Nigerian observer 25 06 2014

The Nigerian

PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol. 39 NO.020 • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 20 14 . N 100.00 POLITICAL P L AT F O R M Page 13

Need for elected leaders to perform

PLACE OF PRAYER Page 21

Immense value of love

Non-Compliance With Planning Regulations

Edo serves notices on 150 property owners BENIN CITY - Edo State government has served contravention notices on over 150 property owners for failing to comply with the state physical planning regulations.

Francis Evbuomwan who disclosed this in Benin City also noted that over

15 other buildings in Benin City have been identified as either Continues on page 2

According to the commissioner, efforts are towards implementation and enforcement of the law as the ministry has

embarked on property enumeration and valuation in different parts of Benin City in line with the law.

The law was signed

Govt to enforce Land Use Charge BENIN CITY - Edo State government is to adhere to the strict enforcement of the Land Use charge Law, with the exemption of recognized and approved places of religious worship, the State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Francis Evbuomwan has said.

This was contained in a statement by the Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Rabi Umoru.

While inspecting the Land Use charge new office presently under construction in Benin City, Evbuomwan said notification and

Issuance of C of O in owners’ interest BENIN CITY- Edo State Government has said processing and issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) is in the interest of Land and Property owners who definitely get economic value from it.

This was made known in Benin City by the Hon. Commissioner for Lands and Surveys, Barr Osikhena-Boih Donald when he received applicants for Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in his office for collection of already signed Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).

Barr. Osikhena-Boih

State Commissioner for housing and Urban Development, Arc.

- EDSG

Donald said that Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) serves as important collateral for business men in transacting business with Banks, particularly in obtaining loan.

The Lands and Surveys Commissioner also added that property owners need to have Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for proper ownership and documentation.

He emphasised that processing and issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) is now within 30 working days Continues on page 2

TIT BIT “When we confine ourselves to a search for our destiny inside another person’s destiny; we would be required to submit every of our intentions for the person’s vetting.”

- Kinglsey Ogbeide-Ihama

into law in by Governor Adams Oshiomhole in 2012 to help government optimize the use of land and landed

property in Edo State through appropriate enlightenment on the taxation.

Land Use charges The commissioner would be done in gave an insight the due course. import of the law, saying it allows taxation of four categories of property.

He listed the categories to include, Residential Property Land size in excess of 100feet by 50feet); Commercial / Residential property; commercial property and Industrial/ Manufacturing property.

Residential property with shops in them and blocks of four flats, the commissioner said would be taxed under NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL MEETING: L-R: CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Deputy Chief of the Commercial / Staff, Abubakar Kachalla, Supervising Minister of National Planning Commission, Amb. Bashir Yuguda Residential property and Vice President Namadi Sambo, at the National Economic Council Meeting in Abuja yesterday. category.

Defamation: Adjoto threatens

court action against Iluobe

BENIN CITY - A member of Edo State House of Assembly representing AkokoEdo 1 Constituency, Hon. Kabiru Adjoto has asked the member representing Esan North East 1 Constituency, Hon Patrick Iluobe to retract an alleged defamatory statement credited to him (Iluobe) in a privately owned media in the state.

Adjoto, through his counsel, Hon (Barrister) Dele Igbinedion in a letter dated June 24, 2014 and addressed to Iluobe stated that failure to do so

within seven days, civil proceedings shall be initiated against Iluobe.

Beside retraction, Adjoto also demanded apology and payment of

BENIN CITY - The Senior Special Assistant to the Edo State Governor on Neighourhood Watch and Chairman,

Akugbe Ventures Limited, Comrade Tony Kabaka Adun, has raised alarm over plans by some notable politicians in the state to nail him for a case

N500,000,000 as compensation for the defamation.

According to Adjoto, on Monday June 23, 2014, Iluobe granted an

interview to journalist on an incident in which “the convoy of the Deputy Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly was Continues on page 2

he might not have committed, for political reasons.

He dropped the hint on Monday while speaking with THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER. Comrade Adun stated Continues on page 2

Tony Kabaka alleges threat to life

News

Edo serves notices on 150 property owners Continued from page 1 defective, unfit for habitation or erected without building plan or permit.

Arch. Evbuomwan said the discoveries and subsequent notices are part of government plans to enforce the Benin City masterplan.

He said government realized that the original

masterplan of Benin City, with regard to physical planning, urban design and building development had been altered.

He explained that some property owners had erected structures willy-nilly thereby compounding the problem of flooding and erosions in the state, adding that illegal conversion of property for purposes different from the originally intended had defaced

the aesthetics of Benin City.

This he said led to the demolition of illegal structures in Ugbiyiokho, Upper Ekenwan area of Benin City.

Evbuomwan said the affected structures were illegal as they were erected on natural water ways that were mapped out by the Edo State Government, beside

crowding the right of ways and blocking the drainage system, thereby causing flooding on major roads.

It would be recalled that a Task Force on Illegal Structures and Building Control Development was inaugurated March 2014, and empowered by the State Executive Council with the aim to help put order, discipline and restore Benin City to its original plan.

Adjoto threatens court action against Iluobe

Continued from page 1 involved in some sort of incident involving shooting of guns at Abudu,` along the Benin-Asaba Expressway, Edo State.

According to Adjoto, Iluobe attributed the attack to him (Adjoto) by saying that, “Before now, I was threatened by Hon. Kabiru Adjoto that he was going to sacrifice my head in this crisis, so, I want the Commissioner of Police to look into this”.

According to Adjoto, the words which was made at the entrance of the assembly complex “were heard by a large crowd

which was present on the occasion. Thereafter, you cause your comment to be repeatedly broadcasted on the private television main news heard

within and outside Nigeria”.

Adjoto stated that Iluobe by the words meant that he (Adjoto), threatened to assassinate you and carry out the plan by organising a

Tony Kabaka alleges threat to life Continued from page 1

that some politicians who have lost the people’s confidence, recently, sold their privileges given them in monetary rewards, consequent upon which he organized a protest march around Benin City metropolis to let the public know about their greed and naivety, as far as politics is concerned in the state.

He posited that the protest triggered off their anger, hence they threatened to deal with him ruthlessy. He said as a man who wants to safeguard the achievements of the comrade governor, he never took the threats seriously but that it was not only amazing but also

being held at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, EguareEbelle, Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State.

The archbishop opined that prosecuting politicians and supporters involved in electoral crimes would help address incidence of electoral violence in the country, and engender political stability.

He therefore called on the electoral umpire, INEC, the media and civil society organizations to support the electoral process by mounting anti-violence campaigns across the country.

On the 2015 general election, he called on Nigerians to adhere strictly to the rules governing conduct of elections, bearing in mind that 2015 is the year the USA had predicted Nigeria would break up.

He warned against attempts to prevent the current Nigerian president from contesting the

saying it could spell doom for the country, as it could spark off violence in the president’s Niger-Delta region, the source of the Nigeria’s revenue.

He condemned the gruesome activities of Boko Haram in the country and challenged all Nigerians to rise in support of government by volunteering information to security agencies, just as he advised Nigerians against politicalisation of war against terror.

The religious leader lauded the president and members of the Nigerian Senate and Federal House of Representatives for passing the anti-gay bill.

In their various responses, the vicar of the St. Matthews Anglican Church, Venerable A..E. Ohilebo, Sir (Dr) Francis Olinfun, Chief (Sir) Ezekiel Ainabe described the address as thought provoking and soul inspiring.

Archbishop provides antidote for electoral violence 2015 presidential elections,

By OSE EHEBHA

EBELLE The Archbishop of Bendel Province, Anglican Communion, The Most Rev’d Friday Imaekhai has prescribed punishment for politicians and their supporters found guilty of committing acts that threaten lives and property in the course of the electoral process.

He equally advised against calls in some quarters that the incumbent President Jonathan should not contest the 2015 election on account of the current security situation in the country, saying the consequence would be circle of violence.

Imaekhai made the calls during his address to the 3rd Session of the 4th Synod of the Diocese of Esan with the Theme: Divine Direction,

violent attack on you and some members of Edo State House of Assembly.

Adjoto stated further that the state police command had since confirmed that the incident at Abudu was the handiwork of armed robbers who were operating at Abudu.

pathetic that about two weeks ago, some fierce looking police detectives from Abuja invaded his house and ransacked everywhere, but to their dismay, they never saw anything incriminating and they left.

As if that was not even enough, Tony Kabaka remarked that on several occasions while driving his cars, he was usually trailed by unknown persons suspected to have been hired by opposition party, PDP in the state to either assassinate him or carry out orders that might be inimical to his life and that of his family.

He said that, he was no longer comfortable with their threats of not only to frame him up in a criminal case, but also map out plans to assassinate him with a view to withdrawing him from circulation to enable them commit evil intention in the next coming elections in the state, hence his petition particularly addressed to the AIG Zone 5 Headquarters, Benin City.

He however, said that he was not deterred by their threats, but decided to draw the attention of the good people of Edo State, especially the great Icon and legend, Oba Erediauwa CFR, the Oba of Benin Kingdom, the Crow Prince, His Royal Highness(Amb.) Eheneden Erediauwa, the Executive Governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, the security agents in the state and the entire public to be alert that if anything happens to him and his family, they should be bold to ask, as the pendulum of threats are pointing irresistibly to the defected lawmakers and their cohorts.

Senate adjourns over Kuta’s entrance of the senate chamber Issuance of

By JOSES SEDE death where he told journalists that “

ABUJA - In line with its t radition, the Senate

yesterday, adjourned plenary session in honour of Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta (PDP Niger East) who died on the 12th of this month while the Senate was on recess.

The Senate which just resumed from its three weeks end of third legislative session recess, just sat for few minutes for adoption of proceedings of its last session held on 5th June, 2014 and thereafter adjourned plenary yesterday.

Moving the motion for the Senate adjournment, the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba (PDP Cross Rivers Central), said “ while we were on break, tragedy befell this chamber with the sudden death of our dear colleague,

Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character who died on the 12th of this month in Lagos on his way for medical treatment abroad.

“Distinguished Colleagues, may I in line with our tradition, move that this senate do adjourn plenary till tomorrow (25th June 2014) in honour of our departed colleague “ Accordingly the Senate adopted the motion as put to it for approval by the Senate President, David Mark who added that the Senate sitting today would be devoted solely for valedictory session in honour of late senator which according to him, would be graced by the Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu and family members of the late senator .

The senate President also led other senators to sign the condolence register opened at the

In Kuta, Nigeria and indeed the Senate has lost a very patriotic citizen who at all times, joined hands with other patriots to move the country forward through whatever national assignment given to him.

“Specifically, the late Senator Kuta made the Senate committee on Federal Character to be very vibrant and responsive to its legislative responsibilities in terms of making relevant agencies under it to reflect equity in federal appointment and distribution of resources” Aside the Senate President, other Senators like the Deputy Senate President, Ike EKweremadu, the Senate Leader, Ndoma Egba, Minority Leader, George Akume etc, also made remarks on the late senator after signing the condolence register.

C of O in property owners’ interest

Continued from page 1

provided all rules and requirement were met.

Applicants in their various responses thanked the Hon. Commissioner for Lands and Surveys for taking a bold step for the signing of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of Os) for the interest of the public and processing and issuance of Certificate of Occupancy within 30 working days.

Vehicle Towing: Transport Commissioner disclaims Nosak Global Ventures BENIN CITY - Edo State Ministry of Transport has advised members of the general public to resist any form of intimidation and harassment from officials of Nosak Global Ventures who still go about arresting, towing and impounding vehicles in different parts of Benin City over traffic offences despite the fact that its contract has been terminated.

The officials of Nosak Global Ventures usually carry out their activities along Mission, Akpakpava, First East Circular roads and Oba Ovonranmwen Square as well as other parts of the metropolis.

This is indicated in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Transport, Hon. Orobosa Omo-Ojo (JP), made available to newsmen in Benin City which also emphasizes that “For the avoidance of doubt, these imposters have their vehicle detention points at Urhokpota Hall and damson Road, behind Gaius Obaseki Group of Schools all in Benin City.

The statement warns that the officials should be handed over to Law Enforcement Agencies or the Provost, Edo State Traffic Management Agency for prosecution.

By ABIODUN AFOLABI

A breakdown of the withdrawn students indicated that 6 of the them gained admission into the university via the Direct Entry mode, 66 through University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) while 6 entered the university through UME. A Bulletin signed by the Registrar of the Institution Olujimi Olukoya indicated that the premier university will continue to uphold the highest standards in global scholarship.

Ibadan Varsity Senate expells 78 students

IBADAN - The Senate of the University of Ibadan has approved the withdrawal of 78 students from the institution for failing to obtain the minimum academic requirements for the 2012/ 2013 session.

The expelled students were at various levels from 100 to 400 hundred levels and came from thirteen faculties within the Institution.

Gunmen kill 38 persons in KAFANCHAN (KADUNA) Kaduna - No fewer than 38 persons were killed on Monday night in two separate attacks in two villages in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

Mr Emmanuel Adamu, the council Chairman, told newsmen in Sanga that the attacks were carried out simultaneously.

Adamu said the gunmen unleashed mayhem on Ankpon village in Nandu district and Kabamu village in Fadan Karshi, all of Numana district.

While describing the incident as unfortunate, he said that the victims included

women and children.

“21 people were killed in Fadan Kashi while 17 killed in Nandu,” he said.

Adamu condoled with those who lost their loved ones during the attack and urged residents to remain calm.

According to him, security agencies were tracking the attackers while measures have been adopted to forestall recurrence.

Seven people were killed when gunmen attacked a police outpost at Fadan Karshi in May.

Rape: School teacher bags 14 yrs jail term

By BETTY IDIALU

WARRI - Mr. Godwin Onoyiwai a school teacher in Warri ,Delta State was yesterday sentenced to fourteen years in jail after being charged to court for raping a nine-year-old pupil in Warri, Delta State.

The pupil (names withheld) was defiled by the sex maniac in the staff room’s floor of Delta Career College, along Airport Road Effurun on September 23, 2008.

Delivering the judgement on the criminal aspect of the case on Tuesday June 17, 2014, at Effurun High Court 1, the presiding judge, Justice Kujaobola Onadike, said the evidence before the court showed that the accused was overwhelmingly guilty of the crime.

The accused was consequently handcuffed and taken to Okere Prison in Warri to cool off his feet for the next 14 years.

Meanwhile, mother of the

victim, Mrs. Grace Jehovah, said though she was satisfied with the judgement, she had expected the culprit would bag a life imprisonment.

“I’m satisfied, but I was expecting life imprisonment for him. But I take it the way it is now,” Mrs. Jehovah stated, adding that the school, where the act was committed, has refused to apologise to her family for the ignoble act of the teacher since the incident occurred in 2008.

She appealed to the court authorities and the Delta State government to call Delta Career College to order, accusing the school authorities of “fighting me seriously as if I lured the teacher to rape my daughter.”

Mrs. Jehovah said she would embark on the civil aspect of the case in order to seek damages for her daughter’s psychological trauma by the teacher.

The randy teacher Mr. Onoyiwai, apparently unaware of what the outcome of the judgement was however dazed and accused the judge of bias.

News Plastic Waste Cause $13bn Damage Annually - UNEP

ABUJA - Plastic waste pose a threat to marine life, with conservative estimates of overall financial damage of plastics to marine ecosystems standing at 13 billion dollars annually, according to a statement UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

The statement, issued in Nairobi and made available to the newsmen online in Abuja said that the concern over microplastics was expressed in two reports released at the opening of the five-day UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi.

The statement said that the 11th edition of UNEP Year Book examined 10 issues identified by previous reports over the past decade, including plastic waste in the ocean.

It said that the 2014 Year Book gave an update on each issue and provided options for action.

According to the statement, other areas covered include the environmental impacts of excess nitrogen and marine aquaculture, the deadly toll of air pollution and the potential of citizen science.

Valuing Plastic, a UNEPsupported report produced by the Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP) and Trucost, made the business case for managing and disclosing plastic use in the consumer goods

industry, the statement said.

The report, it said, put the overall natural capital cost of plastic use in consumer goods sector each year was 75 billion dollars, citing financial impacts resulting from issues such as pollution of the marine environment or air pollution caused by incinerating plastic.

“The report said that over 30 per cent of the natural capital costs of plastic are due to greenhouse gas emissions from raw material extraction and processing.”

The report noted that marine pollution was the largest downstream cost and that the figure of 13 billion dollars was likely a significant underestimate.

The report quoted Achim Steiner, UN Under-SecretaryGeneral and UNEP Executive Director, as saying: “Plastics have come to play a crucial role in modern life, but the environmental impacts of the way we use them cannot be ignored.

“These reports show that reducing, recycling and redesigning products that use plastics can bring multiple green economy benefits from reducing economic damage to marine ecosystems.

Elder Christopher Eilegbogun For funeral mass at St Anthony’s Burial June 27 Catholic Church, Ewatto, and EWATTO (EDO) - The Eilegbogun family of Idum-Ijie, Eguare-Ewatto in Esan South East Local Government Area of Edo State has released the burial programme of their late father, grand father, brother and uncle, LATE (PA) ELDER CHRISTOPHER UHOMOIBHI EILEGBOGUN who was called to glory on Saturday May 24, 2014 at the age of 96 years.

A statement by the eldest son, Elder Ben Eilegbogun, vice principal, Ubiaja Girls Model School, Ubiaja, said that the programme will commence on Thursday June 26, 2014 with Service of Songs on Friday June 27, 2014 body leaves Godwill Mortuary, Ewohimi to his residence Idumu-Ijie EgguareEwatto for a brief stopover.

This will be followed by

interment and social wake keep at his residence thereafter.

According to him, on Saturday June 28, 2014 there will be transitional dances followed by thanksgiving mass at St Anthony Catholic Church, Ewatto on Sunday June 29, 2014.

“It can bring benefits to the tourism and fisheries industries, vital for many developing countries, to bringing savings and

“Our economies are still largely fossil-fuel based, with the environmental, economic and health costs hidden.

Edo State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Arc Francis Evbuomwan (left) receiving a plaque for an award as ‘Ambassador of Ethics’ from the Executive Director of an NGO, Centre for Ethics and Self Orientation, Prince Salih Musa.

“Scientists have recently found tiny pieces of plastic trapped in sea ice.

“Transported by ocean currents across great distances, these contaminated particles eventually become a source of chemicals in our food.

“The key course of action is to prevent plastic debris from entering the environment in the first place, which translates into a single powerful objective: reduce, reuse and recycle.”

According to the statement, large and unquantifiable amount of plastic waste enter the ocean from littering, poorly managed landfills, tourist activities and fisheries.

It said that some of this material sink to the ocean floor, while some float and can travel over great distances on ocean currents, polluting shorelines and accumulating in massive midocean gyres.

“There have been many reliable reports of environmental damage due to plastic waste — mortality or illness when ingested by sea creatures such as turtles, entanglement of animals such as dolphins and whales, among others.

“There are also concerns about chemical contamination, invasive species spread by plastic fragments, and economic damage to the fishing and tourism industries in many countries.

“For example, fouling fishing equipment and polluting beaches,’’ it added.

World Bank Programme, Not Alternative To Govt Progamme - SEEFOR Co-ordinator

By FRIDAY OBANOR

Late Elder Christopher Eilegbogun

opportunities for innovation to companies while reducing reputational risks.

BENIN CITY-The Coordinaator of Edo State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR), Mr. Taiwo Akerele said in Benin City that the World Bank assisted programme is not an alternative to government programme.

Speaking at a one-day stakeholders meeting and inauguration of its community oversight committee (COC), Mr. Akerele maintained that

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti (left) and Governor-Elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose during his visit to the Governor in Ado-Ekiti on Monday.

SEEFOR is an interventionist agency with a duty is to complement government’s efforts.

Mr. Akerele noted that Edo SEEFOR has been declared effective since July, 31, 2013 and has the objective of enhancing opportunities for employment as well as access to Socio – Economic services while improving the public expenditure management systems in participating states of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers.

According to the Co-ordinator, “under component AL which is Youth Employment through public works, 555 youths have been given opportunities for employment to carry out small public works along 28 roads across the three senatorial districts of the state”.

He added that phase 11 which is database is currently being finalized for additional 900 youths, while service providers would be engaged to assist the Edo state waste management Board increase its coverage in terms of efficiency in keeping Benin City clean.

Using existing structures of FADAMA and CSDP for community driven development initiatives, Mr. Akerele hinted that about 23 eligible communities are currently executing micro-projects aimed at improving the socio-economic lives of the people of the areas.

According to him, most of the projects are rural based inducing.

Another major component of the SEEFOR project Mr. Akerele averred is the public financial

management Reforms under which an international consulting firm has been engaged to assist the state government in strengthening budgeting processes, financial Reporting and strengthening legislation to meet with international financial standards and best practices all over the world.

“In line with public works guidelines of the International Development Association (IDA) and the European Union (EU), we will encourage a strong partnership between the beneficiary communities; the government and the project to

ensure maximum utilization of the intervention”. He said.

On her part, the Acting General Manager of Edo State Waste Management Board Miss Gillian Ochugbue charged Landlords not to pay any money to waste disposal for service not rendered.

Highpoint of the stakeholder meeting was the inauguration of the 23 COC under the public works phase 1 by Edo SEEFOR Co- ordinator Mr. Taiwo Akerele, in company of the General Manager Edo State Waste Management Board and representative of the Managing Directors of the State Rapid Response Agency, Mr. Festus Edoror.

Eng Okao’s Burial Ceremony Begins Tomorrow BENIN CITY - The families of Ohenhen, Okao and Ogbomo of Utekon town, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State have released the programme for the burial ceremony of Engineer Iro Leon Okao who passed on June 8, 2014. He was aged 49 years.

According to the programme, the burial ceremony begins tomorrow, Thursday June 26, 2014 with a Vigil Mass at his residence, No 38 Zomi-Zomi Street, off Akugbe Street, off Idahor Street, Upper Sakpoba Road, Benin City.

On Sunday June 27, the corpse will be taken from Stella Obasanjo Hospital to Mary Mother of the Redeemer Catholic Church, 45 Omorotionmwan Street, Beside NDLEA, off Upper Sakpoba Road, Benin City for a requiem

mass interment and entertainment of guests follow thereafter at the same venue.

The burial ceremony will climax on Sunday June 29, 2014 with a thanksgiving service at Mary Mother of the Redeemer Catholic Church.

Late Engineer Iro Leon Okao

Lagos Boat Accidents Agency Embarks On Safety Campaign

Trader Arraigned For Beating Up Lady LAGOS -A trader, Kelechi Uzor, who allegedly beat up a lady over a damaged dress, was charged before an Oshodi Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

Uzor, 39, who resides at No. 29, Adeleke, St., Oshodi, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of breach of peace and assault.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Kehinde Olatunde, told the court that the accused committed the offences on June 20 at Oshodi market.

He said that the accused assaulted one Miss Kehinde Adesanya by beating her over a damaged dress.

“The accused gave the complainant several blows on her face for refusing to pay for a dress.”

Olatunde said that the complainant entered into the shop to buy a gown but doubted if the one she fancied was her size.

“She took permission from the accused to wear the gown, to be sure that it was her size and he agreed.

“The complainant tried on the gown, but it was too tight and

Learn Rudiments Of Music, Director Urges Youths

LAGOS - The Music Director of Steve Rhodes Orchestra (SRO), Benneth Ogbeiwi, said youths should be taught the rudiments of music to make them more grounded in their music career.

Ogbeiwi told newsmen in Lagos that when youths were properly trained it would impact positively on the type of music they play.

“Music for us in this world has been some sort of inspiration, a connecting factor for peace, progress and prosperity and fosters unity in Nigeria.

“If you look at the goings-on today in the country, music is the only thing that unifies us after football.

“Music makes people happy and one forgets anger, pride, class and others just to have fun.

“Many of us don’t think of music as a wondrous magic and an outstanding gift of God. It soothes our soul and body,” he said.

He added that the ultimate aim was to project the nation’s music anywhere in the world for it to be recognised like the national flag.

“What we just need is to put our infrastructure together and make sure we make it as perfect as we want it to be for more quality productions,” he said.

Ogbeiwi, who is also one of the teachers in the popular MTN Project Fame Reality TV series, told newsmen that he learnt everything about music from the late Steve Rhodes.

“I still remember those kind words of his that we should not make miserable what he has built.

“I am sure that with the couple of musicians we have been able to raise we are going in the right part in the country.

He added that his ultimate goal was to be one of those who made their mark in the nation’s entertainment sector and to led others to get there.

“At least, I owe that to my mentor,” he said.

in the process of removing it, the gown tore.”

The prosecutor said that the accused insisted on collecting N10, 000 for the torn gown, but the complainant told him that she could not pay for it.

“The trader insisted that the complainant must pay for the damaged gown and when she tried to leave his shop, he pulled her back and dealt her several blows on the face, which caused her some injuries.”

The offences, Olatunde said, contravened Sections 166 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Uzor pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Section 171 prescribes a threeyear jail term for anyone found guilty of the offence.

The Magistrate, Mr. Akeem Fashola, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000 with one surety in like sum and adjourned the case till July 23, for mention.

Bags of grains displayed for sale at Soro Market in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

Education Standard Has Improved - ANCOPPSS LAGOS – The All Nigeria confederation of principals of public secondary schools (ANCOPPSS), Lagos State

Chapter has said that updated curriculum had improved education standards in Nigeria.

Mr. Babatunde Philips, the

ANCOPPSS President in the state, made the observation in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

He said that Nigeria’s

L-R: Anambra Commissioner for Works, Mr. Chuks Ilozumba, Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, Governor Willie Obiano, National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, Managing Director, Infrastructure Development Company (IDC) Limited, Mr. Chahid El Ahl and Speaker, Anambra State House of Assembly, Mrs. Chinwe Nwebili, at the launch of construction of three bridges in Akwa on Monday.

education standard was no longer declining as claimed by some people.

According to him, school curricula in Nigeria have been upgraded to meet global standards.

Philips said exposure of pupils to the use of computers was part of the improvement.

“Students’ abilities to manufacture things such as torchlight are a proof that our children are information technology-complaints,” Philips said.

The ANCOPPSS official said that principals were involved in drawing up the updated curriculum in the state.

He also said that students were being exposed to series of competitions such as spelling been, debate, computer and mathematics competitions to increase their learning abilities.

“All these measures are taken to enhance the standard of education in the state and the country as a whole,” he said.

Association Cautions Members Over Govt LAGOS -The Real Estate funded by bank loans and if the developers approached the Developers Association of they failed to deliver as Projects incoming government on a Nigeria (REDAN) has urged its members to urgently complete all Federal or State Government projects before the 2015 general elections.

The President of the association, Mr. Bode Afolayan, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

Afolayan said that the advice was necessary to minimise losses from uncompleted or delayed projects.

He told them to remember that the projects were being

scheduled, repayment of the loans would be difficult.

The REDAN president said it would not augur well if the banks go after them, in the case of default.

“For REDAN members to have peace of mind, it is better to adhere to this advice.

“In as much as we do not want to predict any election result, it will be better to be on the safer side.

“Some of our members have been affected by this kind of situations in the past and they

are still paying interests on the loans.

“That is why it is necessary to remind members of the implications and the need not to repeat the mistakes of the past,” he said.

The REDAN president said that this period was also the best time to ensure that they had necessary approvals and documentations on property transactions with any government.

He stressed that it was better

clean slate.

According to him, although there is supposed to be continuity in government, the bad experiences of members have taught them to be cautious.

Afolayan reiterated that the association would continue to protect the interests of its members nationwide.

He said this was necessary to ensure that its members succeeded in the business of housing construction and making profit out of it.

LAGOS - The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said that adequate sensitisation of passengers and enforcement of safety standards would curb cases of boat mishap in the country.

This is contained in a statement in Lagos by the Deputy Director and Head, Public Relations of NIMASA, Mr. Isichie Osamgbi.

The statement said the Director-General of NIMASA, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, made the assertion at the inauguration of Safety Awareness Campaigns for operators of boats and other mechanicallypropelled water crafts.

“NIMASA is committed to the safety of lives and property on the nation’s waterways and as such, will continue to intensify safety awareness campaigns in states where water transportation is in high use.

“The agency is also concerned about the increasing number of boat accidents which have claimed many lives and property.

“Information-sharing with stakeholders has the potential to significantly reduce accidents,’’ the statement quoted the director-general as saying.

It said NIMASA as a maritime administrator was committed to the enhancement of safety of marine transport.

The statement said it had become important to educate boat operators and enlighten passengers utilising water transport on the safety procedures to be adopted at all times.

It urged boat operators to adhere strictly to safety standards in all their operations to stop deaths occasioned by boat accidents on the waterways.

The statement said the Safety Awareness Campaigns which were in phases had been conducted in Lagos, Cross River and Anambra.

It added that the campaigns in states like Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta and Kogi would commence this week.

NIMASA is the custodian of all International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) conventions and has the responsibility of ensuring the safety of lives at sea and of all crafts in Nigerian waters.

According to reports, this function falls under the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS 1974).

Across The Nation Yero Decries Prevalence Of Rape Cases KADUNA – Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State has expressed concern over the prevalence of rape cases against children and women in Kaduna State.

Yero made the remark while receiving members of the state branch of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).

The governor, who stressed the importance of protecting women and children against abuse and maltreatment, urged the association and other stakeholders to protect them from abuse.

The governor also urged female lawyers to ensure the prosecution of suspects to address the menace and restore dignity of women in the society.

He also called on stakeholders to take child rights seriously, stressing that a child wellprotected and properly groomed would turn out to be great and useful to the society.

He assured the association that

the state government would continue to partner with it to ensure justice and fairness and to address the challenges facing women and children.

Earlier, the Chairperson of the association in the state, Sidikat Adeboye, said the association was established to protect the rights and uplift the status of women and children.

She said the association was committed to addressing the plight of women and protecting children from molestation, sexual abuse and rape.

GOMBE - The Gombe State Government has inaugurated a committee on food and nutrition, to tackle severe acute malnutrition affecting children and mothers in the state.

Inaugurating the committee in Gombe, the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Alhaji Danladi Pantami, said data on the scourge of malnutrition in children in the 11 local government areas of the state, informed the government’s efforts to address it.

According to him, the government has accorded top priority to education in the state

Wife’s Obsession For Parties

Husdand Seeks Divorce

ILORIN - Salim Wahab of Okelele area, Ilorin, has asked an Ilorin Area Court to dissolve his marriage due to his wife’s obsession with parties.

Salim, 33, said his wife, Mariam, had turned into a party freak, spending every weekend attending parties and other social events, thereby neglecting her matrimonial duties.

“My wife always have ceremonies to attend and will never spend her weekends with me and our only child, instead she will go to parties with her wayward friends,” he told the court.

According to him, the marriage, contracted in 2009, is blessed with a child, named Quadri.

“My lord, I want an end to this marriage because I cannot cope with a woman that loves parties more than her family,” the husband begged the court.

The wife, however, objected to the request by her husband for divorce, saying that she was still interested in the marriage.

“My husband always wants me indoors, I promise to quit attending parties and spend more time with my family,” she said.

Mariam also prayed the court to give them time to reconcile their differences.

The presiding judge, Mr. Yusuf Abdulkareem, acceded to her request and gave the couple up to July 24 to reconcile.

Ramadan

Gombe Inaugurates C’ttee On Food, Nutrition because of the relationship between education and nutrition of children.

“The government has embarked on the renovation of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the state as well as the establishment of new ones.

“It is scientifically established that education and nutrition of children are intricately related.

“The more nourished a child is, the higher his educational performance; for a malnourished child, his absorptive capacity and retentive level in school is low.

“In most instances, malnourished children do not survive to school age, talkless of enrolling and completing primary school.”

The commissioner said that the terms of reference of the

Jigawa Spends N1.1bn On Science, Technical problems of unqualified and inadequate teachers in primary Schools and secondary schools in the

Vice President Namadi Sambo (right), presenting a condolence letter to governor Abiola Ajimbo of Oyo State, during his condolence visit to the family of Late Alhaji Abdulazeez Arisekola-Alao in Ibadan recently.

L-R: Son of late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Abdulazeez Arisekola-Alao, Idris (left), welcoming the speaker, House of representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal during his condolence visit to the family in Ibadan recently.

DUTSE - The Jigawa state government said it had spent about N1.1 billion to construct and rehabilitate science and technical schools in the state.

The Commissioner for Education, Prof Haruna Wakili, said yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Dutse.

Wakili said two new science and technical colleges were established in Ringim and Birninkudu local government areas.

“Government also used some of the money for the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, hostels and staff quarters.

“Furniture was provided to the schools, while free textbooks and other instructional materials were distributed to students in technical colleges,’’ he said.

The commissioner said revival of science and technical schools was crucial to the development science and technical education in the state.

According to him, the schools have been equipped to offer relevant skills to students that will make them self employed.

“We are giving our science and technical schools a serious priority because we want our young men and women to be self reliant,” he said.

Wakili also said that the government had facilitated the introduction of degree programmes at the College of Education, Gumel, to address the

Prices Of Food Items Remain Stable

OMU-ARAN (KWARA) Prices of food items have remained stable in some markets in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government of Kwara, less than one week to the commencement of this year’s Ramadan fast.

A visit by newsmen to the markets showed that the development was contrary to the usual expectation of an upward increase in prices of food items as Ramadan approaches.

It was reported that some food items such as beans, yam flour, rice, guinea corn, pepper and

committee included providing the necessary technical and professional assistance and support to the planning ministry.

He said the body was also mandated to propose and review on a continuous basis, policies and programmes that had potential impact on food and nutrition issues positively.

Others, he said,were to formulate appropriate strategies for policy and programme monitoring and evaluation, among others.

It was reported that Pantami is to serve as Chairman of the committee, while permanent secretaries from the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, among others, are members.

vegetable oil are always in high demand during the Ramadan fast.

The development has, however, resulted in panic buying by residents as they now besiege some of the markets in large numbers to purchase the items to beat any eventual increase.

The check by newsmen in some of the markets revealed that a 50kg bag of rice irrespective of the brand costs N8,600, while the smaller size sold for between N7,600 and N7,400.

A sack of white beans still attracts between N14, 000 and

N15, 000 and honey beans cost between N13, 000 and N13,500, while the slight difference in prices was due to the difference in sizes of the sacks.

Similarly, a sack of yam flour sold for between N28, 000 and N30, 000 depending on the bargaining power of buyers, while a sack of wheat sold for N10, 500.

A jerry can of vegetable oil and palm oil sold for between N6,100 and N5,600 respectively.

However, the increase in the prices of various brands of milk

such as peak and three crown brands in most of the markets remained a source of concern to buyers.

Muslims give milk as gift to friends and family during the Ramadan period.

A tin of peak milk, previously sold for N120 now sells for N140.

Mrs. Joy Anifowose, a trader at Ago-Oru market, attributed the price stability to the availability of the food commodities in large quantity in most of the markets.

“The items are already in abundant supply in the markets,

so, Ramadan or no Ramadan the prices still remain the same,” Anifowose said.

Malam Usman Yakubu, a dealer in pepper and vegetables, said the dealers had already made contingency arrangement by flooding the markets with food items to beat the usual increase.

Mrs. Risikat Adio, a dealer in household items, said there was nothing the petty traders could do to reduce the prices of milk brand as the increase had become a normal phenomenon when Ramadan approaches.

state.

Farmers Express Concern Over Low Rainfall DUTSE - Farmers in Jigawa have expressed concern over the low rainfall in the state this year, noting that it might lead to scarcity of food.

A cross section of farmers who spoke with newsmen in Ringim, Birninkudu and Dutse, said there might be low yields if the situation did not change.

A farmer in Ringim local government, Malam Danlami Sintirmawa, said some of the seeds he planted did not germinate while some that sprouted, died due to intensive heat.

“The rain has fallen only four times since the beginning of this year as against about 10 times or more recorded by this time in past years,’’ he said.

Another farmer, Alhaji Salihu Kafingana told newsmen that the unusual low rainfall level was a great concern for them.

“I am worried because I don’t have any other means of livelihood than farming. It is my only occupation through which I feed my family and sponsor my children to school.’’

Reacting to the situation, Malam Seidu Shehu, urged clerics in the state to organise prayers for God’s intervention.

“If we don’t seek divine intervention over this situation, we all will suffer food scarcity and high cost when the time comes because demand will be more than the supply of food items,’’ he said.

Abuja Flood: NES Cautions Against Building On Drains

L-R: Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Senator Clever Ikisikpo, Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator Kabiru Turaki and Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Hajiya Hadiza Kangiwa, at the 2014 World Refugee Day in Abuja on Monday.

ABUJA - The Nigeria Environmental Society (NES) has charged people living in coastal areas of the country to avoid erecting structures capable of blocking drainage systems.

The Abuja Chapter Chairman of the society, Mr. Akinrele Olusegun, told newsmen in Abuja that the advice became imperative to prevent the devastating impacts of flooding.

Olusegun said that 75 per cent of the Niger Delta region was at risk of losing landmass due to accelerated sea rise.

He said that people in flood-prone areas, could

TRCN Reiterates Commitment To Professional Standard

ABUJA - The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has said the council was committed to ensure high standards in the teaching profession for its growth and development.

The TRCN Director, Professional Operations, Dr Steve Nwokeocha, told newsmen in Abuja that some teachers were no longer abiding by the Act establishing the profession.

Nwokeocha listed the professional standards to include knowledge, skills, values, attitude, conduct, rights, privileges and obligations and values, which had been abandoned by

teachers.

He said the council would step up efforts to ensure that violators of these core values were penalised to make them to appreciate the profession.

The director said the TRCN Act had far-reaching implications for the violators of the Act establishing the teaching profession.

“It suffices, therefore, to state that teachers will henceforth undergo all those necessary intellectual, professional, moral, social and even psychological rigours, characteristic of the other noble

professions.

He noted that other professions in both public and private sectors adhere to the provisions of the Acts establishing them.

Nwokeocha said the council would enforce teachers’ professional guidelines for

teachers and learners in the education sub-sector.

According to him, it is a criminal offence to engage in the teaching profession if one is not a professional teacher registered with the TRCN. He said the Act provides that any individual convicted of the

offence shall be liable to a fine of N5,000 or two years imprisonment or both.

He said the Act further states that the any employer or facilitators shall be liable to the same fine or two years imprisonment or both.

Nwokeocha, however, said the council would push for a review of the Act to make for stiffer penalties.

Community Elects Chairman, Okaighele

By ANDY EGBON

EGBIKEN(IKPOBA OKHA) The Egbiken community in Ikpoba Okha Local Governemnt Area of Edo State has elected Messrs Benjamin Edogiewerie and Osayande Okunimmioya as community chairman and Okaighele (Leader of Senior age grade) respectively at the community forum.

The forum was presided over by the Acting Odionwere of the Community, Pa. Napoleum Edogiawerie who expressed confidence on them to lead the community to greater heights.

He disclosed that, contrary to reports in some quarters, the land belonging to the Benin Monarch, His Royal

become internally displaced persons and stressed that they should not hesitate to relocate, if advised to do so, in order to safe.

Olusegun called for practical actions to reduce human activities that could cause climate change.

“Successfully tackling the problems of climate change is dependent on sustained innovation over a very long period and continuous commitment by the government and individuals.’’

The chairman canvassed for greater focus on mitigating climate change impacts and progress on appropriate building initiatives that would promote climate resilience.

Reports state that official figures put the number of people killed in the 2012 floods at 363 people while 5,851 persons were injured and over three million displaced.

Property damaged was also valued at about N2.6 trillion.

Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau (3rd right), inspecting a Road Project at Mazah Village in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau on Monday.

Majesty, Oba Erediauwa is still intact as it was never sold.

Messrs Benjamin Edogiawerie and Osayande Okunimioya in their separate remarks said the publication portraying any other person as community chairman is misleading and intended to cause disaffection in the community.

More States To Benefit From Sanitation Fund

ABUJA - The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programme of the Water Supply Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Geneva, may be expanded to accommodate more states of the country.

Mr. Samuel Ome, the Director, Water Quality and Sanitation Control, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja .

It will be recalled that the WSSCC donated five million dollars under their GSF

programme to boost sanitation in Nigeria.

The director said that the fund was currently being utilised in Benue and Cross River, while Nigeria had contributed 950,000 dollars to the programme.

He said that the programme, which is being implemented in three local government areas in each of the benefiting states, was being managed by an international organisation known as Concerned Universal, in collaboration with the states and local governments.

Ome said the expansion would be determined by the outcome of the ongoing project in Benue and Cross River and in states that indicated interest and met the required criteria.

“There would be scaling up, but the ongoing ones in Benue and Cross River would give us an opportunity to evaluate how to expand the project to other states.’’

The director said that all chairmen of the benefiting local

governments were part of the Programme Coordination Mechanism, to ensure sustainability and promote development.

He said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed between the Ministry of Water Resources, implementing state government and WSSCC. The MoU, he said, was to cement their partnership and allow commitments of executing agencies to achieve the set goals.

In a separate interview, Mr. Chris Williams, the Executive

Director, WSSCC, told newsmen that the programme in Benue and Cross River was for a period of five years.

He said that in the next two years, the plan to extend to other states would be concluded depending on the outcome of the ongoing project.

“There is hope for expansion; it’s a five-year programme; so we will look at the next two years to see how the two states are performing; not just on the funding that we provide, but also on the funding that the government provides.’’

Business + Economy Insurgency: Association Drums

Support For FG’s Efforts

L-R: Secretary to Bauchi State Government, Alhaji Aminu Hammayo, Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State and Managing Director, Yuguda Vocational Training Centre (YVTC), Alhaji Uba Boris, during the Solidarity visit of Trainees of the Centre to Government House in Bauchi on Monday.

Internship Scheme: SURE-P Engages ABUJA - The Chairman, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Gen. MartinLuther Agwai (rtd.), said no fewer than 3,000 people have been engaged by the programme in its Graduate Internship Scheme.

Agwai made this known when he featured at the newsmen Forum in Abuja.

He said that the beneficiaries were recruited from more than 150,000 graduates who applied to serve under the scheme from 2013 to date.

He said that the youth were serving in different public and private organisations where they were posted to acquire on-the-job experience.

According to him, the scheme is to help Nigerian graduates to acquire skills that will make them suitable for full employment in any sector

of the economy.

Agwai said that SURE-P was collaborating with companies and other organisations as well as individuals for the sustenance of the scheme.

He explained that while on the internship at the companies, the Federal Government, through SURE-P, paid each intern a stipend of N30,000 per month, adding that the allowance to the graduates was to encourage them to be committed to the training.

“The Federal government, having discovered that most of our graduates are not employable immediately after they leave school, decided to introduce the scheme.

“We hope that after one year internship, the organisations will employ them or they will be more marketable with the

3,000 People

experience they have acquired,” he explained.

Agwai said that some state governments had indicated interest in the scheme, adding that Borno, Plateau, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Kogi and Enugu states were already collaborating with SURE-P on the programme.

He said that a new scheme on technical and vocational training was inaugurated by the programme on June 17, adding

that 5,075 persons were already being trained under the scheme across the country.

He said that eight government institutions which were renovated

by SURE-P in parts of the country were currently being used for the scheme.

He disclosed that Lagos and Kano states had more participants in the scheme, because of the huge presence of companies and big industries in both states.

ABUJA - The association of Kwara indigenes based in the FCT has urged Nigerians to fully support Federal Government’s effort to curb terrorism through its Basic Registry Information Service in Nigeria (BRISIN).

Mr Jimoh Lawal, the Chairman of Kwara Indigenes in the Federal Capital Territory (KWAFECT), made the call in Abuja during the association’s June Assembly.

He said BRISIN was government’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project to harness modern information management for socioeconomic development.

“The project, when fully implemented, is a game changer which promises not only to wipe out the Boko Haram irritancy but also place Nigeria at par with the world’s most developed countries,’’ Lawal said.

He said this would be in terms of harnessing information in the form of facts, figures, data and statistics to facilitate national security and socio-economic development in general.

“The BRISIN Project is going to capture the data of all Nigerians everywhere, including those in the diaspora.

Institute To Celebrate Centenary Of Hospitality AB UJA -The National Industry Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) said it had concluded plans for the celebration of 100 years of food and hospitality culture in Nigeria.

This is contained in a statement issued by Alhaji Munzali Dantata, DirectorGeneral of NIHOTOUR, in Abuja.

It stated that the event, commemorating Nigerian centenary, would bring stakeholders in the hospitality industry to showcase the rich culture of the country cuisines.

“The fair will consist of exhibitions, conference and cooking competition As well as bring stakeholders together to tell the story of

food from farm to table.

“It will celebrate the rich culinary and cultural heritage of Nigeria and its natural ingredients,’’ it stated.

The statement stated that the celebration, which would hold between June 24 and June 26, would feature lectures from professionals in the industry on best food culture.

The theme, “One Hundred Years of Food, Culture and Hospitality”, was aimed at popularising Nigeria cuisines.

It is also expected to encourage people to be concerned about healthy lifestyle.

Trainees of Yuguda Vocational Training Centre (YVTC) paying a Solidarity visit to Governor Isa Yuguda at Government House in Bauchi on Monday.

Coy Distributes Improved DUTSE -The Jigawa Agricultural Supply Company Limited (JASCO) says it has distributed improved seeds at subsidised rate to farmers in the 27 local government areas of the state.

Alhaji Idris Girbobo, the General Manager, JASCO, told newsmen in Dutse yesterday that the seeds, comprising maize, groundnut, millet, water melon, sesame and guinea corn, were distributed

Seeds To Farmers

through the 30 agricultural outlets in the state.

Girbobo explained that 24 local governments had one outlet each while three councils had two each.

He said that the gesture was meant to make seeds affordable and available at the door steps of farmers as well as improve food production.

“We did this to also avoid

situations where farmers would go and buy infected seeds from unauthorised agencies.”

Apart from seeds, the company also sells at subsidised rates agrochemicals and farm implements such as motorised tillers, planters and crushers, among others, he said.

“In fact, this project the Federal Government is now embarking upon is a project we should have embarked upon about 20, 25 or 30 years ago.

“With this project, information in the form of facts, figures, data and statistics will begin to be harnessed to drive not only national security but even the social and economic development of the nation.

“The difference between Nigeria and the world’s most developed countries is information management and information management in this sense is about using facts, figures, data and statistics to drive development.

“This is important because it will help us to know the number of people and resources in a particular state, et cetera.

“These are simply the devices through which developed countries are able to know precisely what they need, and when they need it and this is what has been lacking in Nigeria.’’

Lawal said one of the secrets about Book Haram was that the insurgents did not want anybody to associate them with any family. “‘They want to pretend to have dropped from heaven.’’

He said Nigeria was however not dealing with faceless people because they came from homes and were known by some people.

“But if they have been captured in a template that will show clearly where they were born, with their photographs and fingerprints, they will never have embarked on what they are doing now.’’

The association chairman said many people now do what they do, such as crime, because of the absence of proper information management which Nigeria had lacked before now.

He said the introduction of BRISIN was a credit to the present administration, and praised it for bringing it to the fore.

“We can also say it’s a blessing, coming from the challenge of insurgency, because Nigeria will now know who is who and what is what.

“This is in terms of our resources, in terms of the allocation, in terms of their yield, in terms of how much is their shortage of the previous figure or in excess of what we had.’’

Lawal urged Nigerians to ensure they were captured in the data, pleading with KWAFECT members to continue to support law enforcement agencies and cooperate with FCTA in the nation’s development.

Also speaking, Mr. Nurudeen Quadri, the association’s Director of Publicity, said KWAFECT was an association which aimed at contributing to Kwara’s development and improvement in the lives of its people.4 Quadri said the association provides a platform for Kwara indigenes in Abuja to reach out, unite and help one another outside the state, regardless of religion or party affiliation.

With Bamidele Michael 08064496130

Leadership

Extreme Leaders Take Radical Leap

MANY PEOPLE WHO call themselves leaders are only posing. They’re wearing the label or accepting the title without putting their skin in the game. I invite you to approach the act of leadership as you’d approach an extreme sport.

Learn to love the fear and exhilaration that comes with the territory. And that takes a personal commitment.

As Terry Pearce writes: “Many people think they want to be matadors, only to find themselves in the ring with 2,000 pounds of bull bearing down on them, and then discover that what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear the crowd roar” If you choose to leap into the ring, do so because of your love of the challenge and adventure. Love is what makes the fear of the “sport” worth while. You accept the fear as part of the experience, and fear creates and defines the experience. Extreme would not be extreme without fear, and fear would not be worth it without the love of the game.

The same is true of Extreme Leadership- the dynamic interplay of fear and love.

Those who actively use the experience of fear and love daily in their attempts to change the world for the better are Extreme Leaders.

Extreme Leadership is intensely personal and intrinsically scary. You are striving to change the nature of things, and that’s a scary endeavor because you’re asking yourself and others to give up the familiar, It is scary because you have no guarantee of a positive outcome and don’t know how you are gong to be judged; your credibility is on the line. Therefore, you can’t participate in an authentic leadership experience without fear.

While it’s true that fear can save your life or keep you from doing something stupid, avoiding it can also keep you from doing something great, from learning and growing.

Fear is nature’s part of growth, and since growth, change and revolution are on the Extreme

Leader’s agenda, fear comes with the territory.

Your experience of fear (or exhilaration) is your internal indicator that you’re moving in the right direction that you are leading. If you’re using all the buzzwords and reading all the leadership books, and holding forth at every meeting on the latest management fads, but you’re not experiencing that visceral churning in your gut, and you’re not scaring yourself every day, you’re not doing anything significant-let alone changing the world and you are not leading anyone else.

Take a Radical Leap Extreme Leaders take a radical LEAP (love, energy, audacity, and proof) daily.

C: Cultivate love. The Extreme Leader’s personal credo is akin to this theme: Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do. Many consider the emotion of love to be inappropriate in business; they believe that good business people keep their hearts out of their work. The opposite is true. It’s the heart that brings the fire of creativity to bear and inspires drive, loyalty, and leaps of innovative brilliance.

Love is a key element in productive leader-follower and coach-employee relationship. To be an effective coach, you have to care about the person you are coaching.

It’s not that you should fall passionately in love with everyone you work with.

However, you need to find something to care deeply about in your business and in each individual that touches your business. And it has to be real and they have to know it.

The key, then, is to find a way to genuinely and sincerely love your customer, for example, and then act from that level of motivation. Great business relationships are won in ways analogous to romantic relationships: by paying nearly obsessive attention to the needs, desires, hopes, and aspirations of the other person; by knowing not only when to

stand firm on your principles but also when to sacrifice your short-term needs for the longteam relationship; and by proving through your actions that you mean it. Extreme Leaders actually love the customer and strive to enhance their customer’s life.

E: General energy. Energy is real, tangible, and palpable.

You know when you have it, and when you don’t; you know when you have to drag yourself out of bed in the morning, and when you have

are walking vacuums of human spirit. They are energy vampires. All they have to do is walk into the room, and they instantly suck the life out of the place. Everyone else seems to wither and die-until that person leaves. Be sure that you’re not that person that you put more energy in than you take out.

Energy is what keeps us coming back to work day after day without waning in passion or enthusiasm. It comes, in part, from having a

courageous, not impudent (the word, courage, has at its root the word, cor, meaning heart).

The Extreme Leader is courageously audacious in his or her actions. As Carly Fiorina said, “A leader’s greatest obligation is to make possible an environment where people can aspire to change the world.” That’s an audacious statement of purpose, and It bags the question: “How are we going to change the world?”

That’s the right kind of

that credibility is the foundation of leadership, and they define credibility behaviorally as “Do what you say you will do”.

You have to put your skin in the game, put yourself and your reputation at risk. You have to prove yourself through observable, daily action. It’s insanely easy to talk a good game. Do you say you love your team?

Prove it! Do you say we need to be bold and inventive for

to use the law of gravity to slide your slack, lifeless body off the mattress and smack on the floor.

You can tell within 30 seconds of walking into the reception area of a company whether the place is energetic, exciting, and scintillating, or a morgue.

And unless it’s morgue, it shouldn’t feel like a morgue.

It’s not an accident, either way.

Someone is creating that environment; and if it’s your place of employment, that someone is you.

Ask yourself: “Do I generate more energy when I walk into a room, or when I walk out of it?” Some people

higher purpose. People want to feel a passion for the company’s work, to become part of a higher purpose. The Extreme Leader’s job is to help define and redefine, day after day, what that higher purpose is — and that’s very energizing to most people. As Michael Cunningham writes, “If you shout loud enough, a crowd will gather to see what all the noise is about. It’s the nature of crowds. They don’t stay long, unless you give them reason.”

A: Inspire audacity. Audacity is a bold and blatant disregard for normal constraints. Loveinspired audacity is

audacity, and it demands a bold and blatant disregard of the most insidious constraint we impose on ourselves: I can’t do that. I’m not Ghandi, mother Theresa, or Martin Luther King; I’m just me. Frankly, that’s a dangerous self-inflicted constraint. And, it’s a convenient lie, in believing that lie, we abdicate our responsibility for changing the world to someone else.

You have direct influence over the world of your industry, company, team, community, neighborhood, family, or person in your family. These worlds are no less noble, they add up, and they are within your scope.

So, step up to that challenge and ask: How can we change the world of our employees, customers, and marketplace?

That’s audacity. I admit, it’s a much easier question to ask than it is to answer- and do something.

P: Provide proof: Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner have shown

our customers? Prove it! Do you tell your folks that they’re your most important asset? Prove it in every action that you take.

When you say, “I can’t do that here” or “they won’t let me,” your credibility as an extreme Leader is shot.

When you’re convinced that you can change things for the better, you have to prove it through the radical courage of your action. Gandhi said.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

We typically express accountability as what we desperately want other people to be. While change, improvement, and success are ultimately the results of a collective effort, nothing ever happens unless you hold yourself ridiculously accountable to your own words. That’s how you prove you’re earned the status of Extreme Leader. That’s how you prove you’re not a poser.

“You can tell within 30 seconds of walking into the reception area of a company whether the place is energetic, exciting, and scintillating, or a morgue. And unless it’s morgue, it shouldn’t feel like a morgue.

It’s not an accident, either way. Someone is creating that environment; and if it’s your place of employment, that someone is you.”

NOT too long ago, President Goodluck Jonathan granted pardon to former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and some other persons who were found wanting of various crimes against the state.

ALSO very recently, all the corruptionrelated charges slammed on Mohammed Abacha, son of the maximum dictator and former Head of State, General Sani Abacha were abrupthy dropped, based on “emerging new facts”, according to the Federal Government.

WE recall that speaking in an interview shortly after the presidential pardon, Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media, Doyin Okukpe, said that government’s decision to pardon Alamieyesigha and others was as a result of its conviction that these persons have shown enough remorse for their misdeeds while in office. The Presidential adviser also drew attention to the fact that people are granted pardon not as saints but as sinners.

OKUKPE further told journalists that former governor Alamieyesigha has made enough sacrifice to deserve pardon from the Nigerian government having forfeited property and position.

The explanation of the Presidential Aide notwithstanding, renowned lawyer and activist, Festus Keyamo has, however, joined other Nigerians to condemn government’s decision to grant the presidential pardon. Among those who spoke on this national issue include, Murtala Nyako, governor of Niger State, the Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation who condemned the decision and called for a reversal.

THE NIGERIAN

Corruption And State Pardon For Offenders INDEED, the pardon granted by the president to these officers may be in accordance with the constitution, but the outrage which greeted the state pardon is an indication that the people have rejected government action on these persons who were enmeshed in the brazen act of corrupt practices while in office.

HOWEVER, The NIGERIAN OBSERVER is disturbed and worried that granting pardon to these public officers who were involved in various crimes against the nation is capable of frustrating the anticorruption efforts of the government.

IN view of the foregoing, we call on President Goodluck Jonathan to consider the implication of granting amnesty to these public officers who plunged the whole nation into financial crisis through corrupt practices and other crimes against the nation.

IT is our belief that, if there is going to be good governance that will impact positively on the lives of Nigerians, there is the need to instill sanity into the system and ensure that the tendency for corruption to be a reoccurring decimal is avoided.

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER is particularly disturbed that the President, in

granting Alamieseigha and others pardon may not have taken serious account of the dismal corruption rating of Nigeria by the global corruption watchdog, Transparency International which recently ranked Nigeria the 35th most corrupt nation in the world in the year 2012.

THE Corruption Perception Index 2012 revealed that Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 139th position out of the 176 countries surveyed for the report.

OUR worries are heightened by the fact that Nigeria will not fare better in fighting the corruption menace with the pardon recently granted by President Jonathan, which will not help sustain the tempo of anti-corruption in the country.

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER expects the President to adopt and push measures and policies that will deter and dissuade the ruling class and politicians alike, who may have given the country a bad name, from further corrupt practices rather than granting pardon to renowned or notorious corrupt officers.

THIS is where we are very worried about the Federal Government’s action in dropping corruption charges against Mohammd Abacha.

THE timing of the presidential pardon is not only odd, even the personality of those beneficiaries, the likes of Alamieseigha, suggests that the anticorruption war has been put in reverse gear.

INDEED, if there is one thing that the pardon has evoked, it is anger and disappointments in the hearts of rightthinking Nigerians.

Political Platform

Need For Elected Leaders To Perform Nigerian people the opportunity to truly understand the affairs of State and assess the performance of their leaders. It will also help to institutionalize openness and accountability’’. ‘’What we have seen in the last 15 years are intrigues by politicians to

participation, accountability, transparency, regular free and fair elections, political parties internal democracy and respect for the rights of the people.’’

Democracy can only fare well when the space is open up for people’s participation in governance and policy decision-making; when

keep themselves in office perpetually, even when it is so glaring that they have failed in their responsibilities to the people; massive rigging of elections; stealing of mandates; political murder; high profile corruption; looting of the treasury; and non inclusive governance characterized our democracy; hence, it has become extremely difficult to see the features of democracy such as

decisions are made in the best interest of the people; when social development concepts such as t r a n s p a r e n c y, accountability, and value take the front seat in governance. When elected officials realize that they are only holding power in trust for the people, then, our democracy can fare well. But what we have had so far is far from all of these. However, hopes are indeed high on the

By FAMOUS IGIUSI

FOR a long time now, we have sought to persuade our leaders to act in the interest of the Nigerian people. Over the years, we have seen the damages done to the economy by the prolonged face-off between the Executive branch and the Legislature, while the important task for which they were elected receded to the back burner.

Since independence, we have grappled with the desire to find the path to true economic greatness and the dawn of better quality of life for the Nigerian people, we have muddled through and earned considerable reproach. ‘’The thirty years of military governance drove our country through unprecedented experiences of wholesale destruction of institutions, economic degradation, animosity between ethnic and religious groups and deprivation suffered by majority of the people’’.

It is time we galvanize the energy of the Nigerian people into one common endeavour to build, and to reverse the decline in their quality of life. For too long we have run our government on the basis of patronage alone; and since 1999 have demonstrated the huge task of dislodging rent seekers and the mediocre who find themselves in high offices or close to it without a track record of tangible achievement.

It is my belief that those elected into various offices

are people who have the faculty, and the genuine desire to serve the country.

Above all, it is my belief also that most of the elected leaders are Godfearing men and women who will take on the mantle from this point on - leaders who have a vision and a passion, leaders with a mission and a heart, leaders who understand the times in which we live.

We must continually ensure that our elected leaders show genuine concern about the Nigerian people. A good quality life is our birthright, and it is the responsibility of leaders to guarantee that. Elected leaders must then submit themselves to the virtues of leadership. Our leaders must demonstrate accountability by keeping us informed on the state of the economy and other significant issues on a quarterly basis without fail. The President must do this at the national level, Governors at the State level, and the Local government Chairmen at the local levels. Leaders must be humble enough to listen to the views of others, especially people who are not seeking favours or contracts.

There must be a quarterly accountability reporting. “Such “State of the Union” communication must be handled at the highest levels and not delegated to a Minister or Commissioner.

This practice will give the

“Our elected leaders must embrace the challenges that accompany their victories by championing the course of those who elected them. They should contend with issues that would enhance the lives of their people in the next four years as this is the only way to show that the elected officials indeed won victoriously.”

performance of President Goodluck Jonathan to deliver.

Our elected leaders must embrace the challenges that accompany their victories by championing the course of those who elected them. They should contend with issues that would enhance the lives of their people in the next four years as this is the only way to show that the elected officials indeed won victoriously.

The ball is now in their court to champion the course of the people who

also speed up development initiatives at all levels, especially in the remote communities. The contract is a sort of report card which will be used in the future to carry out needed assessment of individual performance.

Doing this, the politicians will be forced to keep to the promise he/ she made to the people, listen to the yearnings and pains of the people, and act in accordance with the wishes of the people and not necessarily that of their parties. In cases of

elected them to preside over them. As the elected representative of the people, they owe it a duty to be fair and just to all, irrespective of political differences, in the interest of the overall development of the state. Their success should be seen as the triumph of a democratic process and not as a personal victory.

It is my earnest plea to all the political parties to encourage their elected representatives to enter into contracts of performance with their constituents. This would also be a way of initiating the implementation of party manifestoes. This step will ensure accountability and would

failure to adhere to these, such politicians would have no electorate to turn to next time to solicit for votes. It is as simple as that!

“It is hoped that the conclusion of the present elections will signal a renewed birth of ideas and ideals in the polity.

All elected Legislators all over the country must have at the back of their minds that the people put their hope and expectations of good performance on them.

Let them rise individually and collectively and embrace the challenges and opportunities of their new positions.”

Opinion NIGERIANS, since the return of democratic rule in 1999, have been clamouring for sustained delivery of democracy dividends.

Their argument is that it is only if democratic rule positively touches the lives of majority of the citizens that the struggle can be regarded as fruitful.

This, perhaps, underscores the decision of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to accord priority to the provision of motorable road network as a way of positively touching the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

Jonathan said that his emphasis on road infrastructure was based on the belief that a good and well-maintained road network was the bedrock of an efficient economy.

The president who declared open the 1st Africa Regional Congress meeting of the International Road Federation, held recently in Abuja, reiterated the commitment of his administration to the provision of motorable roads across the country.

“This administration has embarked on an ambitious programme to restore and modernise the country’s road network.

“This we are achieving through enhanced government investment as well as participation of the private sector and multilateral development institutions.

“We are also putting in place best practices to drive Public-Private sector Partnership (PPP) in road sector development and all other areas.

“Our overall aim is to provide better and safer roads for Nigerians, as well as enhance socio-economic development,“ the president said.

He said that the gains of improved and sustained government investment in the road sector were manifesting nationwide.

The president urged the congress to discuss how to address the challenges hindering the full development of the road sector, especially in Africa. ‘’Government policy makers and other road sector

stakeholders in membercountries will look forward to the outcome and resolution of your congress as a credible guide in moving the sector forward.

“I am confident that you shall meet these high expectations,“ Jonathan added.

He noted that the critical Trans-African Road Projects, such as the Lagos-Algiers; Lagos-Abidjan-Dakar and the Mombasa roads were at various stages of implementation, under the auspices of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.

Jonathan commended the federation for its advocacy and for influencing policy formulation in membercountries over the years.

Appreciating the giant strides achieved by the administration in the road sector so far, the President of the International Road Federation, Mr Patrick Sankey, praised the Federal Government on its road transformation efforts.

He stated that the federation would continue to partner all its member-countries in the development of their road network.

The Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, said the congress had delegates from at least 17 countries, including U.S., Belgium, Canada, Germany, UK, UAE, Libya, India, and South Africa.

Other countries represented at the conference were Tanzania, Sudan, Uganda, Mali, Zambia, Cameroun and Burkina Faso.

To further justify the huge investment in the road sector, Onolememen said that the Joanathan administration was determined to increase the length of federal roads from about 52 per cent (17,742km) to over 83 per cent (28,320km).

Available records showed that the administration had so far completed numerous road projects while others were at various stages of completion.

Notable among such projects are the reconstruction of Mokwa-Bida, AkureIlesha, Sokoto- TambuwalJega, Enugu-Abakiliki and Vandekiya-Obudu.

Others are Onitsha-Enugu, Lokoja-Benin, Abuja-Minna ,

Making Nigeria Roads Motorable

Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Benin-Shagamu, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, and Kano-Maiduguri dual carriage way.

It is also on record that work is also in progress on the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road while the Onitsha-Owerri and Vom-Manchok roads have been completed by the Jonathan administration.

Records also showed that the rehabilitation of YolaNuman road in Adamawa, Gombe Bye-pass in Gombe State, Kaduna Refinery road in Kaduna State, KanoDaura-Mai Adua road in Katsina State, Aba-Owerri road in Imo, and OyoOgbomosho road in Oyo State had been completed.

Statistics from the Federal Minsitry of Works also revealed that the administration had so far constructed a total of 2,000 kilometres of roads as at the

By SANI ADAMU

end of 2013, and also awarded contracts for the construction of bridges.

One of the bridges is the 1.9 km Loko-Oweto Bridge, linking Nasarawa and Benue states.

Retired Gen. Martin-Luther Agwai, Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), who inspected the Loko-Oweto Bridge project funded by SURE-P, expressed satisfaction at the progress of work.

Agwai said that the SUREP committee was satisfied with the work done by the contractor, and noted that what was on ground was commensurate with the funds that had so far been released for the job.

“If you expect anything, you must inspect and closely monitor the progress of work

“Appreciating the giant strides achieved by the administration in the road sector so far, the President of the International Road Federation, Mr Patrick Sankey, praised the Federal Government on its road transformation efforts.”

that you have given out; that is what we are doing today.

“We have been signing billions of naira for this project and today I decided to pay a visit to the site and see what some of the SURE-P committee members have been monitoring.

“I must say that I am satisfied with what I have seen so far; the contractor has done well and I think it is worth the monies that we have released so far for this project,’’ he said.

Agwai said that SURE-P’s intervention in the LokoOweto project was one of the gains of the current administration’s policy on partial removal of subsidy in the petroleum downstream.

Agwai said that the project could be completed by mid 2015 if the contractor sustained the pace of work on the project.

He said that the work already done on the site had justified the 40 per cent payment already made to the contractor.

Expressing confidence the project would be completed on schedule, the Director of

Bridges in the Federal Ministry of Works, Mr Anietie Effiong, said 57 per cent of the work had been completed.

He said that SURE-P had released N17 billion out of the N36 billion contract sum to the contractor from 2012 to date.

Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Hassan Loko, the Community Liaison Officer on the project, expressed the community’s gratitude to the Federal Government for the project, adding that the absence of a bridge had stalled the pace of development in the area.

He said that economic and social activities would scale up when the bridge was eventually completed and assured the visiting SURE-P team of the community’s cooperation with the contractor handling the project.

Observers believe that if the current tempo of investment in road infrastructure is sustained, then the goal of making Nigerian roads motorable and safer by 2015 as promised by the President will be redeemed. (NAN).

View Point

Problem Confronting Nigerian Entrepreneurs

ENTREPRENEURSHIP is likened to a call to individual uprightness and one’s creative ability to survive as a Nigerian.

The capacity of the Nigerian government to provide Jobs to her large population is consistently becoming a major challenge and if nothing is done about it, there will be no place and future for our children and generations yet unborn.

Many have ventured into this world, only to come out more hopeless than they initially began. This is not to say that the idea of entrepreneurship is not an effective one but the environment the Nigerian entrepreneur operates in is a harsh and unfriendly one. A lot of graduates have come out expecting a future they could gain access to through their certificates and achievement but it is so sad to say that in a world that is moving so fast and in a country that surviving depends on how good a hustler you are, you need more than just academic achievements and certificates.

Entrepreneurship is supposed to be the way forward, it’s supposed to be the light in very dark paths, but its such a shame to say that people now often recline on fast way to success like arm robbery, shoplifting, kidnapping, duping and other illegal and mischievous means of surviving than succumb to the problem confronting the Nigerian entrepreneurs.

The problem facing young entrepreneur today bring them to the point of asking why they even started in the first place, while those who cannot bear it close up and join the fast road.

Nigerian youths are full of amazing and world changing

By UDONSI AMARACHI K. ideas but can not afford the capital needed to bring their dreams to reality.

The little few who have been able to start are helped by their wealthy parents.

Others who have summoned courage to start with the little they have, fold up within 5-7 years because they do not have anything to fall back on when something goes wrong in the business.

This is one of the major reasons why there are no companies in Nigeria.

It is amazing and so shameful to say that in a producing country like Nigeria, things like the basic essentials of life, light, water, good roads, effective transportation, availability of lands etc are still so hard to come by.

Take for instance the issue of electricity; one of the major problems young entrepreneurs are facing in this country today is the non availability of a constant supply of light which has caused increase in production cost. Every business; be it a school, church, block, industry, phone repairer, hardware shop, bakery, fast foods, restaurants even little businesses common as a movie rental shop need electricity to survive. Lack of electricity has been one of the major reasons some establishments cannot survive and eventually fold up. How is that? You would ask.

Take for instance, one has a fishery and is into the production of catfish. One of the major conditions that increase the survival rate of this fish is clean water. Now if there is no light, water

cannot be pumped into the fish ponds and the fish refuse to eat and therefore are exposed to the risk of falling ill. On the other hand, a fish farmer now has to buy fuel every day to enable him pump water into the ponds.

Gradually even the little profit he makes from the sale of fish is put into buying fuel

in the business, It then makes one begin to reason as why an oil producing country like Nigeria should be selling fuel N97 per liter.

Capital is another interesting case in the problem confronting Nigerian entrepreneurs.

There was a time when the government tried to give out loans to companies but there were a lot of cases of

business and small companies and who have registered under the CAC (cooperate affairs commission) knowing that it is vague to say the government should give every youth capital for business.

Considering the past events where the government was tried to help, I believe it will be a way to steam-line their distribution to avoid cases of embezzlement. Pro- rata basis, the method by which the highest business earns a minimal assistance can also be

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister

to pump water into the pond.

If he makes a profit of N150, 000 every four months and spends N1,500 buying fuel every day, in a week, he will buy N 10,500 worth of fuel and in one year he would have bought N504, 000 worth of fuel which is even greater than his profit in a year and this can cause him to run at a greater loss that will eventually lead to a fold up

embezzlement and finally the programme was closed up.

Capital is the one thing that brings to life any and every business ideal and without capital, business ideas die and there will be an increase in the decline rate of companies.

The Nigerian government should consider the feasibility of assisting young entrepreneurs who have succeeded in establishing

“Also the government should provide a reserved area for young entrepreneur where they would buy land at a much cheaper rate just as they did for civil servants in those days. One of the major problems that often lead to increament in the price at fuel in the fact that we import what we already have.”

taken into consideration. This way the problem of capital will be on an effective solution patch.

Land is the bedrock of every business in this country and any country of the world.

If youths of today cannot afford land due to the little capital they have, then how can they even begin? The purchase rate of land in the country is so high that some people just prefer to die in poverty because they do not know where the money will come from.

Transportation is another key face in the events that leads to frustration in the life of a young entrepreneur. One who has a poultry for instance but doesn’t own a car will have to go and purchase feed, antibiotics and other necessary things for the farm, this transportation of goods and services is not made easy

due to bad roads and unavailability of cheaper means of transportation. The normal taxi drivers who base their rates on increase in fuel price, will forever increase the rates because fuel price fluctuates. This young poultry farmer who has spent half of the day on the road will still have to pay dearly for these goods and service purchased and cannot enjoy the profit made from the sales of the birds.

Another scene is a great restaurant that people come from various places to eat in due to the problems of unavailability of good roads, and great traffic and also increase in transportation rates lose customers because these factors make the location far and people prefer to eat other things than suffer just to eat from a great restaurant.

This is not to say the government has not been helpful. Actually they have been more than helpful. The NYSC accommodates every Nigerian graduate into its scheme and the federal government pays them salary for that period of time and in some cases too, the state government this implies that youth who are focused, dedicated and who wants to be able to save majority of the money they acquire during the NYSC year to establish a business they can manage.

Also the government should provide a reserved area for young entrepreneur where they would buy land at a much cheaper rate just as they did for civil servants in those days. One of the major problems that often lead to increament in the price at fuel in the fact that we import what we already have.

If we use our raw materials wisely as we should and invest in the wealth of our soils we would not be suffering.

Also since the use of fuel increases the cost of production in every type of business stable electricity should be made available to all and sundry to prevent loss of business gained profit.

In summary, the government has done so much and can do more in helping to facilitate the problems confronting young entrepreneurs. I would say that there is no fast road to success, we must all strive to be successful in life.

Midweek Magazine

THE investors’ forum, recently organised by the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) was designed to showcase the economic potential of the northern states.

Though the economic potential of the area was known, especially in the area of agriculture, it appeared to be over-shadowed by the current high rate of insurgency in the North-East.

The 19 northern governors at the forum recounted the measures they had taken to curtail the Boko Haram insurgency in order to make the area conducive for investors.

Governor Babangida Aliyu, Chairman of the forum, said that the leaders in the region had openly condemned the rascality of the terrorists, “we have subtly worked to see to the end of the insurgency.

“The coming of the United States’ army to rescue the abducted Chibok school girls was as a result of the meeting the northern governors held with the American Government.

“The 19 governors that make up this forum would continue to condemn the invasion of the north and we are happy with the Federal Government for its resolute stance in the fight against the

insurgents.

“The group is equally happy with United States, Britain, France, China and Canada, that have offered support to tackle the insurgents,’’ he said.

Many of the governors who spoke drew the attention of prospective investors to the favourable investment climate in their states.

Governor Idris Wada of Kogi, outlined the incentives put in place by the government, ranging from tax holidays, access to land, among others.

According to him, the ‘ Confluence State’ has huge coastal area for the production of aquatic products. “ The convergence of River Niger and River Benue provided the state with a coast environment that should be exploited.

“We also boast of fertile land for the production of rice and other plants that require water to grow,’’ he said.

His Benue counterpart, Governor Gabriel Suswam, said investors must utilise the friendly atmosphere of the state to invest in agriculture and energy.

The governor said the state required investments in agriculture and energy in order to realise its status of being called the “Food Basket of the Nation.’’

He explained that

Stimulating Economic Growt

adding value to agriculture produce entailed stable electricity, adding that Benue was yet to be linked to the national grid since its creation in 1976.

Suswam declared that infrastructure deficit being experienced by states in the north, especially Benue, made the region a destination point for investors in the sector.

“Benue state has coal and with the recent discovery of gas in commercial quantity, exploring and exploiting energy to s u p p o r t industrialisation in the state has become profitable,’’ he said.

Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa decried the poor standard of living in the region and stressed the need to harness the agricultural potential in the area.

“We should harp on the region’s huge population and land mass to contribute positively to the growth of the region and the country as a whole.

“Agriculture and sundry activities around it still remain pivotal for the region to rise above the numerous challenges brought by poverty and ignorance.

“We should also continue to strive to

provide our people with western education in order to position our human capital for both local and global competitive economic environment,’’ he said.

On his part, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger said the state pride itself as a ‘Power State’ as it had capacity to produce electricity from the available

rivers.

According to him, the state has a total of 86,000 square kilometres of fertile land, adding that the potentials are yet to be fully explored.

Babangida explained that the climate, rich annual rainfall and

“We should harp on the region’s huge population and land mass to contribute positively to the growth of the region and the country as a whole. Agriculture and sundry activities around it still remain pivotal for the region to rise above the numerous challenges brought by poverty and ignorance.”

By MARTINS ODEH

availability of a wide variety of mineral and agricultural resources attest to the economic potential of the state.

On his part, Governor Shettima Shema of Katsina State, said the state was working hard to commence value addition to its animal husbandry.

“We are gradually

transformation of the area is going back to agriculture.

Alhaji Mansur Ahmed, the Executive Director, Dangote Group, said the group would invest 2.3 billion dollars in sugar-cane and rice production in the country by 2017.

“In three to five years, Dangote Group would

de sit “ att the “ for the co co he “ pre

approaching an era where cattle rearing would no longer be fashionable as efforts are geared toward maintaining animal farms and grazing areas with great diligence.

“Katsina State prides itself as a hub for large cattle settlement and therefore, we are calling on investors to exploit the opportunity of converting animal cheese to process milk,’’ Shema said.

Other governors from the northern states that spoke agreed that the key to the

be investing about 2.3 billion dollars in the northern part of the country, the current investment is low and we are prepared to upscale it,’’ he said.

He said that the conglomerate would require about 250,000 hectares for sugar cane production and 130,000 hectares for rice farming.

Ahmed explained that the investment was capable of generating 180,000 direct employment for the inhabitants of the region.

ind the D M Inv mo to the A an sa wa tha the in H few all in ho

Midweek Magazine

th In Northern Nigeria Via Agriculture

“The group will not be eterred by the security tuation in the region.

“There is nothing wrong tracting foreign investors to e country.

“But I think it will work well r all of us if local investors set e pace as that would raise the onfidence level of other onglomerates to do business ere.

“So, Dangote Group is epared to lead the way for the

dustrialisation of the north and e country as a whole,’’ he said.

Dr Olusegun Aganga, the inister of Industry, Trade and vestment, has commended the ove by the 19 northern states stimulate economic growth in e area.

Aganga who spoke recently at n investment forum in Abuja, id the Federal Government as prepared to support states at were working hard to enlist e services of investors to invest their areas.

He said Nigeria was one of the w countries in the world that lowed transfer of profits made the country to companies’ omelands.

The minister said that the

northern states should key into these incentives to attract investors. “ The numerous available incentives were essentially

introduced to e n c o u r a g e industrialisation of the country.

“The government is aware of the need to create growth that

would impact on the standards of living of its peoples.

“We are therefore committed to encourage all legitimate

enterprises that could reposition the country to be able to cater for its huge population,’’ he said.

Stakeholders

commended the governors for organising the summit, but urged them to continue to enter into partnerships that would boost economic development in the area.

Revitalising Agric Extension Service

ON several occasions, agriculturalists have stressed the importance of extension services to food production.

They insist that as Nigeria aspires to become one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020; pragmatic efforts ought to be made to boost farming via the adoption of agricultural extension services.

However, the Federal Government is somewhat conscious of the usefulness of agricultural extension services in plans to improve the country’s food production.

Prof. Tunji Arokoyo, National Team Leader, Agricultural Extension Transformation Agenda, said that efforts were underway by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to revive agricultural extension services.

“The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, is passionate about extension services and he is making frantic efforts to revive the dying extension services in Nigeria as a key to a g r i c u l t u r a l transformation,’’ he said.

He said that agricultural extension workers were the bridge between farmers and research institutes, adding that they also functioned as the link between farmers and the government.

“This is because they play a key role in disseminating information to and from both sides for enhanced agricultural production,’’ he said.

Arokoyo said that agricultural extension services involved the provision of educational services to farmers in the wide range of agricultural

enterprise.

“So, agricultural extension services encompass all activities carried out by extension agencies to create positive change in the farmers’ living standards through increased productivity and enhanced income,’’ he said.

Drumming support for the provision of quality agricultural extension services, Dr Mohammed Khalid-Othman of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said that although agricultural extension services in Nigeria had been somewhat inactive, their importance could never be undermined.

“Extension services are suffering from a number of constraints such as underfunding, ageing and dwindling staff arising from low employment rate and retirement of the old staff.

“Presently, life is being injected into the agricultural extension services through various strategies and programmes championed by the Federal Government, “For the first time, the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension was established in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“The department is responsible for policy formulation and coordination of agricultural extension activities,’’ he said.

In the same vein, Malam Sani Miko, the Country

By MOHAMMED LAWAL

Director of Sasakawa Africa Association, a Genevabased international agricultural development organisation, said that his organisation was collaborating with the Federal Government to revive agricultural extension services in Nigeria.

“This collaboration will facilitate the free flow of information about new technologies from researchers to grassroots farmers.

“It is the responsibility of extension workers to convey information from government and researchers to farmers on how to improve agriculture in Nigeria,’’ he said.

Miko said that the capacity of the extension workers would be built through seminars, workshops and other means, with the hope that they would convey the message to farmers.

“We want to teach the farmers how and when to cultivate their farms; how to use improved seeds; when and how to apply fertiliser; when and how to harvest.

“We will connect them with banks where they could obtain loans; we will ultimately connect them with markets where they can sell their yields at higher profits,’’ he said.

However, Miko observed that many extension service

workers were not satisfied with the job because they possessed qualifications, which they thought could not take them beyond Salary Grade Level 14 in the civil service.

He, nonetheless, said that the challenge was being addressed via an arrangement between the organisation and Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, to enable Higher National Diploma holders among the extension workers to obtain degrees from the university within a specified period.

“This will give maximise their job satisfaction and it will also encourage them to work harder,’’ he noted.

Mr Daniel Jacob, the Director of Agricultural Services in the Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project, who underscored the need for more agriculture extension workers across the country, observed that the extension workers were inadequate.

“For instance, the ratio of extension workers to farmers in Kaduna State used to be 1:1,500; however, the present ratio stands at 1:3,240.

“This is grossly inadequate and highly disturbing because the World Bank recommended ratio stands between 1:800 and 1:1,000.

“Unfortunately, the number of extension workers we have is on the decrease, while our

population is on the increase,’’ Jacob added.

In view of this shortfall, experts underscore the need for private-sector participation in the funding and delivery of agricultural extension services so as to meet the needs of the farmers.

They argue that agricultural extension services have been dominated by the Agricultural Development Programme in Nigeria for a long time.

The experts insist that the traditional extension services, linked with production objectives and blanket recommendations, can no longer meet the farmers’ expectations.

They stress that pragmatic efforts should be made to encourage the private sector to provide agricultural extension services, while the government can play a strategic role by identifying gaps in the provision of such services.

Although many observers laud this suggestion, they nonetheless, call for the adoption of pragmatic strategies to change the orientation of agricultural extension workers, as part of efforts to improve their service delivery.

All the same, they concede that structured private-sector participation in agricultural extension service delivery will consequently boost agricultural production in the country. (NAN).

“For instance, the ratio of extension workers to farmers in Kaduna State used to be 1:1,500; however, the present ratio stands at 1:3,240. This is grossly inadequate and highly disturbing because the World Bank recommended ratio stands between 1:800 and 1:1,000.”

Issues

Nigeria’s Film Industry And Nation Building THE nation’s entertainment industry in the last two decades is said to be one of the viable sectors which has provided platform for the emergence of various entrepreneurs.

Analysts have repeatedly argued that the nation’s film industry has contributed to nation building, and capable of becoming a major driver of economic growth and job creation, if the potential inherent in the sector are adequately harnessed.

In Nigeria, film has been used to highlight the cultural heritage, political needs and aspirations of the people.

Dr. Danjuma Dadu, Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) said that the nation’s movie industry had promoted and united the various socio-cultural groups in the country.

He said the movie industry through its story lines had served as a connecting cord that had united Nigeria in the last two decades.

Dadu said the movie industry had promoted global peace, progress, as well as contributed significantly to the growth of the economy, through various productions.

He pointed out that the industry over the years had showcased the creative ingenuity of numerous young Nigerian actors and actresses, who were making significant impact in the industry.

The managing director also noted that the industry had made laudable strides as an important player in the global audio- visual industry, and boosted the image of the country globally.

“Movie production has driven the Nigerian state to her level of

By KINGSLEY OKOYE

greatness,’’ he said.

Prof. Oyedele Enoch of Department of History, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, on his part, said efforts should be intensified to produce movies that would inform, educate and provide advice on how to address the many development challenges in the country.

“Film makers must tailor movies produced to foster economic, cultural, social and political consciousness of the people so as to give a voice on how best to increase development,’’ he said.

Oyedele also recalled that the colonial administrators used movies to accelerate development in their various colonies.

He said the film makers should consolidate the growth of the industry by making movies that bordered on promotion of national interest.

The don said that synergy between government and stakeholders in the industry would enable movie producers, key into government policies on transformation and nation building.

Oyedele said the popularity of Nigerian films had made it a medium for reinforcing information meant to promote certain facts on nation building.

It was to boost the contributions of the sector to the national economy that prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to announce a N3 billion cash grant to the movie sector.

The aim was to further consolidate the role of film as a change agent and harnessing of the huge potential inherent in the sector.

This gesture was considered by many as a fair recognition of the sector’s importance and as well as consolidate the administration’s efforts at diversifying the economy.

The Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood is reputed to be the third largest movie industry in the world and it tells the Nigerian story in creative and innovative ways.

It produces about 50 movies per week, second only to India’s Bollywood; more than Hollywood in the United States.

Although its revenues cannot be compared with that of Bollywood and Hollywood, Nollywood still generates impressive revenue annually.

Sani Danja, a Nigeria artist believes that although the industry is rated third in quantity and quality, more needs to be done in area of recouping of investment for industry practitioners.

He said that could be done through restructuring of the methods of distribution of Nigeria movies.

Danja said movies produced in Nigeria should be marketed legitimately in Nigeria and other countries of the world.

Zik Zulu, President of Movie Producers Associations of Nigeria , said a new crop of film makers have over the years brought some level of professionalism into the industry; this, he said, had led to significant growth of Nollywood, and by extension Nigeria.

He added that the industry could be further developed for nation building through the enhancement of capacity of stakeholders in the industry.

Perceptive analysts say that in a heterogeneous country like Nigeria, film industry must be seen as an institution where cultural values, development initiatives and aspirations are propagated.

They say that movies that evolve workable measures that would further consolidate the growth of the Nigerian state should be encouraged and promoted.

Religion

ISLAM as a Religion has strict rules and regulation for its practice.

It is built on five pillars. They are • Iman (faith), Salat (Prayer), Zakat (Charity), Swuam (Fasting), Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah). In all the five pillars of Islam, Salat is the most important one. Hence, the messenger of Allah (upon who is peace) said: The key to paradise is salat, and the key to salat is Ablution. The Arabic name of Ablution is (WUDHU).

This is why we want to start with Ablution.

Ablution means to wash one’s face, hands, arms and feet with water. This kind is called water ablution.

Another kind of Ablution is called (At-Tayammum) meaning ‘Dry Ablution’. This is only allowed when there is no enough water, or no water at all, or the available water is cold enough to physically harm the user or one is injured or ill.

Part of Islamic law: This is proven from the three major sources of Islamic law: (i) The obligatory step (Allah’s command on this) in the Quran, “O you who believe, when you rise for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles (al- maidah: 6) (ii) The sunnah step (The messenger of Allah’s comment) Abu Hurairah reported that the messenger of said “Allah does not accept the prayer of one who nullified his ablution until he performed it again (Related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and atTimidhi). (iii) The consensus. This is a consensus of scholarly opinion that ablution is part of Islamic law. Therefore, it is a recognized fact of the religion fact of the religion.

ITS VIRTUES There are many virtues of ablution according to many hadith. These are some of the following: (i) Abdullah ibn as-sunnabiji said that the messenger of Allah said, “When a slave makes ablution and rinses his mouth, his wrong deed falls from it. As he rinses his nose, his wrong deeds fall from it. When he washes his face, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from beneath his eyelashes. When he washes his hands, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from beneath his fingernail.

When he wipes his head, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from beneath his ears. When he washes his feet, the wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from beneath his toe nails. Then his walking to the mosque and his prayer gives him extra reward”. (ii) Abu Hurairah reported that the messenger of Allah said “shall I inform you (of an act) by which Allah erases sins and raises degrees? They said, “Certainly, o messenger of Allah”. He said perfecting the ablution under difficult circumstances, taking many steps to the mosque, and waiting for the next prayer after the last prayer has been performed. That is ribat (by Malik, Muslim, atTirmidhi and an-Masai) (iii) Anas reported that the messenger of Allah said, “If good characteristics exists in a person, Allah makes all of his acts good. If a persons purifies himself for prayer, he expiates all of his sins and his prayers is considered an extra reward for him”. (related

by Abu yale, al-Bazzar and at-Tabarani in al-Ausat). (iv) Abu Hurairah also reported that the messenger of Allah upon whom be peace, passed by a grave site and said, “peace

Ablution (WUDHU)

By MALLAM IMONIFI TANUTI

be upon you, O home of believing people. Allah willing, we shall meet you soon, although, I wish I could see my brothers”. They asked, “Are we not your brothers, O messenger of Allah?” You are my companions. My brothers are the ones who will come after (us)” they said, “How will you know the people of our nation who will come after you, O messenger of Allah?” He said if a man has a group of horse with white forelocks amidst a group of horses with black forelocks, will he recognize his house? They said, “certainly,

O messenger of Allah”. He said, they (my brothers) will come with white streaks from their ablutions, and I will receive them at my cistern. But there will be some who will be driven away from my cistern as a stray camel is driven away. I will call them to come. It will be said, ‘They changed matters after you, then I will say, ‘Beoff, be off”. The obligatory parts of the ablution.

Ablution has certain components which, if not fulfilled according to the correct Islamic procedures, make one’s ablution void. These are: (i) Intention: This is the desire to do the action and to please Allah by following His command. It is said that every action is based on the intention (behind it), and everyone shall have what he intended……(Related by “the group”) (ii) Washing the face (once) (iii) Washing the arms to the elbow (once) (iv) Wiping the head entirely (once (v) Washing the feet from the toe-tips up to and including the ankles (once) (vi) Performing the wudoo in the proper sequence. (vii) Succession, in that one washes one part after another without a long pause.

The sunnah step. (a) Using the siwak (chewing stick) or (mis wak) (b) Washing one’s hands to the wrists before the face. (c) Rinsing one’s mouth and nose before washing the face (and after), (d) Running one’s wet fingers through the beard if it is thick (e) Washing the areas between the fingers and toes (f) Starting with the right parts of the body. (g) Washing each parts twice or thrice, (h) Inhaling water up into the nostrils with the right hand and expelling it with the left hand (i) Rubbing the body parts while washing (j) Washing the body part thoroughly (k) Reciting the authentic supplications which have been mentioned in the hadith upon completion.

THE CONSENSUS OF THE SCHOLARS OPINION ON ABLUTION. They are: (a) Washing the hands three times at the beginning (b) Rinsing the mouth three times (c) Sniffing up and blowing out water three times (d) Running one’s fingers through his beard (e) Running water through one’s fingers and tows. (f) Repeating each washing three times (g) Beginning each action with the right side (h) Rubbing the limbs with water (i) Close sequence (j) Wiping the ears (k) Elongating the streaks of light (l) Economizing the use of water.

NULLIFICATION OF ABLUTION It is desirable that one who is making ablution should leave any of the sunnah that have just be mentioned. Whoever does that would lose the great reward of these (simple) acts. It would make the ablution a disliked DEED & The following acts render ablution null and void: • Any excretion of the penis, vagina or anus • Deep sleep that makes a person ‘completely unaware of his surroundings’.

• Lose of consciousness • Touching the sexual organ without any barrier (clothes, and so on) between the hand and the organ.

ACTIONS THAT DO NOT NULLIFY THE ABLUTION The following actions do not nullify ablution: • Touching a woman • Bleeding from an unusual place • Vomit • Eating camel meat • Doubting whether or not one has released gas.

• Laughing during prayer • Washing a dead person.

Natural Medicine

Experts Speak On Stress EACH time I go round, one thing I discover is that a lot of people are in stress.

Unfortunately, when you discuss the topic with these people, they don’t tend to understand what you are talking about. People know, for instance, that germs cause diseases but they don’t seem to realise that stress which you cannot see under a microscope also can contributed to illness, Infact, many people don’t understand when you tell them that stress can remotely trigger cancer, stomach ulcer, insomnias, nervous breakdown, mental disturbances, indigestion, constipation, malaria and several other health problem. But this is the truth. So, watch it. Learn to manage your stress properly if you want to lead a happy, healthy life.

Now, what do some experts say about stress? Read on.

Definition World Book Encyclopaedia says about stress. “It is the condition the body finds itself when it responds to actual or anticipated difficulties in life”.

From this definition, three things are pertinent. Firstly, no one is exempted from stress as long as one interacts with one’s environment in either practical or symbolic terms. The issue, therefore, is not whether a person will encounter stress in one’s life.

Rather, the critical point is how one manages his lift to escape the hazards of life’s stress.

Secondly, the definition suggests to us that only a dead person is not exposed to stress. This is because he is physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally inert. A person that has zero inertia doesn’t interact with his environment. Therefore, he doesn’t suffer from stress.

And, thirdly, because man is a thinking animal, he does not only responsed to actual stimuli confronting him he also reacts to his interpretations of life phenomena. This makes stress a complicated ailment.

Epidemiology As I have earlier explained no one is free from exposure to stress although not everyone has it.

Nevertheless the unimistakable point one

must not fail to note is that stress is today virtually affecting a majority of people. It is wide spread. Dr. Sandro Mclanahan alternatively sums it up this way. “About 80% of diseases are stress – related.”

Invariably don’t raise questioning eyebrows when a general practitioner gives you a referral to see a psychiatrist for an ailment he has tried unsuccessfully to treat. All he is telling you is that your ailment or disease is stress-based or has a psycho-neurological root.

Importance of stress Without stress, life won’t be worth living. It will be drab. We won’t be able to add value to our lives and life in itself. However, remember we say: Everything has a sweet as

well as a bitter side. Hence, Dr. Maltida Lipp of the Pontifical Catholic University, Rome in Veja magazine observes: “Under heavy tension, the human being performs wonderfully for a while. Then as stress rises, he just collapses”.

From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that we should always work towards a stress-free life even though we need some stress to function successfully in life.

Hopelessness Dr. Stephen L. Stern of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Centre in San Antonio, USA reveals that childhood experiences, depression, cultural background and economic insecurity contributes to hopelessness in adult life.

With Dr Mao 0803071734

He goes on to state. “Why do some people die while others who may not be no less ill continue to live? One answer to the question may lie in the presence or absence of hope”.

Hopelessness, in case you don’t know can trigger stress the real killer. That is what Dr. Stephen L. Stern in affirming. The lesson here?

Never lose hope in life. If you do, you open a corridor for stress, worries, anxieties, phobias and tension to envelop you. If you want to keep stress at bay from your life always have hope that no matter your circumstances in life, things will turn around better for you one day, either through your effort, those of others or God’s intervention.

Clogged blood When your blood is clogged, it means that you are suffering from impaired blood circulation. In other words, oxygen and nutrients cannot be adequately distributed round the body while metabolic wastes generated within the body are slowly eliminated.

Therefore, there is toxic stasis in the cells which make up the entire body.

Such a condition leads progressively to cellular death followed by the eventual death of the human organism.

In addition, a clogged blood circulation is responsible for other health disorders. Queen of herb and author of the book immense help from God’s Pharmacy, Mrs. Elizabeth Kafaru, enumerates them in this way. “If your blood is clogged and so your radiation is low, you tend towards irritability over small issues, impatience, erraticism and stress among other things.

Don’t forget too, that clogged, sluggish blood circulation contributes to an impoverished immune

system. This implies you are pre-disposed to infection.

Laughtotherapy Healthy daily smile or laughter can help to prevent stress as well as de-stress the body. Therefore, don’t think drugs, drugs and drugs are all you need for stress management. Also, you need the drugless healing power of a good laugh. Patric Walker, an astrologer and Barbara Griggs, a health expert explain. “In an imperfect world, you need to believe in love and miracle. Your best therapy is laughter which is having a sense of the ridiculous. It has been said that the most wasted day is that in which we have not laugher”. True talk. Try laughing at the goodness and oddities of life to stay free from stress.

Last line Stephen Keshi, head coach of the Super Eagles is one person who doesn’t allow the pressure and stress of football run down his life battery. That is why he looks refreshingly young at his age. Hear his healthy attitude to the game. “I am still learning this trade. I am still young in the trade. I am thankful for what I have achieved. But when people talk about stress or about how I don’t feel the pressure, all I can say is that is this game there are three things that will happen. It’s either you win, lose or draw.

Whatever happens, you just have to welcome it and move on. (Saturday Vanguard of June 7, 2014).

What a wise man, Keshi is!! He knows it is a health hazard to bottle up worries, tension, phobias, pressure and stress all because of football and thereafter die from a degenerative disease like cancer, hypertension or others.

“Healthy daily smile or laughter can help to prevent stress as well as de-stress the body.

Therefore, don’t think drugs, drugs and drugs are all you need for stress management. Also, you need the drugless healing power of a good laugh.”

With Victor Aniukwu

New Horizon

Transcedental Knowledge (1)

THE symptoms of the self realized person is given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusion by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body, that he is the fragmental portion of the Supreme, Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to this body.

This steadiness of mind is called sthira-budhi, or self intelligence.

He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates one to the station of knowing the complete science of the absolute truth, namely Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan (the three complete aspects) of the Supreme Lord.

He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all aspects of his dealings. This is called Brahman realization or self realizations. Such steady consciousness is called Krishna consciousness. Sri Yamunacarya, a great personality further threw light on this, when he said: “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord, realizing ever new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought and my lips cool with distaste.

“A person in brahma — yoga or Krishna consciousness is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this

motivation. But a person engaged in Krishna consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids.

This is the test in spiritual realization.

Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A Krishna conscious person is not attracted to any sense pleasure, due to his being a liberated soul. Material sense pleasure are due to the contact of the material senses (the tongue, eyes, nose, ears, belly and genitals, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary.

Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure?

In the Padma Purana it is said that, “The mystics (who have devoted their time for the search of the Supreme Lord) derive unlimited transcendental pleasure from the absolute truth (truth beyond material conception) and therefore the Supreme absolute truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as “Rama — the giver of transcendental pleasures).”

The Srimad — Bagavatam further advised as thus — “My dear sons there is no reason to labour very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life, such pleasures are available to the stool — eaters and other lower animals. Rather you should undergo penances in this fife by which your existence will be purified, and as a result, you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss (bliss devoid of birth, disease, old age and death)”: The pure in heart shall see God. Of course this is a direct boon from the Lord. Therefore those who are searchers of transcendent truth or earned yogis are not attracted by sense pleasures which are the causes of

continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries. If one wants to make steady progress in the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of the mind,

One who can do this, is understood to be self realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization.

It is the prime duty of the transcendentalist or practitioner to try strenuously to control his desire and anger. Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant

forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals and the forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of these different senses and the mind is called gosvami or svami.

Such gosvami live strictly controlled life, and forgo altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated.

Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body.

for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desire exeternal material happiness.

This state is called brahmabhuta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to our original home. Only a person who is fully Krishna conscious can be said to be engaged in

“A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desire exeternal material happiness.”

welfare work for all living entities.

When a person is actually in the knowledge that Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is the fountainhead of every thing, then when he acts in that spirit, he acts for everyone.

The suffering of humanity are due to forgetfulness of

Krishna as the Supreme enjoyer, the Supreme proprietor and the Supreme friend. Therefore to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in such first — class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme. A Krishna conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Krishna. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love. A person engaged only in the ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone.

Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory. The real cause of one’s difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one’s forgetfulness of his

relationship with Krishna.

When a man is fully conscious of his relationship with the Supreme Lord, he is actually a liberated soul, although he may still be in the material tabernacle. Just try to worship (Vasudeva) another name of the Supreme Lord in devotional service. “Even great Personalities are not able to control the forces of the senses as effectively at those who are engaged in transcendental bliss by serving the lotus feet of the

Lord, uprooting the deepgrown desire for fruitive activities”.

In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive results of work is deep rooted that it is very difficult even for the great saints to control such desires, despite great endeavours. A devotee of the Lord, constantly engaged in devotional service in Krishna consciousness, perfect in selfrealization, very quickly attains liberation in the Supreme Lord. Owing to his complete knowledge in selfrealization, he always remains in trance. Here is an analogy -“By vision, by meditation and by touch only do the fish, the tortoise and the birds maintain their offerings. Similarly do the Lord maintain all living entities” - So saith the Supreme Lord. The fish Continues on Pg 24

Place Of Prayer

Immense Value Of Love LOVE is an attitude, a commitment, a form of behaviour, passionately demonstrated for the benefit of another: without intentionally expecting a reward.

Love is the bottom line of Christianity. God is love and so the true nature of everyone that is His child is love. God wants us to put on love (charity) above everything else (And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness, Colossians 3:14). There are lots of things that the Lord admonished us to put off and to put on: Put on the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:11). Put off the old man, put on the new man Epheslans 4:22, Colossians3:9). But in Colossians 3:14, He says that above all these things we have been instructed to put on, we must put on love. The implication of this is that love must be your garment of identity; your recognition; your representation. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (Love) (1 Corinthians 13:13). Love is the greatest!

The New testament is testament of LOVE. Therefore, all we do must be founded on love.

Everything God does is out of His love for us. Although His judgment on us may be painful, but in the end it is gainful, because it is born of love. Everything in the Kingdom is operated from the platform of love. There is nothing on earth and in heaven (in existence) that does not have the capacity to fail. Faith, giving etc can fail, but love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Ministering/Ministries have failed, but love never fails. I prefer to use an instrument that does not know failure.

Love is greater than prayers, than fasting, than worship, than giving, than faith, than holiness, than boldness, than ministering; in fact love is greater than all. Love has a guaranteed success. It is a

winner always. Love is the platform on which all other Kingdom activities should function, if it is to deliver its value.

Prayer Works By Love Prayer is a very important tool in the hand of believers for communing with God and for causing change. Prayer is so powerful that anyone who uses it properly would do exploits. God hears the prayers of His children and He responds (Psalm 65:2). Jesus taught the following about prayers in Matthew 7:7-11Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

God responds every time His children call upon His name in prayers; this makes prayer a very powerful tool.

But as powerful as prayer is, it cannot work except there is love. Prayer works by love.

See Mark 11:24-26Therefore I say unto you, What thingssoever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Forgiveness is an act of love. If you do not love, you will not be able to forgive.

And when you do not forgive, Jesus says your prayers will not be answered by the Father.

So we can see that as powerful as prayer is, it does not work without love.

Fasting Works By Love

Fasting is an indispensable tool in the hands of believers.

If all else fail, fasting does not fail. See Mark 9:28-29- And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Before Jesus began His ministry, He had to fast for forty days and night. Most great men in bible times and in the present day have testimonies of God’s visitation and impartation after a well carried out fast.

Yet, as powerful as fasting is, it does not work except there is love. Fasting works by love.

See what the bible says in Isaiah 58:6-9- Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from

thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry and he shall say, Here lam...

Fasting does not work except you are a lover. When love is not on ground, fasting will not deliver. Where there is love added to your fasting, you will gain benefits as seen in the reference above: your

light will break forth as the morning, you will have abundant health, you will not struggle to be holy, God’s glory shall be your defense, when you call upon the Lord, He will answer you.

Worship Works By Love Worship is another very powerful tool in the hand of believers. God inhabits the praises of His people. Even devil knows the power of worship, seeing that he got all his power from worship. He used to be a great worshipper in heaven, before his heart was overtaken by pride and he

“Yet as powerful as worship is, it will not deliver goodness to your life except you are a lover. Worship works by love.”

With Pastor Samuel O. Osaghae SMS Only 08030809339

rebelled against God. While tempting Jesus, he asked Jesus to bow in worship to him so that he would give him all the kingdoms of the earth.

This shows that worship gives you access to ALL. We pray to have some things, but worship gives you access to all. That was how the devil got his power.

If you are a giver, you will certainly become blessed because the bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

Yet, as powerful as giving is, ‘it does not work except love is on ground. In 1Corinthians 13:3, the bible says- And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,

Yet as powerful as worship is, it will not deliver goodness to your life except you are a lover. Worship works by love.

In Mark 7:6-7, the bible says.. This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Your worship will be vain and ineffective if love is not in your heart.

Giving Works By Love In Luke 6:38, the bible saysGive, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together; and running over; shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Giving to God and to your fellow man is one way to become prosperous. Every time you give, you are sowing seeds for an harvest of wealth.

and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. In Matthew 5:23-24, the bible says- Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar; and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Giving works by love. If you give when you have hatred against your neighbor, your seed will be wasted. You will not reap the harvest associated with giving. Giving of tithes and offerings work by love; not by legalistic obedience. Forgive before you present your offering to God, otherwise, the giving will not produce fruits. If you are a giver, but you are not a lover, you are a loser.

International UN: At Least 1,075 Killed In Iraq In June

C/African Republic At Risk Of Genocide RABAT, Morocco The International Federation for Human Rights says violence between rival religious groups in Central African Republic threatens to create the conditions for genocide and requires swift action by the government and the international community to stop the fighting.

In an 88-page report the group detailed atrocities committed by both sides in the impoverished country and urged the reestablishment of a legal and penal system to stop the wave of crime and violence and to begin trying those behind the massacres.

The Central African Republic has been rocked by unrest since March 2013 when a largely Muslim alliance of rebel groups known as the Seleka overthrew President Francois Bozize. More than a million people have been displaced by the violence pitting Muslim rebels against Christian militias known as the anti-Balaka.

CHANGE OF NAME ERIAMIATOR – I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Jennifer Osarumen Eriamiator now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Jennifer Osarumen DavidOmagbon. All former documents remain valid.

Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

Mourners chant slogans against the al-Qaida breakaway group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after they bury 15 bodies in the Village of Taza Khormato near the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, Iraq.

GENEVA — At least 1,075 people, the vast majority of them civilians, have been killed in Iraq during June as a Sunni insurgency overtakes key areas of the country, the United Nations said yesterday.

According to the U.N. human rights team in Iraq, there were at least 757 civilians killed and 599 injured in Nineveh, Diyala and Salah al-Din provinces from June 5-22, as troops led by Shiite-led government in Baghdad failed to stop the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. “This figure — which should be viewed very much as a minimum — includes a number of verified summary executions and extrajudicial killings of civilians, police, and soldiers who were hors

Ebola ‘Out Of Control’ In West Africa - MSF

DAKAR - An epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa is now “out of control” with more than 60 outbreak hotspots, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said.

“The scale of the current Ebola epidemic is unprecedented in terms of geographical distribution, people infected and deaths,” MSF said in a statement.

The rapid spread of the disease, which is deadly in up to 90 percent of cases, has overwhelmed aid agencies and health workers and terrified local communities.

“The epidemic is now out of control,” said Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations.

“With the appearance of new sites in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, there is a real risk of it

spreading to other areas.”

After the first reported cases in Guinea at the start of the year, at least 337 people have died from Ebola in the three countries in 2014, according to data released last week by the World Health Organization.

The incurable disease is spread by contact with bodily fluids including sweat, meaning just touching an infected person is enough to spread the virus.

MSF called for a “massive deployment” of medical resources by governments in the region to curb the epidemic.

“We have reached our limits,” Janssens said. “We are no longer able to send teams to the new

PUBLIC NOTICE GOD’S GRACE RESURRECTION MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL The general public is hereby notified that the above named Ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1. Prophet Ozobe Ehichoya – Founder/Chairman 2. Lucky Ebeagbor Obhiyie – Secretary 3. Omohan Ebosele Festus – Member 4. Ehichoya Festus – Member 5. Omohan Felix - Member AIMS & OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the Gospel in all part of the world 2. To be involved in social and community development.

3. To train, ordain and license workers in the Ministry of the Gospel.

4. To liaise with all bible believing churches as united front against the devil.

5. To promote a sense of understanding and mutual cooperation amongst the generality of Christians.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

outbreak sites.”

Ebola can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea — in some cases shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding.

This is the first time the disease has spread through the region and MSF said it had identified more than 60 separate locations with confirmed cases of the virus.

“Ebola is no longer a public health issue limited to Guinea: it is affecting the whole of West

Africa,” Janssens said.

One resident from the Kailahun district in Sierra Leone, who gave his name as Amara Babawo, said normal life had come to a standstill as people take pains to avoid physical contact with each other. The situation is “very serious” in the town, added Babawo.

A school headteacher, Momodu Momoh, told AFP that “all social gatherings have put stopped” and said his school and others in the district had been closed as a precautionary measure.

(de) combat,” said U.N. human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville, using the French term for soldiers who have signaled they are no longer combatants.

The Iraq team said another 318 people were killed and 590 injured during the same time in Baghdad and areas in the south, many of them from least six separate vehicle-borne bombs. It also is trying to verify what Colville called “a number of alleged human rights violations that have been taking place in Iraq” since ISIL’s advances in early June.

Colville told reporters in Geneva that kidnappings of foreigners and others continue in the northern provinces and in Baghdad, including 48 Turkish citizens taken from Turkey’s consulate when ISIL captured Mosul and 40 Indian nationals who had been working for an Iraqi construction company.

But he said 16 Georgians reported kidnapped 10 days ago have been released, and 44 other foreign workers abducted by ISIL when they captured Al-Door also have been freed and returned safely after local tribal leaders negotiated between the Iraqi army and ISIL. “Tragically some of those who have been abducted have been subsequently found dead, and summary executions also apparently continue to take place,” Colville said.

Indonesia Prostitutes Resist Red-Light compensation for yanking them SURABAYA, Indonesia — Shutdown away from their livelihoods.

The mayor of Indonesia’s second-largest city has officially shut down “Dolly,” one of Southeast Asia’s biggest redlight districts, but the world’s oldest profession is still working despite warnings to stop.

Dolly — believed to have been named years ago after a colonial Dutch madam — was supposed to have closed June 18, but on the main drag, young women in skin-tight miniskirts and heels continue to lure guests into rooms lit only by faint red and pink lights.

Pimps made no attempt to hide as they stood outside, greeting potential customers.

When a sex worker in a karaoke parlor spotted journalists

walking past, she ran out with a raised fist and shouted, “Dolly will stay open!”

Surabaya’s reformist mayor Tri Rismaharini has vowed to shutter the area, and the government is offering $425 to each of the estimated 1,500 sex workers to help them get out of the business.

Rismaharini plans to ease the women out of the work, and gave them until Monday to collect the money. She has not attempted to use force but said she wants the entire complex closed down by the end of the holy month of Ramadan in late July.

But the sex workers, pimps and local business owners have taken to the streets in protest, saying the city is offering too little

“The government just doesn’t care about us,” said Suyatmi, 43, a prostitute who uses one name like many Indonesians. “We need a more permanent solution. They can’t just solve the prostitution problem by handing out money to prostitutes.”

Prostitution rings operate openly in all major Indonesian cities despite opposition from Islamic conservatives, some of whom want to replace the country’s secular system with one bound by Islamic law. Most of Indonesia’s 246 million people are Muslims.

Rismaharini, the first female mayor of Surabaya, has pledged to shut down all brothels in the city.

SIGNED: BARR (MRS.) E.R. OTOBO Solicitor

China Rejects Death For Killer Of Abusive The high court’s ruling means Husband Li will likely be spared execution

BEIJING — China’s highest court overturned a death sentence and ordered a retrial for a woman who killed and dismembered her abusive husband, a ruling welcomed yesterday by advocates of the country’s oftensilent victims of domestic violence.

The woman’s attorney, Guo Jianmei, said she received confirmation from the Supreme People’s Court, the country’s highest court, about its ruling in the case of Li Yan, who had been sentenced to death in 2011 for slaying her husband.

Li has become a rallying point for activists against domestic abuse in China, where police and courts commonly turn a blind eye to victims of domestic violence.

Feng Yuan, a Beijing women’s rights activist, called the court ruling a “positive development” and said she hoped that during the retrial, “the court would make a fair ruling that considers the whole picture of domestic abuse and not just the violent incident on its own, so that it would give victims of domestic abuse a glimmer of hope.”

after a retrial, a significant victory for the hundreds of lawyers, intellectuals and activists who signed a petition early last year urging the court to reject the penalty.

Li’s younger brother, Li Dehuai, also said Tuesday his sister wrote to him about the ruling in a letter he received Monday.

“The court said it was overturning the sentence because the facts are unclear and the evidence is ambiguous,” Li Dehuai said by phone.

Staff of the ‘Doctors Without Borders’ medical aid organisation carry the body of a person killed by viral haemorrhagic fever, at a center for victims of the Ebola virus in Guekedou, Guinea.

International

Assad Forces Behind Golan Attack

JERUSALEM - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said that Syrian forces launched an attack that killed an Israeli boy on the occupied Golan Heights and Damascus would have to “pay the price” for it.

An anti-tank missile fired from Syria across the frontier fence on Sunday killed Mohammed Qaraqara, 13, drawing Israeli tank fire and air strikes on Syrian army positions.

“We got all the analysis, all the intelligence and it was clear it was Syrian authorities, Assad’s forces, who fired on the Israeli boy,” Liberman said, referring to Syrian President

Bashar al-Assad.

“They must pay the price,” he told Israel Radio. “I hope Damascus got the message.”

It was the first time an Israeli official has laid blame for the attack, which Israel had earlier described as intentional and the most serious on the frontier since the start of the threeyear-old Syrian conflict.

The Syrian army has a presence on the Golan Heights but many areas are controlled by rebels, including militant groups hostile to the Jewish state.

There were conflicting accounts on the number of

Syrians killed in the Israeli retaliatory air strikes late on Sunday.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said four people were killed and nine wounded, according to state news agency SANA, and called on the U.N. Security Council to condemn the attacks.

An Israeli military source

told Reuters on Monday that three Syrians were killed and 10 wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group that collects information from activists in Syria, said “at least 10 members of the Syrian army were killed”.

I think Israel responded

exactly as we should have, in this case and all others. We cannot just gloss over an Israeli citizen, a boy, being murdered in cold blood with no one being held responsible,” Lieberman said.

The Syrian conflict has spilled over into bordering countries and escalated

- Israel regional tensions. Shelling from Syria has occasionally hit the Golan, including what Israel has said were deliberate attacks on its troops.

Israel captured the western part of the plateau from Syria in a 1967 war and annexed it in a move that is not recognised internationally.

Suicide Bomber Kills Security Officer, Wounds 19 BEIRUT - A suicide bomber blew up his car in Beirut near an army checkpoint, killing a security officer and wounding several people watching the soccer World Cup in a nearby cafe.

Security forces have been on high alert since a suicide bomber killed one person and wounded 37 near the Syrian border on Friday in an attack that narrowly missed Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s General Security department.

One security source said before Monday night’s explosion that security forces were hunting for two potential suicide bombers in the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon has suffered a wave of sectarian violence linked to the war in Syria which, like its neighbor Iraq, is fighting a Sunni insurgency. Militants, including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are sweeping through the north and west of Iraq towards the Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad.

“What is happening in Iraq isn’t far from what is happening in Lebanon, but Lebanon will not let ISIL spread here,” lawmaker Ali Ammar, from the Shi’ite militant and political group Hezbollah, told Al-Manar television.

Monday’s explosion, shortly before midnight, killed the bomber and wounded 19 people, Lebanon’s civil defense force said.

An emergency worker at the nearby Sahel hospital said it

treated 11 slightly wounded people.

Two security sources said on Tuesday that a member of the security services had also been killed when the Mercedes car packed with 25 kg (55 pounds) of explosives detonated.

Lebanon’s state-run news agency identified him as Abdul Kareem Hodrej, an officer in Lebanon’s General Security forces.

Reuters television footage from the scene showed the blackened wreckage of a car, surrounded by damaged vehicles.

Windows in nearby buildings were shattered by the blast, which occurred in a mainly Shi’ite Muslim district of southern Beirut inhabited by supporters of Hezbollah-allied group, Amal.

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria against the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels, who have also been supported by Lebanese Sunnis.

The conflict has spilled over into Lebanon, with rocket attacks on Shi’ite towns in the Bekaa Valley, close to the border with Syria, and bombings of Shi’ite and Sunni targets in Lebanon’s main coastal cities.

A ‘Karaoke girl’ shouts protests against the city governemnt’s move to close down Dolly prostitution complex upon seeing reporters walking past her karaoke parlor at the red-light district in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Turkish Ruling Party To Name Presidential Candidate

ANKARA - Turkey’s ruling AK Party will announce its candidate for the August presidential election at a parliamentary group meeting next Tuesday, with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan widely expected to be its choice.

It will be the first time Turks have voted directly for their president. Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade, has made

little secret of his ambition to stand for what he has said will be a stronger presidency.

“We will announce our candidate on July 1st, Tuesday, God willing,” Erdogan told an AK Party meeting in a speech broadcast on Turkish television.

“The presidency will no longer be a ceremonial post. The distance between the state and the people

will be removed, they will embrace each other,” he added, vowing no changes in the course or goals of the party.

Buoyed by the strong showing of his Islamist-rooted AK Party in March municipal elections, when it took 43 percent of the national vote despite a corruption scandal and anti-government protests last summer, his aides

I Will Not Interfere In Judicial Rulings - Egypt’s President

CAIRO - Newly elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said that he would not interfere with judicial verdicts, following an international outcry over lengthy prison sentences given to three Al Jazeera journalists a day earlier.

“We will not interfere in judicial rulings,” Sisi said in a televised speech at a military graduation ceremony in Cairo. “We must respect judicial rulings and not criticise them even if others do not understand this.”

The journalists - an Australian, a Canadian-Egyptian and an Egyptian - were each jailed for seven years on Monday for aiding a “terrorist organisation”, a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) staff and journalists protest the reference to the banned Muslim imprisonment in Egypt of Al Jazeera journlists Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy Brotherhood. and Baher Mohammed, by taping up their mouths outside New Broadcasting The sentences were widely criticised by rights groups and House in London yesterday.

Western governments, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calling them “chilling and draconian” and the U.N. warning of “a risk that miscarriage of justice is becoming the norm in Egypt.”

Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday that it “rejects any comment from a foreign party that casts doubt on the independence of the Egyptian judiciary and the justice of its verdicts.”

Sisi was elected last month, less than a year after removing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, a member of the Brotherhood, following mass protests against his rule.

The Brotherhood, which says it is a peaceful organisation, was banned and declared a terrorist group after Mursi was toppled.

have predicted his victory in the first round on Aug. 10.

[ID:nL6N0OK1M6] Last week, the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said they had agreed to nominate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who stepped down in December as head of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as their joint candidate for the presidential race.

Details of an opinion poll published on Tuesday indicated that Erdogan could win the election in the first round vote on August 10. If no candidate wins a majority in that vote, a second round will be held on August 24.

The survey by the pollster Sonar showed Erdogan securing 52.6 percent of the vote, after the distribution of undecided voters, with Ihsanoglu expected to win 40.3 percent of the votes, according to data published by Vatan newspaper.

The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is also expected to announce its candidate this week. In the Sonar poll, their candidate was forecast to win support of 7.1 percent.

The survey was based on responses from 2,800 people in 26 provinces, but did not say exactly when it was conducted.

With Victor Aniukwu

New Horizon Continued from Pg 20

brings up its offerings simply by looking at them, the tortoise brings up its offspring simply by meditation. The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise meditates on the eggs while inside the water.

Similarly, the devotee in Krishna consciousness, although far away from the Supreme Lord’s abode, can elevate himself to that abode simply by thinking of the Supreme Lord constantly, that is by engagement in Krishna consciousness. He does not feel the pangs of material miseries. This state of life is called brahma — nirvana, or the absence of material miseries due to being constantly immersed in the Supreme. Being engaged in Krishna Consciousness, one can immediately understand one’s spiritual identity and then can understand the Supreme Lord by means of devotional service. When one is well situated in devotional service, one comes to the transcendental position qualified to feel the presence of the Lord in the whole sphere of one’s activity.

This particular position is called liberation in the Supreme Lord. After explaining the above principles of liberation in the Supreme, the Supreme Lord instructs his disciple, Arjuna as to how one can come to that position by the practice of mysticism or yoga known as astanga yoga, which is divisible into an eightfold procedure called yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, adharana, dhyana and Samadhi. One has to drive out the sense objects such as sound, touch, form, taste and smell by the pratyahara process in yoga, and then keep the vision of the eyes between the two eyebrows and concentrate on the tip of the nose with half closed lids.

There is no benefit in closing the eyes altogether, because there is every chance

Transcedental Knowledge (1) of falling asleep. Nor is there benefit in opening the eyes completely, because then there is the hazard of being attracted by the sense objects.

The breathing movement is restrained within the nostrils by neutralizing the up moving and down-moving air within the body. By practice of such yoga one is able to gain control for liberation in the Supreme. This yoga process

the astanga yoga. The conditioned souls within the clutches of illusory energy are all anxious to attain peace in the material world. But they do not know the formula for peace, which is explained in this part of the Bagavad Gita. The greatest peace formula has been earlier mentioned. Lord Krishna is the beneficiary in all human activities. No one is greater

He has no equal to be assumed, imagined nor compared to. Even the demigods are His subordinates.

Direct Krishna consciousness in bhakti-yoga, and jnana yoga is a path leading to bhakti-yoga.

Krishna consciousness means to work in full knowledge of this consciousness, in full knowledge of Krishna or the

helps one become free from all kinds of fear and anger and thus feel the presence of the Supreme in the transcendental situation. In other words, Krishna consciousness is the easiest process of executing yoga principles.

A Krishna Conscious person, however, being always engaged in devotional service of the Supreme Lord, does not risk losing his senses to some other engagements.

This is a better way of controlling the senses than by

than the Supreme because, He is the proprietor of all that exist. No one can compete with the Supreme, He is the Sonum — bonum of all existence. The Lord is the Master of material nature, and the conditioned souls are under the stringent rules of material nature. Unless one understands these bare facts, it is not possible to achieve peace in the world either individually or collectively.

Lord Krishna is the Supreme Proprietor and Predominator of all living e

Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the eternal servant of God and as His fragmental part and pacel.

He comes into contact with maya (illusion) due to his desire to become Lord over things within his purview and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter, he has to execute work in terms of material necessities.

Krishna consciousness, however brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of

“Most people and preachers see God as formless because they cannot see Him face to face. But God told us in the Bible that He made man in His own image. Because of inferno people see and worship some human personalities as their god.”

matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from the clutches of matter. The Lord is not partial toward anyone.

Everything depends on one’s practical performance of duties in the service of the Supreme Lord, which helps one control the senses in

every respect and help to conquer the influence of lusty desires and anger. And one who stand fast in krisna consciousness controlling the above passions, remains factually in transcendental stage or brahma — nirvana.

The eightfold yoga mysticism is automatically served because there is gradual process of elevation in the practice of yoga, but this only preface perfection through devotional service to the Supreme Lord, which alone can award peace to the human being. It is also the highest perfection of life.

Finally, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead made the heavens and earth, while residing in His eternal abode — Krsna aloka. As Heaven and earth shall pass away, so the denizens of Heaven shall rot away with time, after millions of years of existence.

The Supreme Personality of

Godhead is not void but a Divine Supreme Person and has given us the benediction of making us in His own image. Human beings should take advantage of this human stage of life to stop all animalistic ways of life so as to transcend to spiritual level with which we can go back home, back to Godhead.

Ofcourse, we can — by transforming our present consciousness to Krishna consciousness — the direct worship and contact with the Lord as a Person always present before us and not to worship the Supreme in Diaspora nor in abstract.

Most people and preachers see God as formless because they cannot see Him face to face. But God told us in the Bible that He made man in His own image. Because of inferno people see and worship some human personalities as their god.

This false practice is seen as a spiritual suicide to the practitioner and must be avoided. Give to God what is for God, give to Pharaoh what is for Pharaoh. This analogy is parallel and cannot meet at any point in time.

Transcendental knowledge is not meant for half baked human beings nor for doubting Thomas. It is meant for souls that are serious and have undergone the various stages and penances that uplifts one to the stage of understanding transcendental knowledge, the knowledge of linking with the Lord in service and not sense gratification nor dry speculation.

A speculator is a gambler and a gambler is a cheater.

And in the kingdom of the Supreme there is no room for cheaters because cheaters are also liars. The Supreme kingdom of the Supreme Lord is not where we prepare ourselves to go to His kingdom. It is in this present body and existence that we can have all the opportunities to prepare ourselves, qualify ourselves through unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Lord, devoid of any form of material attachment in thoughts, words and actions — Its now than later, because our thoughts, words are actions are full of misconceptions of the highest level.

Spiritual Platform

With

Dealing With Evil Foundations

Warfare Prayer And Your Life MANY Christians. mostly In the orthodox churches, are still blinded to the fact that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour means for us to use warfare prayers against certain activities of the enemy. Matthew 11: 12 says “And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of God suffers violence. And the violent take it by force.

The command of Jesus to Lazarus, who died four days prior to his coming to Martha’s family in Bethany was, in John 11:43. “Lazarus come forth.”

The undertone here is an aggressive command. Other passages with the same connotation are Mark 3:5; 5:8; 9:25; Luke 4:35; 7:14; 8:54: 13: 12; John 5:8-12. These prayers have to be aggressive because the enemy, the devil, does not understand or is not affected by innocuous prayers.

Warfare prayers are root and rout prayers because they are prayers directed at the root of our spiritual problems. Our prayers should be directed at the root of our problems otherwise we are wasting time. If you examine the work of medical doctors you will see that before prescription, they ask a lot of questions. They are trying to find the root causes of the ailments. They are taught to do this so that they do not treat these ailments at the surface. So should we do in our prayers.

Many of our prayers are not answered because we Pray amiss or we pray on the surface. I am aware that prayers depend upon the occasion but we are talking here of deep rooted Spiritual problems.

The language of warfare prayers is clear, authoritative and commanding The words fall down and die, uproot, revoke, destroy, claim, denounce, refuse, crush, dash to pieces, paralyze, etc, feature prominently in warfare prayers. Another name for these prayers is violent prayers. You attack the evil spirits behind your problems. It is this aspect that many uninformed ministers/lay pretenders to the throne of God attack as unchristianly and they refer to Luke 6:27 which says “But I say to you who hear; Love your enemies, do good to

those who hate you”.

They contend that we should love our enemies. The question is who is our enemy? Would you love Satan and his agents? The answer is emphatic no.

Therefore, fire prayers are directed at the evil spirits behind our problems, using the weapons of God. We need strong, violent, fire prayers to deal with the enemy. You need to exert or demand your rights, possess your possessions, demand reparation from Satan; you have to wring Satan’s hands to take back what is yours. Remember that God’s thoughts towards you are always good but Satan will always try to counter them. God is our friend but Satan is our enemy.

Let me give you a testimony which illustrates the power of warfare prayers.

T.I. A sister had problem but source unknown. One night an angel of God came to her, asked her to change her prayers as follows: I refuse to be donated to the enemy in Jesus name” - First night, her grandmother called her and said “Please stop going to the new church, go back to the old one.

Why have you suddenly changed your prayer pattern’?.

However, the sister refused and continued her violent prayers, she even mounted a prayer vigil.

After seven days of prayer vigil, the grandmother could not stand up on her bed. She died.

Under her bed was a calabash inside of which was the name of the sister boldly written and a drop of blood on it. This sister’s source of problem was exposed by violent prayer. So can you. It is only violent prayers that can: (I) break strongholds (household enemies, household strongman). Ephesians 6: 12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places”.

You are not fighting human beings but invisible spiritual forces. 2 Corin. 10:3-5 says

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our’ warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (ii) break down barriers (spiritual barriers to prayers satanic checkpoints, satanic banks, and prayer swallowers).

attics. You must adopt a position of “enough is enough” and confront your enemies squarely.

Satan fears only aggressive prayers. using the weapons of God. You will notice, as the Bible predicted, that there is an Increase in demonic activities in our environment throughout the world, particularly in black nation. Jeremiah 50: 25 says...

‘The Lord has opened his armoury, and has brought out the weapons of his indignation; For this is the work of the Lord God

(iii) break down the second heaven. This needs some explanation. Man lives on earth, which is the first heaven. The third heaven is where God’s throne is. A man’s prayer has to pass through the second heaven where Satan holds sway. Satan mounts all sorts of Impediments to hinder prayers, as mentioned under ii above. Recall the experiences of Jacob in Gen. 32: 22-30 and Daniel in Dan 10: 1013. (iv) break down the spiritual iron and brass, shielding the earth from the third heaven where God lives, Lev.26: 19,Deut. 28:23.

It is only by aggression In your prayer life that you can win life’s

of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans” These weapons of God unfold every day. God’s armory cannot be exhausted. The ones you hear often in violent prayers are: Word of God, 1 Peter 2:24 Blood of Jesus. Rev. 12: 10 12 Wind of God, Jonah 1:4 Tempest of God, Jonah 1; 4 Arrow of God, 2 Sam. 22: 15 Thunder of God, Ps. 77:18, 2 Sam. 22:14 Name of Jesus, Phil. 2:8 -11 Finger of God, Luke 11:20 Fire of God, 1 Kings 18:24 There are many more weapons in God’s armory. We must learn to pray warfare prayers to defeat the enemy, using these weapons.

Method of Warfare Prayers:

“Warfare prayers are root and rout prayers because they are prayers directed at the root of our spiritual problems. Our prayers should be directed at the root of our problems otherwise we are wasting time.”

Ven. Dr. C. I. Umane GSM: 0803579951 The method of warfare prayers maybe illustrated. Let us say you want to pray against the spirit of death. The prayer point is constructed as follows: You spirit of death, I reject you, I denounce you, and I command you to loose your hold over my Life in Jesus’ name.

Repeat this sentence three times (to accord with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) to register in your

manifest in your life. You need all the prejudices you have allowed to accumulate in your life to be erased by the blood of Jesus.

ROOT PRAYER POINTS 1. Pray and ask God to forgive you for the sins you have committed against him and your neighbor. Check your life and ask God to cleanse all the dark portions of your life.

2. I surrender my life to Jesus

sub conscious mind and thereafter violently repeat the catch phrase. In this case the catch phrase is I reject you” or “I denounce you” or “loose your hold over my life” Repeat this many times until it soak into your mind. This is a very powerful prayer that will achieve result.

Pray aggressively as if your life depends on it. You must know that devil is not a gentleman. You must rise in anger and holy violence to disarm him. Violent prayers can be prayed at all times quietly or loudly but with aggressive determination and holy anger.

You get better results if you pray this type of prayers between 12 midnight and 3 am when evil spiritual traffic is intense, you get better results if you can fast before these prayers are rendered. These prayers are perfectly scriptural, as they follow the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You need some spiritual cleansing even right now so that the truth of the word of God can

Christ 3. I bind and cast out all hypocrisies, pride and prejudice, spiritual blindness that have dominated my life in Jesus name.

4. Father, release the spirit of brokenness upon me in Jesus’ name.

5. I command the works of the flesh in my life to die in Jesus’ name.

6. You spirit of unteachableness in my life be broken in Jesus’ name.

7. O Lord, create in me thirst and hunger for God in Jesus’ Name.

8. O Lord, Send down the fire of revival into my life in Jesus’ name.

9. O Lord, grant me fruits of the spirit and spiritual gifts in Jesus name 10. 0 Lord, uncage the spirit of formalism that has dominated my thought and life for years in Jesus’ name.

11. Pray and thank God for answers to these prayers.

To be continued

EVERY WEDNESDAY, WEEK 50, 2014 LUCKY 1.2. X SELECTIONS 5 INTERNATIONAL NOS. HOT PAIRS 7 11 8

27 32 33 35

BANKERS

9

22 43 OUTLOOK

N 13

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13 21 22

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8 BCC

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9 UKB

FNQ. FC.

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9

6. LAKE MACQUARIE CITY

43 007

7. CHARLESTOWN CITY

42 PAY

8. OLYMPIA WARRIORS 41 NAP 9. MELBOURNE

17 CBK

10.BENDIGO

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19. NORTH GEELONG 23 XXX 20. ARMADELE

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BIG BELLS 1. MORELAND Z

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3. BAYSWATER CITY

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4. SOUTH ADELAIDE

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5. ADEMID RAIDERS

31

O.K

By SAM EHEBHA GSM:08056626091

SATURDAY RITUALS

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GOSSIP NAP

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Aussie Bow Out Without A Point

Brazil Neymar celebrates his second goal next to team mate Hulk (left during their Group A match soccer match against Cameroon.

Herrera Hails Mexico’s ‘Boss’ Marquez MEXICO coach Miguel Herrera hailed the performance of evergreen captain Rafael Marquez after his team beat Croatia 3-1 to reach the World Cup last 16.

Appearing at his fourth World Cup, man-of-the-match Marquez opened the scoring in the 72nd minute, powering home a header from a corner and turned provider 10 minutes later, flicking on for an unmarked Javier Hernandez to head into an empty net.

Andres Guardado had added a second three minutes after the Marquez strike as Croatia chased the victory they needed to qualify.

“Rafa, I called him and asked him to be captain and the leader of our team,” an elated Herrera, who took over as Mexico manager in October, said.

“We needed a leader, concentrated, involved, commanding, screaming, shouting, giving my instructions on the field,” he said.

“I did not hesitate to appoint him captain. He was the only one, if nothing happened and God-willed and he was in good shape. I had no doubt that he was number one in the list of 23.”

“He has given leadership in the group, that’s why they call him ‘the boss’ in the group.”

The victory gave Mexico second spot in Group A on seven points with hosts Brazil topping the standings on goal difference following a 4-1 victory over Cameroon.

The Mexicans will face Group B winners the Netherlands in the last 16.

Having gone into the game with doubts about his side’s ability to handle Croatia’s aerial power, Herrera turned the tables and his team scored two goals with headers from set- pieces.

“In the first half we maybe lacked a little daring play, we were pressured, thinking that with a draw we would qualify,” Herrera

said.

“At halftime we discussed moving Rafa to the front at setpieces. Then we were very happy when you see the first goal.”

Having seen two efforts cancelled out by poor offside calls against Cameroon, Herrera once again found fault with the officials.

This time, the referee waved away Mexico’s appeals for what looked like a certain penalty when Croatia captain Dario Srna appeared to handle the ball in the area.

“We see a lot of mistakes in our matches, the US and Costa Rica haven’t had that. It’s against Mexico, I’m talking about the games that Mexico have played.

“We are disturbed by the refereeing situation, in two out of three matches it has gone against us. We had two goals disallowed and FIFA has already reacted by sending home the linesman.”

AUSTRALIA will depart Brazil having failed to take a point from a difficult Group B, and were soundly beaten 3-0 by Vicente del Bosque’s men in Curitiba on Monday.

Despite finishing bottom of their pool, Australia have won many admirers for the

Rafa Marquez scores for Mexico v Croatia

attacking nature of their performances.

Head coach Postecoglou admitted that the efforts exerted in losses to the Netherlands and Chile had caught up with his team, but feels they have made significant improvements.

“It was disappointing. They (Spain) dominated after the first 15 minutes and we struggled to get into the game,” Postecoglou told reporters.

“There were a few tired legs out there (for Australia). They had put a lot of effort in the previous two games and it probably just caught up with them.

“As for the reaction to the loss, people can think what they want but there is no way this result affects what we have done here.”

Postecoglou has now set his sights on Russia, where the next World Cup will be held in 2018, and believes that tournament will be a key marker to test the progress his young side have made.

“We’ve certainly got some positives out of it and stuff we need to work on,” he added on SBS. “We wanted to come to this World Cup and try to take it to three absolute world-class teams.

I think we’ve done that. What we’ve found out is we’re not at that quality yet.

“In four years’ time, if we keep having that sort of intent, I think we’ll bridge the gap and hopefully come back and be the team that’s more dominant than the opposition.”

Cameroon ‘Just Not Good Enough’, Says Coach

CAMEROON showed glimpses of the right kind of fighting spirit as they departed the World Cup but for a second successive tournament the overriding image they leave behind is one of ill-discipline, conflict and greed. lready out of contention and during the 90 minutes,” said without injured talisman crestfallen coach Volker Finke.

Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon had “It’s not the first time we hosts Brazil on the back foot haven’t focused for the whole for periods of the first half of 90 minutes, we need to find the their last Group A game on reason for this; three times we Monday. had control of the ball and we Joel Matip cancelled out the lost it and those goals (we gave five-time world champions’ up) were unnecessary. first goal before Cameroon “The first half was fine, we conceded a second before half- were doing well, but also Brazil time, then the game got away deserved this win, it’s clear they from them and they were created more chances and that handsomely beaten. is why they deserved to win.”

“The first half wasn’t so bad But the 1-4 defeat in Brasilia but we need to have focus was strangely one of the few

highlights of another World Cup trip beset by the sort of shenanigans that have brought Cameroon infamy.

Their trip seemed doomed from the start when they delayed their departure from home in a strike action to force more money out of their federation.

The controversy had them on the back foot as they lost first to Mexico and then Croatia, becoming the first country mathematically eliminated from the tournament.

The disappointment was exacerbated by the on-field head butt by Benoit Assou Ekotto on his team-mate Benjamin Mounkandjo near the end of the second game, adding another episode to several player disputes of the past. There

was an unnecessary red card for key midfielder Alex Song, the seventh Cameroonian sent off in 19 games at the finals.

But in the end, coach Finke suggested the Indomitable Lions, whose seven World Cup finals appearances are more than any other African country, just were not good enough for the Brazilian stage.

“There were certain things that were quite positive but it wasn’t enough for the World Cup. We need to look at reality and as we are, it’s not enough for this competition,” the

experienced former Bundesliga coach said.

Cameroon rarely follow footballing convention. In 1990, the country’s president, Paul Biya, demanded 38-year-old Roger Milla be included in the squad for the finals. Milla became a world star with his exploits in Italy and went on to play again four years later in the United States.

He is now at the helm of a bid to remove Finke from his post although the German wants to stay as coach. And with the African Nations Cup qualifiers starting in less than three months, Cameroon might buck a trend again and keep him on

TODAY’S MATCHES 5:00:PM

Bosnia-Herzegovina

v

Iran

5:00 PM

Nigeria

v

Argentina

9:00 PM

Ecuador

v

France

9:00 PM

Honduras

v

Switzerland

Brazil Gaining World Cup Momentum BRAZIL’S star striker Neymar and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari were both satisfied with the team’s 4-1 win over Cameroon and say the team is progressing as planned at the World Cup. Neymar scored twice against Cameroon — taking his tournament-leading goal tally to four — helping Brazil win Group A with Mexico finishing second.

“I think the main thing is that the team, as a whole, had our best match,” said Neymar. “We managed to attack as we wanted and everyone deserves to be complimented because we played to deserve the score.

We are on the right track and are progressing.”

The team remains focused on getting better with each game, according to Scolari in his postgame news conference, and know their hardest challenges are still ahead.

“Things evolve step by step and this is what we’re trying to plant,” said Scolari. “We are progressing on an everyday basis and in every match. Even with some difficulties to score

goals, we scored four goals, but could have scored seven or eight.

We have improved compared to the match against Mexico.”

In addition to Neymar’s brace, Fred and Fernandinho scored for Brazil, who played in front of a raucous crowd in their nation’s capital of Brasilia.

“We are feeling very comfortable in Brazil,” said Scolari. “Brazil has been treating us with such tenderness and is so friendly wherever we go. There is so much motivation from our fans and we feel at home anywhere.

Even when we’ve not been playing well, the support we receive is incredible.”

Brazil will face Chile in the round of 16 on June 28 at noon ET in Belo Horizonte. The match will be a massive test for Chile as Brazil have not lost a competitive match in their home country since 1975, going 42-0-18 in their last 60 games.

But Scolari knows Chile, who Brazil beat in the 2010 round of 16, are a good team and will

Netherlands Down Chile To Top Group B WORLD Cup, Group B, Arena Corinthians – Netherlands 2 (Fer 77, Depay 90+1) Chile 0 The Netherlands have finished on top of Group B after substitutes Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay scored late against a competitive Chile.

Chile had looked the better team for long periods of the match but two moments of class from Louis van Gaal’s men decided the match.

In topping the group, the Netherlands avoid a likely second round encounter against Brazil.

The match looked destined for a draw and Chile actually looked the more likely to score but substitute Fer made an instant impact after coming on for the ineffective Wesley Sneijder. The Norwich man rose to head in a well-worked corner after the ball was played short to Daryl Janmaat, who whipped in a wicked cross.

Still Chile pressed for the unlikely win and were caught late on the counter, the excellent Arjen Robben crossing into the feet of Depay to tap home.

Chile had their moments and will count themselves unlucky to lose such a tight encounter.

But they will remain optimistic of providing a tough challenge for whoever they face in the second round, even if it is to be Brazil.

PRE-MATCH: Robin van Persie misses out through suspension, so in comes Jeremiah Lens and Dirk Kuyt.

For Chile, Charles Aranguiz is fit to start after being substituted early against Spain but Arturo Vidal misses out.

13’ – CHANCE CHILE: Good ball into the box from Mena and Vargas gets a head on it. Tough half chance and it goes wide.

22’ – CHANCE CHILE: Sanchez plays an inventive free kick across goal and Gutierrez runs onto it but it bobbles just before he hits it and it flies over.

34’ – CHANCE HOLLAND: Robben whips in a great outswinging free kick to the far post and De Vrij is on the end of it but heads wide. Should have done better.

36’ – CHILE PENALTY CLAIM: Sanchez goes down in the box under pressure from Kuyt but there’s minimal contact. Good decision.

39’ – ROBBEN FIRES WIDE: It’s a trademark run and shot but he doesn’t catch it clean and it’s wide of Bravo’s post.

44’ – CHANCE CHILE: Gutierrez squanders the chance of the half as his free header unmarked in the box goes over.

63’ – CHILE PENALTY SHOUT: Alexis nips the ball past Cillessen who puts his hand out.

He goes to ground but not even a corner is given.

65’ – CILLESSEN SAVE: He narrows the angle to beat away Alexis’ drive.

76’ – BRAVO SAVE: He tips Depay’s fierce drive over the bar.

77’ - GOAL NETHERLANDS: It’s in from the resultant corner as Fer heads home his first for Holland.

require the best effort from his team to secure a victory.

“We cannot give the opponent a chance. We have to have a very balanced way of playing,” said Scolari. “Sometimes it’s one goal that is going to decide a goal. We can’t make as many mistakes and that’s what we have to do differently.”

For Neymar, the chance to play in the World Cup’s advanced stages is a dream come true.

“I’ve always aid that there is no pressure when you are making a dream come true,” said Neymar.

“This is something that you sought after since you were a kid.

Today I am playing in matches I always dreamt about. I want to help my fellow players, and doing whatever it takes on the pitch to score.”

Brazil’s Neymar

US Team Focused On Winning Group UNITED States coach Jurgen Klinsmann says his team won’t be satisfied with a draw against Germany in their final Group G match even though that result would see them qualify for the round of 16 along with the Germans.

Just 30 seconds from clinching advancement with a game to spare, the U.S. conceded a stoppage-time goal that left it with a 2-2 draw against Portugal on Sunday. With four points, the Americans may need at least a tie from their Group G finale against three-time champion Germany to advance to the knockout stage.

“Now we have no choice but to regroup, get ourselves ready for another big game on Thursday,” midfielder Michael Bradley said.

Germany leads the group with four points after routing Portugal 4-0 and tying Ghana 2-2. The U.S., which opened with a 2-1 victory over Ghana, also has four points and trails on goal difference. Ghana and Portugal have one point each.

The U.S. would advance to the knockout stage of consecutive World Cups for the first time with a win or a tie against the Germans, or a draw between Ghana and Portugal in a match played simultaneously. If there’s a winner in the other game, the Americans

also could advance with four points on a tiebreaker: goal difference, followed by total goals, head-tohead points, head-to-head goal difference and head-to-head goals.

If a tie still isn’t resolved, there would be a drawing of lots.

Jurgen Klinsmann congratulates U.S. defender Matt Besler at the end of their team’s 2-2 draw with Portugal.

“Had we been down 2-1 and we came back, we’d be flying high right now,” said goalkeeper Tim Howard. “It’s the ‘group of death.’

Most people counted us out. So, it’s no problem. We’re going to the last game with a chance.”

The U.S. arrived back at its base hotel in Sao Paulo at about 5 a.m. on Monday, after a four-hour flight from the match in the steamy Amazon rainforest capital of Manaus. The starters were given the day off, and the reserves trained in the late afternoon at Sao Paulo Futebol Clube.

After Tuesday’s training session, the team makes the three-hour-plus

of Honduras and Switzerland in Group E. Didier Deschamps’ men have scored eight goals already this tournament, and face Ecuador in their final pool game on Wednesday, with qualification to the last 16 seemingly a formality due to a healthy goal difference.

However, Marseille winger Valbuena - who scored in Friday’s 5-2 triumph over Switzerland believes now is not the time for

France to get ahead of themselves, particularly considering they had to beat Ukraine in a play-off to qualify for the tournament.

“Football changes so fast,” he said in an interview with the French Football Federation. “Five months ago there was not a great enthusiasm around the team of France and the results (so far) show the opposite.

“We feel that there is great support from the fans, but we know that the road is still long.”

flight to the northeast beach city of Recife. While the Americans have just three days off between matches, Germany has four.

“There’s a lot of things you can’t control. That’s a quirk of the schedule,” U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said. “It’s a quirk of the schedule that we’ve got more travel than anybody else in the first round, but we had less than everyone else in the first round in South Africa. So those things balance out.”

The Group G winner likely will play Algeria, Russia or South Korea, whichever finishes second in Group H. The second-place team in Group G probably will face Group H leader Belgium, which is 2-0.

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann did not talk to reporters Monday but spoke with the USSF in an interview for its website.

“We want to beat Germany. We want to be first in our group, so we’re not thinking about a tie,” he said. “We’ve got to do it the tough

Valbuena Urges France To Stay FRANCE have quickly risen knows only too well from outsiders to World Cup Grounded theValbuena weight of expectation that contenders after easily dispensing

comes with playing for France having been a part of the squads that were blighted by reports of squad disharmony at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

The 29-year-old said he is confident those tensions are a thing of the past and insisted the current party will not suffer the same problems.

“Having lived in 2010 and 2012, it was complicated,” he added.

“We are going to return to the past.”

way, and we are going to do it the tough way.”

Klinsmann starred for West Germany’s team that won the 1990 World Cup and coached Germany to third place in 2006.

Joachim Loew, Germany’s current coach, was Klinsmann’s assistant eight years ago.

Because both nations would advance in the event of a draw, some thought back to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, where West Germany needed a one- or twogoal win over Austria to assure both nations of advancement and eliminate Algeria.

Horst Hrubesch scored for the West Germans 10 minutes in, and players spent much of the rest of the evening passing to their teammates without threatening the opposing goal.

West Germany won 1-0, and ever since FIFA has scheduled group finales for simultaneous kickoffs.

“You’re talking about a game that is decades away that is only part of the Germany history and not the United States,” Klinsmann said. “The United States is known to give everything they have in every single game. We have that fighting spirit. We have that energy and that determination to do well in every single game.”

U.S. defender Matt Besler said the team will be working hard to neutralize Germany when the two face each other on Thursday, June 26, at noon ET on ESPN. “They are fast, they are strong, physical, they’re fit,” said Besler of the German side. “They are really just a complete team.

You’re gonna face a lot of the challenges that we’ve seen in the Ghana and Portugal game already. They have a lot of dangerous players going forward.”

Val Gaal Bullish Over Netherlands Tactics

The Netherlands finished top of Group B in the FIFA World Cup after defeating Jorge Sampaoli’s side 2-0 in Sao Paulo on Monday, with late goals from Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay proving the difference.

However, Van Gaal’s men were much more cautious than they had been when beating Spain 5-1 and Australia 3-2 in their first two

pool matches.

The Dutch coach was bullish in his appraisal of the match, and stated the approach taken was necessary to come out on top.

“If I played 4-3-3 against Chile, (Arjen) Robben would have had to run after them. They can’t do that for 90 minutes,” said Van Gaal.

“You just have to play

according to your strengths, it’s all about winning. I’ll pick a system that helps me win.

“This is proof of the pudding. We’re not giving away very much, but we’re creating a lot.

“If I didn’t do that, you’d chop off my head. Me and my staff, we only ever want to score one goal more than the

opponents.”

Assessing the Netherlands’ progress thus far, he added: “Nine points from three games, 10 goals for and three against, two unjustified penalties. No one expected this.

“The atmosphere in the group is fantastic. The players want to use the 5-3-2 system, they feel comfortable with it.

That’s extremely important.”

Supporters Club May Abandon Last Group Match

Members of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) may not watch the final Group F match between Nigeria and Argentina in Porto Alegre at the ongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The club’s members had complained of poor treatment FIFA and the Local Organising Committee meted out to them in the previous matches played by the Super Eagles.

They complained that FIFA and the Local Organising Committee denied them going into the stadium with their musical instruments and their branded wears.

For more than four decades, members of the club have been attending major international football tournaments to cheer the national teams.

Rafiu Oladipo, the president of the club, told newsmen after the match between Nigeria and Bosnia-Hezergovina on Sunday that the denial was a surprise to them.

According to him, the club began its activities in 1977 and

Osaze Odemwingie (left) and Lionel Messi

Final Group F Match

It’s Osaze Against Messi

Nigeria can guarantee their passage into the World Cup knockout stages with a draw this evening, however they will have to do this against tournament favourites, Argentina.

The Super Eagles won their first match at the World Cup since the 1998 tournament in France with their 1-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will undoubtedly use this as inspiration to take the game to a seemingly average Argentinian side in Porto Alegre.

Argentina find themselves at the top of Group F but only after a narrow win over Bosnia and a very late moment of magic from Lionel Messi in the game against Iran. They don’t seem to have played to the expectations everyone had for them given

the players they called up to the team and thus it will be no easy task for them against a Nigerian side who can defend well.

Victor Moses and Godfrey Oboabona are both struggling with injuries at the moment and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to play any part in this final group match.

Argentina have no current injury worries and so Alejandro Sabella should have a fully fit squad to choose his starting 11 from.

Nigeria have yet to concede a goal at this World Cup. Argentina have played

Nigeria six times previously, winning four of them.

Argentina have already qualified for the knockout stages but can still finish second in Group F should they lose to Nigeria.

Key Players Nigeria – Peter Odemwingie Odemwingie won the game for Nigeria in their last match against Bosnia and Herzegovina after latching on to an Emmanuel Emenike pass. The striker has also played well at the tournament so far aside from the goal.

According to Squawka.com he has completed 91% of his passes and created two chances for his team mates.

He has also been involved in

three significant defensive actions for his country in the two previous games and has won just under half of his duels. However, he has only managed to get 33% of his shots at goal on target and this has to be something he will be working on in training. If Odemwingie can combine with Emenike as well as he did against Bosnia, then Argentina will have to be much better at the back then they were against Iran if they are to get a good result.

Argentina – Lionel Messi It is fair to say that Messi hasn’t played at his best level at the World Cup so far and yet he has managed to score

two important goals for Argentina, in particular his stoppage time curler against Iran.

According to Squawka.com and alarmingly for the Argentinian fans, Messi has only managed to get 29% of his attempted shots on target so far.

However, this does seem to reflect the Argentinians’ ineffectiveness in front of goal at the tournament. He has managed to create seven chances for his team mates however and has completed 85% of his passes, as well as winning 58% of his duels.

Nigeria will find it hard to play against Messi but if he plays at the level we have come to know, they will have a very hard time of it.

its efforts have been greatly acknowledged by the world football governing body, FIFA at various times.

“The past 37 years have been rewarding, but a sad twist seems to be hindering the club from performing its function in Brazil.

“This is very strange and we have to tackle it with everything at our disposal to avoid a repeat because if you separate music from football, there is nothing left for the fans,” he said.

Oladipo noted that the members were also prevented from dishing out the usual inspirational songs to back the Eagles while playing.

“The club members in their hundred travelled to Brazil to cheer the national team at the World Cup, wearing uniforms with the symbol of their sponsor, Globacom.

“The organisers, however, disallowed them into the stadium event with the uniform they were wearing,” he said.

He added that the LOC gave security reasons for disallowing the supporters club from going into the stadium with their drums and trumpets.

The organisers had said that the musical instruments could convert into projectiles.

But furious Oladipo accused the security officials of working against the interest of the Nigerian team in Brazil.

“This excuse is not tenable.

This is like playing double standards in one competition.

“The Nigerian supporters club is not known for violence and this is not our first World Cup appearance.

“We have been doing this as our contribution to the game of football, not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa and the world.

“We have been doing this for decades and for FIFA security committee to wake up all of a sudden to stop us from wearing our uniforms and beating our drums and blowing our trumpets is not the best,’’ Oladipo said.

Some members of the club who condemned the decision of FIFA and the overzealous security officials for the treatment meted out to the members of the club in Curitiba.

Devastating Djokovic Dashes Into Second Round

National Wheelchair Tennis Coach Pleads For Sponsorship

NOVAK Djokovic is usually considered one of the “Mr. Nice Guys” of the tennis circuit, always game for a laugh and ready to applaud the winners flying off his opponents’ rackets.

It was just too bad that Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev failed to witness any of those qualities on Monday.

What Golubev was treated to was no laughing matter, as Djokovic took on the role of Wimbledon executioner, combining brutal force with deft touches to reach the second round with a 6-0 6-1 6-4 victory.

The 2011 champion, elevated to top seed despite his world number two ranking, appeared to be heading for a rarely seen “triple bagel” in men’s tennis when he led 6-0 5-0.

KAYODE Savage, the assistant coach with the Lagos State Wheelchair Tennis Association has appealed to corporate bodies and well-meaning Nigerians to sponsor competitions, to help the association in discovering more talents in the sport.

Savage made the call in Lagos yesterday, in an interview with newsmen.

He urged philanthropists and public-spirited individuals to sponsor the activities of the association, in other to engage more physically-challenged youths in positive activities, to enhance nation building.

“To ensure that the interests of the youth, especially the physicallychallenged ones are encouraged in Tennis, we need more sponsors to come and partner with us at the Wheelchair Tennis Association.

“This would help to provide avenues to showcase our talents,’’ Savage said.

He said that there was need for potential partners to support the so-called lesser sports, to ensure even development of sports in this country.

Savage commended the Lagos State Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the initiative geared towards enhancing sports development at the grassroots for the challenged persons.

“The Lagos State Government and the CBN have been so supportive, which shows consistency and that is all we need for development.

“Parents and guardians should be interested in their children’s extra-curricular activities because it’s always better to discover these children in their young ages,’’ he said.

The coach, however urged parents and guardians to encourage their children and wards to take their vocation in sports more seriously.

ANDY Murray opened the defence of his Wimbledon title with a 6-1 6-4 7-5 win over David Goffin on Centre Court.

2012 French Open, shook off As is tradition, the the early nerves to give defending men’s champion Murray a match thereafter. opened proceedings on the He even carved out two show courts on the first break points in the fourth Monday of the competition game of the third set, only for and Murray raced into a one- Murray, with new coach set lead after only 28 minutes.

Goffin, of Belgium, was also brushed aside 6-4 in the second set but offered slightly more resistance in the third, losing 7-5.

“It was nice,” said Murray.

“I was nervous this morning and today ... it was nice to walk out to a full crowd for the first match and to a round of applause.”

The 27-year-old, who a year ago memorably became Britain’s first men’s singles champion at the All England Club for 77 years, walked on court to a standing ovation and responded with a clinical victory.

Murray, bumped up to third seed despite slipping to five in the world rankings since his Wimbledon triumph, was immediately in the grasscourt groove, outclassing Goffin in a 28minute first set that resembled an exhibition match.

The 23-year-old Goffin, who has flat-lined since Andy Murray pushing Roger Federer hard in the fourth round of the

LUIS Suarez has always wanted to play for Barcelona, his former Ajax teammate Gabri Garcia has said.

On Monday — in what seemed like the start of a media campaign to build momentum for a move to La Liga — the Uruguay and Liverpool striker’s father-in-law told Spanish TV the time was right for him to leave Anfield.

Suarez missed Uruguay’s first game of the World Cup, a 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica, but returned to score two fine goals in the 2-1 victory over England.

Both Mundo Deportivo and Sport now claim talks between Barca and Liverpool over a move have started, with Real Madrid also said to be seriously interested in signing the 27year-old.

Novak Djokovic

Murray Starts Defence With Routine Win Over Goffin Amelie Mauresmo watching on intently, to respond to the danger.

One flicked backhand down the line by Goffin to hold serve in the next game had the man from Liege smiling, but his resistance snapped at 5-5

when he dropped serve from 40-0 up.

Murray duly held serve in the next game to move through and maintain his record of avoiding first-round defeats at grand slams since an early loss at the 2008 Australian Open.

Boxing Analyst Calls For Major Reforms In Nigerian Boxing

Luis Suarez ‘Always Had Barca Dream’ Gabri told Catalan radio show Esports en Xarxa, in quotes reported by Mundo Deportivo: “[Suarez] has always had in his head that some day he would be there.

“I believe that he would be a great signing for Barca. He would adapt very quickly, very well, and would fit in very well inside the club. Also, he has his

Golubev eventually registered on the Centre Court scoreboard after 44 minutes, drawing a warm round of applause from the crowd who were eager to witness a closer contest.

Djokovic, however, was in no mood to oblige and took just 88 minutes to book a second-round showdown with wily Czech campaigner Radek Stepanek.

“It was a great start, especially the first two sets, and I could not be happier with the performance,” said the Serb, who has not won a grand slam tournament since the 2013 Australian Open.

Much had been made of the fact that Djokovic was the only member of the so-called ‘Big Four’ of Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to turn up at Wimbledon without playing a competitive match on grass this month.

It was a gamble that he did not regret taking.

Monday’s masterclass proved that his backhands were still firing, the forehands still sizzling and the aces still finding their mark as he condemned Golubev to an unwanted hat-trick of first-round losses at the majors this year.

“Coming into Wimbledon with no official (grasscourt) matches, it always gives you an extra reason to get that commitment and focus from the start and try to play as best as you can,” said the 2013 runnerup.

“So that’s what I did. Very, very pleased with my performance overall today.

“I am feeling well at the moment, comfortable on the court and hopefully I can continue in the same way.”

There was an early scare for men’s sixth seed Tomas Berdych, but he rallied from a set down to beat Romania’s Victor Hanescu while Latvian Ernests Gulbis, a surprise semi-finalist at the French Open this month, won three tight sets against Estonia’s Jurgen Zopp.

wife’s family living in Barcelona.”

In December, Suarez signed a new contract tying him to Liverpool until 2018, but some reports in Spain suggest he still feels let down by the club’s breaking of a promise to let him leave last summer.

The contract is thought to include a release clause, although sources have refused to

confirm reports that it would be triggered by a 65 million pound offer, while reports suggest Barca’s Chile attacker Alexis Suarez could be included in any deal.

Suarez has claimed he still feels unloved in England and has been “under attack” from the media, despite winning all three domestic Footballer of the Year awards after scoring 31 league goals for Liverpool last season.

A renowned boxing analyst, Trigo Egbegi, on Tuesday appealed to Nigerian sports authorities to reform boxing in the country.

Egbegi told newsmen in Lagos that stakeholders must start to address the challenges facing boxing by identifying the problems from the root.

He said that if this was done, it would lead to solving the problems and bringing back the lost glory of boxing in Nigeria.

“The basic reason why boxing, especially professional boxing in Nigeria is lagging behind is that even those at the helm of affairs have not sat down to identify the challenges.

“And if that is not addressed now it is unfortunate and boxing will forever be in the dark,” Egbegi said.

On the coming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, he said that proper preparation and not luck would yield medals for Nigeria.

“I have been hearing and reading all about the boxers being camped here and there, it is in the media but I really hope it is actually happening.

“And if I may add, it is not all about camping them that matters, you camp them and push them out for competitions to get better results,” Egbegi said.

CHIEF Dan Orbih, the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party is an interesting individual anyday. For that I just cannot help liking him.

Truly, I like hearing him talk (on tv though) anything I feel low. He has this uncanny ability to draw the laughter out in me. On several ocassion, I have had reasons to reach the conclusion that he is the right man for the job PDP employed him to do. You know how much of a joke the party and uts leadership are. Only a clown as hefty as his frame makes him can be party’s image. He is the right stuff having kept the temple of the party high up in ribald relevance. Yet, it appears his reservoir of infernal comedy is endless.

I am loving every inch of it and l look forward to seeing more. He just must keep it up.

Only recently, Orbih chose another vehicle for cracking the ribs of stressed Edolites. In a well ITV covered declaration, the great Orbih announced to the people of the state that he had taken it up as a well considered responsibility to march round public schools in the state to demonstrate that governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole has done nothing worth commendation. To make good his public service job, he led his likes, well decorated in flowing Agbada, to one of the state’s public schools where he reported that there were no chairs for the children to seat or learn conveniently. It was, I suppose, his attempt to put out the Oshiomhole administration in bad light.

Did he? But unlike his very noble self and intent, failed to direct the television camera into showing, at least, one classroom in the said school that had no chair. Right stuff for a big chief. Ride o jere. You too much. Nobody dey think like you.

But Chief Orbih’s tour gave me real food for thought. I am a parent with a child still in junior school and who has reasons to disagree with some of her institution’s policy decisions. Expectedly, I have made known my grievances in ways decorus in expectation abd intent. In doing so however, I never had any reason to arrogate to myself, the authority to mobilise men, women and television crew to the school’s premises, either to inspect any part of it or to rile its owner and everything he/she represents with very uncharitable censures. My take is that I may be angry or disappointed, certainly I do not have the right to act

By Their Fruit

By ERNEST OMOARELOJIE

in any manner that amounts to a breach of conduct or for that matter, the institution’s sanctity. Indeed, I am of the opinion that if for any reason, I protest against the interest or wishes of its owners in unbecoming manners, my conduct, including that of whoever assisted me, in or outside the school, is, I believe, liable to reprisals. Sadly, Orbih got away with it. But I certainly do not agree that thoee in charge of the school should. Perhaps I should expand the scope of my argument to make my point clearer.

Like Orbih, the APC happens to have a chairman both at state and national levels. But at, for instance, the latter level where it is in the opposition, it cannot arrogate to itself the right to act in the same manner Orbih did even as our federal level of government is notoriously heckled by even the most cursory Nigerian for being patently lack lustred in the region of development performance. For instance, how would it sound if Chief John Oyegun gathers the cream of his APC hiearchy and (like Orbih did to Comrade Oshiomhole) pour invectives on President Jonathan? I am sure Orbih can help give an insight into where such authority lies. But I suppose that would remain an issue for a symposium discussion in times ahead.

I suppose also Chief Orbih wants the people of Edo state who look up to him to see him as a crusader. I have no doubt about that but it will be interesting to know if the PDP chaiman unerstands the difference(s) between social crusade and rabble rousing.

However, as an individual that has had his actions on the radar for as long as he took on his present political office, I think he should know that a ball of snow has more chances of survival in hell fire than his actions being interpreted along the line of social crusade. That is, assuming he is not endowed with a clownish black market mentality, But for the heck of it, just as he has not shown any sign of letting up, not once, in his well considered desire to celebrate buffoonery, his seemingly inexhaustible menu has proven to be the right staple for bursting stress. And I am relishing each dose except that I am miffed a little that he seems so impevious to the fact that opposition is not without rules of engagement. Oga Orbih, “pesin wen dey cry dey see road o.”

“Consistently, Orbih has demonstrated his weird

interpretation of opposition responsibilities each time the opportunity falls into his very accommodating itineray. For instance, one such opportunity came up recently during the still-raging defection saga in the state house of assembly.

Following the outcome of an injunctions sought by some defecting members of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria, APC, to his party (one was

PDP as they completely ignored the order. At least, we now know that despite its avowed declaration to being born again, the state PDP as demonstrated by its members, does not see anything wrong in disobeying valid court orders. The message is clear, it has no room for the rule of law. To rob it in, Orbih and the former deputy speaker are on record for calling both the order and the court from which it emanated as ‘black market’ stuff. The latter Ebea drove the

Matters In Focus With BLESSING YAKUBU his party members when the house plenary resumed. Not done, he mandated the police to make sure that they screened every crevice and moving object in the chambers before proceedings for the said day would take off. Not done with just admonishing the police to be up and doing, he vowed to march to the legislative house to assist in the search. And as if his order was a divine ordination, I watched in horror

Chief Dan Orbih, Edo PDP Chairman

granted to the effect that the assembly cannot declare vacant the seat of the defectors, the second which sought to bar the house from suspending them was however, turned down), the assembly leadership quickly (and expectedly too) seized on the opportunity offered by the court and suspended its erring members, including Festus Ebea, its former deputy speaker. But in an apparent you-hit me-I-hit-you-backGod-no-go-vex’ retaliation mentality, the affected four, in addition to the party’s original four law makers, (did I hear you say law breakers?) also fired the house speaker, right Honourable Uyi Igbe and its majority leader, honourable Philip Shaibu, without any statutority authority. For the breach, the house sought and obtained a court injunction barring them from forcefully gaining access into chambers.

The injunction has since been served as directed by the court.

The reaction of the suspended four has since opened up the real true self of the born again

point home when even as television cameras were rolling, he called a bailiff a “madman” for attempting to serve him and his suspended colleagues contempt notice.

By the way, the injunction Orbih touted as “black market” material that cannot be accorded any response was secured in a court of competent jurisdiction, in which, incidentally, his own younger brother, Chief Ferdinald Orbih, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, representing his very own PDP, was present and indeed actually sought for the inujunction to be dismissed.

Yet, a few days into the house hassles, Orbih was on air again to serve another bizarre menu from his repatoire. This time, he declared to a largely disappointed people of the state that he has authoritative information to the effect that members of the ruling APC planted arms and other dangerous weapons inside the state assembly chambers suposedly to be used against

as one plain clothe security agent, butt up in the air, tv camera in toll, went through crevices in the assembly just as “honourable” members were bodily searched, ostensibly with the hope of finding part of the alleged arsenal. Sadly, neither did they find any cache nor was Orbih compelled to explain to the people of the state how the same arms and amunitions he claimed on authority to have

been ferreted into the house grew wings.

The last time I checked, false information does not elicit back slapping, guffawed and jolly good fellow responses from the police. Yet, the police has not, to the best of my knowledge, informed the people of the state that it has reprimanded Orbih for giving false information, at least, given that the people need to know how and or when misinformation became a friendly staple in police menu.

I am still trusting Orbih to act peculiar even in matters that may have slipped from his overcrowded commitment to undermining evidences of development that abound everywhere across the state. That is one of the reasons for this piece. I am aware that he spoke before about the collapsed part of the Central Hospital. But he must speak again and again as the state government has eventually mobilised men and equipment for its completion having concluded the much needed structural integrity evaluation process. Orbih must give the people of the state more of his jaundiced information not just about the hospital, or for that matter, development in the state house of assembly, Five Junction, public school, etc. I am eager to hear him talk about the storm water project and numerous other enviable projects currently being undertaken by the O s h i o m h o l e administration. Only then will I be convinced that he is not himself a victim of black market mentality. For now, it is enough to put him in the context of the Latin expression, “ex frutibus nostri.” By their fruit, we know them.

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