2nd Feburary 2016 by Nigerian Tribune

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,427

TUESDAY, 2 FEBRUARY, 2016

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EFCC raids ex-VP Sambo's office, seizes $50,000 •Moves against indicted military chiefs, companies —P4 •Ex-Chief of Air Staff, Amosu, still in detention

Senate uncovers excess N10bn in education ministry budget —P15 WHO declares Zika virus global —P45 health emergency

Obasanjo, Sultan delegation visit Olubadan-designate —P7

OGUN @ 40: From left, national leader, All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu; President Muhammadu Buhari; Ogun

State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and another national leader of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, as the president commences his two-day visit to Ogun State.

Nigerian governors act like emperors —OBJ

—P7

•Calls on NASS members to open their budget to criticism •Nigeria faces new debt overhang, he warns •36 states not viable, Nigeria must return to regional system —Anyaoku

6-PAGE PULLOUT

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

PHOTOS: TOMMY ADEGBITE

INAUGURATION CONFERENCE OF IBADAN SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY

From left, Professor Akin Mabogunje, former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu and the guest speaker, Professor Richard Joseph at the inauguration conference of Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy, held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan, on Monday.

From left, Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Vice Chancellor, UI, Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka (left) with Chief Moses Adeyemo, Oyo State deputy governor. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu.

Ambassador (Dr) Yemi Farouni (left) and Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu.

Oba Abolarin Adedokun, the Orangun of Oke Ila (left) with former Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola.

From left, Professor Jide Osuntokun, Professor Tunde Adeniran and Professor Peter Okebukola.

Cross section of the guests on the occasion.

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

news

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

EFCC raids ex-VP Sambo’s office, seizes $50,000 Ex-Chief of Air Staff, Amosu, still in detention Saliu Gbadamosi - Abuja

HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), at the weekend, raided the office of former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, in Abuja. Nigerian Tribune learnt that operatives of the commission stormed the office, located on Herbert Ma-

cauley Way in the Federal Capital Territory, on Saturday, apparently in connection with the ongoing investigation into the $1.2 billion arms procurement scandal, as the former number two citizen was allegedly indicted in the investigation. Nigerian Tribune learnt that the operatives, during the operation, broke into the safe in the for-

mer vice-president’s office, where $50,000 was said to have been discovered alongside his declaration of assets form, a list containing his property, among other documents. A source informed that Sambo had, in recent times, been moving documents from his house to the office, which operatives on his trail all the while had thought

was money. The source further stated that the operatives were disappointed with what they discovered in the office after they raided the place. When contacted, Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, told the Nigerian Tribune that he was not aware of the operation, saying that he was going to find out about it.

He, however, told the Nigerian Tribune that he was not able to confirm whether the office was raided or not. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Tribune has learnt that the commission has perfected plans to nab military officers President Muhammadu Buhari directed it to further investigate, following their refusal to honour invitation extended to them.

Rousing welcome as Buhari visits Ogun

Osoba, Daniel, Rasaki absent as Amosun holds special exco meeting Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta IT was rousing welcome for President Muhammadu Buhari as he commenced his two-day official visit to the state on Monday. The president was in Ogun, as part of activities to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the creation of the state. Clad in all white traditional attire, he was received at the Gateway International Stadium, Ijebu-Ode, by the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. The president later arrived the palace of Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, at exactly 6.20 p.m. and waived to the admiration of everyone seated inside the palace as the shout of “Sai Buhari” rented the air. Ministers of Finance,

Mrs Kemi Adeosun and her Information and Culture counterpart, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, were also on ground to receive him. The president immediately went into a closed door meeting with the traditional ruler and Governor Amosun for about 20 minutes. Buhari, after the meeting, addressed the gathering of who’s who in Ijebuland, at a banquet organised by Awujale in his honour, saying his visit would not be complete if he failed to visit the monarch. He apologised to the personalities who had waited for his arrival for about four hours, submitting that other national assignment held him back in Abuja. Oba Adetona, in his response, described the president’s visit as “homecoming,” while throwing his weight behind the anti-cor-

ruption crusade. “If we don’t face corruption, corruption will kill us. And we don’t want corruption to kill us. So, Nigerians must support your efforts,” Oba Adetona told the president. Among personalities seated in the inner chamber of the palace were former governors of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba and Chief Gbenga Daniel and the senator representing Ogun East senatorial district, Prince Buruji Kashamu. The trio were, however, absent at a special executive session held by the state government in Abeokuta on Monday morning. Others at the palace were founder and chairman of First City Monument Bank, Chief Subomi Balogun; Mr Oba Otudeko; former Minister of State for Finance, Chief Jubril Martins Kuye;

Chief Razaq Okoya, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, Dr Sunny Kuku, Senator Olalekan Mustapha, Chief Agboola Alausa; Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ijebu-Ode, Bishop Albert Fasina; Presiding pastor of Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare; traditional rulers from Ijebuland and council of chiefs, among others. The president immediately left the Awujale’s palace for Abeokuta and was unable to inaugurate the Oba Adetona flyover at IjebuOde and the Sagamu road. Earlier, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the creation of the state, a special state executive council meeting was held as part of activities for the celebration. Nigerian Tribune recalled that the state was created out of the defunct Western

Adeosun explains strategy for Nigeria’s foreign loans MINISTER of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on Monday, gave further clarifications on the strategy for foreign loans being explored to fund the 2016 budget, currently undergoing approval by the National Assembly. The minister, in a statement, said the overall objective was to provide the lowest possible cost of funds to finance capital projects proposed under the govern-

ment’s plan to stimulate the economy. In the statement issued by her special adviser on media matters, Mr Festus Akanbi, she explained that options with multi-lateral agencies, including the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB), were being explored. Multilateral agencies provide loans on concessional terms, which include low

interest, moratorium before repayment and long tenor. The second funding option being explored, according to the minister, included export credit agencies such as China Exim Bank, adding that the funds were concessional and tied to specific capital projects. She said the need to invest in infrastructure to stimulate the economy and the

Ondo 2016: No zoning arrangement in picking governorship candidate —Oke Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure THE leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has assured member of the party in the state that the party will not apply zoning arrangement in picking

its standard-bearer in the forthcoming governorship election in the state. Disclosing this at the weekend in Akure, Ondo State capital, one of the governorship aspirants, Chief Olusola Oke, said the party leadership had also assured to be transparent in the choice

of who becomes the party’s candidate for the election. Oke, during his investiture as the 2015 man of the year, said “our leaders have assured us in Ondo State that there will be no zoning, no imposition and that there will be free and fair primaries.”

long-term payback period of capital projects demanded that the lowest cost of funds be obtained. The minister stated that the balance of foreign borrowing required would be raised in the Eurobond market at commercial rates of interest. She explained that by blending these different sources of funding, the overall cost of funds would be maintained at the lowest possible level. “As far as possible, our foreign borrowing will be tied to specific capital projects. A number of these projects are revenue generating, which will be used to fund the loan repayments,” she said. The strategy of pursuing increased foreign borrowing is designed to ensure that the Federal Government does not “crowd out” the private sector in the domestic market.

Region on February 3,1976. It was administered by the military for 22 years while the civilians ruled for 18 years. The special executive meeting, held at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, was an avenue for the past military administrators and democratically-elected governors of the state to share their experiences on how they administered the state during their tenures in office. The special session lasted about two and a half hours. Those in attendance were the Lieutenant-Colonel Siedu Balogun, Colonel Oladipo Diya, Lieutenant-Colonel Oladayo Popoola, Navy Captain Oladehinde Joseph, Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Akintonde, Group Captain Sam Ewang and Navy Captain Kayode Olofinmoyin. A minute silence was also observed in honour of exmilitary governor, Brigadier Harris Egbagha; the first civilian governor, Chief Olabisi Onabanjo and Navy Captain Mohammed Lawal. The former governors commended the efforts of the present administration in the state, led by Senator Ibikunle Amosun, for the giant strides in moving the state forward. Also in attendance were Minister of Finance, Mrs Adeosun; senators representing Ogun Central and West senatorial districts, Prince Lanre Tejuoso and Prince Gbolahan Dada. However, the senator representing Ogun East, Prince Buruji Kashamu, was absent. Amosun appreciated the former administrators for honouring the state and pledged his commitment to continue to work for the progress of the state. The governor, thereafter, decorated his predecessors with state crest.

The move followed the arrest of a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, last Wednesday night by operatives of the anti-graft commission. His arrest came on the heels of the seal off of some properties belonging to some of the officers same day. A source informed the Nigerian Tribune on Monday that plans were being concluded to move against other serving and retired Air Force and army officers recommended by an audit committee set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to probe arms procurements between 2007 and 2015. Based on the recommendation, the presidential directive was given to EFCC to investigate former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, Amosu and 15 other serving and retired Air Force and army officers, including two former Chiefs of Air Force, Air Marshall Dikko Umar and Amosu, specifically on their roles in fundamental breaches in the arms procurements by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) within the eight-year period. Twenty-one companies involved in one way or the other in the arms procurement deals and their directors were also lined up for further investigation by the anti-corruption body. The source informed that the commission had promptly extended formal invitation to the affected individuals, companies and their directors, saying that having waited for them to voluntarily show up to answer questions on their roles in the arms scandal, the commission had no other choice but to force them to appear before it. “The next thing to do naturally by the commission is to force these people to come and explain their roles in the arms procurement scandal. They have been invited to voluntarily come and explain, but it seems they do not want to do that willingly,” the source told the Nigerian Tribune on Monday. Nigerian Tribune also reliably learnt on Monday that Air Marshal Amosu was still being kept in EFCC custody. As of the time of filing this report, it was not sure if he had been given an administrative bail.

news

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Olubadan will not be interred secretly —Govt •As planning committee unveils burial programmes By Wale Akinselure

resident Muhammadu Buhari and other state governors will be in Ibadan, on February 12, to grace the burial ceremony of the late Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana. Chairman of the funeral planning committee and Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Mr Olalekan Alli, gave this confirmation while unveiling the nineday burial programme for the late monarch, commencing February 5. Alli said President Buhari had given his words to be present at the burial, following Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s last week’s visit to the Presidential Villa to inform him of the monarch’s demise. While affirming that the Ibadan tradition will come to bare during the burial ceremony, Alli maintained that the late Olubadan would not be buried in secrecy, but his remains would be interred at the

cemetery of The Cathedral of St Peters’, Aremo, Ibadan. Asserting the commitment of the state government to a befitting state burial, he called for the responsible participation of all Nigerians in the line-up of programmes. The burial ceremony will commence with a Jum’at service at Ibadan Central Mosque, Oja’ba, Ibadan, on Friday, followed by a Service of Songs on Sunday and lying-in-state on Mon-

day, February 8. Professor Adedotun Ogundeji of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, will deliver a lecture at a symposium on the life and times of Oba Samuel Odulana, scheduled for Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, on Tuesday, February 9. The event, to be chaired by Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe, will also have Professor Bolanle Awe, among other dignitaries in attendance. Tuesday is also a Cultural

day to feature displays by different cultural troupes and presentations. Lying-in-state and rendering of tributes will hold on Wednesday, at Mapo Hall, and on Thursday, at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan. Thursday will also feature a Christian wake at the Monatan palace, at 5.00p.m. Other members of the committee are Mr David Oyewole (Secretary); Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade; Mr Yomi Layinka;

Dr Gbade Ojo; Mr Segun Bolarinwa; Mrs H. O. Ogunesan; Chief Kola Daisi; children of the late Olubadan, Professor Femi Lana; Mr Gbade Lana. President, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Wole Akinwande; former President, CCII, Chief Bayo Oyero; representatives of the Olubadan in Council; representatives of the 11 local governments in Ibadanland, are co-opted members of the committee.

NDDC will be fair to all communities —Acting MD DapoFalade-PortHarcourt

Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs Ibim Semenitari, has assured of fair treatment and equal distribution of projects, programmes and social services to all communities in the Niger Delta region. She gave the assurance when members of the Oromeruezimgbu community, the host of the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, paid her a courtesy visit in her office, on Monday. Paramount ruler of Oromeruezimgbu in Rebisi, Eze Chukwuemeka Orluchime, led the delegation, including some other notable leaders from the community. Semenitari, in a statement issued by Head, Corporate Affairs of NDDC, Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, said it was important to touch every part of the Niger Delta to achieve sustainable regional development. She also restated the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to the commission to focus on the completion of ongoing projects across the region. The NDDC acting Managing Director promised to make a special case for the host community of the commission’s headquarters, noting, “we have to make our landlords happy.”

From left, eldest son of the late Oba Samuel Odulana, Professor Femi Lana; Secretary to the Oyo State government and chairman, planning committee, Mr Olalekan Alli and a former Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbade Lana, during a news conference to unveil the funeral arrangement of the late Olubadan of Ibadanland, in Ibadan, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN

Nigeria can do without oil —Osinbajo Leon Usigbe-Abuja

VICE-President Yemi Osinbajo has assured that Nigeria has the capacity to build and sustain a vibrant economy, even with the crashing oil price. Meeting with a group of international investors in his office in Abuja, on Monday, he said: “This country has practically what it takes to run a solid economy that is not dependent on oil, but on business and commerce.” The visiting global investors were drawn from companies, including Renaissance Capital, RussiaChina Investment Fund, China Africa Development Fund, Invest Abu Dhabi, Actis, Emerging Capital Partners, ECP, KKR & Co. LP, Old Mutual of South Africa among others, According him, President Muhammadu Buhari has already given the mandate to ensure that a conducive environment was created for business investments in the country. He added that work had already started with government looking at the

different aspects involved. Osinbajo explained that working with the state governments and the Federal Government would ensure that issues such as pre-investment approvals, and land titles would be reformed to attain the ease of doing business aspirations of the administration. He said, where necessary, government would

rationalise agencies involved in granting approvals to create space for businesses to thrive. The vice-president assured that government would invest in power sector, in view of its critical role in creating conducive business environment. Osinbajo also restated the commitment of the present administration to

creating jobs through businesses and direct action to engage the youth. Former Minister of National Planning, Alhaji Shamsudeen Usman, led the delegation of the international investors, while Dr Rachid Benmessoud, the Nigeria Country Director of the World Bank led the bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking Team for the visit.

Bayelsa speaker holds on to seat, despite court ruling Austin Ebipade-Yenagoa

Amidst the controversy surrounding the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr Kombowei Benson, has insisted that he will not vacate his seat. Benson insisted that he remained the validlyelected representative of the Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 seat, the election of which the appellate court declared, in the April 11, 2015 election, null and void. He also said he would not step down as the Speaker, insisting that the purported

written judgment was different from the record of court’s proceeding on December 9. The Court of Appeal sitting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, in a written judgment delivered on December 9, 2015, nullified the April 2015 election that returned Benson as winner of the Southern Ijaw Constituency IV seat in the assembly. But about 52 days after, Benson faulted the authenticity of the written ruling, saying the record of proceedings on that day showed that the appeal of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr Ebifaghe Orunimighe, was

dismissed in the open court. However, an opponent of Benson in the April 2015 Bayelsa State House of Assembly poll, Mr. Ebifaghe Orunimighe, has asked the Speaker, Mr Kombowei Benson, to respect the judgment of Court of Appeal. Orunimighe warned Benson to stop parading himself as Speaker or risk going to prison, adding that elementary intelligence, logic and common sense suggest that a person who claims to win a case should produce the judgment of the court confirming his victory, but Benson has not document to show.

FG reiterates commitment to water, sanitation issues Adetola Bademosi-Abuja The Federal Government, on Monday, reiterated its commitment to continue to fly the African flagship on issues affecting water and sanitation in Africa. Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, stated this when the President of African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and Minister for Hydraulic and Sanitation of Senegal, Honourable Ahmadu Mansour Faye, paid him a courtesy visit in his office, in Abuja. He stated that AMCOW was a strong key of regional mechanism of African Union (AU) in promoting cooperation on water and sanitation. While speaking on Nigeria’s renewed commitment and support for AMCOW initiatives on water and sanitation, the minister stated that “Nigeria has displayed exemplary leadership and commitment to the water and sanitation sector in Africa, through the hosting and provision of office space for the AMCOW Secretariat and residential accommodation for the Executive Secretary, as well as the provision of counterpart funding towards the operations of the secretariat and payment of support staff.”

IPAC charges FG, CBN over Kogi bailout fund Yinka Oladoyinbo-Lokoja

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Kogi State chapter, on Monday, charged the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure the speedy release of the bailout fund meant for payment of workers in the state. The council noted that the prompt release of the fund would reduce the burden on the striking state and local governments workers in the state. It will be recalled that Kogi State, like other states, won its bid for bail out to the tune of N50.8 billion, but the CBN failed to release the money allegedly due to the politics of the governorship election last year. The development, however, led to the inability of government to pay salaries of its workers since September 2015. This made the workers to embark on an indefinite strike last December, when government was owing them three months salary.

news

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Buhari’s attack on judiciary, a blackmail attempt —PDP Leave judiciary to do its job, Fayose tells president FromLeonUsigbeandJacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described as a blackmail attempt, President Muhammadu Buhari’s remark in which he described the judiciary as his “headache” following his numerous encounters with courts before he became president. The president had made the assertion on Sunday, while speaking with Nigerians resident in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stressing his determination to press for reform of the judiciary to enhance the current war against corruption. The president had said: “On the fight against corruption vis-à-vis the judiciary, Nigerians will be right to say that is my main headache for now. “If you reflect on what I went through for 12 years when I wanted to be the president, I attempted three times and on the fourth attempt through God and the use of technology, it was possible for Nigerians to elect an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as president. “In my first attempt in 2003, I ended up at the Supreme Court and for 13 months, I was in court. The second attempt in 2007, I was in court close to 20 months and in 2011, my third attempt, I was also in court for nine months. “All these cases went up to the Supreme Court until the fourth time in 2015, when God agreed that I will be President of Nigeria.” But speaking while inaugurating the Imo State Caretaker Committee of the party in Abuja, on Monday, the acting National Chairman, Mr Uche Secondus, observed that Nigerians were shocked at the president’s remarks. Secondus noted that Buhari’s remark was a direct affront on the statutorily guaranteed independence of the judiciary, saying that more worrisome was the fact that “a President of a country had to tie back already settled judgments of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, in cases involving him, as a benchmark of his assessment of the institution of the judiciary at the moment.” He urged the judiciary, as the last hope of the common man, to continue to assert its independence and not allow itself to be deterred from upholding justice and the rule of law, no matter the pressure Secondus added: “While we express worry at the attacks on the judicial arm of

government, we are aware that they are intended to blackmail and stampede the judiciary to deliver judgments against PDP in various pending cases involving our party and some of our leaders in the courts. “While we urge the judiciary to ensure that it adequately guards its flanks from all external influences, we also caution the executive to focus on governance, while respecting the constitutionally guaranteed principle of separation of powers by allowing the judiciary and the legislature indeed, all statutory arms of government to freely operate within the bounds provided by our laws.” The party boss called on critical stakeholders to appreciate the fact that the Judiciary, “in its nature as an arbiter, cannot join issues with the other arms, and such needs to be defended from the brazen blackmail by the APC-led government.” On that newly inaugurated 15-member Imo State caretaker committee, Secondus charged the committee to be fair, just and balanced, accommodate every interest and restore Imo PDP to winning ways, “especially as APC government in the state has failed woefully.” Led by Honourable Vitalis Okafor as chairman and Sir Martin Ejiogu as deputy chairman, members are Innocent Ikpemezie, Fabian Ogbonna, Onuoha, Peter Ezenwa Orji, Isaac Anyim, Henry Onwukwe, Eze Ugochukwu, Okechukwu Dike, Roy Iwuala, Emma Dike, Bon Unachukwu, Josephine Nnoaham and Vivian Echeruo as secretary. Meanwhile, the Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has advised President Buhari to respect the democratic principles of separation of powers by allowing the judiciary to do its job, obey court orders

and focus on proper prosecution of people accused of corruption rather than castigating the judiciary and making the arm of government to appear as the stumbling block in his fight against corruption. The governor also urged the President to tell Nigerians the truth about the Boko Haram insurgency, saying; “They keep telling us that they have defeated Boko Haram technically while Nigerians are still being killed daily, with over 100 people killed in Dalori, less than 12 kilometres to Maiduguri, Borno State capital. Isn’t it now necessary for the President to fulfill his promise of leading from the front and getting his Information Minister, Lai Mohammed to go and hold a press briefing in Sambisa forest unguarded by military men so as to show to Nigerians that indeed, they have defeated Boko Haram technically?” Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said the President should have simply told the whole world that he hated the judiciary because he lost the petitions that he filed against his electoral defeats in 2003, 2007 and 2011 instead of hiding under the fight against corruption to ventilate his anger. The governor, who said there was nothing wrong with the legal system in Nigeria, added that “in recent times, politicians like President Buhari are the ones responsible for the wrath in the judiciary because of their desperation to use the courts to foist one party state on Nigerians with conflicting judgments from election tribunals.” He said making noise in the media about discovery of fraud was different from being able to prove allegations of fraud in the court, adding that; “The President and his men should stop media trial and playing with bogus fig-

ures. This is because as it is today, President Buhari is not fighting any corruption. Rather, he is engaging in political persecution in

his bid to weaken opposition both in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and within his own party, the APC,” he said.

Nigerian Tribune

Briefs Joseph Ojo is dead

Chief Joseph Bayode OJo is dead. He was aged 93. He died last Thursday morning in Ibadan, Oyo State. Chief Ojo was a Yoruba Christian religious composer and dramatist, noted for composing many melodious Yoruba hymns for the Catholic Church in Yoruba countries of West Africa, who hailed from Oye-Ekiti, Oye Local Government of Ekiti State. Chief Ojo was a life-long friend of late Reverend Father Kevin Carrow, S. M. A. Burial arrangement will be announced later.

Chief J. B. Ojo

Fidau The fidau for Madam Sikirat Layemi Adenike Ogunlayi will take place at her residence, Opposite Police Area Command, Ijesa-Isu Ekiti Road, Ikole Ekiti, on Saturday, at 10.00 am. Entertainment of guests is at Adeyinka Adebayo Nursery/Primary School Field, Opposite Fire Service Office, Ijesa-Isu Road, Ikole Ekiti.

Madam Sikirat Ogunlayi

Burial Mrs Eunice Olorunfunke Ajayi is dead. She died at the age of 90 years on December 17, 2015. There will be a Wakekeep for her on Thursday, beside White House, Bako, Near Omi-Adio Road, Ibadan, Oyo State. While burial will take place on Friday.

Madam Olorunfunke Ajayi

news Nigerian govs act like emperors —Obasanjo 7

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

•Calls on members of NASS to open their budget to criticism •Nigeria faces new debt overhang, he warns ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has slammed state governors for living like emperors while the majority of Nigerians live in abject poverty. Chief Obasanjo stated this on Monday while delivering a speech as the chairman of the inauguration conference of Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP), held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan. Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and John Evans Professor of International History and Politics, Richard Joseph, also spoke at the opening of the two-day conference with the theme: “Getting Government to Work for Development and Democracy in Nigeria: Agenda for Change.” Obasanjo who said drastic fall in the price of oil at the international market has unravelled the weakness of governance in Nigeria, noted that “Leaders who call for sacrifice from the citizenry cannot be living in obscene opulence. “We must address these foundational issues to make the economy work, to strengthen our institutions, build public confidence in government and deal with our peace and security challenges. We must address the issue of employment for our teeming population particularly for our youths. Leadership must mentor the young, and provide them with hope about their future as part of a process of inter-generational conversation. “Nigeria is a country where some governors have become sole administrators, acting like emperors. These governors have rendered public institutions irrelevant and useless. “Is there development work going on in the 774 constitutionally recognised local government councils which have been merely appropriated as private estates of some governors? “Some governors have hijacked the resources of the local governments and this

has crippled the developments of the local government councils in the country. The National Assembly must also open its budgets to public scrutiny.” Explaining his own cause to check corruption while in governance, Obasanjo said that, “many years ago, I identified corruption as the greatest single bane of our society. Identifying it as one of the worst legacies of misrule and bad governance, we set up the ICPC and the EFCC to tackle it head on. “Today, corruption drains billions of dollars from our economy that cannot afford to lose even a million dollars. It seems we are just beginning the fight against corruption afresh. Until recently, it seems corruption had returned with a vengeance, taking seat at the very heart of government. I reiterate my statement in October last year during the 55th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence that “corruption must not have resting place within our society; we must kick corruption out because it destroys almost everything and I am not talking about corruption of money; corruption of attitude, nepotism, favouritism, they are corruption in different forms and all aspects of corruption must be kicked out of our society. “Now, given these governance challenges and our experience with reform, it is clear that change don’t just happen, there must be a basis for change. Leadership has to be committed to change. Beginning with the reality of the budget, there is need for sober reflection. Rebuilding the foundations of governance involved paying attention to values, principles and practices that promote hard work, innovation and sacrifice,” he said. Meanwhile, the former president also warned the Federal Government that another debt is about hanging on the country, noting that the drastic fall in the price of oil in the international market and recent budget deficit of N3trillion is a testament of his claim. According to him, “The drastic fall in the price of oil in the international market

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo exchanging pleasantries with the Olubadan-designate, High Chief Saliu Adetunji, at his Popoyemoja Palace, in Ibadan, on Monday.

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo led the pack of dignitaries to pay homage to the Olubadandesignate, High Chief Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, in his palace at Popoyemoja. The former president, who arrived in company of Alhaji Lateef Gbadamosi, a federal commissioner for National Population Commission at about 2:10p.m.,

congratulated the new Olubadan-designate. He, however, went into a close door meeting that lasted for about five minutes. After the meeting, Obasanjo entered into his waiting black Prado Jeep and left the palace. Also, a delegation of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, visited the

Oba-elect on Sunday evening. The delegation, which was led by Sarkin Sasa, Alhaji Haruna Maiyasin, brought good wishes from the Sultan. Earlier, former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Olajumoke Akinjide, also came to visit High Chief Adetunji.

By Saheed Salawu and Tunde Ogunesan

has unravelled the weakness of governance in Nigeria. The Minister of Finance has recently announced that the 2016 Budget deficit may be increased from the current N2.2 trillion in the draft document before the National Assembly, to N3 trillion due to decline in the price of crude oil. “If the current fiscal challenge is not creatively addressed, Nigeria may be on its way to another episode of debt overhang which may not be good for the country. It will be recalled that a few years ago, we rescued Nigeria from its creditors with the deal in which the Paris Club of sovereign creditors wrote off USD 18 billion of our debt, Africa’s largest debt cancellation. Nigeria then used windfall earnings from oil export to pay off another USD 12 billion in debts and arrears.” On the responsibility of the government, Obasanjo posited that it is high time Nigerians asked questions from the government.

Obasanjo, Sultan delegation, Olajumoke Akinjide visit Olubadan-designate

He said “It is indeed proper for us in Nigeria to ask the question’ is the government working?’ Is government positioned to deal with challenges arising from these new developments? These questions are made apposite by the massive scale of poverty and unemployment, the decay in infrastructural facilities, the impoverished living standards of citizens with regard to food, housing, water supply, education and healthcare which have deepened in recent years. This is complicated by the protracted experience of violence and brutality, the flow of internally displaced persons arising from the Boko Haram insurgency in large parts of north eastern Nigeria where many citizens have become distressed, live in fear and insecurity. “Recent developments in governance show the failure of systems, the disregard for institutional processes and the general decline of institutions that used to function to guarantee reasonable service delivery to citizens.” The keynote speaker, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, advocated a return to the regional system of government wherein the six geopolitical zones would function as the federating units and the current 36 states, which “are hovering on the brink of bankruptcy,” would become development zones. “If the country is to tackle more effectively, the challenges confronting it, it would need to restructure its present governance architec-

ture. “It is an incontrovertible fact that Nigeria was making more progress in national development in the early days of its independence when it practised a truer federalism with four regions as federating units that had substantial powers devolved to them from the centre. “Those were the days of significant export of groundnut, tin ore and very high quality leather from the Northern Region; of cocoa from the Western Region; of rubber and timber from the Midwest Region and of palm produce and coal from the then Eastern Region of Nigeria. “They were also the days of heavy competition among the region operators – Sir Ahmadu Bello in the North, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the West, Dr Michael Opara in the East and Chief Dennis Osadebe in the Midwest – all of them embarking on and delivering manifest socioeconomic progress. “Today, the relatively nonviable 36 states have become so economically handicapped that most of them now find it difficult even to pay the salaries of their civil servants and the minimum wage of N18,000 agreed with the Federal Government. Many of the states, I dare say, are hovering on the brink of bankruptcy. “Instead of the present structure of 36 economically unviable states with concentrated political power at the centre, the National Assembly should convert the existing six geopolitical zones into more viable federating units

of the truly Federal Republic of Nigeria. “The 36 states can be retained as development zones within the regions but without full administrative paraphernalia. And it would be up to the six regions to consider and meet any demands for the creation of new development zones within them. “It is inexcusable that in a country endowed with so many untapped solid minerals and such vast arable lands for significant agricultural production, these resources have remained inadequately exploited for the benefit of the citizens, of whom no less than 70 per cent still lives in massive poverty. “As more viable units, the six regions will facilitate the necessary shift from the present philosophy and reliance by the 36 states on the sharing of the ‘national cake’ to focusing on production and internally generated revenue within the regions.” According to him, “internal security and crime control can be more effectively managed by the people in the regions who know and are more familiar with the local environment.” In his speech, Professor Richard Joseph, speaking on “State, Governance and Democratic Development: The Nigerian Challenge”, said Nigeria, a country of 175 million people, must increase its capacity to meet domestic, regional, and global challenges. Professor Joseph admonished Nigerian leaders to set a goal for the country. He noted that “Nigeria must move to the forefront in the region, in the continent, and globally to systematically address the challenges. “You cannot build capacity in the public domain if, for whatever reasons, you do not plan for the medium or long term. “Nigerians are one of the highest achieving immigrant groups in the United States, a reputation also gained in other countries. Nigerian names appear often on the marquees of world theatre and cinema. At a dinner several years ago, the president of the Illinois Institute of Technology mentioned the high performance of Nigerian students. It was surprising to him because that is not what he, and many others, had come to associate with Nigeria.” The event was attended by a number of eminent Nigerians, including the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Co-chairman, African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc., Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu and the governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo.

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 3 February, 2016

Lagosmetro

Traffic as a result of ongoing construction of the Mile 12 Median walls on Monday in Lagos. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

Men at work during the ongoing rehabilitation of Brown Street in Oshodi, being built by the Lagos State Government, on Monday, February 1.

Mile 12 environment needs urgent attention — Investigation

By Sylvester Okoruwa

ILE 12, located between Ketu and Ikorodu, in Kosofe Local Government Area is in need of urgent govern-

ment’s attention, to prevent outbreak of epidemic or health related risks. The environment needs sanitisation, to prevent health related risk, including the ravaging Lassa fever epidemic.

The area, as observed by Lagos Metro, lacked the necessary government facilities, while the market that feeds nearly half of residents of the state is in a total state of disrepair. A visit to the area revealed

a near-total neglect of people living in the environment by the government. Most of the residents, who are mostly traders and okada riders, told Lagos Metro that the area had suffered years of neglect

by successive government as there is hardly a tarred road, drainage or any visible project done even by the Kosofe Local Government. “During the rainy season, Mile 12 Market is an eye-

How female Reverend defrauded me — Widow It’s not true — Cleric AyomideOwonibiOdekanyin

A widow, Oluwatoyin Simonson, has accused one Reverend Precious Amanze, a woman, of defrauding her. The accused has, however, rejected the accusation, with the law already invited into the claim and counterclaim between both ladies. Amanze has been subsequently remanded in prison for the alleged

offence which she allegedly committed under the false pretence of assisting the victim to clear her debt. Simonson, through her lawyer, Patrick Ekugum, had petitioned the police at Area ‘M’ command, Idimu, to investigate the Reverend for alleged fraud and intimidation. According to the po-

lice, Simonson introduced Amanze to an American drug manufacturing company, Clean Shield, to market its drugs in Nigeria, with a specified bonus to members. It was alleged that when the bonuses started coming into Amanze’s account for several months for members to share, she

reportedly refused to inform other members or pay them any money. Subsequently, the matter was reported to the police when the widow claimed that Amanze was intimidating her. Amanze was charged before an Ejigbo magistrates’ court for forgery and stealing under

the Criminal Code. When she was arraigned, she pleaded not guilty. The presiding magistrate, Mrs J. O. E. Adeyemi, granted her bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. She was remanded in prison custody pending when she would perfect her bail condition. The matter was further adjourned till March 7, 2015.

sore,” one of the residents told Lagos Metro. “You cannot dress neatly to the market and come out the same, as traders have to wear rubber boot, while food items like tomatoes and fruits are laid on bare floors,” another resident told Lagos Metro. One Mr Ali Mohammed, a resident of the area who spoke in Hausa, told Lagos Metro that “they (government officials) come to collect money from us but we don’t see what they use the money for. We have, therefore, resigned to fate. “The environment is dirty because the agency responsible to clear the waste is not forthcoming. “The present ongoing construction of median walls on roadshas worsened the traffic situation around Mile 12 axis,” he added.

Tuesday, 3 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

Fire destroys tyre stores in Lagos Olakekan Olabulo Goods worth millions of naira were destroyed on monday night as fire ravaged a row of shops along Simbiat Abiola Way in the Ikeja area.

Fire fighters from Ikeja and Alausa were still battling with the inferno as at the time of filing in this report. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the affected shops were filled with tyres

and that the fire started from one of the shops. Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Radak Fadipe confirmed the incident to Nigerian Tribune and added that the cause of the fire was yet to

be ascertained. A trader, Oruma at the computer village, which is close to fire scene, described the fire as “massive”. Oruma also opined that the fire might have started

as a result of power surge as most of the workers were closing for the day’ s operation, when the fire was noticed . Fadipe told Nigerian Tribune that his men were in control of the fire.

The rapid spread of the fire was blamed on the stored products in the affected shops .

Stockfish heads land 5 men in trouble Olakekan Olabulo

This dark carnal, located between Mile 12 and Owode can cave in during flooding as a result of rainfall and will affect buildings surrounding it. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

Govt shuts abattoirs in military barracks Bola Badmus

ABATTOIRS in military cantonment and barracks, where veterinary doctors from Lagos State were barred from inspecting slaughtered cows, have been shut by the state government. The government gave a two-week ultimatum for operations to end permanently. On Monday, it read a riot act to other operators of illegal abattoirs and slaughter slabs in the state as part of the measures to curb the spread of unwholesome processed meat and meat products. The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Toyin Suarau, while explaining the government’s move in his office at the Secretariat, Alausa, said the riot act became necessary in order to guarantee wholesomeness in the process of meat which Lagosians consume. This was just as he said that government was giving all operators of unauthorized abattoir within the state two week to close down operations. Suarau stressed that it was necessary to monitor the

whole process of meat handling right from the animal markets to the abattoir, and even transportation, saying that government had handled significantly the distribution aspect by introducing the Eko Refrigerated Meat Van which was now used to transport meat rather than the former obnoxious meat transportation. He warned that government would continue to close down illegal abattoirs and slaughter slabs which were not hygienic and not in compliance with the relevant laws governing meat slaughtering in the state. “Government will continue

to close down illegal abattoirs and slaughter slabs which are not hygienic and not in compliance with the relevant laws governing meat slaughtering in the state’’ Suarau opined. He said that the issue of animal slaughtering was still a big issue because a lot of animals must be inspected before and after slaughtering according to the meat inspection law. “The danger with unrecognized abattoirs is that the animals slaughtered there are not inspected by veterinary professionals to detect the one that has diseased or pregnant ones because it is illegal to slaughter pregnant

animal,” he revealed. Speaking further, the commissioner stressed that government was giving all operators of unauthorized abattoir within the state two weeks to close down operations. He, however, disclosed that two-week ultimatum had been given to the operators of illegal abattoirs located within Military Cantonments and Barracks in the state, where veterinary officers were denied access, stressing that Government could no longer tolerate such illegal practice. According to Suarau, “We have veterinary officers de-

ployed to all recognised abattoirs in the state to inspect and certify the meat hygienic for human consumption and that is why we are advocating that all illegal abattoirs in state should be shut down.” He gave list of authorised abattoirs in the state to include Lairage Complex Agege, Achakpo Mechanized Abattoir, Ajegunle, Ologe Mechanized Abattoir, Badagry (under construction), Matori Slaughter Slab, Itire Slaughter Slab, Ilaje Slaughter Slab, Ikorodu Slaughter Slab, Badagry Slaughter Slab and Epe Slaughter Slab.

STOCKFISH heads valued at N11.5 million are already causing headache for five men alleged to have stolen the delicacy. The suspects are Emeka Chukwu, 41; Chidi Ekah, 41; Edwin Onyebuchi, 39; Ndubisi Obiora, 37 and Abuchi Nwani, 35. The incident occurred at Iddo Motor Park in Ebute Metta. According to the police, the men connived and stole sacks containing stockfish heads valued at N11.5 million, property of one Ejim Okwudiri. The men were arraigned before an Ebutte Metta magistrates’ court where they all pleaded not guilty. They are facing a twocount charge bordering on stealing and conspiracy. The chief magistrate, Mrs O. I. Adelaja, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500,000 with two responsible sureties in like sum. She, however, adjourned and fixed February 29 for mention. Their offences contravene sections 285 (a) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, which prescribes a seven year jail term.

Ikorodu boat mishap: Number of passengers yet unknown —LASEMA Olakekan Olabulo The Lagos State government was as of Monday afternoon yet to get the manifest of the passengers boat that capsized in Ikorodu area of the state. The police are reportedly planning the prosecution of the operators of the capsized boat and some sand dredgers,

were allegedly arrested in connection with the incident. The General Manager of the Lagos Emergency State Management Agency, LASEMA, Michael Akindele, while speaking on a T.V programme, monitored by Lagos Metro, stated that the state government was investigating the cause

of the accident. The LASEMA boss also stated that the state government was as of Monday yet to really ascertain the total number of passengers on board the boat. Akindele also stated that the state emergency agency was still expecting the manifest of the boat from the Marine Police.

He also said that the government is monitoring the post-accident trauma of the boat accident. Meanwhile the police in the state may prosecute those arrested in connection with the early Saturday accident, depending on the position of the state government. A police source, who

could not confirm the number of people that were arrested, stated that the police would need to work with the state government . When contacted the image maker in charge of the state police command , Dolapo Badmus claimed not to be aware of any arrest in connection with the incident.

businessnews

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Oil drops 6% on China data, slim chances of OPEC deal

.S. crude oil prices fell 6 percent on Monday as weak economic data from China, the world’s largest energy consumer, reversed a four-day rally from last week and an OPEC source undermined chances of an emergency meeting to stem the decline. China’s manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace since 2012 in January, adding to worries about demand from the world’s second-biggest economy at a time when the market is already weighed down by a large supply overhang. “China is the last standing consumer of oil outside of the U.S.. The problem is that everyone is relying on them,” said Carl Larry, director of business development at Frost & Sullivan in Houston. “As long as we keep in this scenario where China is the only real consumer to pick up the pace, we’re going to see moves lower every time China has an issue with their economy.” Brent April crude futures LCOc1 were down $1.64, or 4.6 percent, at $34.35 a barrel by 12:09 p.m. EST. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 fell $1.99, or 5.9 percent, to $31.63. Investors bet heavily on oil rally as hopes grow for output cut A drop in all three major U.S. stock indexes after data showed manufacturing activity was weak in January and consumer spending was unchanged in December, also weighed on oil prices. Traders have been watching the equity markets closely to get a reading of the health of the economy. A mild winter has also dented demand for oil and latest weather forecasts calling for warm weather through mid-February sent U.S. New York Harbor heating oil hoc1 futures down 5 percent. A senior OPEC source told

a Saudi Arabian newspaper on Monday it was too early to talk about an emergency meeting of the Organization

of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil prices soared last week, with Brent crude surging

The naira on Monday, slightly strengthened against the dollar at the parallel market, in spite of scarcity of the dollar. The naira gained one point to exchange at N305 from N306 it exchanged previously. At the official market, the Nigerian currency closed at N197 to the dollar. Traders in the parallel market, while attributing the little gain to the un-

had received proposals from OPEC lynchpin Saudi Arabia on managing output and were ready to talk.

Bola Badmus-Lagos

From left: Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Etisalat Nigeria, Oyetola Oduyemi; Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka; one of the beneficiaries of the Etisalat Nigeria 2015 Merit Awards and Student of Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Adedeji Peter and Territory Manager, Retail and Sales (South West), Etisalat Nigeria, Mobolaji Fadeyibi, at the Etisalat Merit Awards Scheme 2015 cheque presentation ceremony held in the University of Ibadan.

Nigeria seeking World Bank loan Nigeria is holding talks with the World Bank to help it fund a forecast $11bn (£7.7bn) budget deficit. However, Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, said in a statement that it was not applying for an “emergen-

cy loan”. Nigeria is believed to be looking for around $3.5bn from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Africa’s largest economy has been hit hard by the recent fall in oil prices, and

the government needs to find new sources of income to fund its budget. Last year’s government budget was largely financed by oil revenue. Ms Adeosun said that “Nigeria, as a member of World Bank group is en-

Dollar, naira crisis: Civil society wants Buhari to review CBN’s economic policy Adetola Bademosi-Abuja

Following the consistent fall of naira against the dollar, Civil Society Group for Good Governance (CSGGG) says it wants the President Muhammadu Buhari to review the economic policies and model adopted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as regards

dollar. It said this should be considered to ensure that the government achieve its goal of resuscitating the economy. The president of the group, Dominic Ogakwu, said this in the group’s end of month analysis of the country’s political and economic progress, issued

Naira slightly strengthens against dollar on parallel market Chima Nwokojji-Lagos

over 30 percent from the 12-year low touched earlier in the month, after Russian energy officials said they

Ambode attends US-Africa Business Forum in Addis Ababa

predictability of markets, however, noted that the naira had remained stable, exchanging between N305 and N306 to the dollar. The first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting was held during the week and against consensus expectations that the Committee would pronounce an adjustment to the naira exchange rate, the MPC left the rate unchanged at N197.00/US$1.00. Given that an adjust-

ment would have helped improve confidence of foreign investors in the Nigerian market as increasing capital inflows and forex liquidity aid cushion the declining external reserves, the unwavering stance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) led to an increase in bureau De Change (BDC) rate to N300 (relative to N297.00/US$1.00 before the meeting) although the interbank rate was unchanged at N199.7/ US$1.00.

to journalists in Abuja, on Monday. According to him, with the current administration, the nation is now better positioned to achieve genuine growth and development in all strata. “The commitment and proactive steps being taken by the incumbent leadership to completely eradicate insurgency and corruption, which have been the bane of our underdevelopment, is not only commendable but a reflection of the true change that Nigerians have always craved for. “With the falling oil price, the effort of the current management to reposition the commission towards delivering the dividends of democracy to the people through a systematic approach that will translate to infrastructural development, sustainable youth empowerment scheme, women and children empowerment and welfare for the elderly, should be supported,” he said.

titled to access available funds like every membercountry,” but she is also looking at the domestic market as a means to get finance. “No application for loans has been made. We are simply discussing options for funding [the] 2016 budget,” she added. A major concern for Nigeria is that more than 55 years after independence, oil revenues are still being used to support the dayto-day activities of the government, rather than being used for investment. President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to adjust the public finances and whether he achieves this will be one of the ways his term in office will be judged. For now, the government will continue its consultations with the international partners, which started earlier this year with a visit by International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde. By their assessments, Nigeria’s economy will slow down in 2016 but growth may still come in at 3.2%, which is a positive in the face of global volatility. So, in effect whilst the situation in Nigeria is clearly serious, some would say Nigeria is not yet in a crisis mode.

Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday joins other world leaders across the globe to attend the Corporate Council on Africa’s 10th Biennial U.S- Africa Business Summit, being hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in line with his administration’s campaign for direct foreign investment. The US-Africa Business Forum, which is held on from Monday 1st to Thursday 4th February, 2016, will bring together 1,000 private sector and government officials including heads of states, entrepreneurs and investors throughout Africa, United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, made this disclosure in a statement made available to newsmen, saying this year’s forum would focus on key opportunities and challenges in agribusiness, energy, health, infrastructure, security, trade facilitation, ICT and finance to increase trade and investment. Ayorinde said Governor Ambode would “use this opportunity to position Lagos not just as an investment destination, but also as an emerging economic hub in Africa.” According to him, Governor Ambode will be participating in an interactive session during the “Doing Business in Nigeria” forum to discuss investment opportunities in Lagos. “The governor’s participation in this forum underscores his commitment to promoting economic growth and addressing the most pressing challenges,” he said. He listed the challenges to including building modern infrastructure, creating jobs and opportunities for the youth and expanding access to health and education for Lagosians through investments and partnerships. Ayorinde added that Governor Ambode would lead a team that includes among others, Prof. Ademola Abass, his Special Adviser on Overseas Affairs and Investment. “This emphasizes that his administration is committed to facilitating the ease of doing business in Lagos.”

businessnews

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Pipeline blast in Bayelsa cuts Agip’s crude export by 16,000 barrels daily Austin Ebipade - Yenagoa

From left, Head, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, FirstBank, Ismail Omamegbe; Vice Principal (Academia), Meadow Hall College, Lekki, Mrs Fatima Okeowo and Marketing Services Manager, FBN Holdings Plc, Tunde Lawanson, at the FutureFirst Financial Literacy Day event held at Meadow Hall College recently.

The pipeline blast allegedly carried out by militants on Agip’s facility on Thursday, has resulted to a drop of 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. The explosion, is coming barely two weeks after an earlier strike at Escarvos, which led to shutdown in Warri and Port Harcourt refineries and disruption in gas supply to some power plants. The pipeline is located in Orukari, Golubokiri and Kpongbokiri communities of Brass Local Government

Tread softly on VAT review, MAN counsels FG Akin Adewakun- Lagos

igeria’s manufacturers, under the aegis of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), have counseled the Federal Government against an upward review of the Value

Added Tax (VAT) being paid on luxury goods by Nigerians, insisting that such action might further impoverish the masses it is supposed to protect. Speaking in Lagos at an interactive session with the media recently, the president of MAN, Dr Frank Ja-

cobs, stated that despite the fact that the amount paid by Nigerians as VAT, remains one of the least in the continent, it would still be insensitive for the Federal Government to heed such advice for an upward review of VAT in the country, since it might not be in tune with

Polish company to establish $3mln factory in Nigeria Gbola Subair -Abuja The Federal Government policy on diversification of the economy from oil to non-oil sectors may have begin to yield fruitful results as Polish based company, Agro Machine and Nigerian partners, Sleek Group Limited and Shebag Holdings Lmited, have concluded plans to set up an agricultural manufacturing factory in Nigeria. The initial take-off value of the factory to be sited in Kaduna is $3 million, with the growth expected to rise up to $200 million at the production stage. The Kaduna State Government has already provided a land where the factory is to be sited and will commence production of mechanised agricultural implements to grow the agricultural sector and its value chain in the country. The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) is facilitating the investment into the country and is providing all the necessary support and services including hand-holding for the early and successful take-off of the factory in Kaduna. While receiving the delegation on Monday at the Headquarters of the Commission, the Executive Secretary, Mrs Uju Aisha

Hassan Baba, who was represented by the Director of Real Sector Department, Mr Reuben Kifasi, noted that the diversification policy of the nation’s economy is gaining momentum with the smooth take-off of the factory in the country, as it will lead to the acquisition of mechanised farming tools which will in turn increase the agricultural production in the country. He maintained that agricultural sector is considered a priority in the diversification programme of the present administration, as it is the highest employer of labour and its value chain is enormous and therefore commended the team for investing in the “critical sector which has direct impact on the economy.” He promised the commission’s readiness to support

and provide them with all the necessary support and assistance including the facilitation of all permits, certificate and registrations to enable the early take-off of the factory in Nigeria.

the nation’s economic environment. The MAN president argued that while the Federal Government could be advised on some of its policy directions, especially the recent one coming from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it also reserves the right to either heed or reject such advice in the interest of Nigerians, whose interests it has sworn to protect. “If IMF advises, it is up to the country to take or reject such advice. But it is our hope and prayer, however, that the government will not heed this advice, at least for now,” he stated. The MAN boss also com-

Nigeria’s economic growth hinged on insurance development— Okunoren Gbemi Solaja - Lagos Strategies for reviving Nigeria’s economy would achieve the desired result if greater premium is placed on growth of the insurance industry’s by the government. This assertion was made by the president of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr Kayode Okunoren, at the Council’s Secretariat in Lagos. According to him, aside

from providing investible funds, insurance is one of the financial management strategies that must be factored into genuine economic revival development initiatives of government. Okunoren applauded the various economic revival initiatives of the present administration and lamented that inadequate attention had been paid to insurance which had proven to be the linchpin of economic growth in advance climes. The president who reiter-

NSE: Market begins week with -0.3% KehindeAkinseinde-Jayeoba, Lagos Transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) maintained the negative trend on Monday with the benchmark indices declining by 0.3 per cent amid massive profit taking by investors. Specifically, the Market Capitalisation shed N31 billion or 0.3 per cent to close at N8.19 trillion as against

mended the recent forex policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), especially the stoppage of forex sales to the nation’s Bureau De Change (BDC), noting that the arrangement, prior to the policy, was only enriching operators of BDCs and a few Nigerians at the expense of the nation’s real sector, the engine room for any nation’s economy. “We in the organised private sector, believe that the CBN should first fund the nation’s real sector, instead of selling to BDCs, that in turn sell at exorbitant rate to Nigerians, especially people who want to do genuine businesses with forex,” he argued.

N8.22 trillion recorded on Friday. Similarly, the All-Share Index lost 104.24 points or 0.3 per cent to close lower at 23,826.76 compared with 23,916.15 achieved on Monday following price loses. An analysis of the price movement table indicated that Forte Oil Plc led the losers’ pack with a loss of N14.89 to close at N282.94 per share. Seven Up Plc trailed with

N9.80 to close at N186.20 per share, while Total Nigeria Plc trailed with a loss of N7.50 to close at N142.50 per share. Guinness Nigeria Plc declined by N4.30 to close at N111.20, while Conoil Plc dipped by N2.40 to close at N22.34 per share. Zenith Bank Plc increased the value of its share price as it advanced from N12.61 kobo to N13.69 kobo per unit, thus adding N1.08 kobo.

ated the council’s desire to partner with the government in building formidable economy through the instrumentality of insurance, stressed that NCRIB would be creative and proactive in maximising the seemingly gloomy economic situation to the advantage of Insurance Brokers. “This is a challenging time for the insurance industry in Nigeria, in view of the recession being witnessed in the economy, which is taking its toll on insurance like any other sectors of the economy,” he said Mr Okunoren shared optimism that the government under the leadership of President Mohammed Buhari would reverse the ugly situation, through the enthronement of probity and accountability in governance. He further reiterated the commitment of the council to ensure that all necessary strategic engagements are done to further enhance the growth of insurance in Nigeria.

in Bayelsa State, and both attacks are coming weeks after a Lagos High Court issued arrest warrants for Mr Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, to answer charges of fraud. Residents said that the sound of the explosion caused panic and triggered oil leaks near the site. An Eni spokesman who confirmed the explosion on Monday, said that the oil firm was working to restore normalcy and resume optimal production. Eni, Italian energy firm and parent company of Nigerian Agip oil Company (NAOC), said in an e-mail response that the cause of the blast was being investigated by the Nigerian Security Agencies. “The Eni production impacted by the incident was 16,000 barrel oil equivalent daily, (boed) and as at Monday morning, all the activities aimed at restoring production have been activated,” Eni stated.

FCMB enhances customer experience with system upgrade Leading financial services provider, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, has successfully upgraded its service delivery platform by deploying the Finacle Core Banking solution version 10 to enhance world-class service excellence and customer experience. This ensures that transactions at the bank’s branches and other touch points are now faster with rare occasions of service unavailability at its alternate channels, while offering more innovative products to customers. In a statement, the bank explained that the new generation banking platform will also accelerate innovation and support its business growth in the rapidly changing business environment in which it operates. With this development, the advanced service-oriented architecture (SOA) of Finacle 10 enables the bank optimise its processes, enhance system reliability, performance, scalability and security, among others. While expressing gratitude to customers for their patience and understanding during the upgrade process, the bank assured that it will continue to expand its platforms and further raise the bar in products and service offerings in line with its culture of excellence and values as a simple, reliable and helpful lender.

business

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

daily summary (equities) for MONday, 1 FEBRUAry, 2016

top 5 gainers

top 5 losers

13 news Buhari’s foreign trips meant to stop looting —Presidency Leon Usigbe - Abuja

HE Presidency has rationalised President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent foreign trips, saying these are geared towards denying looters safe haven for their loot in those countries. According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who spoke with State House correspondents in Abuja, on

Monday, the president was undertaking the journeys in order to block safe havens for stolen funds from Nigeria. Buhari will, on Tuesday, head for France and the United Kingdom, barely 48 hours after returning from Kenya and Ethiopia. Shehu argued that Buhari’s trips abroad had succeeded in making his administration secure agreements and understanding with various countries on recov-

Combining youth service, Law School unacceptable —NYSC DG Adetola Bademosi - Abuja DIRECTOR-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), BrigadierGeneral Johnson Olawumi, has warned that participation in the compulsory one year national youth service and attendance of Law School at the same time, will no longer be tolerated. This was part of resolutions made at the 2016 Annual Management Conference of the scheme, which took place in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

He noted that the NYSC Act provided for uninterrupted service year and advised prospective corps members to choose which one to defer between national service and Law School, instead of attempting to combine both. “Parents of prospective corps members have also been advised by the conference to allow their graduate children take decisions as adults and avoid discouraging them from accepting postings to any location in the country.

ery and repatriation of stolen funds. The presidential aide revealed that members of the nation’s security agencies may soon travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to begin implementation of agreements reached earlier with the country by the president. He said: “You also see gradually the strategic efforts to go after the stolen funds abroad. The UAE is very important to the country. “Don’t be surprised that in the coming week or two, you will gave high level security officials leaving Nigeria for the UAE, to begin to give expression to our wish to enjoy this new cooperation between the two countries, with a view to recovering stolen assets. “There are numerous agreements we have also signed with them. Drugs, human trafficking and stolen assets that have been stolen abroad. So, the president want to make it difficult for people, even when then steal from Nigeria, there would probably be no hiding place for such.”

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

news N34bn fraud: I will appear in court if properly served —Tompolo

Ayomide Owonibi-OdekanyinLagos

HIEF Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo) has challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on the manner of service in a warrant of arrest that was issued to compel his appearance in court. In the application, filed before Justice Ibrahim Buba, Tompolo is claiming that the EFCC did not follow due process of law in applying for an order of substituted service of the criminal charge against him and that no service of the charge was effected as directed by the court before the EFCC applied for a warrant of arrest on him. He further claimed that up till now, he had not been served with the criminal charge or, indeed, any warrant of arrest. Tompolo, through his counsel, Ebun Adegboruwa, added that he was prepared to appear in court and answer to any charge

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

against him.

He maintained that due process of law must be followed and his rights under the law be guaranteed, especially the right to be no-

tified and served with the charges against him. It will be recalled that Justice Buba had, on January 14, issued a bench warrant against Tompolo and or-

dered his arrest for failing to honour a court summon dated January 12, in respect of a 40-count charge of alleged N34 billion fraud levelled against him and nine

others by the EFCC. The judge had ordered that Tompolo should be arrested and produced in court on February 8 to answer the charges.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, in a handshake with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mamoud Mohammed, during a courtesy visit to the vice-president by the Chief Justices from Carribean countries, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN

Tension as Supreme Court rules on A\Ibom poll tomorrow Iniobong Ekponta-Uyo AFTER a long wait, the Supreme Court will, tomorrow, deliver ruling on the protracted governorship case involving the candidates of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Udom Emmanuel and his main challenger of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Umana Okon Umana. The state election petition tribunal, which was moved to Abuja, for “security reasons,” had in its ruling, nullified the results of the April 11, 2015 governorship in 18 out of the 31 local government areas, forcing the APC to head to the Appeal Court, praying for a total cancellation, which

the court heeded and annulled the result across the entire state. However, the PDP, apparently not satisfied with the ruling, took the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the Appeal court’s decision on the case. Ahead tomorrow’s date for the final interpretation and determination of the matter, tension has gripped both camps, as chieftains of the two parties would rather adopt a tongue-in-check approach in their dispositions to the final outcome of the case at the apex court. While the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko, would rather adopt a cautious approach in his comment on the matter, the publicity secre-

tary of the APC, Ita Awak, was quick to conclude that his party would laugh last with victory. According to Nwoko, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune from Abuja, where he, the governor and several other cabinet members have been keeping vigil for the verdict, “we rely on God and hope the jurists will follow the constitution in arriving at the final verdict.” Nigerian Tribune findings in Uyo, the state capital, revealed some

DEPUTY Speaker of the Cross River House of Assembly, Honourable Joseph Bassey, on Monday, debunked rumours of an impeachment plot in the assembly. In the last two weeks, speculations had been rife that members had concluded plans to move a motion for the impeachment of the Speaker, Hon-

ourable John Gaul, over alleged highhandedness. But speaking with newsmen in Calabar, the deputy speaker said the purported impeachment move remained in the realm of speculation, adding that the assembly had always maintained a harmonious relationship since it was inaugurated eight months ago. He said members of the assembly had no cause to impeach the speaker,

conclude that the APC does not stand any chance of emerging victorious at the Supreme Court, because the court has decided otherwise in the case of Rivers State.” According to him, his party has proved beyond reasonable doubts that there were widespread malpractices in the April 11 governorship polls, pointing out that aside malpractices in the use of card readers, discrepancies also occurred on the voter registers.

...Do what is right, S/South forum tells S’Court By Moses Alao

TWENTY-FOUR hours to the expected delivery of judgment by the Supreme Court on the April 11, 2015 gover-

No impeachment threat in C’River assembly —Deputy Speaker Anthony Ubong-Calabar

state of euphoria, especially among the foot soldiers of both parties, as both camps claimed victory. The PDP camp, relying on the victory of Governor Nyesom Wike in the neighbouring Rivers State, argued that “the verdict will follow the same pattern with that of Rivers State.” Although nothing is certain for now as the judgement can go either way, the APC image maker, Awak, said it would be “unfair and uninformed for anybody to

because he had provided credible leadership and carried everybody along in the scheme of things. Bassey said: “The speaker is doing well. There is nothing like impeachment and infighting in the assembly. We work together to make sure we impact positively on the lives of our constituents, “if we engage in fighting, a lot of things will go wrong. All these are rumours.”

norship election petition in Akwa Ibom, the South-South Ministers’ United Forum has called on the apex court to justify people’s confidence in it as the bastion of hope for the masses. Making this call on Tuesday, during an interview with the Nigerian Tribune in Lagos, the president of the Forum and Presiding Bishop of Zion City Christian Revival Ministry International, Bishop Mike Johncleanton, urged the Supreme Court to rise above the bias and political manipulations noticeable in the lower courts’ judgments by doing “what is right.” Johncleanton, who noted that the election of Governor Emmanuel Udom was by popular demand and indeed, ordained by God, urged the Supreme Court to

“maintain a fearless stance by upholding the election as it did in Taraba and Rivers states’ petitions, saying: “While it is too late to start pointing at the political interference and manipulations that resulted in the annulment of election results in 18 local governments, the court can still redeem its image as the last hope of the people. “The people of Akwa Ibom had, from the first day, accepted Udom and God has also approved of him. The people were well-aware of the need for continuity in the pro-people development and transformation of Akwa Ibom put in place by former Governor Godswill Akpabio and they saw Udom as the most capable person for the job, which was why they voted massively for him.

In the application, Tompolo described as fictitious the address known as No.1, Chief Agbanu DDPA Extention, Warri, Delta State, where the EFCC said it pasted the summons and the charge sheet. “In the history or geography of Warri or its environs, no such street name is known,” Tompolo claimed. His lawyers also argued that the application filed by the EFCC to obtain the order for substituted service was incompetent because it did not bear the seal of the legal practitioner who signed it. In an affidavit filed in support of the application, one Nsikan Udo, who was the deponent, claimed that Tompolo resided at No. 13 Chief Agbamu Close, DDPA Extension, Warri (Effurun), Delta State and not No. 1, Chief Agbamu DDPA Extension, Warri, Delta State where the summons and the charge sheet were pasted by the EFCC. The deponent claimed that as of January 11 when the EFCC went to paste the court papers, Tompolo was at a premises known as No. 1 Chief Agbamu Lane DDPA Extension, Warri (Effurun), Delta State, throughout the week beginning from January 11, 2016.” “The gate of the premises known as No. 1 Chief Agbamu Close, DDPA Extension, Warri (Effurun), Delta is black in colour and is not perforated nor does it have a see-through, reddish/brown gate with iron bars shown in Exhibit GE4,” Udo claimed. Tompolo is, therefore, seeking, among others, an order setting aside the warrant for the arrest of the first accused person/applicant (Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo) issued by this court on January 14, 2016, pursuant to the purported service of the summons and the criminal charge instituted in this case on the applicant.” Adegboruwa, in a statement, however, said his client was prepared to willingly come to court to answer any charges preferred against him. He also said the Inspector General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff and the Navy had been notified of Tompolo’s application, so that overzealous persons do not take advantage of the court process to attempt to trample on his legal rights. Charged alongside Tompolo is the immediate past Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi; one Kime Engozu, Rex Elem, Gregory Mbonu and Capt. Warredi Enisuoh.

15 news

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Jonathan govt bought substandard weapons to fight Boko Haram —FG Bola Badmus - Lagos

EDERAL Government, on Monday, said the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration procured substandard weapons for the military to prosecute the war against terrorism, declaring that such weapons could not have been responsible for the successes recorded by the military in recent times. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the disclosure in a statement issued in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, by his Special Adviser, Mr Segun Adeyemi, maintaining that whatever weapons were procured by the Jonathan government to prosecute the war against Boko Haram “were substandard and could not have been responsible for the string of successes recorded by the military in recent times.” The minister described as unfortunate and unsubstantiated, the statement credited to former President Jonathan, attributing the recent successes in the war to the weapons alleg-

edly bought by his administration which were delivered after he had left office. Mohammed said the present administration owed it a duty to put the record straight, especially because the issues raised by former President Jonathan were of public interest, which bordered on national security. According to the minister,

the weapons, munitions and equipment which the former president claimed he bought were refurbished and lacked the basic components and spare parts. He added that the ammunition bought for both high calibre and small weapons were mostly expired, incompatible with weapons and grossly inadequate.

“The weapons, munitions and equipment which the former president said he bought were refurbished and lacked the basic components and spare parts. Additionally, the ammunition bought for both high calibre and small weapons have mostly expired, incompatible with weapons and grossly inadequate.

“It is pertinent to state that the ammunition he was referring to were backloaded, because they explode within the barrel when fired, thus leading to deaths and injuries among soldiers,” the minister said. Alhaji Mohammed explained that the troops also lacked the much-needed lift, operational vehicles

Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, inspecting a guard of honour mounted by the Nigerian Army, during his visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN

Senate uncovers N10bn excess allocation in education budget Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja THE Committee on Education, on Monday, uncovered an excess N10 billion budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Education in the 2016 budget. The committee, headed by Senator Aliyu Wamakko, shocked the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Anwuka, when it confronted him with the discovery. The committee had asked

the Minster of State to explain how the personnel budget for agencies under the ministry jumped from N88,199,311,758 in 2015 to N98,181,570,237 in the 2016 budget document. The minister, who could not provide immediate answers to the question, asked the Senate committee to take the matter up with the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Folasade YemiEsan. Senate Chief Whip, Olusola Adeyeye, who is a

member of the committee, had drawn the attention of other members of the committee to the fact. He explained that this was the only sub-head which allocation was so increased, a development he described as very suspicious. The Permanent Secretary, however, told the committee that: “The variance depends on the number of people that still exist on the IPPIS. So, it is an automatic thing. As

people retire, automatically, the balance comes down. So, if they are not replaced by new staff, then we will have this variance. So, it’s not that we lost some money. If during the year, a number of people have retired, then the balance at the end of the year will be reduced. “This is just an aggregation of all the agencies. So, we will look at it and see which ones, because it is off hand now, I don’t know which ones had the

Buhari leaves for France, Britain on Tuesday Leon Usigbe - Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja on Tuesday, to begin an official visit to France and Britain. A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in Abuja, on Monday, indicated that at his first stop in Strasbourg, France, the president will, on Wednesday, February 3,

address a special session of the European Union Parliament to be attended by members of the executive and legislative arms of the union. His address is expected to focus on terrorism, violent extremism, corruption, Nigeria and Africa’s current security, economic and developmental challenges, as well as the need for greater support from the European Union and advanced nations for their

rapid resolution. Buhari will also hold talks with the president of the European Parliament, Mr Martin Schulz and the president of the European Commission, Mr JeanClaude Juncker on the same issues before leaving Strasbourg for London, to join other world leaders at the ‘Supporting Syria and the region’ conference, scheduled to open in the British capital, on Thursday, February 4.

The president will use the opportunity of his participation in the conference, which is being co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations, to continue his push for more global understanding, collaboration and support for Nigeria and other countries in the frontlines of the war against terrorism. The statement said that the president would return to Nigeria at the weekend.

increase or if there is a marginal increase across board; what we have done here is to put together all the parastatals. But we can look at the details and find out which ones are increasing. Having this was not something that was imposed on the universities or polytechnics. They were the ones that submitted their personnel cost. It is not an imposition. It is what each university submits that we collate and put together.” The committee was, however, not satisfied with Mrs Yemi-Esan’s response. They, therefore, directed the ministry to reappear and make proper presentation to explain the excess budget. Senator Wamakko told the ministry: “Permanent Secretary, what you are saying is not enough. Maybe you need to be given time to give us the true position, because the issue involved is enormous. I need a good answer, not just this brush-on answers. I am not happy with the answer given.”

and other equipment needed for an effective prosecution of the war, until the present administration ameliorated the situation. The minister noted that the situation was so pathetic that soldiers were often transported in Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) vehicles, civilian vehicles, trailers and water tankers when going to the theatres of operation, adding that the revelations on the sorry state of things in the past, which he said had emanated from the investigative panel so far, pointed clearly to the kind of legacy bequeathed to this administration by the past government. “That explains why troops remained largely static and were unable to effectively deploy to completely rout the Boko Haram terrorists in all their known enclaves. “The high level of casualties sustained by our gallant soldiers was most unprecedented and cannot be compared to any known military operations in recent times, all because of the terrible state of affairs suffered by the military under the Jonathan-led administration,” the minister said. He said Jonathan had “chosen to denigrate the system for the unprecedented feat that was achieved within the first six months of the Buhari-led administration - something that he could not achieve in all of six years,” apparently because he could not understand how credible and dedicated leadership could impact positively on the morale and performance of troops. “It is also clear, as has been shown so far by the outcome of the panel probing past arms deals, that the purchase of substandard weapons apparently resulted from the massive corruption that enveloped the deals, the kind of horrifying graft that saw the purchase of refurbished choppers that lacked rotors or fighter jets that could not be deployed to the theatre of war because they were not up to par. “The needless loss of lives of many of our gallant troops, resulting from the lack of standard weaponry and low morale in the past, is not a matter to be trivialized under any circumstance,” the minister said.

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Femi Ibirogba adefemi2007@yahoo.com 0811 695 4646

‘Nigeria capable of producing cassava ethanol for ECOWAS’ wine and spirit industry’ Mr Rajasekar Rajavelu is the Managing Director of Allied Atlantic Distilleries Ltd at Igbesa, Ogun State. In this interview with FEMI IBIROGBA, at the just concluded World Congress on Root and Tuber Crops in Nanning, China, he spoke of the employment and wealth creating potential of ethanol production from cassava, among other industry issues.

hy did Allied Atlantic Distilleries Ltd choose Otta, Ogun State, for its cassava ethanol production in Nigeria? Allied Atlantic Distilleries has been in the business of wines and spirits for over 40 years, and it is owned by Nigerians and a market leader in the wine and spirit business. We were importing ethanol from the European market and there was the need to find a local resource for ethanol production. That was why the company decided to produce ethanol locally, using a local crop, cassava. The factory is located at Igbesa, Agbara, Ogun State of Nigeria. Will you say production of ethanol in Nigeria has reduced the volume of products imported into the country? Actually, Nigeria imports 260 million litres of ethanol every year and there is huge amount of foreign exchange it has to pay for this. Unfortunately, Nigeria does not have ethanol factories, although there was one that closed some years ago. So, considering the huge importation of ethanol by Nigeria, we are only producing a fraction of the local need. We produce only 9 million litres yearly but the country needs 260 million litres. So, we are not even producing up to 4 per cent of the Nigerian requirements for ethanol. Are you saying there are opportunities for investors in the sector using cassava? Nigeria needs at least 30 to 40 ethanol producing plants to meet its local consumption requirements. So, there is a lot of potential for expansion, not only in Nigeria but also in the neighbouring countries. All ECOWAS countries are currently importing ethanol and they need to put up the plants to meet up with the demand. What is your human resource capacity at Allied Atlantic Distilleries? Actually, the factory is fully automated, but we still have about 130 workers. However, it is not limited to employment in the factory. We use 250 metric tonnes of cassava daily and there are a lot of cultivation, harvesting, loading, off-loading and transportation associated with the production. There are thousands of farmers and villagers linked with the provision

of raw materials to the factory. So, in terms of jobs, the number of people associated with our factory is very huge, directly or indirectly. How convenient is it to source 250 metric tonnes of cassava for the factory daily? That is a good question. Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava, with around 263 million tonnes per in 2013 and 2014. But despite this, running the mill of 250-tonne capacity per day is consistently becoming difficult for us. Why? During the June-December season, we do get raw materials close to 200 tonnes per day, but from January to March, harvesting is drastically reduced because of low soil moisture and it becomes difficult for farmers to harvest. However, we are working to improve on the situation by looking for ways of making uprooting cassava easier in the dry season, and we are implementing that strategy now. We ran our factory up to 70 per cent production in 2014, but with the improvement in harvesting methods, we operated up to 80 per cent in 2015. We have not achieved 100 per cent production because of scarcity of raw materials. Don’t you think your factory is far away from the centre of cassava production in Oyo, Kwara and Ondo states? Very good question, but considering the state of electricity supply in the country, we wanted a place where we could get natural gas to generate electricity. So, we located our mills around Igbesa, Agbara, in Ogun State, where gas is available. That was why the location was selected. However, because we locate it far from cassava producing state s of Oyo and Kwara states, we operate a fleet of trucks to source raw materials from these places. We have minimized the cost of transportation because of this. The gas for power and the use of our fleet of vehicles have helped us to minimise cost of production. If farmers bring raw materials from those far places, who bears the cost of transportation? Cassava is accepted from Ogun and Oyo states because the shelf life of the product is very short, taking no more than 72 hours between harvest and production at the mill. Due to poor road network, we consider these

Mr Rajaseka Rajavelu two states as our catchment areas. However, farmers do supply from Kwara and Ondo states but we tell them that they need to get the materials to the factory between 72 and 80 hours of harvest because of the distance, and if the there is no spoilage, we do accept the materials. How would you advise the Nigerian government to utilise most of this product because most farmers also complain of having no access to buyers of the roots? Actually, there were times of scarcity and gluts, but the glut situation does not exist currently because there are many high quality cassava flour processing companies, starch and ethanol processors in the country now.

We ran our factory up to 70 per cent production in 2014, but with the improvement in harvesting methods, we operated up to 80 per cent in 2015.

In Oyo State alone, there is an uptake of 2000 tonnes of cassava daily. However, considering the production of ethanol, farmers were not planting right varieties, but there has been improvement in their approach and productivity, and we do tell them to satisfy the need of the companies demanding their produce. How has lack of infrastructure affected your business? If we use the power from the national grid, it will be erratic. So we generate our own power by using natural gas. That is the only way we can enjoy consistent power. Apart from the economics of power, we wanted to bring down the cost of cassava and that is why we have 5000 hectares of cassava farmland operated by over 3000 farmers in Oyo State. What is the average yield per hectare as a result of this intervention? The average yield before the project in 2007 was between 6 and 7 tonnes per hectare, but today, they harvest not less than 15 or 16 tonnes per hectare due to efforts of our technical teams from colleges and faculties of agriculture working with the farmers. We are also distributing the latest varieties of cassava to the farmers. Do you provide tractor and other farm equipments to the farmers? We do have our own tractors and planters, but we do not make them available to all the farmers. We make them available to lead farmers and demonstration farms at various local government areas.

agriculture

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

CBN loan: Oyo FADAMA

sensitises farmers on conditions

From left, Programme Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Jacob Mignouna; representative of Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Comfort Awe; Coordinator, African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI), Dr Abdulai Jalloh; and Director, Central Africa, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA0, Dr Bernard Vanlauwe, at the first Meeting of Africa Cassava Initiative at IITA, Ibadan, Oyo State.

ACAI to change fortunes of cassava farmers

he African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project kicked-off on Wednesday with plans to improve the livelihoods and incomes of cassava farmers in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and DR Congo by researching, and tapping into and implementing best-bet agronomic practices. The project, which is led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), with funding support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will specifically improve cassava yields, cassava root quality, cassava supply to the processing sector, and fertilizer sales, thereby engaging over 100,000 households in Nigeria and Tanzania, and facilitating the engagement of at least 30% women farmers. “The value of benefits from this project in Nigeria and Tanzania is projected to be over 27 million USD. Furthermore, through engagement of households in Ghana, Uganda, and DR Congo and through extra interest generated in the products developed by the project, these figures are expected to

increase for at least 150,000 households and a value created of at least 40 million USD within the 5-year time frame of the project,” explained Dr Bernard Vanlauwe, IITA Director for Central Africa on Wednesday in Ibadan Nigeria. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), cassava productivity has marginally increased to around 10–11 tons per hectare, well below attainable yields of over 30 tons per hectare. With the need for intensifying cassava production in areas where population densities have reduced access to fallow land and with cassava roots becoming important raw material for the processing sector, this yield gap needs to be reduced. Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbe, said the current yield of less than 15 tons per hectare makes Nigerian farmers uncompetitive in the cassava sector. “This initiative should find a solution to the issue of low productivity,” Ogbe who was represented by Mrs Comfort Awe said. The ACAI initiative is placed within the

Bird flu: FAO donates disease

containment materials to agric ministry

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has supported Federal Government’s ongoing response to control and curtail the spread of bird flu by donating some disease surveillance and containment materials to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Receiving the materials on behalf of the ministry at the NAIC Building in Abuja, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, thanked FAO and the other development partners for their good gesture and assured them that the items would be put into use judiciously to combat the spread of the virus. The minister appealed for more and sustained support from FAO and other development agencies, stating that government would do everything possible to achieve self-sufficiency even in the livestock sector. Senator Lokpobiri expressed his sympathy to poultry farmers affected by Avian Influenza, saying they must have lost huge resources as a result of the bird flu. Earlier in her remarks at the handing over ceremony, the FAO Representative in

Nigeria, Dr Louise Setshwaelo, stated that the risk factors that favoured the spread of Avian Influenza included poor bio-security in poultry farms, movement of poultry and poultry products from infected farms. Dr Setshwaelo emphasised the need to deploy sufficient resources to fight the current infection, saying more efforts are needed particularly by state Governments to fight the outbreak. She called for continued and effective disease surveillance, detection and control systems in Nigeria and pledged FAO’s continuous support for Nigeria. In her remarks, the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Federation and Director, Veterinary Services Department, FMARD, Dr Egejuru Eze, explained that efforts towards containing the current outbreaks of avian influenza have not been effective due to current economic down trend and the inability of the states to meet up with their statutory obligation to control and report disease. Some of the materials donated to the ministry by FAO included diagnostic starter kits, protective clothing, disinfectants, laboratory supplies and a host of other items.

context of intensification of cassava-based systems with a focus on the development of cassava agronomy recommendations to improve the productivity and quality of cassava roots in Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, and Uganda, major cassava-producing countries in West and East Africa, and some spillover into East DR Congo. The project will be phased, starting in Nigeria and Tanzania in years 1 and 2 and will expand to the other countries from year 3 onwards. Dr Nteranya Sanginga, IITA Director General said agronomy would provide the key to unlocking the potential of cassava in Africa. “If we want to increase the productivity of cassava, we must breed new varieties, improve the agronomy and value addition. I think we have done a lot in the area of breeding, what we need to do now is to capitalize on the agronomy,” Dr Sanginga said. The ACAI project will harness African and international expertise, and follows a demand-driven approach whereby its interventions are responding to specific agronomy-related needs by partners already actively engaged in cassava dissemination and value chain activities in the target countries. The vision of success of ACAI is to deliver the necessary knowledge base and tools for accessing this knowledge to cassava scaling partners and ultimately farmers in the target countries while instituting the necessary capacity and skills for national system scientists to engage in transformative cassava agronomy.

Oyo State Fadama Office, in collaboration with Ebedi Lagba Fadama Apex Community Association, Iseyin, has sensitised farmers on terms and conditions for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan made available to boost agricultural enterprises, increase farm productivity and income. State Project Coordinator, Mr Nathaniel Olayinka, said that Fadama project has helped farming communities to define their needs, build self-confidence, strengthen farmers’ associations, encourage savings and investment as well as increase productivity and income. He added that Oyo State Fadama farmers were registered as viable groups and associations and could be recommended for the loan. He hinted that the state government was working to fulfill World Bank requirements for full participation of the state in Fadama III Additional Financing (AF). Head of Local Government Administration (HLA), Iseyin Local Government, Mr Adewale Taiwo, enjoined Fadama farmers to use loans for the purposes meant for so that state government’s vision for transformation of agriculture into real agribusiness could be realised. Representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Matesun Titilayo, stated that the Federal Government was ready to give loans to farmers through commercial banks at 9% interest rate, adding that farmers should follow due process for accessing the loan and use the money for agricultural enterprises. He advised farmers who might get the loan to not default repayment. Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) representative, Ibadan office, Mrs Famodun Kemi, enlightened farmers on the need to insure agricultural enterprises, especially crops, against risks of uncertainty such crop failure, invasion and destruction of farms by Fulani herdsmen. She said farmers would pay 2% of the amount borrowed from the bank to insure their farms. She encouraged farmers to register appropriately and use the money for the stated enterprise(s) as only the enterprise insured would be attended to in case there is disaster or loss. Extension officer, Psaltry International, Ado Awaye, Iseyin Local Government area, Mr. Bolanle Opeyemi expressed willingness of his company to buy more cassava tubers and encouraged farmers to increase production of cassava as the company needs 200 tonnes of cassava tubers per day for starch production.

Customs impounds courier’s poultry truck The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has impounded a Courier Express truck for allegedly conveying 100 cartons of smuggled (frozen turkey, according to The Tide. The Isuzu Mini truck, with registration number LSR 22 XQ, was seized by the Headquarters Compliance Team, Idiroko axis of customs on the Ijebu Ode-Sagamu Road recently. The seizure was disclosed at a press briefing marking the assumption of office of the new controller, Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mohammed Umar. Also impounded was a large quantity of used tires seized by the controller FOU A Surveillance Team, Seme axis.

The poultry was said to have been concealed in courier parcels, fueling suspicion that this might not be the first time this illicit transaction would take place. It will be recalled the same team made a similar seizure last year when it intercepted a truck belonging to a haulage company used in smuggling over 5,020 cartons of foreign frozen poultry concealed with 2016 cartons of table water. The out-going controller, Sani Madugu, in his speech urged the officers to double check their level of commitment through identification of appropriate operational modalities to suppress the activities of smugglers.

18 LETTERS TO THE

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@tribune.com.ng or by sms to 08053412982. It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

In favour of local manufacturing of weapons

VERY year, countries around the world increase their defence budgets because of un-

foreseen future wars. Today, United States has the largest military budget in the world, followed by China. I was happy when

President Muhammadu Buhari said a couple of months ago that the Nigerian military would soon start manufacturing

Foreign football and recolonisation VIRTUALLY everybody in Nigeria today has a foreign football club he/she supports. Football clubs in the English Premier League are the most popular, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, among others having millions of followers in the country. Unfortunately, what we don’t

realise is that this love for foreign clubs is killing our local football. We also have Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Heartland, Shooting Stars, among others, but nobody is talking about them. In my own view, I think this is simply recolonisation. This is the same reason we don’t appreciate our way of life; our culture.

We need to start appreciating those things that are ours. We will never develop if we continue to rely on foreign things for survival. This should serve as a lesson to us all. •Oyedele Ibrahim Kano, Kano State.

The world under a Trump presidency LEADING Republican party candidate for the United States presidency, Mr Donald Trump, had on several occasions hurt many people; from Muslims to African-Americans, Africans, Indians, among others. Severally, he had called President Barack Obama a fool for his policies. Unfortunately, despite all these, his ratings continue to go up, and I keep wondering why he has become the darling of American voters. When the campaign started, nobody ever gave Trump any chance to become president, but this is becoming a reality every passing day. I am, however, afraid that if he finally becomes president, his actions could lead the world into a third world war. With his eccentric attitude, he could take actions that will be detrimental to world peace. Trump is just enjoying Americans’ distrust of their politicians; the average American voter feels politicians do not have their interest at heart, and the real estate mogul is gaining people’s support for his promises. He had said he would deport the over 11 million illegal migrants in the United States; construct a wall to prevent Mexicans from crossing over into the US, as well as work towards shipping outsourced jobs back to the country. While these are laudable programmes’

the disrespect of other cultures, religions by Trump is why people who are not US citizens hate him. After the uproar in the United Kingdom after he promised to create a database for all Muslims in the US, the leading Republican threatened to close his businesses in the UK.

Honestly speaking, the world will be on an edge if he finally emerges president, because I don’t know how the Russians or Chinese will react if Trump calls their president a fool. •Dr Tajudeen Alalade, Ilorin, Kwara State.

weapons, particularly AK47s. We cannot continue to rely on foreign support for weapons because those countries will never make the latest military technology available to us. Recently, the United States donated about 24 MineResistant Armoured Vehicles to our military. These were the weapons US soldiers used during the first Gulf War and are no longer useful to their military. No country would ever sell its latest war technology to another country, and this is why it is important for us to manufacture our weapons locally. We can start by bringing together our science and technology scholars for them to deliberate on how to go about developing Nigerian version of popular war weapons. I know that it is possible to ‘steal’ technology by just studying the components of a weapon. When our military manufacturing unit is fully functional, we can also be exporting weapons, particularly to other African

countries. We shouldn’t wait until we have insurgency in other parts of the country before we start taking concrete steps in building the capac-

ity of our military. As a former military chief, President Buhari knows the step to take on this. •Yakub Aishat, ABU, Zaria.

Buhari, Amaechi, intervene in our rail sector I recently read a news report that said Chinese contractors handling the revival of the nation’s rail projects were complaining that they could not bring in the necessary equipment into the country because of the scarcity of dollars. I think the Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, should take note of this situation. During the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria recorded many gains as far as the rail sector is concerned. It was during this period that the Lago-Kano rail servicewhich had been moribund, was revived. So we must not allow the current economic situation gain to erode the gains we

have made in this sector, and the Federal Government do everything in its power to ensure that the projects do not grind to a halt. One of the benefits of the rail system is that it helps in reducing the number of trucks on our roads. A standard train should be able to carry the load about 1,000 trucks can carry. With this, we can curb the destruction of the roads, as well as the frequent accidents by the trucks. I hope President Muhammadu Buhari and Transport Minister, Mr Amaechi, will do something fast about this. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) can also make dollars available for the projects. •Nelson Ekwale, Benin, Edo State.

Kudos to Ooni Ogunwusi I want to commend Ooni Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi for his humility. The royal father recently paid a courtesy visit to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi during his (Alaafin) 45th coronation anniversary. In fact, it was reported that it was 75 years ago that an Alaafin and an Ooni had anything to do together. Ooni Ogunwusi’s acts have shown that humility can solve any problem we may have. I, therefore, pray that the Ooni will live long and lead the Yoruba race into prosperity. •Kunmi Oluyemi, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

editorial

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Investing in science, technology and innovation

T a meeting of the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on January 7, 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari stressed his administration’s commitment to investing appropriately in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in order to guarantee Nigeria’s competitiveness both continentally and globally. According to him, Nigeria must accord high priority to science and technology if it must take its rightful place among the leading economies in the modern world. Nigeria’s vision of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020, he noted, would only be attainable when science, technology and innovation were fully integrated into the national socio-economic development process. The NRIC is the agency of government established to coordinate and streamline research and development activities as well as foster innovation in Nigeria. We agree with President Buhari on the need to invest in science and technology for innovation to take place. Indeed, in an advisory to the Secretary General of the United Nations last year, the United Nations Secretary General’s (UNSG’s) Scientific Advisory Board emphasised that closing the gap between developed and developing countries depended on first closing international science, technology and innovation (STI) investment gaps. According to the Board, “If countries wish to break the poverty cycle and achieve post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, they will have to set up ambitious national minimum target investments for STI, including special allotments for the promotion of basic science and science education and literacy.” The success of STI, it further noted, “will depend on the efficiency of the science-policy-society interface,” involving stakeholders from governments, civil society, indigenous peoples and local communities, industry and business, academia and research organisations. The Board insisted that science, technology and innovation could be the game changer” for the future development efforts, positing that it could contribute to alleviating poverty, creating jobs, reducing inequalities, increasing income and enhancing health and well-being, while also assisting in solving critical problems such as access to energy, food and water security, climate change and biodiversity loss.

The foregoing notwithstanding, we believe that Nigeria faces challenges that need to be addressed before it can obtain meaningful returns on any investment in science, technology and innovation. The first is the challenge of infrastructure that would constitute the backbone for STI. A country where the supply of electricity is poor cannot support science, technology and innovation. For the government to show that it is committed to STI, it must invest in this critical infrastructure. The government should not allow itself to be deceived that merely making a political pronouncement would bring about progress in STI. We expect the government to take concrete steps to ensure the effectiveness of Nigeria’s science and technology policy. As the UNSG’s Science Advisory Board has noted, progress in STI cannot be divorced from the educational system. From basic education to higher education, a culture of high regard for science, technology and innovation must be promoted. Among the general populace, science literacy must be supported. As a matter of policy, the government must demonstrate its value for science, technology and innovation by using scientific knowledge in its operations, especially in policy and decision-making. Investing in STI does not only imply using the latest technology. More importantly, it means developing Nigeria’s own home-made products that could be improved upon and upgraded to world class products later. Sadly, the country has experienced a process of de-industrialisation since the 1990s. Industries producing car batteries, tyres, windshields, together with automobile assembly plants, closed down. The government must address the problems that made it difficult for manufacturing industries to thrive. It must also be noted that the basic foundation for science and technology education has been destroyed. For one, technical colleges have more or less disappeared. Individuals and corporate organisations have had to depend on importation of personnel from abroad to hire as technicians. While global competitiveness should be Nigeria’s goal in the pursuit of STI, it is, we believe, a major tool for addressing poverty and want. Nigeria must design its STI investment policy to directly contribute to “alleviating poverty, creating jobs, reducing inequalities, increasing income and enhancing health and well-being”.

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opinion

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Lassa, Zika.... Do we know how to do anything?

ODAY, I may have to renege on a promise I made late last year not because I have lost my optimism barely two months into the year we all have thought and are still believing that Nigeria would leap, but because of the severe kind of perplexity that has, since last week, been striking the cords of my nervous system. In the last seven days, the night time, which is usually for me the best form of sanatorium, has been invaded by wraiths lurking obnoxiously in the dead of the dark. I have heard my ears filled with shrieks and voices, all of which consequents acute tachycardia, palpitation and profuse breaking of salty liquid from my sebaceous glands. In the dark, I would lay, trying in desperation but with acute futility to stifle my sniffle. A great lump appears in my throat and before dawn, the dilation of my tear ducts unleashes a stream of tasty silver liquid, heavily besmirching my pillow. I have cried for Nigeria this year though I promised not to shed any tears I have wailed for this nation and may yet again weep due to the profound empathy I feel for our dear country. Nigeria is currently trying to contain Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever which has claimed over 40 lives across the country, with the latest deaths occurring in Lagos and Ebonyi States. Last week, I had closed veracity with these words, “I hope that posterity will only read of Lassa fever and never have to contend with these fears and panics choking our national peace. I sincerely wish Nigeria live up to its christening as Africa’s giant by obliterating this Lassa fever scourge.” However, we are yet groping like toddlers in the dark, barely any sort of headway in our war against Lassa fever and now, what? We may have to combine this Herculean battle with another mammoth task! It is appropriate, logical and entirely human, to, at this point, throw on some sack clothes, empty a jar of ash over the head and lament for Nigeria. What have we done? What are we

doing? What have we failed to do? But most importantly, what do we know how to do? These are questions we should be asking ourselves amidst hiccupping wails! About four decades ago, the Journal of Hygiene published a scientific research that was undertaken at the Virus Research Laboratory of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria titled “Zika virus infections in Nigeria: Virological and seroepidemiological investigations in Oyo State”. This publication, as written by A.H. Fagbami in 1979, said “Two Zika virus isolations were made from 10778 heparinized blood specimens collected between 1971 and 1975. One was obtained in July 1971 from the blood of a male child aged 21/2 years. The second was made in May 1975 from the serum of a 10-year-old boy in Igbo-Ora (Fagbami, 1977). The two virus isolations were obtained in early and peak rainy seasons - the first patient had mild nondescript febrile illness and no other clinical details were obtainable. The second patient reported with fever, headache and body pains.” But what did the Nigerian government do? Nothing!

veracity with Vera Onana

veraonana@gmail.com 08054680688 Fagbami’s research was tagged inconsequential and swept under the national carpet 37 years ago. Sadly, today, aside from the lackadaisical attitude towards life’s issues that we readily inherited from our ancestors, they bequeathed our generation with an almost 40-year-old virus that we may miserably pass on to posterity because we know how to do only one thing – Nothing! According the World Health Organisation, the mosquito-borne virus is spreading EXPLOSIVELY. Rewind for a second and note the vector- Mosquitoes… That was my breaking point as well. In a country where a good percentage of its citizens are impoverished, living in unsanitary slums fraught with malodorous stagnant waters where continual breeding of mosquitoes take place almost at the same rate, if not more than babies’ deliveries in general hospitals nationwide, there is definitely fire on the mountain. I would insist that it has become an issue of national emergency; therefore, experts must be placed on sentry duties nationwide. We must put up an impregnable wall, separating Nigeria from the Americas that is being currently hit for if by any error, one Zika infested mosquito lands on our shores, there will be no telling of the disaster it would wreck. I must commend the initiative of the ministry of health in issuing a travel restriction to Latin America after the WHO raised a global alert as the disease spread drastically in Brazil and 22 countries in the Americas. Sadly, however, as much as we know how to do nothing in this country, we are masters at defaulting rules and are most times, oufright recalcitrant, but for as many Nigerians as are planning on either legally or illegally visiting Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, where the Zika outbreak has reached pandemic levels, I admonish you to go and never come back. Patrick Sawyers’ name is already engraved on the stone of lousy memories; we don’t need more human disease vehicles!

Edo 2016: Task before the delegates By Nasamu Jacobson

JUST before delegates to the various party primaries for the selection of candidates for the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State commit all of us to making a wrong choice at the election, it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to enlighten and educate them on the task before them. This is especially important because of the quality of people involved. It is common knowledge that the fight, intrigues and acrimony usually associated with ward party congresses for the constitution of ward executives is over the control of voting strength at governorship primaries such as we are set to hold. By now, aspirants in all parties must be assessing their chances based on the number of wards in which they were able to install executives. This point would better be appreciated if we remember, as must do, the reason two gubernatorial aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Solomon Edebiri and Osagie Ize-Iyamu, left the All Progressives Congress (APC). Both failed to get their loyalists into the party executives at their wards and local government area levels. Knowing that these party officials would be involved in the nomination of the party standard bearer, these aspirants did not need to be told that they had been effectively shut out of contention in the race for governor. What the case is in their new party, the PDP, must be left to conjecture, but it safe to say that the eight aspirants now jostling for the governorship ticket in the APC saw the need to subordinate their individual or personal ambition to the peace, wellbeing and stability of the party, whether or not they control any level of party administration. In an attempt to gain a foothold at the local level, what caliber of people do we usually throw up for membership of ward, particularly, and local government executive committees? A careful examination would reveal a high percentage of persons who require to be schooled on

the letters and spirit of the party constitution they are expected to operate. The only qualification required of them is loyalty, that nebulous term whose definition may well be ability to run errands for the party leaders. Can we, therefore, rely on these individuals as delegates to party governorship primaries to make an informed choice? What choice option will they present to us at the end of the various party primaries to go to the election with if not properly guided? Delegates to the various party primaries must not regard this all important exercise as pay day, an opportunity to line their pockets at the expense of our collective destiny. It behooves them to realise that it is a call to duty by their parties to participate as individuals in the task of giving to our state the governor of our dreams. They must, therefore, look beyond the money aspirants would entice them with and cast their ballots for those from whom they believe our state and its citizens would benefit most. They must acknowledge that this is a duty they owe to themselves and generations of Edo children, shun pecuniary, religious, ethnic or other sentiments and give us candidates who have the capacity to govern and an all-consuming love for our state and the wellbeing of her people. They must avoid the pitfalls of ethnic dictates and primordial interests which will not add any value to good governance of our state. Delegates would do well to realise that the heights which our state has attained in terms of infrastructural development was achieved by dint of proper planning and dutiful implementation of

the ideals of visionary leadership. They must sift those who seek power for selfish ends from those who seek to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of Edo people. Delegates must give us candidates with pedigree of visionary leadership and visible contribution to same, capacity to formulate and articulate pragmatic new approaches to revenue generation and mobilisation without going cap in hand to, or waiting for Abuja to meet its statutory obligations to Edo people; ability to maintain and expand existing infrastructure, including road, health, education, water and electricity. They must give us candidates with a demonstrated capacity to attract local and foreign interest for the rapid industrialisation of our state and, thereby, generate employment opportunities for our youths. Delegates must be reminded that it is not necessarily the oldest or longest on the political playground that can attract the experience and expertise required to successfully navigate the complex arena of governance. In fact, our people say that if a person stays too long in the loo, maggots and flies may well seek to molest him. This is the case of some aspirants. Delegates must, therefore, look in the direction of the new breed, who are seeking to bring their wealth of experience in their professions to the governance of our state. The idle talk of “he is new in politics” or “he is not known” must be discounted for what it is. The case of Dr. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia and that of late Professor Ambrose Folorunso Alli is instructive. They were not politicians when they ruled in the Midwest and Bendel states to the admiration and applause of the people. Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole was not a politician when Edo people overwhelmingly voted him as governor in 2007. •Jacobson, a political affairs analyst, resides in Benin City.

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016 Group Politics Editor Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 tai_adis@yahoo.com

Bello

The inauguration of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has started affecting political calculations in the state. YINKA OLADOYINBO looks at the issues surrounding the choice of a deputy governor and a new speaker for the state House of Assembly.

HERE is no doubt that the inauguration of the Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, will change political calculations and permutations in the state. The situation is already causing ripples among the political class in the state. Prior to the coming of Bello and with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) holding sway in the state, the major political offices were shared among the three senatorial districts of the state. Former governor Idris Wada, is from Dekina Local Government Area in the Eastern Senatorial district, Yomi Awoniyi, who was the deputy governor, is from Mopamuro Local Government Area in the Western Senatorial district, while the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Momoh Jimoh, is from Okene Local Government Area in the Central Senatorial district. However, with the assumption of office of Bello, who is also from Okene Local Government Area, it is obvious that the post of

Odigie-Oyegun, APC national chairman

Kogi: The battle for dep gov, speakership

Speaker may be sacrificed to pave way for equal representation of all senatorial districts in the allocation of the first three political offices in the state. The development has triggered intense horse trading and series of maneuvering among members of the Assembly, while the governor is also believed to be deeply concerned and involved in who occupies the number three position in the state. But, one major issue that may determine

the direction of the pendulum is that of the deputy governorship, and this is where the governor holds the ace. The senatorial district where the deputy comes, will largely determine that of the Speaker as both cannot come from the same place. Initially, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had zoned the post of deputy governor to the Western Senatorial district and this led to the emergence of James Faleke, as the running mate to the late Prince

It is the belief of the political class, particularly in Belloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s camp, that it will be political suicidal for the people of the East not to have any of the executive positions.

Abubakar Audu. If that situation had subsisted, there would not have been the need to shop for a new Speaker from another senatorial district. However, with the death of Audu and his replacement with Bello, coupled with the rejection of the slot of deputy governor by Faleke, a new order has become imperative for the state. The situation has however made the Eastern and Western senatorial districts to agitate for the deputy governorship with a belief that the new governor might not compulsorily pick a replacement for Faleke from the same district that produced him. Apart from this, it is the belief of the political class, particularly in Belloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s camp, that it will be political suicidal for the people of the East not to have any of the executive positions. So, now that the governorship has slipped away from them, they believe that they should be compensated with the deputy governor. But, the people of Okunland have continued to argue that since the party had already zoned the deputy governorship to the area, it would only be fair and just to alcontinues pg22

politics&policy

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

The politics of power sharing continued from pg21

low them produce another person to replace Faleke. Based on this development, many people from the two districts have signified their intention to deputise Bello. While some are working silently to get the nod of the governor and the party, some have gone to the extent of securing “endorsements” for the post. Just as the battle to replace Faleke is raging in the East and the West, lawmakers from the two senatorial districts are also said to have intensified efforts to replace the Speaker. In the Eastern senatorial district, people like Gowon Egbunu, Dim Nda Diche and a two-term member of the House of Assembly, Simon Achuba are said to be interested in becoming the deputy governor, while such individuals as Dr David Atte, Kola Bamisaye and Justina Abanida, are said to be in the fore front of the battle for the seat from the Western flank of the state. The aspirants from the West were screened down to three from about seven that were said to have shown interest in the post after considering their contributions to the growth of the party and their political strength, particularly in Kogi West Senatorial district. A committee saddled with the responsibility of presenting acceptable nominees for the post, headed by a former APC House of Assembly candidate in Lokoja II state constituency, Samuel Mogbole, reportedly came up with the names of the three aspirants. Abanida is from Egbe, Yagba West Local Government; Atte hails from Itakete-Ide in Mopamuro Local government area, while Bamisaye is from Ekinrin-Ade, Ijumu Local Government Area, the state town that the ‘unwilling’ Faleke hails from. Sources however told Nigerian Tribune that members of the committee might zero in on Abanida because of her gender that might be used to appeal to the womenfolk and get their supports and her broad knowledge of the state. But as the people of the West are continuing with their agitations, the body languqge of the governor is said to be favourably disposed to somebody from the East occupying the post. The decision of the governor to support an Eastern deputy governor may not be unconnected with the ridicule he believed Faleke subjected him to by completely rejecting to be his deputy. The governor was also said to have been unhappy with the inability of the traditional and political leaders from Okunland to prevail on Faleke to work with him or at best withdraw the suits he instituted against his emergence as governor. Therefore, if the governor is able to have his way and push through the name of his favourite for the post from the Eastern part of the state, then the agitation for the post Speaker will be limited to lawmakers from the Western senatorial district. The governor is said to be routing for Achuba as his running mate, while some leaders of Igalaland are backing Egbunu for the job. Sources close to Bello told Nigerian Tribune that the governor insisted on the choice of Achuba, who is from Ibaji Local Government Area, to be able to empower the minorities of the Eastern senatorial district. “There is the need to give the minorities in the Eastern part of the state a sense of belonging; the core Igala people are of the opinion that people from Ibaji and some other areas are minority and they have for long been so treated, so the choice of Achu-

Faleke

Just as the battle to replace Faleke is raging in the East and the West, lawmakers from the two senatorial districts are also said to have intensified efforts to replace the Speaker.

ba is to correct the situation. Apart from this, Achuba is a two-term member of the state House of Assembly and was in the assembly when the APC was in the minority. He was the voice that the party had in the legislative arm of government, so he is experienced and loyal.” However, because the PDP is in the majority in the Assembly, it is therefore expected to produce a replacement for Momoh, who himself is a PDP member. Going by the permutation of the deputy governor coming from the East, then the West is the place to seek the replacement. Already, interest groups have commenced agitation that the area should produce the Speaker. One of such groups, the Concerned Youth of Kogi State, has called on the state legislators to zone the position of Speaker to Kogi West Senatorial district. The group said it was imperative for the area to produce the number three man in view of the fact that the governor hails from the same (Central) zone with the current Speaker. Coordinator of the group, Austin Ai-

yelabowo, said zoning the post to the West would be in the interest of peace, equity and fairness to all the three senatorial axis of the state to have a sense of belonging in the three arms of government of the state. He said: “In view of the multi-ethnic setting of the state, and the fact that the executive power has shifted to the central senatorial axis, it will be a political aberration if the Speakership position does not shift to another zone. Equity and fairness must be adopted at the state House of Assembly in selecting the new Speaker. We, Concerned Youths of the State, have viewed all the variables and decided that Kogi West, with consideration to the Kabba/Bunu state constituency, should be considered. Denying the zone the Speakership will amount to political coup de-tat on the zone which have contributed immensely to the socio-political stability of the state.” It was however gathered that many factors would be considered before picking a new Speaker for the assembly. The first is the configuration of the Western senatorial

district and the allocation of political offices to the areas that make up the district. The source further said: “The Western senatorial district is divided into two; namely Okun axis and Lokoja/Koto axis. Already Okun axis, which has two federal constituencies, has produced the Senator representing the zone, Senator Dino Melaye, who is also from the Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency, Yagba Federal Constituency is going to produce the Secretary to State Government (SSG), while the Lokoja/Koto Federal Constituency will produce the Speaker of the assembly.” The situation has therefore narrowed the options down to three, as there are only three state constituencies in the two local government areas. They are: Umar Imam of APC representing Lokoja I state constituency, Idris Ndakwo, who is representing Lokoja II state constituency and a member of the PDP and Zakari Mohammed of Koton/ Karfe also of the APC. Since the PDP has the majority in the assembly and only Ndakwo is a member of the party frommwhere the APC and the state governor want the Speaker to come from, he may have automatically become the numero uno in the assembly. However, feelers from the Lugard House in Lokoja indicated that the governor may be tinkering with the idea of using Imam as the Speaker despite that he is a member of the APC that is in the minority in the house. The move is said to ensure that the governor has somebody whose loyalty will not be in doubt as the leader of the 25-man assembly, in case the Supreme Court orders a fresh election at the end of the ongoing legal tussle over the governorship election in the state. The development has however not stopped lawmakers from the Eastern flank, particularly in the camp of the PDP from making moves to oocupy the number one seat in the assembly. Already, two contenders have emerged from the zone in the PDP, and they are the Chief Whip of the House from Igalala-Mela/ Odolu constituency, Friday Sani and the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ali Aku from Omala constituency are jostling for the position. It was gathered that while the immediate past governor was supporting Sani for the position, another former governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, was backing the deputy speaker.Wada’s support for Sani, according to sources, may not be unconnected with his loyalty to the governor when he was in government, while Idris supported Aku because he is his kinsman and personal assistant when he was the governor of the state. But the state governor, in his reaction to the development, said he believed it was legal for the people to agitate and demand their fair share of political posts in the state, saying that no oart of the state should entertain fears when demanding for their rights. He however said givernment would not interfere in the selection or election of Speaker or any other post outside the executive, as it is the perogative of the members to determine who to lead them. Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Kingsley Fanwo, he said: “The agitations are not misplaced. As a man of due process with great respect for the rule of law, the governor will work with the party to ensure a peaceful legal resolution to any perceived logjam. All he needs is time. No ethnic group should nurse any fear under the present administration. The governor will ensure equity and fairness and Kogi will be greater.”

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

The 60-second

business coach page 24

Nigerian Tribune

leadership &

management

with Sulaimon Olanrewaju

m:08055001708 e:lanresulaimon@yahoo.com t:@lanresulaimon

page 24

Leadersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

forum page 24

Quote Leadership

I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Stephen Covey

Boosting sales in recession By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

arketing is central to the sustenance of any organization because it connects the organization with its core public. It is through it that revenue is generated. Marketing is so critical that unless an organization gets its dynamics right, it will labour in vain; it will have its warehouses filled with goods that people are not buying. Marketing is the heart of business. Without proper marketing, manufacturing and other creative enterprises become a wasteful venture. Continues on pg24

Executive Director of Heritage Bank, Mary Akpobome

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

leadership&management Continued from pg23

As opined by Peter Drucker, “Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.” Drucker also noted that marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered on the same par with other business functions such as manufacturing or personnel, but as a central dimension of the entire system. Consequently, the responsibility for marketing must permeate all areas of an enterprise. David Packard of Hewlett-Packard buttressed the importance of marketing to the sustainability of the organization when he once said “marketing is too important to be left to the marketing people.” Marketing in a recession During a recession, marketing becomes very challenging because of the disposition of the people. Recession is triggered by inflation which means that the value of the currency is eroded with the effect that an amount is no longer sufficient to acquire what it had hitherto purchased. Recession contracts the economy and flattens out growth opportunities. As a result, the average people do not have enough money to buy what they will want to buy while the rich become circumspect about their spending because they are not sure how long the recession will last. So, marketing in a recession could be an uphill task because the buyers are wont to keep their resources for essential things such as food, shelter, education and clothing to the exclusion of others and this usually puts business outfits in a dire strait. It is for this reason that many organizations are swept under during recessions. But at the same time some organizations thrive; they get better and stronger during recessions because they are able to increase sales in spite of the inclement economic environment. Scaling up sales in recession It was Claire Boothe Luce who said there are no hopeless situations, only men who have grown hopeless about them. The import of this is that a situation is a function of perception and perception shapes belief and belief determines behaviour. A recession is not necessarily an indication that the death knell has been sounded for a company. An organization that is struggling when the economy is good may thrive in a recession if it handles its marketing properly. Hereunder are some strategies that may tide a company over during a recession. Hold on to your traditional customers As noted earlier, Drucker says a business exists to create customers. That is very correct but it is only a half of the truth. A company actually exists to create and keep customers. A business that creates customers to lose them will soon become history. This is because it is much costlier to get new customers than to keep existing ones. So, in a recession, a business must concentrate primarily on keeping its existing customers. This is very critical because recession is a time when organizations lose their market share. This usually happens either because competitors eat into their market share or their traditional customers opt to do away with their products. One way to guard against the two scenarios and retain current customers is to increase the

value delivered to them. During recessions when customers want to cut back on their purchase, a forward looking organization will give its customers maximum value relative to the prices they pay and will let them know this. Show your customers that you are giving them more than their money’s worth. Let them not be in doubt about the extra value your products are adding to them. Educating customers about your product’s benefits can encourage them to Bill Nkemdirim, chairman and CEO stick with you. Giving them Sapid Holding a product or an experience that is well worth the money they pay will give them reason to repeat the purchase and also tell others about the product. Exceed market expectations No customer ever wants to leave a company that gives pleasant surprises regularly by going beyond his expectations. When a company exceeds the expectations of its customers it creates a positive image for its brand and this endears it to its customers. Exceeding customers’ expectations leads to building a very strong attachment with the customer and this results in customer loyalty. The benefit of this is that not only is the customer passionate about the product, he also becomes fanatical and is committed to its success. So, he becomes a canvasser for the product. But to exceed customer’s expectation, the company first has to know what the expectations are. This is the place of getting feedback from customers. During a recession, it is critical to find out what customers’ expectations are. The tendency during recession is not to buy. But knowing what customers expect and doing everything possible to exceed the expectation is one sure way to ensure that customers remain loyal to a company.

Aishah Ahmad, Head, Consumer Banking, Diamond Bank

Fisayo Omolaja, CEO Creative director, Vissy’s Imagination

Scaling up sales in recession

Innovation What makes marketing an enthralling endeavour is the other side of the coin, innovation. Organizations that fail to innovate will die; it is a matter of time. But an innovative company will never run short of patronage. When iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, which are lieved that Apple had reached the peak of its innovation as far exceptional handsets considering the unique as smart phones were concerned. The two phones were able to features they parade, were launched, many berecord sales figure of nine million units. Nobody believed that another phone series would beat that record. So, when Apple announced that it was coming out with new iPhones, the world waited with bated breath to see what they would look like and what new features the company would be adding to the iPhone 5. However, when Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus were released the company was overwhelmed with demand. The products hit a record sales figure of 10,000,000 within three days and that was when the phones had yet to be open for sale in China and 26 other regions, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The record is unprecedented. What was the secret? Innovation. The two phones feature Apple’s new A8 processor, which, according to the company, increases the speed of each of the devices by as much as 25 per cent. They also have M8 co-processor, which allows fitness

Organizations that fail to innovate will die; it is a matter of time. But an innovative company will never run short of patronage.

apps to tell the difference between walking and biking, while also measuring elevation. The iPhones are built with Apple’s new iOS 8 software, which has the new Healthkit application that monitors the user’s well being. With the software, the user’s heart rate, sleep, weight and blood pressure are measured. The iOS 8 software also enables users to control all the items in their home with the phone. The phone is more than just a device for making calls, connecting the internet, listening to music, taking photographs or watching movies; it also affords the user to keep tab on his or health status. For this reason alone, a number of people will prefer it to other phones in its category. Any product that wows the market will never be in want of patronage; recession or not. So, coming up with innovative products is vital to increasing sales during recession. Pricing Although economists say pricing is a function of demand and supply, other factors come into play in determining the appropriate pricing for a product or service. One of the most critical of these is the ability of the customer to pay for the product or service. This should be appropriately understood by the company so that it does not price itself out of existence. This is especially so for those organizations that are into production of items that could be referred to as non-essential, items that people can do without. In a recession, companies usually get involved in pricing war and it is the one that is able to price appropriately that wins the war. VW Vs Toyota During the 2008-2009 recession, Volkswagen used the right prices to gain advantage over Toyota in the United States market. Toyota was hit hard by falling sales in the U.S. because of its high prices and closed a manufacturing plant in California, its first closure ever. VW seized that opportunity to introduce a new mid-sized car specifically designed for the U.S. and meant to compete headto-head with the popular Toyota Camry. With the right pricing, the car became acceptable in the US market. Volkswagen latched onto that opportunity to

gain a foothold in the American market which Toyota had monopolized over the years. But Volkswagen’s benefit from that initiative was not limited to the recession period. By the end of June 2015, the company became the biggest-selling vehicle maker in the world, beating Toyota to the second position because of the volume of cars sold in the US. It reaped the fruit of appropriate pricing. Remain visible The easy path usually taken by most organizations is to cut off publicity during a recession. But that is a wrong strategy. To survive recession, a company must be visible because it is what customers see that they buy. Loyalty is endangered during recession because of paucity of funds. So, customers go for what is readily available. So, any organization that cuts back on publicity is doing itself in. It is not for nothing that publicity is regarded as one of the four pillars of marketing. Appeal to their emotion Buying is really an emotional matter. Most people base their buying on emotion and later justify with logic. Reasoning follows the purchase, not the other way round. To sell more during recession, appeal more to the sentiments of the target, connect with their emotion, massage their ego and before realizing it, they will have parted with their money. Be open to opportunities Recession always throws up new opportunities but most organizations miss them because they are engrossed in their traditional business. The environment is stifling during recession because everybody is doing the same thing. One outcome of recession is a change in the way of life of the people. Because of fund scarcity, focus often changes during recession. When focus changes, needs also change but it is only those who are able to go deeper than the surface to identify the needs that can take advantage of them. Two shoe salesmen A shoe-making company sends two salesmen to a community where no one was wearing shoes. When they reported in their new station, one sent a report back to the head office that trying to sell shoes in that place was an effort in futility because no one was wearing shoes there. His colleague sent a report congratulating the company on its decision to extend its products to the community, adding that though no one was wearing shoes in the place at the moment, by the time the company embarked on aggressive marketing, telling the residents of the benefits of putting on shoes, they would be making a lot of profit from the community. The company adopted the latter report, embarked on aggressive marketing and made a kill in that community. Really, there are no hopeless situations, only men who have grown hopeless about them.

THE 60-SECOND business coach

Leadership mistakes to avoid ByDavidSturtandToddNordstrom 1. Only focusing on the big picture It’s true—great leaders communicate the big picture vision. It’s how they inspire people to strive for goals that are far off into the future, or still somewhat vague. But the best leaders also know that it’s a rookie mistake to fail to outline small goals for their people to achieve along the way. Creating smaller milestones helps leaders measure progress and reward results as the big picture comes more into focus. Don’t make the mistake of only communicating the high-level vision. Instead, plan out a path to success so your team has a roadmap instead of just a destination. 2. Not delegating the work This one’s a classic. Everyone’s had at least one micro-managing boss who is overly absorbed in small details and too controlling to allow team members to take the reins. Avoid this pitfall by delegating work smartly. Give team members assignments according to their interest and expertise—or, even try letting them volunteer for tasks themselves. It will communicate your trust to the team, and alleviate tensions that result from heavyhanded management.

BOOK

3. Failing to applaud small wins Every big win is an accumulation of many smaller wins. So why would you let those everyday successes slip by unnoticed? Keep a stack of cards at your desk so you can write a thank-you note when someone goes above and beyond for you. Bring in a treat for the team when you know they’ve been pulling some extra weight. Your appreciation will go a long way. In fact, research shows that timely, meaningful recognition is the number one thing that empowers employees to do great work. 4. Communicating poorly There are a lot of ways to fall in this category. Wordy emails, lack of transparency and oversight, not having an open door policy…these are all surefire ways to be a bad communicator. Work on your communication skills—from your management style to your attitude—and you’ll see a transformation happen within the team. Leaders who are good communicators inspire action and innovation, and foster the kind of teamwork and creativity that drive results. 5. Setting yourself apart The worst leaders are the ones who believe they’re better than everyone else—and they don’t bother to hide it. To avoid giving this impression, take the time to get to know teammates. Learn about who they are, their families and passions, and what drives them. Organize team lunches and team-building activities. You could even simply move out of your corner office so that you’re closer to the team in the work environment. When teams know and trust one another, great things

happen. And the first step to getting there is leading by example, and showing that teamwork and camaraderie are priorities. 6. Discouraging innovation Maybe you try to be supportive of creativity, or you encourage team members to weigh in on important decisions. You may think that you’re fostering innovation. But if you’re not giving people room to tinker, try things out, and make mistakes, then you’re not really opening the door to true innovation. Be vocal about which projects your team can take their time on and really try to innovate new solutions for—and when (not if, since occasional failure is inevitable) things don’t work out, be supportive instead of upset. Your team will see that you’ve got their backs, and they will bring their best knowing you support them. 7. Forgetting to celebrate the milestones Given the hectic schedule of 21st century professionals, you may think it’s not a big deal to forget a birthday or work anniversary here or there. But it is. In fact, it’s inexcusable, especially given the whole suite of organizational tools and apps you can use for reminders. If you’re still not on the tech train, write the important dates on a team calendar and post it somewhere everyone can see it on a daily basis. Research shows that milestones are important occasions to celebrate and appreciate your coworkers—employees of all generations around the globe agree. Learn how to show your appreciation appropriately, and you’re well on your way to becoming a fantastic leader.

The 27 Challenges Managers Face

By Bruce Tulgan Over the last 20 years Tulgan and his company RainmakerThinking have asked hundreds of thousands of managers a single question: “Which employee situations are most challenging for you as a manager?” And “The 27 Challenges Managers Face” is the distillation of their answers. Tulgan says that more than 90 percent of the responses across these 20 years come down to these 27 issues. The good news for managers is that now you have them all in one book and covered in less than 230 pages. I received a review copy of this book and was so struck by its usefulness and simplicity that I had to share it with other small business owners and managers. Hopefully you’ll get as much value out of it as I did. Bruce Tulgan serves as an advisor to business leaders all over the world and is the author of several other management books: “It’s OK to Be the Boss”, “Managing Generation X”, “Not Everyone Gets a Trophy” and “It’s OK to Manage Your Boss.” Tulgan has written this book as more of

a reference guide. You don’t have to read it from cover to cover, although I think you might want to because it does follow a management life cycle, so to speak. It covers everything from being a new manager to renewing your commitment and everything in between. Tulgan has strategically arranged “The 27 Challenges Managers Face” into eight chapters. Chapter One covers the fundamentals. Two tangles the rigors of being a new manager. This covers challenges of moving up into management and how to relate to peers, coming into a management position from the outside, creating a new team and adding new members to an existing team. The third chapter covers challenges centered on helping employees manage themselves, their time and their re-

sources. After that, performance issues are tackled. Here you’ll get insight into how to set standards and deal with employee productivity and motivation. The chapter on managing attitudes and superstars is next. I love the saying that attitudes are habits of thought and this chapter deals with issues of conflict, attitude conversations and dealing with personal issues. So much is said about how to manage poor performers, but Tulgan has devoted an entire chapter to managing the superstar. This involves keeping them engaged, retaining them and developing them into leaders. Then there are forces beyond your control. In Chapter 7, Tulgan addresses strategies for managing in constantly changing environments, how to deal with “resource constraints” or doing more with less and managing different languages and cultures.

leadership&management

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Tope Popoola is a Human Capital developement Consultant and Pastor. Please feel free to send questions, feedback comments on this column to

topheritage@yahoo.com or visit http//turbochargedforsuccess.blogspot.com

Leadership and the challenge of resourcefulness - 2 The scriptures teach that a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches. Elsewhere it says that a good name is better than ointment. An event on Thursday last week brought these verses into bolder relief for me. Yours truly was to be screened by the Ekiti State House of Assembly sequel to my nomination to serve on the state Judicial Service Commission. After the House Leader read out highlights of my CV and the various things I have done to advance the human project - to God’s eternal glory and by His grace - the Hon. Speaker asked for comments from the floor. The Hon. Member who stood up to speak did not comment on what was read. His emphasis was on my pedigree. He spoke glowingly about my late father and his contributions to the sociopolitical development of my home town. In his words, my father’s name “was a magnet” that attracted people for very positive reasons. For this reason, he expressed confidence that I would discharge my duties with diligence in honour of that noble heritage. He was the only speaker. It was as if he had said enough. I was asked to take a bow and my nomination promptly approved. When scriptures say that a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, a good name is it! It opens doors that money will not open. My father was the quintessential civil servant who retired on a very modest pension. He had only one house, a bungalow he built in 1964! We had no luxuries growing up. No special holidays to world-class resorts. No SUVs. But his integrity was never in doubt. Never got involved in a financial scandal. On one occasion when he was a Lecturer at Adeyemi College of Education in 1967, someone who needed a favour had brought a live chicken and some tubers of yam as gift. Dad was not home but my stepmother received them. We the children rejoiced that we would eat some chicken for a change before Christmas! When my dad returned and the message was relayed to him, he was livid with rage while insisting that my stepmother had to leave the house that night to go and return the gifts to the one who brought them. That incident registered something about honesty and

integrity in my mental hard drive forever! I have chosen those values over the rabid pursuit of mammon that has suddenly gripped our society and unsparing even of people in my generation and the rot in our sociopolitical landscape. I am determined to pass that legacy to my offspring. Take some time to reflect. When your children stand before critical doors in their future, can your name open them? Selah! In my study on resourcefulness, I found a very engaging case study in Mark 6 verses 30-44 of the Holy Bible. In one of his preaching rounds, a multitude had stayed for so long with Jesus listening to him with such rapt attention that they practically forgot to eat. As the day wore on, Jesus’ disciples came to Him with what was a very convenient solution. “Send them away to the nearby villages to go and get some food to eat”. They were totally unprepared for Jesus’ response. “You give them something to eat.” Dumbfounded and practically thrown off balance, they wondered where and how Jesus expected them to find food for thousands of people and they did not hesitate to say so. “How many loaves do you have? Go and see” Jesus asked. They came back to report, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.” A few instructions and moves later, five thousand men and several thousands more of women and children had been fed with a leftover of twelve basketfuls. The story underscores some salient lessons that a leader should know about resourcefulness. First, leaders do not avoid problems or shift responsibilities. Whatever you are not willing to confront, you cannot change. While losers look for a way to avoid responsibility, winners roll up their sleeves and embrace it. By extension and to good effect, people who take on responsibility hardly miss opportunities to make a difference in the environment or anywhere they find themselves. Anyone can identify a need. It takes a different spirit to actually look beyond what has been identified and seek to provide a solution. When a leader is confronted with a challenge, his thinking must learn to subordinate his limitations to his desired out-

come. To a leader, what he “sees” is far more important than what he “has”. When a leader begins his strategic thinking with a “what I have” mindset, he already set limits beyond which he cannot proceed. Our present resources will always put a ceiling on our capacity if that is all we focus on in a crisis. However, when the leader makes his vision or desired outcome - “what I see...” - the starting point of his thinking process, he is simply placing a demand on potential that he may never have thought hitherto existed. This is the plank of possibility thinking. It is what makes it possible for a leader to see possibilities buried in resources that hitherto appeared insufficient. Furthermore, everything that the leader needs to affect the organization is usually found in the organization. A resourceful leader recognizes that there is always something in or around him to solve a problem and produce a desired outcome. Jesus did not ask his disciples to go into nearby towns to buy food. Neither did he ask the crowd to leave. Two very convenient options. He simply drew the attention of his disciples to what was with them but which they had practically despised - naturally so - in the face of the enormity of the need. Ask the average idle man today why he is jobless and he is quick to point to the government or some other establishment that has refused to give him a job or money to start a business. Ask him further what he can do and more often than not, all he has is a certificate that says he is a graduate of a university. He has not added any value to himself beyond that! I had a conversation with a worried aged parent last week about his thirty something year old son who was giving him cause for concern. One of the young man’s copouts apart from the fact that he has not been able to get a job with his Ordinary Diploma is that he has no funds to start something for himself. His father gave him a one-week challenge to write out what he would do with N1million in the event that he could raise that money for the young man. That was about three weeks ago and up till the time of writing this, the young man was yet to come up with ANYTHING!...continued Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

The old way of leading is dead!

In my estimation, the best way to start what I am passing on to you today is to quote what Howard Schultz said: “I think it is very difficult to lead today when people are not really truly participating in the decision. You will not be able to magnetize and keep hold of great people if they do not feel like they are part of the authorship of the strategy and the authorship of the really critical issues. If you do not furnish people an opportunity to really be engaged, they will not stay.” What Howard is trying to say is that the old way of leading is dead and gone forever. You cannot lead in the knowledge age the way people were leading during the Industrial age. Depending only on either a title or position to lead effectively in this age cannot work. That model of leadership is obsolete and outmoded. As an industrialist with employees, one of your primary goals is most likely to magnetize and keep motivated workers. Today, I am going to explore some qualities that will help you become the kind of leader folks love working for in the 21st century. Remember, no one will want to stay under a leader who does not fully engage him or her. If he or she cannot participate in decision making and own the vision, he or she will not stay. This may be the reason why you have not been able to retain good hands to work for you over the years. To be an effective leader, you must have a clear vision and be able to skillfully communicate it to the people you want to follow you. But how can you do that? One, learn to paint pictures with words. Whatever techniques you can use to create a picture, do it. Two, ask each of the other managers in your company to tell you, in their own words, about the vision of the company. How close is it to what you thought they understood? Is your team on the same page with you?

Three, as you work, the company’s vision should be in your mind every day, and you should reevaluate it occasionally, so that it stays current with the changing times in which we live. And remember, your staff needs to be just as involved as you in keeping it up to date if you truly want them to buy into the vision. Be sure to keep your key players involved. This is non-negotiable. You must also have passion. How do I mean? Those within your sphere of influence want passion; in fact, they will go to the ends of earth because of it, live and die for it. Think of the sailors who traveled with Leif Ericsson to explore uncharted territory. Their leader’s passion inspired them to take on new and very dangerous challenges. People within your sphere of influence will go to war with you when they can see that you have a burning passion. To build an extraordinary team of people, you’ve got to light the “fire in their bellies,” to get them to feel passion about the company and connect to the leader’s vision. Passion is such a key part of being a great leader that if you do not have it, you simply cannot be a great leader. Think of all the great leaders throughout the ages and try to name one that did not have passion. Thirdly, you must learn to be a great decision maker. How are major decisions made in your company? What is your process for making them? For instance, do you talk to your team and create a list of pros and cons to help you make the best decision? Buddy, you cannot afford to be one of those leaders who consult no one before making a decision, announces the change the next day and then gets frustrated when no one follows it. If you are one of them, I urge you to put into operation a process. You can adopt this system that has been working for me for years:

Q = Quick. Be quick but not hasty. C = Committed. Be committed to your decision but not rigid. A = Analytical. Be analytical, but do not over-analyze (Too much analysis can cause paralysis.) T = Thoughtful. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but do not be obsessive. Additionally, you must be a team builder. To become a great leader, you must develop a great team. But how do you do that? You can start by handing off responsibility to your team and letting your team to run with it. Do not micromanage your team. Make yourself available if questions or problems come up. Teach your team to use the Q-CAT decision-making system and give them the freedom to work through their own decisions. When projects are not on track or your team is falling behind on deadline, it serves no one if you start pointing fingers. This is when you need to rise to the occasion and inspire confidence in your team members. Let them know you support them and ready to help. Be ready to rework plans and make new ones. Do not forget to use humor to keep your team’s spirits up during a crisis. When an emergency hits, your team will look to you to be a tower of strength and endurance. Lastly, you must have character. Without character, nothing works in leadership. That’s because your intrinsic character strengths and limitations play a critical role in your leadership chic. The current generation of leaders has finesse, but lacks character. Most leaders in Nigeria and on this continent are very rich in grandiloquent and high-flown words, but are very bankrupt in character. On the condition that you want to last in leadership in this day and time, go and work on your character. Your character is everything! Remember, your character is the prophecy of your destiny.

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

INSIDE

Oke-Ogun hosts communications minister, clamours for development

Why eating of fowls, eggs is a taboo in Ode Aye â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Oba Akinmusayo

The South-West

Editor Wole Efunnuga 08111813056 CREW

sari Tunde B9u3530 081275 ndare nga - Ogu Yejide G8b1e16706853 0 unesan Tunde O9g54634 6 1 1 8 0 act:

r us; cont Got news fo bune@yahoo. ttri southwes hwesttribune@ com or sout ail.com gm

From Modakeke to Oyo, to Ijebu-Ode

What does Ooni want?

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ojaja II) has since shown that a united Yoruba is possible. Regardless of his status as father of all, he is visiting other palaces in a demonstration of humility. TUNDE BUSARI writes

HE presence of the Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Francis Adedoyin at the coronation of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi on De-

cember 19, 2015 cleared the air on the Ooniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pan-Yoruba mission. Ife-Modakeke war is a sad portion of Yoruba contemporary history with the magnitude of

human and material casualties during the war. Nigerian Tribune gathered Continues on pg29

28 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Why our progenitor ran away from Ile-Ife

I never thought of being an Oba. But were you a prince? I am but my interest was beyond the throne. I was an active and ambitious young man who wanted to work and make it in life. You can see how I moved from one town to another during my school days. I was very mobile and adventurous. This made the palace not attractive to me. How then are you coping now you are an Oba? To God be the glory. I have my people to thank for their support and understanding. You must have been very close to your people even while in Lagos? I was close with them. There was nothing they did I would not come home to do with them. This really worked for me when I finally relocated home. I am enjoying their company as you can see that they always surround me here. You hardly meet me alone. It is interesting returning home into the midst of your people.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Igbomina traditional ruler

The Asaooni of Ora Igbomina, Oba Joshua Tinuoye Atolagbe received his staff of office from Osun State Governor on January 16, 2016. The certified surveyor speaks with TUNDE BUSARI on his journey to the throne and how he first declined the offer. Excerpts

Are you not missing Lagos life? If there is anything I am missing, it is Lagos life. I am used to that life even though I wish for an improvement. But here I am enjoying myself with my people around me. There is no stress here to the extent that I missed home at my recent visit to Lagos. I am talking of the usual Lagos traffic problem. It is not a pleasant experience. But I can also say I am missing it. (laughter)

AN you trace the origin of Ora Igbomina? Ora Igbomina originated from Ile-Ife, a town regarded as the cradle of Yoruba race. That was in 1711 AD. We first settled at a place called Kosagbe. Our forefather ran away from Ile-Ife because he did not want to become the Ooni. He was particularly scared after three Ooni died in quick succession. The incident was unprecedented and he felt the next Ooni too would die, hence his decision to flee. But the people back home did not give up. They searched for him and eventually found him in prosperity. The name, Kosagbe, was derived from the condition they met. That is he did not flee in vain. There was a movement from Kosagbe to Okewun, a place of about one and half kilometers away. Then after the Jalumi war, Okewun was attacked. Residents were displaced to Oro, later Ilofa. They regrouped again to the present location but they had been decimated. Then the name Aoratan emerged. Aoratan means some of us still survived the turbulence.

How many ruling Houses have you in this town and how did you emerge the new Asaooni of Ora Igbomina? We have four ruling houses. Abata, Orolotimoye,Oduminrinkale and Amesomoye. After my predecessor joined his ancestors in May 11, 2014, there was need to fill the stool. And it was the turn of our ruling house. So, ifa divination was consulted. I was unanimously picked among 13 names submitted. That was how I emerged. Did you ever think you could be picked? It did not cross my mind even though I was qualified. In fact, when the news got to me, it took my family time and effort to convince me to accept leaving my job in Lagos to return home and become king. What were you doing in Lagos, in terms of your profession? I am a certified Surveyor. I felt that I should not leave my job in Lagos to come and sit here and wait for local government council to give me stipend to survive. I felt it was not good enough for me. That was why I put up some resistance before my family impressed the danger of our losing the opportunity on me. How does your life journey from childhood look like? I had what can be called a long journey but to God be the glory. I was born on August 28, 1949 at Ora Igbomina here. I

Nigerian Tribune

had my elementary school at St Stephen Anglican School, Ora Igbomina in 1961, and later St Saviour Secondary Modern School, Igogo-Ekiti between 1963 and 1965. I attended Ibokun Grammar School between 1967 and 1968. I completed my secondary school and wrote my WAEC (West African Examination Council) at Ila Grammar School in 1970. After my exams, I was a teacher at Baptist Primary School at Alagbon village. Because Alagbon is not far from Oyo, I got to know about the Federal School of Surveying located in Oyo and got interested in the school. Then there was no direct entry to the school. Students were sponsored to the school by ministry and parastatals to update their knowledge. When I realised this, I disengaged from teaching job and sought employment at ministry. Lagos State Ministry of Works and Planning offered me an appointment in September 1, 1971. I was later sent to the

school for basic course in survey. I completed the course in 1972. Between 1973 and 1974, I also studied Advanced Technical Course part 1. I did part 2 from 1975 to 1976. I later did Post-Graduate Professional Diploma between 1977 and 1979. I eventually got my license and later became a registered Surveyor in 1989. The summary of the history is that I joined the civil service as surveyor assistant and retired as surveyor general of Lagos State in 2006. What happened after your retirement? I started my private practice with my company registered as JATTWEE and Associates Limited, Lagos. We were doing our best to make ends meet until the issue of the stool came up in August 2015. Did it occur to you at a stage of your life that you would emerge the Asaooni of Ora Igbomina?

I put up some resistance before my family impressed the danger of our losing the opportunity on me.

Must a traditional ruler be a polygamist? There is no rule insisting on marital status. I am a monogamist and I am okay with it. Even when you have the power to pick any beautiful girl passing by the palace as your wife. What do you mean? You have to realise that that age has passed. An Oba must live by the constitution. Havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you seen some traditional rulers being sued to the court? One should not wish for that but it happens. I have one wife and I am satisfied. God is the only supreme being and no Oba should equate himself with Him. What is your immediate mission on the throne? My mission is to call on government to complete Ila Orangun to Ora Igbomina road. We are a boundary town and we deserve a better road for easy and quick accessibility from the neighbouring Kwara State. I am also going to appeal for the rehabilitation of some infrastructural facilities like schools and health centres. The health centre needs equipment and personnel. I believe Governor Aregbesola would help us in that regard.

29 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Ooni: A monarch’s

search for unity Continues from pg27

that even after the official ceasefire years back, smoke of the fire still hovered in the sky as evident in occasional exchanges, especially in the farmlands. The installation of Oba Ogunwusi and his determination to bring the two towns together, however, appears to have brought lasting solution to the problem. The Ooni walked his talk when he surprisingly attended the 2015 edition of the annual ‘Akoraye Day’, a gathering of the sons and daughters of Modakeke organised to raise development fund. Hardly had the tempo of applause from home and in the Diaspora subsided when Oba Ogunwusi also on January 17, 2016 left his palace and headed for Oyo, where he was the guest of Oba Olayiwola Adeyemi at his 45th coronation anniversary thanksgiving service held at the Methodist Church, Apaara, Oyo. The visit, which contrasted the alleged cold relationship between the immediate past Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Oba Adeyemi, analysts opined, further rekindled the hope of a united Yoruba nation. It also, they said, confirmed the sincerity of the Ooni, who, on his coronation, declared: “I stand firmly for peace and unity between Ife and Modakeke and I guarantee that this peace and unity will transcend into economic and social benefits for everyone. Similarly, we shall use this stool to unify the entire Yoruba race; there shall be no division, no supremacy or animosity amongst us.” Oba Ogunwusi reiterated his commitment at Oyo and told the Alaafin his readiness to, as Arole Oduduwa, make the necessary sacrifice including visiting Yoruba monarchs in their domains with a view to charting a new course for the Oduduwa race. “I am ready to damn any consequences or insinuations from anywhere; my

mission here is to preach peace among nations of Yoruba both home and abroad and I am ready to work with Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Olayiwola Adeyemi to project the unity and love which we believe is existing in days of our forefathers,” the Ooni said. Acting true to his promise, Oba Ogunwusi also on January 30, 2016 travelled down to the palace of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona. The Awujale, like the Alaafin, is said to have not been on the same page with the late Ooni, a development that further polarised the rank of Yoruba traditional rulers. With the Ooni’s visit, however, the Awujale seems to have consigned the past into the dustbin of history with a specific reference to the Ooni’s coronation speech in which he preached peace and unity among Yoruba royal fathers. “I agree with you on the need for unity among the Yoruba monarchs. If we come together, we can achieve a lot for our people. If we all come together in a meeting and agreed on a certain issue, it must remain so,” he said. Alaafin expressed similar view with a strong assurance that unity among the monarch would achieve a tremendous leap for Yoruba nation and Nigeria as a whole.

Going down memory lane, Oba Olayiwola said the last time an Ooni visited Oyo was in 1937 during the inaugural meeting of Yoruba traditional rulers. “I feel delighted to host you and will be ready to work with you. I have a tight relationship with Ooni Adesoji Aderemi and I did not want to relent my bound with any Ooni of Ife that assumed the post but everybody has his own little differences,” the Alaafin told the Ooni in Oyo. This rapprochement has provoked different shades of reactions, all of which has raised hope of a Yoruba nation assuming its pace-setting role among other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Some, however, picked a hole in the Arole Oduduwa going on visitation instead of being visited. But the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Akanbi dismissed such stressing that the Ooni’s action is in the right direction. The highly elated Oba Akanbi said what the Ooni has demonstrated is humility expected from a father who wants to maintain unity among his children. “The Ooni is using humility to achieve unity for Yoruba race. There is nothing bad in that. The elderly must behave true to type. There is nothing like unity. I am happy his effort is yielding fruits. “Pride comes before downfall, so an

With Alaafin and Ooni in the forefront of any struggle or agitation by the Yoruba, it is certain that nobody can deny us our dues again which is why we must praise the wisdom and sagacity of the new Ooni and to commend him to keep the flag flying.

adage says. One must learn from this to know how to navigate this world. I am happy the way Ooni is going about it because all Yoruba traditional rulers need to unite. And God willing, this new relationship is going to be sustained,” he said. The Secretary of the Yoruba Obas Conflict Resolution Committee and the Sabiganna of Iganna, Oba Saliu Azeez, shared the Oluwo’s view and described the Ooni’s initiative as positive, aligning with the committee’s earlier step before the transition of Oba Sijuwade. “The inability of the Yoruba Obas to speak with one voice in the past has been exploited by others. With Alaafin and Ooni in the forefront of any struggle or agitation by the Yoruba, it is certain that nobody can deny us our dues again which is why we must praise the wisdom and sagacity of the new Ooni and to commend him to keep the flag flying,” he remarked. A human right activist, Chief Amitolu Shittu is also at home with Ooni’s move. He said no time is more auspicious to rally Oduduwa children together than now when much is expected from Yoruba nation in the Nigerian project. “If we miss this opportunity now we will never be the same again. Thank God this is happening when ego, politics and wealth accumulation should be played down by traditional rulers,” he said. But Oba Adetona, being the most senior among the Obas, according to years of ascension, advised the Ooni to be mindful of politicians’ interference in his duties. Having survived different administrations from the first republic, the Awujale warned the Ooni against reducing himself to the tool deployed by politicians to achieve their interests. “You should know how to deal with and treat politicians. I did not say you should run away from them but don’t take sides,” he offered while also accusing some monarchs of putting personal interests ahead of Yoruba unity.

30 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Oke-Ogun hosts communications minister, clamours for development

Nigerian Tribune

Nigeria. It has a population of ITH the reception about 1.6million, according to the for Barrister Ade1999 census figure. bayo Shittu, it was “Nevertheless, the development clear that the love of of Oke-Ogun does not correspond the people of Oke Ogun for their to the huge and vast human as kinsman is unflinching. well as natural resources which The venue of the event was abound there. These resources filled to the brim as members of are yet to attract the attention of the clubs that made the council, either the Federal Government or politicans and other non-partisan the successive Oyo State governindigenes of the zone were on Last weekend, Oke-Ogun Development Council (ODC), under the auspices ments. In effect, there has always ground to honour their own. of Oke-Ogun Development Council (ODC), an umbrella body encompassing been a yawning developmental Some of the personalities at the socio-cultural associations, organisations, groups and clubs in the 10 local gap between Oke-Ogun and other event included Senator Gbenga parts of the state and indeed the Babalola; the Deputy Managing government areas of Oyo State, held a civic reception for the Minister of rest of the South-West geo-politDirector of Guardian Newspaical zone. pers, Mr Debo Adesina; Chairman, Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu at Iseyin District Grammar School, during which issues relating to the development of the area were discussed. “It is on this background that Oke Ogun Patriotic Movement, it needs to be understood why Deacon Opademi, JP and Chief TUNDE OGUNESAN reports. Oke-Ogun is rolling out the drums (Mrs) Sherifat Agoro-Keshington in this manner to celebrate one of among others. its own who, it has pleased God The chairman on the occasion, and President Muhammadu BuProfessor Dibu Ojerinde in his hari to appoint as a minister with speech, complained of what he full portfolio at this critical point of called “an historical injustice Nigeria’s political evolution. May meted out to our people.” we therefore, through the HonourOjerinde’s comment was a follow able Minister, convey the appreup to the comment of the acting ciation of Oke-Ogun people to the Chairman of Oke Ogun DevelopPresident for this great gesture ment Council (ODC), Mr Joseph and act of statesmanship which in Oladele Oladoja, in his welcome our view is a way of redressing the address. historical injustice meted to our Oladoja, in his welcome address, people.” tasked the federal government, “The gorge was once earmarked especially the Minister of Agriculfor hydro-electricity power generature, Water and Natural Resources From left is former Minister of State for Agriculture, Chief Bamidele Dada, Mr Adebayo Shittu, and Acting President, Oke-Ogun tion and the construction started in and his counterparts on Road, Development Council, Mr Oladejo Oladele. 1980. It was 70 percent completed Works and Electricity to place the before it was abandoned,” he said. development of Oke Ogun on their Ojerinde also made case for the priority lists. He said Oke-Ogun establishment of a free trade zone area was one of the most blessed to promote legitimate cross-border in terms of human and natural trade at the boundary area shared resources,saying the resources, if with Benin Republic. adequately tapped and utilised, A former Minister of State for would benefit the nation. Agriculture, Chief Abiodun Dada, He added that the zone’s ecocommented that the Oke-Ogun nomic activities would be boosted area has all the resources to transif the government at all levels form the economy of the state and tap the tourism potential of the the nation at large. He added that area, and that governments could the nation would benefit largely generate more revenue to cushion from the agrarian nature of the the effect following the fall in price area, thereby calling on governof crude oil. ment to partner with the zone in He however commended the govits efforts to diversify the economy ernor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola through agriculture. Ajimobi for the dualisation of the From left, Minister of Communications Mr Adebayo Shittu, being Responding, Shittu who exIseyin road, which he described presented with a plaque by the Chairman, Council of Oke-Ogun pressed his appreciation for the as the first in the entire Oke-Ogun Indigenes(COIN)Professor Layi Egunjobi,during the reception held in honour bestowed on him said “I area of the state. his honour by Oke-Ogun Development Council (ODC) in Iseyin. think you know me very well, many Gingered by the clarion call of you can define me in terms of of the acting chairman of ODC, incorruptibility and performance the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul and I will not disappoint you.” Ganiyu Ologunebi appreciated He described Ikere Gorge dam President Muhammadu Buhari for as a great resource that has the appointing Shittu as a substantive capacity to provide water, irrigate Minister. farmlands and electrify in Oke-OHe described Shittu as their gun and its environs. The minister son, whose “incorruptibility added that everyone in President and straightforwardness can be Buhari’s cabinet has the passion defended anyday and anywhere,” to serve the nation, soliciting their noting that Shittu was ‘favoured’ support and prayers for the adminby God. istration. Oba Abdul Ganiyu Ologunebi He said that he had met with also called on the Federal GovernFrom left, Asiwaju of Oke-Ogun, Emeritus Professor Dibu Ojerinde and Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul Ganiyu Ologunebi, Ajinase I the ODC leaders and have asked ment to harness the potentials of them to formulate a blueprint to be Oke-Ogun as listed by their sons forming this region but we should also not Ojerinde added that the zone was blessed tagged “Oke-Ogun Development and daughters for the benefit of the relent as individuals on this level to ensure with land suitable for large-scale production Agenda” which they could key into for the nation. He further disclosed that the zone of a wide variety of agricultural products, development of the area. would take nothing less than a governorship that the goal of taking Oke Ogun to greater heights is attained.” identifying some of the products to include “I will make sure that all the ministers, seat in the next political dispensation in The Asiwaju of Oke-Ogun and the Regis- cassava, corn, maize,sorghum, beans and ministries and agencies involved come to 2019, adding that they have supported othtrar of the Joint Admissions and Matricuvegetables. Oke-Ogun for assessment and take necesers and also deserves the support of other lation Board (JAMB), Emeritus Professor According to him, “Oke-Ogun consists sary steps that will hasten and enhance the zones who had benefitted immensely from Dibu Ojerinde, OON, in his 22-page keyof 10 local governments out of the 33 local development of Oke Ogun. I have appointed their support all this while. note address presented at the occasion, government areas in Oyo State while Oyo a Special Adviser on Oke-Ogun affairs and “We are far behind, this is not where listed issues such as developmental projState has the largest land mass in the would like you to organise Oke-Ogun day we should be in Oke-Ogun and I am sure ects, education and non-recognition for South West geo-political zone, 60 percent annually and regularly to avail sons and that by the time we have a governor of the federal political appointments as issues of the land mass falls within Oke-Ogun, daughters the opportunity to come together, state from this region, we will enjoy more paramount in the minds of indigenes of with an area of about 13,537, larger than brainstorm and move the area forward,” he development than before. I am very sure 29 states in the present federation of that region. said. that the minister will make efforts in trans-

31 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Reason eating of fowls, eggs is a taboo in Ode Aye — Oba Akinmusayo Hakeem Gbadamosi

HE popular adage that says, one man’s food is another man’s poison suitably applies to the people of Ode-Aye, an agrarian town in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State,where eating of fowls and eggs is a taboo. The daily advertisement by members of the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, which says ‘”Eat an egg daily” is not for the people of the community as indigenes of the town neither eat fowl nor egg from time immemorial. Ode-Aye is among the prominent nine enclaves of the Ikale people, a town where tradition and cultural values are celebrated and highly respected. The town is situated at the outskirt of Okitipupa Local Government Area and an opening into the interior of Okitipupa, Igbotako, Ikoya, Ilutuntun towns. Ode Aye had, in the past, produced the first deputy governor of the state in this present political dispensation, Afolabi Iyantan. The town has also produced Commissioners including Oye Alademehin and Diran Iyantan among others. It had also produced board members both at the state and federal levels and the current Minister of State for Niger Delta affairs , Claudius Daramola is from Ode Aye. The town also plays significant roles in the politics and economic of the state, but their belief about their tradition and customs has remained unflinching in the land. The people of this community see hen or fowl as a tin god, that had helped them in time of need and as a way of paying back, they made it a taboo not to eat neither egg, hen or any product made of egg, not even meat pie or chicken pie. The origin of the taboo dated back to the creation of the town, the town had been subjected to series of attacks by enemies during wars before they finally found peace in present Ode Aye where they finally settled. Findings indicated that Ode Aye was always attacked by enemies and this spanned across several decades. It was also gathered that on a particular occasion, warlords from Ode Aye retreated from the war fronts and were chased towards the Oluwa River by their enemies who traced them by their footprints on the sand which they said served as an advantage to the enemies until the Ode-Aye people eventually crossed the Oluwa River. At the bank of the river, a mysterious big hen appeared to their rescue and used its legs to erase their footprints, making it impossible for the enemies to detect the path they followed. It was learnt that after they had crossed, they hid inside a cave and watched the hen as it embarked

on the rescue mission, thereafter; leaving their enemies confused Speaking on how eating of fowls and eggs became a taboo in the land, the traditional ruler of the town, the Halu of Ode-Aye kingdom, Oba Williams Akinmusayo said eating of python and hen became ‘ a forbidden fruit’ to them in appreciation of the roles the duo played during the war at ensuring their victory against their assaulters. Oba Akinmusayo said “ The story was like that of the Israelites when they were about to cross the Red Sea, God instructed Moses to stretch his rod towards the sea and it spilt into two thus paving the way for the Israelites to cross

over. “That was exactly what our ancestors experienced during the war against our adversaries. When we got to the bank of River Oluwa, a big python stretched across the river like a bridge for the people to get to the other end. “Don’t forget that, I told you our enemies used to trail us by our footprints. Immediately we crossed over, the enemies followed us but we were far ahead of them. We now followed a path that led to Ode Aye where we are today. “When the enemies crossed over, they could not trace us because the hen had erased our footprints; making it impossible

for our adversaries to locate us.” Oba Akinmusayo said any indigene of the town that defiles the tradition will definitely bear the consequences saying any indigene who violates the taboo risks vomiting blood which might lead to death while his or her nose will also be perforated. He however said that traditionalists can provide antidote saying anybody who defiles the taboo would be forced to lick ash but said this does not guarantee survival of the offender The monarch said “No authentic indigene of Ode-Aye will defile this custom because it is a taboo. Those eating eggs in the town are not part of us. They are not from

Day Alaafin honoured FGGC principal By Tunde Ogunesan THE retired Director/Principal, Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) Oyo, Oyo State, Mrs Oladele A. Ladele, could not hide her joy when people from all walks of life gathered at the premises of the college last week to extol her virtues as she bade farewell to the college after a successful career that spanned 35 years. Her guests included Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamide Adeyemi III, parents, friends and staff of Federal Ministry of Education and colleagues from other Federal Government Colleges across the country. To one of the staff, Mr Ladele she left several indelible marks in different areas of the School to the admiration of stakeholders. So, the programme literally became a commendation service for the retired principal who was described as an icon in the education sector in the country. During the three-day, Mrs. Ladele’s virtues of integrity, hard-work and contributions were variously extolled by stake-

holders who described her as an achiever. Mrs Ladele started her career at the Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti in 1981 and held several key positions at the Federal Ministry of Education Headquarters. She also worked in various Federal Unity Colleges such as the Federal Government Girls College, Port Harcourt, Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, Federal Government Girls College, Akure, Federal Science and Technical College, Usi Ekiti and Federal Government Girls College Bida, Niger State before she was transferred to Federal Government Girls College Oyo in 2015. The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who was present at the programme described Mrs Ladele as a ‘selfless worker, lover of humanity and educational icon’ whose contributions to the education development in Nigeria is unparalleled. In a speech titled the exit of the Principal of Principals’, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi described Mrs. Ladele as ‘very resourceful, a goal getter and an administrator with

a difference. Describing her managerial qualities as that of a complete academic manager, Oba Adeyemi revealed that when she “resumed duty at Oyo on January 19, 2015 as Director/Principal Federal Government College, Owinnin, Oyo, it was her immediate task to maintain the existing structure that she met with the meager resources at her disposal. While doing that, she built a block of classroom, and subsequently built a new guidance and counselling clinic so that students will receive appropriate guidance to guide them in their future career.” The Kabiyesi also attested to her ability to maintain the facilities in conjunction with her lieutenants, thus describing her “Principal of principals; a pride to all of us. Her performance has led to an unprecedented improvement in the performance of the students of the college scoring above 90 percent in both NECO and WAEC examinations respectively. We shall miss her but she had laid a sterling footprint on the sand of time.”

this town. They are strangers.” Oba Akinmusayo said.

Red alert in Ekiti as first measles campaign in 3 years goes to hinterland Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti THE entire machinery in the Ekiti State health sector are currently in motion to ensure 100 per cent success in the Integrated Measles Campaign (IMC) that commenced last Thursday. The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Olurotimi Ojo, at the flag off of the campaign, had noted that “this is dry season when diseases spread faster” and had asked all schools in the state, both public and private to ensure that children are immunised. Dr Ojo, who had joined a colourful procession through the streets of Ado Ekiti to create awareness for the intergrated measles campaign, said measles was a child killer disease and explained that “vaccines give artificial acquired immunity from diseases and therefore prevents treatment or cure.” He said: “This is dry season when diseases spread faster. Private schools and public schools must therefore make the children in their schools available for immunisation because those who haven’t received the vaccines might infect the healthy ones. So, the message must be taken to everyone in every community in the state.” He said the state government had deployed men and materials in all the communities in the state to ensure the success of the campaign and called for the cooperation of the people of the state in this regard. Mrs Abike Adewole of the Primary Health Care Development Agency noted that the last measles vaccination in the state was about three years ago and according to the pharmacist, “children born since 2003 are now at risk and therefore all our children in all the wards in all the 16 local government areas are to be mobilised.”

Governor Fayose, Ekiti State.

32 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Jobless couple gives birth to triplets in Ogun Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta

Kelebe: Panic, unease among residents

over religious sect Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

IVEN its very multi-religious nature and its largely tolerant ambiance, Nigeria boasts of innumerable religious centres particularly in residential areas. For many communities, it is assumed that the siting of a worship centre, particularly a church or a mosque, would satisfy few or more spiritual yearnings of some if not many of the residents. While this would have expectedly been the case, residents of Kelebe community in Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun State, are insisting that the reverse is the case for them. Before October 2015, inhabitants of the rustic and sleepy community, on the outskirts of Osogbo, capital of the state had lived in peace. However, with the situation of events in recent times, Kelebe residents currently experience feelings of unease, an emotion which pervades the community, since the arrival of what they termed a ‘strange religious sect’. According to the residents, their daily routine was quite satisfactory, until their peace was ruptured when a religious sect erected its place of worship within the community and subsequently, introduced its strange ways of worship. What distinguishes the religious group, identified as Oju Ona Satia Worldwide Ministry, is their unusual mode of worship, which combines Christianity, Islam and traditional religions, a practice that naturally raised the suspicion of the residents of Kelebe. A few initial whispers metamorphosed into anxiety, and later, fear and apprehension, when cases of alleged missing

children and adults became rampant. It was not long before residents began to point fingers at the worship centre, especially with the notion that it promotes odd religious practices. Some of the residents accused the worship centre of allegedly engaging in fetish activities and other devilish acts, which they said were capable of threatening the peace and freedom of the people. Community protests against sect’s activities As a result of the alleged increase in cases of missing persons as well as other strange occurrences in Kelebe community, residents decided it was time to act, and thus, trooped out en masse on January 9, 2016 to protest against the activities of the religious sect. Members of the community expressed fear and anger over the continued operations of the sect in the community and demanded for the relocation of its worship centre. The protest which started around 7:00am, at a time the religious sect members were

We thank God for taking control on the day of the protest. It would have been a terrible disaster if not for the timely intervention of the police

gathering for their weekly ‘service’, saw old and young residents of the community wielding placards and chanting songs to drive home their agitation, just as they accused religious group of alleged ritual activities and practising what they described as strange religion in the community. Angered by the actions of the protesters who ransacked the sect’s worship centre in search of possible fetish items, members of the sect led by their leader, Mukaila Tiamiyu, confronted some of the community leaders, and this resulted in a serious clash. However, the timely intervention of a team of policemen from Oke-Odo Police Division saved the situation from degenerating into violence. It is an attempt to rubbish our reputation –Sect leader The leader of Oju Ona Satia Worldwide Ministry, Tiamiyu, debunked the accusation that the group engaged in rituals, stating, “They are just peddling unfounded rumours about our sect. We don’t engage in rituals. There was misunderstanding between us and the community leaders when we wanted to connect electricity. They declined to give us electricity. So, we had to approach the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and they gave us electricity. “They were angry because we were able to get electricity without them and so they mobilised the people of the community for a protest against us. The Area Commander of the Police invited us and we have all signed undertaking that there would be no problem. The community leaders were told that we have the right

to our own kind of religion or worship under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Osun State Police Command, Mrs Folasade Odoro said that “there is no more hostility between the people of Kelebe community and the religious sect,” adding that “they have since settled their differences and both parties are presently living together peacefully.”

THE arrival of a set of triplets to the family of Mr and Mrs Akpabio Akon of Alhaja Kuburat street,in Joju area of Sango-Ota of Ogun State, has further compounded the burden of the family. The babies,who were supposed to be a source of joy to Akpabio and his wife, Esther, had since their birth late last year, been a source of burden to them. The family who already had a girl of about seven years has no wherewithal to cater for the bundle of joy, two males and a female delivered through Caesarian Section at the General Hospital, Ota. The 28 -year- old distraught mother said her husband and herself received the news of the birth of the babies with mixed feelings considering their present predicament of both not having a means of livelihood. She said her concern was how to cater for the needs of the babies who, according to her, need clothings, baby foods, medications and other daily needs, which her husband could not afford owing to his present predicament. Mrs Okon said her desire was to see that the children survive with the the help of well-meaning Nigerians, saying they find it extremely difficult to cater for the children in any way. “We can’t afford to take care of these children. We need help because my husband and I have no job. He was a construction worker before he was sacked while I have no job,” she said.

Igboho community pleads with Oyo govt over water project, others By Moses Alao THE Oyo State government has been called upon to urgently work on the Igboho Water Scheme, which will ensure that life is made easy for residents of Oorelope Local Government of the state and its environs, with water scarcity said to be biting hard in the local government at this period. Making the call at the weekend, the chairman of the Ifelodun Omo Igboho, the umbrella body of pro-development groups in Igboho town, Honourable Rasaq Olatunde Jayeola, informed South-West Tribune, that the people of the local government always faced difficulties in finding potable water around this period, noting that the completion of the water scheme project instituted before the administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, would have solved the problem of water scarcity. He, however, stated that

the project, which according to the deputy governor of the state, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, is supposed to gulp about N500 million, has been stalled, pleading with the state government to ensure its completion “so that the people of Igboho can remember Senator Ajimobi’s reign for positive development and the betterment of their lives.” Jayeola, who further highlighted youth unemployment and lack of tertiary institutions in the area as serious challenges, pleaded with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and the state government to establish an agriculture-oriented tertiary institution in Oke-Ogun area in light of the government’s diversification of the country’s economy to agriculture, just as he advocated a massive employment scheme to take youths off the streets of Oorelope Local Government, so that “they will not take to crimes.”

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

infotech

anchor Bode Adewumi

m:08055001765 e:bodekafi@yahoo.com

From left: Ikechukwu Nnamani, Chief Executive Officer, Medallion Communications Limited; Lanre Ajayi, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); Ibiye Member r, NigComSat; Dr Sola Afolabi, Chairman, Baobab Think Limited and Greg Gbadamosi, Chairman of the West Africa Convergence Conference (WACC 2015) at the WACC event in Lagos, last week.

8-point agenda: How Danbatta, NCC boss, dazzled journalists, others at maiden meeting

NDUSTRY watchers and stakeholders waited with bated breath for the resolution of the recent face-off between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and telecoms operator, MTN Nigeria, over the fine imposed on the latter. The sanction became a subject of discussion owing to the unprecedented nature of the fine as this was the first time a fine of such magnitude would be slammed against any of the operators in the telecoms sector in the country. The genesis After the launch of GSM services in Nigeria in 2001, SIM cards were offered to subscribers without the requirement to provide proper identification by the users. This, of course, was the normal practice in the developed world and even in some African countries that have security as a major area that must not be toyed with. Sometime in early 2008, security agencies approached the commission to assist in resolving crimes perpetrated through the use of phones in which criminal elements cannot be identified with the number of the phones that they used. And after consultations with relevant authorities, the NCC under the immediate Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Eugene Juwah, approved March 28, 2011 for the commencement of the registration exercise and was expected to terminate in January, 2012. Although, the operators were expected to continue to register new subscribers on their networks, the commission never-

theless extended the registration more than twice. This continued until it was thought that the operators had completed the registration exercise on their networks only to discover that there were irregularities in many of the purportedly registered SIM cards. In September 2014, the NCC invited the operators to intimate them of the discovery that some lines were not properly registered. It warned the operators to comply or face sanctions over the issue. And in August 2015, the NCC ordered the operators to deactivate SIMs whose registrations were not completed or not properly registered. Speaking on this that same August, NCC Head, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Efosa Idehen, said that as of September 2014 when the data base was scrubbed,

To this end, all stakeholders, according to the statement, are reminded that MTN will inform them of any material developments in our engagements with Nigerian authorities via the Stock Exchange News Service of the JSE Limited (SENS).

Nigerian Tribune

various numbers were sent to the operators for re-validation. He said that 18.6 million numbers were sent to MTN, while Airtel got 7.49 million numbers for re-validation with Glo and Etisalat networks received 2.3 million numbers and 10.46 million numbers, respectively. He explained that during a visit by NCC to MTN, earlier in August 2015, they found out that the operator was yet to adhere with the directive while Airtel, Glo and Etisalat networks, had achieved partial compliance, as only 2.3 million, 3.5 million and 3.3 million lines were barred, respectively. In September this year, following the expiration of the initial deadline, NCC announced that it has imposed a fine on all the four GSM operators, with a combined fine of N120.4 million, following their contravention of NCC’s directives on SIM card deactivation. A breakdown of the N120.4 million combined fine, showed that while Globacom was to pay N7.4 million, Etisalat was to pay N7 million. MTN was to pay a total of N102.2 million, while Airtel paid N3.8 million, totalling N120.4 million fines for all the four GSM operators. According to NCC, its monitoring team discovered 37 pre-registered SIM cards on the Globacom network, while it discovered 35 pre-registered SIM cards on the Etisalat network. The team also found 19 pre-registered SIM cards on the Airtel network, and 109 pre-registered SIM cards on the MTN network. It, however, also discovered additional 402 incomplete and improperly registered SIM cards on the MTN network. The NCC Regulation 19(1) and 20(1) of the Registration of Telecoms Subscribers, stipulate a fine of N200, 000 for every pre-registered SIM

card and for every incomplete and improperly registered SIM cards found to be active on any telecoms operators’ network. The 37 active pre-registered SIM cards on the Globacom network, amounting to N7.4 million; the 35 active pre-registered SIM cards on the Etisalat network, amounting to N7 million, the 19 active pre-registered SIM cards on the Airtel network, amounting to N3.8 million; the 109 active pre-registered SIM cards on the MTN network amounting to N21.8 million as well as the 402 incomplete and improperly registered SIM cards on the MTN network, amounting to N80.4 million, gave a cumulative total of N120.4 million fine that would be paid by all the four GSM operators to NCC on or before September 7, 2015. This development woke the operators up and they swung into action which resulted into another round of re-registration exercise across the country specifically in the month of September. In fact, the re-registration exercise created so many problems such that many subscribers who were affected complained of stress associated with the exercise. The NCC through its Director of Public Affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo, said the operators were the ones who made things difficult for the affected subscribers. According to him, the current challenges would have been minimised if the operators had swung into action as far back as September 2014 when the commission alerted them of some discrepancies found during the hamonisation of data sent to them by the service providers. Nobody knew that was not the end to the matter until when the NCC pounced on MTN this time around with the whooping sum of N 1.4 trillion last month, which brings us into the present situation. MTN’s reaction Following the development, MTN issued a statement where it said it wished to clarify and place on record that the company continues to engage constructively with Nigerian authorities at all levels. However, the company said it noted, with concern, the speculation and false information in the media. MTN particularly cautions against reports purporting that the company has agreed a resolution with the NCC on the fine. It is false as no resolution has yet been reached. It stated that it continues to engage the authorities in Nigeria on this matter. To this end, all stakeholders, according to the statement, are reminded that MTN will inform them of any material developments in our engagements with Nigerian authorities via the Stock Exchange News Service of the JSE Limited (SENS). Shareholders have also been asked to exercise caution when reacting to information that has not been released by the company. A source at the headquarters of the operator told Infotech late last week that it was still in talks with the authorities over the issue and that the status quo still subsists. Stakeholders’ reactions A lot has been said about the implications of the fine which many described as outrageous and which it was agreed could have far reaching negative implications for Nigeria. According to Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, President of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), the fine is unnecessary and misplaced and that it may not augur well for the country as it would send a wrong signal to investors, which he said, may drive potential investors away.

infotech

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

500 Babcock staffers undergo TCCDR training Stories By Bode Adewumi

HE entire Babcock university staffers have completed a one -week intensive training on Total Classroom and Campus Digital Revolution (TCCDR) thus becoming the first university in Nigeria to achieve a comprehensive training and certification of all its lecturers with a view to strengthening the leadership position of the university in Nigeria and Africa. The TCCDR project is an endto-end first-of-its-kind- robust collaborative e-learning designed to enable the students, lecturers and parents and the school administrators collaborate in a new integrated way that will further enhance academic excellence and boost the university global ranking as a foremost technology-driven university in the same league with the best universities in the world. With the deployment of TCCDR, Babcock university is now making use of the same quality and quantum of technologies which the topmost one hundred universities in the World are using. There are eleven components of the TCCDR that seamlessly connect the classrooms, students and their lecturers , hostels and cafeteria on campus. With this, the hostels and Cafeteria and chapel will be powered by the Israeli latest technology- the In-Motion-Identification Biometrics - which helps guarantee better safety on campus by filtering away all unwanted persons from having access to every important locations on campus where students congregate most, like their hostels and chapels and cafeteria and classrooms. The parents can now have access to information about their children and wards, via a mobile app, thereby keeping them abreast of the students’ classroom performance ahead of

their graduation. The TCCDR will see the Babcock University deploying a campus-wide WiFi that enables students to access archived lectures from anywhere on campus using their Customised Education-Purpose-Built Tablets (Babcock Learning Tablets – BLTs).

This comes with free Internet bundle available throughout the students’ campus life and a host of educational applications for the enhancement of learning. With the TCCDR, Babcock University will be the first university in Nigeria to have an automated cafeteria where students are

virtually with in-put from their lecturers that also comes virtually. Besides, each students will be issued with a Babcock Tablets that comes with free wifi internet and special software like Babcock SKOOLAPP that will help in managing health, cafeteria, and all other issues.

From left: Amber Fowler, Partner and Chief Operating Officer, EchoVc Partners; Eghosa Omoigui, Managing Partner, EchoVC Partners; Eunice Chou, Head of Incubation and Product Development, EchoVc Partners and Mr Mark Essien, Chief Executive Officer, Hotels.ng, during the ICT Innovation Fund press briefing by EchoVC partners in Lagos, recently.

ASUS renames ZenFone C 4.5, now GO 4.5 ASUS has announced the change of name from ZenFone C 4.5 (ZC451TG) to ZenFone Go 4.5 (ZC451TG). From now on, ASUS ZenFone family will only have 3 series – ZenFone Selfie, ZenFone Laser and ZenFone Go. The company said the new naming will be easier for end users to remember. ZenFone Selfie is the ultimate choice for selfies, with its twin 13MP PixelMaster cameras and a dual-colour, dual-LED Real Tone flash at both front and rear. ZenFone Selfie also features the fashionable multifaceted polygonal

cover design aesthetic to the ZenFone, offering beauty and power in abundance. The great camera solutions are accompanied with top specs including octa-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 3GB memory, 32GB storage, and 5.5-inch IPS FHD 1920x1080 anti-scratch Corning Gorilla Glass 4 touch panel. ZenFone Laser 5.5 (ZE550KL) ZenFone Laser 5.5’s laser autofocus technology empowers users to capture photos with perfect clarity in just 0.3 seconds. Zen-

Huawei out with new Mate 8 Smartphone, M2 Tablet HUAWEI has launched its two latest flagship devices, the Mate 8 smartphone and M2 tablet into the Africa and the Middle East market at the Madinat Jumeirah Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The new flagship devices feature the world’s most advanced smartphone and tablet technology ever, a new benchmark of amazing performance, efficiency and long battery life. Speaking at the event, Vice President, Middle East Region, Huawei Consumer Business Group, (CBG), Mr. SandeepSaihgal, said:“2015 was a successful year for the Huawei Consumer Business Group and we anticipate 2016 to be an even bigger one with immense growth following the launch of these two flagship devices. The Mate 8 is the ultimate highend smartphone designed for the professional, striking the per-

identified using the In-Motion Identification (IMID) biometrics to serve meals to students. Students are also going to benefit from the SAP global e-learning platform, which comes with Social Jam that allows students to collaborate among one another to do their projects and assignments

fect balance between high performance and long battery life. And when designing the M2, we equipped it with an impeccable sound system to take the user’s experience to the next level. Both of these devices reflect Huawei’s continued dedication to bringing the latest innovation and style to our consumers.” The Huawei Mate 8 is the ideal smartphone for today’s on-the-go professional. The all-new smartphone is lightweight, sleek and stylish design, dual sim compatible and operates on Android Marshmallow 6.0. The phone is available in Moonlight Silver, Space grey, Champagne Gold and unique Mocha Gold. It features a stunning 6” FHD display, hosting the most powerful chipset and a high-capacity battery. The Mate 8 is designed from the ground up for productivity and its hardware and software have

been fine-tuned to provide an elegant, efficient experience. Speaking about the phone, Mr George Al Kafrouni, Regional Manager, Device Product & Training Middle East Region, explained that, “With the ‘Super Hands-Free 3.0’ technology users can enable their hands-free operation in a variety of environments. Whether in a car, a conference room or at a crowded party, users can enjoy clear conversations from up to 3 meters away. The Mate 8 features omnidirectional recording and directional playback with three microphones, which automatically detect sound sources and record voices from all directions. Additionally, the Mate 8 provides document readjustment camera mode, which automatically straightens images that are captured at an angle for better viewing.”

Fone Laser 5.5 is perfect for consumer who is looking for a phone with great performance and an amazing camera, because it equips with quad-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 2GB memory and 16GB storage and 5.5inch IPS HD 1280x720 anti-scratch Corning Gorilla Glass 4 touch panel. ZenFone Go series with portability on the go is for end users who are looking for a stylish and portable smartphone. ZenFone Go series comprises ZenFone Go 5.0 (ZC500TG) with 5-inch display and

ZenFone Go 4.5 (ZC451TG) with 4.5-inch display. ZenFone Go 5.0 has a quad-core processor, 2GB memory, 16GB storage, 8MP rear camera and 5-inch Super Bright IPS HD 1280x720 anti-scratch Corning Gorilla Glass 3 touch panel with glove touch support available in black, white, red, and gold colors. ZenFone Go 4.5 has a quad-core processor, 1GB memory, 8GB storage, 5MP rear camera and 4.5inch touch panel available in black, white, pink and blue colours.

Oracle launches EMEA recruitment drive ORACLE has announced a Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) recruitment drive, aimed at hiring 1,400 new cloud sales professionals, who will play a vital role in fuelling the growth of the company’s cloud business throughout the region. The new roles will be based in six locations: Amsterdam (The Netherlands); Cairo and Dubai (Middle East); Dublin (Ireland); Malaga (Spain) and Prague (Czech Republic). In addition to hiring the very best talent from the above locations, Oracle is looking for recruits with a range of experience from across the EMEA region, from highly motivated sales professionals with two to three years’ experience to highly experienced senior sales professionals. As well as increasing its cloud sales workforce Oracle will be investing in two new cloud sales centres in Amsterdam and Cairo and new state-of-the-art offices

opening this year in Dubai, Dublin and Prague. The move to recruit 1,400 new cloud sales professionals into its EMEA inside sales operation follows a multi-billion dollar investment from Oracle in developing the most complete portfolio of cloud computing services. Oracle’s cloud technologies deliver everything from secure computing infrastructure to best-in-class enterprise cloud applications. Oracle currently offers more than 600 different cloud applications which combined with its comprehensive on-premise hardware and software offering, creates the opportunity to help organisations seamlessly manage their overall enterprise computing environment while helping them transition to the cloud. Over the past six months, Oracle added nearly 1,500 new Softwares as a Service (SaaS) customers and more than 2,100 Platforms as a Service (PaaS) customers.

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

brands& marketing

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture

Bello Kankarofi, Registrar/ CEO APCON

Issues, as Information Minister visits advertising house

ANY stakeholders had desired and prayed for this moment, but when it eventually came, it almost caught everyone, including the media, unawares! The visit of the new Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to the Head Office of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) House, in Lagos, last week, was long expected, considering the critical role the agency plays in the monitoring and regulating of advertisement materials consume by over 160 million Nigerians. Since his coming on board, at the last quarter of the out-gone year, 2016, not a few stakeholders believed, only an interface with the minister would really solved the myriad of issues plaguing the industry and shaking it to its very foundation. For instance, it is an open secret that the apex regulatory agency in the industry is seriously hindered from carrying out its statutory duties of effectively monitoring and regulating advert materials in the country, and the only intervention of the minister, stakeholders believe, could put some soothing balms to some of these pains experienced by the agency. And, even though the minister’s visit to the advertising house, as APCON House is popularly called, was supposed to be one of his many brisk visits to government agencies within the National Theatre Complex, those in attendance however saw this as fruitful since it provided that much-needed opportunity for some of those knotty issues to be addressed,

with some commitments extracted from the minister. For instance, while reeling out the hydra-headed challenges facing the agency, its Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Bello Kankarofi, had argued that the annual income of N1. 2billion, which the agency receives from the government is no longer enough for it to effectively discharge its duties of regulating advertising in the country. According to Kankarofi, it has become imperative for the agency to up its game by embracing digital technology, since it is becoming obvious that it can no longer monitor the over 6,000 channels in the country manually, but lack of funds, he argued, had been a major hindrance. ‘‘For instance, we need about N350million to capture Lagos and Ibadan alone. The former minister promised us N250million, but as I speak with you to-

day, nobody gave us a kobo. “We have the capacity to make money for ourselves and even the government, if we have everything in place to effectively carry out our duties, but the challenge is that the equipment is not just there. With digital equipment in place, let me say we can cover the whole of the country in the next three years,” the Registrar stated. Besides, the registrar also intimated the minister on the running battle between the agency and some pay Tv service providers in the country, over the indiscriminate beaming of adverts to Nigerian territory, without any recourse to the agency. “Apart from this, they bring in staff to perform advertising functions when they know that such personnel are not qualified to do so in the first place,” he added.

For instance, we need about N350 million to capture Lagos and Ibadan alone. The former minister promised us N250 million, but as I speak with you today, nobody gave us a kobo.

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Akin Adewakun

m:08054683584 e:akadewakun@yahoo.co.uk

The contentious issue of the dissolution of the agency board and the urgent need to constitute a new one was not without mention. He also identified dearth of creative people as a major impediment to the growth of the industry, stating that the agency has taken it upon itself to train some young Nigerians and expose them to trends in the industry, especially on the global scene, as a way of addressing this knowledge gap. ‘The problem we have today in the industry is the dearth of creative people. Agencies keep on fighting over the few ones that are available. But the most unfortunate thing is that even the few ones are gradually moving on to the clients’ side, which portends grave danger to the industry. What we’ve done is to try and raise some fresh ones by sending them on training and keep them abreast of global advertising trends, and we are happy at the result that we are getting,” he stated. In his response, the minister assured stakeholders in the nation’s advertising industry that the ministry would do everything within its powers to ensure that the board of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), dissolved alongside some boards of other federal agencies, last year, would be reconstituted soon. Describing APCON as a catalyst to the nation’s economic growth, the minister stated that the ministry would ensure that those serving on the board would be thoroughbred professionals from the industry, who would help the agency perform its statutory functions of regulating advertising in the country. The minister noted that the continued dissolution of APCON council in the last few months had not allowed for effective regulation of advertising in the country. While acceding to the registrar’s request for better technology for the agency to successfully carry out its duties, the minister also requested the registrar to furnish him with the critical areas of training he would like the ministry to intervene and provide support for the agency. Though the minister commended the efforts of the regulatory agency at enhancing the quality of communication materials churned out to the public. He however expressed reservations on some adverts that were allowed to be exposed during the build-up to the last general elections in the country. According to him, despite the fact that some of the adverts were capable of fanning the embers of discord among Nigerians, they were still allowed to run on different media platforms in the country. ‘The 2015 campaigns were used to further deepen the fault within the Nigerian people to the extent that people were wondering how such materials could find their way to public domain,” he stated. Will the visit of the minister provide that much-needed soothing balm for practitioners in the industry, who believe those issues have constituted themselves to a cog in the wheel of the industry’s progress? Re-assuring as the visit and the minister’s words may be, not a few would rather prefer to wait and watch as events unfold in the coming weeks.

brands&marketing

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Indomie to sample 8 million consumers nationwide

From left, The General Manager, Marketing, UAC Foods Limited, Mrs Joan Ihekwaba, Five Star Music Group Stars , Mr Harrison Okiri (Harysong) and Mr Kingsley Okonkwo (KCEE) at the media briefing for the unveiling of the new Gala Brand Ambassador held at the UAC Foods Limited Head Office in Lagos.

Embrace technology, PR professionals charged

UBLIC Relations practitioners in the country have been charged to up their games by embracing digital technology to enable them deliver value to their increasingly-demanding clients. Some practitioners who spoke at the launch of a new book Nigeria PR Report 2015: Inside the Public Relations industry in Nigeria, in Lagos, recently, argued that the profession is becoming increasingly unattractive because practitioners have failed to change their old ways of doing things. According to the Managing Director of CMC Connect Burson-Marsteller, Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, since the audience is changing and the consumption pattern is changing, PR practitioners must begin to think digital to be able to deliver values. “A lot of us are digital illiterates. But what we should know is that the audience is changing, the consumption pattern is changing, as a result we need to think digital to continue to be relevant,” argued the former Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). He observed that the profession has not held much attraction to the younger ones because the older ones on the job have failed to embrace technology in carrying out some of those PR duties, prosecuted for their clients. Agreeing with the above sentiments, the President of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Mr John Ehiguese described PR as growing in the country, but believes professionals must still up their games to enable them survive in the 21st century Nigeria. “PR is growing in Nigeria. The demand is growing, but is it where it should be? I think it is definitely no. But it is obvious that PR is not dead in Nigeria, rather I believe it is on the ascendancy globally; since it is the most cost-effective globally,” the PRCAN boss argued. Explaining the rationale behind the launch of the new book, the Chief Executive Officer, BHM Group, Mr Ayeni Adekunle stated that the PR profession would not be worth its while if such steps

at making it data-driven were not taken, in the first place. According to him, despite the increasing intervention by PR to help communities, organisations and governments solve ‘in-

surmountable’ problems, there is little data on how PR teams are helping such brands achieve this; hence the decision to launch the book, which is an annual report on the nation’s Public Relations industry.

Google unveils 2015 top 10 trending Nigerian brands DESPITE the attention the general elections and the formation of new cabinet garnered last year, some local brands were still able to break through the mental ceiling and enjoy a sizable mindshare of Nigerians, Google has stated. In its recent report, the search engine had captured a list of the top ten trending Nigerian brands of 2015, highlighting the brands that had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2015 as compared to 2014. Flying high on the line-up is the new kid on the runways of Nigeria’s airports, Air Peace, led by Allen Oyeama. The airline made its debut in 2013. Perhaps speculation about a possible connection between the airline and the wife of the former President of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan set the search engines revving and kept the airline on the minds of controversy-loving Nigerians. Composite online and offline retail chain, Yudala, sits pretty in second place. Following its well-publicised launch in August, Yudala made waves in the marketplace with its promise to deliver purchases

Nigerian Tribune

via drones. Reports of its first successful drone-powered drop off in November kept Nigerians talking for the rest of the year. Free online classifieds site, jiji.com, takes the next spot, ahead of online retail site, Payporte, online classifieds site, efritin. com and online shopping site Kaymu. Remarkably, global market leader in the online classifieds space, OLX, did not make the list of top trending brands in Nigeria, neither did Konga. Dubai-based mobile device start-up, Injoo made the list at number 8, riding on the success of its ‘reasonably priced’ smartphones and tablets. Injoo leads regional and International carrier Medview Airline and local telecomms operator, Smile Communications in the trend stakes. The most unsurprising entry on the list is probably international transportation network, Uber, which made its entry into Nigeria with a trial service in July. Founded in 2009 in San Francisco, Uber is valued at about $50 billion dollars and is rated as one of the fastest growing companies in the world.

DUFIL Prima Foods Plc, makers of Indomie Noodles, has disclosed its intention to sample over eight million consumers nationwide this year, as part of its efforts to continually ensure objective consumer feedback and satisfaction. Speaking on the development, the Brand Manager, Indomie, Mr. Amber Yadav stated that the major reason behind the projected sampling exercise is to create excitement and increase emotional connection between the brand and its consumers. Amber affirmed that the sampling exercise will include all variants of Indomie and this will be carried-out in all the six geopolitical zones of the country namely: North-Central, North-East, North-West, South-East, South-South and South-West, with special focus on key cities across the regions. “Sampling our consumers is important to us because it affords us the opportunity to have an idea of their preference, which no other medium can provide. The feedback generated from the sampling exercise will assist in improving our product development process,” he stated. Also speaking on the sampling exercise, the Public Relations and Event Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr Tope Ashiwaju, described the exercise as a sure way of converting prospective consumers into brand loyalists. “This will also give them the opportunity to experience the brand firsthand. The sampling will give the undecided consumers a trial experience which would gear them towards becoming our consumers,” he stated. The sampling exercise, according to Ashiwaju, would be strategically executed not only to serve as a feedback mechanism, but to further strengthen the bond between the brand and its consumers. In addition, it would assist the brand in aligning its offerings more accurately in meeting consumers’ expectation. He also revealed that several Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and consumer engagement activities are billed for this year in order to ensure maximum consumers’ satisfaction and engagement. “Dufil Prima Foods Plc. prides itself, in embarking on initiatives that enable us to give back to society. This is because we cherish our loyal consumers, as our existence is based on their continuous patronage. “These various activities are conducted every year with new additions this year as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to consumers for their unflinching support,” he said.

Artee Group unveils new offerings IN line with its commitment to offer quality products and shopping experience to its teeming customers, Artee Group, in collaboration with Landmark Group from Dubai has launched a chain of fashion and lifestyle oriented stores in Port Harcourt Mall. The Deputy Managing Director of Artee Group Mr Prakash Keswani described the new fashion offerings, babyshop, splash and lifestyle, as a way of giving Nigerians options in the fashion industry. He explained that Babyshop caters to

Mothers and would be Mothers, Splash represents a contemporary fashion apparels and accessories brand, focusing at the youth and the young at heart. Lifestyle, he added, offers the customer all the luxury for their homes such as home decor and home furnishings, bath décor and accessories, home and office fragrances as well as gift items, teen accessories and SPA items to name a few. Meanwhile the Group has also announced the launch of its loyalty program, Club Priv-

ilege, for Babyshop, Splash and Lifestyle customers in Nigeria, aimed at rewarding its loyal customers. Speaking at the launch, company spokesperson, Mr John Goldsmith described the loyalty programme as an exciting reward programme and the company’s way of saying thank you to its loyal customers. As a member, you will earn points with every purchase at Babyshop, Lifestyle and Splash, with the accumulated reward points used to make purchase from the store.

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

property

anchor Gbemi Solaja

m:07065220616 e:gbemisolaja@gmail.com

‘Why housing is out of common man’s reach’

anaging Director, Realty Point Limited, Mr Debo Adejana, has urged government’s intervention in providing housing for the common people of the society, whom according to him may never be able to afford housing without any intervention. Adejana, in a chat with Nigerian Tribune specifically tasked the Buhari administration to make housing provision for the common people a priority to bridge the over 17 million deficit and avoid a crisis situation According to him, government was not helping and made the task a herculean one by not providing an enabling environment where developers could adequately function to full capacity “As a developer you are in business to make profit so that you can sustain the business. If you have people who invested in your business, you need to make good returns to them otherwise business will not be profitable so it is not a Father Christmas venture. What this means is that the forces of the market will dictate what you do so if there is ineffective demand which is what happens in the lower end of the market. The demand is latent, but it is ineffective because it is not backed with economic power. There is shortfall, but people don’t have money to but if you create the property. You will have to go to where there is economic power backing the demand that is where supply will come in so what we are seeing is that people are providing housing to people that can afford to buy it that is simple and so what the government needs to do is to create an enabling environment for people to be able to provide housing for the lower sector. They tried to do that for the NHF or the Federal Mortgage Bank and that is what they are trying to do with the MNMRC , if it succeeds and it is consistent, well , it has to be addressed in a multi headed way. It cannot be a singular approach to solving this problem. There has to be multiple of ways because we did not get here in a day, so we will not just get out of it. We have projects cutting across lower income and upper income and our experience has not been funny. According to him, his company has applied for NHF now in the last four years; Estate Developers Loan and have not gotten it. “What is the reason, at a time they said they stopped it because some people got money and are not paying back and some government are not contributing to the fund and all of that so they don’t even have enough money and so it is not managed properly and if you look at it corruption will be part of what is the problem. So we could not continue to provide housing in that sector so we had to change direction because we have to sustain the business. We have to provide housing for the people that can afford it. We will continue to draw the attention of government to the plight of this people so that it can be solved.” Housing is not affordable to the common man and the challenge is that they are not

even built, ordinarily for the common man because the common man cannot afford it. How? He cannot get loan that will be single digit, in some cases, he doesn’t even have job, where he has one and it doesn’t pay enough for him to be able to afford even a loan for that and to construct a property.

The prices of building materials are high, so they come at a cost and so the housing that are available are not within the reach of the common man. Agreeable is the fact that what has cause that we have made housing in this country out rightly a factor of demand and supply. Rent is gradually going beyond the reach of the poor and government does not have any

sustainable provision for the low income and no income. Social housing is probably extinct or nonexistent in this country and that is the reason why we have slums, and people live in all kinds of conditions in the country and if that is not tackled seriously it will lead to very many other crisis.

Set up construction banks to cater for residential buildings, REDAN urges FG The immediate past president, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Chief Olabode Afolayan, has called on the Federal Government to set up a construction bank similar to the Bank of Industry to cater solely for the construction of residential houses. He lamented that that overdependence on imported building materials truncate housing delivery Uneasy with the situation, Afolayan in a chat with Nigerian Tribune recently said that there was no end in sight to the various problems faced in the industry as long as problems with own building materials persisted, noting that this had dashed hopes of affordable housing for the teeming populace any time soon According to him, exorbitant costs of building materials and over dependence on imported materials for housing production had further worsened the case,

lamenting that over 70 per cent of materials were imported “It is government‘s responsibility to reduce the consideration for imported materials to provide for the needs of Nigerians “ In countries like Sweden and Check Republic , alternative source of building materials are used and so you find that they don’t even use cement at all . All their houses are made of wood. Again, in those days, there was nothing like decking, planks were used. They get wood and kept them for six months after which they are used to construct the houses. Even in the United States, some elevators are made with planks which are less than 10 per cent of Iron so why can’t we replicate the same here. We should begin to use things like that here. There is forest everywhere. We don’t need to import planks. We should begin to utilize what we have”

He said there was need to look at alternative source of locally produced products “Again, why can’t we use literite to mould blocks. You don’t need more than 7. 5 per cent content and so if there is no much cement. With this, you must have eliminated imported materials. It will be impossible to meet the housing gap in this country if we continue to build in the traditional way” he added On finance, he decried that the cost of finance was too high, saying that the commercial banks were making housing delivery difficult with unrealistic interest rate demands He charged buyers to change their consumption pattern to shun imported materials, adding that many Nigerians who clamour for affordable housing were themselves making it difficult with over reliance on imported materials.

tribunebusiness

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

By Olu Akanmu

hereas the Nigerian monetary authority fixed the official exchange rate at N196 to a dollar, there is today a near 50 per cent differential in the parallel market rate to the official rate. The fact that the exchange rate is not market determined, that the price of the dollar is not determined by the equilibrium of demand and supply means significantly that the dollar is officially priced far below its true market value. The incentive for rent seeking and price arbitrage, given the increasing differential has never been stronger. We are back in the days of essential commodity or import license where you don’t need to work hard anymore to make huge fortunes. All you need is to have the connection to be allocated dollars in the guise of a legitimate transaction. A manufacturer can potentially make a quick 30 per cent return in one month on her dollar allocation and do not then need to go through the trouble and risk of running a factory, importing raw materials, producing and distributing her goods, all which will give her a 15% profit margin at best in one year. Meanwhile factories are closing down, as genuine businesses who need the forex cannot get dollars and the lucky ones who get forex allocation are quietly changing their business model from manufacturing to round-tripping their dollar allocations. The net effect is that the economy has slowed down and nearly grinding to a halt. Companies are retrenching staff as they cannot produce. Unemployment and social misery is rapidly compounding and will compound in an accelerated fashion if the current policy is not reviewed. Unlike the good intention professed by the President, Nigerians are not the ones benefiting from this current fixed exchange rate policy but few Nigerians who are privileged to allocate or get dollars at official rate who are making huge fortunes on dollar price arbitrage. It should be emphasized that unlike President Buhari would have wished, that even those who get the dollar at N196, if they ever really do any manufacturing or trading, are not pricing their inputs and final productsat N196 to a dollar. Every business is pricing their input at close to parallel market ratesto determine their final shelf and market price. Imported inflation is skyrocketing and may continue to do so in accelerated fashion. In essence, the federal government good intention of taming imported inflation by legislating an exchange rate has not materialized. Our current fixed exchange rate policy is therefore like an ostrich that buries its head in the sand or can be described as an attempt to hide behind a finger. The ostrich that buries its head in the sand does nothing really to manage its danger but engages in a self-delusion that it is doing so. The indices of the test of the current policy are clear. It is not working. Output is down, inflation is rising and unemployment is beginning to accelerate as companies close down or rationalize operations. Investment confidence has been eroded leading to massive capital flights. In a country that need foreign direct investment to support its low capital formation and national savings, current monetary policy flip-flops and uncertainty have not helped investor confidence.

It is important to stress that there is no painless monetary policy option on the table for Nigeria at current low oil prices, especially for a country that has squandered its previous oil windfall savings.

ficial market will be eliminated as this arbitrage differentials comes directly into the national treasury boosting government revenue at this critical time of fiscal constrain. A floated exchange rate policy will improve output and get more people back into jobs. A floating exchange rate policy supported by prudent fiscal management including the privatization of refineries to bring investors who along with the Dangote refinery in pipeline, will produce petroleum products locally, will eliminate the huge pressure on the dollar by petroleum importers , which could even strengthen the naira. What are the downsides of a floated exchange rate? A floating exchange rate policy may imply that the naira to the dollar rate will become significantly higher than the current N196 in the near term. The fact however is that only few privileged elites and their businesses get the dollar at current official rate. Most Nigerians buy and price their production input at parallel market rate. The Nigerian economy cannot loose what it does not presently have in real terms in a strong naira. A floated naira with exchange controls that mitigate against short term arbitrage incentives, where speculation and front-loading are eliminated may actually settle at a rate better than current parallel market prices. The choices before us are simple. An illusory strong naira that only few privileged Nigerians get at official rate with declining output and rising unemployment or a naira priced at its relative real value with increasing output, investment and rising employment. It is important to stress that there is no painless monetary policy option on the table for Nigeria at current low oil prices, especially for a country that has squandered its previous oil windfall savings. A Buhari government with its strong patriotic credentials and integrity has the goodwill to take tough economic decisions and get the buy-in of the Nigerian people while providing social safety nets to protect the weakest and vulnerable among us. As the Buhari government dilly-dallies however running away from tough economic decisions, with declining economic output and rising unemployment, it begins to inevitably loose the goodwill that it seeks to protect. President Buhari must know that his patriotism and good intentions must be situated within the way economics works. This government or its ruling party has only a two year window to fix the economy and present its economic management credentials to Nigerians as it seeks re-election in the last two years of its administration. It risks boxing itself into a corner as current monetary policy are largely palliative, attempting to provide symptomatic relief for a patient whose fundamental underlying condition is rapidly deteriorating. The patient does not have to get into intensive care before the right medicine is administered. It may be too late. There is a “fierce urgency of now” to act with more flexible economic policies. We wish President Buhari well.

Fixed versus e g n a h c x e g n i float

e h t d n a e t a r e l p o e p n a i r e Nig The negative trajectory of the growth of our foreign reserves now at 28billion, its on-going rapid erosion due to attempts by the reserve bank to artificially defend the naira at itsoverpriced value further erode investor confidence and increases uncertainty concerns of investors who will either wait for the dark clouds to settle or fly with their capital. It should be emphasized that investors are less concerned about exchange rate or value than with the uncertainty of where the exchange rate will be tomorrow. No-one does anything when everyone is uncertain. The economy slows down and unemployment accelerates. Meanwhile, speculators continue to bet against the currency of a country with eroding trajectory of reserves, front loading and amplifying demand for forex and further driving up differential between the official and the parallel market. We join the call for the naira to be

floated but with some exchange controls that ensures that short term arbitrage players have little incentive to bet against the naira. A dollar that is priced close to its equilibrium price and market value will reduce artificial, speculative and front –loaded demand. During a fuel scarcity problem, every car with a half tank who can still run for another week goes to queue up for fuel, amplifying demand and compounding the fuel scarcity problem. A floated market determined naira-dollar rate that ensures that “anyone who can pay will get” will eliminate speculation and front-loading. A floated exchange rate policy will also mitigate significantly the uncertainty concerns of investors reversing current capital flight while stemming the erosion of foreign reserves. The national treasury will also be boosted by a dollar that is priced at its true market value to the naira. The rent seeking and arbitrage margins on the dollar sold through of-

Olu Akanmu publishes a blog on Strategy and Public Policy on http://olusfile.blogspot.com

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Monday, 1 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Share/Tsaragi: Six policemen injured in communal clash Biola Azeez - Ilorin

HE Kwara State police command has said that no fewer than six policemen, including a unit commander, sustained varied degrees of injuries during the recent Share and Tsaragi communal clashes. This is just as two Divisional Police Officers (DPO), who were in charge of the two neighbouring communities, disagreed on the cause of the December 2015 communal crisis. Giving his testimony at the resumed sitting of the judicial commission of inquiry on the crisis in Ilorin, on Monday, the Area Commander of Bode Saadu, Mr Abdulazeez Obasa, said the six policemen were injured while attempting to stop the exchange of gunfire between the two commu-

nities. He said the police had to withdraw tactically from the scene because they had been given orders not to shoot. “I wouldn’t know whether the firing came from Share or Tsaragi but the two were armed,” he said. But while the DPO for Share, Simon Ayinoko, told the judicial commission of inquiry probing the crisis that youths from Share were only cutting down neem trees surrounding LGEA Primary school in the area, his counterpart

from Tsaragi, Isaac Baba, claimed that men from Share actually destroyed some economic trees on a disputed portion of land between the two communities. Baba, who was the third witness taken by the commission at its resumed sitting yesterday, presented photographs indicating an attack on his area, allegedly by Share youths whom he claimed refused to yield to pleas by the DPO of Share to stop cutting the trees in the interest of peace. The police officer also

tendered his trousers, which was cut allegedly with a saw by a man from Share as he tried to stop the said man from going ahead with the cutting. He also tendered two pictures of the unit commander, Police Mobile Force 15, Ilorin, Mr Umar Sandah, as well as those of three other mobile policemen who were shot during the crisis. Although counsel to Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Kamaldeen Gambari, objected to admitting the photographs and trou-

sers in evidence, the commission under Justice Suleiman Akanbi, dismissed the objection on grounds that the commission was out to do substantial justice and would not allow itself to be bogged down by legal technicalities. He also told the commission that people suspected to be from Share attacked the convoy of the Emir of Tsaragi on December 19, 2015 at the frontage of the palace of Olupako of Share and that the development further worsened the situation.

Police recover 11 more vehicles from receivers of stolen vehicles in Oyo By Oluwatoyin Malik

As a follow-up to the recent recovery of 16 vehicles from a syndicate comprising of suspected car snatchers and receivers, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Oyo/ Ogbomoso) of the Oyo State Police Command has arrested two suspected receivers, with the recovery of additional 11 vehicles. The vehicles, which were all recovered in Abuja, included four Toyota Highlander Sport Utility Vehicles, two Toyota Camry cars (Muscle), a Toyota Camry car (Big Daddy), three Toyota Sienna Space Buses and a Honda Accord car. This was disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, by the state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, during a press briefing held at the police headquarters, Eleiyele, Ibadan. He gave the names of the suspects as Adebayo Aluko and Yekini Alafe. Also shown to journalists were four suspects, three of whom were ex-inmates of Agodi Prisons who recently got a bail, with their cases still pending in court. The suspects – Rasaq Femi, Olusola Adenle and Paul Olaitan – who were armed with a locally-made double-barrel pistol, were arrested after they had successfully broke into a house at Egbeda area of Ibadan from where they carted away various household items.

Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, pointing at some of the items recovered from a robbery gang, during the parade of suspects at the Police Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Monday. Photo: Oluwatoyin Malik

I am the only legal wife of Ojukwu —Bianca AyomideOwonibiOdekanyinLagos

Bianca Ojukwu has told an Igbosere High Court sitting in Lagos that she is the only legal wife of the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu. Bianca made the revelation on Monday, at the ongoing trial in a suit involving her and the late Ojukwu’s children over the family estate. Bianca, in her evidence in chief before Justice Abdulfattah Lawal, admitted that neither her nor her children are shareholders or directors in Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL). She also admitted that Ojukwu has eight children which include the claimants, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu, adding that she is the only one that was legally married amongst Ojukwu’s wives, as she got married to him in court, church and traditional marriage. Bianca, who was speaking under cross examination also told the court that the suit that was filed before the

court is only for the right of her children and not other children of Ojukwu. The witness further informed the court that some of the OTL properties in question had been in the possession of her late husband before his demise, adding that the rent of those properties were being collected by her husband.

Mrs Ojukwu had on behalf of her two under-aged children, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu (claimants), dragged Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL) and seven others before a Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere, over an alleged move by the family to eject her sons from the company’s properties located in

Lagos. She had asked the court to declare that her children were entitled to the possession and occupation of one of the properties known as No 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, until the harmonisation of the management and administration of the assets of the first defendant (OTL).

Delta: Olomoro monarch was kidnapped in his pool office —Police Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

THE Delta State Police Command has refuted the claims in media reports that the traditional ruler of Olomoro, HRM Josaih Mukoro, Aghaza 1, was, last Friday, kidnapped by unknown gunmen in front of his palace. Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Celestina Kalu, told Nigerian Tribune on Monday afternoon that contrary to this claim, HRM Umukoro was actually abducted in his pool office, a few kilometres away from his palace. She added that the monarch drove himself and was

all alone in his pool office when the gunmen came calling. “Do you know that the king was kidnapped in his pool office five kilometres away from the palace? He drove alone and was alone in the office,” Kalu disclosed. The police image-maker also has a word of advice for monarchs: “Kings should learn to guard themselves first by way of not making themselves vulnerable to attacks,” she admonished. When asked if the N50 million ransom demanded by the gunmen has been paid by relatives of the king, Kalu swiftly replied: “I don’t

know; police don’t negotiate with criminals. We are not part of ransom payment or negotiations.” When also asked if family members of the monarch had agreed to pay the ransom, Kalu said “I don’t know.” It will be recalled that the Olumoro monarch, fondly called Odionlogbo, was announced by his family members to have been abducted on Friday, January 29 in front of his palace by unknown gunmen, who bundled him into a waiting dark green Toyota RAV4 SUV and whisked him away to a yet-to-be-ascertained destination.

Nigerian Tribune

Edo pays N2bn gratuities to pensioners Banji Aluko - Benin City

Edo State government has paid out a total of N2 billion gratuities to 539 pensioners from the 2010, 2011 batch in the state, even as the state workers have got their salaries for January 2016. The payment of the pensioners’ gratuities is in fulfilment of the promise of Governor Adams Oshiomhole to defray the pension liability to the retired workers. The state Head of Service, Mrs Gladys Idahor, who announced the payment of the N2 billion gratuities said those who got their payment alerts were those already screened and have done their biometrics. She said those who have errors in their account details, some who didn’t turn up for screening and others whose records were incomplete are yet to get their payment alerts. She explained that the next of kin of deceased staff are also yet to be paid, noting that another date will soon be announced for the screening of those who didn’t turn up in the first exercise and the next of kin of deceased staff who have the requisite letters of administration.

South-West prisoners seek FG’s amnesty By Nurudeen Alimi

INMATES serving various prison sentences across the south-west states of Nigeria and who are currently at Ibara Prisons, Abeokuta, Ogun State, have appealed to the Federal Government to grant them amnesty in order to save them from series of hardship they are facing due to congestion of prisons. Speaking through their spokesperson, Evangelist Olusola Olawale Oyeleye, the prisoners said: “On June 15, 2015, we learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari directed all the 36 states governors to decongest the prisons in their respective states including those on death row. “After this directive, many state governors had taken steps to decongest the prisons, while we are still waiting for such to happen in the prisons in Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos states, most especially in Ogun.” Oyeleye, further said: “Most prisoners in all these prisons who have spent 10 to 38 years have turned a new leaf and are determined to be useful to the society if they regain their freedom.”

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Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Jigawa: Doctor develops Lassa fever symptoms after treating patient • It’s not Lassa fever— Commissioner Adamu Amadu-Dutse

doctor who treated Lassa fever patient in Dutse General Hospital, Jigawa State, is suspected to have contracted the disease from the patient who

later died, after having been diagnosed of Lassa fever. Nigerian Tribune gathered from reliable source, that the doctor had developed manifest symptoms of Lassa fever within 72 hours, after he had treated the patient who was brought to the

hospital, where he (the patient) died same day he was admitted in the clinic. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the doctor’s sample had been taken to Abuja for test to confirm whether it is Lassa fever or not. When contacted, the state

Commissioner for Health, Dr Abba Zakari Umar said: “I’m aware of the case, it was not Lassa fever.” Dr Umar explained “the sample of the doctor had been taken to Abuja and thereafter taken to Lagos for test, where it was confirmed

that it was catarrh not Lassa fever.” According to the Commissioner for health “it is catarrh, not Lassa fever, the doctor was scared. So far, we only confirmed one case, and the patient who is now late, contracted the disease from Port Harcourt in Rivers State. “Twenty-six people are put under surveillance, yet, there is no problem, and we have continued expanding public enlightenment campaign in the media on preventive measures,” Dr Umar explained.

...Patient

recovers, discharged Sam Nwaoko-Ado-Ekiti

From left, Director- General, Ministry of Defence Health Implementation Programme, Brigadier General Nurudeen Hussain; Head of medical services, Ministry of Defence, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade and the Director, Public Health, Department of Defence Water Reel Programme, Dr Yakubu Adamu, during the training on disease outbreak investigation and management, in Abuja, on Monday. Photo:Sunday Osunrayi.

Military trains 46 personnel to combat Zika virus, Lassa fever Chris Agbambu – Abuja

As Lassa fever and Zika virus rage on, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), on Monday,commenced the training of 46 military health personnel as part of measures to contain the spread of the diseases in military barracks across the country. The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Amb. Dan-

juma Sheni, who declared the programme open, said it was part of the partnership between the ministry and the United States Department of Defence. Sheni, who was represented by the Director of Medical Services in the ministry, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, said the training was aimed at building the officers’ capacity on `disease outbreak inves-

tigation and management, adding that personnel were selected for the training because of the nature of military assignments that required regular movements within and outside the country. According to the director, it is pertinent to select the military as a target group because of her increased vulnerability to sexually transmitted and other infec-

DELSU sacks 9 lecturers, disciplines 31 others Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri

Nine lecturers have been eased out of the employ of the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, just as 21 others have been disciplined for various offences, at the weekend. This was made known in the school’s bulletin released last Friday. Some of the nine lecturers among who are professors and Ph.D holders, were said to have been found guilty of plagiarism, with some receiving total dismissal or termination of appointments for unethical practices such as extortion. Other lecturers caught in the web of probe panels constituted by the Governing Council of the institution, were stagnated for five years and others warned.

It was gathered that 10 other non-teaching staff also faced the disciplinary committee, but three of them were discharged and acquitted of the allegations preferred against them. The authorities of the institution said the disciplinary action taken against the affected 40 staff came in order to instill discipline, check corruption and sustain the institution’s drive to attain higher academic standards. While giving details, Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Victor Peretemode, said: “some of the lecturers were dismissed and their appointment as lecturers terminated, others for negligence in the handling of results, some denied of promotion for two years, other stagnated for five years while a large num-

ber of others were warned and subsequently dismissed for plagiarism.” According to him, “out of the 40 staff disciplined, 30 of them were lecturers while the remaining were non-academic staff of the university.” He warned lecturers and supervisors of final year students, who were in the habit of extorting money from students under the guise of running experimental analysis for them, to desist from such unethical practices or face sanctions. Professor Peretemode, who has barely spent a year in the saddle, reminded the deans of faculties and heads of departments that the university has standard laboratories that had been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for the conduct of experiments and research.

tious diseases. Dr Akinlade noted that under the present arrangement, 46 personnel would be trained in two batches this month, adding that the training would focus more on increased critical knowledge and operational skills of Armed Forces personnel in outbreak management. She said that “Other areas included strengthening laboratory capacity to conduct basic diagnostic investigations and establishing relationship with key stakeholders within the framework of the Federal Ministry of Health.’’ Akinlade said the ministry was leveraging on the successes recorded under its Health Implementation Programme in the containment of Ebola and HIV spread, to implement the programme. She said the ministry, through its Health Implementation Programme, had recorded significant reduction in the prevalence of HIV in the Nigerian military and the conduct of Ebola vaccine study. Earlier in his opening remark, the Director-General, Ministry of Defence Health Implementation Programme, Brigadier-General Nurudeen Hussain, said the programme was key to the military’s operations.

The Federal Teaching Hospital Ido-Ekiti (FETHI) has announced that the 19-yearold student nurse admitted in the hospital with Lassa fever about two weeks ago, has “fully recovered and has been discharged from the hospital.” The management of the hospital, which made the announcement on Monday in Ido-Ekiti, said it was unhappy with some of its personnel who bolted in the wake of the outbreak of the virus, adding that it might visit them with sanctions for allegedly abdicating their responsibilities. The Chief Medical Director of FETHI, Dr Majekodunmi Ayodele, who announced this at a news conference on Monday, also presented certificates of excellence and meritorious service to a nurse, Mrs Adejoke Awotona and her team for the breakthrough. Dr Ayodele said with the feat, he urged the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole to reward the experts and designate FETHI as a nationally recognised management centre for the virus. According to the FETHI CMD, the patient was discharged after a post-treatment diagnosis carried out at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State. “This student nurse was rushed into this hospital with high fever, bleeding from orifices. We wanted to reject the patient because we don’t have the medical kits to undertake treatment here. But because we heeded the minister’s directive not to transport Lassa fever patients, we immediately swung into action. Today, we have recorded a success story. The lady is tested negative to the virus and she has been discharged.’’

FG partners Ondo to boost agricultural productivity Collins Nnabuife- Abuja

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has stated the resolution of the ministry to collaborate with the Ondo State government to boost agricultural productivity in Nigeria. Chief Ogbeh disclosed this when he received the Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and his team in his office. The minister commended the Governor for his good vision and actions in the agricultural sector, which he said, would help in driving the sector very fast, noting that not many governors are looking towards the direction of agriculture. He said Ondo State is the main driver of agricultural revolution in Nigeria, especially with its youth, cattle breeding and cocoa production programmes. He assured the state of the ministry’s support in its cattle breeding project, saying, “the quality of food the cattle eats affects its milk production”, thus emphasising the need to grow more grasses to feed the cows to produce more milk. The minister emphasised the need to engage the youth of the nation in agriculture, saying, ”Bringing young people into agriculture is a tough job,” but assured the youth that “if agriculture is well handled, it could make many of them very rich.” Chief Ogbeh further assured the Governor of the ministry’s plan of putting an end to the crises between the herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria. He commended the state for its exploits in cocoa production and encouraged them to do more, especially in the packaging of the produce to make it more acceptable in the international market.

Femi Fani-Kayode announces birth of first son Chief Femi Fani-Kayode now Olufemi OluKayode, on Monday afternoon announced the birth of his first son. According to him on his FB page, “I give thanks to God for the birth of my first son which took place at 12.14 pm today. This is the doing of the Lord and it is marvellous in our sight. Both the mother and the child are doing fine.To God be the glory.” Olu-Kayode has five daughters, Oluwafolake, Oluwatemitope, Oluwatobiloba, Oluwatuminu and Oluwaremilekun.

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Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Former minister, Agunloye, dumps PDP for SDP in Ondo As ex-NHIS boss, Thomas, dumps PDP for APC Hakeem Gbadamosi and Bola Badmus

head of the 2016 governorship election in Ondo State, the former Minister of State for Defence, Dr Olu Agunloye, will today, formally join the Social Democratic Party ( SDP), in the state. Agunloye, who disclosed this on Monday, in at the party secretariat, Akure, Ondo State capital, when he paid an unscheduled visit to the state executive during the party congress said “ I am now a member of SDP in the state.” “I have been a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but from today, I am now a member of the SDP and I will formally tell the whole world that I have seized to be a member of PDP.” Confirming the development, the chairman of the party in the state, Chief Korede Duyile, stated that the party will pick Agunloye as a member of the party today, saying the former minister will picked his membership form at the party secretariat today. He listed the new members of the state executive to include, Lawrence Akinola, Ondo North, Bayo Fajemilua, Central and Lere Ade-

olu for South, while Deke Ogunbameru and Adesina Momoh, emerged as secretary and treasurer, respectively.. Agunloye was a member of the Labour Party in the state before he dumped the Labour Party for the defunct Action Congress at the wake of the 2011 general election when he was denied the party’s senatorial ticket. He also contested for the governorship ticket of ACN during the 2012 governorship election but lost the

ticket to Rotimi Akeredolu, and later returned to the LP before the coming together of LP and PDP in the state. Welcoming Agunloye into the SDP, the National Chairman of the party, Chief Olu Falae , called on all delegates and elected officials of the party to work hard towards the realisation of victory for the party standard bearer in the forthcoming governorship election in the state. Meanwhile, two-time

Commissioner for Health in Ekiti State and chieftain of PDP, Dr Femi Thomas, will formally join the All Progressives Congress (APC), at an event slated for IkoroEkiti, on Saturday, thus, boosting the rank and file of the party in the state. Thomas is also the immediate past executive secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). This was disclosed in a statement issued and signed

by Mr Tunde Adeleke, who is media consultant to the politician. According to Adeleke, the event, which will be held at the APC secretariat, IkoroEkiti, will draw party leaders and faithful, including supporters of Dr Thomas from across the state. “Dr Thomas will be accompanied by party leaders and supporters from the 12 wards of Ijero Local Government Area to Ikoro Ward Secretariat of APC for the declaration.

The vice-chancellor, Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun State, Professor Rotimi Ajayi, on Friday, decried that only 40 per cent of prospective applicants for admissions into universities eventually gain admission. Ajayi said this in his address at the 11th matriculation ceremony of the university, where 330 new students were admitted. The university established in 2005 by the Apostolic Faith Mission, admitted 207 new students into its College of Business and Social Services and 123 into its College of Natural and Applied Science. The vice chancellor said

A procession of Muslim women, during the World Hijab Day celebration, in Lagos, on Monday. PHOTO: Nan

that it was pertinent to note that the race for prospective students to gain admission into universities had become intense. This, according to him, had been forcing many parents and guardians to now send their children and wards to tertiary institutions overseas. “In the last 10 years or so, Nigerian universities have not been able to offer admission to more than 40 per cent of millions of applicants that were qualified for admission. “You should, therefore, consider yourselves very fortunate to be among the 40 per cent offered admission. Ajayi, however, advised the matriculating students to study

hard to be able to stand out from the crowd and become responsible to the society. “The university exists primarily to deliver to you that balanced education that will train you to become responsible and godly citizens. “University creates an at-

The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), operating at Okigwe Motor Park, Umuahia Central, Abia State, may witness crisis following control of the park by the union members. The Nigerian Tribune learnt at the weekend that a traditional ruler in the community (name with held), was trying to cause confusion fol-

lowing imposition of another two unions in the same park. The move, which had ignited crisis among the union members according to Mr Awusaku Adiele, the chairman of NURTW of Okigwe Motor Park, had vowed not to recognise the two other unions imposed on them by the traditional ruler except the two existing unions, the cooperative and NURTW unions. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on the

mosphere for you that will make you not only useful to the society, but solution providers to the many ills plaguing our society today. “Although, higher education has been described as fundamental to the construction of a knowledge

economy and society. “It is also known to have contributed to human progress and welfare but knowledge economy devoid of godliness will not provide the required solution to the moral decadence in our society,’’ he said.

FG’sfreemealscheme sustainableif...—Expert Adetola Bademosi - Abuja The free meal scheme for school children, established by the Nigerian government is sustainable if the Federal Government ensures strict monitoring strategies, a Malaysian education expert and administrator of the Euston British International School, Mrs Marie Joseph,

Crisis looms at Umuahia central park over union’s imposition CelestineIhejirika-Umuahia

Islamic cleric lauds Ajimobi on measles sensitisation programme The Chief Imam, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mosque, Ibadan, Oyo State and the chairman of Olajide Hajj and Ummurah Travel Limited, Alhaji Abdurrazaq Olajide, has commended Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, for the sensitisation campaign programme, on measles in the state. Alhaji Abdurrazaq said this during a seminar and intensive training programme for alternative medicine and Chinese Herbal Therapy, tagged: Support Health First (SHF) in Ibadan. He called on caregivers, parents, teachers and well-meaning Nigerians to use the opportunity to immunise their children. He also advised the people on sanitation strategies.

Group embarks on sanitation exercise in Kogi

Only 40% prospective students gain admissions into varsities —Crawford VC Gbemi Solaja - Lagos

Nigerian Tribune

looming crisis, Mr Adiele lamented the rational behind a traditional ruler imposing unions on NURTW members. He further said they had already petitioned their former leader, Chief Sunny Nwakaodo, who is now at the national headquarters, Abuja. Adiele said that the crisis rockening the park had affected normal business activities of the area there by causing passengers to abandon the park.

has said. She said even as the government plans to kick-start the scheme, provisions should be made to ensure that head of schools feed students with foods with the necessary nutritional values. Speaking with selected journalists in Abuja, on Monday, Mrs Joseph, who also worked at the Federal Orphanage Home in Malaysia, said the initiative was not new, as it is most practised in other developed countries. While commending the Nigerian government, she stressed the need for sincerity on the part of stakeholders, who would be charged with this responsibility. Mrs Joseph further disclosed plans to key into the initiative as a school, saying; “I think it is a good policy and I will like to go into that because back home where I come from,

food is given, you have a glass of milk, toast bread, once I have other six buildings up, I will like to also go into it. “It is a good policy and it is sustainable if we know how to control the kind of food you are going to feed them. Because the food they bring to school does not contain the necessary vitamins, you can give them egg and bread which contains so much nutrients. Most of them eat plain indomie without vegetables, it is not good because I know how indomie is made. It is something they have reengineered and the children enjoy eating it. You can give indomie, but you can add vegetables to it,” she said Speaking on the need for improved quality of education in Nigeria, She emphasised on the need for periodic training of teachers, saying this will impact on the children.

Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja Disturbed by the heaps of uncleared refuse in Lokoja metropolis as a result of the over three months strike action by workers in the state, a youth group, ‘Project Kogi First’, has embarked on an aggressive sanitation exercise to give the state capital a facelift. The youth volunteer group, numbering over 100, took to the streets of Lokoja, the state capital, at the weekend, to clear the refuse dumped along the walkways and drainage channels. Addressing newsmen, the president of Project Kogi First, Ojeje Onimisi, said the exercise was part of the group’s voluntary contributions to ensure healthy and safe environment for people of the state. He said it would be dangerous to continue to allow such filth in the state capital in view of the fact that such environment could constitute breeding grounds for rodents that transmit Lassa fever, which had claimed many lives in some parts of the country. “You cannot talk about good health when you maintain poor hygiene. So, heaps of refuse like this can harbour sorts of vectors of various forms of dangerous diseases.

news

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

10 die as Fulani herdsmen invade Agatu in Benue JohnsonBabajide-Makurdi

EAVY fighting broke out on Sunday at Ega Adapati Island in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State between Fulani herdsmen and Agatu, leading to death of 10 persons. According to the source, the herdsmen were said to

have invaded the village about 8:00am, the time many of the villagers were set to go to church. Nigerian Tribune reliably gathered that the invasion was a reprisal attack. Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State had invited the two communities when intelligence report reached him that the Fulanis were

planning reprisal attack on the state where he pleaded for peace. The attack was said to have left the community desolate as villagers fled to neighbouring communities. Former Commissioner for Works and Housing and running mate to the gubernatorial candidate of the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state in the last general election, Honourable John Ngbede, said seven persons were killed. Honourable Sule Audu, who represents the constituency in the state assembly, confirmed to newsmen in Makurdi that seven persons were killed and several houses destroyed by the in-

vading herdsmen. The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Moses Yamu, when contacted, said he was yet to be briefed. But the State governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, confirmed the attack but noted that he was yet to get full details of the casualties. He explained, “I can confirm to you the attack on Agatu village on Sunday, many people were wounded but I can not say of the casualty because I don’t want to act on rumour. I have asked the deputy governor to proceed to the place tomorrow (Tuesday) to assess the situation of things.

Radio repairer electrocuted in Osun Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

From left, Regional Coordinator, United Kingdom National Crime Agency (UKNCA), Mr James Collins; Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase and the leader of UKNCA delegation, Mr John Branney, during a training for Nigeria Police on anti-kidnapping, in Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN.

NMA rejects 3.65% budgetary allocation to health ministry in 2016 appropriation By Soji-Eze Fagbemi and Sade Oguntola

THE Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Monday decried the allocation of just 3.5 per cent of the 2016 budget to health, instead of the 15 per cent prescribed by the meeting of African Heads of States and Government, hosted by Nigeria in 2001. To this end, the NMA called on the Federal Government, especially the National Assembly, to urgently review and revise the allocation of N221.7 billion to health ministry. A statement signed by the NMA President, Dr Kayode Obembe and the Secretary General, Dr Adewunmi Alayaki, condemned the diminished allocation of 3.65 per cent in the 2016 budget, warning that this would not encourage the advancement of universal health coverage. The statement said: “The association views with great dismay the sharp departure from the prescribed 15 per cent of the national budget for health made in 2001 in a meeting of African Heads of States and Government which Nigeria hosted in Abuja, observing that this deviation has posed a huge moral burden for the country in going against her own avowed commitment de-

spite the emerging challenges and resultant burgeoning demands from the sector. “Though not ignorant of the current realities of dwindling oil revenue and contracting fiscal space - a situation which the country has most unfortunately found herself, NMA is of the view that the markedly diminished allocation of 3.65 per cent in the 2016 budget would never encourage the advancement

of universal health coverage which is the only panacea towards improving availability, access, quality and efficiency of the health services to reduce the disparaging health indices which continue to malign the image of our country in the comity of nations. “We are also in shock as the 60 billion (equivalent of at least one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund) envisaged to accrue

as the Basic Health Provision Fund as enshrined in the National Health Act 2014 was conspicuously absent from the budget proposal as presented. “Coming at this auspicious occasion of budgeting under the reassuring change mantra, it is our considered opinion that Nigeria should show the way and provide leadership in Africa after having failed in this regard since 2001.”

$620,000 bribe: Court to commence Farouk Lawan, Emenalo’s trial today Sunday Ejike - Abuja

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, sitting in Lugbe, will today commence trial of the former chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, who is accused of obtaining $620,000 bribe from the chairman of Forte Oil, Femi Otedola. Lawan and Boniface Emenalo, who was the secretary of the Ad-hoc committee, are being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on a seven-count charge of col-

lecting the $620.000 bribe to enable the names of Mr Otedola’s companies, Zenon Petroleum and Gas and Synopsis Enterprises Limited, to be excluded from the list of companies indicted for defrauding the Federal Government of over N2 trillion through the petroleum subsidy payments to marketers. The two men were originally arraigned before Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi in February 2013, before he (Oniyangi) was elevated to the Court of Appeal. The matter was re-assigned to Justice Adebukola Banjoko of High Court of the FCT, sitting in Gudu.

Following an objection again before Justice Banjoko, the case was re-assigned to Justice Angela Otaluka’s court in Lugbe. The duo are alleged to have conspired in April 2012 to demand $3 million gratification from Otedola to remove his firms from the list of oil companies indicted in the fuel subsidy scam. The prosecution team, led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, had argued before the court that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 26 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, and punishable under Section 8 (1) of the same law.

TRAGEDY struck over the weekend in Osogbo, capital of Osun State, when a middle aged man, identified as Kareem Teslim, was electrocuted at a sub-station of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) located behind Ataoja’s palace. This development came barely two months after a middle-aged refrigerator repairer and father of five, identified as Moshood Majoko, was electrocuted, while trying to fix a faulty electricity cable behind Ilesa Motor Park, Osogbo. Nigerian Tribune reliably gathered that the deceased, a radio repairer, who has a shop around Iso Isu Area of Osogbo, was burnt after falling on a transformer. According to one of the sources, “the deceased was in his shop, when the report was made that a line was faulty in the substation located few metres away from his workplace and he immediately proceeded to the site where the fault was noticed.” He stated “Teslim did not know initially that the fault would involve him climbing the pole before it could be rectified and was a bit reluctant when he realised that he would have to climb pole. “Barely three minutes on the pole, electric voltage took off his dress and he shouted. He lost balance and fell on the transformer. Unfortunately, there was electricity supply at the time. His body was badly burnt and was barely recognisable. Those standing nearby ran away and was left there for several hours,” the source added.

Nigerian Tribune

Pipeline vandalism: Miscreants will face wrath of gods —Olu EbenezerAdurokiya-Warri PERPETRATORS of the recent pipelines bombings in the creeks of Delta State risk being hunted by the gods and ancestors of the land, the Olu of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame Ikenwole, has warned. The newly crowned monarch gave the warning on Monday in a statement issued from his palace, in Warri, through the office of the palace secretary. In what appeared as his first reaction since the recent destruction of oil pipelines in Warri South West Local Government Area, the Olu said such dastardly act was aimed to sabotage and deplete oil earnings accrued to the state and other agencies charged with development of oil-producing communities. In the statement, the Olu lamented “the act has pulled back the hands of the clock to the notorious dark days in violent past history of our dear state.”

Muslim women donate Bible to church in Kaduna Muhammad Sabiu - Kaduna GROUP of Muslim women who attended church service on Sunday at Christ Evangelical Intercessory Fellowship Ministry, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, have donated dozens of Bible (written in Hausa language) to the church. Presenting the Bible on behalf of her group, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani who was accompanied to the church by her little son, Abdullahakim, said they were making the donation in preparation for the World Interfaith Week slated for February 1-7 this year. According to her, the interfaith week should be observed based on the principle of tolerance and respect for one another that was deeply rooted in the world’s major religions (Islam and Christianity). “Both religions preach peace and tolerance and we have to learn to forgive and forget other mistakes to make our country great and reunite the communities through good teachings of the holy books,” she said. Receiving the Bibles, the General Overseer of the church, Pastor Yohanna Buru, appealed to all Nigerians to learn how to tolerate, accommodate and live in peace with one another, so as to make the country great.

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Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Delta rehabilitates 40 township roads

S/West NURTW to hold zonal delegates conference in Osogbo The zonal delegates conference of the SouthWest National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) will hold tomorrow in Osogbo, Osun State. A release signed by the Principal Assistant General Secretary in charge of Zone two, comprising Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun and Ondo states, Comrade Olufemi Adedayo and made available to Community News, disclosed that the National President of the union, Alhaji Najeem Yasin will declare the conference open.

alphonsus agborh-asaba

The Regional chairperson of the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF), Mrs Tinuke Okubanjo (middle) with other members of the foundation, during the immunisation against measles, at Ibadan North-East Local Government Area, on Monday. PHOTO: TUNDE ADEGBOLA.

‘Apprehend killers of Ubulu-Uku monarch’ Alphonsus Agborh-Asaba

HE people of Delta State based in the United States of America have condemned, in very strong terms, the gruesome murder of the traditional ruler of Ubulu-Uku kingdom, Obi Akaeze Edward Ofulue III, by kidnappers. Reacting to the incident in an online interactive session, Delta-born, Atlanta Georgia- based medical practitioner, Dr Isioma Okobah, described the murder of the monarch as a taboo, urging security agents to apprehend the perpetrators. Dr Okobah called on security agencies to unravel the remote and immediate circumstances surrounding the incident, adding that the state government should come up with more effective security measures to stem a reccurrence.

While condoling the people of Ubulu-Uku over the unfortunate incident, she prayed God to give the Obi- in-council and the immediate family of the late king the fortitude to bear

the irreparable loss. On the outbreak of Lassa fever in parts of the country, Dr Okobah called on the Federal Ministry of Health to adopt a more proactive approach in

containing the spread of the disease, stressing that a sensitisation campaign that would educate the people on the need to imbibe a more hygienic lifestyle and good sanitary habits should

4-year-old loses eyes to suspected ritualists in Zaria Muhammad Sabiu-Kaduna

Sympathisers continue to throng the house of Mallam Usman Auta in the ancient city of Zaria, Kaduna State to commiserate with him over the tragedy that befell his four-year-old son, Sadiq Usman, whose two eyes were removed by suspected ritualists. It was learnt that the incident occurred on Sunday evening when the victim’s grandmother sent him on an errand. “Some people who were passing near an uncompleted building, noticed that a boy was rolling on

the ground and writhing in pains. “When they moved closer to him, they discovered his two eyes had been removed,” an eyewitness said. Community News further gathered that the father of the boy, Mallam Usman Auta, who was not around when the incident occurred, was later contacted and intimated with the occurrence. It was further learnt that the uncompleted building where the boy was found was pulled down by an angry mob. A source who pleaded anonymity, however, revealed that last year, a nine-year-old girl was

raped inside the building while an 11-year-old boy was also sexually abused in the building. Community News further gathered that the building belongs to an old man. The structure is being built for him by his children. “But the building has become the hideout of criminals and we feel bringing it down is the best way to avert more criminal activities in the community, a source revealed. Meanwhile, the Emir of Zaria, Alhaji Shehu Idris, has sent a delegation to commiserate with the boy’s family. It was also gathered that the

Following the resurgence of criminal activities such as pipeline vandalism, kidnapping among others in Delta State, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Association of Anioma Professionals, has said it is ready to partner the government, especially as it concerns the nine local government areas of Anioma ethnic nationality, in combating unemployment and youth restiveness. The group stated this recently during a sensitisation tour of the local government areas.

Led by its President-General, Dr Clement Nwadozie, the group said it would achieve its aims through moral reorientation of youths, organising skill acquisition programmes, workshops, seminars, financial assistance , hosting of sport festivals among others. Nwadozie, who is currently a director at the Ministry of External Affairs, said the group was already compiling a database of unemployed youths in the state. He stated that “with the database, we will be able to access and assess the

youths based on their vocation, location and requisite qualifications when the occasion calls for it”. According to him, the need to ensure good governance by the political class, economic empowerment of the economically weak and moral reorientation of youths, were the major objectives for the formation of the group. The group, which he noted is open to all Anioma professionals both at home and in the diaspora, currently has well-meaning Anioma sons and daughters who, according to him, are irrevocably committed

emir pledged to assist with the upkeep of the child. When contacted, the police image maker in the state,DSP Zubairu Abubakar, confirmed the incident, adding that “we are trying our best to arrest the perpetrators of this dastardly act.”

Lions Club urges parents to immunise wards against measles By Tunde Adegbola

In collaborating with Oyo State Ministry of Health to kick measles out of communities, the regional chairperson of a non-governmental organisation, Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF) Region 10, Mrs Tinuke Okubanjo, on Monday, called on women to the cause. “We are very much com- to bring out their children for immunisation against mitted to ensuring good measles related diseases. governance in the state, Okubanjo made the call particularly within the during a rally organised nine local government ar- by the organisation to seneas of Anioma nation. sitise women in Ibadan “We will engage youths North-East Local Governin socio-economic activi- ment Area of the state, on ties such as sport, skill the importance of allowing acquisition programmes, their children to be immunmoral training, regular ised. Also speaking, the imworkshops and seminars, munisation officer of among others. We realise Ibadan North-East Local we cannot do this alone, Government Area, Mrs hence the need for part- Caroline Idowu, said the nership with the various immunisation exercise local government coun- was targeted at children cils as well as the various within the age of nine and traditional institutions”, 59months to protect them from measles related dishe said.

Resurgence of criminality: NGO ready to partner LGs in Delta EbenezerAdurokiya-Warri

be encouraged . She admonished Nigerians to report any suspected case of the ailment to appropriate medical authorities for immediate attention.

SOME of the 40 township/ link roads in Delta State under reconstruction, have been completed while others are awaiting either asphalting or priming. The roads which are in Asaba, Agbor, Ughelli, Warri and environs were rehabilitated by the Direct Labour Agency, which is charged with the responsibility of rehabilitation and maintenance of roads in the state. Director-General of the agency, Honourable Franc Enekorogha, disclosed at a press conference in Asaba that so far, 517 roads across the state had been earmarked for rehabilitation, adding that despite the economic challenges, the state government is determined to fix the roads before the commencement of the rainy season. According to him, the replacement of some faulty equipment of the agency which, hitherto, impeded the agency’s operations, made the road rehabilitation possible. Community News learnt that the agency’s intervention on the roads have brought great relief to motorists.

eases. She added that the exercise is an initiative of the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF which is going on simultaneously across the 33 local government areas of the state. She, however, appreciated the Lions Club Foundation for the incentives given to children who have been vaccinated and their efforts in creating awareness for parents to bring their children for immunisation. A parent, who brought her child for immunisation, Mrs Dorcas Samuel, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government, WHO, UNICEF and other stakeholders who have contributed in making the programme a success. She called on other parents to support the Federal Government in combating measles by bringing their wards who are eligible for the vaccine.

fortherecord ‘It seems corruption has returned with a vengeance’ 44

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Being the text of an address delivered by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, at the inauguration conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Policy, on Monday.

am happy to be here to participate at this inauguration conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy. It is delightful that this initiative is coming at this moment when the country is in search of new ways of doing things, given the crisis of governance that now manifests in vigorous ways. The drastic fall in the price of oil in the international market has unravelled the weakness of governance in Nigeria. The Minister of Finance has recently announced that the 2016 Budget deficit may be increased from the current N2.2 trillion in the draft document before the National Assembly, to N3 trillion due to decline in the price of crude oil. If the current fiscal challenge is not creatively addressed Nigeria may be on its way to another episode of debt overhang which may not be good for the country. It will be recalled that a few years ago, we rescued Nigeria from its creditors with the deal in which the Paris Club of sovereign creditors wrote off USD 18 billion of debt, Africa’s largest debt cancellation. Nigeria then used the windfall earnings from oil export to pay off another USD 12 billion in debts and arrears. On the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa continent the hope that followed the initiative of the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) and African renaissance initiatives are being threatened by developments in the global economy and governance. Falling commodity prices have put pressures on local currencies, and if caution is not taken, may lead to mounting debts. It is indeed proper for us in Nigeria to ask the question, is the government working? Is government positioned to deal with challenges arising from these new developments? These questions are made apposite by the massive scale of poverty and unemployment, the decay in infrastructural facilities, the impoverished living standards of citizens with regard to food, housing, water supply, education and healthcare which have deepened in recent years. This is complicated by the protracted experience of violence and brutality, the flow of internally displaced persons arising from the Boko Haram insurgency in large parts of northeastern Nigeria where many citizens have become distressed, live in fear and insecurity. Recent developments in governance show the failure of systems, the disregard for institutional processes and the general decline of institutions that used to function to guarantee reasonable service delivery to citizens. When I assumed office in 1999, though I had some sense that the bureaucracy of government that I left in 1979 had significantly declined, I only appreciated the extent of this decline after the Dr Christopher Kolade Panel that I set up submitted its report. I implemented remedial measures and a reorientation programme coordinated by Professor Adebayo Adedeji. I got the Management Service office to undertake and evolve a National Strategy for Public Service Reform. The reform process commenced

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

Today, corruption drains billions of dollars from our economy in 2003 and by 2007 significant progress had been made. Unfortunately, the evidence available today, shows that those gains have been reversed. The problem today is that it is doubtful if the current administrative system is imbued with the right mix of skills and values to successfully implement a well-articulated programme of change. Furthermore, many years ago, I identified corruption as the greatest single bane of our society. Identifying it as one of the worst legacies of misrule and bad governance, we set up the ICPC and the EFCC to tackle it head on. Today, corruption drains billions of dollars from our economy that cannot afford to lose even a mil-

lion dollars. It seems we are just beginning the fight against corruption afresh. Until recently, it seems corruption has returned with a vengeance, taking seat at the very heart of government. I reiterate my statement in October last year, during the 55th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence that “corruption must not have resting place within our society; we must kick corruption out because it destroys almost everything and I am not talking about corruption of money; corruption of attitude, nepotism, favouritism, they are corruption in different forms and all aspects of corruption must be kicked out of our society.” Now, given these governance chal-

lenges and our experience with reform, it is clear that change doesn’t just happen, there must be a basis for change. Leadership has to be committed to change. Beginning with the reality of the budget, there is need for sober reflection. Rebuilding the foundations of governance involves paying attention to values, principles and practices that promote hard work, innovation and sacrifice. Leaders who call for sacrifice from the citizenry cannot be living in obscene opulence. We must address these foundational issues to make the economy work, to strengthen our institutions, build public confidence in government and deal with our peace and security challenges. We must address the issue of employment for our teeming population particularly for our youths. Leadership must mentor the young, and provide them with hope about their future as part of a process of intergenerational conversation. I acknowledge the expertise, skills and experience represented by the people gathered here. This conference must be harnessed as resource for the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy. Indeed, I make bold to say the school has great promise. Unlike similar institutions in the country the school is neither essentially government focused or solely focused on private sector organisations. Rather it seeks to interface across the sectors, including civil society. Unlike the university its research and teaching are not going to be removed from the dayto-day operations of government because of the emphasis on ‘science’ and dependence on huge data sets for research work. It seeks to engage with the people that public policy affects. There is clearly a need for schools like the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy that focus research and teaching on implementing policy and making the government work well in Africa. I hope it will generate ideas that will lead us from thinking to doing. It must not only generate ideas, it must foster willingness to use those ideas within government and non-government sectors. The ultimate goal should be to create a learning society which is suitable for the knowledge economy of the 21st century. We at the Obasanjo foundation welcome the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy. I am aware that there is an ongoing dialogue between the school and the Centre for Human Security of the Obasanjo Foundation to organise a conference on Public Service Reform later in the year. I charge the conference to redefine the issues and catalyse a process of sustained dialogue to address them. I appreciate the choice of Professor Richard Joseph as the Guest Speaker, which I think is appropriate for the occasion given his contribution to efforts to explain the dilemma of governance in Nigeria in his famous theory of “Prebendalism”. I hope that the outcome of this conference would provide a template for more systematic engagement by the school in further research, training and other activities. I wish you a rewarding time here in Ibadan.

Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

foreig naffairs with seyi gesinde

08116954632 foreignnewseditor@gmail.com

WHO declares Zika virus global emergency

HE World Health Organisation has declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus to be an international public health emergency as the disease linked to thousands of suspected cases of birth defects in Brazil spreads rapidly. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told reporters on Monday an international coordinated response was needed to improve detection and speed work on a vaccine and better diagnostics, although curbs on travel or trade were not necessary. The emergency designation, according to Reuters was recommended by a committee of independent experts to the U.N. agency following criticism of a hesitant response so far. The move should help fasttrack international action and research priorities.

Scene of a blast. Source: AFP

Deadly suicide attack rocks Afghanistan’s capital AT least 20 people were killed and 25 wounded when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up trying to enter a police building in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, a senior police source has told Al Jazeera. The area was sealed off by police as ambulances rushed to the scene of what witnesses described as a powerful blast on Monday. Al Jazeera’s Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, said the attack happened at about 2pm local time. “The suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a civil order police building in the centre of the city,” she said. “The attack was five days before another scheduled round of peace talks in the presence of Afghan, Pakistan, Chinese and US officials.”

“Members of the committee agreed that the situation meets the conditions for a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted this advice,” Chan said. The WHO said last week the Zika virus was “spreading explosively” and could infect as many as 4 million people in the Americas. Brazil is due to host the Olympic Games in Rio de

Janeiro in August. The WHO was lambasted for reacting too slowly to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa which killed more than 10,000 people, and has promised to do better in future global health crises. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Thomas Frieden said the declaration “calls the world to action” on Zika.

Professor David L. Heymann (left), Chair of the Emergency Committee, and World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan hold a news conference after the first meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee concerning the Zika virus, on Monday. Photo: Reuters.

Bangladesh’s ‘tree man’ to undergo surgery

Bajandra. Source: CNN

A Bangladeshi man whose hands and feet have grown to resemble gnarled tree branches is to undergo surgery. Abul Bajandra has been suffering from a rare disease called epidermodysplasia verruciformis, which causes wart-like lesions, for 20 years. Bajandra first noticed

Berlin teen admits fabricating migrant gang-rape story, official says A Berlin teen who claimed to have been abducted and gang-raped by migrants, sparking angry protests and an international row with Russia, has admitted making up the story and was found to have been staying with a German man instead, an official said Monday. The 13-year-old girl -- a

member of Berlin’s Russian-speaking community -- made the rape claim to police when she returned after a 30-hour absence last month. She alleged that three men of Arabic and Turkish descent had dragged her into a car at a train station and abused her. Stories of the girl’s or-

deal circulated in Russian media and on social networks, prompting street demonstrations by Russian-German communities and right-wing groups. Even Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov weighed in, accusing German authorities of a politically correct “coverup.”

Saudi Arabia arrests 9 Americans among terror suspects A Saudi newspaper reported Sunday that authorities there have arrested nine American citizens and 24 people as terror suspects during the past week. The arrests also included 14 Saudis, three Yemenis, two Syrians, an Indonesian, a Filipino, an Emirati, a Kazakhstan national and a Palestinian, the Saudi Gazette said. A U.S. State Department

official, when asked about the report, said “We are aware of reports alleging that several U.S. citizens were detained in Saudi Arabia. The Department of State takes its obligation to assist U.S. citizens abroad seriously. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.” The Saudi Gazette did not say if any of what it

called the “terror suspects” were linked to the Islamic State group, which has claimed several deadly attacks against security forces and Shi’ites in the kingdom in recent months On Friday, a suicide bomber attacked a Shi’ite mosque in Eastern Province killing four people before worshippers disarmed and tied up his accomplice who had fired on them.

Iowa caucus opens US presidential nomination voting THE central state of Iowa opens voting Monday in the first U.S. contest to pick Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, leading to November’s national election. The two poll-leading Republican presidential con-

tenders, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump, conservative Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and several other candidates headed to more rallies as voting neared. Election caucuses were set for 1,681 schools, firehouses and community cen-

ters throughout the state. The top Democratic contenders, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, are locked in a tight contest for their party’s nod in the first of a long series of state-by-state contests.

the peculiar branch-like growths on his hands when he was 10 years old and tried cutting them off by himself, his doctor, Samanta Lal Sen, told CNN. Now he’s 30 and has one of the most severe cases of the condition ever recorded. “This is one of the most rare cases of disease that I have seen in Bangladesh, even in the world”, said Lal Sen, the chief-coordinator of the surgery at Bangladesh’s state-run Dhaka Medical Hospital. The disease is caused by a defect in the immune system, which increases susceptibility to human papilloma virus (HPV). There are many types of HPV, and the most commonly reported are those linked to cervical cancer, according to the World Health Organisation. After attracting attention in his village, Bajandra’s plight became known to surgeons in Dhaka who offered to perform the surgery for free. “The surgery is a lengthy process and will involve many [operations]. The whole process can take up to six months,” Lal Sen told CNN. Like Bajandra, doctors are optimistic about the surgery. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Source: Reuters

otherNEWS South Sudan army accused of suffocating 50 civilians AT least 50 people suffocated to death when they were shoved into metal containers in sweltering conditions by troops belonging to South Sudan, a commission monitoring the ceasefire between rival factions said. The incident was one of several listed as examples of ceasefire violations carried out by forces on both sides, outlined in a report compiled by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which was made public at the African Union (AU) summit on Sunday. “About 50 people suffocated in a container on about October 22. The investigation was protracted. Attribution of responsibility: Government Forces,” the report said in a section titled “concerning the killing of civilians in Unity State”.

India raped minor sexually assaulted again in hospital A teenage rape victim has claimed she was sexually assaulted a second time while in hospital receiving treatment for the original attack in India’s east, police said on Monday, in the latest case of violence against women. The 15-year-old girl has told police that she was raped on Sunday by a security guard at the hospital where she had been admitted in Jamshedpur city in the impoverished state of Jharkhand. “We registered a case and arrested the private security guard posted at the hospital after the girl’s complaint and are now awaiting her medical report,” police superintendent Chandan Jha told AFP news agency.

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Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Adebayor makes Crystal Palace debut today

RYSTAL Palace head coach, Alan Pardew has indicated that Emmanuel Adebayor will make his official debut for the club against Bournemouth today. The two English Premier League (EPL) sides are set to lock horns in a league encounter at the Selhurst Park on Tuesday night. “We’ve kind of pencilled Adebayor in to be involved on Tuesday, so we’ll have to wait and see. I think there’s a good chance,” Pardew said.

Togolese striker, Adebayor, who was released by Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of the current 2015/16 season, joined Palace during the January transfer window. It has been widely reported that Adebayor’s arrival at the London-based outfit could see Dwight Gayle leaving the club in search of more regular game-time. However, Pardew has since down played those suggestions - insisting that the English forward is still part of his plans.

Adebayor

Ikhana bags 3SC job By Olawale Olaniyan SHOOTING Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan has employed the services of the former Enyimba of Aba FC tactician, Kadiri Ikhana as technical adviser ahead of 2016 Glo Premier

Ikhana

League season scheduled to commence later this month. Team Manager of the Oluyole Warriors, Dimeji Lawal confirmed this to Tribunesport on Monday by phone, adding that the former Super Falcons coach has been offered the team’s plum job. Ikhana replaces coach Gbenga Ogunbote, who led 3SC to escape relegation after joining the team in the week nine of the Glo Premier League last season from Sharks of Port Harcourt. Lawal, a former international disclosed further that Ikhana was presented to the players and management of the team at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan on Monday afternoon. The Media Officer of 3SC, Jubril Arowolo, also disclosed to Tribunesport that ex-international, Bright Omokaro remains the chief coach of the club, while newly-employed Friday Christopher is to work as assistant coach. The team also retained the services of goalkeeper trainer, Lateef Yusuf, while coach Leye Akinde returns to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Meanwhile, Chairman, House Committee on Sports in the Oyo State House of Assembly, Honourable Fatai Adesina told Tribunesport by phone that he has not received details on the club’s new appointments. He however, stated that he was aware that Ikhana met with the Permanent Secrtary, Ministry of

Ighalo celebrates Emenike’s EPL arrival

Youth and Sports in the company of the team’s General Manager, Mr Rasheed Balogun on Monday afternoon. It will be recalled that coach Henry Abiodun, was among the tacticians interviewed for the 3SC plum job, just as coach Zachary Baraje, was also said to be eyeing return to the team he once coached in the 1997 season.

Ighalo

Unnamed club joins bid for Musa A mystery top club has opened discussions with Russian giants, CSKA Moscow, to sign Ahmed Musa, alongside other interested clubs, Supersport. com can report. Reports suggest that CSKA Moscow had already made it clear to Musa’s suitors that it is not willing to sell one of its prized assets in the January transfer window owing to a lack of cover in the striking area at the club. The Moscow giants have already turned down several bids from clubs believed to be among the 30 richest sides in club football. However, the interested clubs, including the unnamed outfit, are expected to return in the summer to make another attempt in landing the impressive Nigerian captain. The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner stated that he is flattered by being linked with a move to England but is willing to respect his

contract at CSKA which runs till 2019. “Of course I am very pleased to hear that. I would like to test myself in a strong championship, but it will happen when it should happen. “CSKA decides everything that will happen; our leadership will decide my future. If they agree on something, I will go and then move. If they consider that I stay, I will stay because I am happy here,” Musa told Russian newspaper, R Sport. Musa has scored 10 goals for the Russian club this season.

Musa

Nigeria international, Odion Ighalo is excited by Emmanuel Emenike’s loan move to English Premier League side, West Ham. The former Karabukspor of Turkey striker joined West Ham United on Sunday on loan till the end of the season from Fenerbahce. Emenike cost West Ham £750,000 and the EPL side has an option to buy him for £8.1 million in the summer. “Congrats bro, good to have another Nigerian in the EPL,” Ighalo tweeted. Incidentally, Ighalo replaced Emenike in the Super Eagles after the bulky striker opted to quit international football last year. Meanwhile, Ighalo’s team-mate, Adlene Guedioura has labelled the Edo State-born player ‘irreplaceable’ after the latter netted the winner for Watford in the FA Cup fourth round game. Ighalo now has 15 goals and three assists this season, giving him a key role in 62 per cent of his team’s 29 goals. “I think the statistics speak for themselves,” said Guedioura, who helped dump former club Forest out of the Cup. “He only came on for a few minutes and scored. He is an amazing player. He is a top player for the Premier League - not just for our team,” he posited.

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Tuesday, 2 February, 2016

ITF/CAT U-18 Championship:

Adetunji, McLeod lead Nigeria to Tunisia

I like Iwobi’s style of play —Wenger By Ganiyu Salman With Agency Report

RSENAL manager, Arsene Wenger has voiced his admiration for Alex Iwobi which informed his decision not to loan the Nigerian youngster out for the remainder of the season. Iwobi who made his international debut with the Super Eagles last October in a friendly, impressed his boss during last Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup fourth round victory over Burnley, where he assisted in both goals by Calum Chambers and Alexis Sanchez. Wenger said he admires the style of play of Iwobi who had come off the bench four times in the Premier League this season. “He is a boy who, two years ago, not many would have said he will make it. You see he develops very well because he’s very clever,” Wenger said on the club’s website www.arsenal.

com. “I like his game, I like the timing of his decision making and the quality of his decision making. He always turns where you want him to turn and he plays the ball where you want him to play the ball. He’s very interesting.” The French born manager defended his decision to keep Iwobi despite having a limited playing time in the team. “I have a hesitation about loaning him because I think this guy could play very quickly. It’s the first season he trains with the top team and I think it would help him a lot to stay and see the quality of the players around him. “He can play on the left, on the right, behind the striker, even number 9. He scores goals in training. He’s one who, when he was a kid, could pass

you by if you don’t watch well in training but I personally like this game,” Wenger said. The Gunners boss stated that he also encouraged Iwobi to serve his fatherland.

West Ham banks on Emenike for goals WEST Ham United’s coChairman, David Sullivan says he hopes Nigeria international Emmanuel Emenike will score bags of goals for his new club. “We hope he (Emenike) will bring goals and we have an option to sign him at the end of the season,” Sullivan told his club’s official website. Sullivan and club secretary, Andrew Pincher worked hard to get the deal done after having to negotiate with

Eyoma signs Arsenal professional deal AARON Eyoma, whose parents are Nigerian, has signed his first professional contract with Arsenal. The London side announced on its website on Monday that the 18-yearold midfielder has penned

his first pro deal. Eyoma described as a fast and direct old-fashioned winger, has been assigned shirt No 68. Last season, Eyoma shone with the Arsenal U-21s. Nigerian-born youngsters

Alex Iwobi, Chuba Akpom are also on the books of the London Gunners, while Golden Eaglets stars Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze are also close to agreeing transfers to The Emirates.

Bruno wants ring return at 54 BRITISH former world heavyweight champion, Frank Bruno wants to return to the ring at the age of 54. Bruno, who has not fought since being knocked out by Mike Tyson in 1996, has been suffering with bipolar disorder in recent years. However, he told ITV: “I’ve been in the gym all the time, that’s why I want to come back into boxing.” Asked if it was a good idea, Bruno replied:

Iwobi dazzles against Burnley during last weekend’s FA Cup clash.

ITF/CAT West & Central Africa Junior Championship Girls’ 16&u singles champion Adetayo Adetunji and Angel McLeod will both lead Nigeria’s challenge at the 2016 ITF/CAT U18 Championship billed for Tunis, Tunisia from February 7 to 13. Nigeria junior tennis head coach, Mohammed Ubale disclosed that the pair, who helped Nigeria retain the West & Central AJC qualifiers in Abuja last month, will be joined by Andiyo Inwang, a 16-year-old born of Nigerian and German parents. This will be the second successive year that Nigeria will be heading to the championship, with a debuting player of dual nationality as Russian-born Melissa Ifidzhen made her start as a Nigerian in the 2015 edition which was also held in the Mediterranean country. Ifidzhen had an average outing as she made an early exit in the singles but made up for it with a semi-final finish in the doubles where she paired with Elizabeth Garos-Pam, another player that made her Nigerian debut in 2014 to reach the semifinals in the doubles.

“I haven’t got a choice.” Bruno, who made his professional debut in 1982, says he returned to the gym to burn off energy and does not like to be “mugged off” when challenged by younger boxers. “I can’t sit down and let these so-called promoters say Anthony Joshua can knock me out in two rounds when I’m not even dead,” Bruno added. The BBC has contacted the British Boxing Board of Control for a response.

both Fenerbahce and Al-Ain where Emenike has been on loan in the United Arab Emirates this season. “Our manager knows him from Turkey & Russia and says he is a very good player. He is very fast and you can never have enough goals or pace in any team. “It took two weeks of tortuous negotiations and hard work by myself and our club secretary Andrew Pincher to get the player to the club. It was one of the most difficult deals we have ever done as we were dealing with two clubs not one. “I would publicly like to thank Andrew, as he really is an unsung hero of the club, for all his hard work on this transfer, all the other transfers we have done in the last few years and the dozens we tried to do and failed with.” Emenike who arrived at the Boleyn Ground last Sunday says his target is to always make the Hammers starting line up. “That is why I am here, to always be in the first XI, always try to make the fans happy and to make myself happy. I really hope it works out,” Emenike told West Ham TV. “I have always known West Ham as a great club. I have always been watching them.

West Ham’s a great club and I am very, very happy and very, very excited that I am here.

“The Premier League is the best in the world, it is everyone’s dream to come and play here.”

Emenike

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TUESDAY, 2 FEBRUARY, 2016

112-year-old Batuli Lamichhane has credited her old age to chain of smoking 30 cigarettes a day – for 95 years saying the habit has helped her to outlive almost everyone else in her village – and her own children. Perhaps, the centenarian will have to tell the whole world, the vitamins that her own brand of cigarettee contains, as smokers are prone to die young according to the manufacturers.

Le Roy

Renard

Renard, Le Roy T

OP foreign coaches like Claude Le Roy and Herve Renard, who have excelled in Africa, are said to be interested in coaching the Super Eagles of Nigeria as speculations continue to mount over the future of coach Sunday Oliseh. “Foreign coaches have indicated strong interest to handle Nigeria and even some of them have appointed Nigerian representatives to get them the job,” a top source disclosed. Oliseh has blamed lack of financial support to the Super Eagles for the below-par showing of the country at the African Nations Championship (CHAN 2016) in Rwanda, while making all efforts to distance himself from the failure. Top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)

scramble for Oliseh's job have come out to dismiss speculations around the future of Oliseh, but the results of an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2017

double header against Egypt in March could well spark off another round of speculations. Renard, who led the El-

THE fear of missing out in the English Premier League's huge television money bonanza in 2016 has propelled transfer spending beyond £1 billion ($1.43 billion, 1.3 billion euros) for the first time. A record £965m was spent in 2014-15, but that figure has already been beaten, with clubs having until 23:00 GMT on Monday to sign further players. England's 20 elite clubs have collectively spent more than £1 billion on new players in the season's two transfer windows, financial consultants Deloitte revealed as the mid-season transfer deadline neared on Monday. "We've seen Premier League clubs again use the January window to invest significantly in playing talent," said Dan Jones from Deloitte's Sports Business Group. "With a day left, the total gross spending this season has already reached £1 billion for the first time."

City names Guardiola as Pellegrini successor OUTGOING Bayern Munich coach, Pep Guardiola will take over from Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City on a three-year deal from the end of the season, the English

club announced Monday. "Manchester City can confirm that in recent weeks it has commenced and finalised contractual negotiations with Pep Guardiola to

City registers Iheanacho for Champions League NIGERIAN youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho has been rewarded with a place in the UEFA Champions League squad by Manchester City following his impressive performances for the EPL club. Iheanacho, who netted a treble last weekend in a cup game against Aston Villa at the Villa Park, has replaced recuperating Samir Nasri in a 25-man squad submitted by Manuel Pellegrini. "Yes, he Iheanacho will be in the squad,” said Pellegrini

ephants of Cote d’Ivoire to win the AFCON last year, has long been linked with coaching Nigeria since AFCON 2010 in Angola.

He is without a job after he was sacked by French Ligue 1 club Lille. Le Roy only recently quit as Congo coach. He has also worked in DR Congo, Cameroon and Senegal. Le Roy has also variously been linked with the Nigeria post over the years.

EPL clubs' transfer spending hits £1bn

on Kelechi's inclusion in the Champions League squad. “I have decided that. I told Samir Nasri I will take him out from the Champions League list because he needs two more months to be fit. “We need Kelechi, because with Wilfried Bony injured, we cannot afford any risks if Kun Sergio Aguero is injured. “So, we need Kelechi in the squad. “It was not a difficult decision, but it's always difficult to tell a player he will not

continue in the selections. “But I think Samir understood. He has already been injured for three months and he understands."

Iheanacho

become MCFC head coach for the 2016/17 EPL season onwards," the club said in a statement. "The contract is for three years. These negotiations were a re-commencement of discussions that were curtailed in 2012. "Out of respect for Manuel Pellegrini and the players, the club wishes to make its decision public to remove the unnecessary burden of speculation. "Manuel, who is fully supportive of the decision to make this communication, is entirely focused on achieving his targets for the season ahead and retains the respect and commitment of all involved with the leadership of the club." Guardiola announced last December that he would

leave current club, Bayern Munich in May after three years at the helm, with an intention to coach in England next season. The 45-year-old Guardiola notched up the treble of Champions League, German Cup and Bundesliga titles in 2013, but in the last two seasons, Bayern have exited the Champions League in the semi-final stage. The ex-Spain international previously coached Barcelona from 2008-12, leading the Catalan giants to domestic and Champions League glory in a remarkable run of success. The much-travelled Pellegrini, 62, signed for City in 2013, becoming the first Chilean to coach in the Premier League.

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. E mail: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com Website: www.tribuneonlineng.com MANAGING DIRECTOR / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR: DEBO ABDULAI. All Correspondence to P.O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712. ABC Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 2/2/2016.

Guardiola