THE WEEKEND
Weekend
1
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
PUBLISHED SINCE OCTOBER 6, 1990 • Vol.XI NO.3,203• SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013 • N100.00
ENCOUNTER
We Are Complementing The Effort Of The Comrade Governor - Hon. Momoh Page 6
Edo Plans To Computerise Teachers’ Posting By ADAMS OYIBOKE
EDO State Government has concluded arrangements to computerize the posting of teachers in public schools in the state to put an end to the lopsidedness in teachers’ posting in the state. of education in the Governor of the state, country. I am happy that Comrade Adams when we compare Edo Oshiomhole made this State to the rest of the known yesterday during country, we are the best the inauguration of the in our own sub-region. I State Universal Basic have seen the adverts of Education Board our beautiful schools on (SUBEB). television, but what According to the these do not tell us is the governor, it will be the quality of the teachers”, responsibility of the newly constituted board to ensure there is fairness and justice in the posting of teachers. He said: “the work of this Board is not going to be like the previous By ODINUKAEZE boards. You must take NNENNA/ UTI critical but necessary ANIEKAN UDOH decisions to reposition THE Special Adviser the Board in Edo State. to the Edo State People can easily see Governor on Media and how many roads we Publicity, Prince have built, how many Kazeem Afegbua, has streets have streetlights. decried the insurgency But the future of our state and general insecurity in lies in the quality of our the country, as an basic education. The evidence of the bad world is unanimous that leadership of the every child, boy or girl People’s Democratic must have access to Party (PDP). basic quality education. He said this in a chat So this is no longer with WEEKEND negotiable. OBSERVER during the “The challenge for this week in Benin City. government is to give He blamed the practical expression to president for giving his this universal undivided attention to commitment. In Nigeria the crisis rocking the we have spent some PDP, instead of focusing time looking at the state
he noted. Oshiomhole declared, “my attitude right now is keep the job if you deserve the job, but if I give you the job in error and I found the following day that I made a mistake that you are not competent, exactly the same way that you celebrate the appointment so we will do the dismissal. The least we can do for the Edo child is to guarantee him good basic quality education”.
“In Edo State we should begin to make a difference. We cannot talk of free basic education and we
continue to see children who ought to be in school roaming round the streets. We see them hawking bananas,
mangoes and all sorts of things. Therefore part of your responsibility for which you have my full support and I am putting in place committees and mechanism to ensure that we translate the idea of compulsory education. What it means is that no parent in Edo state has a choice whether or not a child who ought to be
in school is in school”, he noted. “If any parent refuses to send his child to school, because it is compulsory scheme, they will have to be punished. For me, it is time to move from rhetoric and begin to try to enforce, including using reasonable means Continues on page 4
Blame Insurgency, General Insecurity On PDP - Afegbua
on national issues. According to him, “ the president devotes more time attending to the crisis in his party than addressing national issues such as ASUU strike, medical doctors warning strike and all that”. He said, President Jonathan is incapable of managing the challenges confronting the nation as he has failed to provide security for the overall good of the Nation. The Special Adviser however expressed satisfaction over the formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC), which he described as a noble Continues on page 4
INAUGURATION: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State congratulates Chief Steve Alao, Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) after inaugurating the Board, yesterday.
POLITICS
A Fight Between Two Lions - Pages 8-9
EVENT
World Tourism D a y - Page 18
THE WEEKEND
2
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
e
N ws
CRIME Industrial Court Dismisses Prison’s Objection
L-R: Director, Combat Policy and Tactics, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Abubakar Alhassan, Director of Operations, Commodore Joe Okojie and Deputy Director, Foreign Liaison Desk, Capt. Dickson Olisemenogor, at the Nigerian Navy 3rd Quarter News Conference in Abuja recently.
THE National Industrial Court, Abuja, dismissed a preliminary objection raised by the Nigeria Prison Service to challenge the suit filed against it by its two retired officers. Mr. Lawrence Oguche and Gerald Ikwunnah, who retired from service in 2008, are praying the court to compel the defendant to pay their overseas training allowance owed them. While giving the ruling on Thursday, the Presiding Judge, Justice Oluseun Shogbola, held that the provision of Section 2 of the Public Officers Protection Act could not apply to the case. Shogbola explained that the Limitation Act could not apply to cases that had continuous injury on the party in the suit.
‘My Wife Is Dating Our CDA Chairman, But I Still Love “MY wife is dating our reported Ibrahim to his family, Her,’ Husband Tells Court Community Development they would tell her that “they Association (CDA) Chairman, but I still love her,’’ a security guard, Mr. Ibrahim Hambolu, 40, told an Igando Customary Court, Lagos. Ibrahim, the respondent in a divorce suit filed by Modinat, his wife of 15 years, alleged that the CDA chairman also regularly visited their home to take his meals. “My wife is dating our CDA chairman; she cooks for him and the man comes to our house to take his breakfast, lunch and dinner, while my wife denies me food.
“My wife later packed out on March 20 without my consent to an unknown destination. “I believe our chairman has rented an apartment for her and now she wants to divorce me,’’ the security guard said. However, Ibrahim, who broke down in tears, pleaded with the court not to dissolve the union, as he still loved Modinat. “After she packed out, I have plead with her on phone to come back but she refused,” he said Modinat, 36, a trader, told
Police Arraign Man, 30, For Alleged Theft THE police in Osun arraigned a 30-year-old man, Mosheed Rasaki, in an Osogbo Magistrates’ Court for alleged theft. The prosecutor, Insp. Fagboyinbo Abiodun, told the court that the accused committed the offence on July 7 at about 5 pm, at KM 2, on Iwo-Ibadan expressway. Abiodun said the accused, under false pretence, collected N150, 000 from one Falade Anthony, with a promise to repair his vehicle. He said the accused also damaged the gear of Honda civic CRV 2000 model belonging to the complainant and kept it in his possession. ABIODUN SAID THE ACCUSED IS ARRAIGNED ON A FOUR -COUNT CHARGE, “WHICH CONTRAVENES THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS
419, 451, 249 AND 390 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE CAP 34. VOL.11 LAWS OF OSUN, 2003’’. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Sola Ajayi, the counsel to
the accused, prayed the court to grant her client bail in liberal terms. Magistrate Olusola Aluko granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum. Aluko said the sureties must reside within the jurisdiction of the court, provide evident of tax certificate, two passport photographs and affidavit of means. The case was adjourned to November 18 for mention.
the court that she was fed up with the union and wanted divorce. The petitioner, a mother of three, said that she filed the divorce suit on the grounds of alleged battery and threat to her business. Modinat alleged that Ibrahim started beating her in the first year of their marriage. “Ibrahim is a hot tempered person; he gets angry at the slightest provocation,” she said, adding that, “even when I am pregnant he beats me’’. She said that her husband had on several occasion destroyed goods in her shop over allegation of infidelity or anytime they had a misunderstanding. The petitioner described Ibrahim as an ingrate, who
did not appreciate the sacrifices she made to the union. Modinat alleged that she borrowed money from her cooperative society to buy a motorcycle for him. “I bought a motorcycle (Okada) for my husband to use for commercial purposes but he stays at home and does not work. “He later sold the motorcycle without my consent and I do not know what he used the money for,” the estranged wife said. The petitioner said that her man never gave her housekeeping money and claimed that in his village husbands do not give their wives money. She said that anytime she
A House wife, Kemi Jide of Edun Area, Ilorin, prayed an Ilorin Area Court to dissolve her two-year-old marriage to Olorunfemi, for alleged battery. Kemi, 27, told the court that the marriage had not produce any child, adding
that she was fed-up with her husband’s harshness. “My husband is fond of beating me unnecessarily and would at times curse me and lock me inside our bedroom,” she said. The petitioner told the court that her husband
Kwaza said the accused deep his hand in Maigari’s pocket, while he was passing by and stole his Nokia C3 phone. He said the offence contravened the provisions of Section 287 of the Penal Code. Section 287 provides a maximum of five years imprisonment or with fine or both for anyone convicted of the offence, but the accused
pleaded not guilty to the charge. The magistrate, Mr. Iliya Aku, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000 with one surety in like sum. Aku said the surety, who must reside within the jurisdiction of the court, must submit two passport sized photographs to the court’s registrar in addition to having a designated job. He adjourned the case to October 9 for further hearing.
Man, 24, Docked For Allegedly Stabbing Bar Tender Over N300 A 24-year-old man, Ismail Badaru, appeared before an Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court sitting at Isabo for allegedly stabbing a bar
Wife Seeks Marriage Dissolution For Alleged Consistent Battering
Police Arraign Man, 28, For Theft
THE police have arraigned Nuhu Zaria, 28, of Shopping Centre Mararaba, in Nasarawa State, in a Mararaba Senior Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing a cell phone valued at N16, 000. The prosecutor, Cpl. Stephen Kwaza, told the court that Amos Ishaya Maigari of ECWA1 Street, Masaka, reported the case to the Sani Abacha Police Station.
cannot intervene in the matter because her marriage was not properly contracted in the native way’’. Modinat urged the court to dissolve the union as she was no longer in love and can no longer cope with husband’s battery and maltreatment. The court president, Mr. R.I Adeyeri, adjourned the case to October 3 for further hearing
She dismissed the preliminary objection and ordered the defendant to file its statement of defence to allow the hearing in the case to commence. It would be recalled that when the matter came up for hearing in March, the Defence Counsel, Mr. Sam Obong, raised a preliminary objection. Obong contended that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter on grounds that it was statute barred since the action was filed after three months when the cause of action arose. In his reply, the claimants’ Counsel, Mr. Daniel Onuh, urged the court to dismiss the objection, as the Public Officers Protection Act could not affect a case of injury. The claimants had approached the court to seek for an order compelling the defendant to pay $45,917(N7.3m) being their unpaid estacode in respect of one year training course in India. They are alleging that the defendant made them to use their personal fund with the promise to refund them on their return in 2005. The claimants told the court that they attended the course between August 2004 and July 2005, and that the defendant had refused to pay the money till date. The case was adjourned to October 29 for hearing.
always frustrate and blame her for their childless misfortune. She urged the court to dissolve the marriage, adding: “I cannot continue to endure in an unproductive marriage and with a man that has no respect for his wife’’. Jide urged the court not to dissolve the marriage, adding that he still loves and had interest in the petitioner. “I promise to change because of the love I have for my wife. And I will never raise my hand on her anymore,” he said. He prayed the court to grant another day for him to make reconciliatory step. The presiding judge, Mr. Ibrahim Abdulquadri, adjourned the case to October 16, for possible reconciliation or continuation of hearing.
tender following N300 change dispute. The police prosecutor, Insp Augustine Ozimini, said that the offence was committed on Tuesday at about 9 pm at Iwe-Iroyin, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta. He told the court that the accused stabbed one Jacob Opebiyi on the neck and right elbow with a broken bottle over the dispute. “ The accused bought a bottle of beer from the bar tender who did not have change, Badaru got angry and stabbed Opebiyi severally,” he said. He said the offence contravened sections 320 (2) and 249 (d) of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun, 2006. THE ACCUSED, WHO IS FACING A TWO-COUNT CHARGE OF ASSAULT AND CONDUCT LIKELY TO CAUSE A BREACH OF THE PEACE, PLEADED NOT GUILTY.
The Magistrate, Mr. Emanuel Adekunte, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum. The case was adjourned to October 23 for mention.
THE WEEKEND
3
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
e
N ws Killings: Abuja Uncompleted Buildings To Be Demolished By JOSES SEDE
IF DECLARATION BY THE MINISTER OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ALHAJI B ALA M OHAMMED , IS ANYTHING TO GO BY , THE UNCOMPLETED BUILDING IN WHICH EIGHT PERSONS WERE KILLED ON
MONDAY
WOULD
SOON BE DEMOLISHED.
Speaking at a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Public Safety and National Security, Alhaji Mohammed announced that illegal and uncompleted buildings in Abuja metropolis would be demolished. September 20, seven persons, alleged to be members of the Boko Haram sect, were killed by security operatives at an uncompleted building near Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja. He said the FCT administration would no longer condone any delay by developers in completing their buildings after being allocated plots of land. “We will ensure that all buildings that have exceeded the two year period approved for
building will be demolished. “If we cannot demolish, we will make it a Police Post, this time around we will take a definite action,” he said. The minister blamed the inability of the FCT Department of Development Control to carry out its mandate on frivolous court injunctions obtained by developers. H E SAID THAT BETWEEN 3,000 AND 5,000 DOUBLE ALLOCATIONS EXISTED IN THE TERRITORY
DUE
TO
REVOCATION
AND
RE -
ALLOCATION OF PLOTS AS A RESULT
OF
COURT
INJUNCTIONS.
According to him, 100,000 illegal buildings have been identified since he took over as minister of the FCT
L-R: President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ABUCCIMA), Mr. Solomon Nyaba, former Chairmen, Otunba Dele Oye and Mr. Peter Okolo, at the opening of the 8th Abuja International Trade Fair in Abuja recently.
2015: Observers Will Be Responsible For
Their Security By JOSES SEDE
CHAIRMAN of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has warned all local and foreign observers coming for 2015 general elections to make adequate provisions for their own security. Speaking yesterday at a oneday workshop entitled:
“Election Observation Outside Nigeria; Lessons Learnt,” he maintained that the commission would only focus its attention on engaging security agencies for the overall conduct of the elections. Apart from Venezuela where the state prescribes the areas where the observers should visit, he said that there
It’s A National Disgrace If Shekau Is By JOSES SEDE Alive - Olanipekun DIRECTOR of Advanced Centre for Sustainable Development, Dr. Bode Olaonipekun, yesterday, declared that it would amount to national disgrace for Nigeria and the military if the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau is still alive. The military had claimed few weeks ago that Shekau died from wounds sustained during troops’ raids on the sect’s hideout in the northeast. But Shekau in a video released on Wednesday said he is still alive and kicking. Addressing journalists in Abuja, Olaonipekun said the military was too quick to speak on the issue when it didn’t recover the dead body or had enough evidence to show that the
leader was actually dead. HE SAID: “THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS NOT DONE TOO BADLY IN THE FIGHT, BUT I WILL QUICKLY ADD THAT NOT TOO WELL. THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS TO THIS ISSUE OF TERRORISM , FROM MY OWN POINT OF VIEW.
F IRSTLY, I
THINK OUR ATTITUDE OF TALKING TOO MUCH IS TAKING ITS TOLL ON THE ISSUE OF SECURITY. BEFORE ANYTHING HAPPENS
EVERYBODY
IS
TALKING , THE SECURITY CHIEFS ARE TALKING , THE SPECIAL ADVISERS TO THE GOVERNMENT ARE TALKING, MEANWHILE
THESE
ARE
ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE REGARDED AS SECURITY INFORMATION.
“Handling security information is not just saying everything, because when you give all the information to your enemy, the battle is as good as lost. They might have
the strategies they are reserving, but giving hasty or too much information might not help matters and now if not a disgrace to us as a nation, with all apologies to the security operatives it might be a disgrace to them on the long run if truly Shekau is N9m Scam: alive.” By JOSES SEDE
… INEC To Use Electronic Accreditation For Elections Speaking earlier,
is no country where the electoral commission or the state provides security for the observers. He said: “What we do in Nigeria is to liaise with the security agencies to provide security for the overall conduct of the elections, the observers can make their own security arrangements. “We even have some countries like India that do not allow anybody to observe their elections. However, we accept that the presence of the foreign observers will add credibility to the outcome of the elections.” To ensure free, fair and credible elections in 2015, he said that both the leadership of the commission and staff have visited about 16 countries for peer review and know the importance of planning ahead for the conduct of a tasking project
like elections. According to him, the application of latest Information communication technology has helped in most countries, especially in the developed ones, to ensure credible elections and politicians in those countries don’t take elections as a must win like what is happening in most African countries. “Technology has helped to remove some logistics problems which INEC will take lessons from, but I must add that the use of technology in Nigeria would be difficult in the collation of results so as to avoid what happened in Kenya where a lot of crisis ensued because of that. In matured democracies, even ordinary A4 paper is used as ballot and nothing happens,” he stated.
Court Orders Arrests Of Polish Woman
AN Abuja High Court has issued a warrant for
the arrest of a Polish woman, Mrs. Dora Gilmaska, who is standing trial for a N9 million scam. Justice Abubakar Umar issued the warrant at the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday as Gilmaska failed to appear before the court. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Gilmaska, the Executive Officer of Icon Media and
Marketing Agency Limited, for allegedly forging and issuing a dud cheque of N9 million to one Tayo Olugbemi in 2012. The judge issued the warrant as counsel to the accused, Mr. Chris Okoye, did not offer any reason why his client failed to appear in court. Umar said when arrested, Gilmaska should be kept in the custody of the EFCC till October 8, being the next date of hearing. The judge also fixed
October 8 for adoption of final written addresses by prosecution and defendant counsel. Earlier, EFCC counsel, Mr. Sam Ugwuegulam, told the court that the case was slated for adoption of final written addresses. However, counsel to the accused urged the court to adjourn following the absence of his client. Okoye said that his client had not communicated to him her reason for not attending the trial.
the National Commissioner in charge of Election Monitoring and Observation, Dr. Ishmale Igbani, said the biggest challenge facing the commission is how to conduct a free, fair credible, transparent and clean election in 2015. He charged all the operatives that will play one role or the other in the conduct of the elections to be above board especially as there are now rising intimidation, death threats, blackmail and all sorts of intrigues. Meanwhile, INEC will use electronic accreditation for voters in the next general elections. T HE B AYELSA S TATE R ESIDENT E LECTORAL C OMMISSIONER , M R. E DWIN NWATALARI, DISCLOSED THIS ON THURSDAY WHILE PRESENTING THE COMMISSION’S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2012 TO 2015 AT A STAKEHOLDERS ’ MEETING IN YENAGOA. He said the commission had concluded all the arrangements to begin a pilot test of the schemes in some states where governorship elections had been scheduled for 2014. H E SAID : “A LTHOUGH WE CANNOT DO ELECTRONIC VOTING BUT WE WILL DO ELECTRONIC ACCREDITATION.”
He added that the commission introduced the scheme to consolidate the gains of the 2011 elections. Nwatalari stated the decision was also taken to appreciate the goodwill the commission had so far enjoyed from members of the
THE WEEKEND
4
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
e
N ws Edo Plans To Computerise Teachers’ Posting
Continued from page 1 to try to enforce the law, “he said. Oshiomhole who debunked insinuations that government would downsize teachers said, “This state is not an educationally disadvantaged state. We have young men and women who have the requisite qualification, competence and ready to teach. We are not about to downsize the number of teachers. We need to ensure that any man or woman in the classroom has the requisite qualification and knowledge to manage the school and when the poor and not so poor people take their child to school they should be rest assured that they are in the hands of a competent teacher”. Responding on behalf of others, Chairman of Board, Mr. Steve Alao, thanked the governor for the confidence
reposed in the members and pledged their commitment to discharging their duties without fear or favour. According to the Chairman, “we are aware of the enormity of the assignment given to us. We will work hard enough to discharge our duties with
diligence, integrity and accountability and with all the core values that have become the hallmark of your administration. We promise not to let you and the good people of Edo State down”. The eight member board includes representatives of NUT, Academic Staff Union of Secondary School Teachers.
Governor, Prince Kazeem Afegbua said his relationship with the governor is good. He said that the comrade governor ’s intellectual capability is not in doubt. “His act of oratory is something to emulate and his ability to respond to issues is worth applauding. He has worked tirelessly for the good of the Edo people; his effort has
December, 2012”. He however debunked the claims that the motion was moved in accordance with the directive of Governor Adams Oshiomhole stressing that the motion had been on since December 3rd 2012. He attributed the shortage of science teachers in rural areas to their lack of interest in teaching in the villages. In addition, Hon. Abdulrazak said that the large number of teachers in the urban areas is against the teacher –student ratio as recommended by the United Nations standard of education maintaining that this was at the detriment of the students in the villages. He said the House was making a resolution to ensure that qualified indigenes of a
local government were employed to enable them teach in their constituency. He however described children both in the rural and urban areas as future leaders who are to be adequately catered for especially in the area of education and urged teachers to adequately perform their duties. He appealed to stakeholders in the education sector to ensure a total compliance with the free education policy of SUBEB and the state government. Hon Momoh rated the standard of education in the state as high. He commended the teachers for their laudable efforts in curbing examination malpractice and keeping it at bay. See full text of interview on page 6.
Ministry Gives Out Free Anti-Rabbies through out their life Spam. By DOROTHY Vaccine He therefore urged all to EGBEBAMWONYI AS the world marks ‘rabbies day’ today, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in collaboration with Edo State Chapter of the Nigerian veterinary medical Association are giving out free anti-rabbies vaccination to dogs and cats in the state. The |Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. C.O.U. Aibaogun made this known yesterday in a broadcast to the state while speaking on the need for commemoration, preparation to tackle the age long menace and prevention. According to Dr. Aibaogun, because of the significance of the disease to mankind, the World Health Organisation (W.H.O) had set aside a day within the last week of September every year to celebrate it, stressing that rabbies is a disease that causes inflammation of the brain in warm blooded animals, thereby causing severe nervous aberrations. He maintained that the common mad dog disease which is grouped as zoonosis
By INNOCENT OMOAKA THE Edo State Local Government Election Appeal Tribunal yesterday held its inaugural sitting in Benin City. In the opening remarks, the Chairman of the Local Government Appeal Tribunal,
Blame Insurgency, General Insecurity commended globally”. On PDP been He described the relationship between Edo
Continued from page 1 idea. He said that this would give Nigerians a viable alternative in the forthcoming 2015 elections. Prince Afegbua, also stated that the states governed by the opposition party have performed better than those of the PDP. He therefore urged Nigerians to vote the APC into power in 2015 to ensure a continuity of its good works. Speaking on his personal relationship with the Comrade
Teacher-Student Ratio Policy To Revolutionise By ODINUKAEZE Education - Hon. Momoh NNENNA/ UTI ANIEKAN UDOH A member of the Edo State House of Assembly representing Etsako West Constituency I, Hon. Sheik Abdulrazak Momoh has described the motion on the student-ratio policy as an effort to revolutionise education in the state. Hon. Momoh made this statement during the week in a chat with WEEKEND OBSERVER in Benin City. According to him, “the motion is on the clarion call on the stakeholders in the educational sector of Edo state, to complement the efforts of the comrade governor in regularizing primary and secondary schools as required by the rules of the House of Assembly on the 3 rd of
Edo Local Government Election Appeal Tribunal Holds Inaugural Sitting
is transmitted from Animal to man, most commonly through biting from an infected animal as dogs, cats, foxes and rodents as well as by other forms of contact. The Acting Permanent Secretary said prevention is only by regular vaccination of the aforementioned pets after 3 months of birth and thereafter once in a year
avail themselves of the opportunity offered by the Ministry and N.V.M.A. to give vaccination to dogs and cats against rabbies in the state fir the next three days at the state veterinary clinic, G.R.A Benin City and four other location in the state. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Rabbies: Understand it to defeat it”.
Jail Break: Court Orders
Remand Of 29-Yr-Old AN Akure Magistrates’ Court has remanded one Jimoh Asuku, 29, for allegedly escaping from prison. Chief Magistrate Johnson Adelegan ordered that the accused be remanded pending when the case would come up for mention on November 13. The police prosecutor, Insp Ibrahim Zakari, had told the court that the accused unlawfully escaped from the Olokuta Medium Security Prison in Akure, Ondo State. He said the accused committed the offence on
June 30 at about 1.30 a.m. at Olokuta Medium Security Prison. Zakari said the accused had been remanded for armed robbery while the prosecution was awaiting legal advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution. According to him, the offence is contrary to and punishable under section 135(a) of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol.1 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the onecourt charge.
state government and journalists in the state as cordial as they are members of the fourth estate of any society. He said that it was important for the government to maintain a good working relationship with the media as they have worked tirelessly in showcasing the misdemeanor in some states and the federal government. Mr. Kazeem urged Edo people to dominant forces in the state to support the comrade governor in taking Edo state to greater heights.
Hon. Justice E.F. Ikponmwen (Mrs.) leading other members, Hon. Justice A. Edodo – Eruaga (Mrs.) and E. O. Akhamioje gave the assurance of accelerated hearing to the appeals before the court. Hon. Justice Ikponmwen also sued for the cooperation among counsel and the parties involved in the appeal for speedy hearing within the time frame stipulated by section 85(3) of the 2012 Electoral Acts for hearing of appeals. She however lamented the recent kidnapping of the chairman of the lower Local Government Election Tribunal, Hon. Justice Iyobosa Okungbowa. When the first case with file No. ED/LG/APP/2/13 involving Owan West Local Government Ward 3 Councillorship election was called for hearing, counsel to the 1st and 2nd respondents, Tunde Oisekoje Esq. leading
Stanley Imogie Esq. applied for abridging of date for the appeal. Hon. Justice Ikponmwen however struck out the motion for appeal as submitted by the counsel to the appellants Santos Femi Owootorie to give room for abridgement of date for hearing of appeal. In addition, 10 days each were served to both counsel to the appellants and respondents for filing and replying of brief respectively. The Tribunal however adjourned hearing for adoption of written brief to the 21st day of October 2013. In a similar development, in the case with file No.Ed/ LG/APP/1A/13 involving the councillorship elections in Esan West Local Government, the Appeal Tribunal adjourned hearing to the 30th September, 2013 to ensure hearing notice was served to the respondent counsel who was absent in court.
NBA, Others Condemn Abduction Of Okungbowa
THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the recent abduction of Justice Daniel Okungbowa of the Edo State High Court, adding that the development called for serious attention. Newsmen reports that Okungbowa was reported to have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen, on September 25 at Ekpoma, on his way to Abuja. Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), president of the NBA, told newsmen that the development was “worrisome‘‘, and that urgent steps should be taken to address it. Wali said it was incomprehensible why gunmen have suddenly resorted to abducting members of the judiciary. “The situation is really disturbing. I do not understand why their acts are now directed at members of the judiciary; this is indeed a source of serious concern for our nation, “ he said. He, therefore, urged the government to ensure that a more efficient security network was provided for judges in the country. The chairman, NBA Lagos branch, Mr. Alex Muoka, also condemned the act, expressing dissatisfaction with the state of security in the country. Muoka said that lawyers and judges were members of the larger society, and that the spread of kidnapping should be checked. He, therefore, urged the government to be decisive on matters touching on security, in the interest of public safety. Mr. Nelson Ogbuanya, a Nigerian representative of the American Bar Association (ABA), and first Vice Chairman, NBA Lagos, described the incident as a “bad omen“. According to Ogbuanya, the abduction of a member of the bench only deposits fear and anxiety in the minds of members of the bar and bench. “The recent development is very unfortunate as it will only succeed in making other judges feel threatened to carry out their statutory duties.
“I wonder if lawyers and judges are now being abducted because of the position they occupy. It is a bad omen which calls for urgent remedy,” Ogbuanya said. He called on security agencies to take drastic steps in forestalling future occurrences. A Lagos based lawyer and social critic, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, also condemned the act, saying that it was
‘barbaric‘. He blamed the rising trend of abduction in the society on the rate of unemployment, which he said had shattered the aspirations of so many youths. He stressed that government should create adequate job opportunities to cater for the country’s teeming youths. “Our leaders must pay less attention to affluence, and begin to focus on ways of impacting positively on the citizens, “ he said. Adegboruwa also noted that it was absurd to think of amnesty for kidnappers.
THE traditional marriage ceremony between Iziegbe Asemota and Paul Osarenmwinda comes up today, Saturday September 28, 2013 at No. 7 Edeki Street, Irhirhi Road, off ADP Ogba/Airport Road, Benin City by 12noon. According to the father of the bride, Mr. Dave Asemota, the registry marriage took place at the Oredo marriage registry in Benin City.
THE WEEKEND
5
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
“Thus Nigerian democracy is founded on rabid corruption and greed; hence the masses are tied to the grinding wheel of poverty, disenchantment, discontent and disenfranchisement. Everywhere you go to in Nigeria today tells the tale of sorrow, resignation, tattered penury, arrested development, huge unemployment, failed critical infrastructures, restiveness, terrorism, insurgence and what have you.”
Our Bungled Democracy THE emergence of democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999 was a welcomed relief to all and sundry, based on the assurance that democracy is the best form of government for the people. In the civilized world or may I call it Western Democracies, their practice of democracy is almost perfect, though there are still some flaws associated with it. On the other hand Nigerian democracy is no democracy at all. Most of the time we deceive ourselves most painfully and laughably that we practice democracy. It is in fact distressingly laughable that we call what we practice under a civilian government since 1999 as democracy. What is obtainable in Nigeria is tragicdemocracy if I may use such a word. Nigeria democracy since 1999 to date is a flawed democracy, it is mimicry of democracy it is a travesty of democracy, it is a mockery of democracy, even as the civilised world silently stare at us with deep pity and sorrow considering our circumstances and situation. Their reasoning based on the thought that the worst civilian rule is better than the best military government in Africa or in other part of the world. However, the reality is that our democracy is
not much different from the military rule which we are used to in Nigeria. Most Nigerians in their inner most mind, feels disdainful about this democracy and would actually prefer military rule. Our democracy reveals most essentially that the will to power is governed and motivated by selfishness and greed and the allure of materialism. Nigeria so-called leaders, so-called democratic leaders are despots and tyrants. They are thieves and rogues whose sole ambition is to amass the nation’s wealth for themselves and their cohorts, leaving the people ever so impoverished and wretched. Thus Nigerian democracy is founded on rabid corruption and greed; hence the masses are tied to the grinding wheel of p o v e r t y , disenchantment, discontent and disenfranchisement. Everywhere you go to in Nigeria today tells the tale of sorrow, resignation, tattered penury, arrested development, huge unemployment, failed critical infrastructures, restiveness, terrorism, insurgence and what have you. Evidently these are the fall out of the rabbit corruption and greed that is rife in the nations body politics today. Today, extreme
• Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
• Late Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua
• President Goodluck Jonathan
poverty abounds across the length and breath of this godforsaken nation where her leaders have looted her to the marrow and the masses just continue to wallow in their dens of suffering and abandonment. The suffering people
of Nigeria know that their leaders are even richer than the so-
called nation itself. The suffering people of Nigeria know that their leaders are thieves, worst than armed robbers and kidnappers. The suffering people of Nigeria knows that their leaders are too greedy, too corrupt, too selfish, too self centred to ever do that which is righteous in the sight of God and in the sight of man. The suffering people of Nigeria knows that Nigerian democracy na wayo, hence there is backward and arrested d e v e l o p m e n t everywhere. The suffering people of Nigeria know that Nigerians want good roads, good schools, qualitative education, a functional healthcare delivery but these are currently charade in our so-called democracy. The suffering people of Nigeria know that they need inexpensive low-cost housing; they want gainful employment and a country where they can live in peace and prosperity. But the suffering people of Nigeria also know too well that Nigerian democracy has failed them woefully, and have become increasingly weary of sustained ongoing trend of bigotry
and ineptitude in the governance of the country. The suffering people of Nigeria now desire a change, a real change. They want true democracy as obtainable in the civilized world, a democracy that would care for them. A democracy that would wipe away their tears and heartaches. Indeed the suffering people of Nigeria are yearning for a positive change, progressive change, true democratic change, true political change. In summing up, right now the Nigeria nation is at a momentous period in its checkard history, as the forces of darkness which has taken over the entire land continues to unleash further hardship for the citizenry. The onus is on the citizenry to take their destines in their own hands rather than relying on failed promises. The Nigerian citizenry needs a new vision of reality to help them deal with their passitivity and ignorance. The citizenry needs to be awakened to a new consciousness of what democracy entails, even if they have to sacrifice themselves.
“Our democracy reveals most essentially that the will to power is governed and motivated by selfishness and greed and the allure of materialism.”
THE WEEKEND
6
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
n We Are Complementing The Effort
E counter
Of The Comrade Governor - Hon. Momoh
HONONOURABLE Sheik Abdulrazak Momoh is an Edo State law maker. He represents Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State at the State House of Assembly. He is also a member of the House committee on education. He recently raised a motion on the floor of the House on the student- teacher ratio. In this interview with Editor, WEEKEND OBSERVER Henry BALOGUN, ODINUKAEZE NNENNA AND UTI ANIEKAN, Sheik Momoh, bears his mind on issues relating to the motion. Excerpts:Can we know you sir? I am Hon sheik Abdulrazak Momoh. I represent Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State. I attended Ahmadu Bello University, University of Lagos and Igbinedion University respectively. I won the election into the House of Assembly in 2011, at the request of my people. I have been a grassroots man and I intend remaining as that. How has it been over the last 2years in the House of Assembly? I thank God for his grace and mercy. When I came, I started by familiarizing with the terrain. Before I came in, there was a vacuum and projects were not put in the budget for my constituency. But now, I can now tell you that my constituency is now adequately represented in terms of provision of basic and social amenities. Even remote villages like Jakpe and Awain are on the budget.
You sponsored the motion on the student- teacher ratio. Can you explain in details what this is all about? Sincerely, the clarion call on stakeholders in the educational sector of Edo State, is to compliment the efforts of the Comrade Governor, Adams Oshiomhole in regularizing primary and secondary schools. This is required according to the rules of the House of Assembly on the 3rd of December 2012. The House requires that a motion must be published thrice before it is debated on the floor of the House. I had written this motion before the screening of teachers began on 3rd December, 2012. I did this because there are lots of well furnished schools in my constituency but they lack teachers especially in the science subjects. Teachers do not want to be transferred to rural
areas. In the cities, there are more teachers than in the rural areas. Schools like Idia College and Edo College, have up to 40 teachers each and this outweighs the teacherstudent ratio as recommended by the united nations standard
admission fees for their children and wards. This was because of the fact that schools were being renovated and this saw an influx of children from private to public schools in the area. Some teachers were found culpable and I threatened to
tomorrow. If we do not bring them up, who are we going to hand over to? Am sure this is the same reason the Comrade Governor ok the steps he has taken in trying to improve the education sector. Don’t you think it will be better to employ
• Hon. Abdulrazak Momoh
of education. This is at the detriment of students in the rural areas. Again, I received lots of complains from my constituency that the students were forced to buy some books all in the name of compulsory books. They also complained of paying
report them to the appropriate authority. The inspectorate division, should ensure that there is compliance with the free education policy and ensure teachers posted to rural areas perform their duties. As far as I am concerned, this children are the leaders of
more teachers? One of the resolutions in the House, is that in the next set of employment, indigenes of a local government who are qualified in science subjects and English, should be employed on the condition that they will remain in the village to
teach. Will the government allow it? Well, it is a recommendation. If it were to be a law, it will be obligatory. Now it is adversary. If something like this comes up, there would be an outcry for national integration and unity. There may also be problems if a teacher from that same community, disciplines a child as a result of familiarity. Also, there are rural areas where there are lots of graduates but cannot be accessed except by canoes. Such people can be engaged. There is joy when one serves his people. I was a teacher for 20years and I can say that during the period, I was going from Agbede to Auchi. During the election, my capability and integrity were not in doubt by the students and over 20,000 graduates that I have churned out. How do you rate the standard of education in Edo State? I must say that the standard of education in the state has increased. E x a m i n a t i o n malpractice has reduced drastically. The teachers are trying to some extent. Vision for education in the State? Edo people are very liberal minded people. They have the hunger for learning. I see a future where everyone will be educated.
“Sincerely, the clarion call on stakeholders in the educational sector of Edo State, is to compliment the efforts of the Comrade Governor, Adams Oshiomhole in regularizing primary and secondary schools. This is required according to the rules of the House of Assembly on the 3rd of December 2012.”
THE WEEKEND
7
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
THE WEEKEND
8
o
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
P litics
A Fight Between Two Lions
FIVE months ago I left the PDP and I told the world why I chose to do so. I also said that the party had hit the rocks and that it was a sinking ship. Few believed me at the time but today even the most chronic of doubting Thomas’ have changed their minds. The division within the ruling party has now become so self-evident that only a fool would believe that things can ever be the same again between those that honestly believed that they had cornered the market on our country and that they would rule Nigeria for the next 100 years. Never in the history of our nation has the ruling
and caused them to turn their swords upon one another. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE PDP STOPPED OPERATING
LIKE A POLITICAL PARTY QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO .
FOR
THE LAST FEW
YEARS IT HAS BEEN NOTHING MORE THAN A CULT O F PERSONALITY AND POWER- A CONTRAPTION THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE SIMPLY TO TAKE POWER, UNDER THE GUISE OF DEMOCRACY , AND TO KEEP THAT POWER AND INFINITUM .
IT’S
SHEER
INCOMPETENCE GOVERNANCE
IN AT
THE
FEDERAL LEVEL IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS AND IT ’ S INSENSITIVITY TO THE PLIGHT OF THE ORDINARY PEOPLE AND TO THE FORTUNES OF
NIGERIA ARE MANIFEST FOR YET THAT IS OF
ALL TO SEE.
• Tukur
party at the centre suffered the kind of division and open rupture that the PDP has suffered in the last few weeks and months. To most this is a blessing in disguise but to the members of the party itself it is a terrible affliction and nothing less than a curse of m o n u m e n t a l proportions. Yet anyone that is familiar with the way God operates will understand what is going on and will appreciate the fact that only the Lord could have done this- He has divided their tongues
By FEMI FANI-KAYODE
THE LEAST CONCERN TO THOSE THAT CONTROL AND LEAD THE CULT.
This is because their only purpose and raison d’etre for being together is to hold on to power at all costs and to share the resources of our nation amongst themselves. With that power comes the most extreme and i n s u f f e r a b l e manifestation of arrogance and this explains why no-one, no matter how big or small, matters to the PDP. As long as they hold the centre and control the purse strings they
• President Goodluck Jonathan
believe that every single Nigerian not only has a price but also bows and trembles before the Almighty Federal Government. They forget that with hubris always comes nemesis and that like the mythological Greek character Icarus, the closer they fly to the sun the more the wax that holds their wings together begins to melt. What is going on in the ruling party today has little to do with the ordinary people of Nigeria. It is simply an internal and brutal struggle for the very soul of the party which is being waged between the new order, led by a relatively weak, inexperienced yet desperate President and the old order, led by a highly experienced, dangerous, calculating, patient and ruthless
former President. The latter group is fully backed by elements from the old ruling military establishment who have effectively been running the affairs of this country and determining who would become what since 1966. President Goodluck Jonathan came to power on the backs of these people though he never asked for it and, in fairness to him, he now seeks to assert himself and break free of them. They, on the other hand, see the PDP as their construct and their creation. They see it as THEIR platform. They believe that they literally own it and that they also own the President that they afforded the rare privilage of mounting it in order to acquire power by their collective resolve. That platform
was conceived and established by a tiny group of exceptionally powerful men led by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and General Aliyu Gusau in 1998 almost immediately after General Sani Abacha was murdered and General Abdulsalami Abubakar came to power. It’s its objective was to keep Nigeria one, to bring General Olusegun Obasanjo to power, to keep the progressives and radical elements out of it and to protect the interests of the powers that be, the ruling class and their business associates. Given this scenario it does not take a genius to figure out the fact that the stakes
controlling the PDP, they believe, will end up controlling Nigeria with its vast oil and gas resources and it’s enormous influence on the African continent. What they fail to appreciate is that once the internal struggle for the soul of the party becomes too pronounced, too bitter, too violent and too extreme, it creates the potential for destroying the very foundation of the platform itself and it may well result in the loss of power for them all. With an increasingly disciplined and wellorganised opposition in the form of the APC, whose ranks are growing by the day, this seems increasingly likely. Consequently for
• Anenih
here are enormously high. In the minds of the protagonists and antagonists one thing is clear- whoever ends up
the first time in the last 14 years of democracy in this country, as a consequence of the divisions within the PDP, the opposition Continued on pg. 9
“Never in the history of our nation has the ruling party at the centre suffered the kind of division and open rupture that the PDP has suffered in the last few weeks and months. To most this is a blessing in disguise but to the members of the party itself it is a terrible affliction and nothing less than a curse of monumental proportions. Yet anyone that is familiar with the way God operates will understand what is going on and will appreciate the fact that only the Lord could have done this- He has divided their tongues and caused them to turn their swords upon one another.”
THE WEEKEND
9
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
o
P litics
A Fight Between Two Lions Continued from pg. 8
may well be set to take power by 2015. Yet regardless of this both sides in this internal conflict are so drunk with power and the lust for it that they fail to see or appreciate
Nigeria because it clearly signals their collective end but it is not good for either of the two warring factions themselves. My view is that at the end of the day both sides will lose simply because one will come out on top, though
• Atiku
this point. To them, there is no opposition and there is no other platform that will be allowed to take power. They believe that even if they fight one another from morning till night for every day of the month for the next one year, once an election comes whoever wins that fight and ends up controlling the party can, and will rig the elections and take power in 2015. It is this strange and peculiar disposition and mindset that has seized their minds that moves me to describe what is going on within the PDP today as a fight unto death between two factions of blind, desperate and reckless men. Both sides are so used to power and the wielding of it that they are not mindful of the implications of their recklessness and extreme and uncompromising positions. This may be good for
badly wounded, weakened, dissipated and diminished and the other will be utterly crushed. Whichever way it goes by the time this fight is over the party will end up being a shadow of its former self and a pitiful counterfeit version of the original brand. Given the circumstances, there can be little doubt in anyone’s mind that the glory days of the PDP are longer over and more likely than not shall never return. Permit me to end this contribution by making an analogy. The lion is the king of the jungle and the story is often told about how he controls his pride and runs his kingdom. We can learn a little from that here. The lion remains head of the pride for as long as he lives. He has all the females at his beck and call and he gets to eat before anyone else even though he rarely
hunts with the others. His role is simply to lead and to rule, to lay down the law, to define the boundaries, to give orders, to judge others, to enjoy the spoils of office, to mate, to procreate and to protect the pride from outside aggression. He is the king and he settles all disputes with a mighty roar and an iron claw. So protective of his own power is he that the minute his own male offspring begins to approach adolesecence or manhood he throws them out of the pride to go and fend for themselves. If they insist on staying he will fight and kill them. Noone challenges his authority and neither does he brook or tolerate any opposition to his rule. He may delegate power or authority from time to time to others, but as long as he lives, he is king. The only way to remove him from power is for a younger and stronger lion to come from outside, or indeed within, and to kill him. Once that is done the younger lion becomes king and remains king until he is also toppled and killed by another. What is going on in the PDP today is very
• Wammako
similar to the lion’s dance. We have, on the one hand, the old lion and his loyalists, who delegated authority and power to his favoured son 2011 and who now wishes to re-assert his authority and reign him back in. In his infinite mercy and wisdom the old lion has decided that the young one is no longer fit to carry out the assignment that he was given a few years back and it is time for him to enthrone another. Unfortunately for the old lion the young one that he put in power in 2011 has other plans and he and his loyalists have decided that they will not only refuse to go but that they will also defy and kill the old lion and effectively become the new king. No longer satisfied with delegated authority, the young lion has decided to take over the whole pride for himself and to establish a new order. He is young, he is strong, he has tasted power and he believes that his time has come to take the kingdom for himself and enjoy the pride. This is where we are today. One thing is very clearat the end of all this either the old lion will prevail, will live and will continue to rule or the
new lion will do so. It is either one or the other. They cannot BOTH live and they cannot BOTH rule. The law of the jungle is simple and clear- there can only be one king. For the new lion to lead the pride the old lion has to die. And for the purposes of clarity here
incompetence and bondage. It will be for bad if it gets so acrimonious, so violent and so bitter that either side decides to adopt methods that are not lawful or constitutional in order to thwart the other and thereby destabilise our country and sink our democratic
• Kawu Baraje
I speak of political death and not physical death. The loyalists of both the old and the new lion will continue to slug it out for the next few weeks and months until one prevails and the other is utterly destroyed. The implications of this bitter internal struggle for our country will either be for good or for bad depending on how the crisis is managed. It will be for good if it finally results in the death of the PDP and delivers our country and people from it’s oppression, arrogance,
boat. The problem is that when blind men fight with the sort of rage and desperation that we are witnessing they are totally oblivious to the consequences and implications of their actions on all those around them. For this reason more than any other we must pray and hope that the struggle for power within the PDP between the forces of the old lion and the new one does not eventually consume Nigeria and set us back to the pre-1999 order.
“Yet regardless of this both sides in this internal conflict are so drunk with power and the lust for it that they fail to see or appreciate this point. To them, there is no opposition and there is no other platform that will be allowed to take power.”
THE WEEKEND
10
o
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
P litics NOBODY likes being bullied especially when you are the President of Africa’s sleeping giant nation. This was exactly what PDP insurgents did to President Goodluck Jonathan by breaking away from the old PDP to form a “new PDP.” The PDP insurgents dealt a lethal blow to President Jonathan’s political ego and his 2015 presidential ambition. Literally, Mr. Jonathan has been badly deflated and for now he’s trapped in an oasis of anonymity. As Mr. Jonathan trudges through his ruined party, he smells destruction everywhere. He knows the invading rebels would soon overrun him if nothing was done to stop the invasion. In the midst of the confusion and calamity, Mr. Jonathan responds with rash impulse and juvenile reflex act by firing nine cabinet ministers last week. Though the firing of the nine served as a temporary welcome distraction for him from the on-going PDP mutually destructive warfare, however his prescription is a wrong medicine for the right ailment. Two reasons have been given for letting the ministers go. First, they
Ruquayatu Rufai
President Jonathan’s
were fired for poor performance. Second and most importantly, “the President was apparently angered by the refusal of the ‘rebel’ Governors to shift grounds on their unreasonable demands and had to weed his cabinet of some of their ministerial candidates.” Candidates of dissenting governors and their sympathizers who insisted that Mr. Jonathan shelves his 2015 ambition include: Ruqquayatu Rufai (Education), a candidate and loyalist of Jigawa Governor, Amal Pepple (Lands, Housing and Urban Development), a loyalist to Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Zainab Kuchi (minister of state for power), a loyalist to Governor Muaza Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Erelu Olusola Obada (Defense) loyalist of former National Secretary of PDP Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs) loyalist of President Obasanjo. It was also rumored that Reuben Abati the attack clown, would take over the ministry of information
By BAYO OLUWASANMI
from Labran Maku while Doyin Okupe the attack clone would replace his cousin Abati. The premise of the
livable for the army of destitute that make up 99.99% of 160 million dumb Nigerians. Still on performance.
how to attach both rewards and consequences to team members’ performance. Any system of rewards should prioritize the most important conduct, then
One of the good qualities of a leader is being able to apply principles of rewards with wisdom, honesty, courage, and fairness. A good leader must be able to determine what gets rewarded gets done. Good leaders recognize
reward it publicly. In addition, the system ought to prioritize the non-negotiable negatives because they damage the team. A price should be attached to these as well. It is no exaggeration to say that the
Jonathan
president’s action is false, faulty, and flawed. If his action was based on nonperformance, then the entire Jonathan administration merit wholesale dismissal with ignominy because there is no proof that life has been made bearable and
Amal Pepple
consequences for the Jonathan’s sins of corruption, ineptitude, profligacy, malfeasance, and other disturbing shortcomings exceeded that of any democratic administration in Nigeria since independence. The cabinet’s nonperformance is directly tied to the president’s equally woeful performance. Mr. Jonathan is not a good communicator and does not know how to communicate rewards to people. For example, to what does he pay attention? Do the cabinet know what is important? What are the desired results Mr. Jonathan expects from his team? The president is the greatest hindrance to performance-driven administration. Here is why: Members of his team are not sure what to do. They don’t know what to do first. They don’t know how to do it. The reward system does not align with group goals. And most importantly, Mr. Jonathan failed to lead by example and presents unnecessary obstacles. I’m therefore persuaded that the president applied politics of retaliation to get
Zainab Kuchi
“Mr. Jonathan is not a good communicator and does not know how to communicate rewards to people.”
rid of the nine victims from his lackluster administration. A watchman provides an outstanding metaphor for a leader. The leader is a watchman who guards
THE WEEKEND
11
o Politics
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
P litics and guides his people. A watchman guards and guides those he supervise. He guides anything that would endanger the vision. He guides those he oversee,
has changed for the better. His administration has been and still is, a haphazard mess. Think of Mr. Jonathan as a new CEO called in to turn around a failing
Erechi Olusola Obada
encouraging them to continue on the path toward that vision. He looks out for danger and maintain quality control. He warns those who drift from the vision. A watchman must possess strong moral fiber and must remain committed to a strong sense of right and wrong. In President Jonathan’s case, where does he draw the line between doing what is right and doing what will retain followers? Leadership means speaking all the truth – sometimes unpleasant and painful truth. Mr. Jonathan assumed the presidency at a time of moral, political, and economic decline in Nigeria. We expect him to provide bridge over troubled waters. Nothing
organization – to overhaul a broken country not a mere corporation. He was expected to pluck, tear down, and build up again. His mission was similar to Prophet Jeremiah and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. For Prophet Jeremiah: “To root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt America’s 32nd President took office in November 1932 at the time of the Great Depression. By March 1933, 13 million Americans were unemployed and almost every bank was closed. At his inaugural under the crushing weight of the burden that anxiously awaits him, FDR spoke
with candid clarity of his vision to the American people: “This nation asks for action, and action now. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require,” FDR assured his fellow Americans. FDR promised Americans prompt progress and vigorous action. More importantly, FDR renewed their hope and re-energized their faith by his now famous one-liner: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” No sooner had FDR taken office than he began to fit actions to his words. FDR’s first act as president was to solve the banking crisis. A fifth of all banks had failed. About 15% of depositors’ life savings had been wiped out. The second day in office, FDR issued executive order that all banks be closed. A tenday bank holiday was imposed to save the banks from collapsing. He asked Congress to pass legislation that would guarantee depositors money in future financial crisis. President Roosevelt called a special session of Congress on March 1933. He told the Congress that the solution to unemployment is “by direct recruiting by the Government itself.” FDR kept the Congress for three months. He flooded Congress with series of proposed bills aimed at solving the unemployment problem. Congress responded by swiftly passing all the important bills. It was a revolution in government never witnessed before. FDR got 15 major bills
“Remember failure is an attitude, not just an outcome. Success comes by going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. Mr. President, think positively.”
through Congress in his first 100 Days. The special session of Congress became known as the Hundred Days. This act of Congress formed the foundation of FDR’s New Deal. People were employed in all different areas under the umbrella of projects that read like alphabetical soup: Works Project Administration (WPA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the National Youth Administration (NYA), Farm Security
Nigerians that would transform their lives. One of the major problems of Mr. Jonathan is his inability to cast vision due to communication handicap. Effective leaders find memorable ways to communicate with their people. Communication is important to the leader to drive home his message. For example, strong beginning – FDR didn’t waste words as he grabbed the people’s attention – “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Olugbenga Ashiru
Administration (FSA), the National Recovery Administration (NRA), and the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA also administered the Federal Writers Project, Federal Theatre Project, and the Federal Art Project. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration provided federal money to assist Americans in dire need. Others included Agric Adjustment Act, National Housing Act, and Federal Securities Act. To cap it all, heavier taxes were imposed on the wealthy. On coming to office, President Jonathan was expected to trim the bloated Federal bureaucracy, clean house, put the right people on the right job, prioritize, and tackle the basic needs of ordinary
A leader uses simple language. FDR didn’t try to impress anyone with high sounding nonsensical political gibberish: “The nation asks for action and action now. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work…” FDR closed his communication with an appeal to strike both heart and head:” Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort … These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.” It’s appropriate and useful once a while for a president to inject new blood and fresh air into
his administration by moving people around if it is done with clear objective and sense of purpose. But the recent firing of the unlucky ministers by Mr. Jonathan is a Band-Aid not a solution. What Mr. Jonathan should have done to turn his do-nothing administration around and make it relevant is turning defeat into dividends. The question that Mr. Jonathan should ask himself in his entrapped hole is: “Am I going to give up or get up? And how can I get up?” I humbly suggests the following to Mr. Jonathan: For the remaining few months of your first term, you should rise above self-pity. Remember failure is an attitude, not just an outcome. Success comes by going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. Mr. President, think positively. Learn from your experiences because failure isn’t failure unless you learn nothing from it. All successful leaders vary their approaches, so seek alternatives. Bear in mind that laughter is the shortest distance between two people and the fastest way to get perspective – develop a sense of humor! Be realistic and stop living in illusion. The first job of a leader is to define reality. Establish new goals because failure is an opportunity to begin again, but more intelligently. Seems you don’t enjoy what you’re doing. Develop a passion for your own resolution to succeed, it counts for more than anything else. Broaden your base of support and separate yourself-worth from your performance and a positive self-image will prepare you for success. Beware of the Abatis and the Okupes. Leaders who use their power or influence for personal gain offend God. It is dangerous to build their own “kingdom” but fail to exhibit wisdom. They must not preoccupy themselves with their own welfare rather than the people they are supposed to serve.
THE WEEKEND
12
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
o
P litics
Necessity For LGs Autonomy BEFORE the National Assembly went on annual recess towards the end of July this year, the Senate and House of Representatives had separately debated and voted on the various items listed for amendment in the constitution. Of all the
members of the House of Representatives for taking into cognizance the views of the people as reflected in the public sessions they conducted, in arriving at their decision on LG autonomy, the Senate was heavily condemned for voting against the proposal.
Aminu Tambuwal recommendations in the reports presented by the Senate Committee on Constitution Review and their House of Reps counterpart, autonomy for local governments was of great concern to Nigerians. The Senate public hearing held across the six geopolitical zones and public people’s session conducted by the House of Reps last year in the 360 federal constituencies of the country, attested to the fact that majority of Nigerians were evidently for LG autonomy. However, at the end of voting on each items, the Red Chamber dropped the clause for the proposed financial autonomy meant to abolish the joint state/ local government account and allow the local councils to get direct funding from the federation account. On their part, members of the Green Chamber unanimously voted in favour of the abolition of the joint account in line with the aspirations of the people. While many commended
For instance, a pressure group under the aegis of Progressive Anambra Youths (PAY), in conjunction with Newbreed Youth Organization (NYO), said it was going to mobilize over one million Nigerian youths against the Senate, should the Senators continue to stand on the way of LG autonomy. They gave applause to House of Reps members, maintaining that their action was in accordance with the yearnings of the masses. In a statement signed by the National President Newbreed Youth Organization, Comrade Okafor Nonso Smart and National Secretary, Mr. Chika Nath NwakwoArinze, the group had given the Senate up till 14th of September this year, to reverse its decision or contend with over one million youths taking over the National Assembly. In one of my previous write-ups on this issue captioned: “Quest for LG autonomy and Govs’ rantings”, I had noted in
By MICHAEL JEGEDE very clear terms that the governors were doing everything within their reach to forestall the granting of financial autonomy to local government in the ongoing constitution review process. Their (governors) push against according fiscal independence to the LGs, like I pointed out, was basically to ensure that they continue to emasculate the third tier of government to their own advantage. Senator Odion Ugbesia is the Senator representing Edo Central senatorial district and a member of the Senate Constitution Review Committee. Asked in an interview why the Senators did not pass the LG autonomy clause, he said: “Today we have what is called the Governors’ Forum. This body is not known to the Nigerian constitution, but still determines the shape and direction of Nigerian politics because the governors have assumed so much powers not envisaged in the constitution. Why have they become so powerful? Because they control the political processes, political parties are under their whims and caprices, they have so much money…There are cases in court where the money directed to local governments doesn’t get to them because it is stopped at the state level. We are talking about true fiscal federalism. If the money meant for the third tier of government does not get there, then we have a problem because the governors don’t allow the money to get there.” Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta and sponsor of the financial autonomy bill in the Senate, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-
Usman, had observed that the operation of the state/ local government joint account as currently practiced was an aberration that must be corrected in the interest of Nigerians. He equally said that he was prompted to put up the bill so as to free local governments from the stranglehold and claws of the state governors. Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, Hon. Abiodun Akinlade, defended the verdict of the House on LG autonomy, maintaining that the members voted according to the wish of their people. The All Progressives Congress (APC) legislator representing Yewa South/ Ipokia Federal Constituency of Ogun State, said: “This is what our people want; we conducted a People’s Public Session all over the federation on November 10, 2012. The result of that session showed that Nigerians voted overwhelmingly for local government autonomy. As their representatives, we merely endorsed their wish by granting autonomy to local governments.” Akinlade revealed that there were moves to thwart the decision of the Green Chamber by some forces, which were against local government autonomy. But according to him, “We had to ignore them because what was uppermost in our minds was the wish of our people. We are happy today that we protected their interest.” Minister of Interior, Abba Moro had also at a point lent his voice to the debate on local government autonomy. A local council chairman for about eight years and one-time chairman of the Benue State chapter of
Association of local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Moro had said: “I am an advocate for a holistic autonomy for local governments. I want a situation where the local government will operate as a true tier of government. We are operating federalism, a federalism that is epitomized or
chambers will meet to harmonize their differences before the final passage by the National Assembly. The fear again is the provision of the constitution which made it mandatory for 2/3 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly to approve each item passed by the Federal Legislature
David Mark encapsulated in the three tiers of government of the federal, state and local government. And so, I expect that the framers of the constitution would have gone further than the scanty provisions in section 7 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 to a level where provisions should have been made for the local governments to get their allocation direct from the federation account, for the local governments to exercise jurisdiction over their revenue avenues.” However, all hope is not lost on the issue of local government autonomy. Since the House of Reps passed its own version, there are chances of it still scaling through at the conference session, where the committees of the two
before it can have the force of law. Will the governors sit down and watch the state assemblies that are believed to be under their control give approval to LG autonomy which they are vehemently opposed to? Much as the lawmakers would want to remain loyal to the governors for the role they may have played in their electoral victories, they must know that it is equally important to protect the interest of the populace, who gave them (the legislators) the mandate to represent them at the parliamentary arm of government. The granting of financial autonomy to local council is a necessary option to open the door of rapid development at the grassroots level.
“The fear again is the provision of the constitution which made it mandatory for 2/3 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly to approve each item passed by the Federal Legislature before it can have the force of law.”
THE WEEKEND
13
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
s
I sues
Nigeria’s Foreign Policy In Throes COUNTRIES all over the world, implement a foreign policy in order to cater for and guide their external relation. Since independence, Nigeria’s foreign policy has witnessed failures and successes. It is largely focused on Africa. Africa is the foremost concern of Nigeria’s foreign policy. Nigeria is a founding member of the organization of African unity, which was established on the 25th of may 1963 and is now known as the African Union (AU). Nigeria has played a huge role in the fight against colonization, apartheid and racism in Nigeria. The OAU was established to ensure the quick the colonization of the other colonies in Africa and to facilitate the rapid
socio-economic growth and development in African states. In 1975, Nigeria gave the sum of 13.5million naira and military assistance for Angola and also enlisted diplomatic support for the Angolan government within the organization. Prominent Nigerians, have called for the redefining of Nigerians foreign policy because it has not benefited Nigeria and its citizens in anyway. In 1999,in a bid to redefine Nigeria’s foreign policy beyond Africa, General Olusegun Obasanjo announced to new ambassador “that Nigeria’s foreign policy today extend far beyond our concern for the well being of our continent Africa”. But till date, bulk of the country’s foreign policy is still centred on
By ODINUKAEZE NNENNA
Jonathan
Africa. Nigeria needs to adopt a foreign policy that will be beneficial to it in terms of economy and security.
The country needs to use its foreign police to create jobs for its citizens and to reduce poverty to an extent. Hundreds of
Dangers Of Drug Abuse DRUGS are substances that change the way the bodies work. When drugs are taken into the body, they get mixed with the blood, and are thereafter transported to the brain. Drugs may either improve the state of the brain, or destroy its basic functions. Drug abuse on the other hand is the excessive use of drugs for non-medicinal purposes. The effects of drug abuse on an individual also tell on the society. There are different kinds of drugs. They are not all the same. Medicines can cure and prevent diseases but there are lots of illegal drugs. All drugs have different dangers. According to medical researchers, there are 3 basic classes of drugs which are; stimulants, sedatives and hallucinogenic drugs. Stimulant drugs: produces anxiety if taking excessively. It can also be very dangerous for individuals with heart related diseases. Sedatives: these are drugs like alcohol and heroine. If a lot is taken, it can lead to fatal overdose. Hallucinogenic drugs: these drugs sometimes produce experiences that may lead to dangerous behaviors by the consumers.
However, not all drugs are dangerous because some of them are prescribed by doctors. But however, if much is taken, it becomes dangerous. The more a particular drug is consumed, the greater the risk to the health. Most drugs especially in powder form, have other substances mixed into them, these often changes the effects of the drugs making it dangerous. Furthermore, any illegal drug consumed, poses great risk. It affects the individual mentally, physically and emotionally. Abuse of illegal drugs, cannot be fully discussed without addiction. Addiction is a disorder that is characterized by cravings, loss of control etc. When a drug is greatly abused, the possibility for addiction is increased. The body misses the drug when it is not present; and he seeks to have that feeling. Abuse leads to addiction. Addiction can sometimes put on hold a person’s future. There are different reasons why people take illegal and dangerous drugs. Most individuals engage in it, just for the pleasure they derive from it because they are convinced drugs makes an individual special. Illegal substances may feel good at
By ODINUKAEZE NNENNA first but they can do a lot of damage to the brain and body. In addition, those engaged in sporting activities; believe consuming illegal substances enhances their performance and making them popular. These days, it is common to hear about athletes getting banned from few appearances or banned for life because they tested positive to drug testing. People also take and abuse drugs to calm themselves when they feel nervous and anxious. Drugs which surprising could cause some problems if abused, are the cough and cold medicine ( DXM). These drugs contain dextromethorpan also known as ‘dxm’ and if taken in large quantities, can cause hallucinations. Alcohol and drug impairs ones judgment. One is most likely going to harm himself. They have health risk and can damage major organs in the body. For example, smoking regularly increases the chances of a damaged liver. In our society, abuse of drugs/ illegal drugs is mainly common among our youths. They take drugs in order to
forget about the ills prevalent in the society. In Nigeria, where unemployment is rampant, unemployed university graduates tend to get high on drugs and alcohol in order not to think of the issues that bother them. In addition, it has led to an increase in crime rate. Youths who engage in criminal activities take drugs like cocaine, crack and marijuana in order not to feel the pains of their victims and the pangs of their guilt. Furthermore, for drug abuse to be reduced drastically in the world over especially in Nigeria, the government should provide employment and other activities to keep the youths busy. Also, parents should learn to create time out of their busy schedules for their children as most youths take illegal substances in order to gain attention. Additionally, people think drugs consumption drives away their problems. Drug does not solve or take problems away rather it hides true feelings and problems. When the effect of a drug wears off, it brings back the problem and makes it worse.
security personnel are sent daily for peacekeeping missions in Sudan, lots have perished and lots of money has been wasted on charity to other African countries. Additionally, it is very painful that despite all these, Nigerians residing in these countries, are subjected to inhuman treatments by the citizens and even security forces. They are treated shabbily and labeled as criminals and are made to live very uncomfortable. But citizens from these countries living in Nigeria live in a peaceful environment without undue harassment from the citizens. Even those who beg for alms are not disturbed. Nigeria spends millions of naira and dollars in these African countries as a means of ensuring peace but back home, there is no peace. There is insecurity in the country especially in the northern part of Nigeria as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. Nigeria is beautiful abroad and ugly back home. Some days back, it was gathered that the Nigerian government has offered to assist the Kenyan government as a result of its recent terrorist attack. This sounds like a joke because on the 18 th of September, the deadly Boko Haram sect struck in two different attacks along the Maiduguri- Damaturu road killing and taking numbers of people hostage. Nigeria is in a middle of a crisis and the government still talks about rendering
assistance to another country especially a country that recently, unjustly and illegally deported some Nigerian citizens after pettily accusing them of various crimes. Additionally, most of these African countries do not regard Nigeria. When Nigeria was nominated by the AU as a member of the UN Security Council, two countries in Africa, Nigeria fought tirelessly to decolonize, opposed the bid. It is time for Nigeria to stop playing big brother. That era is long gone and right now, it should be “to your tent o Israel”. Though, there is nothing wrong for Nigeria to render support for it fellow Africa, but it is wrong if it continues at the detriment of its citizens. If the United States of America, renders supports to all countries across the world the way Nigeria does to its African brothers, then the USA would not be the envy of other countries all over the world in terms of development and internal security. Nigeria has lost its place in the African community. The country cannot expect to be accorded as the ‘giant of Africa’, if corruption and election irregularities still strive in the country. Also, the nation needs to take some time off, to spread its arms of foreign policy wider to other countries beyond Africa in order to bring about security and economic development. Nigeria should take its foreign policy beyond Africa if the nation is to move forward.
“Nigeria has lost its place in the African community. The country cannot expect to be accorded as the ‘giant of Africa’, if corruption and election irregularities still strive in the country. Also, the nation needs to take some time off, to spread its arms of foreign policy wider to other countries beyond Africa in order to bring about security and economic development. Nigeria should take its foreign policy beyond Africa if the nation is to move forward.”
THE WEEKEND
14
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
s
I sues
The Menance Of Under-Age Driving The alarming tales of accidents on Nigerian roads have become worrisome to most people and it is more saddening that the trend is mostly attributed to u n d e r - a g e , unprofessional and over speeding drivers who for unknown reasons have access to cars or commercial buses. The situation is made agonizing as accident victims leave their houses and families hale and hearty with dreams and plans for the day, but end up dying because of some under-age drivers who are not supposed to be behind the wheels. Sometime ago in Benin City the Edo State capital, an under-age bus driver lost control of the bus he was driving and hit another car on the other lane of the road, the accident destroyed properties worth millions of naira and also got many people injured. Recently in Benin City (Ring Road to be précised) a young boy was apprehended by the Nigeria Police Force (Central Police Station, Oba Market Road, Benin City) for driving a commercial bus with Registration Number Edo – XN8 32 – BEN and branded the Edo State commercial bus colour (Yellow and Red). The young boy who is just 15 years old said he had been driving the said bus for the pass six
months now and he also said that the said bus was given to him by someone whom he refused to disclosed the name but he also said that he doesn’t have any valid drivers license and said that he graduated from being a conductor to start driving the said bus. Also, the young boy was accompanied by another under-age 10 years old boy as his conductor. An eye witness to the scene who gave his name as Mr. Abbe told Weekend Observer that it’s very wrong for an under-age person to go into driving because he or she has no formal tutorial on driving and he/she does not know the high way code on driving. He also said that there is no experience on the part of the young boy on driving a commercial bus. The traffic policeman who apprehended the young boy said it’s unlawful for an underage to be driving a car or a commercial bus; he said that the owner of the commercial bus and the young boy (underage) will be charged to court after full scale investigation is carried out. In my own view, I think the problem and menace of under-age driving is in the hands of the government in the sense that it’s very wrong for any person under the age of 18
By EDIONHOM UYI THOMPSON years to be driving a car or a commercial bus; because according to the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) High Way Code, before any body
Sometimes, I wonder why an under-age person will take to driving as a profession when he/she is supposed to be in
can drive a car he or she must pass through an aptitude test before being granted a driver’s license. But now the reverse is the case mostly in Edo State where anybody can carry a car and enter the express road and drive without any formal tutorial or aptitude test or even a driver’s license from the FRSC. If this menace continues, many lives and properties will be lost in the future because an under-age driver does not have what it takes to drive a car or a commercial bus.
school reading his books and I can tell that most of the accidents caused by under-age drivers happens because they are always absent-minded. They also drive mostly in the night so that people will not see them; some even makes or answers phone calls while driving; most of them do not obey traffic signs and road markings like T-Junctions, Sharp bend, Pedestrian Crossing, Pot-holes and bumps. It is advisable that the FRSC has to control the issuance of driver’s licenses and
“It is lack of serious enforcement of traffic laws by the FRSC especially those pertaining to over speeding, dangerous overtaking, over-loading and under-age drivers as most of these are fond of disobeying traffic lights. They take alcohol and some of them are drug addicts.”
monitor the performance of license holders; try to ensure that only qualified drivers get or are issued drivers license and should sanitize the licensing sector and
license without properly ascertaining the mental state of the holders is a problem and most of them are ignorant of the rudiments of good driving. Hence, underage drivers usually
make sure that people get basic tutorials before driving on the roads. A recent statistics issued by the FRSC showed that on the average about 400 lives are lost monthly on Nigerian roads and highways. It is lack of serious enforcement of traffic laws by the FRSC especially those pertaining to over speeding, dangerous overtaking, over-loading and under-age drivers as most of these are fond of disobeying traffic lights. They take alcohol and some of them are drug addicts. One of the worst thing am surprise about is that most of these under-age drivers have valid drivers license that they obtained through some FRSC officers. The issuance of driver ’s
violate traffic rules and regulations; anybody below 18 years is not permitted by law to drive. Moreover, the influx of automatic cars in Nigeria made driving easier for under-age drivers. We also have the problem of inability to bring traffic offenders to justice; also lenient posture of anti-traffic violation legislations has also worsen the incidents of road accidents because these minors are not brought to book due to compromise by some road safety enforcement officers and that is why the FRSC has announced a minimum age of 25 years for obtaining a commercial driver’s license and that a person is deemed to be an adult from the age of 18 years.
THE WEEKEND
15
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
s
I sues
Maximising The Agricultural Sector Through ICTs THE use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the agricultural business is gaining momentum in Nigeria with many farmers becoming aware of its importance, consequently creating an enabling situation to maximise the advantages
recent past, there was a promise by the authorities to provide local farmers with over ten thousand handsets to assist them in communication, which
irrigation/water management, applying fertilizer to the soil, control of pest, casing of crops, how to harvest farm produce, transporting post-harvest
accruing from the scheme. But this is not just happening; there are challenges and success accounts that are aiding the accomplishments to be attained. Approach: The enlightened farmers and lovers of agriculture are doing everything within their ambit to create awareness for the unaware to be aware about the importance of ICT as it relates to agriculture. They are using the media – Television, Radio, Newspapers, Social Media and town-criers to sensitise people. Unlike before there was no or poor access to ICT facilities in the country, the case is different today. Many housaeholds are able to purchase electricity generating sets in the event that there is no electricity supply from the authorities, to power their ICT gargets. Poles-apart before 1999, when Telephony Company was not discentralised and few financially rich people were exposed to using telephones, over seventy percent of Nigerians now own handsets to do their businesses. Even, in the
number of handsets is going to be improved later. Experience & Impact: Otherwise known as EAgriculture, its emergence is boosting the level of production and sells in the agricultural and rural development across the country. The perception by farmers on how to aim, enlarge, estimate and function, are somewhat made easy. The disparity between farmers in the rural and urban areas is insignificant. They are now operating on the same level in innovation, dissemination of information about their produce. The understanding of this rather new phenomenon in Nigeria is evolving in scope and many people understand the area and are growing as it is growing. What used to be specialties of those who formally majored in education in the area of agriculture are being simplified through ICT. Inter alia, it can only take a farmer to surf the Internet and acquire the knowledge that he or she wants to acquire: Be it on crop growing,
and handling, transportation of food products, crop storage and safety, marketing and amongst others. All these are being made easy to farmers by ICT. Over-again, ICT is making farmers to run their endeavours at a very low cost and they are being exposed to their counterparts across the globe. Through videoing, drawing, photographing, process descriptions, and other information in digital arrangements, those in the business of farming in the country are able of linking up with other farmers from around the world. ICT is helping farmers to create any document they want to showcase to the world without error. They are able to transfer money through ICT gargets devoid of high risk of criminal activities in the streets. The money or document transferred gets to its recipient with an equal speed of air. Today, some persons who are educated on how to use and apply ICT in the agricultural sector did not have to be formally educated persons.
By ODIMEGWU ONWUMERE
Capacity building: ICT is building confidence in the agricultural sector. Participation of individuals and group are on the augment. ICT is building ability across the country. Agriculture is being made to be in the public glare, different from the days of
yore, when one has to go inside the bush to identify with the types of crop specie that were being sought-after for. In its aptitude, ICT is creating employment opportunities for all and sundry both in the administrative department and the technical without significant notice in the exodus of people from one district to another, where they are looking for a maximised environment to practice agriculture. In their wisdom, farmers are having prospective price astuteness to sell their produce with the aid of the acumen derived from ICT. They are also capable of taking decision with stakeholders across the sphere. The skill for farmers to forecast what to plant and what not to plant in any season, is no longer
farfetched. With the knack of ICT to dictate weather condition, farmers are taking appropriate intelligence on the method they could use to fight flooding and other menaces that are occasioned by climate change. Enabling environment: Tariffs for ICT are being slashed. The country is not ignoring this change representative. Many foreign goods are being consigned as contraband, therefore creating facilitating environment for farmers. ICT practice in the country is not being attended with isolation or with any gender bias. Anybody can use ICT in any positions – be it leading or led. The authorities are really making serious investment on ICT road-and-railnetworks and making ICT amenities readily obtainable to the agricultural sector without or less sweat. And with the Land Act Decree of 1978 (which amongst other Items in it), states that the government owns the land, telecoms masts are being erected at strategically important locations to enhance ICT familiarisation across the country. The cost of internet connectivity is being subsidised. ICT is permitting young people to engage in agriculture. They are no longer seeing it as a business or practice for the aged, which was what agriculture used to be in this clime. Many are taking the opportunities created by ICT to engage themselves; thereby pulling out from streets as loafers. This phenomenon is holding sway with many using it enthusiastically and upgrading in new manufactured technologies as they are manufactured. It has become a valuable engagement with people wanting to improve in their area of specialty of agriculture. It is enabling the rural communities to develop and boost their sense-ofworth, keeping them thinking and compelling them to seeing better future than what obtains in their immediate environment. Sustainability:
To keep the success story of ICT in the country effective, there should however be unequivocal support from the authorities to farmers; and ICT should be welcomed as a remedy for furthering agricultural assembly in copious ways. Innovative practices have to be upheld without hindrances, to enable farmers have the continuous access to policies of the authorities without having a biased frame of mind. Volunteer-groups sensitising and forcing the interest of farmers on the need for ICT consumption, should not be in dearth. Changing of technology should be ubiquitous as it is obtainable in the developed world. More websites have to be created for veritable use to stimulate people with any on-ground information. Adequate capital has to be formulated through loan facilities to enable farmers meet up with their needs of ICT. The role of ICT in maximising agriculture is gargantuan. Power supply has to be improved to enable ICT lift farmers in the country to the peak where they belong. This has worked very well in the so-called developed world. ICT lifted that world from being underdeveloped to the undeviating developed world that it has become today. Every aspect of ICT has to be made available to farmers at their door steps, just as the authorities are subsidising the cost of internet connectivity. ICT should be made a mandatory course of study at the tertiary level. Intensive mentoring and crusade concerning ICT should be fad. There should be no barrier on this matter between the elite and the masses. The elite should assist the masses to leap off from economic conundrum. E-mail hackers and SMS message trackers have to be discouraged by instituting their anti-squad. Since the youths are vulnerable to succeed, they should be highly encouraged to exploit E-Agriculture, for the country to maximise the benefits of ICTs in the agricultural sector. Odimegwu Onwumere is a Poet/Writer, he writes from Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855. Email: apoet_25@yahoo.com
“Many are taking the opportunities created by ICT to engage themselves; thereby pulling out from streets as loafers.”
THE WEEKEND
16
i
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
D scourse WHEN I first read the news about police preventing the Rivers State Governor, Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi from entering the government house, I take it as one of those falsified news report concocted to mislead the public, but after some while, the news was verified to be true. It was established that, the Nigerian Police truly prevented the Rivers State Governor, the chief security officer and the number one citizen of Rivers state from entering his own government house on what was described as an order from above. When further enquiry was made into what transpired at the scene, it was revealed that, the police officer who led the team to prevent the Governor from entering the Government house reportedly told Amaechi that he does not take orders from the civilian, even when he was aware that it was the Governor. Reports have it that, Amaechi came down to speak with the police officers who insisted that they can only act with superior order from Abuja. Also, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mrs Angela Agabe was also reported to have said, the police had to block the road to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order. Law and order where? Inside the Government House? In her words, “The governor has other routes to get to the Government House. So, I don’t see how this should be an issue,” Agabe said. After observing the situation closely, it seems that the Nigerian constitution which established the Nigerian police has been rendered useless by this administration. As it stands, the constitution has been reduced to a mere book to be read by few and dump in a bin. If not, a police officer who was made an officer by a civilian constitution would not have the audacity to stand before the chief security officer of a state and say that he can not listen to a civilian. It is my believe that, the police officer who arrogantly spoke to the Governor in such manner is also aware that the Inspector General of Police who represent the highest authority in the police ranking takes order from the presidency (civilians), but I presume that, the police officer’s audacity is not out of his personal arrogance or ignorance, but out of a deep rooted misinformation and spoon feed courage given to him by the Rivers state police commissioner Mr. Mba, who seems to have encouraged
Calling The Nigeria his officers to be rude to the state governor in an effort to provoke the governor into acting rashly, relying on the support from Abuja as the officer rightly said to nail the governor. Looking at the roles the Nigerian police are playing in this political battle, it is so disheartening that the police seem to have lost focus, abandon its constitutional role of maintaining law and order to participating in partisan politics and being used as a tool in political contest within a political party. We‘ should also not forget that, when Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State decided to create a faction of the NGF with some governors, he opened his separate secretariat to carryout his faction’s activities without question. When he did, the Nigerian police were not deployed to the venue to seal up the office, but when some members of the people Democratic Party (PDP) decided to create a faction of their party led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje, the police were deployed to seal up their secretariat. The question most well meaning Nigerians are asking is, why has the police not sealed up the Jonah Jang faction of NGF secretariat the way it sealed up the PDP factional secretariat? The New PDP in a press statement by the national publicity secretary reacted to the sealing up of its secretariat that, ‘’ the party views the continued seal up of its offices as barbaric, undemocratic and an abuse and demonstration of naked power’’. In a similar statement, former vice president Atiku Abubakar asked the IGP to order the policemen occupying the headquarters of the New PDP to vacate the place immediately. He noted that, the action of the police has no justification in law, but was rather borne out of political control. Atiku added that, while it is embarrassing that the police have yet to give a reason on why they are laying siege to a political party’s office, the whole world knows these are acts prompted by unscrupulous politicians who do not even have the moral conscience not to involve the police in politics’’. He further added that, a politically partisan police force sets a dangerous precedent, as they will be
By AMB. ABDULRAZAQ O HAMZAT entrusted to supervise free and fair election in the future. Again, on what ground was this act carried out? Do the
ensuring public safety and gaining public trust to enhance mutual relationship between the police and the
have such powers that may be conferred upon them by the constitution. The Police Act provides for such powers and duties. The police has the power to arrest any
community, so as to improve the security of lives and properties as police primary functions.
(offender) in bracket and the power to detain and search the offender. They also have the power to take the finger
Study shows that, the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria provides that the members of the Nigerian Police Force shall
print of the offender, search his property and to conduct prosecutions in courts of law. The powers bestowed upon them are very expansive, but
Jonathan
police operate under separate laws for the supporters of the president and another law for his
IGP Abubakar Mohammed
political opponents? In calling the Nigerian police back to follow the law of the land, let me state that, the role of the police is in
they must be exercis under the law. (CSS341) We are still asking, un what law did the Nige police operate to seal u political party’s office? A how does the internal polit struggle to control a polit party concerns the po since such struggle nothing to do with phys confrontation that co endanger public safe Even if there is confrontat Are the police expected take side to intimidate violate the law of the l which empowers them operate with impunity? Without fear or favou submit with the authority the Nigerian constitution t it is illegal for the Nige police to prevent a st Governor from entering residence or seal up secretariat of the New P under whatever guise. Th an abuse of privilege, mis of power and a heigh impunity. On a lighter note, the po were said to be acting on directives of the preside but can we entirely blame Nigerian president ( Goodluck Ebele Jonath for using the police to advantage? In my view, as much as president should be blam for wrongly using his privil as the president, the lar part of the blames should to the Nigerian police t have allowed themselve be used for activities ot than the constitutional ro and duties of maintain public peace ‘and order. The president is no police officer and he may ignorant about the ethic the police, but the Inspe General of Police, who st as the custodian of the po principle and ethics sho be able to draw a l between loyalty to o individual’s desire and loy to one’s nation and on professional ethics. The police institution separate entity to the polit parties, but when the po officers headed by the that should act accordin the law and ethics of t profession could differentiate between p politics and state affairs, police institution becom machinery of intimidation abuse which both the po and the president should held accountable. In addition, the IGP w should ordinarily be custodian of police princ and ethics even have gre
THE WEEKEND
17
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
i
D scourse
an Police Back To Reason
sed ) nder rian up a And tical tical olice has sical ould ety? tion. d to and and m to
ur, I y of that, rian tate his the PDP his is suse t of
olice n the ncy, e the (Dr. han) his
s the med ege rger d go that s to ther oles ning
ot a y be s of ctor tand olice ould line one yalty ne’s
is a tical olice IGP g to heir dn’t arty the me a and olice d be
who the ciple ater
blame in this regard, considering the facts that he his the number one police officer with adequate knowledge and understanding of the police acts and should be the number one protector of such acts to ensure the police is up and doing to the best of its ability. According to Pugh (1986), a good police officer must have the qualities of common sense and mature judgment and must react quickly and effectively to problem situations”. Pugh also added that, A good police officer must be able to adopt the appropriate role of policing to the situation he or she encounters. Common roles include law enforcement, maintenance of social order and public servant. Finally a good police officer must have the appropriate concepts governing police work which are (1) an effort to improve the welfare of the community and (2) a respect for the individual’s rights, worth and dignity. If the Inspector General of police who ordered his men to prevent a sitting governor from entering his government house and to seal up the New PDP secretariat has respect for individual’s rights as provided by the constitutions, he would have defied such a barbaric order of abuse and constitutional violation by the president. This again puts a question mark to the sincerity of the Inspector General to reform the Nigerian police as we were made to believe said the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar. According to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, ‘’ by the latest behaviour of the police force, the IGP has put a big question mark over the sincerity of his touted reform of the police’’. Atiku further declared that, IG Abubakar has started on the wrong foot by being openly and overzealously partisan over the internal crisis of the PDP. It is expected that, the Inspector General Police
would uphold the primary ethics of his duties as a police officer, by ensuring his men conform to the duties of a sensible police officers, but it is a shame that the police had been reduced to nothing, but a mere tool not for community policing as provided by the constitutions, but to be used for selfish political battles while abandoning the major responsibilities. Again, the expected qualities of common sense and mature judgment that should be demonstrated by the police was nowhere to be found, as the police were reduce to a mere tool to unlawfully coerce and abuse the liberty of the citizens as guaranteed by the constitution. It is worth to note that, this loss of reason, violation of rights, neglect of duties, dumping of responsibilities and the usage of the police for such negative purposes span from the deep rooted police corruption, but “Nothing undermines public confidence in the police and in the process of Criminal Justice more than the Illegal acts of police officers” said the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. According to David Burnham, the social cost of police corruption undermines the enforcement of the law, allowing widespread illegal activities to represent a secret tax on business to flourish. It destroys the department itself, robs the police officer of self respect and respect for superior officers and the department as a whole. Effective discipline becomes impossible when corruption is systematic and Knowledge of the existence of corruption undermines the public’s faith in the police and entire criminal justice system. It was stated that, at the philosophic level, any police organization that seeks to serve democratic and humanitarian ideals must be (and be seen to be) transparent, fair, apolitical,
Amaechi
accountable and responsive to public perceptions and expectations. Such policing is said to be characterized by the notion of “police service”
rather than “police force”, where the most significant benchmarks of performance are public satisfaction, trust and confidence. (CSS341)
Small (1984) noted that, the police force have dual roles to play in a given society. Firstly, they are expected to
IGP Abubakar Mohammed
“According to David Burnham, the social cost of police corruption undermines the enforcement of the law, allowing widespread illegal activities to represent a secret tax on business to flourish. It destroys the department itself, robs the police officer of self respect and respect for superior officers and the department as a whole.”
protect the constitution of the society of which they are employed and perform other relevant duties in this regard and secondly, While on duty, they should endeavour to avoid pressure from special interest groups, since that will reduce public confidence, without which their job could become not only difficult but also make conviction almost impossible. In addition, Kennedy (1994) opines that, policing a multicultural world is a key challenge to the police, and this challenge is compounded by contradictions inherent in maintaining public order on the one hand, and sustaining the freedom and wish of other members of the society. Hampton (1960) added that, the influence of globalization, coupled with the new culture of economic and political alliance etc have continually put to critical test the role of the institutional systems for law and order. He mentioned that, the growing crises of law and order, the rising spate of crimes in the society, and crisis of unity among different cultural and religious groups noticed in various parts of the globe are pointers to the objective shortfall in the performance of the police force vis-à-vis the order maintenance responsibility. Let me conclude that, Hampton was able to establish a linkage between police, crime and order. According to him, the failure of police reflects on the state of the crime statistics and public order as well as generates fear and insecurity, thereby creating a crimeprone. It is also my believe that, the failure of the Nigerian police to enjoy public trust is as a result of police corruption, which first have Its effect in the politicizing of the police, undue influence by politicians and failure of the police to act according to the standard of a respectable police institution. I therefore call on the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Muhammed Abubakar to undo the damages he has done to the Nigerian police to avoid sending wrong signal to the teeming young officers who rely on precedent of their seniors to be guided. He should also apologize to the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi for trampling on his right of office as well as order his men to vacate office of the New PDP, leaving politicians to settle their scores.
THE WEEKEND
18
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
v
E ent
World Tourism Day
THE 27 th September every year had been declared as World tourism Day by the United Nations. Some experts in this field of tourism business are apprehensive that so many historical and monumental sites are not been captured and accorded due recognition by the Federal Government which they rightly deserve. Due to negligence on the side of the federal ministry in charge of tourism – many tourists are oblivious of the enormous potentialities Nigeria has got to offer the outside world. Consequently their patronage had been dropped with the attendant preference for other African countries such as Kenyan and Zimbabwe. The pledge by the National Commission for Museum and Monuments to up grade their facilities should not be rhetoric, rather it should be actively seen to be activating and popularizing our monumental seights. In one of such promises Alhaji Yusuf Abdukllah, the Director-General of NCMM gave the assurance of the centenary anniversary of the late Prime Minister of Nigeria. Alhaji Yusuf Abdullah, the DirectorGeneral of NCMM gave the assurance of the centenary anniversary of the late Prime Minister of Nigeria. Alhaji Tafewa Balewa in a meeting held at Bauchi a couple of months back. A posthumous award of birthday celebration was depicted by many exhibitions of photographs of the life and achievements of the
late TCON, Abubaka Tafewa Balewa, the first Prime Minister of Nigeria. The director indicated that such monuments would serve as memorable eye opener of what Nigeria looked like in the past. Other Nigeria tourist attractions includes Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, Nigeria first storey building in Badagry, Osun Grove in Oshogbo, Badagry Slave Port in Badagry, Ogbonike cave in Ogbunike, the Zuma Rock in Mandella, Gurara falls in Gurara Kano City Wall and Owu fall in Kwara e.t.c. The tourist attractions located in Benin the Edo State capital is enormous. The Benin mote which is comparable to the Chinese wall was dug with bare hands and baskets, it spurns over 45-miles around the state capital. Mrs. Ibru who is the Managing Director of Pathway tourist company spoke about the urgency for Federal Government to borrow a leaf from the developed countries like U.K and America that have converted most of their historical landmarks to monuments. Consequently these countries earn huge revenue from tourist who visits their countries annually. Delta State General Manager of Tourism Board Nkem Alufo is aware of the need to quickly establish a data bank on historical landmarks as well as ancient buildings and structures across the state and beyond. Some experts have argued that small available functional
monuments could not quickly turn around the country as preferred tourist destination with out develop the wild life aspect of the country
commissioned the earliest of the palace rectangular bronze relief while some of these sculpture celebrate memorable events of
and audience hall. These buildings includes beautiful and large square galleries about at large as the course of Amsterdam but some larger than others, all
models of and for (Gertz 1973: 33-34) the life well lived in this regards, they point to one of the major ways that art functions to great identify that is through the embedding of the memory of the deceased in a collection of objects on a shrine. These objects operated to complete and finalize a life story. In so doing they not only furnish a
natural endowment. However, the Yankare Okomu and other game reserve across the country still host enough wild life that can promote this aspect of tourism. so, there are different species of monkies water hugs, birds, elephants, butter flies bull fallow e.t.c at Okomu forest Reserve in Edo State. The different Benin Art Works scattered all over Europe are still being produced and can be verified at Igun Street and the National Museum Kings Square Benin City. There is a general consensus in Benin that Oba Esigie who was crowned in the early sixteenth century
Oba Esigie reign, the great majority depicts warriors, priests, countries, officials and other specialists as they appeared during pageantry associated with the Oba’s Court The reliefs were specifically mentioned in a description of Benin that was published in 1668 by Olfert Dapper. Although Dapper had never been top Africa, he compiled information from tourist who had seen Benin City in the early seventeenth century. He wrote that the palace complex was as large as the Dutch City of Haarlem, containing many stately residences
resting on Wodden pillars covered from top to bottom with cast cupper, where on the picture of their war deeds and battles are engraved and are maintained “very clean Drapper report 1668”. If these copper – alloy relief were kept through constant polishing the effect of their masse display must be impressive. Benin City has always been a center of attraction; full of ancient and modern monuments. It has been a place where there is sanity, peace and devotion to the ancestral divinities. Ancestral Alters in Benin provide in Gertz is term
conclusion but also provide permanence. This is especially important in the case of Royal Alters. A King’s place in history is crucial to the sense of identity and continuity of the Edo as a nation. The objects which embody his achievements therefore have to be capable of enduring over time. In the light of the above, a massive enlightenment campaign must be embark upon by our embassies abroad by showcasing our monumental sites spread across the country in the internet. This will undoubtedly make Nigeria a tourist attraction in Africa.
By EKAIWE IGINUA OSEMWEKHA
“Benin City has always been a center of attraction; full of ancient and modern monuments. It has been a place where there is sanity, peace and devotion to the ancestral divinities.”
THE WEEKEND
19
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
dQuantum Int’l Leap For Nigeria’s
E ucation IN April this year, the Supervising Minister of Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike led Nigeria’s delegation to the High Level Strategic Meeting to Accelerate Efforts to Reach Out of School Children globally. There are 61million out of school children globally. Of this number, 10.5million are Nigerian children. It was at this meeting that the Barr. Wike worked out the framework for the international involvement in resolving the nation’s out of school challenge. In the three days that he spent in Doha, Qatar the minister met with top international stakeholders to attract quality investment to the nation’s education sector, with the aim of ensuring that the nation exits the unenviable comity of nations with children who are out of school. Wike sealed the direct participation of the United Nation’s Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Global Education, Gordon Brown in pushing through the international support to address a challenge that the Federal Government has worked tirelessly to resolve in the course of the last two years. THE SUPERVISING MINISTER OF EDUCATION THROUGH SERIES
partnership that is bound to establish a functional system that will enhance the future of the nation. Within one week, two strategic international education figures were in Nigeria to clearly unveil their plans to collaborate with Nigeria in the quest to further develop an education sector that is already in the ascendancy. The United Nation’s Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Global Education,
experience better days in the education sector. The most outstanding result of the collaboration with the former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown was the realization of $500million (N75Billion) for the improvement of
the Japanese Government, the Educate-A-Child Foundation and the Global Partnership for Education have all made direct commitment to assist the Jonathan administration to push through its laudable programmes in the basic
Gordon Brown and the Director General of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova were in the country to deliberate and strategize with technocrats and stakeholders in the education sector on the improvement of access to education. The deliberations were at the highest level of government. The President, governors, education commissioners, private sector entrepreneurs, international development partners and civil society groups were all involved. Expectedly, the results poured in and the nation will
enrolment of less privileged Nigerian children in schools. Addressing the Accelerating Progress in the Attainment of Education For All in Nigeria Programme at the State House, Brown said that the international community will provide $250million, while the Federal Government of Nigeria has agreed to match the funds with $250million. The former British Prime Minister noted that the United States Agency for International Development, the British Department for International Development,
education sector. He said that the $500million is a new investment targeted at helping Nigeria take advantage of education as a means of developing human resources to drive growth across the country. Brown urged the Federal Government to use programmes such as free feeding, free uniforms to attract children to school and retain them to learn. Brown urged the State Governments to take advantage of funds available in the international community to fund education in their respective
Education By SIMEON NWAKAUDU
states, as this is the only legacy they can leave for their people. He said: “Let us not lose sight of every child having the opportunity of going to school. These children need the opportunity to achieve their potentials. Today as we talk of education, we should remember the dream that no child should be left behind. “If Luther King had talked
OF MEETINGS WITH OFFICIALS OF
EDUCATE A CHILD FOUNDATION I NTERNATIONAL MEETING AND THEY COMMITTED TO ASSISTING
NIGERIA
IN IMPROVING ACCESS
TO QUALITY EDUCATION IN THE C O U N T RY .
H IS
D I P L O M AT I C
SHUTTLES ACROSS THE SEVERAL MEETING VENUES ALONGSIDE THE
M I N I S T RY ’ S PERMANENT S ECRETARY , D R . M AC J OHN N WAOBIALA AND N IGERIA ’ S A M B A S S A D O R TO Q ATAR , SHUAIBU ADAMU AHMED, HAS IN THE LONG RUN , YIELDED THE DESIRED RESULTS. The International Community has keyed into the Federal Government’s expansive programme to create access to quality education for less privileged Nigerians. It’s a worthy
“Brown urged the Federal Government to use programmes such as free feeding, free uniforms to attract children to school and retain them to learn.”
about complaints and criticisms, nobody would remember what he said today. It was because he talked about his dream that he is remembered. We have to increase enrolment and remove the barriers that stop children from getting enrolled”. President Goodluck Jonathan represented by the Vice President Namadi Sambo reiterated his commitment to addressing the nation’s out of school challenge. He said that his commitment to education for all Nigerian children led to his introduction of the Almajiri Education Programme, the Girl Child Education Programme and the enrolment for out of school children in the South-South and SouthEast regions. Jonathan said that his administration facilitated the meeting as a landmark step towards ensuring that the 10.5million children out of school children in the
country are accommodated in schools across the country. Speaking on behalf of the organized private sector, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote announced that the private sector will contribute directly in the funding of the education for all programme. He said the private sector stood to benefit from the improvement of the education sector. Supervising Minister of Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike explained that the outcome of the meeting with Mr. Gordon Brown indicates the confidence that the international community in the positive investments of the Jonathan administration in the education sector. UNESCO officials and key UNESCO line ministers met at the Federal Ministry of Education met at the Federal Ministry of Education to fashion out way to improve access to quality education and also eliminate illiteracy to the barest minimum amongst adults. UNESCO Director General, Irina Bokova outlined key ways that the UN agency would assist Nigeria to address her education challenges, especially in the area of out of school children. The interest of the international community in the nation’s education sector is a fallout of the recent successes of the administration in its two key policy goals of access and quality in the basic and tertiary sub-sectors. The growth in these areas has been unprecedented over the last two years. Little wonder the international community has now deemed it fit to be fully involved in the quest to reposition education. As was agreed in all the meetings that involved the nation’s international education partners in the last one week, though the education sector is not where it should be, the highspeed train has definitely left the station and is heading smoothly to its destination. The education sector is no longer at the station where it was in 2011 and those saying otherwise are still lost in the last train station.
THE WEEKEND
20
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
e
W eKEND ENTERTAINMENT 2face Idibia Reachout Foundation Presents N3million Peace Award To Three Winners
THREE winners emerged from the 2Face Peace Award which held on Saturday, September.21 2013 (World Peace Day) at the Nicon Luxury Hotel Abuja. They received N1million each to use in furthering the various peace causes they have been involved in. The Awards kicked off the Million Voices of peace campaign being run by 2Face Idibia Reachout Foundation. The winners were selected from a pool of young people aged between 18 to 35years whose initiatives helped in promoting peace in their areas for at least 18 months. The winners were: Kyenpiya Jessica MakanNyabam of the CLAPAI was set up in 2006 by Emmanuel, an exprofessional footballer, to cater for children orphaned, affected or infected by HIV/ AIDS. They also care for children outside the orphanage and Emmanuel uses sports to engage the older youth in the community to foster peace. Second was the Christian Muslim Peace Movement which is based in Bauchi and Jos. They are a group
of young volunteers led by Aminu Garba Sidi who do conflict mediation, peace sensitization and other activities in schools and communities. They also work in NYSC camps and are contact persons and mobilizes or other peace projects in Nigeria. The third winner was Zainab Sandah who also received an honorable mention. She is involved in mobilizing and assisting the conflict prone Rigassa community in Kaduna in their efforts to access public sector education. She assisted in setting up a VSAT with computers for a community skills centre. 2Face charged the winners to continue in their efforts to support the poor and
• 2face
promote peace in Nigeria. He explained that the MVP was meant to re-orientate the “mindset of Nigerians to realize the senselessness in many of the conflicts and killing going on and let them know that peace is the only condition for progress”. “Most time when they tell you the reason for some of the conflicts, you will be very surprised and disappointed”. “As award winners, you are now peace ambassadors. People will be more interested in what you do. You have to continue to maintain the high standards you have set,” he said. President at the event were the president of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Hafsat AbiolaCostello, who gave a speech urging the rich to support the poor more; the Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) who represented by David Manya Dogo and Prof Braide, DG IPRC and the representative of the First Lady’s Peace Mission Mrs Betty Bassey. The 2Face Peace Awards was supported by APURIMAC, Action AID, UNDP and KIND.
With EFEMWENKIEKIE OSAS KELVIN
One Interesting Truth You Didn’t Know About Winner Of Glo X-Factor, DJ Switch THERE’s no doubt Glo X-Factor winner, Obianuju Catherine Udeh a.k.a DJ Switch’s dream has come true after walking home with a
• D.J. Switch
25 Year Old Model Wins Miss Earth Nigeria 2013
A 25 year old model Marie Miller has been crowned the overall winner of the 2013 Miss Earth Beauty pageant. The new queen was crowned during the show’s final on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. The third runner-
• Miss Earth 2013
up, Amarachi Uwakwe and Damilola Akinsanya, also won an award of Miss Amity, while the first runner-up, Bibowei Kiri Tessy, won the prize for the best swim suit. Judges for the beauty contest include American model and socialite, Amber Rose, American Actor,
Boris Kodjoe, and actress, Karlie Redd. Others were Nollywood star, Ini Edo, and photographer Kelechi Amadi-Obi. Co-hosted by actor Joseph Benjamin and Tolu Adeniru, the event saw performances from Nigeria’s finest entertainers, Dbanj and Timi Dakolo, as well as
whopping sum of N24million Naira and a recording contract with Sony Music. Glo X-Factor winner DJ Switch who is already a mother, in a
comedy from Julius Agwu and Funny Bone. Present at the event were notable players from the Nigerian entertainment industry- the national director for Nigeria to the Miss Earth and president of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, Ibinabo Fiberesima , actors Ejike Asiegbu, Fred Amata, and Segun Arinze. Others are president of the Association of Movie producers Nigeria, Zik Zulu Okafor, producers Lancelot Imasuen, Charles Novia, Fidelis Duker, Gbenga Adeyinka, amongst others. Apart from her crown, the new queen walks home with a brand new 2013 Toyota Avensis in addition to N3million on a year salary. She will also represent Nigeria at the Miss Earth pageant (World) scheduled to hold later on this year. Miller represented Nigeria in 2011 edition of Miss Model beauty pageant held in Instabul, Turkey.
recent interview revealed that she gave birth to her only child, back in 2005, three years before winning the STAR Quest music show along with Da Pulse. “My baby is eight; DJ Switch told Encomium weekly when asked how old her child is, stating that she would rather keep the identity of the child’s father private. The 29 year old musician/single mum also revealed that she
has been in another relationship, with an Igbo man for the past three years, ‘He understands me and my business but we always make out time to see each other’, she explains. The one time star Quest winner, DJ switch beat two other finalists and emerged the first ever winner of Glo XFactor music talent show. Switch beat two other finalists Eshun and Vicky at the final which recorded on Steptember 19, 2013 at dream studio, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos. Producers have however not announced the winner as the recording will be aired on television. As winner of the maiden edition of the show, DJ Switch walks away with N24million, an SUV and a recording contract with Sony Music. Switch who currently resides in Abuja, from Udi, Enugu State, and she studied Geology at the University of Port Harcourt. She was a member of Da Pulse, a band that won the 2009 edition of STAR QUEST music talent show. The band went on to sign Kennis Music and released the street anthem ‘So tey’ with a remix featuring Busta Rhymes. The band broke up a few years later with Switch still working on her music carrier, she was featured on Weird Mcs Da paper song in 2011.
Cinema In The Church?
THE question I keep asking myself is, does boring programs make members of the church Holy? The answer is no. Christians are supposed to be the happiest people on earth because Jesus died on the cross for our sins and gave us salvation. If you are saved, you should be happy. The Genesis Drama Group of the Citizens of Heaven Church (The Ark) has decided to set the trend because they think; it is fun to serve God. Though some doctrines
may argue that, it is unholy to show movie in church. What is unholy is watching film that will not add to your life in anyway, or build your spiritual life or contain nude seen. There is nothing unholy about showing film that will change your life completely. Please join us at 7 Okundia Avenue, off 2nd Ugbor road, off Adesuwa road, G.R.A Benin city and you will be glad you did. No ticket fee, popcorn and drinks also available at low price.
THE WEEKEND
21
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
eObasanjo’s Insult Made Me A
W eKEND ENTERTAINMENT
Stories By EDIONHON UYI THOMPSON
Superstar - Eedris Abdulkareem IN a recent interview with reporters where Weekend Entertainment was present live, Eedris disclosed about how he became a superstar. He was making reference to his hit controversial song ‘jagajaga’ and former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s response to his song. Looking back, the artiste, who has been in the game for two decades now says he is glad that he yielded to the call. He said: I would have
• Obasanjo
• Eedris Abdulkareem
How I Nurtured Wande Coal To Stardom, FOR every successful Her Mother Reveals man, there is always a woman, and behind the downfall of everyman
He started in the church choir when we were in
• Wande Coal
too, there will always be the trances of a woman or so they say. In the instance of the sensational Marvin Records superstar, Wande Coal there is a woman who is the solid rock behind his musical relevance and that’s his mother, Mrs. Omolara Ojosipe. She recently reveals how she nursed Wande Coal to stardom. In her words: it’s God.
Redeemed Christian Church, the source of inspiration for his career is God and I always tell him to return all glory back to God and whatever the challenges that comes along, he should just tell God. She said that the Marvin Records star also started from school, his words: in any gathering he would be singing and people would be
rejoicing, sometimes he would crack jokes to the bewilderment of all and sundry. But I notice that it was affecting his education and as a teacher, I didn’t like that, so l started to scold him and made sure he had good grades from secondary school but when he got to the university there is little I could do to have control on him, so that gave him the opportunity to fully delve into his music. When he started going to dance competitions and he started winning, then I knew he was destined for that and I asked God in prayer to reveal to me if music was his calling. didn’t know it would come that early, she also said that sometimes when he was going out, I would asked God to reveal to me if he was going to make headway in music and God revealed to me that he’s made to be popular musically. That was the time he won the Hyundai from Hip Hop Awards when he had not even released any record except singles.
made more money from music if I sing praises. But if you are a public officer who is accountable, I will definitely praise you. With music, I have met all my needs and gained international recognition. I have the authority to walk up to any governor’s door and get instant recognition and they will say ‘Ah Eedris Abdulkareem, Obasanjo’s friend, Jaga Jaga’, and it has opened many doors for me and I don’t have to sell my soul to the devil or become a
member of illuminati to be successful, he says amid laughter. When as to comment on the high point of his career, his face lights up in a smile; he said the best to ever happen to me was former president Olusegun Obasanjo talking back at me, calling me a mere Street boy whose father is not known. The president took me to the next level, I became a superstar and now people know me because Obasanjo put me in this level
Planet ‘G’ Ciauxz Rocks World Peace THE World Peace Day Event event but he brought Day event most have come and gone, but the memories lives on, on the minds of those that was present at the event. The event took place in Benin City at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on the 21 day of September 2013 and a lot of dignitaries graced the event like Chief Eduwu Ekhator the Obasogie of Benin Kingdomm Hon. Julius hovbere the secretary to Edo State Government and lots of other guest. High points of the event was when Planet ‘G’ Clauxz storm the stage to perform his hit track Go Down Low’ to the audience. The
audience was pull to their feet to dance to the hit song. The president of PCR (NOUN) who organize the Benin
entertainment into it which makes the event very interesting. P.C. Clauxz in a chat with Weekend Entertainment said
• Planet ‘G’
City event gave a lot of accolade to PG. Clauxz, his words: PG. Clauxz gave all of us here present a nice smile on our faces and got us to our feet to dance even though the event was a peace
that this is just the beginning of what he intends to give to his fans, that after the shooting of his new video he will come out with another dimension in his musical carrier.
BLACKFACE has finally got his career back on track as he has signed a N50 million deal with Franchise Event Limited, The deal which also includes a car and a house sees Blackface become the record labels biggest
name artiste for the now. Franchise Event Limited’s spokesperson said they decided to settle for Blackface because of his versatility, staying power in the music industry and his brand of music,
Blackface Back On Track, Signs N52m Record Deal
• Blackface
THE WEEKEND
22
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
o
C unselling
With
Influencing Human Behaviour DON’T you have more faith in ideas that you discover for yourself than in ideas that are handed to you on a silver platter? If so, isn’t it bad judgment to try to ram your opinions down the throats of other people? Isn’t it wiser to make suggestions and let the other person think out the conclusion? No one likes to feel that he or she is being sold something or told to do a thing. We much prefer to feel that we are buying of our own accord or acting on our own ideas. We like to be consulted about our wishes, our wants, our thoughts. The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of a hundred mountain shreams is that they keep below them. Thus, they are able to reign over all the mountain steams. So the sage, wishing to be above men, put himself behind them. Thus, though his place be above men, they do not feel his weight, though his place be before them, they do not count it an injury. The above assertion was made about twenty-five centuries ago, by Lao-tse, a Chinese sage. How to turn people into Gold. Stop a minute say’s Kenneth M. Goode to contrast your keen interest in your own affairs with your mild concern about anything else, realize then, that everybody else in the world feels exactly the same way. Then, along with Lincoln and Roosevelt, you will have grasped the only solid foundation for inter personal relationships, namely, that success in dealing with people depends on a sympathetic grasp of the other person’s viewpoint. In his book “Getting Through To People”, Dr Geralds Nirenberg c o m m e n t e d : “cooperativeness in conversation is achieved when you show that you consider the other person’s ideas and
feelings as important as your own starting your conversation by giving the other person the purpose or direction of your conversation, governing what you say by what you would want to hear is you were the listener and accepting his or her viewpoint will encourage the listener to have an open mind to your ideas. Wouldn’t you like to have a magic phrase that would stop arguments,
eliminate ill feeling, create good will and the other person listens attentively? “I don’t blame you one iota feeling as you do. If I were you I would undoubtedly feel just as you do. An answer like that wills often the most cantankerous old cuss alive. And you can say that and be 100 percent sincere, because, if you were the other person, you of course, would feel just as he does. The only reason, for example, that you are not a rattlesnake is that your mother and father weren’t rattlesnakes. Take Al Capone, for example. Suppose you had inherited the same body and temperament and mind that Al Capone had suppose you had his environment and experiences. You would then be precise about
what he was and where he was. For it is those things and only those things that made him what he was. You deserve very little credit for being what you are and remember, the people who come to you irritated, bigoted, unreasoning, deserve very little discredit for being what they are. Feel
neutralizing the acid of hard feelings. In his book “Ethics in service,” Taft gives rather an amusing illustration of how he softened the ire of a disappointed and ambitious mother. Dr. Arthur Gates said in his splendid book “ E d u c a t i o n a l Psychology”. Sympathy is what the human
sorry for the poor devils. Pity them. Sympathize with them. Three-fourths of the people you will ever meet are hungering and thirsting for sympathy. Give it to them and they will love you. Every man who occupies the White House is faced almost daily with thorny problems in human relations. President Taft was no exception and he learned from experience the enormous chemical value of sympathy in
species universally craves. The child eagerly displays his injury or even inflicts a cut or bruise in order to reap abundant sympathy. For the same purpose adults show their bruises, relate their accidents, illness, especially, details of surgical operations. Self pity for misfortunes real or imaginary is, in some measure, practically a universal practice. So, if you want to win people to your way of thinking, put this in practice. Be sympathetic
O.C. Madu GSM: 08056379608 with the other person’s ideas and desires. Harry A. Overstreet in his illuminating book said, “Action springs out of what we fundamentally desire” and the best piece of advice which can be given to would be persuaders, whether in business, in the home, in the school, in politics is first, arouse in the other person an eager want. He who can do this has the whole world with him. He cannot walk a lonely way. Remember tomorrow when you are trying to get somebody to do something. If, for example, you don’t want your children to smoke, don’t preach at them and don’t talk about what you want, but show them that cigarettes may keep them from making the basket ball or team or winning the hundred yard dash or become famous. This is a good thing to remember regardless of whether you are dealing with children or calves or chimpanzees for example, one day Ralph W. Emerson and his son tried to get a calf into a barn. But they made the common mistake of thinking only of what they wanted. Emerson pushed and his son pulled. But the calf was doing just what they were doing, he was thinking only of what he wanted, so he stiffened his legs and stubbornly effused to leave the pasture. The Irish housemaid saw their predicament. She could not write essays and books, but on this occasion at least, she
had more horse sense or calf sense than Emerson had. She thought of what the calf wanted, so, she put her maternal finger in the calf’s mouth and let the calf suck her finger as she gently led the calf into the barn. That was what the calf wanted and not otherwise. Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something. How about the time you gave a large contribution to the Red Cross? Yes, that is no exception to the rule. You gave the Red Cross the donation because, you wanted to lend a helping hand, you wanted to do a beautiful, unselfish, divine at. In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. If you hadn’t wanted that feeling more than you wanted your money, you would not have made the contribution because you were ashamed to refuse or because a customer asked you to do it. But one thing is certain. You made the contribution because you wanted something. Why talk about what we want? That is childish. Absurd. Of course, you are interested in what you want. You are eternally interested in it. But no one else is. The rest of us are just like you. We are interested in what we want. So, the only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.
“No one likes to feel that he or she is being sold something or told to do a thing. We much prefer to feel that we are buying of our own accord or acting on our own ideas. We like to be consulted about our wishes, our wants, our thoughts.”
THE WEEKEND
23
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
i
V ewpoint
Do You Know Who I Am?
THE problem starts with these words, ‘do you know who I am?’ thinking you are somebody, for all the wrong reasons. Yesterday, I was engaging with a Nigerian lawmaker and at some point in the conversation, he catechized me: Do you know who I am? Allow me to first introduce myself. March 18th, 2013, the day of the dastardly bus stop bombing at Sabo, in Kano and the birthday of ENDS, is the day I became who I am. I said, NEVER again…will I sit and not invest all I have to fight the terrorists and the cabal behind the situation making life unbearable and precipitating all forms of terror in Nigeria. I felt like I was in that bus. Perhaps I was in a sense…a part of me was; – the vacillating part. We will never forget March 18th! So to your question; yes, I do actually know who you are. You are nobody. Infact, worse still, you are worse than nobody; you are a problem, my problem, the problem of my people. A walking, talking indissoluble problem; like a bad movie that refuses to have a ‘The End’. Am I expected to respect you for your corruption? I’ll tell you what it is. You are not corrupt. Corrupt is a fancy word the colonialist invented to decorate your worthlessness. You, Sir, are a thief! It’s just an elevated level of the same stealing…shop-lifting. You claim you bought 100,000 uniforms for the soldiers, and leave them to dress in their old uniforms, with broken morale, so you can steal the money for the lot. YOU CLAIM YOU BOUGHT NEW EQUIPMENT , WHILE YOU ONLY REFURBISHED THE OLD ONE AND STOLE THE MONEY.
WITH YOUR
FAMILY AND FRIENDS, YOU DIVIDE UP MY COUNTRY. KICK - FRONTS .
Y OU TAKE Y OU CUT UP
NIGERIA AND TRANSFER IT TO THE CORP. YOU STARVE AND INCARCERATE THE POOR AND FEED AND FREE THE RICH.
YOU
STEAL MY MONEY… HOW THEN WILL I RESPECT YOU, YOU THIEF. Y OUR HANDS ARE IN MY POCKET, TAKING MY KOBO’S AND YOU ASK IF I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Who are you, Mr.
Lawmaker? How about you tell me who you are, and what laws you have made that have benefited me, that I may regard and respect you. Tell me what I need to be proud of, dear honorable, Mr. Excellency. Prove to yourself that you know what and how to develop our nation. Show me the qualifications you have that justify your appointment? Dishonesty is no degree, common, get serious. I may be a cleaner, a teacher, a gardener, a tailor, or I don’t even have a job—being one of the millions of unemployed Nigerians, thanks to you— but I am way better than you. When I do work, I am qualified for my job, and I do my work with due diligence. Can you say the same? How do you earn your wages and why are you the highest paid for it in the world, when in a depressing inverse relationship, you are the worst at it? There is no denying, a lot of what we become has to do with how we were raised. My dad was a diplomat in the BuhariIdiagbon administration. When the brutal IBB regime sacked them, he walked too. Unprepared for retirement, we drank garri and ate maggi-cube meat. But that empty belly and hardship taught meloyalty, dignity and honesty. Three words you may never understand. I am tempted to ask- what did you learn from your dad, Mr. Who-I-Am? Did he happen to tell you that God is the Only ‘I Am’? Depleted: You lack an ounce of dignity. Worthless: You lack morals. Hollow: You lack substance. Shallow: You lack vision. I am not saying this to console myself. I may not have but a few bills in my account, but trust me, I am heartily content. I am rich! A kind of richness you will never, ever enjoy. Every penny you have stolen weighs you down. This makes you need to steal more, and more. But all the money of the poor will leave you feeling only emptier. Every penny I have I earned decently—I
By DR. PEREGRINO BRIMAH
did not steal. And my pockets are empty because I gave what I did not need to eat today in charity. Can you say the same? I know who you are. You are the robber that stole my money. You are the murderer that led to the death of my friends and family; the termite that destroys our shelter; the rodent that steals our grain; the weevil in the beans. You are the cricket—the
Are you not afraid of death? Or like the Pharaohs of Egypt, you plan to be buried with the loot to pay your way through the afterlife? Take a hint. The gold was found in their tombs with their rotting bodies, by men and not the custodians of the gates. It bought them nothing in easing their pain in hell. I know who you are. Your method is to convert men into monsters. You
• Senator David Mark
generators you condemn us to—that disturb our sleep at night and raise our blood pressure. You are the dead battery; the squeaky sound that tells me my door hinge needs grease. The gum underneath my shoe. You are what I take Panadol for. You steal my money then use it to buy my loyalty, my votes. Not because I am stupid, no, but rather because I am hungry, that is why I took the money from you in the past. It was my money; I only wanted and needed it back. And I voted for you as agreed, again, not because I was stupid, no, but because I am a man of my word. I took back my money with a promise to vote you in, and a trust that though you are a villain, you said you will do those things, and I gave you my trust. Now that I have explained myself, can you do the same? Pray, tell, how do you sleep at night?
go to bed hungry? ‘Nigeria: The worst nation to be born!’ Thanks. Do you not see the development in America? In Brazil? In Malaysia? Even in the dictatorial Arab kingdoms like Qatar, Kuwait, UAE? And knowing that it is who you are that makes Nigeria stay so retarded? Do you know there are superb subways in Hugo Chavez’ Venezuela? Do you know there is constant running water and electricity in the patchy camps of
and I am insulted. People ask me what’s wrong with my country. I tuck my head in shame. They think there is something wrong with the black race because of you, Mr. Legislooter. I know there are so many more Nigerians, honest, decent, intelligent, willing and able to make the flowers bloom, and re-establish this great nation into a world leader. A nation that not only takes care of its own, but fulfills its destiny, addressing problems of blacks and non blacks worldwide, as
• Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC boss
surround yourself with them, and when your conscience is pricked by a worthy man, you figure out how to corrupt him, to make him like you. You bribe as much of the polity as you can, to justify your ephemeral conscience that all men are bad. No one is like you. Bribed, corrupted, diminished, we are still not you. You are alone. You are the rot, the bedbug, the leech that sucks the blood and spreads sickness. I have no respect for you. We have no respect for you. Who are you? What do you see in the mirror when you dress-up; ready to go out again to cut up the property of the people you are servant to? How do you feel as a father who steals from the property of all the friends of his children? How do you feel as a mother, to whose credit, many mothers cry every night as their families
Palestine? That after 2 years of war, Assad still provides electricity to Damascus? The wise prophet is reported to have said: The greatest Jihad is a word of truth to a tyrant leader. There, you got it. You are the prion that has detoured and converted all of Nigeria’s brightest minds, even our Nobel laureate into full time activists and our great students into kidnappers, thugs and terrorists. You sleep feeling safe in your tall fences, and with your armed guards, knowing that the people who pay you to serve them are dying as you sleep, due to your uselessness, endangered by your mismanagement, exposed by your vandalism, aged by your treachery. What can you do to me? Lock me in jail? I live in jail. You have made my country a prison. Kill me? I am dead already. Shame has killed me. I travel abroad
we did with Jamaica, with South Africa, once upon a time. A nation that proposes and determines solutions in Africa, in the Middle East, even in Europe. A nation to which African Americans will troop back and settle in; but not just, even Caucasians will apply to emigrate to. A nation that in a world of increasing crises, is not the bottom of the pot, but the beacon of hope. But the few of you who have held on to power since our independence, and the additional shameless morally insolvent new generation mentees, have made the nation invalid, wheel-chair bound. The shame has killed me. There is nothing you can do. Shout as loud as you can; – DO I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I Do: You are a bloody, petty thief. Not worthy enough to polish my shoes. And one day, you will be buried.
THE WEEKEND
24
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
i
V ewpoint
Rotimi Amaechi: Traitor Of Survivalist?
THE problem starts with these words, ‘do you know who I am?’ thinking you are somebody, for all the wrong reasons. Yesterday, I was engaging with a Nigerian lawmaker and at some point in the conversation, he catechized me: Do you know who I am? Allow me to first introduce myself. March 18th, 2013, the day of the dastardly bus stop bombing at Sabo, in Kano and the birthday of ENDS, is the day I became who I am. I said, NEVER again…will I sit and not invest all I have to fight the terrorists and the cabal behind the situation making life unbearable and precipitating all forms of terror in Nigeria. I felt like I was in that bus. Perhaps I was in a sense…a part of me was; – the vacillating part. We will never forget March 18th! So to your question; yes, I do actually know who you are. You are nobody. In-fact, worse still, you are worse than nobody; you are a problem, my problem, the problem of my people. A walking, talking indissoluble problem; like a bad movie that refuses to have a ‘The End’. Am I expected to respect you for your corruption? I’ll tell you what it is. You are not corrupt. Corrupt is a fancy word the colonialist invented to decorate your worthlessness. You, Sir, are a thief! It’s just an elevated level of the same stealing…shop-lifting. You claim you bought 100,000 uniforms for the soldiers, and leave them to dress in their old uniforms, with broken morale, so you can steal the money for the lot. YOU CLAIM YOU BOUGHT NEW EQUIPMENT , WHILE YOU ONLY REFURBISHED THE OLD ONE AND STOLE THE MONEY.
WITH
YOUR
FAMILY AND FRIENDS, YOU DIVIDE UP MY COUNTRY.
YOU TAKE KICK-
FRONTS. YOU CUT UP NIGERIA AND
TRANSFER IT TO THE CORP. YOU STARVE AND INCARCERATE THE POOR AND FEED AND FREE THE RICH .
YOU
STEAL MY MONEY …
I RESPECT YOU, YOUR HANDS ARE IN MY POCKET, TAKING MY KOBO’S AND YOU ASK IF I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Who are you, Mr. Lawmaker? How about you tell me who you are, and what laws you have made that have benefited me, that I may regard and respect you. Tell me what I need to be proud of, dear honorable, Mr. Excellency. Prove to yourself that you know what and how to develop our nation. Show me the qualifications you have that justify your appointment? Dishonesty is HOW THEN WILL YOU THIEF.
no degree, common, get serious. I may be a cleaner, a teacher, a gardener, a tailor, or I don’t even have a job— being one of the millions of unemployed Nigerians, thanks to you—but I am way better than you. When I do work, I am qualified for my job, and I do my work with due diligence. Can you say the same? How do you earn your wages and why are you the highest paid for it in the world, when in a depressing inverse relationship, you are the worst at it? There is no denying, a lot of what we become has to do with how we were raised. My dad was a diplomat in the B u h a r i - I d i a g b o n
By DR. PEREGRINO BRIMAH
decently—I did not steal. And my pockets are empty because I gave what I did not need to eat today in charity. Can you say the same? I know who you are. You are the robber that stole my money. You are the murderer that led to the death of my friends and family; the termite that destroys our shelter; the rodent that steals our grain; the weevil in the beans. You are the cricket—the
• President Goodluck Jonathan administration. When the brutal IBB regime sacked them, he walked too. Unprepared for retirement, we drank garri and ate maggi-cube meat. But that empty belly and hardship taught me- loyalty, dignity and honesty. Three words you may never understand. I am tempted to ask- what did you learn from your dad, Mr. Who-I-Am? Did he happen to tell you that God is the Only ‘I Am’? Depleted: You lack an ounce of dignity. Worthless: You lack morals. Hollow: You lack substance. Shallow: You lack vision. I am not saying this to console myself. I may not have but a few bills in my account, but trust me, I am heartily content. I am rich! A kind of richness you will never, ever enjoy. Every penny you have stolen weighs you down. This makes you need to steal more, and more. But all the money of the poor will leave you feeling only emptier. Every penny I have I earned
generators you condemn us to—that disturb our sleep at night and raise our blood pressure. You are the dead battery; the squeaky sound that tells me my door hinge needs grease. The gum underneath my shoe. You are what I take Panadol for.
• Bamanga Tukur
You steal my money then use it to buy my loyalty, my votes. Not because I am stupid, no, but rather because I am hungry, that is why I took the money from you in the past. It was my money; I only wanted and needed it back. And I voted for you as agreed, again, not because I was stupid, no, but because I am a man of my word. I took back my money
afraid of death? Or like the Pharaohs of Egypt, you plan to be buried with the loot to pay your way through the afterlife? Take a hint. The gold was found in their tombs with their rotting bodies, by men and not the custodians of the gates. It bought them nothing in easing their pain in hell. I know who you are. Your method is to convert men into monsters. You surround yourself with them, and when your conscience is pricked by
• Gov. Rotimi Ameachi with a promise to vote you in, and a trust that though you are a villain, you said you will do those things, and I gave you my trust. Now that I have explained myself, can you do the same? Pray, tell, how do you sleep at night? Are you not
a worthy man, you figure out how to corrupt him, to make him like you. You bribe as much of the polity as you can, to justify your ephemeral conscience that all men are bad. No one is like you. Bribed, corrupted, diminished, we are still not you. You are alone. You are the rot, the bedbug, the leech that sucks the blood and spreads sickness. I have no respect for you. We have no respect for you. Who are you? What do you see in the mirror when you dress-up; ready to go out again to cut up the property of the people you are servant to? How do you feel as a father who steals from the property of all the friends of his children? How do you feel as a mother, to whose credit, many mothers cry every night as their families go to bed hungry? ‘Nigeria: The worst nation to be born!’ Thanks. Do you not see the development in America? In Brazil? In Malaysia? Even in the dictatorial Arab kingdoms like Qatar, Kuwait, UAE? And knowing that it is who you are that makes Nigeria stay so
retarded? Do you know there are superb subways in Hugo Chavez’ Venezuela? Do you know there is constant running water and electricity in the patchy camps of Palestine? That after 2 years of war, Assad still provides electricity to Damascus? The wise prophet is reported to have said: The greatest Jihad is a word of truth to a tyrant leader. There, you got it. You are the prion that has detoured and converted all of Nigeria’s brightest minds, even our Nobel laureate into full time activists and our great students into kidnappers, thugs and terrorists. You sleep feeling safe in your tall fences, and with your armed guards, knowing that the people who pay you to serve them are dying as you sleep, due to your uselessness, endangered by your mismanagement, exposed by your vandalism, aged by your treachery. What can you do to me? Lock me in jail? I live in jail. You have made my country a prison. Kill me? I am dead already. Shame has killed me. I travel abroad and I am insulted. People ask me what’s wrong with my country. I tuck my head in shame. They think there is something wrong with the black race because of you, Mr. Legislooter. I know there are so many more Nigerians, honest, decent, intelligent, willing and able to make the flowers bloom, and reestablish this great nation into a world leader. A nation that not only takes care of its own, but fulfills its destiny, addressing problems of blacks and non blacks worldwide, as we did with Jamaica, with South Africa, once upon a time. A nation that proposes and determines solutions in Africa, in the Middle East, even in Europe. A nation to which African Americans will troop back and settle in; but not just, even Caucasians will apply to emigrate to. A nation that in a world of increasing crises, is not the bottom of the pot, but the beacon of hope. But the few of you who have held on to power since our independence, and the additional shameless morally insolvent new generation mentees, have made the nation invalid, wheel-chair bound. The shame has killed me. There is nothing you can do. Shout as loud as you can; – DO I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I Do: You are a bloody, petty thief. Not worthy enough to polish my shoes. And one day, you will be buried.
THE WEEKEND
25
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
o
S ciety IN 1995, Brian Hare began to wonder what his dog Oreo was thinking. At the time, he was a sophomore at Emory University, where he was studying animal psychology with Michael Tomasello. Dr. Tomasello was comparing the social intelligence of humans and other animals. Humans, it was known at the time, are exquisitely sensitive to signals from other humans. We use that
information to solve problems that we might struggle to figure out on our own. Dr. Tomasello discovered that chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, typically fail to notice much of this social information. Pointing to the location of a hidden banana will usually not help a chimp find the banana, for example. Perhaps the pointing test revealed something important about how the human mind evolved. But Mr. Hare had his doubts. “I think my dog can do that,” he declared. To persuade his mentor, he videotaped Oreo chasing after tennis balls. And indeed, when he pointed left or right, off the dog would run, in the indicated direction, to find a ball. He then followed up with
Studying Canine Minds a full-blown experiment, using food hidden under cups in his garage; Oreo consistently picked out the right cup after Mr. Hare pointed to it, and other dogs (including some who had never seen Mr. Hare) did well too. After he got his doctorate in biological anthropology from
Harvard, Dr. Hare and his colleagues finally published their results: Dogs could indeed pass the pointing test, while wolves, their wild relatives, could not. Dr. Hare, now an associate professor at Duke, has continued to probe the canine mind, but his research has been constrained by the number of dogs he can study. Now he hopes to expand his research geometrically, with the help of dog owners around the world. He is the chief scientific officer of a new company
By CARL ZIMMER called Dognition, which produces a Web site where people can test their dog’s cognition, learn about their pets and, Dr. Hare hopes, supply him and his colleagues with scientific data on tens of thousands of dogs. “Because it’s big data,
gift, it didn’t make them more intelligent in general. “If you compare them to wolves as individuals, they look like idiots,” Dr. Hare said. “But if you then show them having a human solve the problem, they’re geniuses.” To explore dog cognition
we can ask questions that nobody could have a chance to look at,” he said. From his previous research, Dr. Hare has argued that dogs evolved their extraordinary social intelligence once their ancestors began lingering around early human settlements. As he and his wife, Vanessa Woods, explain in their new book, “The Genius of Dogs,” natural selection favored the dogs that did a better job of figuring out the intentions of humans. While this evolution gave dogs one cognitive
further, he set up the Duke Canine Cognition Center in 2009. He and his colleagues built a network of 1,000 dog owners willing to bring in their pets for tests. Dr. Hare began to investigate new questions about dogs with this willing pack of animals. With a grant from the Office of Naval Research, for example, he is looking at ways to identify dogs for jobs like bomb detection. “They spend two years trying to get these dogs ready to go, and then most programs lose 7 out of 10,”
he said. “Maybe they can’t take the commands, or maybe they can’t take the perspective of the humans.” He is trying to find the “cognitive style” of the successful service dogs. To do so, he and his colleagues have developed a battery of 30 tests that altogether take four hours to administer. They have tested 200 dogs and are searching for hallmarks that set the service dogs apart. He helped form Dognition, he said, partly because of interest from dog trainers who asked him if they could test their own dogs’ cognitive style. The tests are now available online: For a fee, dog owners get video instructions for how to carry them out. (Besides the pointing test, they include a test in which the owner yawns and then watches to see if the dog does too — a potential sign that dog and owner are strongly bonded.) The company then analyzes how a given dog compares with others in its database for qualities like empathy and memory. Not every expert is convinced, however, that such seemingly objective judgments can be gleaned from research that is still in its early stages. “To me, part of being a dog scientist is acknowledging up front how little we know about their cognition,” said Alexandra Horowitz, a dog cognition expert at Barnard College. “I’d like to see a company which tries to strengthen relationships between dogs and people by getting people excited about the fact that science has just begun to investigate the dog mind, and our current understanding is minimal. It would be honest to admit how mysterious this other
mind really is.” Dr. Hare agrees that dog owners should not look at the tests as a canine equivalent of the SATs. “What we’re desperately trying to stay away from is, ‘Your dog is a 99, and your dog is 20, and 99 is better than 20,’ ” he said. “Maybe one cognitive style is better in one context than another.” Adam Miklosi, a dog cognition expert at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest and a scientific adviser to Dognition, says the tests should not be prescriptive. “It’s not like a phone number you call to get your washing machine fixed,” he said. “It’s a fun thing to do.” Dr. Hare says his main goal is to build a database that will shed light on longstanding questions about behavior, breeding and genetics — for example, whether the cognitive styles of various breeds can be linked to their genes. (Dr. Miklosi cautions, however, that the data that comes from people playing games with their dogs in their living room won’t be as carefully controlled as the experiments scientists run in their labs.) One hypothesis has already emerged from Dognition’s users, Dr. Hare said. A surprising link turned up between empathy in dogs and deception. The dogs that are most bonded to their owners turn out to be most likely to observe their owner in order to steal food. “I would not have thought to test for that relationship at Duke, but with Dognition we can see it,” said Dr. Hare. As the science of dog cognition comes into better focus, Dr. Hare hopes that scientists can use Dognition to deliver their insights to dog trainers. Science-based dog training would take into account what dogs are good at, what they’re bad at and the biases that influence their minds.
“As the science of dog cognition comes into better focus, Dr. Hare hopes that scientists can use Dognition to deliver their insights to dog trainers.”
THE WEEKEND
26
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
i
V ewpoint
Explanations For Archbishop Kattey’s Kidnap POPULAR U.S. gospel artiste, Donnie McClurkin sang: ‘these are the days of Elijah…,’ but, I beg to disagree. For I see incongruity in that disclosure that the present times is ala the days of Elijah. How can we be in the days of a man whose words caused fire to rain from heaven and consume troops of soldiers sent to arrest him, yet have miscreants kidnap an Archbishop? It wasn’t even a captain and fifty of his men that came for the abducted Archbishop as it were in Elijah’s case but mere criminals. And it wasn’t even as if they tried twice and failed as was experienced with Elijah, the kidnappers struck just once and a cleric in the standing of Most Rev. Ignatius Ogboru Kattey was whisked away into a lair. With this in mind, Pastor McClurkin had better likened our days to those of another character, but definitely not Elijah! I’m pretty sure that the ‘troubler of Isreal’ had the power to see to the death of the earlier two detachment of soldiers detailed to go and arrest him because he spoke the naked truth to power. In other words, fire from heaven hearkened to Elijah’s command because he spoke against the poor choice made by the then ruler of Samaria. Pray in our country brimming with political leaders who don’t take God into consideration in their decisions, how many of our religious leaders today are speaking truth to power, let alone speak the naked truth? The above question is answered in the fact that kidnapping is now a major menace in our country to the extent that an Archbishop would be a victim. Indeed, kidnapping is a fallout of the poor choices made by our leaders which would not have been if our clerics cause those in authority to defer to God as they run the country. But since they didn’t recourse to God, there abound too many faux pas that should keep our clerics busy and voluble. They should be incensed to talk given the outrageous sum politicians collect as security votes but vote same for
By UGOCHUKWU UGWUANYI themselves. I doubt if our clergymen would ever leave their comfort zone to demand what is right from government. This is as many of them have failed to
addressing these twin evils? If Prophet Elijah of old was to be here, I’m sure what government suffered in the hands of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi would have been a child’s play. Our
Archbishop Kattey use this window, of having a top christian leader abducted, to deplore the state of insecurity in the country. If they can’t do this when Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey who is the Chairman of Christian Council of Nigeria in South South Area Council is kidnapped, is it when a sexton is abducted that they would speak up? Thank gracious sextons and people like him are not within the radar of kidnap syndicates. One of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome who recently regained freedom after been held hostage for three weeks described his abductors as ”angry and desperate well-read graduates” who told him they were pushed into kidnapping by the height of unemployment and poverty prevalent in the country. Having heard these as the causes of kidnapping from (pardon the cliché) the horse’s mouth, which clergyman can we say have held government to task on
today clerics are lucky that the way they are now being perceived by political leaders is far higher than how their counterparts in the yore were perceived and treated by the then emperors and rulers. The fact that President Goodluck Jonathan, not too long ago, knelt while Pastor Enoch Adebayo was ministering testifies to this. Hence, there is a greater propensity for our political leaders to take seriously whatever our today men of God have to say. Their words are seen as weighty unlike those of garrulous journalists and social critics which political leaders dismiss as being of featherweight to their continued stay in power. Even when political leaders don’t respect the criticisms of clerics on account of God, they will surely respect same because they are coming from leaders of thought. For they know a bishop can easily tell members of his congregation to vote out
an under-performing regime and that would be all his people need to do him in at the polls. What happened to Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State is still fresh in our memory. This forms part of the reasons knocks coming from MoGs are not taken for granted by politicians. In as much as they are wont to rigging themselves into power, they know that rigging is made difficult when a section of the voting public is against their candidacy. And taking into cognisance how averse they are to hardwork, such politicians wouldn’t want to create extra stress for themselves. Since our religious leaders have this might at their disposal, it calls for wonder why they haven’t been going in this might of theirs. Perhaps they never thought one of them will be a victim of their passivity. Nonetheless, it should be clarified that this isn’t a call for them to be unnecessarily antagonistic of government, neither are they expected to forgo their pastoral metier to become social critics. It’s simply an invitation for them to speak truth to power since power is attentive to them. An innocent call on them to leverage on their powers to neutralise or put in check our do-nothing political leaders. They can, for instance, intensify the call for President Jonathan to go after his friends and ‘generals’ who have been stealing the nation’s crude oil; an act which docks the fund government could have used to create employment and fight poverty. They can equally add their voices in condemnation of the lingering ASUU strike that can lead students into joining the kidnap business or they can just help the nation by putting the various state governors in check. As it seems, instances abound of expedient things needed to move the nation forward which they need to speak out for. Moving ahead, another way members of the clergy are indicted for the kidnap of one of their own is in the fact that most of those who engage in kidnapping are actually members of their congregations. One gospel artiste whose music overran the eastern part of the
country in the 90s sang that whenever he went to churches and saw the mammoth crowd, he was always forced to wonder who then the assassins, armed robbers, prostitutes, murderers, (I took the liberty to add) kidnappers are. He concluded that they are among those gently sitted in the pews. I can’t agree any less! Our churches and mosques have continued to
‘preachers’ is the money that rolls in as tithes and offerings. Having this as the case, why won’t kidnappers see an Archbishop as another prey they can easily take advantage of? Apparently, their ‘pastors’ must have been so preoccupied with sermons on being fruitful that they failed to intimate their rogue members about God’s injunction that forbids touching His anointed or doing His prophet any harm(Psalm 105:15). Be that as it may, the chicken have come home to roost. But the unfortunate
Barr Mike Ozekhome have rogue members. It remains to be seen how the messages preached by priests and imams have been able to influence such members. It is said, in Hebrews 4:12, that the Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword as it penetrates even into dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow… How then is it that the word being preached today is not penetrating into evil elements who attend church services to gain societal approval? Perchance, it is because the real Word of God is no longer being expounded. It may also be because preachers nowadays simply preach to their congregation those sermons they would want to hear and not what God wants them to hear. This explains why prosperity preaching is the order of the day with some ‘men of God’ telling their members to do whatever their hands findeth to do not minding whether it is offensive to the society. All that matters to such
thing is that they are roasting on a leader of one of the very few denominations that teach the true Word of God without obliging members what they want to hear. That is why I’m confident that the taking into hostage of Most Rev. Kattey isn’t unto the disgrace of God’s kingdom or the Anglican Communion, instead, it is for the glory of God to be made manifest. Didn’t the holy writ record that Apostles Paul and Silas were beaten and confined to the inner cell with each of their feet fastened to stocks? Yet, that didn’t stop God from using a violent earthquake to fly the prison doors open and let loose the chains on each prisoners’ leg. This happened when Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God around midnight. Little wonder the Archbishop has been released already. He must have gone the way of Paul and Silas of old. Indeed, his kidnap was to teach leaders of the churches a lesson. It is hoped that the lesson is well learnt.
THE WEEKEND
27
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
Today’s Diet With Pastor E. A. Adeboye
Moses, A World Leader Memorise: Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3 Read:
Numbers 12:2-4
Bible in one year:
Ezra 1-4.
Action point: Prayerfully seek God’s face on an area you desire to be a world leader. Ask for grace to do. APART from David, another Bible character who win all his internal battle. This was a man who won heaven’s prize for meekness the world over during his time. “Now the man Moses was very meek, above, all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” Numbers 12:3 From this scripture, we learnt that God has prize winners, nation by nation and on a worldwide scale for various areas of the fruit of the Spirit. He has a record of the most loving, most patient, most caring, greatest soul winner, best praise leader, g r e a t e s t worshippers most thankful person, etc. If you were assessed by God in all these areas, would you emerge
a world leader? If you truly care about your standing in any of these areas before God, and you ask Him, He can tell you. He has the record for every parish and every activity. That means, at the end of thanksgiving service held at every local assembly, God scores everyone who gave Him thanks. Once in a while, He can tell the pastor the person who danced the most or who thanked Him the most, and you can be sure that being the best in a particular activity attracts a special reward above the normal. Another lesson here is that it is possible to be a world leader in a particular area of grace and still mess up in some other areas.
Moses was a world leader in meekness yet he could not win the battle against anger. Further still, we learnt that being a world leader in a given area does not absolve you of the punishment for failing in another area Moses missed the Promised Land because of anger. But thank God that he did not miss H eaven. This tells
us that while you sustain your strengths, do not neglect your weaknesses. Neglecting your weaknesses can eventually erode the glory of your strengths. Strive to be the best in every Kingdom activity. You can be the best giver in a kingdom project without giving the highest. Just give your all like the widow did. RECONCILIATION/ CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Omoragbon Osakpamwan Wellington wish to bring for the information of the general public that I am the same person called Omoragbon Wellington as appeared in my Bank Account with First Bank Plc. However, I am now properly called O m o r a g b o n Osakpamwan Wellington First Bank Plc, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and concerned authorities should please take note.
CHANGE OF NAME AKPOR – I formerly known as Miss Kelly Iroro Akpor now wish to be known as Mrs. Iroro Kelly Olumide Bezi. Former documents remain valid. Zenith Bank, concerned authorities and the general public please take note.
CHANGE OF NAME UMOWRA – I formerly known and addressed as Miss Umowra Amenawon Josephine now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aramude Amenawon Josephine. All former documents remain valid. Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.
Sonia Weds Pedro
CHANGE OF NAME OFANSON – I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ofure Ofanson now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ofure Egbeobawaye. All former documents remain valid. Concerned authorities, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the general public should please take note.
The solemnization of marriage between former Miss Mayowa Sonia Alaran and Mr. Pedro Jackson Osagie (based in Germany) took place on Friday 27th Sept. 2013 at the Oredo Local Government Council Marriage Registry in Benin City. Amongst those present were Mr. Osahon H. Amadin, Mr. Edorodion Alaran, family members, relations, friends and well wishers. Photo shows the couple at the Registry. Congratulations. Photo: Sonnie. E.
CHANGE OF NAME -OSAZUWA – I formerly Miss Roseline Osazuwa now Mrs. Roseline Idehen. All former documents remain valid. General public and all concerned authorities should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME OWENAZE – I formerly known and addressed as Owenaze Harrison now wish to be known and addressed as Okhiaro David Junior. All former documents remain valid. Concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.
Dolly Weds Charles
CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Emmanuel Vincent Akinkunmi wish to bring for the information of the general public that I am the same person as Emmanuel Vincent as appeared in my various documents. It should be known therefore, that I am properly known and addressed as Emmanuel Vincent Akinkunmi. All former documents remain valid, concerned authorities and Skye Bank Plc should please take note.
The solemnization of marriage between former Miss Dolly Edewor and Mr. Charles Edoreh (Lagos based Businessman) took place on Friday 27th Sept. 2013 at the Oredo Local Government Council Marriage Registry in Benin City. Dignitaries present include family members, relations, friends and well wishers. Picture shows the couple at the Registry. Congratulations. Photo: SONNIE. E.
THE WEEKEND
28
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
e Largest-Ever Push To Diagnose Tuberculosis
H alth D I A G N O S I N G tuberculosis (TB) and also getting to know with accuracy about resistance to one of the two most powerful anti-TB drugs (Rifampicin) is increasingly becoming a reality on the ground. The largest-ever roll-out of Gene Xpert MTB/RIF machines in countries most severely hit by drug-resistant TB was launched on 10th September 2013 at the National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory in Yangon, Myanmar, with support from UNITAID, an organization whose 70% funding is raised by innovative financing mechanisms such as levying a small fee on airline tickets. UNITAID has invested USD 25.9 million to purchase over 220 GeneXpert machines and 1.4 million test cartridges for 21 countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership, this project known as TBXpert - is estimated to save an additional 62,000 lives. TURNAROUND TIME REDUCED FROM 2-3 MONTHS TO WITHIN 2 HOURS TB and drug susceptibility testing - DST (test done to find to which anti-TB drugs TB bacterium might be sensitive or resistant to) reports take a long time to come unless done by rapid diagnostic techniques. Solid culture TB diagnostic method takes about 2-3 months, liquid culture TB diagnostic method takes about 2-3 weeks and Line Probe Assay (LPA) TB diagnostic method takes about 3-7 days to give back a report. Now with Gene Xpert MTB/RIF on the ground the patient can get the report within two hours. Unlike Gene Xpert MTB/RIF, solid and liquid cultures and LPA TB diagnostic test methods require highly equipped state-of-the-art bio safety level II and III laboratories to function. Gene Xpert MTB/
RIF can operate with satisfactory efficiency in clinic setting. By rolling out GeneXpert machines in resource-poor and high burden TB (and MultidrugResistant TB or MDR-TB) countries we are surely overcoming a major hurdle of establishing costintensive laboratories. Dr Fuad Mirzayev of the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme said that 1400 Gene Xpert MTB/RIF machines have already been put to use in 88 countries. Three million cartridges have been used from December 2010 till end of last year. Largest-ever roll-out of Gene Xpert in 21 countries will increasingly make early and accurate diagnosis of TB and drug resistance a reality on the ground. Gene Xpert MTB/RIF is also empowering clinics and DOTS centres on the frontlines with their expanded capacity to hand over the TB test report (and Rifampicin drug sensitivity report) within two hours to the patient, reducing the time for initiating proper treatment as required. “Diagnosing TB and rifampicin drug resistance earlier will not only help improve early access to care for people with TB or drug-resistant TB but also reduce TB transmission in the community,” said Dr Tin Mi Mi Khaing, Regional TB Officer, Yangon Region in Myanmar. SPUTUM SMEAR NEGATIVE SAMPLES CAN BE TESTED WITHIN TWO HOURS “Gene Xpert MTB/RIF fills in a big niche”, remarked Dr Fuad Mirzayev. Samples from patients that are sputum smear positive are sent to laboratories with LPAs for testing, reports of which take 3-7 days to come. But sputum smear negative samples cannot be tested by LPA and had to be sent for culture testing (reports of
By BOBBY RAMAKANT
Within Two Hours
which will take between 2-3 weeks to 2-3 months to come). Gene Xpert MTB/RIF has helped reduce the time for testing of sputum smear negative samples as well to within two hours. The best is yet to come, as point-of-care
another powerful anti-TB drug as mono-resistance to rifampicin is fairly uncommon. So a positive result for Rifampicin resistance by Gene Xpert MTB/RIF indicates that the patient has MDR-TB and
normal functioning of Gene Xpert. Diagnosing TB and testing for drug resistance outside of resource intensive Bio-Safety Level (BSL) II or III laboratories is finally becoming a reality in increasing centres in high
TB and drug susceptibility testing (DST) is top on the wish list for research and development of new TB diagnostics, which Dr Fuad believes will help boost TB control significantly. SEEING IS BELIEVING: GENE XPERT MTB/RIF AT DOTS CENTRES Citizen News Service CNS visited a Model DOTS Centre of North Okkalapa Township, in Yangon, Myanmar where a Gene Xpert MTB/RIF machine has been installed with support from UNITAID on 27 August 2013. Dr Khin Zaw Latt, a microbiologist at this DOTS centre said that 17 samples have been tested by this machine since then out of which 7 came positive for TB and 2 also had Rifampicin resistance. Resistance to rifampicin is considered as a surrogate marker for resistance to isoniazid,
should be put on the standard MDR-TB treatment. POWER OUTAGE IS A CHALLENGE Speaking to CNS about her experience of using a Gene Xpert MTB/RIF machine at a DOTS centre, Dr Khin Zaw Latt said that electricity supply is one of the challenges. If there is a power breakdown when Gene Xpert is testing samples then the cartridges will go waste. To overcome this challenge, Gene Xpert machine installed at this DOTS centre had a power backup from batteries and very soon a generator is expected to be installed to further ensure uninterrupted power supply. We also saw another Gene Xpert machine installed at the Mandalay General Hospital in Myanmar that had a power backup too. AIR-CONDITIONING REQUIRED WHERE TEMPERATURES ARE OVER 35-40 DEGREES CELSIUS Dr Fuad Mirzayev explained to CNS that Gene Xpert performs PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) that increases the temperature manifold but does not have an advanced cooling mechanism other than a fan. For DOTS centres or places where temperature is more than 35-40 degrees Celsius installing an airconditioner will ensure
burden TB countries. POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH IN MYANMAR Dr Min Than Nyunt, Director General, Department of Health, Myanmar said that bio-safety level III laboratories where solid and liquid culture and LPA testing is done for TB and DST were launched in Yangon and Mandalay in 2009 onwards. UNITAID had helped support building the infrastructure and training of technical staff to improve TB diagnostics and drug susceptibility testing in Myanmar.4.2% of new TB cases and about 10% of previously treated TB cases are found resistant to two most powerful anti-TB drugs in Myanmar thus needing treatment for MDR-TB. About 3,300 MDR-TB patients have benefited since then by receiving standard and quality assured diagnostics and treatment support since then. Cure rate of MDR-TB treatment in Myanmar is 70%. There are 19 Gene Xpert machines functioning in Myanmar presently which includes: 4 machines provided with support from UNITAID; 3 machines provided with support from the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union); 3 machines provided with
“TB and drug susceptibility testing - DST (test done to find to which anti-TB drugs TB bacterium might be sensitive or resistant to) reports take a long time to come unless done by rapid diagnostic techniques. Solid culture TB diagnostic method takes about 2-3 months, liquid culture TB diagnostic method takes about 2-3 weeks and Line Probe Assay (LPA) TB diagnostic method takes about 3-7 days to give back a report. Now with Gene Xpert MTB/RIF on the ground the patient can get the report within two hours.”
support from Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Holland; 6 machines provided with support from Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund), 1 machine provided with support from FHI 360; and 2 machines provided with support from Stop TB CIDA. GETTING MORE VALUE FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON TB CONTROL Dr Denis Broun, Executive Director, UNITAID, said that UNITAID’s priority was to find market solutions to benefit everyone globally. UNITAID was part of the team that negotiated significantly reduced prices for TB diagnostics and supplies so that everyone can get more value for the investment they make in TB control. The cost of Gene Xpert machine and cartridges has come down after successful negotiations were held by US Agency for International Development (USAID), US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), UNITAID and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with the manufacturer, Cepheid. The cost of cartridges of Gene Xpert came down by nearly 42% to USD 9.98 (from USD 17) and cost of Gene Xpert machine came down to USD 17,000 (with desktop) or USD 17,500 (with laptop). TB financing has also increased in Myanmar over the past years. Dr Erwin Cameroon of WHO said that few years back TB was among the orphan diseases disproportionately affecting poor with very little financial and political commitments. However now the TB response has changed for good and budget for TB control in Myanmar has increased twenty fold. Diagnosing people with TB and drug-resistant TB early and accurately is one of the top priorities. Providing standard and quality assured uninterrupted treatment as early as possible after accurate diagnosis is another challenge confronting countries heavily affected by TB. More investment and strengthening of procurement and logistical systems must happen without delay to ensure the gains made by early diagnosis are optimally able to improve treatment success and cure rates on the ground. (CNS)
THE WEEKEND
29
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
FIFA In Conspiracy Over Qatar Slavery
THE secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation has accused FIFA of being in “conspiracy” with the Qatari authorities over “slave labour” conditions faced by migrant workers building facilities for the 2022 World Cup. Cup to winter for the first time Sharan Burrow said world in its history — are thought to football’s governing body had be posing substantial health “failed” after The Guardian risks, with some workers reported that Nepalese claiming they have been migrant workers’ lives were refused free drinking water. being put at risk during the Qatar, whose immigrant emirate’s preparations. workforce stands at 90 The newspaper obtained percent, is accused of documents from the exploiting a situation that sees Nepalese embassy in the Nepalese workers paying Qatari capital, Doha, which recruitment agents to secure showed that at least 44 work in the state and then workers had died over two being left powerless to months in the summer. The escape the conditions. deaths attributed to heart Over the summer, Nepal’s attacks or heart failure in ambassador to Qatar, Maya searing summer heat, as well Kumari Sharma, sparked a as workplace accidents. significant controversy earlier Its investigation found this summer when she said evidence of forced labour on that the state had become “an World Cup infrastructure open jail” for workers from her projects, while it has also homeland. been alleged that pay has Jim Boyce, the FIFA vicebeen withheld and passports president, joined calls for the confiscated to prevent the body to launch a full workers from leaving. investigation into the reports, FIFA said it was “very which he said had left him concerned” by the findings “appalled and very disturbed”. and would discuss the issue And the situation drew at its executive committee condemnation from British meeting next month after politicians, with Labour ’s contacting the Qatari shadow sports minister, Clive authorities. Efford, saying the thought of But Burrow said the “multi-millionaire footballers organisation was not doing playing in a country that has enough to address what was been built on these sorts of happening, adding to the human rights records” was Associated Press: “If FIFA “obscene”. really were serious, then their Conservative MP Damian power to hold the World Cup Collins said the English FA with decent work or to should consider a boycott of withdraw it would be enough the 2022 competition if FIFA for the Qataris to sit down and failed to take decisive action. talk.” The Qatar 2022 Supreme In a letter to FIFA president Committee, responsible for Sepp Blatter last week, she the organisation of the said “several hundred migrant tournament, said in a construction workers die each statement that it was year in Qatar” and warned “appalled” by the report’s that the huge range of findings. construction projects being “There is no excuse for any launched would see the worker in Qatar, or anywhere situation become even worse else, to be treated in this if action was not taken. manner,” the statement said. And she added that, after a “The health, safety, well-being meeting in November 2011, and dignity of every worker FIFA had said it would that contributes to staging the address the situation — but 2022 FIFA World Cup is of the had still not done so. utmost importance to our The problems with the committee. extreme summer heat — “We firmly believe that all already a major talking point workers engaged on our amid plans to move the World
projects, and those of the other infrastructure developers in Qatar, have a right to be treated in a manner that ensures, at all times their
Sepp Blatter
LIONEL Messi and his father Jorge were to give evidence in court in Barcelona yesterday morning, in a hearing in which prosecutors are expected to accuse them of tax evasion. It has been claimed that the pair, and their financial advisors, illegally re-routed image rights revenues through offshore tax havens from 2007 through to 2009 to avoid paying the 4.1 Euro million taxes due in Spain on such income. A payment of 5 million Euro was reportedly made in August to cover this sum, plus interest.
women’s world number one ranking for the third time in her career after winning two grand slam titles during an excellent 2013. The American has compiled a 67-4 record this season and won nine singles titles on the WTA Tour, including the French Open and the US Open crowns. The 32-year-old, who became the oldest women’s player to clinch the top ranking when she returned to number one in February, has won more than $9 million in prize money in 2013 so far, the WTA said in a statement on their website. “Serena has proven time and time again throughout her career that she is an incredible champion, both on and off the court,” WTA Chief Executive Stacey Allaster said in the statement. “This season she continues to rewrite the record books, proving she is one of the sport’s greatest athletes of all time.” Williams, who has 55 singles titles and 22
Jamaican International Hue Handed Doping Ban VETERAN Jamaican international midfielder Jermaine Hue has been banned for nine months for a doping offence by FIFA, football’s world governing body announced on Thursday. In addition, the Jamaica team doctor, Carlton Fraser, has been suspended for four years for administering the drug. The 35-year-old Hue tested positive for dexamethasone after his country’s 2-0 defeat to Honduras in a World Cup
Messi In Spain Tax Hearing However, prosecutors have continued the case and may now press for further payment or punishment, amid a move by the Spanish government to crack down hard on tax evasion due to the country’s continuing economic woes. The pair are expected to say they were unaware they were doing anything wrong, and were badly advised by their accountants and tax consultants. If found guilty, they could be fined up to 21 million Euro and receive a one-year suspended prison sentence. Other Spanish-based sporting figures including Luis
well-being. This is our top priority as we begin to deliver on the promises made in our bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.”
Serena To End Year As World Number SERENA Williams has One clinched the year-end Tennis:
Figo, Davor Suker and tennis player Arantxa SanchezVicario have all settled their own tax disputes in recent years.
Lionel Messi
qualifier in Tegucigalpa in June. Both Hue and Fraser were suspended provisionally in August, and the bans have therefore been backdated. As a result, Hue will be eligible to return to action on May 6, 2014, while Fraser is banned from working in football until August 6, 2017. FIFA confirmed that the suspensions apply to all national and international matches, friendlies and official games. In March, FIFA banned the Peruvian international
Joel Sanchez for two years for testing positive for the same substance.
Jermaine Hue
doubles crowns in her career, will be presented with her world number one trophy during the prestigious WTA Championships in Istanbul next month. China’s Li Na became the fifth player to qualify for the October 22-27 event, where the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams will compete for a $6 million purse. Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska have booked the other four spots.
Serena Williams
Kvitova Ends Venus Run In Tokyo PETRA Kvitova ended Venus Williams’s run of form in Tokyo with a rallying win over the American former world number one. Kvitova reached the final of the Japanese tournament with a 3-6 6-3 7-6(2) win over Williams, who had been attempting to reach her first final since Miami in 2010 as she continues to battle an auto-immune disease. The seventh-seeded Czech was forced to stave off 11 break points during the match before eventually winning through in two hours and 25 minutes. Kvitova will face either fourth-seed Caroline Wozniacki or fifth seed Angelique Kerber in the final.
Sochaux Target Renard To Replace ZAMBIA coach Herve Africa Cup with Zambia, also Hely Renard has made the shortlist failed to defend the title this for the vacant job at struggling French Ligue 1 club Sochaux. The Sochaux job fell vacant on Thursday following Coach Eric Hely’s decision to resign after a spate of poor result at the French Ligue 1 club. According to Lequipe, Renard is one of four contenders for the job. Others are his compatriots Frédéric Antonetti and the experienced Guy Lacombe. Both Antonetti and Lacombe are both out of jobs after parting ways with Rennes and UAE club Al Wasl FC respectively.
Uruguayan Pablo Correa, who is currently coach at French Ligue 1 side Evian, is also a candidate. Renard meanwhile, is hurtling towards the end of this three year contract with Zambia that expires in June, 2014. The Zambia coach’s future has been uncertain after Chipolopolo tumbled in the race to the 2014 World Cup and their failure to qualify for the 2014 CHAN finals in South Africa. Renard, who won the 2012
year in South Africa where his team tumbled in the preliminary group stage. And should Renard get the Sochaux job, he will be reunited with one of his Zambian players. Striker Emmanuel Mayuka is currently at Sochaux on a year-long loan from English side Southampton. Sochaux are currently bottom of Ligue 1 with two points from their opening seven games played into the 2013/2014 season and are currently on a three-match losing streak.
THE WEEKEND
30
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
Unuanel Tasks Kwarans On Kwara Utd NPL:
Egypt Defender Fathi Suffers Injury Ahead Of Ghana Clash EGYPT are likely to miss key defender Ahmed Fathi for next month’s crucial 2014 World Cup qualifier against Ghana after suffering injury in training. The 28-year-old, who plays for giants Al Ahly, suffered the setback while training with the Egyptian club. The Ahly defender Fathi sustained a groin injury in training which could force Egypt manager Bob Bradley to make changes to his squad. It is however not known if Fathi would be fit for the first-leg of the match. Fathi has been an indispensable member of the Egypt defence during the past five years, playing a key role in the 2008 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations triumphs. Egypt face Ghana in Kumasi on October 15, one month before hosting the Black Stars in Cairo.
Enyimba’s Uwaddegwa, celebrates his free kick goal against Warri Wolves in Federation Cup Final.
Enyimba Set To Be NPL Champions Again
ENYIMBA are poised to clinch their seventh Nigeria league title with champions Pillars likely to miss out on a continental ticket. It will be a remarkable Kano Pillars at the Sani turnaround for two-time Abacha Stadium in Kano. Enyimba now have the African champions Enyimba, who have missed edge to win the 2012/2013 out on international football league as all the serious title contenders have two home for the past two years. The Aba club’s title and two away games to aspirations received a major play. Enyimba currently lead boost after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) the table with 58 points and organising and disciplinary are now likely to end the committee (O&D) awarded season with 64 or 65 points, them three points, three which will be enough to goals for an abandoned hand them their seventh Week 31 game against league crown and so a Ahmed Fathi league and cup double this Heartland FC’s Draw At Home, season after they beat Warri Wolves to win the A Message To Management Federation Cup. On Sunday, ‘The CHINAEDU Efugh, the - Efugh Captain, Heartland FC of People’s Elephant’ will face Owerri, on Thursday attributed the team’s unimpressive performance in week 34 of the ongoing Globacom Premier League to the club management’s insensitiveness. Egugh, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone, in a reaction after the team’s goalless draw with Sunshine Stars FC of Akure, on Wednesday in Owerri. The captain said that the draw, even on Heartland’s home grounds at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, should serve as a warning to the club management over players’ unpaid allowances. “The team’s unbecoming attitude will make the management know that something is wrong with the team,’’ he said. According to the captain,
COACH of Kwara United FC of Ilorin, Samson Unuanel, has called on lovers of soccer in Kwara to see the club as ‘their baby, which should not be allowed to die’. Unuanel gave the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Thursday, after his team drew goalless with visiting Lobi Stars of Makurdi, at the Kwara Mini Stadium. The coach, who expressed concern at the club’s declining fortunes at home, noted that something was wrong each time the team played at home, urging its supporters to take a hard look at the problem, before it would get out of hand. He said the technical crew and the players had done all they could to win home games, but were surprised to always manage to secure draws, adding that it recorded yet another draw in its week 34 match. “That is football. At times you play and you don’t get the desired results. Everybody here can see that the boys played well, but I don’t know what to say; I can only blame the poor results to ill luck. “We have done everything
his team mates have been protesting against their backlog of unpaid allowances and sign on fees by the club management. “The development, I must confess, led to the players’ nonchalant attitude during the match. “The players are depressed and there is no way you can get the best from a disenchanted person. “Nobody eats promises if that is what the management thinks. “All of us have dependants to cater for and there is virtually nothing one can achieve when he is overburdened with unsettled domestic challenges,” Efugh said. He appealed to the club’s management to salvage the situation by settling its outstanding indebtedness to the players.
relegation-threatened 3SC in Ibadan and with the form of the Aba giants they could further compound the woes of the hosts by getting a point from the game, before they go ahead and win their remaining two home games against ABS FC and Sharks. It is assumed they will lose to Sunshine Stars in Akure. This means they will end with 65 points, but if they lost the two away games and win their two home games, they will finish on 64 points. Bayelsa United are currently second with 55 points and may get six points from the remaining
Cameroon Select Eto’o For Tunisia Clash
CHELSEA striker Samuel Eto’o has been called up to the Cameroon squad for his country’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Tunisia, seemingly contradicting reports that he had retired from international football. Eto’o was believed to have told team-mates that he would no longer represent Cameroon after a World Cup qualifier against Libya earlier this month. Neither Eto’o nor Indomitable Lions coach Volker Vinke came out to confirm or deny the
speculation and it is unclear whether the fourtime African Footballer of the Year is going to accept the call-up. Eto’o is Cameroon’s alltime leading scorer with 55 goals from 112 games and has netted two in two matches in the current World Cup qualifying campaign. The Indomitable Lions travel to Tunisia for the first leg of their play-off on October 11 before hosting the second leg on November 15, with the winners securing a place at the World Cup in Brazil.
four games, which are home ties with Warri Wolves and Kwara United which will give them 61 points at the end of the season and second spot as well as a ticket to the 2014 CAF Champions League.
humanly possible; We have a good and balanced team, but everytime we play at home, we have problems,” an unhappy Unuanel said. He said he was annoyed after the game because no team could play the way they did, without securing the three maximum points. When asked about the performance of the match officials, he said: “I will never fault any referee because that is what they are engaged to do’’. The Kwara Utd coach said it was not in his habit to blame referees because he would still come around to meet them again.
Odemwingie May Start CARDIFF boss Malky Mackay could choose to hand Peter Odemwingie a first Premier League start for his new club when the Bluebirds travel to Fulham. Odemwingie scored in the midweek Capital One Cup defeat at West Ham and could usurp Fraizer Campbell in the lone striker role at Craven Cottage. Mackay is otherwise expected to stick with the side that suffered a lastgasp defeat to Tottenham last weekend. Andrew Taylor will make his 100th appearance for the club, while Kevin McNaughton has joined Bolton on a month-long emergency loan.
Warri Wolves Appeal Replay Decision WARRI Wolves have appealed against a decision to replay an abandoned league match against Kwara United in Abuja. According to spokesman for the Delta Football Association (DFA), Timi Ebikagboro, the DFA will protest the decision of the O&D of the NFF against Warri Wolves in their abandoned game against Kwara United at the Kwara Township Stadium. The statement said the DFA
Warri Wolves Star Omofomah
said they believe the O&D were not fair in their decision on Warri Wolves, and as such have paid the mandatory protest fee to the appeals committee of the NFF, so as to get justice. The DFA also frowned at the way and manner their general secretary Friday Onothoja was sent out of the sitting of the 0&D, without regards to the fact that he was representing the state on an issue he was mandated to do.
THE WEEKEND
31
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
Mario Balotelli Sorry For Raging At Ref
AVB Backs Juan Mata To Bounce Back
T O T T E N H A M ’ s Manager, Andre Villas-Boas has backed Juan Mata to overcome his current difficulties at Chelsea and force his way back into Jose Mourinho’s starting line-up. Villas-Boas was Chelsea boss when Mata arrived at the club in 2011 and confirmed he enjoyed a “great personal and professional” relationship with the Spain international in his brief and turbulent stint at Stamford Bridge, yet the diminutive midfielder has slipped down the club’s pecking order since Mourinho returned as boss in the summer. “With the talent he has, he will overcome it and jump back into the team, he is that special,” Villas-Boas said of Mata, who was left out of the entire Chelsea squad by Mourinho for last weekend’s 2-0 Premier League victory against Fulham. “It’s not my decision to not pick Mata. Before [when he was Chelsea boss] Mata was always involved in my starting XI. I enjoyed a great personal and professional relationship with Juan Mata, but it is not my decision now.” Villas-Boas was reluctant to discuss the progress Mourinho has made in his second stint as Chelsea boss as he insisted he “doesn’t care about Chelsea now”, but he was eager to play down the hype that is gathering around his first touchline tussle with his former mentor this weekend. “No one has anything to prove in this game,” stressed Villas-Boas, who worked as a member of Mourinho’s staff at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan. “Jose’s career speaks for itself and mine I’m proud of what I have achieved. Hopefully the day that I quit, I continue to look at it in the same way. “In my opinion, [the VillasBoas v Mourinho match-up] does not mean a lot.
Besiktas’s supporters, fight with security members at the Ataturk Stadium
Besiktas Hit With Four-Game Fan Ban For Derby Violence
BESIKTAS will have to play four home matches behind closed doors after they were punished for the violence which caused last weekend’s Istanbul derby against bitter rivals Galatasaray to be abandoned. The Turkish football 1 defeat. Fighting began after federation’s disciplinary Galatasaray midfielder board said that the club Felipe Melo had been would also be fined red-carded in the second 70,000 Turkish lira minute of injury time. (25,000 euros) for the riot Fans chanted: as well as for insufficient “Everywhere is Taksim, security measures. everywhere is On Sunday, fans resistance,” referring to a invaded the pitch, threw well-known slogan of the seats at police as their team were slipping to a 2- Gezi Park protests that
rocked Turkey in June. Besiktas’s fan club, Carsi Group, was a prominent force in the anti-government protests sparked by a local campaign to save Istanbul’s central Gezi Park from demolition, which broadened into n a t i o n w i d e demonstrations against the ruling party, seen as i n c r e a s i n g l y authoritarian.
Turkish police made 20 arrests after the violence. The disciplinary board also banned Besiktas coach Slaven Bilic from leading the team in three games and gave him a fine of 13,000 lira (4,700 euros) due to his outbursts against the referee. Melo was suspended for two games and fined 13,000 lira (4,700 euros).
All three players are facing stiff competition in the national team with young players like Dani Carvajal and Isco pushing for a regular place.
minute penalty in Wednesday’s 2-1 win at Elche has been informally removed from action — or “put in the freezer”, as such a step is known in Spain. With the match deadlocked at 1-1 and time
has told his former Lyon team-mate Karim Benzema that he needs to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s example if he wants to fully exploit his talent. Benzema, 25, has had a reasonable start to the Liga season with Real Madrid, scoring twice and providing as many assists in the first six league games, while also registering a brace in his club’s 6-1 thumping of Galatasaray on their maiden Champions League outing this term. However, the striker has not scored for his country for more than 15 months and found himself dropped to the
bench for France’s last World Cup qualifier in Belarus, while he was jeered by Madrid supporters following a series of misses in last weekend’s 41 win over Getafe. Juninho, 38, who played alongside Benzema for five seasons at Stade de Gerland before they both left the club in 2009, told RMC the Frenchman should replicate the attitude of his more illustrious team-mate in the Santiago Bernabeu dressing room to improve his performances. “I get the feeling that for Karim, football is no longer the priority in his life,” he said. “It’s not a problem of technical quality.
seemingly up, Cesar Muniz Fernandez saw a pull by Elche midfielder Carlos Sanchez on Pepe and gave a penalty which Cristiano Ronaldo converted to secure the points. However, most observers saw a foul the other way and the decision generated huge debate in Spain, with Gerard Pique and Alvaro Arbeloa weighing in on Twitter. Muniz Fernandez was chased by journalists as he lunched in Madrid on Thursday, leaving a restaurant by the back door to avoid TV cameras, AS reported. Amid the turbulence, Spanish referees’ chief Victoriano Sanchez Arminio — who had never previously commented on individual referees or decisions — told AS the official had made an error. “I would not have given that penalty,” he said. “But sometimes you get it right and sometimes you do not. That is the way it is.” He added that the 43-yearold, who has 14 years of top-
Barca Eyeing Chelsea Trio
BARCELONA are reportedly monitoring the situation surrounding Chelsea trio Juan Mata, Fernando Torres and Cesar Azpilicueta. The three players have been part of the Spain national team over the past year but are currently regarded as fringe players at Stamford Bridge.
Juan Mata
According to British newspaper the Daily Express, the Catalans are considering making a move for the Spaniards during the January transfer window. However, given his past relationship with Barcelona, it is unclear if Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho would open to losing players to the reigning Spanish champions. Gerardo Martino’s side have started the season well, winning all their league matches as well as their Champions League opener, and the Argentine is unlikely to tamper with his winning team. With the World Cup in Brazil approaching fast, the trio will look to get as much game time as possible to keep their place in Vicente del Bosque’s side.
MARIO Balotelli has apologised for the latest moment of indiscipline in his career but also called for more fairness to be shown towards him. The Italy striker was banned for three games after picking up a second booking for berating officials at the end of AC Milan’s 2-1 home defeat to Napoli. An automatic one-game suspension was augmented with a twogame ban for insulting the refereeing team, meaning he will miss Milan’s trip to defending champions Juventus next weekend. In an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport, Balotelli has vowed to change his ways while also appealing for referees to protect him more as he becomes targeted by opposition defenders, who he believes get away with murder. “I’m sorry, particularly for my team-mates, who I have abandoned,” Balotelli said. “I’ve created a mess and it was not necessary. I should not have said certain things, but there is one thing that I don’t get: if Mario commits a bad foul, Mario has to be punished, and if somebody else commits a bad foul on Mario, then he should also be punished.” While apologising also to Italy coach Cesare Prandelli for an incident which could cost him a place in the national team squad next month, Balotelli was critical of the heavy-handed approach he feels he is subjected to uniquely in Italian football.
Real Madrid Penalty Ref ‘Put In THE referee who awarded flight experience, may have Freezer’ Real Madrid a decisive 94thbeen in “not a good moment
Benzema Urged To Be More Like Ronaldo JUNINHO Pernambucano
for him, maybe he had some personal problem, or something which caused this”. And he pointed out that players were not making the task faced by officials any easier, adding: “The players do not help you at all. Just the opposite — they try to trick you.” The Elche game was not the first in which Muniz Fernandez was involved in controversy this season. Sevilla players claimed “robbery” after he ruled out a seemingly good goal by Cala in their 3-2 defeat at Barcelona on September 14. Elche are reported to be considering what options they can take to appeal or seek redress. Told that Muniz Fernandez was being stood down, midfielder Ruben Perez was nonplussed. “In the freezer?,” Perez said to AS. “With much ice or none? The referees always whistle in favour of the big teams, but this was too much.”
CMYK
Weekend Sport THE WEEKEND
32
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2013
Man Utd, Liverpool Warned Over Flares
United To Bid For Coentrao In January
THE FA has contacted Manchester United and Liverpool to ask why flares were let off at Old Trafford during their Capital One Cup tie. Flares were let off during United’s 1-0 win, with one reportedly thrown from the top tier of East Stand, where Liverpool fans were sitting, onto lower tiers in which United supporters were housed. An FA spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: “The Football Association has contacted Manchester United and Liverpool to seek their observations into the incidents with flares during the Capital One Cup tie. “The FA, Premier League and Football League are working together on the issue of flares, in conjunction with the Fire Service and St John Ambulance, in an effort to alert supporters to the potential dangers.” The Premier League warned both United and Liverpool of the dangers that flares could pose, adding in a statement: “Flares burn at close to 2,000 degrees, and we have been made aware of several incidents where fans have sustained injuries by igniting them. “They also generate such large quantities of smoke that they negatively impact on people’s enjoyment of the game and can cause panic and breathing difficulties for fans sitting close to them. “We will be stepping up our work with supporter groups to help fans understand the dangers involved with flares and encourage the minority who are putting others at risk to stop using them.” Greater Manchester Police arrested ten people during the Capital One Cup game.
TODAY’S papers report that Manchester United will make a further attempt to sign Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao in January; Arsenal have been encouraged by the breakdown of Yoann Gourcuff’s Lyon contract talks; as well as Arsene Wenger’s January transfer budget. United to make renewed effort to sign Coentrao in January: Manchester United boss David Moyes is set to reignite his interest in Real Madrid full-back Fabio Coentrao in January. The Metro reports that Moyes is looking to recruit ‘top-level competition’ for the current Reds left-back Patrice Evra. The United boss almost clinched a loan deal for
Arsene Wenger
Gunners Owner Kroenke Wants Wenger To Sign New Deal ARSENE Wenger is ready to sign a new contract at Arsenal after Gunners owner Stan Kroenke confirmed he wants the Frenchman to extend his stay as the club’s manager. am immortal,” Wenger Kroenke broke his said. “I am not naive silence to hail the job enough to believe that, Wenger has done at the but as long as I am here Emirates Stadium while I’ll do the best for this calling on him to sign a club as I love this club, new deal. of course. The Arsenal “I am very honoured to manager ’s current have the support of Stan contract expires next Kroenke and that he summer, yet he has thinks I can help the club. stressed there will be “no That’s a huge problem” in extending it, confidence vote. even though he insists it Something for me that is is not a priority at the very positive.” moment. Wenger went on to “Honestly, I would love confirm he will sign new to be here forever contract at the club because it would mean I “when he finds time to
sort it out”, and stressed it would not take long for him to agree to a new deal. “The good thing with me is I don’t need a lot of talk to extend the contract I have,” he said. “I don’t think that’s the most important thing at the moment. I said I want to focus on the quality of our season and no-one can question my commitment to this club. I want to do well and the question of me staying will be secondary for that. “I turned many offers down because I rate what I have got here. I always thought this club was special and it is important
No Regret Over Jose Split - AVB T O T T E N H A M manager Andre VillasBoas has revealed that his ambition to progress in his career led to “the complete breakdown” in his relationship with former mentor Jose Mourinho. Villas-Boas worked on Mourinho’s staff during his spells in charge of Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan, but the pair fell out in 2009 when the younger of the two Portuguese decided the time had come for him to forge his own path as a manager. The former colleagues will go head-to-head for the first time on the touchline when Tottenham entertain Mourinho’s Chelsea at White Hart Lane on
today, with the Spurs boss confirming the bond between the pair has long since been shattered. “I don’t lose any sleep,” Villas-Boas said. “We had a great personal and professional relationship that we don’t have now. I don’t need to explain about our friendship. We still have mutual respect for each other. What we have been through together cannot disappear. “Our break-up point was because I was full of ambition to give him something extra and I wanted further involvement for the job I was doing at that time, which was scouting and match preparation, but he did not feel the need
to have another person near to him as an assistant. “Therefore, I decided to think about my own career and started looking for a club in the summer of 2009. At that point, Jose wasn’t sure if he would continue at Inter Milan anyway. “When you work so close together for seven years, you learn methods and apply them as well. There is lots of things in my organisation that I do similar to him, of course.” Villas-Boas confirmed he will not be inviting Mourinho into his office at White Hart Lane for a glass of wine after the game today, as he will be making a quick exit after the game to attend an event celebrating Porto’s
120 years of existence. Even though Mourinho has played a huge part in the Portuguese club’s history, he will not be making his way to his homeland for the event.
to know what you want. I rated the qualities this club has shown. “I am very grateful to this club because during my 17 years here we have had ups and downs, but they have always shown faith in me. They let me always do the job like I felt it was supposed to be done. I am here because of the consistent support inside this club.” With Wenger set to mark his 17th year as Arsenal manager this weekend, the Frenchman has insisted he has never come close to walking away from the club, even though he is amazed to have remained in his post for so long. “I didn’t think I’d be here so long, not at all,” he said. “Our job is to work like you will be here forever and know that it can end every day. “I don’t know where the 17 years have gone, but I just look forward to the next game, you never
look backwards. Of course when you look backwards, you see a lot of effort to achieve consistency, but what is most interesting is tomorrow’s game. “Football is unpredictable and the next game is always discovery, a new adventure. You focus on that. All the rest is decoration. What is important is you feel you can do your job. “Over the years, if you analyse the seasons, we were always close and consistently at the top. It is much more difficult to stay consistently at the top than people think. It’s a very underrated quality. It shows we have put the effort it. We have a team now that can compete.”
unable to get his name on the score sheet in his first match back, he came close on a number of occasions and Mignolet believes his presence will make a big difference. “Seeing him (Suarez) come back into the squad is a big boost for us,” he told reporters. “Everyone knows the quality he has and it is what we need for Liverpool; not only on
Fabio Coentrao
... Wenger Didn’t Expect Arsenal To Be Top ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has admitted he is surprised to be heading into this weekend’s fixtures with
Mignolet Welcomes Suarez Return LIVERPOOL goalkeeper Simon Mignolet believes striker Luis Suarez will make a positive impact following his return after serving a lengthy ban. The Uruguayan returned to action on Wednesday night during the Reds’ 1-0 loss to Manchester United in a League Cup clash following the completion of his ten-match ban. Although he was
the Portuguese defender on transfer deadline day following his unsuccessful pursuit of Leighton Baines – a player the Scot knows well from his time at Everton. With speculation suggesting that Baines is to sign a contract extension with the Toffees, Moyes has turned his back on the England defender and will instead put all of his effort into securing the Madrid Man. Paper Round’s view: Evra’s only 32 and, despite having a rather average 2012/13 campaign, has consistently been one of United’s more dependable players. Following the collapse of the loan deal, Coentrao didn’t seem too upset, stating, “It would have been bad if I had to stay despite having the chance to move to a better club, but that didn’t happen as I already am at the best club in the world. I want to do better than I did last season, although I was at a very high level already. I want to show everyone that I deserve to be at Real Madrid.” It doesn’t seem, then, that Coentrao is too keen on a move to Manchester, especially if he is to only be ‘top-level competition.’
match days but every single day in training.
Luis Suarez
his side perched at the top of the Premier League standings. An opening day home defeat against Aston Villa last month set alarm bells ringing for Arsenal supporters, but the mood has changed dramatically in the weeks since and the high-flying Gunners will head to Swansea on Saturday evening in buoyant mood. “I didn’t expect it to happen as quickly,” was Wenger ’s view of Arsenal’s rise to the top of the table. “The season is long and everybody at some stage or another had a bad result and that allowed us to bounce back.
Printed and published by Bendel Newspapers Company Limited, 24, Airport Road, P.M.B. 1334 Benin City. Telephone; Lagos: 01 4930929, Benin: 052 257492, 257531 Editor: HENRY BALOGUN - (08058767088). Deputy General Manager- Marketing (08023457566), Assistant General Manager- Advertisement (08023808856) Lagos Office: 3/4 Amode Close, Kudirat Abiola Way, By Olusosun Bus Stop, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos. Abuja Office: Floor 1, Edo House, 75 Ralph Shodeinde Street, Central Business District, Abuja. Tel/Fax: 09-5237631. All correspondence to: 24 Airport Road, Benin City. E-mail: nigerianobserver@yahoo.com (ISSN 0331-2674)