.

THE recent killing of the Chairman of the Ondo State Council of NUJ and his family members through autocrash, and several other cases of journalists who have died in the line of duty is a case in point.

INDEED, at the moment, there is a growing concern over the utter neglect and renewed terror attacks specifically targeted at the Media. No doubt, the media appear to be the least protected whose practitioners are either not covered by any insurance policy or are in most cases, not considered in terms of Budgetary allocation or provision by the state, where the other arms of government, namely the legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary are adequately captured and catered for by the annual budget.

TO guarantee the future of the media, and ensure the continued relevance of media practitioners in Nigeria, there is the imperative need not only to approve specialised and consolidated salary scale for journalists but also to heavily invest in human capital development in the industry. Also we recommend that there be a template for a safe, secure and inherently risk mitigating working environment, verged on a definite and clear-cut Insurance Policy which must spell out a specialized salary scale for media workers.

THE reason for the above recommendation is not farfetched: Available statistics have shown that rather than attract more patronage from diverse interest groups, these days, the media, as the Fourth Estate of the Realm and market place of diverse public opinion, have attracted more terror, danger and unmitigated risk.

INFACT, figures at the disposal of The NIGERIAN OBSERVER have revealed a startling terror attacks against the media. For instance, in 2010, some 97 Journalists reportedly lost their lives to terrorism in the world. The following year, (2011), the figure grew to 106.

WITHIN the first quarter of 2013, 44 Journalists reportedly lost their lives around the World. In Jos, Nigeria alone, 7 Journalists were killed within the period under review.

THE NIGERIAN

Mitigating Hazards Faced By Media Workers IN Edo State, within a space of two weeks, in April, 2012 the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) painfully and unavoidably lost five of its members to terror, assassination and autocrash in the line of duty. First, around mid April, a cameraman with the Independent Television (ITV) Benin, Comrade Chuks Ogu, was brutally murdered in Benin City by unknown and yet-to-be identified gunmen. On April 28, 2012, three Journalists in the convoy of Edo State governor met their untimely death, and were killed in the accident involving the governor’s entourage in Edo North. A week after, the crime reporter of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Bronze Fm, Benin, was equally murdered in cold blood along Dawson road in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

AS at May 3, 2012, according to the available statistics, Syria, due to the War within, led the pack with 9 lives of Journalists killed, closely followed by Brazil with five Journalists lost. Somalia under Jihadist terror stood third with three lives, while India, Bolivia and Nigeria have officially recorded two deaths each from terror attacks alone, if the trend continues, the figures for this year would be a startling 130 deaths of Journalists in the course of duty, and experts say the figure is an increase of 50 percent over the corresponding period of last year.

WHEN one Juxtaposes the scenario above with the grueling situation in Edo State, particularly before the guber poll, wherein the Director, State Security Services (SSS), Bello Bakore-Tukur met with media practitioners to brainstorm and caution them on the security challenges incumbent on their job, it becomes glaring that the call on Media Houses to upgrade their own security outfits is such that must be taken seriously in

addition to putting in place, the enabling Insurance policy that will enable practitioners perform their duties without sorrow.

AT least, no one needs to be told that the colossal damage done to lives and infrastructure when the menacing religious sect, Boko Haram, attacked This Day, The Sun and Moment Newspapers in the wake of the serial bomb blasts on these media organisations in Kaduna and Abuja, revealed so much of the hazards now prevalent in the Journalism Profession.

AGAINST the background of the growing insecure and hostile environment in which they work, journalists in Plateau State in the heat of terror in 2012 declared a “strike� and threatened not to cover government activities in Plateau State, until such a time that the situation would improve. Also, in the African Republic of Mali Journalists declared a strike and threatened to down tools to protest the hardship and insecurity attendant on their jobs. This, to say the least, is not only pathetic but sad.

BASED on the recent sad occurrences in the media industry around the world, the national President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Malam Mohammed Garb a, recently appealed passionately to state and federal governments and private media organisations to urgently begin to implement the 22 per cent weigh in allowance for journalists in the country. He also stressed the need for all Journalists to buy into the proposed Insurance scheme by the NUJ. The need for these welfare packages, geared towards mitigating the impact of the hazards of the profession can never be over emphasized.

IN the reasoning of the NUJ President, the Insurance scheme will now be made compulsory for every Journalist, as whoever is to register as a member must subscribe to the scheme because of its security implications. The NIGERIAN OBSERVER, however, wishes to add that media organisations, must take the lead to get their workers Insured and secured. The salaries and allowances of their workers should be worked out in such a way as to cater for their insurance and security as well as those of their dependants. This is the only Pedestal on which Journalism profession can thrive. This way, the media will become strengthened and reinvigorated to discharge their duties creditably and satisfactorily as the true watchdog of the society.

Opinion Food Security And National Development

IT has been predicted that there would be a catastrophic widespread food famine, the type the world has never witnessed before the year 2020.

It is of common knowledge that the quality of the food a people eat is a reflection of their lives.

In African setting, one of the achievements of a man is his ability to provide quality food for his family, an idea which the Holy Bible also prescribes.

By extension, any country that is self — sufficient in food production, and does not depend on other countries for the provision of food for her citizenry has reasons to be proud among comity of Nations.

Considering the abundant agroopportunities around our country, Nigeria, there is no justifiable reason for her to be part of the over 1 billion people currently experiencing hunger across the world, despite the governments resolve to make the country one of the top 20 economies by the year 2020.

Food Security is an essential tool for national development. It might interest you to know that with little co-coordinated efforts to utilize the abundant human and Natural Resources, Nigeria can be reposition on the map of the world as a leading food producer.

Most of what Nigeria needs to attain this enviable height is within her reach.

Compared with any country of the world, Nigeria has one of the best climate and land resources for produce would be enough for consumption, exportation and industrialization. There is a wide range of crops in which it enjoys comparative advantage.

Achieving food security in Nigeria is pivotal to national development.

This is because it serves as boost to other sectors of the economy. It is a common saying that a hungry man, is an angry man, therefore a nation with a fragile food security will have a fragile internal security that could produce nothing better than a population of people with bottled anger, awaiting exposition.

It is a common

By OJO ESTHER OFUJE knowledge that good food enhances immunity and good health, a well fed child can develop intellectually to justify investments in his education. Besides, the nutritional values and industrial potentials, food is an International Identity, as world-class exported food tends to become cultural ambassador for a country and its people.

According to a food expert, Mr. Kennedy Nwakapa, “food security exists when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary and food preferences for an active and healthy life style”.

This is a fact that tends to have ended the intelligence of leaders of this nation, Nigeria.

Nigeria is predominantly an agrarian society, as a reasonable percentage of the population engages in Agricultural production though at subsistence level. Agriculture holdings are generally small and scattered. It provides about 41 percent of Nigeria’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1999 this percentage represented a normal decrease of 24.7 percent from 65.7 percent GDP in 1957. The decrease is still ongoing because, as economic development occurs, the relative size of agricultural sector usually decreases?

The fertility of the Nigeria soil and the wide range of varieties in climate allow it to produce a variety of food and crops.

The staple major food crops include yam, cassava, corn, plantain, rice, sorghum and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The leading cash crops are cocoa, citrus, cotton, groundnuts, palm oil, palm kernel, beans seed and rubber; they form part of Nigeria’s major exports commodities in the 1960s and early 70s. Chief among the export destinations for Nigeria’s agricultural products were Britain, USA, Canada, France and Germany.

Other aspects of the

nations agricultural sector involves cattle herding, fishing, poultry and lumbering which contributed more than two percent to the GDP in the 1980s.

According to the United Nations food and Agricultural Organization (UN-FAO) 1987 estimate, there were 12.2 million cattle, 13.2 million sheep,

No country can truly be a truly great nation if it is not capable of feeding its citizens. Recent estimate put the number of hungry people in Nigeria at over 50 million, just less than 30 percent of the country’s total population of about 160 million out of which about 52 percent live under the poverty line.

As earliest stated in this write up, Nigeria was self sufficient in food production and was indeed a net exporter of food to other regions of

Akinwumi Adeshina, Minister for Agriculture

26 million goats, 1.3 million pigs, 700,000 donkeys, 250,000 horses, and 18,000 camels, mostly in Northern Nigeria and owned mostly by rural dwellers. Fishing out pet range from 600,000 to 700,000 tons annually in the 70s but statistical data indicated that all these aspects of our agricultural sector have dropped to it’s lowest ebb due to numerous factors which must be overhauled if the nation must be on course for vision 202020

the world. However, things changed dramatically for the worse following the global economic crisis that hit developing countries beginning from the late 70s, coupled with ;the discovery of crude oil and subsequent rising revenue from the nations petroleum sector. These provided a platform for the neglect of the agricultural sector and turned Nigeria into a net importer of food.

By 2009, for example, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimated that Nigeria was spending over 3 billion Dollars annually on food Importation.

Numerous factors are responsible for this ugly trend in the nation’s agricultural sector, these must be revisited and appropriate solution proffered. If Nigeria truly takes food security seriously. This is because developments go hand in hand with the issue of food security in every nation of the world.

Although agriculture contributes about 42 percent of the country’s GDP. Provided employment means of livelihood for more than 80 percent of the productively engaged population, it receives less than 10 percent of the annual budgetary allocations.

Under funding in this regard is central to the crisis in food production and food security in Nigeria which explains the high incidence of poverty and underdevelopment.

Akin to this problem is the seemingly irresolvable incoherence in governments’ policy formulation and implementation strategies.

The fact remains that the Nigeria agriculture is still too feeble to compete with the forces of Nature and the dynamics of the International Market. The farmers are incompetent to contend with the challenges of the climate change.

With too little or too much rains, the Nigerian farmers are still the losers because an average farmer has no stabilizing factors to cope with the challenges. The farmers, still depends largely on traditional implement. The Nigerian farm is still a model of incompatible

marriage between new ideas such as improved crop varieties and crude age-long working tools of bare — foot old farmer.

More so, with so many Agricultural and research institutes, Nigeria hardly needs more paper work.

Nigeria needs to move from crude to mechanized farming. The machines can produce better than the crude method of farming by the fast ageing population of the poverty — ridden rural dwellers, struggling to feed million of Nigerian people.

Basic infrastructural facilities like good roads to access the rural areas where the bulk of the agricultural crops are cultivated are inadequate; lack of farm labour due to rural — urban drift, trade restrictions, illiteracy on the part of farmers, little or non-government assistance in providing some basic facilities like fertilizers, dams for Irrigation, storage facilities and credit facilities coupled with acts of nature such as drought and flooding are some of the factors militating against food security in Nigeria.

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina recently in an interview with newsmen identified the appalling level of financing in Agriculture in comparison with their African Nations.

According to him “Nigeria spends only 3% or less of her entire budget on Agriculture.” Other countries, much smaller than Nigeria do far more than this. Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique spend between 10-15 percent or more in agriculture.

The Minister pointed out that agricultural production low, nothing that yields of farms in Nigeria are extremely low, with the average yield of Continues on pg. 15

“Food Security is an essential tool for national development. It might interest you to know that with little co-coordinated efforts to utilize the abundant human and Natural Resources, Nigeria can be reposition on the map of the world as a leading food producer. Most of what Nigeria needs to attain this enviable height is within her reach.”

Agriculture THOUGH Nigeria has vast arable land suitable for agriculture, the country still imports food.

The International Food Policy Research Institute, warns that there is threat to food security in Nigeria, if the country maintains its current food production level.

The Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), was designed to address the problem of food deficit in the country.

Osun is among the states in the country that had keyed into the various Federal Government’s policies introduced to boost food production in the country.

Mr. Kayode Olanipekun, Acting General Manager, Osun State Agricultural Development Corporation (OSSADEC), said the state spent N128 million to clear 800 hectares of farmland in 2013.

He said that government paid 45 per cent subsidy for the clearing and ploughing of the farmland for farmers.

Olanipekun said Governor Rauf Aregbesola had expressed government’s commitment to open up more arable land for farmers to facilitate mechanised farming in 2014.

He noted that provision of incentives would encourage the youths to engage in agriculture, thereby reducing the high unemployment rate in the state.

Olanipekun said that youths in the state would be positioned to engage in rice cultivation, ahead of the Federal Government’s planned ban on importation of rice.

According to him, the Federal Government’s decision to stop rice importation will encourage local rice production in the country.

“Although it can be difficult a bit at the beginning, it will be to our advantage because it will ensure food security in the

Assessing Osun State Government’s Efforts In Food Production country; and eventually boost our foreign exchange.

“Youths in the state will be encouraged to engage in the cultivation of rice and other crops,’’ he said.

On his part, Mr. Mukaila Omisore, Project Manager, Osun State Agriculture Development Project (OSADEP), said 1,300 farmers in the state were given hybrid cassava and maize seedlings.

He also said that 18,192 farmers benefited from the Federal Government’s Growth Enhancement Support Scheme.

The project manager said that under the scheme, they were given rice and maize

By TOLA OKINBALOYE

seedlings, as well as two bags of fertiliser each at a subsidised rate.

Mr Olubukola Akinola, the Director of Fishery Services, Osun State Ministry of Agriculture, said the state government was also encouraging fish farming.

He said that the fish farming project, was a public-private sector partnership with Oshin Farms, expected to create about 100 jobs.

Akinola said that after deliberation, cage fish farming method was adopted.

The director pointed out that the government adopted cage fish farming system to ensure sustainability.

“With the cage farming, the farmers have the opportunity to locate their farm at water dams where there will be enough water for fish farming and production round the year,’’ he said.

He said that the programme would run for four years, adding that it would create many jobs at the end of the day.

Farmers in Osun, participating in the Fadama

“With the cage farming, the farmers have the opportunity to locate their farm at water dams where there will be enough water for fish farming and production round the year,’’

III programme, want the Federal Government to ensure the continuation of the World Bank assisted programme, as it boosted food production in the state.

A poultry farmer, Mr. Julius Oyeyinka, appealed to the federal and state governments to ensure the continuation of Fadama Development Projects nationwide.

Oyeyinka said he was one of the beneficiaries of the project at its inception in 2009, noting that the programme had sustained many farming families in the country.

“Fadama Development Project has made great impact in our lives; it has helped us a lot,’’ he said.

Oyeyinka attributed the success of his farm to professional instructions, guidelines and effective monitoring by the state’s Fadama III Development Project.

The state’s Fadama coordinator, Mr. Ganiyu Adediji, assured farmers that all uncompleted

projects would be completed in 2014.

Adediji said that about 16, 900 people were empowered through various Fadama projects, adding that many people in the rural areas were trained in various areas of agriculture.

He however complained that many local government councils in the state had not been paying their counterpart funds since 2011, while some beneficiaries did not live up to expectation.

Adediji appealed to the local government councils to cooperate, to enable more people benefit from the programme, designed to boost food production in the country.

Stakeholders want the government to sustain the provision of incentives to farmers, while the local governments defaulting in the payment of Fadama counterpart contribution should pay up.

Agriculture is a big business, and should therefore be encouraged and promoted.

Continued from pg. 13

seed crops in Nigeria still at approximately one ton per hectare compared to the global average of five tons per hectare. The minister went on to say that “as big as Nigeria, only one percent of our farmers use modern seeds.” He pointed out that Nigeria is presently using 13 killogramme. Per hectare of fertilizer,” According to him “Now the global average is 100 killogramme, China is close to 400 per hectare.

Most of the food we produce comes from expanding cultivated areas, not from increasing productivity per unit area.”

In addition, he said a lot of what we produced is lost IN my opinion, two of the most stupid mistakes ever made in recent times were made by Jim McDermott, a wall street titan, and Dick Morris, a political strategist for the Clinton Presidential campaign of 1996. Jim, a married man with a salary of more than $4Million per year and the CEO of a prestigious firm in New York, lost nearly everything to a porn superstar named Kathryn Gannon. Reportedly, she was a highly paid prostitute. In the case of Dick Morris, he was exposed to the media for having allegedly sucked the toes of another prostitute whose name was Sherry Rowlands. Like Clinton, Dick also apologized publicly. He lost his relationship with the White House.

Some religious leaders have also made some serious mistakes. In the 1980s, televangelists Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart lost their credibility and ministries for a while because of their alleged sordid sexual encounters with women other than their wives. A former Church Secretary, Jessica Hahn, who later posed nude for playboy magazine, brought Bakker down from glory to grass.

The evangelist Swaggart mined himself “by cavorting with prostitutes”. Another popular charismatic minister, Oral Roberts, made a mistake when he publicly declared that “God told him he would find a cure for cancer if everyone sent in $240” to

due to lack of proper storage and processing facilities, explaining that Nigeria farmers have been poor managers of agricultural resources due to poor planning. The Minister concluded that, Nigeria is now the largest importer of tomatoes paste from China and Italy when we have tomatoes in abundance, wasting away on a daily basis due to no storage facilities.

The ongoing coordination between the ministry and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the efforts to reposition the agriculture sector is enjoying the support of industry analyst who seek enhanced Agriculture Productivity and the

Opinion ... And National Development attainment of food security.

Attention was again drawn to the abysmal performance of the nations agriculture sector when the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi reeled out the facts and figures on why existing agricultural policies should be reviewed with the aim of improving out put from the sector.

Just as the CBN governor’s revelation show that Nigeria is incurring a total food import bill of $4.2 billion (about N638.4 billion) annually due to the neglect of agriculture, the

governor proposed a completely new agriculture policy.

With all these problems bedeviling the nation’s agricultural sector, it must be reiterated that no government in Nigeria has displayed ignorance of the possibilities of food security in National Development. Whether their policies and programmes have been mere white elephant protect or paper tiger, whether they are blue print or mere political statements, whether they are genuine intentions or mere channels of siphoning public money

are puzzles Nigerians have found difficult to give accurate definition.

It is high time Nigeria translated the country’s huge agriculture potentials into realities by encouraging local production and strengthening the value chain so as to make Nigeria self-sufficient and generate income and wealth for the Nigerian farmers.

If country must move from its current level to higher heights in food production and, if she desires true national development, then, food insecurity which is as a

Benefits Of Making Mistakes

his ministry. These mistakes caused the Christian Churches in America a lot of embarrassment and ferocious criticisms.

If you still doubt that everyone makes mistakes, then I suggest to you that you read the lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (1986) by Robin Leach, presidential passions: The love Affairs of American Presidents from Washington and Jefferson to Kennedy and Johnson (1991) by Michael John Sullivan, and Dynasty: The Authorized Biography of the Carringtons (1984).

Dynasty was a very popular TV program in the l980s.

But why do people make all these mistakes?

Primarily, it is because we all are human beings. Do you really believe that the brightest, most talented, generous and influential people among us would deliberately go out of their way to ruin themselves by making costly mistakes?

No. I believe the reason for their actions ties in our fallen humanity.

In fact, our propensity to make these foolish mistakes supports the biblical contention that “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The book of Ecclesiastes declares: “Surely there is not a righteous man upon the earth who does good and never sins” (7:20). In the secular language of our time, we are all makers of mistakes, some are very costly.

BY ESTHER OFUJE OJO Anthony Robbins, the millionaire motivational speaker and author, quoted Buckminster Fuller as saying: “Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience.

Humans have learned through Mistakes”.

Robbins wisely added however, that “sometimes, we earn from our mistakes, sometimes from the mistakes of others”.

There are many blessings or benefits that can come as a result of making mistakes. Think of a toddler who never made his first mistake while attempting to walk. I can really think of five benefits.

Mistakes give us the opportunity or chance to learn from them. We would never be better without them.

When acknowledged, mistakes give us the opportunity to redeem ourselves and others from

errors. We can ask for pardon, forgiveness, and may pay appropriate compensation if our mistakes have hurt someone. We may restitute and show real and deep contrition. We can offer apologies for our mistakes according to Author James L. Dickerson, “Americans have an insatiable appetite for public apologies”.

The commonality and universality of making mistakes ought to teach us that we should not have an overly harsh and judgmental attitude in our treatment - people who have erred. Jesus once said to such a crowd concerning a prostitute that was brought to him for punishment. “He that is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone”.

(John 8:7).

We should not be excessive in our denunciation and condemnation of making mistakes. We must always remember that “to err is

human, to forgive is divine” The author Mike Murdock writes that recognizing our mistakes can help us also to recognize the limitations of others. “Everyone has weaknesses and limitations”, he argues and adds: “your responsibility is to discern them”.

The world is often ready to offer us a second chance if we would accept responsibility for the mistakes that we made.

Even God, according to Richard Roberts, the son of Oral Roberts, is “The God of a second chance!”

Therefore, we can become more and more hopeful of success even if, at the first attempt, failure may stare us in the face. A celebrated Nigerian Musician once sang: “If you try and don’t succeed, try, try, try again”. This is the trial and error process that often leads to inventions, discoveries and success.

Keep the words of Buckminster Fuller always in mind: “Humans learned only through mistakes”.

It is possible that on your

result of the under performance in the agricultural sector can only be turned around with more commitment on the part of policy makers.

In this is a sure way to put the nation on the part to attaining the millennium Development Goals and the transformation agenda of Mr. President. Besides, food security should be given greater priority in order to enhance self sustainability which is one of the pre-requisite for National and Electric growth and development. road to success, you will like Thomas Edison, make 10, 000 mistakes before you discover your own electric light bulb. But remember the words of Oscar Wilde: “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes”.

Mistakes will offer to you the benefit of having some personal experiences. As the old saying goes: “experience is the best teacher”.

My beloved mother once sat me down and asked: “How many times would something happen to you before you learn your lesson?” I thought for a while and replied: “Twice”.

From her facial expression, I knew that she was not too impressed with my answer.

Then sternly looking down at me, she said: “when you see it happen to someone else, understand that it can happen to you too”. Since then, I have not forgotten those stem words of wisdom and advice from my mother. If you learn from your mistakes and from the mistakes of others, you will move along a little faster on the road to success in your life.

“Anthony Robbins, the millionaire motivational speaker and author, quoted Buckminster Fuller as saying: Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience. Humans have learned through Mistakes”. Robbins wisely added however, that “sometimes, we earn from our mistakes, sometimes from the mistakes of others”.

Footprints

TODAY’S piece chronicles the life of a man considered by most people as one of the most outstanding personalities of the 20th century; one of those rear species of men whose godlike feats defined the trajectories of the last Millennium; a man who remains as larger than life, in death, as he was while alive; one of those few mortals whose bold footprints in the sands of time have continued inspiring others several generations after they transited to another plane: The Great Mohandas Ghandi, father of the Indian nation.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), was an Indian nationalist leader, who spearheaded his country’s quest for independence from British colonial rule through a nonviolent struggle.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - also known as Mahatma Gandhi - was born in Porbandar in the present state of Gujarât on October 2, 1869, and educated in law at University College, London. In 1891, after having been admitted to the British bar, Gandhi returned to India and attempted to establish a law practice in Bombay (now Mumbai), with little success. Two years later, an Indian firm with interests in South Africa retained him as legal adviser in its office in Durban. Arriving in Durban, Gandhi found himself treated as a member of an inferior race.

He was appalled at the widespread denial of civil

liberties and political rights to Indian immigrants to South Africa. He threw himself into the struggle for elementary rights for I n d i a n s .

Gandhi remained in South Africa for 20 years, suffering imprisonment many times. In 1896, after being attacked and beaten by white South Africans, Gandhi began to teach a policy of passive resistance to, and noncooperation with, the South African authorities.

Part of the inspiration for this policy of nonviolent resistant came from the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, whose influence on Gandhi was profound. Gandhi also humbly acknowledged his debt to the teachings of Jesus Christ and to the 19th-century American writer Henry David Thoreau, especially to Thoreau’s classic essay “Civil Disobedience.”

Gandhi considered the terms passive resistance and civil disobedience inadequate for his purposes, however, and coined another term, satyagraha (Sanskrit for “truth and firmness”).

During the Boer War, Gandhi organized an ambulance corps for the British army and commanded a Red Cross unit. After the war he returned to his campaign for Indian rights. In 1910, he founded Tolstoy Farm, near Johannesburg, a cooperative colony for Indians. In 1914 the government of the Union

The Indefatigable M

of South Africa made important concessions to Gandhi’s demands, including recognition of Indian marriages and abolition of the poll tax for them. His work in South Africa complete, he returned to India.

Gandhi became a leader in a complex struggle, the Indian campaign for home rule. Following World War I, in which he played an active part in recruiting campaigns, Gandhi, again advocating Satyagraha, launched his movement of passive resistance to Britain. When, in 1919, Parliament passed the Rowlatt Acts, giving the Indian colonial authorities emergency powers to deal with so-called revolutionary activities, Satyagraha spread through India, gaining millions of followers. A demonstration against the Rowlatt Acts resulted in a massacre of Indians at Amritsar by British soldiers (see Amritsar Massacre); in 1920, when the British government failed to make amends, Gandhi proclaimed an organized campaign of noncooperation. Indians in public office resigned, government agencies such as courts of law were boycotted, and Indian children were withdrawn from government schools.

Through India, streets were blocked by squatting Indians who refused to rise even when beaten by

By OBUSEH JUDE

police. Gandhi was arrested, but the British were soon forced to release him.

Economic independence for India, involving the complete boycott of British goods, was made a corollary of Gandhi’s Swaraj (Sanskrit, “self-ruling”) movement. The economic aspects of the movement were significant, for the exploitation of Indian villagers by British industrialists had resulted in extreme poverty in the country and the virtual destruction of Indian home industries. As a remedy for such poverty, Gandhi advocated revival of cottage industries; he began to use a spinning wheel as a token of the return to the simple village life he preached, and of the renewal of native Indian industries.

Gandhi became the international symbol of a free India. He lived a spiritual and ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and meditation. His union with his wife became, as he himself stated, that of brother and sister. Refusing earthly possessions, he wore the loincloth and shawl of the lowliest Indian and subsisted on vegetables, fruit juices, and goat’s milk.

Indians revered him as a saint and began to call him Mahatma (Sanskrit, “great soul”), a title reserved for the greatest sages. Gandhi’s advocacy of nonviolence, known as ahimsa (Sanskrit, “noninjury”), was the

expression of a way of life implicit in the Hindu religion. By the Indian practice of nonviolence, Gandhi held, Britain too

would eventually consider violence useless and would leave India.

The Mahatma’s political and spiritual hold on India was so great that the British authorities

civ cam and gov and 192 A

Late Mohandas Ghandhi

“Part of the inspiration for this policy of nonviolent resistant came from the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, whose influence on Gandhi was profound. Gandhi also humbly acknowledged his debt to the teachings of Jesus Christ and to the 19th-century American writer Henry David Thoreau.”

dared not interfere with him. In 1921 the Indian National Congress, the group that spearheaded the movement for nationhood, gave Gandhi complete executive authority, with the right of naming his own successor. The Indian population, however, could not fully comprehend the unworldly ahimsa. A series of armed revolts against Britain broke out, culminating in such violence that Gandhi confessed the failure of the

pri wit pol to uni how dra stru In pro of c upo to par The to tho

Footprints

Mohandas Ghandhi

vil-disobedience mpaign he had called, d ended it. The British vernment again seized d imprisoned him in 22.

After his release from

ison in 1924, Gandhi thdrew from active litics and devoted himself propagating communal ity.

Unavoidably, wever, he was again awn into the vortex of the uggle for independence.

1930 the Mahatma oclaimed a new campaign civil disobedience, calling on the Indian population refuse to pay taxes, rticularly the tax on salt. e campaign was a march the sea, in which ousands of Indians

demands.

In 1932, Gandhi began new civil-disobedience campaigns against the British. Arrested twice, the Mahatma fasted for long periods several times; these fasts were effective measures against the British, because revolution might well have broken out in India if he had died. In September 1932, while in jail, Gandhi undertook a “fast unto death” to improve the status of the Hindu Untouchables. The British, by permitting the Untouchables to be considered as a separate part of the Indian electorate, were, according to Gandhi, countenancing an injustice. Although he was himself a member of the Vaisya (merchant) caste, Gandhi was the great leader of the movement in India dedicated to eradicating the unjust social and economic aspects of the caste system.

In 1934 Gandhi formally resigned from politics, being replaced as leader of the Congress Party by Jawaharlal Nehru. Gandhi traveled through India, teaching ahimsa and demanding eradication of “untouchability.” The esteem in which he was held was the measure of his political power. So great was this power that the limited home rule granted by the British in 1935 could not be implemented until Gandhi approved it. A few years later, in 1939, he again returned to active 1931, halting the political life because of the campaign after the British pending federation of made concessions to his Indian principalities with the rest of India. His first

followed Gandhi from Ahmadâbâd to the Arabian Sea, where they made salt by evaporating sea water. Once more the Indian leader was arrested, but he was released in

act was a fast, designed to force the ruler of the state of Râjkot to modify his autocratic rule. Public unrest caused by the fast was so great that the colonial government intervened; the demands were granted.

The Mahatma again became the most important political figure in India.

When World War II broke out, the Congress Party and Gandhi demanded a declaration of war aims and their application to India.

As a reaction to the unsatisfactory response from the British, the party decided not to support Britain in the war unless the country were granted complete and immediate independence. The British refused, offering compromises that were rejected. When Japan entered the war, Gandhi still refused to agree to Indian participation. He was interned in 1942 but was released two years later because of failing health.

By 1944 the Indian struggle for independence was in its final stages, the British government having agreed to independence on condition that the two contending nationalist groups, the Muslim League and the Congress Party, should resolve their differences. Gandhi stood steadfastly against the partition of India but ultimately had to agree, in the hope that internal peace would be achieved after the Muslim demand for separation had been satisfied. India and Pakistan became separate states when the British granted

India its independence in 1947. During the riots that followed the partition of India, Gandhi pleaded with Hindus and Muslims to live together peacefully. Riots engulfed Calcutta (now Kolkata), one of the largest cities in India, and the Mahatma fasted until disturbances ceased. On January 13, 1948, he undertook another successful fast in New Delhi to bring about peace.

But on January 30, 12 days after the termination of that fast, as he was on his way to his evening prayer meeting, he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic.

Gandhi’s death was regarded as an international disaster; a universal deluge of monumental proportions; a great loss to humanity as a whole. His place in humanity was measured not in terms of the 20th century, but in terms of history. In recognition of his priceless contributions to positive peace in the world, the United Nations General Assembly set aside a period of mourning, and condolences to India were expressed by all the countries of the world.

Soon after Ghandi’s demise, the phantom of religious violence that had been ravaging India and Pakistan consequent to the partitioning of both countries by the departing British, began to wane, and the teachings of Gandhi later came to inspire nonviolent movements in other parts of the world.

The civil rights movement in the United States during the late 1950s and 1960s, led by the late Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr.; the toppling of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos

by the “people power” of Corazon Aquino’s followers, in 1986; the discontent that drove JeanClaude Duvalier, son of long-time Haitian dictator “papa Doc” Duvalier, from power; the popular discontent in 1987, that forced the South Korean military dictatorship to relinquish power and pave way for the first democratic elections in that country’s history; the fall of South Africa’s Apartheid regime in 1994; the collapse of the Soviet-led Communist bloc; the mass discontent in Nigeria during the nineties that saw off the military boys, making room for the return of civil rule in 1999; and the Arab Spring Uprisings, bore hallmarks of Ghandi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance.

The life of the Great Mahatma Ghandi was one that was well lived. He was a man who, despite coming from a privileged background, ignored all the trappings of affluence to commit himself to serving his people; an individual with an altruistic deamenour and a Spartan dedication to serving others; a man who saw the deprivations suffered by his fellow man as aberrations that were against the laws of creation and common sense – anomalous injustices he worked hard to redress throughout his life. His was a classic example of practical servant leadership; a rare trait in some of today’s crop of leaders who have a lot to learn from this iconoclastic maverick.

Adieu, my Great Mahatma!

You are not dead because you have not been forgotten. Keep a date with me on this page next week.

“Gandhi’s death was regarded as an international disaster; a universal deluge of monumental proportions; a great loss to humanity as a whole.

His place in humanity was measured not in terms of the 20th century, but in terms of history.”

Tourism

Reflections On Calabar Carnival

THE Carnival Calabar, inaugurated in 2004 was designed to boost the tourism potential of Cross River.

Participants attest that the annual festival, now referred to as Africa’s “ Biggest Street Party,’’ has lived up to the expectations of the initiators.

Carnival Calabar was modelled after the oldest Caribbean Carnival of Trinidad and Tobacco which began in 1723.

It has evolved over time and has taken on indigenous flavours that spotlight the depth of the Cross River heritage.

The organisation of the December 2013 edition of the festival, attested to observers’ belief that it has the capacity to boost the cultural mosaic of Nigerians and develop the industry for all stakeholders.

With the theme “Aint no

Stopping Us’’, the festival was unveiled by the Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River, who promised participants that they would get value for their participation.

Calabar was agog, while offices and business premises were locked, as residents trooped out to watch the various troupes.

The festival which began on November 29, 2013 featured cultural and musical shows, freestyle parade, international heritage parade, children and adult carnival and beauty pageant.

Other top events included Christmas carols from both local and international bands, performances from the Rwandan band and the Governor’s Ball, among others.

Gov. Imoke said that

By DORCAS ESSIEN

Carnival Calabar was now known internationally.

“It has become a brand that everyone has identified because it is about the people, so with or without government behind it, it has become an international brand.

“After Nollywood, Carnival Calabar is the highest brand in Africa and it is unique because unlike others, it is designed, programmed and costumed through passion and creativity.”

According to him, the carnival is rich not just because of the panache, dance, costumes, culture, styles, designs, bliss and swag, “but the ability to interpret its theme and conceptualise it into a

package to generate attraction.”

The major event was the cultural parade of the 18 local government councils of the state, displaying peculiar, unique and exciting cultural dances, music and songs.

Traditional carnival bands, such as Seagull, Bayside, Masta Blasta and Freedom were among the side attractions, entertaining the visitors along the fivekilometre carnival route from the U.J. Esuene Stadium.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria band were not left out as they also came with exciting and colourful displays.

The adult carnival, on a 12kilometre route, starting from the Millennium Park in Calabar to Mary Slessor-

“After Nollywood, Carnival Calabar is the highest brand in Africa and it is unique because unlike others, it is designed, programmed and costumed through passion and creativity.”

Marian- Efio Ette JunctionMCC Road, was also very exciting.

For more than 18 hours, thousands of people engaged in one activity or the other, such as buying, selling, dancing and singing.

Karen Sauza, a representative of the Brazilian Samba team to the carnival, said the participation of Brazilian bands at the event afforded both countries the opportunity for cultural exchanges.

The children carnival, another aspect of the event, was described by Mr. Chris Agibe, the Chairman of Carnival Commission, as a unique display.

Commenting on the carnival, the wife of Governor Imoke, Obioma, noted that the carnival had grown from a mere leisure and fun to a soaring innovation, showcasing the pride of the people.

“We have continued to improve in every aspect of the carnival to get to this stage, and we aren’t going to stop it.

“Our carnival is improving by the year, with newer packages and features to satisfy the expectations of the spectators, tourists and visitors,’’ she noted.

Residents of Calabar said that since the inauguration of

the festival in 2004, the event had boosted the economy of the state.

A manager of a hotel in the city, Mr Tomi Eyo, said operators usually look forward for the festival with enthusiasm.

He said that the carnival presented an opportunity for making profit. ‘‘It is the season operators in the industry in Calabar enjoy lots of patronage; we do everything possible to upgrade our facilities and carry out some repairs to meet the taste of guests,’’ he said.

Mr. Gab Onar, the Director-General of the Carnival Commission, said: “What makes Carnival Calabar thick is the warmth and welcoming smiles of our people.

“But above all, what stands our carnival out is the dance and choreography segment, which is not common in other carnivals.

“The crowd appeal and opportunities open to sponsors along the territory of performance make it a unique avenue and domain for merchandising goods and services; it’s a place to let your hair down and dance,’’ he said.

Investors should invest in Carnival Calabar, as it is already an international brand, with prospects of good returns from investments.

Family Planning

Protecting Mothers From Infectious Diseases WHAT are the consequences of infectious diseases?

Infectious diseases are major causes of death, disability, diminished quality of life, reduced productivity and increased financial burden for families, says World Health Organisation in WHO Global Burden of Disease 2002 estimates. According to World Vision, fourteens to seventeen million people die due to infections diseases each year, nearly all in developing countries poor women in rural areas are affected most.

Infections diseases account for approximately 25 per cent of maternal deaths, while incidence of infections disease reaches 40 per cent in developing countries.

However, infections diseases are largely preventable and treat table and can be addressed through well know and evidence based interventions at a community level.

Common infections diseases The following is a review of the most common infections diseases, the consequences of these diseases for mothers and children and the r e c o m m e n d e d interventions to reduce their prevalence.

Malaria It has been established that half of the world’s

population is at risk of malaria. It is endemic in 107 countries, with subSaharan Africa most severely affected. An estimated one million malaria related deaths occur each year, with more than 80 per cent of these deaths occurring among African children under age 5, report World Malaria Report 2008 of the WHO. Pregnant women are highly vulnerable to malaria because immunity to malaria is reduced during pregnancy. Malaria puts the mother at risk of death and increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, still birth and premature delivery. In areas where malaria is common a reduced immune response during pregnancy can lead to placental malaria, often resulting in maternal anaemia and Low birth Weight (LBW), which are leading causes of infant mortality.

Tetanus Tetanus is a vaccinepreventable disease, and it causes approximately 309,000 deaths annually.

An estimated 90 per cent of the neonatal tetanus deaths occur in developing countries, where women often give birth in unhygienic conditions, allowing tetanus bacteria to enter their bodies. Tetanus is frequently spread to the newborn through the use of non-sterile instrument to

cut the umbilical cord.

HIV and Aids Globally, HIV and AIDS is the leading cause of mortality in women of reproductive age. For nations with high HIV prevalence AIDS has become a major contributor to death during pregnancy and post partum (maternal mortality). There is also some evidence that women living with HIV are at greater risk of maternal death. The Joint United National Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and WHO reports show that, despite a reduction in HIV infections, the AIDS epidemic remains one of the most significant infectious diseases and continues to pose enormous challenges to health and development.

AIDS – related illnesses are leading causes of death for both men and women, and are expected to continue as

a major global cause of mortality in the coming decades. The continuing rise in people living with HIV is a compled effect of continue high rates of new infections, plus prolonged life due to antiretroviral (ARV).

Many new infections are due to transmission during pregnancy, delivery or breast feeding making HIV and AIDS a prime contribute to child mortality. There is great need to increase focus on early diagnosis in children and effective treatment through paediatric ARVs, says world vision currently most HIV positive children have access to ARVs and effective management only after the age of 5, which is too late. Without treatment, half of all babies born with HIV die before their second birthday.

Tuberculosis

With ERANGA ISAAC 08059233001 Along with HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis a leading cause of death among women reproductive age and is the single biggest infectious killer of women in the world. TB causes more deaths among women than all causes of maternal mortality combined, and more that 900 million women are infected with TB world wide. A majority of these women will die or live with debilitating symptoms due to TB. Poverty, over crowed housing and malnutrition are underlying causes of TB infection and the disease aggravates poor nutrition and poverty.

Women of reproductive are more susceptible than men of the same age to develop active TB disease once infected. Women living with HIV are especially vulnerable to TB and it is the leading cause of death among HIV-positive individuals, states WHO 2009 Tuberculosis Facts update.

TB/HIV co-infection HIV and AIDS have adversely affected the TB epidemic. HIV-positive individuals have a much higher chance to develop active TB, which causes faster progression to AIDS. In one study in South Africa, nearly 25 per cent of children with HIV developed TB during the course of a year, says UNICEF Technical Note No. 6, Malaria and HIV, February 2003. TB/HIV collaborative services are the key to address the coinfection counselling and TB screening of individuals newly diagnosed with HIV and HIV tests for TB patients are crucial to treating both diseases.

HIV/malaria co-infection HIV and AIDS weaken one’s natural immunity to malaria, and the biological response to malaria infection increases progression to AIDS children and pregnant women are both adversely

affected by HIV/malaria co-infection. HIV and AIDS increase the risk of clinical malaria and severe illness and can decrease response to treatment.

Malaria causes a temporary increase in viral load and may worsen clinical disease and transmission in adults HIV-positive pregnant women have increased chances of becoming infected with malaria and malaria-based anaemia. Malaria infection in HIV-positive women can also increase the risks of mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Some medications used to treat HIV-positive persons can be harmful for malaria treatment in certain settings.

HIV/TB/malaria with other neglected tropical diseases Malaria and intestinal worm co-infections occur commonly among pregnant women. Soil transmitted helminthes (STH) and schistosomiasis can severely weaken the immune system of women and children and leave them more vulnerable to other infections. Malaria and worm infection both cause anaemia in pregnant women and leave women worse off than those infected with a single disease.

Other Sexually Transmitted Illness (STIs) Spread through person-toperson sexual contact, sexually transmitted illness are transmitted by parasites, viruses (HIV, genital herbs) and bacteria (syphilis). It is a global health problem, and WHO estimates that every year about 333 million new cases of treatable STIs (syphilis, gonorrhoea, clamydia and trichomoniasis) occur is adults 15 to 49 years, occurring pre dominantly among the younger 15 to 24 year age group, and is highest among ages 20 to 24.

“Pregnant women are highly vulnerable to malaria because immunity to malaria is reduced during pregnancy. Malaria puts the mother at risk of death and increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, still birth and premature delivery.”

Issues

Any Genetic Inclination?

Drug Abuse Among Youths: MUSA Idris, 22, has been to the rehabilitation centre three times because of his addiction to cannabis (Indian hemp), cough syrups containing codeine and other substances with intoxicating or hallucinatory effects.

Unfortunately, Musa is still hooked to these substances and when his mother confronted him one day, he simply replied: “After all, daddy also drinks and smokes.’’

The young man’s blunt response somewhat throws up a question: Does Musa’s genetic make-up has any linkage with his current lifestyle and addiction?

Investigations reveal most of the heavy smokers and alcoholics have parents who neither smoke nor drink, while several nonsmokers have chainsmokers as parents.

Placid Mbah, whose father is a heavy smoker, says that once he remembers his father ’s addiction to cigarette smoking; he becomes more determined never to smoke or be friends to smokers.

“My father smokes so much even when he had bronchitis and the doctor advised him to abstain from smoking, he could not; he nearly died until the doctors had to sedate him for the medicine to work,” he recalls.

Dr Muhammad Mahmud, a consultant neurosurgeon at the National Hospital, Abuja, says there is no genetic inclination in the addiction process.

He says that addiction does not just start immediately, adding: “It is

the doses become quite large; by the time one keeps taking these substances, the pathways expand to affect other surrounding areas that affect thinking, emotions, behaviour, movement, memory and so on.

“At this point, the person is going into addiction, that

“At that point, it is very difficult for the person to withdraw because the moment one withdraws, the whole of the brain that is involved now really gets agitated, the person can convulse, go into coma or even have a heart problem,’’ he adds.

However, the Federal Ministry of Health is

is when the person’s attitude and demeanour change if he or she does not have those medications,” he says.

The neurosurgeon notes that at that point, the person has no control over the drugs’ intake anymore, as the body now demands for the substances, adding that any attempt to stop abruptly could result in severe agitation by the brain.

certainly aware of the harmful effects of some drugs and has banned the sales of certain drugs across the counter.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, says that cough syrups with codeine would henceforth be treated as a narcotic drug and would no longer be sold across the counter.

He also said that the ministry was taking drastic

By IFEANYI NWOKO

a gradual process; to understand this process, you must understand the workings of the brain itself.’’

The consultant says that the brain is administered by signals transmitted through neurons, which act like a conduit, linking one to another.

“Before a signal passes through one neuron to another, there must be something like a messenger, and this is called a neurotransmitter,’’ he says.

Mahmud explains that there is a system of excitation and inhibition in the body, adding that both are usually on equilibrium.

“Once that balance is distorted, there is going to be a problem,’’ he adds.

He stresses that hard drugs are usually excitative and they send positive impulses to the brain, adding, however, that instead of the usual amount of message, the drugs push a high percentage of the message to the brain and the person consequently becomes highly excited.

“That gets him of her high but that condition would not last forever; so by the time one continues to take the drugs, the body finds a way of curbing the effect because it senses that it is abnormal.

“So, the body reduces the effect by way of shutting down about 50 per cent of the receptors; now, the person has to increase his intake to have the same excitement.

“This keeps going until

“The neurosurgeon notes that at that point, the person has no control over the drugs’ intake anymore, as the body now demands for the substances, adding that any attempt to stop abruptly could result in severe agitation by the brain.”

steps to regulate the availability of such medicines.

“We are in the process of inaugurating a National Drug Advisory Team, while launching the National Drug Distribution Guidelines,’’ he says.

All the same, Malam Ibrahim Abdul, the Commandant of the NDLEA in Jigawa, appeals to state governments to ban sale of local gin (ogogoro) and other substances in their respective domains.

“There are no laws against the sale or

of these problems.

“This is because, sometimes, even if people are arrested for drug abuse, there is no extant law to prosecute them; hence the need for the proposed law,” he said.

The governor, however, calls on parents and the general public to redouble their efforts to ensure the proper upbringing of the children.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, blames the moral decadence among the youth on the breakdown of family

consumption of these substances, even if we arrest anybody for abusing these drugs, there is little we can do,’’ he says.

Kaduna State is one of the few states which have taken steps to enact laws to check drug abuse.

Gov. Mukhtar Yero says that a bill to check drug abuse will soon be sent to the House of Assembly for passage.

“We understand that nowadays, the youth use different means to get intoxicated. This has been a source of serious concern to the security committee in the state.

“As such, we have proposed a bill that will be sent to the House of Assembly to address some

values and bad leadership.

He notes that the complete breakdown of family and leadership values have left the youth without role models, either at home or at the societal level.

“Things are extremely bad and in shambles; parents have failed, while the leaders, whether political, religious or those in the academia, are not showing good examples,’’ he says.

Observers insist that since there is no genetic explanation for tobacco, drug or alcohol addiction, parents should make extra efforts to ensure the proper upbringing of their children.

They also underscore the need to put in place adequate legislation to curb the sale of harmful substances across the counter. (NANFeatures)

Archival Matters

Unloading The Shelltox Doctrine In 2014

WHEN you spray shelltox in your apartment, all the parasitic mosquitoes, dust-mites, flies, bedbugs and crochcroaches perish. And, so, you get total relief from them. Metaphorically speaking, therefore, upholding the shelltox doctrine by man means the adoption of a strategy that flushes out incorrigible miscreants in our society.

Put simply, any good psychoanalyst who reads the mind, lips and body language of CP Foluso Adebanjo, Edo State, Commission of Police, would agree with me that he has been unloading the shelltox doctrine on criminals since he assumed duty in the state on February 18, 2013.

Unknown to people, he would be one year in office today. For this period, it has been 365 days of good policing. Ask the average man in the streete about the crime situation in Edo State and he would tell you that security of lives and property have improved. The garnishing on our security serving is that in 2013, the American Government de-listed Edo State from the states in Nigeria earlier on categorized as no-go areas for foreign tourists, visitors and investors. So far, so good.

Come January 2014, Foluso Adebanjo was at the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja for the routine conference of all Commissioners of Police, AIGs and DIGs with the IGP,. The conference is a must hold at the beginning of every year for the police. At the event, the police re-strategize on how to fight crime in the country relying on the IGP’s security bench-mark as well as experience sharing of the conference participants.

After the conference, Foluso Adebanjo therefore returned to Edo State better equipped for his policing work having also benefited from the strategic briefings of the IGP who specially chose him for the Edo Police Command’s job. Don’t forget the IGP once served as an AIG in Zone 5, comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States. Remember, too, that while serving in the zone, the IGP lived and operated from Benin City, capital of Edo State.

Invariably, the IGP knows the crime-scape of Edo State very well. He is also aware Foluso Adebanjo is the best cop for the state. That is why he gave him the job, realizing too that Foluso Adebanjo is an exponent of the shelltox doctrine in criminology. It is because criminals unfortunately don’t have these background information that they have decided to carry on with their nefarious activities in 2014 despite all his warnings.

The result? Criminals in the state are steadily meeting their waterloo!! The greedy flies, which refuse wise counsel is usually buried alive with a corpse.

To start with, the police in Edo State today have over two million unobtrusive eyes watching over its citizens by virtue of police’s succeeding collaborative engagement with the civil society.

So, if you are an unrepentant criminal and you think you are safe, you are living in a fool’s paradise. The police will always get you.

This scenario played out in early January 2014. See, a gang of armed robbers who specialised in snatching Audi Cars armed with 10 master keys and then go on to rob innocent people are now in police custody. End of the road for them.

One day now is for the thief while everyday is for the police. On the fateful day, the car snatchers/armed

By MICHAEL ODIGBE

robbers stole an Audi Car at the park of a night ceremony holding at Stadium Road, Benin City. While driving the car away, the fuel in the car ran out. The car snatchers/armed robbers parked the car by the roadside. But as they sneaked away from the stole car,

Foluso Adebanjo, Edo State Commissioner of Police

darkness lost its thin cover for crime. The police saw and swooped on them. Two were caught while the others fled.

Also, in 2014, Foluso Adebanjo is still unloading his shelltox doctrine on kidnappers. So far, his command has rescued several victims from the jaws of kidnappers. Among the lot are Mrs. Obite Mabel, a Pharmacist; and Mrs. Catherine Okhuale, a primary school mistress.

Furthermore, many kidnappers have been put out of their ungodly work by the police. Two cases, need critical mention here. First of all, the six kidnappers implicated in the attempted abduction and subsequent killing of late Dr. Sunday Eruzegba of Irrua Specialist Hospital on November 30, 2013 are in police net.

Secondly, the most wanted kidnapper in the police’s

black book, Stanley Omoregie, has been arrested. On February 6, 2014, he was paraded by the police commissioner before newsmen. The self-styled “General” of his criminal kidnap “army” confessed to masterminding several kidnaps, five of which took police in Edo State.

Since July 2013, Edo Police Command has been on the trial of Stanley Omoregie and his evil men. Before his final arrest in a hideout at Agbor in Delta State, he and his gang had eluded police net thrice. But two of them (Nosa and Shakira) on January 29, 2014 were earlier killed around Akhor Forest in Edo State during an encounter with the police. They weren’t so lucky.

Indeed, criminals can run but they don’t have a hiding place. Because once you break the law, you have transformed into an elephant. No physical dimensional space fits you, anymore. You become also a ripe “fruit” waiting for police harvesting providentially.

In line with Foluso Adebanjo’s shelltox doctrine, distress calls in 2013 by citizens to the police are increasingly been answered despite the huge challenges of poor logistics, little communication technologies, difficult terrain, low funding and manpower inadequacies. Police responses to these distress calls are paying off. On the 9th of January 2014, for instance the police paraded one robbery suspect Abdul Mustapha. He was arrested in a forest in Ovia South-West Local Government Area following a shoot-out with the police on the Benin/Iguobazuwa Road which he and his gang members used as a staging post for robbing motorists.

Similarly, it is the police smart response to distress call by residents at Ugbowo area of Benin City which culminated in the arrest of a robbery suspect in an uncompleted building by a police patrol team. What is more, cultist have been rounded up in their dens while one Tochukwu has been reined in for withholding criminal information on a Mercedes Fraca bus allegedly stolen by two suspects Eze Nwachukwu and Ikechukwu Amaechi at Aviele town in Etsako West.

Too true, the shelltox doctrine of Foluso Adebanjo is working. As at January 20, 2014 an armada of 60 suspects were paraded for various offences in Edo State. One of the major highlights of the parade was Justin Oliseh, a homosexual, who slept with five underaged children of between 10-15 years.

Now, wait for this. Within 48 hours, Edo Police Command flushed out Cpl Valentine Fumaka who allegedly killed a motorist in Benin City on February 1, 2014. He has been dismissed from the police, charged to court and is now in prison custody after pleading guilty to the offence. No mago mago at all.

Truly speaking, there is no perfect man or institution in Nigeria. Hence, within mortal limitations, one can say Foluso Adebanjo’s shelltox doctrine is on full course in Edo State. Therefore, if you are a criminal, look for work elsewhere. Leave Edo State alone.

“Put simply, any good psychoanalyst who reads the mind, lips and body language of CP Foluso Adebanjo, Edo State, Commission of Police, would agree with me that he has been unloading the shelltox doctrine on criminals since he assumed duty in the state on February 18, 2013.”

Science

With OYAKHILOME CLEMINTINA

they include the finger nails, claws, beaks, feathers, hairs, scales, hoofs, carapace in insects, shells in crabs and snails.

These their exo-skeleton, cover the entire surface. It prevents desiccation (drying up) during the drying season, or unfavourable condition and from physical injury.

Organisms like the arthropods and mollescs, have limited and periodic growth, it is only during their molting periods the body becomes soft, and they quickly grow before the exoskeleton hardens up again while some like the snakes, the old skin has to be shed to develop a new one. Actual growth occurs when the new skeleton is still soft.

Exoskeleton provides efficient protection against physical injury and excessive loss by evaporation from the body surface.

Endo – skeleton

Skeleton And Supporting Systems In Animals SKELETON is the framework of the body that supports, protects and aids in the movement of the animal.

Molluscs are snails, they have calcareous shells, which acts as their skeleton, the arthropods, which are the insects have cuticles which represents their skeleton fishes have cartilages as their skeleton, while mammals which are in the higher groups of vertebrate have both cartilage and bones, which serves as their skeleton.

Biological significance Firmness of the skeleton has given a well defined shape and support for the body. It has also been able to suspend some vital organs of the body, like the heart, lungs etc making them not to crush one another.

The skeleton has been

able to articulate with one or more adjacent bones to create an atmosphere for breathing in animals, it has also created movement ability in organisms thereby making of the use of the limbs possible.

Delicate organs with the aid of skeleton are protected in casings and cavities within the skeleton for example, the brain is housed within the skull, the spinal cord in the spinal canal of the backbones, the eyes in the eye sockets, nose in the nose sockets and the heart and lungs within the thoracic cavity while in the invertebrates that do not have skeleton within the body the entire body is protected by their cuticle.

The skeleton does not only provide support and movement to mammals, it also serves as a reserve of some mineral like calcium (ca++) carbonate (co3)

and phosphate (po4) ions.

In higher vertebrates skeleton has provided centres for the production of blood cells.

Types of skeleton We have three types of skeleton which are the A Hydrostatic skeleton B Exoskeleton C Endo skeleton Hydrostatic skeleton These are skeletons found in organisms that live in water as the name

implies hydro, which is water. These kind of skeleton is found in soft bochied animals like the earthworms and sea anemones like the earthworm, it has the coelomic fluid and makes it firm. They really functions as support, protection and movement for the animal.

Exo-skeleton These are skeletons found outside the body,

This is found inside the body of vertebrates. They permit a continous growth, which does not interfere with either growth or locomotion.

Vertebrate skeletons The skull The skull has three main parts they are the (A) Cranium, (B) facial reluon and (C) the jaws Cranium It protects the entire

brain, know as the brain box, skull or cranium.

Here the bones are fused together, preventing movement, hence the bones found in the skull are reffered to as immovable joints.

The facial region of the skull bears the sockets that carries the nose and the eyes while.

The skull, bears the two jaws that carry the teeth.

Sternum and ribs The ribs are long semicircular rods connecting the thoracic vertebrae to the sternum or the breast bone.

Function of the sternum The sternum is a protective basket that protects the lungs and heart invariably it protects them from crushing one another.

They articulate with the ribs, to bring about breathing movement of the chest cavity.

Limbs We have two types of limbs they are The fore limbs and The hind limbs Fore – limbs They consists the upper arm or the humerus. The forearm is made up of the radius and ulna, eight wrist bones and the phalanges which consists of the hand and the fingers.

Hind bones It is made up of the femur or thigh bone, while the lower leg is made up of the tibia and fibula, six ankle bones and phalanges which makes up the feet and toes bones.

“Firmness of the skeleton has given a well defined shape and support for the body. It has also been able to suspend some vital organs of the body, like the heart, lungs etc making them not to crush one another.”

International Features

Why Coastal Cities Will Face Increase Risk

Population Plus Climate: A new study names the global cities most at risk at coastal flooding—both today, and in a warmer future.

Living in New York, it’s easy to forget that the ocean is right on our doorsteps.

This isn’t Miami with its beaches or Venice with its canals or New Orleans with its history of storms and floods. New York has always been a supremely self-involved city—this famous magazine cover pretty much sums it up— and though Manhattan is an island, it’s one that has its eyes turned inward, not out toward the water that rings it.

Hurricane Sandy ended that illusion last year. The storm surge flooded tunnels, subway lines and apartment buildings; swamped power lines and transformers caused a blackout over much of Manhattan that lasted for days. Altogether Sandy cost the city of New York some $19 billion in public and private losses, nearly all of it due to the water.

Sandy wasn’t even that powerful a storm, its winds barely ranking as a category 1 when it made landfall along the East Coast last October. What it had was something any New Yorker who’s hunted for apartments could appreciate—location, location, location—hitting the biggest city in America and flooding it with all that forgotten coastal water.

For coastal cities like New York, Hurricane Sandy was a coming attraction for what is likely to be a very wet and destructive future.

According to leaked drafts of the forthcoming new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists believe that sea level could rise by more than three feet by the end of the century is carbon emissions keep growing at a runaway pace. And a new study published in the

journal Nature Climate Change laid out the enormous flood losses that major coastal cities could face in the future. Average global flood losses could rise from approximately $6 billion per year in 2005 to $60 to $63 billion per year by 2050, thanks to population and economic

Change study looked at both present and projected future flood losses in the 136 largest coastal cities in the world, looking at their financial risks both in absolute terms—taking into account protections like sea walls and dikes— and as a percentage of the city’s GDP. The cities

found on the list because the Netherlands government has invested heavily in coastal protection.)

Three American cities—Miami, New York and New Orleans—are responsible for 31% of the total losses across the 136 cities surveyed in 2005. When it

facing additional sea level rise because of local subsidence—literally, the earth sinking. Developing cities like Guangzhou, Mumbai and Shenzhen face the biggest risks, though Miami and New York rank highest among cities in developed nations.

If no improvements are

growth along the coasts and the multiplying effect of climate change-driven sea level rise. As Robert Nicholls, a professor of coastal engineering at the University of Southampton in Britain and a co-author of the study, put it in a statement: “There is a pressing need to start planning how to manage flood risk now.

The Nature Climate

ranked as most at risk today range from Guangzhou in southern China to Mumbai in India to, yes, New York City. What those cities tend to have in common is high wealth and population levels and relatively little flooding protection. (By contrast, Dutch cities like Amsterdam or Rotterdam—which are extremely flood-prone geographically—aren’t

comes to losses as a percentage of total city GDP—which gives the very richest cities like New York an advantage— Guangzhou, New Orleans and Guayaquil in Ecuador are most at risk.

The situation changes a bit in 2050. The study assumed that climate change will lead sea levels to rise 0.65 to 1.3 ft. by 2050, with some cities

made in flood defenses, the study estimates that the world could be facing as much as $1 trillion or more per year in losses. Now, that number is the worst of the worst case, assuming that cities do absolutely nothing to protect themselves from sea level rise, suffer major floods and then pay to immediately rebuild everything they lost. But

“As Sandy showed, coastal cities are at risk from major flooding right now if a storm should hit at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

even assuming improvements in coastal defenses, potential losses will increase significantly, thanks to the risk of bigger floods and more immediately, a huge increase in the number of people and the value of property along the coasts.

That second bit is important. It’s vital for governments to gain a better understanding of flooding risks from global warming—and sea level rises of the sort apparently projected by the IPCC will endanger major world cities. But the most immediate threat is the sheer increase in people— and their property—put in harm’s way in coastal cities. In the U.S. 87 million people now live along the coast, up from 47 million people in 1960, and globally six of the world’s 10 largest cities are on the coast. Of the $60 to $63 billion in flood risk the Nature Climate Change study estimates the world’s cities will face by 2050, $52 billion is due to economic and population growth—the rest is due to sea level rise and land use change.

That doesn’t mean that climate change-amplified floods and storms don’t present a danger to coastal cities—or that we don’t need to worry about reducing carbon emissions.

But the numbers don’t lie—the single biggest increase in the risk from flooding comes from putting people and property in places where floods have always been likely to happen. As Sandy showed, coastal cities are at risk from major flooding right now if a storm should hit at the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s location, which is why it’s so important to spend money now to improve coastal defenses. We don’t have to wait for climate change to come.

Courtesy: TIME

Egypt’s Morsi Faces Spying Charges CAIRO - Deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was yesterday facing charges of espionage and carrying out “terror attacks” in Egypt, as a third trial against him was due to get under way.

The latest court case is part of a relentless government crackdown targeting Morsi and his Islamist supporters since he was ousted by the military on July 3.

Morsi and 35 others, including former aides and leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood, are accused “of spying for the international organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood, its military wing and the (Palestinian) Hamas movement”.

They are also charged with “carrying out terror attacks inside the country against state property, institutions and their employees to spread chaos”.

If found guilty, the defendants could face the death penalty.

Morsi, who was ousted by the military after a single year of turbulent rule, is already on trial for his alleged involvement in the killing of opposition protesters in December 2012.

Along with 130 others, including dozens of members of Hamas and Lebanon’s Shiite militant movement Hezbollah, Morsi is separately being tried on charges linked to a jailbreak during the 2011 uprising that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak.

The ousted leader is also to be tried separately for “insulting the judiciary”. A date for that has yet to be set.

During Morsi’s short-lived presidency, ties between

Cairo and Hamas, a Palestinian affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood which rules the neighbouring Gaza strip, had flourished.

But since July, Egypt’s military-installed government has accused Hamas of backing Morsi and his Brotherhood and carrying out terrorist attacks inside Egypt.

The army has destroyed several hundred tunnels used to ferry crucial supplies, including fuel, into the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Since Morsi’s ouster, his supporters have faced a relentless crackdown by Egypt’s government that has left more than 1,400 people dead according to Amnesty International, and seen thousands more arrested.

International

School Children share an umbrella on a street covered by snow near the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo recently.

Militants Kill 4 In Tunisian Border Attack

TUNIS - Islamist militants disguised as security officials killed three Tunisian policemen and a civilian in an attack near the border with Algeria, the state news agency TAP said on Sunday.

The agency did not name any group in the attack.

Tunisia’s security forces have been battling militants from the banned Islamist movement Ansar al-Sharia, whose leader has declared allegiance to al Qaeda’s North Africa wing.

TAP said four gunmen dressed as Tunisian security officials killed the four and wounded two police and a border agent just after midnight in d’Awled Manna, in northwest Jendouba province.

PUBLIC NOTICE SHIELD CHAPEL CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES The general public is hereby notified that the above named Church has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. No. 1 of 1990.

BOARD OF TRUSTES 1. Evangelist Mrs. Kate Momodu - General Overseer 2. Pastor Peter Igbinedion 3. Pastor Benedicta Kuranga 4. Mrs. Stella Okafor 5. Mrs. Mercy Omoruyi 6. Mr. Godwin Udoh AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach and propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2.

To raise men and women who will be of great influence in the society 3. To win and disciple souls for the kingdom of God 4. To teach and practice the efficacy of Holy Spirit.

5. Baptizing believers in the name of the father, the son and Holy Spirit.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar – General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi, Street, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

Signed Evangelist Mrs. Kate Momodu

The militants stole weapons and a vehicle, TAP said.

Ansar al-Sharia was one of the most hardline Islamist groups to emerge after Tunisia’s 2011 uprising

against autocrat Zine elAbidine Ben Ali, whose government often jailed

Islamist leaders.

One of the Arab world’s most secular countries, Tunisia has progressed in its

Heavy Snow Kills 12 In Japan, Disrupts Power And Flights TOKYO - Heavy snow hit Tokyo and other parts of eastern Japan over the weekend, leaving 12 people dead, hundreds of thousands of households without electricity, and causing major disruptions to air and ground traffic.

Tokyo saw as much as 27 cm (10.6 inches) of snow, on par with last weekend’s snowstorms, which were the

heaviest in 45 years.

ANA Holdings, Japan’s largest carrier, said 338 domestic flights and 12 international flights were canceled on Saturday due to the heavy snow.

In Kawasaki, west of Tokyo, a train crashed into another after the snow rendered its brakes ineffective, leaving 19 passengers injured. It also

PUBLIC NOTICE

BIBLE-LINE MINISTRY

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Church has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: i. APOSTLE VICTOR CLEM ODIGIE - CHAIRMAN ii. PASTOR FRANCES NIKE ODIGIE - TRUSTEE iii. PASTOR HENSLEY OSAZEMWINDE OMORODION - SECRETARY/TRUSTEE iv. PASTOR NOBLE OCHUKO - TRUSTEE v. BROTHER ALOYSIUS ONYEWEKE - TRUSTEE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH AND TEACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 2. LEADING PEOPLE TO DISCOVER AND FULFILL THEIR PURPOSE IN CHRIST 3. TO EQUIP COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS FOR EFFECTIVE MINISTRY. Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, Within 28 Days of this publication.

Signed: S. E. Edokpaigbe Esq. For: Edokpaigbe Edobor & Co.

snarled traffic on some of Tokyo’s most heavily traveled roads.

The heavy snow also caused wide-spread power outages.

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc, which serves the nation’s capital and surrounding regions, said up to 246,000 households were without electricity at one point on Saturday.

transition to democracy after the revolt, with a new constitution praised for its modernity and elections scheduled for this year.

But Islamist militant violence is one of the main challenges for the new caretaker government.

Earlier this month, police killed seven militants armed with suicide bomb vests and explosives in a raid north of the capital.

Ansar al-Sharia led by a veteran of Afghanistan’s conflicts, was blamed for storming the U.S. embassy in Tunis in 2012 and is listed

by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization, with ties to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

9 Pakistani Die In Bomb Blast

P E S H A W A R , PAKISTAN — Pakistani police say a roadside bomb has killed a police officer guarding a polio vaccination drive in the outskirts of northwestern city of Peshawar.

Police official Ibrahim Khan says another officer was wounded in the attack during the weekly anti-polio campaign in the Budhni area on Sunday.

Khan said the two officers were patrolling a road leading to the suburban

neighborhood where antipolio teams were vaccinating children.

Anti-polio teams or their guards have been frequently targeted in Pakistan by Islamic militants, who say the campaigns are a tool for spying and claim the vaccine makes boys sterile.

Pakistan is one of the few remaining countries where polio persists and most cases found in its northwest, where militants make it difficult to reach children for vaccination.

International Kerry Urges Action On Climate Change JAKARTA, Indonesia — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is taking his case for action on climate change to Indonesia, where he will urge governments across Asia and beyond to step up efforts to combat the phenomenon.

In a speech in Jakarta to be delivered on Sunday, Kerry will argue that the cost of inaction to environments and economies will far outweigh the significant expense of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that trap solar heat in the atmosphere and contribute to the Earth’s rising temperatures, according to U.S. officials.

In the address, Kerry will say that climate change is real and is “pushing the planet toward a tipping point of no return, threatening not just the environment, but the global economy and our way of life,” a senior State Department official said.

Kerry will also highlight ways in which Asian countries are particularly affected, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to preview the speech publicly.

The speech comes a day after

Kerry won an agreement with China to cooperate more closely with the U.S. on combatting climate change. American officials hope will help encourage other nations, including developing countries like Indonesia and India, to follow suit.

China and the United States are the biggest sources of emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that cause the atmosphere to trap solar heat and alter the climate. Scientists warn such changes are already leading to drought, wildfires, rising sea levels, melting polar ice, plant and animal extinctions and other extreme conditions.

The two governments will “contribute significantly to successful 2015 global efforts to meet this challenge,” the statement said, citing “overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change and its worsening impacts, and the related issue of air pollution from burning fossil fuels.”

Beijing and Washington launched the U.S.-China Climate Change Working Group last year. They promised progress in five areas — reducing vehicle emissions,

Kerry Tours Giant Mosque In Indonesia

JAKARTA - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spent part of his Sunday in his stocking feet at an Indonesian mosque, at one point beating a huge drum used to call Muslims to prayer.

Kerry’s visit to the modern Istiqlal Mosque in central Jakarta, said to be the largest mosque in Southeast Asia with a capacity of 130,000, was designed to demonstrate his respect for Islam as he visited the world’s largest Muslimmajority nation.

Kerry spent about 20 minutes touring the mosque, chatting briefly with women studying Islamic law and admiring the blue ceiling of its dome.

Having removed his shoes in keeping with Islamic custom, Kerry at one point was shown a gigantic, skin-covered drum which rests sideways on the mosque’s floor and stood several feet taller than his head.

After witnessing a demonstration by the Grand Imam, identified by the State Department as K.H. Ali Mustafa Yaqub, Kerry then used a club to beat the drum, which is used to call Muslims to prayer.

“It has been a special honor to visit this remarkable place of worship,” Kerry said in a handwritten note to memorialize his visit. “We are

all bound to one God and the Abrahamic faiths tie us…together in love for our fellow man and honor for the same God.”

advanced electric power grids, capturing and storing carbon emissions, gathering greenhouse gas data and building efficiency.

Kerry is in Indonesia on the last leg of a three-nation tour of Asia that started in South Korea and then China. After leaving Indonesia on Monday, he will travel on to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates before returning home.

Before giving his climate change speech on Sunday, Kerry toured Jakarta’s massive Istiqlal Mosque, one of the largest in the world, to pay his respects to Indonesia’s Muslim majority population.

US Secretary of Sate John Kerry (right), tours the Istiqlal Mosque with Grand Imam K.H. Ali Mustafa Yaqub in Jakarta yesterday.

North Korea Prison Camp Survivor Awaits UN Report

SEOUL - After a year of investigation, the United Nations is set to release a detailed report on human rights violations in North Korea that could pave the way for criminal prosecution in an international court.

But defectors from the country who have provided first-hand testimony of atrocities are deeply skeptical the report, to be issued on Monday, will have any effect on the regime in Pyongyang.

The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on human rights in North Korea was set up last March to begin building a case for possible criminal prosecution.

Michael Kirby, who chairs the independent inquiry, said after preliminary findings last year that inmates in North Korea’s prison camps suffered “unspeakable atrocities”, comparable with Nazi abuses uncovered after World War 2.

“The entire body of evidence gathered so far points to what appear to be large-scale patterns of systematic and gross human rights violations,” Kirby, a former justice of Australia’s top court, told the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee last October, adding that Pyongyang had refused to

Powerful Iraqi Shiite Cleric Sadr Quits and of “preserving the NAJAF (IRAQ) - Firebrand Politics honourable reputation of Sadr, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of a powerful political movement and a major figure in the formation of postSaddam Iraq, has announced his exit from politics two months before legislative polls.

“I announce my nonintervention in all political affairs and that there is no bloc that represents us from now on, nor any position inside or outside the government nor parliament,” Sadr said in a written statement received by AFP on Sunday.

Sadr’s group currently holds six cabinet posts as well as 40 seats in the 325-member parliament.

He also said his movement’s political offices will be closed, but that others related to social welfare, media and education will remain open.

It was not immediately clear if the decision was temporary or permanent, with Sadrist officials surprised by the announcement not in a position to clarify.

One official from Sadr’s office told AFP that no one

wanted to discuss the issue “because it was a surprise decision.”

“I do not think it will be reversed... because it is a very strong decision,” the official added however.

If confirmed as permanent, Sadr’s announcement brings to a close a political career spanning more than a decade.

It began with his sharp criticism of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, with his movement subsequently gaining seats in parliament, cabinet posts and playing the role of political kingmaker.

Sadr’s widely-feared Mahdi Army militia also repeatedly battled American forces, and played a major role in the brutal sectarian conflict between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites in which tens of thousands of people died.

Sadr suspended the militia’s activities in 2008 following major battles with Iraqi and US security forces.

Sadr said the decision to leave politics was taken from the standpoint of Islamic law

especially of the two Sadr martyrs,” referring to his father and another relative who were killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

The move also aims to “end all the corruptions that occurred or which are likely to occur” that would harm the Sadr reputation, he said.

cooperate with the inquiry.

But any attempt to follow up the final report with prosecution will most likely be blocked by China. North Korea itself labels any attack on its human rights record as a U.S.led conspiracy.

The preliminary report did not say what kind of prosecution might be

considered. North Korea is not a member of the International Criminal Court, but the U.N. Security Council can ask the Hague-based court to investigate alleged abuses by non-signatories.

China, the North’s major ally and main benefactor, stands ready to veto any attempt to mobilize the Security Council to open an investigation against Pyongyang.

Mediator Apologizes To Syrians

GENEVA - International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi apologized to the Syrian people for the lack of progress at peace talks in Geneva after their second round ended on Saturday with little more than an agreement to meet again.

As it became clear that the talks had not even broached the subject of a change of leadership in Syria, both France and Britain, who back the opposition, blamed President Bashar al-Assad for the impasse.

Underlining the gaping rift that remains between the sides,

anti-government negotiators and a diplomat said Syria’s government had added opposition delegates to a “terrorist list” and had seized their assets.

“I am very, very sorry and I apologize to the Syrian people ... their hopes ... were very, very high here, that something will happen here,” Brahimi told journalists.

Saturday’s last session of the second round of the talks was “as laborious as all the meetings we have had, but we agreed on an agenda for the next round when it does take place”, Brahimi added.

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, pictured during a press conference in the Northern Iraqi Kurdish City of Arbil .

International

Thai Police Fail To Reach Deal With Protesters

BANGKOK - Thai police and a prominent protest leader failed to reach a deal on Sunday to reopen state offices and roads in Bangkok that have been occupied for months by protesters seeking to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Talks with Buddhist monk Luang Pu Buddha Issara, a protest leader, failed to free up an occupied government complex in the north of the capital as a third day of a security operation designed to retake sites occupied by protesters drew to a close.

Buddha Issara said the government was using a request to reopen roads as an excuse to crack down on protesters.

“If there is blood loss...will the authorities take responsibility? Or will you blame it on provocateurs?,” Buddha Issara asked police representatives.

Speaking to the monk during a televised video conference, Naret Nanthachot, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 1, said police would not use force.

“I am asking for your kindness and understanding...tens of thousands of people are frustrated each day by their inability to use roads,” said Naret.

Both sides agreed to talk at a later date.

Hundreds of riot police began an operation to reclaim key intersections and state buildings in Bangkok on Friday in what authorities said would be a slow operation to take back areas that have been occupied by protesters for several weeks.

Labor Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who is charge of the operation, said the government would continue with its operation and try to reclaim five protest sites next week.

“This gathering has caused distress to others...that’s why we have to reclaim the sites starting next week,” Chalerm said at a news conference on Sunday.

The security operation has so far avoided larger sites in the city center occupied by the main protest group, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), focusing instead on state offices on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Authorities say the protest movement is dwindling in size, giving security forces an opportunity to try to re-open major thoroughfares and remove barricades that have blocked access to ministries and prevented the government from functioning fully.

Security forces put up little resistance when protesters moved to occupy ministries and major intersections over the past

few months, but despite efforts to show restraint 11 people have been killed and hundreds hurt in sporadic violence since the protests began in November.

The protests are the latest episode in an eight-year conflict that broadly pits Bangkok’s middle class and royalist establishment against supporters of Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. An election on February 2 failed to break the deadlock.

Protesters, aligned with the

opposition Democrat Party, blocked voting in a fifth of constituencies, a result that left parliament without a quorum to approve a new government.

The protesters are demanding that Yingluck resign to make

way for an appointed “people’s council” to overhaul a political system they say has been tainted by her brother, who lives in exile abroad to avoid a jail term for graft.

Thailand’s Election

Commission will meet with government representatives on Monday to discuss how to complete voting that has been marred by violence and resistance from protesters.

The commission has said it will try to hold elections on April 27 in areas where the February vote was disrupted.

Hamas Rejects Int’l Peacekeepers

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Hamas rulers say they will oppose any international force in a future Palestine — adding a new complication to U.S.brokered peace efforts.

Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to arrange security arrangements between Israel and the Palestinians under a final peace deal. Israel has demanded it retain a security presence in the West Bank after a deal. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas opposes this, but has said he would accept international peacekeepers.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Islamic militant group, said Sunday that Hamas will deal with any international force “in the same manner it uses with Israeli occupation forces.”

Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in years of conflict.

While Hamas is not part of the talks, Sunday’s comments underscore its ability to hinder peace efforts.

Prompong Nopparit, an adviser to Yingluck’s party, said at a news conference that the commission needed to ensure voting can take place by late April to avoid propelling Thailand even deeper into crisis.

“If the Election Commission doesn’t listen to all sides...this might be detrimental to Thailand and the election may be voided,” said Prompong, echoing sentiments expressed by commission member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn that the whole vote may need to be re-run.

Indonesian Volcano Disrupts Int’l Traffic

Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi looks on during a political meeting in Turin recently.

Renzi Set To Become Italy’s Youngest Prime Minister

ROME - Center-left leader Matteo Renzi was set to be nominated as Italy’s youngest prime minister in a matter of days after a party coup forced Enrico Letta to resign as premier of the euro zone state struggling to pull out of recession.

Letta bowed out on Friday after his Democratic Party (PD) forced him to step aside and make way for Renzi, 39, who is promising bold economic reforms and a government than

can survive until 2018.

President Giorgio Napolitano was likely to ask Renzi, the current mayor of Florence, to put together a government on Monday, a PD source told Reuters.

The president completed consultations with parties on Saturday evening without announcing his preferred candidate.

“It was an interesting and richly stimulating day in which I received many suggestions

A rescuer carries a child to a truck for evacuation following an eruption of Moutn Kelud in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, weekend.

that I must pass on to the person who I ask to form a government,” Napolitano told reporters after a full day of talks.

Renzi, whose PD is the largest party in parliament, would become the youngest leader in Italy’s 163-year history as a united country, younger even by two months - than Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was when he took over in 1922.

But before he can stake his claim on history and attempt to install Italy’s 65th government since World War Two, he must overcome institutional rituals and much political wheelingand-dealing, a process likely to take several days.

After receiving a mandate from the president, he will have to strike an accord with the small New Centre Right (NCD) party, whose support the PD needs to command a majority in the parliament of the euro zone’s third-largest economy.

The party, which split from scandal-plagued tycoon and expremier Silvio Berlusconi last year, said it was ready to work with the center-left on forming a new government after meeting Napolitano.

But it made it clear it would demand guarantees in areas from tax and jobs to family policy, meaning a new government may not be in place until next week.

SIDOMULYO, Indonesia — The ash and debris that Indonesia’s Mount Kelud blasted from its belly brought death and misery, and disrupted international air traffic. But for many of the millions of people cleaning up in the wake of the explosive eruption, it was also a money earner and a shot of life for their crops.

“This is a blessing of the disaster,” said Imam Choiri, a farmer who was scraping up the ash from the road to use as fertilizer on his small vegetable plot a few kilometers from the crater of the rumbling mountain. Choiri said locals believe the ash helps drive away pests from crops.

The eruption of the 1,731meter (5,680-foot) -high mountain on Java island late Thursday was one of the most dramatic to hit Indonesia in recent years, with ash falling as far as 600 kilometers (370 miles) away.

Four people, including a 97year-old woman, were killed when the roofs of their homes caved in under the weight of ash. More than 100,000 people were evacuated to temporary shelters.

On Saturday, scientists said Kelud’s activities were dying down, in line with its reputation as a mountain that blows its top dramatically but then quickly settles down for another 10 years or so. But authorities warned that water from its crater, along with rain, could bring deadly landslides of fresh ash and rocks down river beds into villages and valleys.

Army troops enforced a ban on people returning to houses within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the volcano, but many people sneaked back to check on livestock and clean up.

Authorities were finding it hard to prevent people from returning, given the money farmers stand to lose by staying away, and said about 56,000 people remained in 89 shelters.

Nutrition

Interesting Facts About Banana

BANANA contains three natural sugar – sucrose, fructose and glucoses combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two banana provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute work out. No wonder banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit; it can also help over come or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression According to a recent survey undertaken by Mind amongst people suffering from depression,

THE cashew tree is native to Brazil’s Amazon rain forest, and was spread all over the world by Portuguese explorers.

Today it is cultivated commercially in Brazil, Vietnam, and India and in many African countries.

Cashew have lower fat content approximately 75 per cent of their fat is unsaturated. Fatty acids content is oleic acid.

Increased intake reduces your blood triglyceride and Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDL) concentration. This combined action helps to improve your body lipid profile and lowers your risks of plaque formation and heart disease.

Cashew are rich in magnesium and copper.

Copper plays a role in a wide range of physiological process including iron utilization.

Cashews are recommended for several diet plans, which are a part of weight reduction programs. These are cholesterol free. Cashew nuts have high fat content, but it is considered as “good fat”. They are the best sources of dietary

many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia High in iron, banana can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Temperature control Many other cultures see banana as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for

By BEAUTY OBAMWONYI

example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and

“So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills.

When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.”

Importance Of Cashew copper. This mineral helps to breakdown the fat in your food. Inadequate copper intake can raise your blood triglyceride and increase your risk of fatty liver and heart disease.

Copper is also needed for proper brain function.

Cashews are also rich in calorie.

However consuming more than a single fruit may introduce too many calories into your meal plan. Hence intake of large amount leads to weight gain in the human body.

Cashew nuts are heart shaped nuts that are delicious. They are easily available and are indigenous to South America. Cashew nuts are excellent for any pregnant women, unless she is severelly allergic to them.

There are many benefits of cashew nuts during pregnancy for those women who are not allergic to these nuts. First of all, cashew nuts are great energy provider, it makes one feel fuller most of the time and you will not

iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around so maybe its time to change that well known phrase so that we say “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!.

Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time.

By ISEGBELE JUSTINA

have to succumb to the urge to eat a lot of food, especially those cravings you have been used to. It is a great source of vitamin C, which is a great antioxidant that helps slow down ageing and reverses tissue damage in pregnancy.

It also rejuvenates the skin and prevents stretch marks in pregnancy. Cashew nuts contain monosaturated fats, these fats are excellent in the prevention and management of hypertension in pregnancy.

It is great for these women suffering from heart problems among other health challenges. It

is also good for pregnant women who are obese, since it helps in the reduction of bad fats and the increase of good fats in the body. Cashew nuts are excellent sources of magnesium, which is a mineral that is great for the prevention of heart diseases. It also provide the body with a lot of iron.

Most mothers who eat cashew nuts in their pregnancies have great hair quality because cashew nuts helps a lot in the improvement of hair.

When you are eating raw cashews know that you are doing something very positive for your body and

mind.

Perhaps one of the main health benefits of cashews is their ability to over come depression. They help to boost your moods and stabilise your thoughts.

According to Dr. Andrew Saul, one big handful of cashews provides one to two thousand milligrams of tryptophan, which will work as well as prescription antidepressant Prozac.

Note: Cashews are not recommended for cancer patients due to potential levels of fungus.

Cashew is a highly nutritious and concentrated form of food, providing a substantial amount of energy. The

cashew nut kernel has a pleasant taste and flavor and can be eaten raw fried and sometimes salted or sweetened with sugar. It also contributes as an important source of invisible fat in the diet, being widely used in a variety of ways. The nut contains an acrid compound which is a powerful vesicant that is abrasive to the skin. The cashew shell contains 25% of this reddish brown oil industrially known as Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) which is a byproduct of the roasting process.

The carnel is considered to be of high nutritive quality and growing conditions.

“It is also good for pregnant women who are obese, since it helps in the reduction of bad fats and the increase of good fats in the body. Cashew nuts are excellent sources of magnesium, which is a mineral that is great for the prevention of heart diseases.”

City FA Cup win over Chelsea Not About Revenge, Says Pellegrini

MANUEL Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, did not believe he had a point to prove over Jose Mourinho despite knocking him and Chelsea out of the FA Cup in a 2-0 fifth-round victory at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. out phase in Manchester on City’s Chilean manager had Tuesday, Pellegrini and City come under close scrutiny and maintain an interest in all four had his tactical acumen competitions but the Chilean questioned after losing to insisted progress in the FA Cup Chelsea at home in the league did not provide him with any two weeks ago, the second time sense of revenge over Mourinho. this season he had lost to “It’s easy for me to talk about Mourinho and the seventh defeat tactics when you win,” said in nine career meetings between Pellegrini. “But it is not revenge. the pair.

I really don’t think we had any With City facing Barcelona in tactical problems against the Champions League knockChelsea the other day.

Rooney Talks “We knew exactly the way Chelsea play, they knew how we ‘Continuing’ play, but players always make NEGOTIATIONS over the difference during the match.

Wayne Rooney’s contract are Today was not a tactical still on-going as Manchester masterclass.

United look to secure the striker’s long-term future.

A report on Sunday suggested the England international had signed a highly-lucrative recordbreaking four-and-a-halfyear deal.

However, Press Association Sport understands that talks, which have been taking place for some time now, are still continuing.

Rooney has been linked with an exit ever since the end of last season, when former manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he had made a transfer request, and Chelsea were reported to be interested in the 28-year-old.

United’s dip in form - they are seventh in the table, 11 points off the top four appeared to be another cause for concern regarding Rooney’s future but the opening of talks several weeks ago appear to allayed fears of him leaving.

Team-mate Patrice Evra could also be set for an extended stay as Press Association Sport understands there is a possibility the Frenchman, who was expected to be part of a summer clear-out when his contract expires, could get a new deal having started allbut-one of their Premier League games this campaign.

The 32-year-old has been linked with a return to France and manager David Moyes did have an interest in Everton’s Leighton Baines only for the England defender to sign a new contract recently.

Wayne Rooney

“We have two important games, today and Tuesday, and so we mixed different players.

Now we start thinking about Barcelona but today was very important to have the performance we did in all senses - defending, in possession, attacking - I don’t think Chelsea had a single chance to shoot at goal.”

City, FA Cup finalists in two of the last three seasons, are now in the last eight of the FA Cup with the Barcelona tie and a League Cup Final date with Sunderland pending.

Pellegrini, however, refused to assess his team’s chances of capturing an unprecedented quadruple. ?We never talk about that,” he said. “I always say we try to fight in all competitions as far as we

can but it is one one step more in one competition.

“For me, the most important thing is we beat a great team but I also had a lot of questions the other day when we lost against Chelsea about are we going to change the way of playing because we lost 1-0?

“I repeat, this team will not change the way it plays and today was a very important test to keep our style of play, always.”

Opposite number Mourinho saw his team turn in a sub-par display and took off ineffective striker Samuel Eto’o at the interval although the Chelsea manager was in no mood to point

blame at individuals.

“There are things I cannot say,” said Mourinho. “There are things I can think and keep to myself; it’s up to you.

“I don’t want to individualise, speak about my striker or my keeper or my left-back, whatever. We are a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team.”

Mourinho, whose own Champions League date with Galatasary is still over a week away, refuted the argument that exiting the FA Cup may help his side in that competition or in keeping their place at the top of the Premier League table.

“I keep saying the same; we go game by game, we are what we are. We try to win the next game, it doesn’t matter the competition and I don’t think one or two more

games in the FA Cup would have changed anything for us or for them - especially with the powerful squad they have. I don?t think there is a problem.”

Meanwhile, Mourinho was in typically mischievous mood when asked about his reaction to the response to his public war of words with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger whom he labelled a ?specialist in failure.”

“You mean my comments or the previous comments to my comments?” said Mourinho referring to Wenger?s own remarks about the Chelsea manager. “It’s your fault. It’s always the same guy who’s the bad guy. One is polite, the other is the bad guy; okay, okay. I’m not surprised because I know him.

...Dismisses Quadruple Talk MANCHESTER City head coach Manuel Pellegrini has played down their chances of a quadruple of trophies after their 2-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday Pellegrini came in for criticism after last week’s 1-0 loss to the Londoners, the feeling being he was tactically outgunned.

But the Chilean vowed to stick to his methods and that was vindicated as Chelsea struggled to impose themselves in the game.

Pellegrini even felt the potentially damaging loss, as well as a goalless draw at Norwich, had jolted his side into action.

He said: “We saw again the team that was playing before the last two games.

Manuel Pellegrini (R) and Jose Mourinho

Former Arsenal Keep Labels Mourinho ‘Boring Bully’

BOB Wilson has launched an astonishing attack on Jose Mourinho in which he accuses the Chelsea manager of being a boring bully.

The former Arsenal goalkeeper, angry at Mourinho’s recent remarks about Arsene Wenger being “a specialist in failure”, also described Mourinho’s comments as “disrespectful” and “despicable”.

And the 72-year-old told BBC Five Live’s Sportsweek programme that “boring” Mourinho should behave like the “gent” Sir Tom Finney, who died on Friday aged 91, rather than continue to attack the Arsenal manager who is “a genuinely good guy and a footballing man”.

Mourinho made his “specialist in failure” comment on Friday in response to Wenger’s claims that the Premier League title is Chelsea’s to lose.

Mourinho has repeatedly

played down Chelsea’s chances of winning the Premier League this season, declaring his side are third favourites behind Manchester City and the Gunners, despite being leaders with 12 games remaining.

“He is a specialist in failure.

I’m not,” said Mourinho, whose side lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.

“If supposedly he is right and I’m afraid to fail, it’s because I haven’t failed many times.”

When asked about the comments, Wilson said: “I think at best it was disrespectful, at worst despicable to be so dismissive of a genuinely good guy and a footballing man I think, whose presence in England in 17-18 years has opened eyes and ears and created wonderfully entertaining sides.

“It’s obviously not the first time Mourinho has singled Arsene out. He called him a voyeur which is a disgusting

claim and thankfully on that occasion he - although belatedly - he did apologise.

“I think it’s personal, he is hugely talented, amazing manager Mourinho but I find at this moment - I find him boring at the moment.

“To call (City boss Manuel) Pellgrini the abuse that he’s called him to do with Arsene, this is a weekend when we honour a gent - Tom Finney, Sir Tom, and I don’t like bullies.”

Wilson, who spent his professional career at Arsenal from 1963 to 1974, admitted he endured some banter from former Liverpool boss Bill Shankly when he was at the Gunners, but it was said in good spirit.

He added: “I like people who have within them some humility as well.

“I think I heard the name (Bill) Shankly in there. Shanks was in a way, in his day like Jose Mourinho.

“It was every opportunity to just psyche you out or to come out with things.

“On a personal basis, I came out of Loughborough University and I got thrown into the Arsenal first team and I was putting tickets on the door when he took one look at me, knew exactly that I was an amateur school teacher and went to the Arsenal official there, (and said) ‘Are Arsenal at full-strength tonight or is that Bob Wilson playing?’

“And in 1971, the day before we played in the (FA Cup) final against Liverpool, he was the only guy in the (Wembley) stadium as we looked at it and as we went by, (the lads said) ‘See you tomorrow Mr Shankly’, (he said) ‘Aye, good luck son’.

“As I went past and I said ‘See you tomorrow Mr Shankly’, he said, ‘Aye, Bob. Nightmare pitch for goalkeepers eh?’

“And he was getting at you, but he was getting at you in a really lovely sort of competitive way.”

“It was very important for us to lose three points in the Premier League against a very good team with great players.

“The way we won today is important for the trust of the team, for continuing in the FA Cup. For our team it is a very important competition also, but nothing more.”

The result kept alive City’s challenge in four competitions but Pellegrini is not interested in discussing a potential quadruple.

He said: “We never talk about that. We try to fight in all the competitions as far we can.

“It is one step more but we continue now in Champions League.”

Barcelona visit Eastlands for the first leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday.

Pellegrini said: “We will start thinking about Barcelona tomorrow.

“Here it was very important to have the performance we did in all senses - defending, possession, attacking.

“Chelsea didn’t have any chances to shoot at our goal.

That is important for the trust of the individuals.”

His captain Vincent Kompany openly said that it was great to have “revenge” over the Blues, but Pellegrini took a quite different view of events.

Pellegrini said: “No, it was not revenge. We didn’t want to lose two games against Chelsea here at home.

“The team played very well in all senses.

“It was very important for our team not to play against Sunderland, as this team played 18 games in the last two months and we were not fresh.

“That is why we were a little down in our performance against Chelsea and Norwich but working again on Thursday and Friday I saw the team was fresh and I was absolutely sure we were going to have a very good game.”

Milan DNA Inside Me CLARENCE Seedorf prepares for his Champions - Seedorf League debut against Atletico Madrid by confessing “the DNA of Milan is inside me.”

The Dutchman is famously the only player to have won this tournament with three different clubs – Ajax, Real Madrid and twice Milan – so hopes to bring some of that unique experience to his first coaching job.

“I’m very proud of this achievement. The Champions League is an incredible tournament where all the best players and best clubs perform,” he told uefa.com.

“Being able to have this record is a great satisfaction.”

On Wednesday night the Rossoneri host Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.

“Coming back to AC Milan was like I’d never been away actually. You know everybody, everybody knows you,” continued the 37-year-old.

“Getting back to Milanello was just like coming back after I’d been injured or on holiday for a while. After 10 years I think you get a sense of things and of course the President, Silvio Berlusconi, has always expressed the values he would like to see on the field and also off it.

“The DNA of Milan is something I have inside of me.

Those are values I definitely want to work on and want to impart to the group, because we have a responsibility, especially to the younger ones watching us: it’s not only about winning, but about how we win; it’s not only about competing, but about how you compete.

“I like to see a team that likes

to attack, who is creative, which for me means players who do individual stuff, but also a team like Bayern Munich has shown over the last few years that with great organisation and offensive power.

“I’m not really a fan of those teams who are always waiting behind and counter-attacking.

Of course that can be very effective, you can win like that and sometimes you have to play like that, “If you ask me what really excites me, then it’s a team that tries to score more than one goal in a game,” smiled the Dutchman.

Seedorf lifted Milan’s last Champions League trophy in 2007, beating Liverpool in the Final.

“The club wants to use this transition phase to build a bright future again, to build a strong team that will be competitive again worldwide.

“Again, it’s not only winning, but how you compete, how you win and making sure we can be a great example for other players, other clubs and especially all the people who are watching us.

“It’s a long journey, but it has started now and I’m very happy to lead it from a technical point of view.”

There are concerns ahead of the Atletico Madrid tie, as Kaka and Cristian Zapata both picked up injuries during the 1-0 win over Bologna on Friday night.

Keisuke Honda is cup-tied, while Sulley Muntari and Riccardo Montolivo are suspended for the first leg.

BAYERN Munich captain Philipp Lahm has told The Observer that Champions League opponents Arsenal appear “much stronger” this year.

European champions Bayern head to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday for the first leg of their last-16 tie looking for a repeat of their performance against the same opposition last season, when they recorded a 3-1 victory in London.

However, the Gunners nearly caused a major upset when they recorded a 2-0 victory at the Allianz Arena in the second leg, with Bayern ultimately progressing on goal difference.

“That game is a warning sign to us,” Lahm said. “We had been very good in London — we thought nothing can happen to us in the return leg.

All of a sudden you are 2-0 down and there are still some minutes to play.

“It shows that things can go really quickly in the Champions League. We will have that in the back of our minds.”

Lahm considers Arsenal to be “top opposition” and, with so many of his fellow Germany internationals now plying their trade there, he has been watching their performances throughout the campaign.

“I follow Arsenal a bit more this year and they’ve left a

• Clareance Seedorf

Barca In Prime Condition To Face City - Says Martino BARCELONA boss Gerardo Martino believes the first leg of his side’s Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester City on Tuesday comes at the right time as he has a fully-fit squad to choose from.

The Catalans maintained their place atop La Liga on goal difference with a 6-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Lionel Messi continued his fine form with a double to move past Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano as La Liga’s third highest goalscorer of all time on 228.

There was a further bonus for

Martino’s men as Neymar made his return after three weeks out with a sprained ankle and the Brazilian forward made an instant impact as he smashed home his side’s sixth goal of the evening from 25 yards.

“We come into the match in very good form,” said Martino.

“It is probably the best moment we could have hoped for to face the challenge of the

last 16 of the Champions League, independent of the opponent we face. Especially physically, it is a bonus to have everyone available and in very good shape.”

The clash between two of the highest-scoring sides in Europe is arguably the tie of the round and Martino thinks possession could be the key given both sides attacking instincts.

“Both teams defend themselves with the ball, so whoever manages the ball better will have more chances to win.

In this sense both teams are

Philipp Lahm Expects Tough Arsenal Tie

• Philipp Lahm

good impression,” he said.

“They’re fighting for the championship. That’s not a coincidence: I believe they have developed as a team.

“They’ve become much stronger, the squad is more balanced, and they still play the way Arsenal always play. They want to have the ball, they like playing it short, and they have outstanding individuals.”

The 30-year-old hopes that Arsenal stay true to their philosophy during their tie, adding: “We have always found it easier, and still do, when the opponent plays football as well, when they don’t just think in defensive terms, don’t just sit inside their penalty box.

“It’s just nicer when the opponent plays football. But let’s wait and see. I hope they won’t punish us by doing just that.”

Germany international Mesut Ozil, meanwhile, has said he is excited to be coming up against

Bayern, even if he believes Pep Guardiola has improved last season’s Treble winners.

“I have huge respect for Bayern,” he told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

“They are even better than they were last year, but we’re not going to hide. Anything is possible over two legs. I’m the kind of player who loves games like these.”

• Gerardo Martino

quite similar, they always try be proactive.

“If we can keep the ball for more time then we will reduce the chances they have and give ourselves a better opportunity.”

On top of Messi and Neymar’s comeback from injury, Barca’s upturn in recent weeks has directly correlated with Andres Iniesta’s return to form.

Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas shone in midfield as they tore the Rayo defence to shreds on Saturday and Martino admitted he has a big decision to make over who starts in midfield at the Etihad having rested Xavi Hernandez.

“Andres finished the season last year very well, I remember his game against Getafe (in December) that was exceptional. He then got a knock against Atletico Madrid which kept him out for 10 days and affected him quite a bit.

“The truth is that when Andres plays well the team plays differently. He manages everything well, he has played three very good games on the bounce, but nothing out of the ordinary to what he does season in, season out.

Villarreal Game Suspended Due To Tear VILLARREAL’S game at Gas Canister Villarreal, I condemn what has home to Celta Vigo was briefly suspended on Saturday night with just three minutes remaining after a smoke bomb, reportedly containing tear gas, was thrown from the crowd.

The visitors were leading 1-0 thanks to Fabian Orellana’s goal in the 83rd minute when the object was thrown from the Villarreal section of the crowd and landed in the Celta penalty area.

None of the players were struck, but referee David

Fernandez Borbalan quickly suspended the game after fans sitting near where the smoke bomb had landed rushed to the exits covering their mouths and noses.

Numerous Spanish media outlets reported the offending object was a tear gas canister.

However, after the smoke had subsided, both sides returned to the field and a fine free-kick from Nolito sealed a 2-0 win for Celta.

“On behalf of everyone at

happened,” club president Fernando Roig said at a press conference after the match.

“I think it is someone not connected with Villarreal, an individual who has committed an act of vandalism.

“Someone who has thrown it from the staircase and immediately ran out of the stadium.

“The police are trying to establish who this person is. I hope they are able to identify the person and that the full force of the law falls upon them.

One of the pupils presenting the Unity Torch to the Principal of Igbinedion Montessori Primary School, Mrs. Phil Igweze (left) and Mr. Michael Edo Ogie, PRO/Special Assistant to Chief Igbinedion and Lady Cherry.

Mrs. Ngozi Mohammed, Assistant Director who stood in for the Honourable Commissioner for Basic Education, presenting trophy and a certificate to one of the pupils from the winning house.

Thrills As Igbinedion Montessori Marks 23rd Inter-house Sports

By ADEDAYO OGUNLADE THE Igbinedion Education Centre, Benin City was agog weekend as the Igbinedion Montessori Nursery/Primary School held her 23rd Annual Inter-house Sports meet.

The school premises glittered with glamour as the pupils, staff and invited guests adorned in colourful dresses, beamed with smiles throughout the duration of the school’s inter-house sporting activities.

In a welcome address, the Principal, Igbinedion Montessori Primary, Mrs. Phil Igweze described the occasion as an important aspect of the school’s curricula.

Mrs. Igweze remarked that apart from testing the physical endowment of the

pupils, the annual inter-house sports also provides an avenue for both the pupils, staff and the invited guests including parents of the pupils to interact in a cordial atmosphere devoid of the usual rigorous academic activities reminiscent of the Igbinedion Education Centre.

She therefore implored both the participating pupils and invited guests to savour the joy of the moment and demonstrate true spirit of sportsmanship.

The inter-house sports featured a variety of events which include field and track for both girls and boys, filling the bottle and shuttle relay.

There were also the parents race, old Students race, management race and bicycle race among others.

Four houses, namely Queen Idia represented in red colour, Queen Amina

Kano Pillars Knocked Out Of CAF Champions League NIGERIAN Champions, Kano Pillars FC was on Saturday knocked out of CAF Champions League after they failed to overturn a 3-1 deficit they suffered last week in DR Congo.

Kano Pillars defeated AS Vito of DR Congo 2-1 at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano on Saturday but lost out on 4-3 aggregate.

Etekiama Agiti of AS Vito FC took advantage of some defensive mix up in the first minute of the entertaining encounter to score.

Pillars FC bounced back in the 66th and 70th minutes through substitute Kabiru

Umar and Abdul Haruna to score two goals.

In a post match briefing, Kano Pillars FC Board Chairman, Alhaji Abba Yola, said he was pleased with the performance of the players.

“I am pleased with the performance of the players even though, we are out. I also want to commend Mr Okey Emordi for the good work’’, he said.

Similarly, Vitos Manager, Mr Florent Igete, thanked his players for winning the game away from home.

He also commended Kano Pillars players for their fighting spirit.

represented in green, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (yellow) and Awolowo represented in blue colour participated in the inter-house sports meet.

A number of schools also took part in the invitation relay.

At the end of the keenly contested events, Queen Idia house spotting red colour garnered a total of 323 points to emerge winners while Queen Amina with 299 points and Awolowo house with 295 points came 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Highpoint was the presentation of trophy and prizes to the winners as well as the participating schools.

Jubilant members of Queen Idia House celebrating their victory at the 23rd Inter-house Sports meet of Igbinedion Montessori Primary/Nursery School at the weekend.

We Are Happy To Promote Bash Ali BAMIDELE Akingboye, the Chairman, Obaking International Promotions, on Saturday expressed satisfaction at promoting a popular boxer, Bash Ali, currently aspiring to become the world’s oldest boxer. history is now near.

Ali, 58, having been born on “Ali had since 2006 been Feb. 27, 1956, has been dreaming appealing to the Federal of becoming the World’s oldest Government to bankroll the boxer, so as to make the Guinness fight and in May, history will be Book of World Records. made in Nigeria when the fight Akingboye, while addressing will hold. a news conference at the National “We are happy to be a part of Stadium, Lagos, over the this project as we intend to use promotion, solicited the support the bout to revive professional of the sporting press toward boxing in Nigeria. staging the fight, which would be a double header.

The fight, between Ali, a World Cruiser weight Champions and American, Rick Camlin, 32, an International Boxing Union (IBU) champion, would be a unification world championship fight, tagged “The African Pride’’.

According to Akingboye, Ali has struggled for seven years to enter his name into the Guinness Bash Ali book of World Records and that

- Obaking Int’l

“We are also excited at the support from the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, who inaugurated the Local Organising Committee (LOC),” Akingboye said.

The promoter added that the fight would be staged in any state of the country that could offer to stake not less than a million dollars in sponsorship.

“The fight is expected to be a big one that will be watched by 5 million viewers in 31 countries through-.

According to Akingboye, the event will attract many boxing legends, like Mohammed Ali, Iron Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and renowned promoter, Don King.

Ali, in his remark, commended the FG and Obaking International for coming to his rescue to actualise his dream of becoming the oldest fighter

alive.

“I feel great that my struggles of seven years have come to become a reality. Staging the fight will take me and my country, Nigeria, into the Guinness Book of World Records, as the oldest boxer to feature in a world title fight.

“I will be fighting at the age of 58, which means in this century or in the next, whoever that will have to break the record must be at least 60 years old.

“I am reassuring Nigerians that on that day, Bash Ali will shock the boxing world. I will beat my opponent like a bad child, because I am old enough to be his father’’.

— with 57 knockouts and five losses.

The boxer claimed that he was ‘robbed’ in most of the losses he recorded.

Isaac Success Still Awaits Work Permit

World Cup

Manzaroli Takes On Toughest Job In int’l Football SAN Marino, joint bottom of the FIFA world rankings alongside Bhutan and the Turks and Caicos Islands, have handed Pierangelo Manzaroli the Herculean task of coaching the national side.

The 44-year-old, previously coach of the under-21 team, replaced Giampaolo Mazza who resigned in October. Mazza was in charge for 15 years during which the part-timers from the city-state of 31,000 people managed one draw and 75 defeats in 76 competitive games.

Despite that, Manzaroli, formally named at a news conference on Saturday, said he wanted a tough draw in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

“The chance to face big European teams is very important for us,” he told UEFA.com. “I’m already excited about the draw and

Olaitan Unstoppable In Greece

MICHAEL Olaitan continued his fine run for Olympiacos as he scored his eighth goal in Greece on Saturday.

Nigeria U20 star opened scoring for Olympiacos in the 28th minute in a 4-2 victory over Platanias as his Greek club remain on top of the league table with 71 points from 25 games.

The Jos-born midfielder lasted for 73 minutes before he was replaced by Paulo Machado.

Olaitan has scored eight goals in 15 league games for Olympiacos this season.

Olympiacos host mighty Manchester United in a UEFA Champions League round of 16 match on February 25.

•Michael Olaitan

I’m sure we can do well.

“I have always been attracted by British football so I would be delighted to have England as the seeded team in our group. Or maybe Spain - why not? In order to improve you have to face the best.”

“The last two years have shown that football in San Marino is alive, we just have to stay on this path and continue to give greater importance to small details in our work.”

GOLDEN Eaglets star striker Isaac Success has yet to join Italian club Udinese as he is still waiting for his work permit.

Success was the first player from the Eaglets Class of 2013 to sign an overseas deal soon after the African U17 tournament in Morocco last April.

He is believed to have been receiving a salary since June and his parents and academy have received a large pay-off.

But he is still in Nigeria after his handlers announced

• Success

Porto Alegre Stadium Gets Test Ahead Of World Cup

WITH the World Cup fast approaching in Brazil, the so-new-it’s-still-being-built Beira Rio stadium had a smooth test run, with Internacional as hosts.

Just 10,000 fans were let in (of a capacity 49,989) to the stadium in the southern city of Port Alegre on Saturday, for a match at which Inter outscored Caixas 4-0 in the local Gauchao playoffs.

Saturday’s play in Rio Grande do Sul state came a day after firemen did a thorough inspection, according to the local side.

Booming Brazil is gearing up to host the World Cup amid fears its infrastructure for playing and hosting are not ready for prime time — and amid public safety concerns.

Just Friday, Internacional’s chairman warned that Porto Alegre could be removed from the list of June’s World Cup venues owing to the cost of temporary facilities.

Giovanni Luigi said the club could not afford to pay the 30 million reias ($12.5 million) foreseen in the stadium contract with world football body FIFA and was in talks with local and Rio Grande do Sul state authorities on how the costs might be shared.

Under the terms of contracts signed in 2007 with FIFA and then revised in 2009, the stadium owners — in this case the club — are responsible for temporary structures such as the press centre and the hiring of volunteers as well as electricity generators and security scanners.

The warning came as FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke prepared to visit Porto Alegre on Monday in his latest tour of event facilities.

Valcke has already warned that another of Brazil’s 12 venues, Curitiba, faces being dropped from the World Cup, which starts in Sao Paulo on June 12, if it cannot show by Tuesday that the venue, whose construction has been lagging

• Sepp Blatter

behind schedule, is back on track.

FIFA originally set a deadline of December 31 for all stadiums to be ready, but was forced to drop it with six venues still unfinished at that stage.

Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians will not be ready for tests until mid-April after a fatal accident in late November saw two construction workers killed.

The Amazonia stadium in Manaus has suffered three fatal accidents and Brasilia one, as Brazil races against the clock to finish off stadium construction.

Porto Alegre’s Beira Rio stadium, due to host five matches, had been expected to be the next to be delivered to organizers.

The government is keen to cut down spending as far as possible given widespread public discontent at the multibillion cost of staging the event and the 2016 Rio Games.

FIFA has already indicated to AFP that such costs should be borne by the state as an integral part of adapting venues for a major event.

UBA Beats Micro Credit Bank In Corporate League

THE United Bank for Africa (UBA), Kaduna, on Saturday beat Micro Credit Bank of Kaduna 5-3 in the ongoing corporate league cup played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

The match was the seventh edition of the Kaduna corporate league organised by the Best Worth Insurance Brokers Limited for all bankers.

Seun Aminu opened scoring for the UBA after goal mouth scramble in the

24-minute and scored another in the 50th minute of the game from outside the eighteen yard box.

Saheed Adulrazak added the third goal in the 56th minutes with a shot from the eighteen yard box and was also on target after five minutes.

Mumuni Adelami scored for the Micro Credit bank in the 76 minute of the game after a goal mouth scramble

and scored the second goal four minutes later.

Tunji Ode scored the third goal for the micro credit bank in the 84th minute while Seun Aminu added another goal for the UBA club in the 89th minute making it a hat trick.

Speaking shortly after the match, Samson Ajayi, coach of the micro credit bank, described the game as a good one and very challenging

even though they lost.

“We want to qualify for the final, even though we lost, we still have three matches ahead and we will go back and do technical work against our next opponent.’’

Also speaking, Jamil Alani, the coach of UBA, said he was satisfied with the outcome of the match and wished to win the trophy.

He said he was happy that the highest goal scorer was from his team, adding that the team had been consistent over the years.

he will join Udinese by January when he would have clocked 18 years.

And this yet to be an official confirmation from Udinese about his move.

“Success is still in Nigeria and those managing him say the delay has been caused by the fact he is still waiting for issuance of his work permit,” a top source informed.

“He has been training and keeping fit in Lagos under one of the partners of his agent.”

The big striker was widely expected to shine at the last U17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates in November, but he suffered a hamstring injury by his second game which ruled him out for the rest of the competition.

Eneramo Scores Again For Karabukspor

MICHAEL Eneramo was Karabukspor hero as he scored in a 2-2 draw at home with Trabzonspor in the Turkish league.

Karabukspor are fifth on the Turkish Super League table with 34 points from 21 games.

Eneramo gave Karabukspor a 2-1 lead in the 54th minute, but they failed to hold on to the lead.

The former Sivasspor striker told MTNFootball.com he is delighted with his game-time and he is also among the goals.

“I am happy that I am playing regularly here which was my reason for coming to Karabukspor. I am happy also that I am getting the goals, I will keep working hard to get more to show that I am as potent as ever,” Eneramo declared.

He has now scored three goals in four matches for Karabukspor. He also scored a goal for Besiktas before he was loaned out to Karabukspor till the end of the season.

• Eneramo

CMYK

“THEY have repatriated or we have established that $47bn has come back to the Federation Account.

There is a $20 billion that has not come back to us. The burden of proof is on NNPC” Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (Governor of the Central Bank).

There is no disputing the fact that the tenureship of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi so far as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria has been the most turbulent in the history of the Apex bank. Someone said to me a few days ago that Sanusi should just shut up his loud mouth; that he is bitting more than what he can actually chew.

Well, I disagree with what that fellow told me.

Agreed that the Central Bank Governor has been pretty controversial in his ways of handling the affairs of the Central Bank but, I think Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has a point in the midst of the several dust he has gathered recently.

Agreed that he had made some mistakes here and there since he became Governor of the apex bank, but I believe Sanusi’s recent outburst over the sales and remittance of money concerning our crude oil is patriotic and sincere. After all Sanusi is not the first Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, he could have as well keep his mouth closely shut and look the other way while monumental fraud is being committed against the Nigerian nation.

Before we look at Sanusi’s point of view today on this page, I want to quickly draw the attention of the Commissioner for Environment and other authorities responsible for the beautification of the Oba Ovonranmen Square, to what is happening now close to Ekpenede Street, by the

Oba Market in Benin City.

Right now, the flowers beautifully done and protected from passersby close to the Ekpenede axis of the Oba Market, demarcating the major

comprehensive study of things and assignments so that hard earned resources will not be expended without lasting desired results.

You will take it from me that the money used to do the flowers as I

It has been said, correctly too, that the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has never been audited, since the body was set up. And nobody from within government circles

Sanusi’s Point Of View

road are already destroyed by human traffic. The fact of the matter is that the barbed wire that was erected to protect the flowers have been vandalised and removed. Now the flowers are at the mercy of passers-by who are day in and day out walking over them.

This present ugly developments can be corrected if bigger and stronger iron protectors are built and erected in this place to shield the flowers from further punishment and destruction. I must use this medium to commend those authorities responsible for beautification and Urban Renewal of Benin City, for listening to strident but constructive criticism from this page concerning the former unprotected flowers in some part of the Oba Ovonranmen Square (close to the Urokpota Hall) Today, bigger and stronger protectors have been erected in those places and the beauty is there for all of us to see.

Our policy makers or those saddled with certain responsibilities should endeavour at all times to do things that will last perpetually. Policy makers should always undertake to do

mentioned above could be taken as recklessly wasted. A word they say is enough for the wise.

Strong, bigger iron protectors should be installed from the Oloton Street junction to Ekpenede axis of the Oba Market to protect the flowers demarcating

has ever pointed accusing finger at the NNPC like the way Sanusi Lamido is doing it today. That is to say that mindless, suffocating large scale fraud has been going on within the NNPC for years.

That is to say that

billions are missing or have not been accounted for, I think we all should encourage him to point accusing fingers.

Because as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi is in a vantage position to raise questions or provide accusing fingers.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor

the major road.

Rehabilitated by the Adams Oshiomhole government during his first tenure.

crude oil, the main stay of our economy has suffered untold manipulation from top ranking officials of the NNPC. If Sanusi says

Only God knows trillions of dollars or naira that must have been stolen or outrightly embezzled by top

“Today, nobody is talking again about the greatest conspiracy enacted against us all in the name of the oil subsidy. Oil subsidy money that has ended in private pockets and nothing is happening to the looters. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has equally said recently that the whole noise about kerosene subsidy is absolutely nonsense.

Sanusi has said that kerosene subsidy do not exist.”

ranking officials of NNPC? Trillions of naira that have gone perfectly into private pockets, while millions of youths go naked, hungry and wasted on the streets?

Trillions of money that came from the sales of crude oil, that would have been used to build infrastructural facilities; equip and manage our educational system, health sector, power sector and name them?

Today, nobody is talking again about the greatest conspiracy enacted against us all in the name of the oil subsidy. Oil subsidy money that has ended in private pockets and nothing is happening to the looters. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has equally said recently that the whole noise about kerosene subsidy is absolutely nonsense.

Sanusi has said that kerosene subsidy do not exist.

Now, what will happen to those involved in this recent revelation? It is tragic that we live in a country where anything goes; where people will steal our commonwealth and go scott free, because he has one godfather close to the seat of power. We just cannot purely continue like this.

The National Assembly should encourage Sanusi to point accusing fingers.

Sanusi point of view should be respected and taken as a challenge by the civil society in Nigeria. He may have his shortcomings like General Olusegun Obasanjo, but we must move from here to where the developed nations have left us.

Nigeria must be sanitised.

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