4th August 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,560

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US declares 20 Nigerian states unsafe —P8

No alternative to a united Nigeria —Jonathan —Pp4,5

•Visits Buhari in Aso Rock •Yoruba leaders to Buhari: Let's restructure now to avert imminent disaster •Nothing wrong in restructuring —Gowon FEC approves new seaport for Badagry —P6 •Says N1trn lost to tax evasion by multinationals

President Muhammadu Buhari (right) welcoming former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday. PHOTO: NAN

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No alternative to a united Nigeria —Jonathan Visits Aso Rock, mums on anti-graft war Leon Usigbe - Abuja

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ORMER President Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, saying there is no alternative to a united Nigeria.

Fielding questions as he emerged from the closed door meeting, he said he was there to brief the president on his international engagements as a former Nigerian leader, adding that he had often visited at night.

On his role in resolving the current Niger Delta crisis, Jonathan said effort towards resolving it should be all encompassing, involving all stakeholders.

The former president stated: “It’s not just about me, but about all the traditional rulers, elders and opinion leaders who are of the Ijaw ethnic nationality.

“We have been in touch to see that peace reigns in the country. Those of you that have followed my talks when I was here will remember that my emphasis was that we need a united Nigeria and I always emphasise that Nigeria is great, not just about the oil, as so many countries produce more oil than Nigeria, but nobody notices them.

“We are great because of our size, the human resources we have, the diversity we have. If we fragmentise the country into small components, we will be forgotten by the world.

“That had been my focal position and without peace, there cannot be development anywhere in the world. We are working collectively to see these issues are resolved.”

He added: “You asked why I came to see the president

today. One key thing is that having being a head of a government, a former president, you become a state

property.

“That’s the privilege you have, but every privilege has its corresponding responsi-

bility and once you become a state property, most of your international engagement that has to do with

public addresses and some international assignments become a national assignment. You brief the presi-

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, exchanging pleasantries with the League Management Company (LMC) chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko.

With them is the chairman, Senate Committee on Sports and Social Development, Senator Joseph Obinna Ogba (right) and some members of the Football Club Owners Association of Nigeria, when the group visited the Senate President, in Abuja, on Wednesday.

Yoruba leaders to Buhari: Restructure Nigeria now to avert imminent disaster

By Kunle Oderemi THE Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF) has warned that further procrastination in restructuring Nigeria into true federation will pose an imminent danger for the country.

According to the organisation, the current uncertainty in the land provided veritable opportunity to restore true federalism through restructuring.

YUF, which comprises virtually all pan-Yoruba groups and parades eminent sons and daughters of the race, said restructuring the country against the backdrop of dizzying clamour by main stakeholders in the Nigerian project was the “legacy

the current administration owes future generation.”

A statement by its chairman, Right Reverend Emmanuel Gbonigi, made available to Nigerian Tribune, on Wednesday, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, said it was time for all Nigerians to put aside their differences and come together to salvage the country from an imminent disaster.

“This is the time for Nigerians to put aside their differences and come together to salvage our country from imminent disaster.

“There are basically two options open to us: the first is to do nothing, naively thinking that the country is on the path to recovery

and will shortly experience economic turnaround or accept that the country is at the precipice and must be salvaged, because Nigerians have no other country they can call home.

“If pragmatic solutions to address the current challenges confronting us are not sought, the country will continue to drift in directions similar to the events in the former Soviet Republic that led to her demise.

“This is why we demand urgent restructuring of Nigeria as the only viable option available to halt the uncertainty which hangs on the country like sword of Damocles.

“While as Nigerians, we mourn the collapse of the price

of crude oil, we must take solace in the fact that the decline in price of this commodity has offered us the golden opportunity to restructure our economy and country for enduring greatness, peace, unity, prosperity and progress.

“This assignment should not be performed by the National Assembly, rather, it is an assignment reserved for the stakeholders in the Nigerian project. We are in no way advocating the dissolution of the National Assembly for the purpose of this exercise.

“Rather, we demand that representatives of the various people of Nigeria to come together without preconditions to discuss all issues of statehood which

NDDC: How 1998 court order stopped FG from nominating non-indigenes Taiwo Adisa - Abuja NOMINATION of no fewer than two candidates, whose names were recently forwarded to the National Assembly as Board members of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) appeared to have run into a hitch, following the discovery of a 1998 order of the Federal High Court which stopped the government from nominating persons from non-oil producing areas of the state as nominees.

Indigenes of Ilaje area of Ondo State and leaders of Abia State have been protesting the nomination of indigenes of non-oil produc-

dent.

“Even when I was here, former presidents used to do same; they see me. I have been coming. Most times, I come in the night. That’s why you don’t see me.

“I came to brief the president about some of my engagements. As you are aware, I will be leading the African Union (AU) elections monitoring team to Zambia. I came to brief the president about some of these external engagements.

It is the tradition.”

The former president declined to comment on the ongoing anti-corruption war by the present administration, saying there were too many cases in court on the matter.

“I don’t want to talk about that one, because there are too many cases in court.

It will not be fair to make comments. I will talk at the appropriate time, when most of these things are resolved.”

ing areas of the states to the Board of NDDC. The Ilajes in Ondo State have rejected Mr Tokunbo Ajasin, while leaders of Abia State, including Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and Honourable Uzoma Abonta have also rejected the nomination of Mr Donatus Enyinna for the state on account of their being non-indigenes of oil-producing areas of the states as contained in the NDDC Act. President of the National Association of Ilaje (Gwama) Dynamic Patriots (NASIGDYP), Koseda Alfred Aganyebi, said in a statement that the provision of Section 2(1b) of the NDDC Act,

2000, which provides for the nomination of “one person who shall be an indigene of an oil-producing area to represent each of the nine oilproducing states i.e. Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers,” is a carryover from OMPADEC Act, adding that the order of the Federal High Court in 1998 was not vacated.

Justice Abdul Kafarati had, in a ruling restrained the Federal Government or its agencies from appointing a non-indegene of oil-producing area as representative of the state in the OMPADEC Board.

The court also restrained

the nominee from parading himself as representative of the state on the Board of the interventionist agency.

The court had ordered: “That the third defendants, her servants, agents and or privies are restrained from recognising, patronising, or however, allowing the fourth defendant to act as representative of Ondo State in the commission’s Board, take or participate in the taking of any decision affecting the interest of oil-producing communities of Ondo State, including the allocation, disbursement, determination and execution of projects or however, deal with the said fourth defendant in all mat-

ters affecting the interest of the oil-producing communities.”

The ruling, given by Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, was in respect of the nomination of one Mr Adeyinka Gbegudu as representative of Ondo State on the Board of OMPADEC by the regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar in 1998.

Some indigenes of oil-producing areas of Ondo State had taken the government to court, protesting the nomination of the state’s representative in OMPADEC on account of his not being a representative of oil-producing area of Ondo State.

shall result in a restructured Nigeria, where there shall be equity, justice, religious freedom, peace, security, prosperity and progress for all. This is the legacy President Buhari’s government owes future generation,” the organisation stated.

In the statement entitled: ‘This is the time to restructure Nigeria’, the YUF said there were many ominous signs that threatened the peace and stability of the country, which could only be resolved by returning Nigeria to a true federal structure.

While noting that all the enviable strides of the founding fathers of modern Nigeria had virtually fizzled out over the years, the YUF said it would be foolhardly to expect a paradigm shift in terms of national stability and integration, as well as prosperity now or the nearest future because of the current defective federal structure.

The statement read: “The present federal structure and the revenue sharing formula, where states go cap in hand to Abuja for monthly allocations has kept states perpetually dependent on federally collected revenues to fund as much as 90 per cent of their annual budget, resulting in states losing hundreds of billions of Naira annually in revenue, as the states are yet to develop the needed capacity to harness the huge internal revenue potentials available. continues pg5

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Yoruba leaders to Buhari: Restructure Nigeria now to avert imminent disaster continued from pg4

“The current revenue allocation formula is skewed in favour of the Federal Government, while states and local governments on whose shoulder the ultimate responsibility of providing basic necessities of life, such as roads, health care facilities, schools, water, markets, agricultural inputs, among others for the citizens rest are left cash-strapped and inhibited by the constitution from exploiting the full potentials of the abundant natural resources for sustainable development and the common good of the citizens. Daily, the responsibilities of the states and local governments are on the increase, because Nigerians reside in states and seek to access public facilities in states.

“During the era of high price of crude oil, states found it relatively easier to pay salaries and embark upon other

capital projects due largely to the quantum of revenue accruing to them. However, with the sharp decline in the price of crude oil, states began to experience difficulties in funding capital projects and paying salaries and pensions, as total revenue accruing to them at the Federation Account meetings fall far short of what is required to pay salaries and pensions of public servants.

“This scenario has led to states accumulating salaries and pension arrears running into several months, which incidentally constitute only a fraction of their debt profile. While the bailout fund received from the Federal Government has helped to reduce the salaries and pension arrears, it must be noted that it has also increased the level of the indebtedness of states. The bailout has not, in any way, fundamentally addressed the dwindling revenue profile of the states, thus mak-

ing the intervention a problem rather than a solution.

“This current federal system, which has it root in the 1999 Constitution as amended, has created a well-nourished and funded centre at the expense of the states which are compelled to implement federal policies, such as national minimum wage, irrespective of their revenue profile.

“In reality, many states exist today just to pay salaries and pensions of public officers, in spite of the fact that

THE Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered that Abiodun Agbele, an associate of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State be remanded in Kuje Prisons in Abuja, pending the determination of his bail application today.

Agbele and three others were on Wednesday, arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an 11-count charge bordering on money laundering of about N4.6 billion allegedly transferred from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd).

The other defendants are Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, De Privateer Limited and Spotless Investment Limited.

Agbele had been in the custody of the anti-graft agency since June 27, 2016.

The trial judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, made the remand order on Wednesday, after taking arguments from counsel on Abgele’s bail application moved by his lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome.

Ozekhome, while urging the court to grant his client bail on self recognition, said the prosecution had not laid any shred of evidence to support allegations that the defendant was a flight risk, adding that the onus was on them to show that if granted bail, he would not abscond trial.

He told the court that the applicant was arrested by the EFCC from his house and his

international passport, which he submitted as part of the conditions for his administrative bail was still with the commission.

Objecting to the bail application, counsel for the EFCC, Johnson Ojogbane, urged the court to deny Agbele bail on the ground that he would jump bail if granted.

He said the applicant was a flight risk and had perfected plans to flee the country before he was arrested, saying also that the applicant, in conjunction with a former

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Omoniyi Nalirat Aina now AKINDURO KEMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Dickson Sunday Agwu now DAVID SUNDAY. All former documents remain valid.

Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and general public take note.

dwindling funds accruing to them. Unfortunately, the states are not alone in this economic downturn, the Nigerian economy, in the last couple of years, had continued to deteriorate and the general indices do not show signs of recovery any time soon.”

The statement also noted: “The noise from the machines in the factories built by our founding fathers across the major cities of Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Onitsha and Aba, have all

gone silent due to poor management culture and dearth of new investment in modern production facilities to make them competitive.

“The daily spectacle of human traffic like tidal waves in these cities signaling the change of shifts has since fizzled out leaving in its wake unemployment, unpaid workers’ benefits, poverty, despair and crime. The industrial estates have become ghost villages and abode for dangerous reptiles, criminals and the homeless.”

Nothing wrong with restructuring… I did it in 1967— Gowon FORMER Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has said there is nothing wrong with restructuring the country, provided it is done within the context of one Nigeria.

Gowon said this, on Wednesday, when vice chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, She-

Court remands Fayose’s ally, Abiodun Agbele, in prison Sunday Ejike - Abuja

these public officers constitute less than 5 per cent of the total population of any state. State governments now fund capital projects with loans and since these projects are basic social infrastructural needs of the people, such as rural water schemes, schools, hospitals and roads, they yield no revenue to government.

“Ultimately, states are caught between servicing these loans, maintaining the project and paying salaries and pensions from the

Minister of Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, said to be at large, colluded to move and aid the escape of Olalekan Ogunseye, a principal suspect in the case out of the country and that if Agbele was granted bail, he would flee jurisdiction of the court.

The EFCC further submitted that prior to his arrest, the applicant was still in contact with the said Olalekan and plans had also been concluded to get him out of the country by Governor Fayose and Musiliu Obanikoro.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly Miss Kazeem Adenike Afusat now MRS. SUBAIR ADENIKE AFUSAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Kudaisi Emmanuel Abiodun now IREBAMI EMMANUEL ABIODUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

hu Sani, paid him a visit in Abuja.

According to thecableng, an online newspaper, Gowon recalled that Nigeria was restructured under his leadership as the head of state, with the creation of states in 1967.

“We can restructure within one Nigeria context. I did it in 1967; we created states to stop eastern Nigeria from seceding.

“We had to do something to ensure the fear of their seceding did not exist; a serious issue of a part of the country wanting to breakaway when we already lost a part to Cameroon.

“If we had allowed the Eastern region to go away, the map of Nigeria would have looked funny; it would have been tilted one way.

“So, we decided overnight to break the fear through

the creation of states. If we had to save the country that was the only way to do it.

“We also ensured that no state was too big or too small to threaten the unity of the country,” he said.

Commenting on his time as the number one citizen in the country, Gowon said “accident of history” made it possible for him to become head of state.

“What happened was the accident of history.

“When you have lost your leadership and there was crisis and you don’t know what to do and it happened that those within your constituency chose you, what would you do?

“I was lucky enough within the military at that time and all the officers knew me by reputation.

“I had no intention to become head of state, but it is

the opportunity; if opportunity presents itself and people ask you to do it, then do it.

“What I have achieved is (because of) God. I had never thought of becoming head of state, but there was a coup and all my senior colleagues were killed and I was the only one that survived.

“My plan was to rise in my profession and hopefully become a head in my profession, but that did not happen.

“I didn’t know what happened, but I had the duty and responsibility to ensure the coup in Lagos did not succeed,” he said.

He advised younger Nigerians to prepare themselves academically and morally to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

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FEC approves new seaport for Badagry Says N1trn lost to tax evasion by multinationals Leon Usigbe - Abuja

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HE Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the outline of business case for development of greenfield port facilities in Badagry, Lagos State.

This was as the council disclosed that Nigeria lost about N1 trillion to tax evasion and avoidance by multinational company over a period of time.

To stem the losses, however, FEC, on Wednesday, approved the multilateral competent agreement and the exchange of country by country report, which would give it a better grip on its tax laws, prevent tax evasions and avoidance by multinational companies.

Ministers of Culture and Information, Lai Mohammed; Transport, Rotimi Amaechi and that of Power, Housing and Development, Babatunde Fashola, briefed State House correspondents after FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mohammed said the whole essence of the agreement and the exchange of country by country report was to give the government a better grip on its tax laws and also to prevent tax evasions and avoidance by multinational companies.

“Where multinational companies operate in more than one country, it is quite easy for them to move profit from one territory to another where the tax laws is very favourable to them and what

has happened over the years is that the revenue companies have lost a lot of money.

“As at the last count, over $1 trillion has been lost over a period of time and the revenue companies have found that they were losing more

money in terms of tax evasion and avoidance than what they were even receiving as grants from multinational agencies.

“So, this is a law that provides that if a company like MTN or Nestle, for instance,

is operating in Nigeria, not only must he file returns on his activities in the country, he must also file returns on his activities in every other country that it is doing business, so that you can see whether there is any attempt

to hide figures,” he said.

He also expatiated on the outline business case for the development of greenfield port facilities at Badagry, saying it was basically the first step to approving the establishment of a new sea-

Jonathan ends political exile, meets with PDP BoT •Ignore Aug 17 national convention, Sheriff tells INEC •Don’t listen to him, Makarfi tells commission Leon Usigbe and Jacob Segun Olatunji -Abuja FORMER president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has apparently ended his political hiatus to wade into the ongoing leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The former president was scheduled to meet with the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the opposition party in Abuja on Wednesday night.

Since losing power, Jonathan had refrained from associating openly with his party, after initially announcing that he would take a one year break from politics.

Nearly 14 months after his ouster from office, he had decided to meet with the “conscience of the party,” while the leadership crisis had led to emergence of two factions of the party.

It is not clear whether he had reached out to the national caretaker committee led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi or claimant to the office of the national chairman, Senator Ali Sheriff.

Meanwhile, the Sheriffled faction of the PDP has urged the commission to ignore a letter by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee of the party, informing it of the proposed August 17 national convention.

This came as the Makarfiled committee pleaded with the commission not to listen to Sheriff and his cohorts.

In the letter by Sheriff, addressed to the chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, dated August 2 and made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Wednesday, he reminded the commission that the Makarfi-led caretaker committee “is illegal and has no powers under the PDP constitution to convene the party’s national convention.”

He insisted that the only body that “can call for and ratify activities culminating to a national convention of PDP is the National Executive Committee (NEC) headed by him, as enshrined in Article 31 (2)(a) of the \constitution of the

PDP.” Sheriff, therefore, urged the commission and the general public to note that “the PDP is not planning any national convention as he has not been so authorised by the National Executive Committee.”

In its own letter, entitled: “Re: Senator Sheriff’s letter to INEC: The Law and the Facts,” the Makarfiled committee urged the

commission not to listen to Sheriff and his cohorts, saying the letter “belongs to the garbage bin.”

In a statement signed by its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the committee declared that Sheriff “is merely acting the script of his pay masters,” while assuring that “ the caretaker committee will continue with its dogged determination to organise the best

FIVE people were confirmed killed on Tuesday, in a renewed outbreak of violence between Share community in Ifelodun Local Government Area and Tsaragi community in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The Nigerian Tribune also confirmed from the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, that five persons had also

been arrested over the incident The incident occurred while the state government was still working on the implementation of a White Paper on an earlier violent conflict between the two communities early this year, which claimed lives with property also destroyed.

Sources close to the two communities claimed that the victims of the Tuesday incident were mainly Nupes from Tsaragi, who were

residents at Obadare Village which belongs to Share.

The victims were identified as Aliyu Issah, Muhmini, Alhaji Saba, Madu Issa and Kadiri.

It was also gathered that prior to the attack, the Nupes had written an appeal letter to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, asking for his intervention.

They had claimed in the letter that they ran away from their settlement to

Taiwo Adisa and Leon Usigbe - Abuja FORMER president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has described former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, who turns 83 today, as a great asset to Nigeria.

In a congratulatory letter to Anenih, dated August 3, 2016, Jonathan noted the elder statesman’s “wisdom, patriotism and time-hon-

their ancestral homeland in the wake of the earlier attack on them, during the first clash between Share and Tsaragi people.

The letter, which was signed by Issa Aliyu and Jiya Aliyu, on behalf of Nupe community of Obadare, also pledged the readiness of the Nupe people to abide by the conditions of their Share hosts and requested to be allowed to return and harvest their crops which had been abandoned while they fled.

One dies as Edo LG workers protest in Benin Banji Aluko - Benin City A life was, on Wednesday, lost in Benin, the Edo State capital, during a mass protest organised by the state chapter of the National Union Local Government Employees (NULGE), to press home

their demand for the payment of their salary arrears of between two and 18 months.

The deceased was identified as Peter Ayewoh, a staff of Esan North East Local Government Area, who reportedly gave up the ghost, after slumping while carry-

ing out the mass action in company with the contingent from his council.

A one-minute silence was observed in honour of Ayewoh, whose body had been reportedly taken to Uromi in Esan North East Local Government Area.

national convention in the history of our great party.”

When contacted, Mr Nick Dansang, Deputy Director in charge of Voters Education and Publicity in INEC, said “Senator Sheriff wrote the commission a number of letters and in one of them, he pleaded with the commission not to recognise the candidate forwarded by the Makarfi-led faction of the PDP.”

Anenih, great asset to Nigeria —Jonathan oured commitment to the strengthening of democracy and national growth.”

The one-page letter read: “I wish to most sincerely congratulate you on your 83rd birthday. I am glad the Almighty God has blessed you with the grace of long life and good health, in accordance with your manifest dedication to national development.

“There is no doubt that you have been a great asset to our dear nation while serving her in various ca-

5 killed in renewed Share/Tsaragi communal clash in Kwara Biola Azeez - Ilorin

port in Badagry area.

Fashola said the Badagry port was long overdue, while Ameachi it would be implemented in years and, when completed, it would bring in a total of $2.558 billion into the system.

For about four hours, the protest and protesters shut down human and vehicular activities in parts of Benin metropolis like Sapele Road, Akpakpava Road, Mission Road, Forestry Road, Airport Road and the Ring Road, where they converged.

It was alleged that the Share people acceded to the request which prompted the Nupes to return to Obadare, adding that they were later attacked by people suspected to be from Share.

However, a source in Share community, who is also an indigene of the area, said the Tuesday attack was between Fulani and Tsaragi people and not between Share and Tsaragi communities.

Meanwhile, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has condemned the dastardly murder of some farmers in Share.

The governor, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable, saying no individual, or group of people, for whatever reason, had the right to take the law into his hands.

pacities, especially in the critical areas of politics, peace building and security systems.

“Nigerians and the people of your home state will continue to be grateful to you because of your wisdom, patriotism and time-honoured commitment to the strengthening of our democracy and national growth. You are a natural leader of the people and you have demonstrated that clearly over the years.”

Ibru laid to rest in Delta Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri THE body of the first civilian governor of Delta State, Chief Felix Ibru, was finally laid to rest at his country-home, Agbarha-Otor, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, on Wednesday.

The body was committed to the mother earth at 2.43 p.m.

Twenty-one gunshots were released by policemen on ceremonial uniform, as a mark of honour to the departed soul.

Eldest son of the deceased, Mr Paul Ibru, thanked everyone that commiserated and stood by the family through the mourning period.

He also thanked the Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, for the show of love.

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Lagosmetro

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

Cult clash leaves 6 dead in Ogun community •Only 2 died —Police •Residents flee homes Opeyemi Owoaseye

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gijo community in Ogun Sate was literally turned into a war zone on Wednesday when gunmen and members of a group engaged in a 15-hour battle that saw at least six people dead.

Lagos Metro gathered that the gunmen attacked the community at about 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday and continued shooting till about 12noon on Wednesday.

A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity stated that the group members were trying to avenge the death of one of their members.

“When we heard gun shots, we thought it was the police.

We later heard that a member of the group was shot dead by the gunmen. When the news of the death of one the group members got to the other members, they came out in large number to retaliate. Although we don’t know the genesis of the fight, but, we heard the sporadic shootings from the bus stop area, that was how people started running for their dear lives.

“As the gunmen were shooting, some people tried to escape but somehow they were shot,” he explained.

Another resident, simply identified as Mr Wale said, “After the attack, six people died before the day break. I left home yesterday to a safer place, all that I wanted to do, I could not do them because

my life is more important.

This morning, I tried to go back home thinking it would have subsided. I never knew it’s going to be another story entirely.

“The sporadic shooting lasted from 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday till about 12 noon on Wednesday. There is no

security at all, where are the police in this state? It is becoming an everyday thing in this area, gunmen attacking people. I think it is because this area is yet to be developed. People have locked down their shops and could no longer open it,” he said.

A landlady speaking with

Lagos Metro said that as a result of the reoccurrence of the attack, she has left the house she built to a rented apartment.

“Ogijo is now like a lion’s den that everyone is scared of and won’t want to live there due to the incessant killings and robbery,” she

added.

Ogun State Acting Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident.

He said, “It was just a fight between two rival cult groups. The police are on top of the situation to ensure calmness. Immediately

our men heard from Ogijo, they went into action and subdued them. It was not six people that died, it was two people that died. The area is now very calm. The police have made some arrest and also recovered some charms from them, but investigation is still going on.”

out of the state once and for all, even if it meant shutting down some locations where they seemed to be hibernating in terms of any commercial trade.

Governor Ambode made this vow on Wednesday when he received the Acting

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Idris Ibrahim, who was on a visit to the Lagos House, Ikeja.

The governor said the recent military onslaught in places such as Ikorodu, among others where such criminal elements had been

hibernating was yielding positive result, assuring that all efforts would be made to sustain the success recorded so far.

“Again, we need to sustain and ensure that these people do not go back to the creeks.

On our part as a government,

whatever it is that it takes to take the militants and vandals off Lagos, we are going to do it, if it means shutting down some locations where they seem to be hibernating in terms of any commercial trade, we would do it and make sure that we guarantee the lives of our people and whatever it takes in terms of financial support for the security agencies to sustain the success, we would do it,” he said.

Speaking further, Governor Ambode expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the military onslaught against the oil thieves in the affected areas, even as he also thanked the Nigeria Police and other security agencies “in our fight against the militants and vandals that we have embarked on in this Operation Awatse in the last one week.”

While thanking the Chief of Defence Staff and the Acting IGP for their joint effort in the fight against the attacks, Governor Ambode appealed for more police presence in the state to secure the lives and property of the over 22 million population in the state.

Speaking on the crime rate in the state and the need to secure waterways in the state, Governor Ambode specifically requested for more police patrol of the waterways, assuring that his administration would play its part by ensuring the welfare of officers in that line of duty.

...We will flush out militants, vandals from Lagos —Ambode Bola Badmus

Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has vowed that the state government would deploy its entire arsenal to ensure that militants and vandals threatening the peace are flushed

From left, acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris; Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Fatai Owoseni and Public Relations Officer of Ikeja Police Command, Dolapo Badmos, during the visit of the IGP to Lagos, on Wednesday. PHOTO: Nan

IGP to spend 2 days in Lagos Olalekan Olabulo The acting Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, on Wednesday relocated to Lagos State as a result of the rising insecurity in Lagos and Ogun communities.

The police boss is expected to spend two days to properly assess the situation and possibly find a lasting solution, especially to the activities of militants in the states.

According to the police boss, the X Squad of the force would be reactivated to tackle corruption not just in the police but also in government.

Idris said that the police

would deploy gun boats and other equipment to battle the rising insecurity around the nations’ waterways and added that the present leadership of the Nigeria Police Force is determined to effectively tackle other violent crimes like: kidnapping, cultism and the menace of Fulani herdsmen. He also noted that insecurity around the waterways has been a cause of serious concern to him and other members of the Police Management Team The Nigeria Police Force boss said these during a visit to the Lagos State Police

Command headquarters in Ikeja, on Wednesday.

The acting IGP, who was accompanied by two deputy Inspectors General of Police, Habila Joshua and Folorunsho Adebanjo stated that ef-

forts were in top gear by the police to tackle crimes in the creeks The police boss said “I have assessed police deployment there and we are trying to see how we can improve. We are

looking at ways to enhance the Marine Police Department.

These are the areas that we want to tackle, to see that we have deployment to the creeks from Lagos to Delta and up to Calabar.

Borehole, well water toxic –LASEPA Chukwuma Okparaocha Lagos residents have been warned of probable health hazards as a result of water pollution in wells and boreholes in 20 Local Government areas of Lagos State.

The warning was raised by the General Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection

Agency (LASEPA), Mr Adebola Shabi, in a media chat monitored by Lagos Metro in Lagos.

Mr Shabi while restating the resolve of LASEPA to ensure a pollution-free Lagos, noted that water pollution problem as observed in recent times as a result of in-depth analysis of water samples, suggested that well water in 20 Local Governments

(LGs) showed signs of pollution that could ultimately hamper residents’ health over time.

He attributed the development to the inadvertent exposure of well water to used petroleum products such as engine oil, especially the ones from generators; petrol, and kerosene, among others.

He said the results of water

samples which were obtained from about eight laboratories belonging to the agency, showed that the petroleum products, also referred to as hydrocarbons, were not only finding their way into wells and other sources of drinking water, but they were already reaching a level that should be of concern to everyone.

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

US declares 20 Nigerian states unsafe Sanya Adejokun -Abuja

U

NITED States government has listed 20 of Nigeria’s 36 states as unsafe and asked its citizens living in the country to stay away from them.

Among the 20, it cited Borno, Adamawa and Yobe as a complete no-go area as “the ability of the US Mission to provide assistance to US citizens” in those states remains severely limited.

Members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect recently renewed attackes in Borno State, while Fulani herdsmen have scaled up killing of villagers and farmers in Adamawa State.

The travel warning, published on Wednesday, replaced an earlier one dated February 5, 2016.

In addition to the three frontline states, the Department of State also “recommends against all but essential travel to the following states due to the risk of kidnappings, robberies, and other armed attacks: Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

“The Department also warns against travel in the Gulf of Guinea, because of the threat of piracy” the advisory published online added.

It added that based on safety and security risk assessments, the embassy maintains restrictions for travel

by U.S. officials to the states listed above; officials must receive advance clearance by the U.S. Mission for any travel to those states.

The statement particular-

ly urged vigilance around government security facilities; churches, mosques, and other places of worship; locations where large crowds may gather, such as hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, markets, shopping malls; and other areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travelers.

“Security measures in Ni-

geria remain heightened due to threats posed by extremist groups, and U.S. citizens may encounter police and military checkpoints, additional security, and possible road blocks throughout the country.

“Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have been displaced as a result of violence in the north.”

The State Department noted that kidnappings remained a security concern throughout Nigeria, as criminal elements across the country orchestrated kidnappings for ransom; Islamic extremists, operating predominantly in the North, also have been known to conduct kidnappings. Criminals or mili-

tants have abducted foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, from off-shore and land-based oil facilities, residential compounds, airports, and public roadways.

“Separatist groups have staged demonstrations in Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, and Rivers states, some of which have turned violent.

Army arrests high profile Boko Haram terrorist

By Chris Agbambu with Agency Report THE Nigerian Army, on Wednesday, said it had arrested a high profile suspected Boko Haram terrorist, at Sabon Gari, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.

This was contained in a statement signed by the acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, and made available to newsmen in Abuja.

He said troops of “Operation Lafia Dole’’ with assistance of Vigilantes on routine checks, identified and arrested the terrorist, at

Sabon Gari, Damboa Local Government Area, Borno State.

“On Tuesday, August 2, at about 8.30 a.m., preliminary investigation shows that the suspected terrorist kingpin was arrested as he was trying to flee to Birnin Kebbi, from Sambisa forest.

“The troops recovered a Gionee cell phone and a fake SAIE/JIBWIS identification card to perfect his escape and the sum of N7, 900,’’ it said.

In a related development, troops also intercepted another suspected Boko Haram terrorist, on DamboaBale Road.

He said he was on his way to voluntarily surrender to the troops in Damboa, because he was tired of fight-

2016 Hajj: Saudi Arabia disqualifies 3 Nigerian air carriers THE National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), on Wednesday, said the three carriers disqualified from transporting Nigerian pilgrims for the 2016 Hajj were those not cleared by the Saudi Arabian aviation authorities.

Alhaji Mohammadu Goni, Head of Aviation of NAHCON, made this known at the commission’s Headquarters

ISIS names new Boko Haram leader THE Islamic State, better known as ISIS, has announced a new leader for the insurgent group, Boko Haram.

ISIS referred to Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who was previously the spokesman for Boko Haram, as the new leader replacing Abubakar Shekau.

Mr al-Barnawi is featured in the latest issue of an ISIS

magazine, the BBC has reported.

The magazine makes no reference to Shekau.

The eccentric Shekau was last seen in a Boko Haram propaganda video in March 2015, one of many footages released in his years of leading a brutal campaign against the Nigerian state.

In one of the videos, Shekau pledged allegiance to

ing for no just cause.

Usman said both suspects were under further interrogation.

“Militant groups have destroyed oil production infrastructure in Bayelsa and Delta states.

“U.S citizens are advised to avoid the areas of these states where these incidents have occurred.

“Attacks by pirates off the coast of Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea have increased substantially in recent years.

“Armed gangs have boarded both commercial and private vessels to rob travelers.

“The Nigerian Navy has limited capacity to respond to criminal acts at sea,” it concluded.

ISIS, which was originally based in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS has several offshoots now in other countries including Libya.

Shekau took over as Boko Haram leader after the group’s founder, Muhammad Yusuf, died in police custody in July 2009.

Boko Haram became more deadly and radicalised under his leadership.

in Abuja, while answering questions from newsmen.

He listed the affected airlines as Dornier Aviation Nigeria AEP Ltd; Top Brass and Azman Air Services.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the Federal Government had approved six airline operators to transport intending pilgrims for the exercise.

Goni, however, said the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA) cleared only three airlines out of the six nominated by the Federal Government.

He said the airlines approved by the Saudi authorities awere: Med-View Airlines Ltd.; Max Air Ltd. and Fly-Nas Air (Saudi Arabian designated carrier).

Goni explained that only these three airlines were designated to fly the route between the two countries.

He said that NAHCON had made concerted efforts to ensure that Saudi Arabian Government allowed the three disqualified airlines to participate in the exercise, but to no avail.

He said the commission forwarded the report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Aviation for diplomatic intervention, but that Saudi Arabia did not grant its request. “ In fact, a delegation was send to appeal to Saudi Arabian Authority to allow the three carriers fly their route, but they insisted that those airlines must acquire designation status because they only applied as charter flights,” he said.

Goni also said it was a standing rule that all Hajj participating countries must abide by the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority’s condition, in order to participate in the Hajj.

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

businessnews Naira now N500 to one pound at parallel market 12

Chima Nwokoji -Lagos

T

he Nigerian naira recorded mixed performance across market segments as it strengthened at the interbank market, but crashed at parallel market, on Wednesday, August 3.

The local currency’s parallel (black) market value which had slipped to N381/$1 on Tuesday dropped a shocking 9 points to trade at N390/$1 yesterday, even as it also crashed to N500 to one pound and N422 to one Euro at the same market.

Contrariwise, the local currency on Wednesday appreciated at the interbank segment of the market as it closed at N311.06, compared to N316.83 to the dollar it exchanged for on Tuesday.

This is even as the naira exchanged for N415.8606 to the Pound Sterling and N352 to the Euro on Tuesday.

The naira has been under persistent pressure as dollar scarcity continues to weigh on the local currency at both the parallel and interbank forex markets. Economic and financial experts said inadequate forex liquidity at the interbank market was taking a toll on the parallel market.

Currency analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited are worried that the increasing gap between the interbank market rate and the parallel market rates may create arbitrage and round tripping opportunities soon, even as they said there is likely to be sustained pressure on the naira as the green back remains in short supply.

In the just concluded week, the Nigerian naira depreciated against the U.S. greenback at all the foreign exchange market segments, as dollar liquidity remained tight at the interbank market. The local currency depreciated

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

against the United States’ greenback, week-on-week by 7.02 per cent to N316.13/USD amid strain in dollar supply as Central Bank of Nigeria did not intervene in the Second-

ary Market.

Meanwhile, CBN settled $697 million in matured one month futures contract, being total settlement amount to its banking counterparts

at N250/USD. Foreign exchange traders executed 51 deals worth $189.37 million between Monday and Thursday. The local currency also depre-

ciated at the Bureaux De Change and the parallel (or “black”)market segments by 1.37 per cent and 0.80 per cent to N370/$ and N378/$ respectively as unmet dollar demand continued to spill into the alternative market segments.

NITDA, Nigerian Consulate in UAE to set up Investment Information Helpdesk

By Bode Adewumi

From left: Mr Abubakar Suleiman, Executive Director, Finance & Strategy, Sterling Bank Plc; Mr Yuan Ru Jun, Chairman, China Africa Finance and Industry Cooperation Summit and Ambassador Shola Onadipe, Nigerian Ambassador to China, after a meeting in Abuja recently.

$1bn net assets: CBN bars unlicensed International Money Transfer Operators •As WorldRemit kicks Chima Nwokoji-Lagos

There are strong indications that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed licensed local correspondent money transfer operators in Nigeria to stop dealing with unlicensed International Money Transfer Operators.

Though the apex bank warned Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to beware of the unwholesome activities of some of the unlicensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) in Nigeria, industry watchers said the suspension may not be unconnected with failure of these

operators to have minimum net assets of $1 billion set by the bank.

The CBN guidelines specify that any company offering mobile money transfers must have minimum net assets of $1 billion and have been operating for more than 10 years.

This warning the apex bank said had become necessary because of the activities of some unregistered IMTOs, whose modes of operation were detrimental to the Nigerian economy.

In a press statement signed by the Assistant Director, Corporate Communications CBN, Isaac Okorafor, the apex financial

NEPC concludes plans to promote Nigerian foods aboard The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has intensified its efforts to promote Nigerian cuisines in restaurants in key commercial centres of the world, according to an official.

Its Executive Director, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, told the News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that the council had met with stakeholders in those restaurants.

He said that the last leg of the meeting would be finalised in London and Houston.

He said the Nigeria Diaspora Export Programme was conceived by the council to track and use Nigerians in the Diaspora to leverage on them as the first export destination for the

at N279/$ on Wednesday, 27 July, 2016. The expired contract was replaced by a new one year contract, naira/dollar July 19, 2017,with a total amount on offer of $1 billion

Nigerian Tribune

country’s goods.

“In the UK, we have more than two million Nigerians living there; they are importers of many Nigerian products particularly food products. So we see no reason why we cannot sell our foods abroad.

“What we have before is suit case exporters taking goods to Europe, some for sale, some for personal use.

But that is not enough.

“Houston and London have been selected because of the high concentration of Nigerians in both cities,’’ Awolowo said.

He said the programme would create a platform to enable quick and easy penetration of products and services of Nigerian origin into the global market.

The director said it would also involve the promotion of a “standard menu” for all Nigerian restaurants in different parts of the world.

He said the first leg was Nigerian citizens abroad, explaining that there will be a warehouse where Nigerian products would be stored for people to purchase.

Awolowo said the idea would be possible in UK and Europe because of their good infrastructure and transportation system.

“Once the products are moved to one port, they can be moved everywhere,’’ he said.

He also said that Nigeria would have heritage sites in London, Houston and Atlanta.

regulator noted that all financial service providers in Nigeria, just as in other jurisdictions, are required to be duly licensed in order to protect both customers and the financial system as well as to ensure the credibility of financial transactions.

In its reaction to this, WorldRemit, a leading online remittance provider, has called for urgent restoration of money transfers to Nigeria as allowing only Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria to continue operations unhindered might create a monopoly in the remittance market.

WorldRemit is a leading provider of international money transfers through its mobile apps and web service. Its global headquarters are in London, UK with regional offices in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer WorldRemit, Ismail Ahmed, in an email response to Nigerian Tribune explained that until

now, money transfer operators such as WorldRemit operated via partnerships with licensed local correspondents based in Nigeria, but now, such transactions have been stopped.

He admitted that the CBN has not put out a public directive banning money transfers by other MTOs, but has contacted Nigerian companies on an individual basis “telling them to cease working with International Money Transfer Organisations (IMTOs) such as WorldRemit.

“Only three companies: Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria are said to be allowed to continue operations, following an extreme and unexpected move by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“This move is arbitrary, inexplicable and hugely detrimental to the Nigerians in diaspora who rely on a hundreds of money transfer companies and banks, providing them with choice, convenience and competitive pricing.”

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Nigeria foreign mission in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through its Consulate in Dubai have identified an Investment Information Helpdesk(IIH) as a critical resource tool that can be used to help prospective offshore investors get adequate answers to their enquiries in real-time on how to invest in and enter Nigeria’s economy, particularly the ICT sector.

While comparing notes on fast-tracking the ease of doing business in Nigeria for foreign companies through the UAE, acting Director-General of the NITDA, Dr Vincent Olatunji and the acting Nigeria Consul General, Dubai, UAE, Ambassador Babagana Wakil, both agreed that it was imperative to set up an IIH at the consulate in Dubai where prospective investors seeking answers on the entry requirements to doing technology related businesses in Nigeria could be quickly availed of such information directly from an equivalent IIH in NITDA, Abuja.

The officials agreed to quickly engage the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), and other related statutory bodies.

Airtel unveils SmartConnect 2.0 for new customers Akin Adewakun -Lagos

T e l e communica tions services provider, Airtel Nigeria, on Wednesday, announced the introduction of SmartConnect 2.0, a new offer which offers prepaid customers six times the value of every recharge.

According to the company’s Head of Public Relations, Mr Femi Adeniran, the new offering, is specifically designed to give more

value and enrich the lives of telecoms consumers in the country.

Describing SmartConnect 2.0, as specially created for new prepaidcustomers, joining the Airtel Network, Mr Adeniran noted that Nigerians who desire to enjoy the benefits of the newly introduced package will need to buy a new Airtel SIM card, register it and recharge to enjoy six times the value of every recharge.

Commenting on Smart-

Connect 2.0, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Ahmed Mokhles, said the product reaffirms Airtel’s commitment to offer a unique telecommunication experience and amazing opportunities to new customers on the network.

Mokhles further explained that Smart Connect 2.0 gives smart connectivity and choice to customers on the network to keep everyone connected to their families, friends and loved ones.

13

editorial

I

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

The dangerous ride on train roofs

T has become obvious that taking a ride on train roofs constitutes a veritable danger to the riders especially as the risk has crystallized into fatal accidents time and again. It is however curious and unsettling that many commuters, especially in Lagos, are unperturbed, as they continue to indulge in this dangerous act. Though some simpletons make that choice daily, riding on a train’s roof is a cheap way to die or get permanently disabled. The motivation for shunning the cabin and instead opting for the roof of the train may differ from one jurisdiction to the other and among individuals, but this illegal act is known to be rampant in many emerging economies and among the low income earners.

Some commuters who indulge in train surfing claim that they do so to catch fresh air and also have the opportunity, albeit a risky one, to have a panoramic view of the communities along the routes of the train. For some, it affords the opportunity of a free, even if suicidal, ride by escaping the purchase of valid train tickets. Another group sees it as a way to escape the madness in the overcrowded, stuffy and foul smelling cabins. And yet for some, the roof of the train offers them temporary immunity while they use soft and hard drugs. The latter category allegedly uses drugs ostensibly to gain stamina and ‘chase away fear.’

Whatever the motives may be for commuters to take a hitch on the train, the risk exposure is the same. Experience has shown that the first casualties, and often times the only ones when accidents occur are usually those who hang on the doorways, rooftops or in-between two coaches of a moving train. They fall off the train and get brutally killed or maimed. This has happened time and again in different parts of Lagos. And there seems to be no end in sight as all efforts supposedly made by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and the police have yet to rein in the suicidal practice, particularly in the corporation’s Lagos intra-city routes. The Ijoko, Ogun State to Ido terminal route in Lagos Mainland is arguably the most notorious of the routes, with scruffy looking young men taking positions on train rooftops and the gangways even before the cabins are full to capacity.

Self-inflicted deaths and life threatening injuries currently associated with railway transportation in Nigeria have to stop. Authorities of the NRC and the Nigeria Police must

show more sincerity in the task of checking the criminal act of hanging on a moving train. Tickets must not be sold beyond the capacity of the cabins. It is common to see 180 people or more in a cabin which was designed to accommodate 90 passengers. When the cabins are overcrowded and stuffy, some uninformed passengers tend to make the bad judgment of hanging on moving trains, since they have valid tickets.

It would also appear that much of the issue is around enforcement of the law and the willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that the law is complied with. For instance, virtually all the incidents of hanging on the trains by some passengers reportedly happen as from 5 p.m. when the police are said to have closed officially. It seldom happens in the morning or afternoon when the police are on hand to apprehend recalcitrant passengers. The question,therefore, is why the police attached to the Railway Corporation can’t extend their closing time beyond 5 p.m. when it is common knowledge that this is the time when security and safety breaches become heightened?

Ultimately, however, the veritable issue to be tackled headon is the lack of congruence between the demand and supply of train services. Currently, demand outstrips supply and the operators seem incapable of managing the situation.

There are reports that the ticket checkers and the train security officials sometimes discretely advise stubborn passengers with valid tickets but without spaces for them in the cabins to go to the rooftops where there is nothing to latch onto for support except the rolling air. This is very wrong. Hopefully, the current administration’s vow to revitalize and boost railway transportation in the country will help to bridge the supply-demand gap which is partly at the root of the bumpy and potentially suicidal ride that many Nigerians have on the train on daily basis.

But while we expect more trains and coaches to be provided by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the NRC should launch an aggressive enlightenment campaign against dangerous ride on trains while the police should enforce the extant law prohibiting people from hanging on a moving train. Ignorant and stubborn passengers should not be allowed to continue to kill and maim themselves in this day and age.

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

SEND YOUR SHORT MESSAGES TO: 08054005323, 08055001746

yournews

•Creativity at its best!... PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

Kudos to Kwara State Police Command I want to commend the Kwara State Police Command for the good work it is doing in tackling crime in the state, especially for its prompt response to distress calls.

Precisely on July 21, 2016, I was travelling from Ogbomoso to Ilorin, but on the expressway, just across Ote Town, I encountered armed robbers who tried to stop my car, but I drove past them with excessive speed.

However, by the time I got to Eyenkorin, I saw a police check-point there, and I reported the incident to the officers on duty.

To my surprise, when I was returning to Ogbomoso, I saw four police vans at the spot where the armed robbers tried to attack me earlier in the day.

This showed that the police promptly responded to the information I gave them concerning the robbery incident.

•Ayo Adeniran, 08069293753

Ikorodu attacks: Saluting the military

I

want to commend the Nigerian military for finally deciding to tackle the militants who have been attacking innocent Nigerians in Lagos and Ogun riverine communities. These militants were responsible for the oil bunkering in these communities, and on several occasions, they had

killed law enforcement agents who had gone to curb their activities.

However, when the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came on board, the security agencies, particularly the Navy, put in extra efforts to curb the activities of these criminals, and seeing that their sources of live-

lihood had been curbed, they turned on residents of the communities close to them. They raped women, killed men, and for a long time, we thought nothing would be done to bring them to justice. I hope the ongoing military action in these areas can be sustained.

It is also important for

Unemployment: How to create jobs AFTER studying the economic model of Germany, I discovered that there is a lot we can learn from them.

In Nigeria, we focus more on paper qualifications and not the skills to thrive in the workplace.

In Germany, all vocational skills can lead to degrees, and as a result, practitioners see themselves as well qualified to practice their profession. In Nigeria, there are no tertiary courses for professions like barbing, hair-dressing, tailoring, plumbering, among others. As a result, some people tend to look down on practitioners of these professions as being uneducated, despite the fact

that they are skilled.

As said earlier, Nigeria is a country that values only paper qualifications, and that is why we have been producing graduates who have not been useful to the development of the country. I hope we

can change our orientation, while those in charge of education can come up with ways through which vocational courses can be included in our tertiary institutions.

•Fidelis Agbor, 08029518875

law enforcement agents to secure the release of the Oniba of Iba, Oba Goriola Oseni, who was abducted in his palace last month, as

well as other victims in the captivity of the criminals.

•Jimoh Mumin, 08034435211

Still on the Senate forgery case THE issue of forgery levelled against the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, should be halted for now.

We should be pre-occupied with issues that will move the country forward, but it is unfortunate that this case is affecting the performance of the Senate.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is only con-

cerned with issues that are unnecessary and inimical to the development of the country.

The justice minister should not distract these two principal Senate officials, so that they can face the task before them.

It is high time we did away with sentiments in our political system.

•Lawson Iyayi, 08059412659

FG, pay state civil servants directly from bailout fund PERMIT me to use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to disburse the salary arrears of state civil servants directly to them instead of through the governors.

When the last bailout fund was released to the states, most of the gover-

nors used it to settle the debts they were owing contractors and banks, and as a result, only a month’s salary arrears was paid to civil servants.

Now that the governors have been requesting for further bailout, with N90billion being set aside

for each state to access, it is necessary the Federal Government realises that the fund could be mismanaged again.

Therefore, the Federal Government should not just leave the funds in the care of state governors. I hope the Federal Govern-

ment can work with state governments to disburse the fund directly to the civil servants.

The Federal Government should not also forget retirees who are also suffering.

•Tayo Ishola, 08062086668

15

opinion

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Low power supply: Looking beyond scapegoating

By Ikoegu Oke

N

OT a few Nigerians have expressed dissatisfaction with the current performance of the power sector under the ministerial stewardship of Mr. Babatunde Fashola. They seem to think that his seemingly magical transformation of Lagos State as governor would easily be replicated in the power sector, resulting in improved power generation and the attendant improvement in power supply nationwide.

Needless to say that this has not been the case, and such people, perhaps justifiably inpatient due to our long ordeal with inadequate power as Nigerians, have repeatedly taken the minister to task, asking when the seemingly endless promise of improved power will become reality under his watch.

On July 6, 2016, the peak and off-peak generation from the 29 power stations in the country was 3,260.8 and 2,257.4 megawatts respectively. To call this embarrassing for a country of 170 million people that contemplates economic progress and industrialisation is an understatement, in a world where evidence shows that the countries with the strongest economies, which are also the most industrialised, like the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia and France – that is, the G8 countries, and not excluding China – have the highest net electricity generation, relative to the strength of their economies and the degree of their industrialisation.

In short, the more electricity these countries can generate and distribute successfully, the stronger their economies and the greater the extent of their industrialisation, with China leading the pack with its 2015 generation of 5,810,500 gigawatt hours of electricity, followed by the United States’ and the European Union’s 4,297,300 and 3,166,000 respectively.

In fact, some critics of the Buhari government and other genuinely concerned Nigerians seem to be trouncing Fashola’s image in what I would call a blame-the-minister game being played with cynical gusto. And they celebrate their victory, it would seem, by circulating such images of the minister on social media platforms in which he is depicted almost in a silhouette, his features discernible from faint white dots and tracings, and labelled “Minister of Darkness” – a reflection of the Nigerian penchant for creating humour out of national distress, and a valuable component of their survival toolkit perhaps. For some would argue that the

toxin of grieving over their seemingly interminable hardship, or other forms of humourless reactions, would worsen the misery imposed on them by a largely dysfunctional system marked by extensive infrastructural decay.

But Fashola is not the only victim – yes, I consider him a victim – of this sort of blame game. It had begun at the onset of the government he is currently serving as Minister of Power, Works and Housing, with the well-orchestrated censure of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) – another victim, I think – for allegedly overseeing the privatisation of the power sector which the critics of the bureau and the privatisation – with the evidently poor knowledge or ignorance of what transpires in the power sector that some of their criticisms reflect – blamed for the current woes of the power sector.

Ironically, such critics seem to conveniently ignore the fact that it is also after the privatisation and under Fashola as Minister of Power that the country attained its highest net power generation to date, a new peak generation and the highest maximum daily energy of 5,074.7 megawatts and 109,372 megawatt hours respectively.

More surprisingly, such critics seem uninterested in asking a pertinent question, namely: “If Fashola’s supposed ‘incapacity’ and the privatisation of the power sector by the BPE are to blame for the current decline in power generation in the country, how come the country recorded this new milestone under Fashola as Minister of Power and after the privatisation?”

Of course, if they asked the question they would have to look elsewhere for the reasons for the current dissatisfactory state of power in the country rather than pursue the scapegoating, as it were, of the minister and the privatisation agency.

And the major snag with this type of censoriousness is that it ascribes the problem to the wrong cause, diverts attention from identifying the right cause, derails proper troubleshooting, and ultimately reduces the chances of finding a solution to the problem where it does not completely destroy that possibility.

In medical terms, this is comparable to attributing a disease to a wrong cause which might result on administering the wrong medication with predictable consequences for the patient. I think those who blame the privatisation of the power sector for our current power problems and recommend its reversal as the solution and those who attribute the problem to Fashola should take a special note of this analogy and its hint at their behaviour as counterproductive, a disservice to the clarity needed to diagnose the problem accurately. We must look beyond the scapegoating implied by such blames to find a lasting solution to the current low power generation and supply being experienced nationwide.

Behind the current power situation is the fact that there are forces determined to keep it as it is: poor and dissatisfactory to all well-meaning Nigerians; and which profit politically or otherwise from the abnormality, forces allied to the notorious “Nigerian factor”. They are not unrelated to those Fashola’s immediate past predecessor as Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, famously described as “demons” in the power sector at his Senate screening for the post, and promised to defeat.

But as we all know, they ended up giving him as good run for his enthusiasm, almost completely frustrating his efforts to improve power generation and nearly obliterating it close to the end of his tenure through acts of sabotage perpetrated by their vandalism franchise which has remained active during Fashola’s tenure.

In effect, we seem trapped in a vicious cycle regarding the poor performance of the power sector. And it is a problem that far more than ministerial intervention is needed to solve permanently.

It is the “factor” attributed to us Nigerians by ourselves that is responsible. And as Nnaji used to say, Nigerians have to decide whether they want stable electricity or not. And they won’t be deciding that they want it by condoning those who sabotage power production because the resultant failure gives them cause to castigate their ministers or governments and call for their replacement with their preferred options, or benefits them in other unscrupulous ways. At the root of the problem is lack of patriotism.

•Oke is an Abuja-based public affairs analyst.

A case for special courts

By Charles Anyiam

THAT the judiciary system has failed Nigerians in more ways than one is more than an established and immutable fact. Stories of corruption and corrupt practices among lawyers and judges are rife, while apologists make excuses for the iniquities of our men and women of the bar and the bench. That the current administration has not moved against the judicial structure as presently constituted in Nigeria one year after it took office still beats me.

I thought that by now our judicial system should have been one of the major national institutions to undergo relevant scrutiny and sanitisation, if the ongoing anti-corruption campaign is to be vigorously executed.

This is the same system that is notorious for its complicity in various cases of the miscarriage of justice, graft, political meddlesomeness and criminal antipathy. And, that the anti-graft agencies have not extended their tentacles to expose and arrest corrupt judges and lawyers remains one of the surprises of the current dispensation. Even the most daft among us know that our judiciary needs to be overhauled. That is the perception and reality on the ground in today’s Nigeria. And as part of the preamble to this commentary, let me quickly add that some of us are old enough to remember the golden days of Nigerian jurisprudence when it was the envy of many other countries and our luminaries were widely celebrated by their peers around the world.

That corruption and corrupt practices have festered in Nigeria find their roots largely in the decadence of our judiciary. It is absolutely disheartening to say that the Nigerian justice system has of late been up for sale, and that judgments are most often returned in favour of the highest bidder while the fate of some of the cases are decided at social clubs, golf courses and tennis courts. That’s why some years ago, on December 17, 2009, a judge, Marcel Awokulehin, sitting at a Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, discharged and acquitted a former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori of all of a 170-count charge of corruption, only for the ex-governor to be later hunted down

by British authorities, extradited from the UAE to the United Kingdom to be convicted on same and related charges for which he sits in jail today in Her Majesty’s prison.

That Ibori verdict marked the tipping point for the integrity of Nigerian jurisprudence, thus destroying any hope of ever restoring any of the vestiges of nobility to the deeply troubled Nigerian judiciary. That institution has since not recovered from the damage from the Asaba charade. With that was the dissipation of the hope of the common man and woman to ever find justice in a Nigerian court. Not that we all did not know it, but the unbridled arrogance with which that disgraceful judgment was thrown in our faces was legendary, and stunk. And still stinks.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian court system is strewn with shameful cases of judicial travesty. All that an accused needs to get away with murder in Nigeria is to have the financial muscle and the societal mooxie. And the sort of ominous cloud under which justice is dispensed in Nigeria creates a perfect cover for most of Nigeria’s big men, many of who are outright thieves, tax evaders and wheeler-dealers.

And we have witnessed with disgust how Nigerian courts have been nothing short of a theatre of the absurd where bails and adjournments are frivolously granted, thus bucking the wheel of justice. We have also heard of Nigerian judges whose ostentatious lifestyles defy logic and commonsense.

That’s why the recent statement credited to a top legal expert on anti-corruption about the plan to set up special courts whose

jurisdiction is limited to a set of crimes including corruption sounded like music to my ears.

At a lecture of the Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents recently, the respected constitutional lawyer blamed legal practitioners and the judicial system for the long delays in the prosecution of a number of corruption cases in the country.

In Nigeria, the virulence with which corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of society cannot be checked by conventional methods. I am a firm believer in employing extra-judicial measures – when need be – in solving societal ills. And I maintain that corruption to the health of the Nigerian nation is more deadly than all the militancy and insurgencies put together.

Let’s accept it: We are a corrupt nation. As a drastic situation, corruption demands a drastic solution. Again, I believe that President Muhammadu Buhari has a rendezvous with history. His legacy will rise and fall on his anti-corruption record.

However, addressing State House staff recently, his pledge to Nigerians to vigorously sustain the ongoing war against corruption proved reassuring, especially in the face of all the scheming to discredit the campaign by means of political blackmail.

Hate him or love him, Buhari boasts of an impeccable world renowned anti-corruption credential. According to him: “I have never in my life believed in corruption. If we make any mistake in what we are doing and compromise our integrity, the country will be further dragged back.

“We’ll not touch anybody that did not touch public funds. If you behave yourself, you will sleep soundly, your children and families will enjoy respect. But if you have short-changed the treasury, you will be caught and you’ll have your day in court.” he told Nigerians.

In conclusion, I doubly submit that the establishment of special courts for special crimes, chiefly corruption, is imperative and that the cleansing of the Nigerian judicial system is matter of national importance. And it is an exercise that must be carried out with clinical dispatch if the country is not be further dragged back.

•Anyiam, a journalist, lives in the USA.

16

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Tola Adenubi

m:07068476673 e:adenubiadetola@yahoo.com

PCC chairman urges NPA to get priorities right Stories by Tola Adenubi - Lagos

T

HE Chairman of the Ports Consultative Council (PCC) Otunba Kunle Folarin has urged the new Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman to ensure the agency get its priorities right as regards the agency’s five years strategic plan and its role as landlord in the ports.

Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune in an exclusive chat, Folarin explained that it is important that the new NPA Managing Director knows her priorities as she

NIWA to draw roadmap for investments in inland waterways THE National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has lamented that the potential in inland waterways are still grossly underutilised, even as it has vowed to come up with a roadmap on how the public and private sector can key into the sector and harness the potential earnings.

Managing Director of NIWA, Mr Gus Mustapha disclosed this in Lagos, recently at the celebration of the 2016 African Day of the Seas and Oceans organised by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Mustapha who was represented by the Lagos Area Manager of NIWA, Mr Sambo Mu’azu, said in a goodwill message that as Nigeria is battling economic recession due to dwindling revenue from oil, there is need to diversify the income base of the fledging economy by focusing attention on maritime.

He said that NIWA had between 2009 and 2013 been overseeing the capital and maintenance dredging of the River Niger from Warri in Delta State to Baro in Niger State. He said with the seaports in Warri and Port Harcourt, river ports in Onitsha, Oguta, Lokoja and Baro, the environment is ripe for the private sector to key into the maritime subsector of the economy, providing the critical link to domestic and international trade.

He said this would generate huge revenues for government and investors alike, in addition to the promotion of trade and commerce, job opportunities and employment creation, institutional development and the promotion of the tourism and leisure industry.

“the NPA needs to improve the infrastructure and superstructure of the ports.

“The NPA needs to also introduce a workable port community system that will link all stakeholders together. The agency has to also create a regime of technical regulation as far as harbour services are concerned.

“We know the NPA has done infrastructure renewal of the common area in the ports, introduced IT in the port system, increased the rate of productivity in harbour services and acquired more tug boats. What is needed now is to continue to implement their landlord roles in those areas that are yet to be done.”

The PCC Chairman further stated that, “the Hadiza Bala Usman led NPA ought to as a matter of priority ensure the competitiveness of Nigeria ports; lobby the National Assembly for the quick passage of the Ports and Harbours Bill; examines issues of maritime security; engage stakeh0olders on their needs and work out consensus and solutions; create sustainable infrastructure at the ports; step up revenue generation models and block all leakages; and improve the quality of From right, General Manager, SIFAX Haulage and Logistics, Mr Saheed Lasisi; Acting Managing Director, Ports and Cargo Handling Services service delivery and port producLimited, Alhaji Mohammed Bulangu; Group Managing Director, John Jenkins; Executive Director, Human Resources and Administration, Dr Fola tivity amongst others.” is new in the nations maritime sector.

According to him, “the five year strategic plan is a priority programme and project which the new MD needs to decide on.

She has to decide what would be her priorities. Will it be modernisation of the port? Will

it be provision of intermodal transport? Will it be linking all the ports together with the railway system? Will it be development of greenview ports? Will it be improvement of the Free Trade Zones?

“The new Managing Director will have to come out with a

blueprint because there are a lot of issues that can be in a priority plan. It is those plans that will become strategic to the development of the port environment and actualisation of the mandate of the NPA under her.”

On NPA role as the landlord of the ports, Folarin explained that,

Rogers-Saliu and General Manager, SIFAX OffDock, Mr Oliver Omajuwa , all of SIFAX Group at the Group’s mid-year press parley in Lagos, recently

Railway workers threaten industrial action over monetised accommodation WORKERS of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NURW) have threatened to embark on industrial action if the corporations management fail to honour a court ruling which states that housing properties of the NRC be sold to the workers.

Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune in an exclusive interview, the President-General of the NURW, Comrade Saidu Garba bemoaned the delay in the implementation of the court ruling granted since January 2016.

According to him, “we have a court judgment which we won concerning the housing properties of the NRC. The court judgment was given on the January 6, 2016, but up till now, the houses of the NRC scattered across 27 states of the federation are yet to be monetised.”

Giving more insight into the monetisation of NRC housing properties, the NURW President General explained that, “in 2004, President Olusegun Obasanjo directed that all properties of the NRC, including houses, office equipment, vehicles etc should be sold to the first occupant, that is the railway workers.

“The management of the NRC implemented every other aspect of that directive except the housing part. They shared the corporation’s vehicles among themselves. Shared the office equipment among themselves, but have refused to sell the cor-

porations houses to workers.

“When we realised they don’t want to implement the housing aspect, we went to court in 2011 and won in January this year. This is a Federal Government policy. It is a Federal Government circular that approved

the sales of the properties. Why should the NRC management delay its implementation?

“If management persists, then they will leave us with no choice than to use all legitimate means to press home our demands, which include industrial action.”

NIMASA committed to full implementation of Cabotage Act —DG DR Dakuku Peterside, the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has again reiterated the agency’s determination in ensuring that the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003 also known as the Cabotage Act is implemented to the letter.

The Director-General said this when he received the leadership of the Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association led by the National President, Comrade Matthew Alalade at the agency’s headquarters in Lagos.

Dr Peterside said that proper regulation of the Cabotage Act is instrumental to the develop-

ment of the maritime sector stating that Nigerians must always be encouraged to be key players in the sector and that the issue of abuse of waivers would be checked.

“We have not realised the full potential of the Cabotage Act, but we have moved a step ahead. Just to be sure that we are committed to the full implementation of the Cabotage Act, issues relating to waiver abuse are currently being dealt with accordingly.”

Dr Peterside also said that the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) would only be disbursed to people that would put it into the use for which it is intended, saying applicants must have the

requisite criteria as beneficiaries.

“We will rigorously screen the applicants of the CVFF in order to ensure that the funds are disbursed to people who would use it for the purposes the funds are meant for.”

The NIMASA DG also stated that the agency is currently screening maritime institutions across the country and would only accredit the ones that can provide the maritime training required in line with global best practices.

He, however noted that NIMASA is not in a position to recognise any Merchant Navy Association as that function falls under the purview of the National Assembly.

17

Thursday, 4 August, 2016 With Adewale Oshodi tribunearts@yahoo.com 08054005323

Myne Whitman is a Nigerian author based in the United States. In this interview, she speaks on her self -published works — A Heart to Mend (2009) and A Love Rekindled (2011) — as well as her remarkable success in using the social media to promote her works and African literature in the US. Excerpts:

‘Why I dwell more on romantic fiction’

T

ELL us about yourself and your journey to becoming a full-time writer.

I’ve been writing for a very long time. I can say since I was about 11 or so.

Unfortunately, most of those scribbles were lost when we moved cities. I started writing seriously around my third year in university, took a break for work and further studies and, now, writing is my full time career.

The decision to send my work out into the world matured around the middle of 2009. I had just moved to the United States and being unable to work at first, I began writing full time, initially for six months. I joined a writing group, started a blog, and people seemed to like what I had to write about. Eventually, I made up my mind to pursue this full time writing career and see where it took me.

How would you compare both of your novels?

A Love Rekindled differs from my first book, A Heart to Mend in that it spans a longer period of time. Readers will be transported to the years at the turn of the millenium and to the days of first love and loss. The two books are similar in that they are set in Nigeria and are about people dealing with issues of love, family, and personal development.

In A Love Rekindled, Efe is an independent woman who returns to Nigeria, ready to face the future, after years in the United States. However, it is the past that she first has to confront when her former fiance, Kevwe, comes back into her life, claiming he’s never stopped loving her. He has to unravel the mystery of their broken engagement before she is willing to rekindle their love.

The book I’m working on now is about a woman who has just clocked age 30 and has to determine whether marriage is the next step in her life as everyone one around her expects. Being seduced by a guy during a vacation to Nigeria does not make this decision any easier.

Obioma, Booker prize shortlist author, returns to read in Nigeria DR Chigozie Obioma, whose book, The Fishermen, has been shortlisted for this year’s Booker prize, is in Nigeria on a literary tour.

Dr Obioma, currently an Assistant Professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, was last year, named as one of 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine.

He will be reading in Abuja and some select cities across the country.

I could share my background and world view with those that were different from me. For everyone who reads the book, if there is one thing to take away, I want it to be the universality of what makes us human … the experiences, the emotions, and the aspirations of life and love.

What has been the response in Nigeria, compared to other markets?

For several weeks during summer of 2011, my first book, A Heart to Mend, stayed at number one on the AmazonUK Kindle store for romantic suspense.

To date, more than 30,000 copies have been downloaded. In Nigeria, it is more difficult to track these things. My second book, A Love Rekindled, was at the top of the bestseller list for one of the major bookstores in Lagos within two months of its release.

You have self-published both your books, but at what point did you decide to go the self-published route?

I researched the available options, and gave traditional publishing a try for a few months. The rejections I received had a common thread. While most agents liked my writing, they didn’t think it suited them, and there were a couple that suggested I change some fundamental parts of my story to suit what they thought best for their market. I found that idea abhorrent, and further research yielded some resources on self-publishing.

How have you managed to sell your books without the support of a publisher?

When I had satisfied myself that I understood what self-publishing entailed and was ready to face the challenge, I decided to go with a foreign publisher to design, print and distribute my books. On the editorial angle, I drafted my manuscript several times, working with feedback from my writing group, readers on my blog, and finally, an editor, to make sure it was ready for a mass audience.

Myne Whitman Why the focus on romance novels?

Is there really a market for African romance literature?

I prefer to refer to my writing as romantic fiction. Many of my readers have commented on how my style is less sappy than your usual romance. It has also been described as a marriage of literary and pulp fiction.

I do write about the romantic experiences of the hero and heroine in my story, and frame them against the background of a realistic day-to-day life setting. My stories are set in Nigeria, where I grew up and lived for most of my life. My language is simple and direct, accented by the tones of local people in the Nigerian setting, but adapted for an international audience. My target audience is international, anyone who has ever loved or felt emotions as they interacted with other people.

When I started A Heart to Mend as an 18-year-old, I had at the back of my mind, not only the loads of Mills & Boon romances, but also the Pacesetters and African Writers Series I had devoured as a teenager. I was motivated to write stories that featured people like me, and that people like me could identify with. At the same time, I did not want to write literature. I decided on romantic fiction be-

cause romance is universal, most people will experience relationships more than anything else in their lifetime.

After I moved to the US, I went back to the story, and rewrote it as a story in which

Looking at your own experience, would you consider self-publishing to be a realistic option for other African writers?

I think it is a very realistic option for African writers, especially, considering that the traditional publishing companies are so thin on the ground. However, it is not an easy decision and I wouldn’t advise anyone to rush into it.

POEM

I am human I am human.

I have and will fight many battles,securing my victories.

I have and will run many races,earning my trophies.

I have and will till many fields,ensuring me and mine is fed.

I have and will rule many nations, exerting my authority on earth I have and will swim in many oceans,flaunting my aquatic dimensions.

I have and will fly over all the cosmos, ensuring to view beyond the capacity of aves.

I have and will conquer the whole world but, I am only human, my sword and spear has become blunt from many wars.

My legs have become wearied by many races.

My land has become dry and loose from many toils.

My voice is no longer a force in many nations.

My muscles are no longer stronger than the tides of the ocean.

My wings are broken and the aves tell of the new wonders of cosmos.

I desire to conquer the world, but my frailty has caught up with me.

The stronger we are today, the weaker we get tomorrow.

Let’s learn to live beyond today.

—Mosadoluwa Lewis

18

arts&review

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Focus on education as books on late former commissioner are unveiled

By Saheed Salawu

K

ITH and kin of a former Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr AbdulJelil Amoloye, on Saturday, 23 July, 2016, gathered at the Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, for the public presentation of two books written by and on the late scholar, politician and community leader who died a decade ago, precisely 18 July, 2006.

The event, which was attended by the traditional ruler of Igboho, where Dr Amoloye hailed from, the Ona Onibode, Oba AbdulRasheed Adetoyese Anikulapo Jayeola III and his chiefs and other prominent sons and daughters of the town, was organised to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of the scholar and formally launch the Dr Abdul-Jelil Amoloye Foundation.

The books, “The Dual Mandate: The Abdul-Jelil Amoloye We Knew,” written by a small group of Dr Amoloye’s admirers, and “Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fudi’s Socio-political Pathfinder,” a publication of his Ph.D. thesis, were reviewed by the Executive Secretary, National Commission for Nomadic Education, Professor Rashid Aderinoye and Professor Muibi Opeloye of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, respectively, before they were presented to the public by renowned legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mallam Yusuf Ali, who was represented by Alhaji Y. K. Abdul-Kareem.

In his review, Professor Aderinoye described the 274-page book, “The Dual Mandate: The Abdul-Jelil Amoloye We Knew,” as an inspiring work of art and a must-read for all in view of the accounts and comments of the contributors which, he said, illuminated the sterling qualities of the late scholar.

He described the book as one that would be handy for “curious minds” and particularly provide a template for youths who wish to make the most of the “divine gift of life” through dedication to God and advancement of the cause of humanity.

“The tributes presented by the authors of the book all extolled the various qualities and

values of Abdul-Jelil Amoloye. He was visionary, authentic, nurturing, collaborative, resilient, committed, excellent, intelligent, charismatic and religious,” the don said.

Professor Opeloye, in his own review, described the subject matter of the second book, “Shaikh Uthman Ibn Fudi’s Sociopolitical Pathfinder: A Translation of Najmu ‘L-Ikhwan Yahtaduna bihi bi Idhnillah fi Umuru’z Zaman,” as multi-disciplinary. Many of the issues of focus in the book, he said, are jurisprudential, some historical, others exegetical and literary and yet others socio-political. According to him, also treated by the book are issues relating to polity, leadership and governance as well as Muslims’ relations with the nonMuslims.

“Dr Amoloye’s book under review is a masterpiece. Good mastery of Arabic and English languages displayed by the author guarantees accuracy of translation of the materials used. With such accuracy, any possibility of misinformation or misinterpretation of the original contents of the book is eliminated.

“The work is also characterised by clarity of ideas expressed, lucidity of presentation, logicality of arguments advanced and analytical reasoning employed. The depth of the research put into the study accounts for its originality.

“The book will serve as valuable reading material for students in colleges and institutions of higher learning, especially in the diverse areas of Islamic sciences: law, theology, jurisprudence, sociology, history, etc. This is why, to me, this book is more than a dictionary, which the author describes it to be; I would rather rate it to be encyclopaedic,” Professor Opeloye said.

He described the initiative to publish Dr Amoloye’s study into a book as commendable.

With the initiative, the don said members of the public could have access to the valuable intellectual output that “would have remained buried within the four walls of the university library, which is always the fate of unpublished PhD theses.”

In his opening remarks, the chairman of the occasion, the Executive Secretary,

• From left, Professor Rashid Aderinoye (book reviewer), Professor Muibi Opeloye (book reviewer); representative of the books presenter, Mallam Yusuf Ali, Alhaji Y. K. Abdul-Kareem; the Ona Onibode of Igboho, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adetoyese Anikulapo Jayeola III; wife of the honouree, Mrs Bilkis Amoloye and chairman of the occasion, Professor Dawud Noibi, at the event.

Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Professor Dawud Noibi said the reason for the gathering was “to celebrate someone who deserves celebration.” Professor Noibi said Dr Amoloye was celebrated in his lifetime and is being celebrated even after he passed on.

“He made use of his youthful energy in the cause of Islam. I knew Abdul-Jelil very closely; he was my student. He was also a very close associate in the work of da’wah that we did here in the University of Ibadan and even after he left politics and was, for a short while, in the University of Ilorin.

“It is necessary to celebrate Dr Amoloye in order that it might be an encouragement to people coming behind and even for those that are older than he was. We also need to celebrate him because we must recognise his life and work, that his life might remain a model for those coming behind.

“Members and leaders of the Abdul-Jelil Amoloye Foundation have arranged this particular event not only to present the work that he did but also to listen to and read what his friends and associates have to say after his death, which is why we are presenting two documents to the public

The Vegetarian wins 2016 Man Booker prize The Vegetarian, a novel about a woman who “wants to reject human brutality” and gives up eating meat, has won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.

The book was translated by Deborah Smith, who only started teaching herself Korean in 2010.

Judging panel chairman, Boyd Tonkin, said South Korean author, Han Kang’s work was “unforgettably powerful and original.”

The writer and her British translator will split the award’s £50,000 prize money.

The pair saw off competition from Turkish Nobel Laureate, Orhan Pamuk; Italian writer, Elena Ferrante; Angolan wordsmith, Jose Eduardo Agualusa; Chinese author, Yan Lianke and Austrian novelist, Robert Seethaler, to take the prize.

Smith, whose only language was English until she was 21, decided to become a translator on finishing her English Literature degree, having noticed the lack of English-Korean translators.

She said she was “certainly not a born Korean speaker” and still spoke Korean “very much like somebody who learned it from a textbook.”

“I had no connection with Korean culture — I don’t think I had even met a Korean person — but I wanted to become a translator because it combined reading and writing and I wanted to learn a language.

“Korean seemed like a strangely obvious choice, because it is a language which practically nobody in this country studies or knows.”

She said she initially tried to translate the book for a publisher after only learning Korean for two years, but the translation was “awful.”

However, after publisher, Portobello Books, asked her if she had a Korean book that would be “right for their list,” she had another go at translating a year later.

She has gone on to translate a number of Korean texts, including two Bae Suah

works - The Essayist’s Desk and The Low Hills of Seoul — and has recently founded a not-for-profit publishing house dedicated to Asian and African literature.

Meanwhile, thrillers, The Perfect Guy and The Visit shared the honours at North American cinemas this weekend, coming first and second at the US and Canada box office.

The Perfect Guy, about a newly single woman whose new boyfriend is not all he seems, topped the chart with a first weekend tally of $26.7m (£17.3m).

But Mnight Shyamalan’s latest nailbiter was not far behind, taking $25.6m (£16.6m) between Friday and Sunday.

The films’ success has been attributed in part to a strong female turn-out.

An estimated 69 percent of The Perfect Guy’s audience were women, while The Visit’s audience was 60 percent female.

With its three black stars - Sanaa Lathan, Michael Ealy and Morris Chestnut - The Perfect Guy continues the recent trend for chart-topping films with African-Americans in leading roles.

today,” the erudite scholar said.

The chairman of the steering committee of Abdul Jelil Amoloye Foundation, Professor Lanre Yusus, said the gathering marked the maiden annual programme of the Foundation. According to him, the members of the committee, most of whom had the opportunity to watch Dr Amoloye as a scholar, politician and community leader, found in the deceased, a man of distinction, dignity and integrity.

“We are motivated to bring out the hidden value in the late scholar by publishing his Ph.D. thesis eminently supervised by teacher of teachers and professor of professors, S. H. A. Malik of this great university. The book “Shaykh Uthman Ibn Fudi’s Socio-political Pathfinder” will provide useful knowledge for all. This, together with his so many charitable deeds and his pious children, will enable him draw the reward of Allah continuously.

“The other book, ‘The Dual Mandate: The Abdul Jelil Adebayo Amoloye We Knew,’ written by a coterie of his admirers, is a compendium which contains their impressions about the honouree. It will refresh the memory of those who knew him and keep the youth to learn about him what will help them navigate this turbulent life,” Professor Yusuf said.

He gave the assurance that whatever was realised at the books presentation would go into the coffer of the foundation in pursuance of the ideals and goals of Dr Amoloye.

Politician, Engineer Seyi Makinde, who featured prominently at the event, said Dr Amoloye was known as a bridge builder, somebody who rose above all sentiments to impact everybody positively in the way he played his politics and as a champion of education.

“He was given a responsibility by the then governor of Oyo State [Senator Rashidi Ladoja] as commissioner for education and he discharged it effectively. What all politicians should think about is: what are we going to be remembered for when we are gone? That is a big lesson from the life of Dr Amoloye,” Makinde said.

In her vote of thanks, wife of the honouree, Mrs Bilkis Amoloye, expressed appreciation to everyone who contributed to making the publication of the books and their eventual presentation to the public a reality.

“I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. I feel blessed to have come in contact with Abdul-Jelil. My husband did not leave millions of naira in his account when he died but he left millions of goodwill,” she added.

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

education

Editor: Laolu Harolds 08111845016 tribune.education@yahoo.com

FG to introduce Maritime Law in varsity curriculum Clement Idoko - Abuja

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HE federal government has commenced the process of introducing Maritime Law as a course of study in Nigerian universities.

Mr Hassan Bello, the executive secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, made this known in Abuja when he paid a courtesy call on the executive secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Julius Okojie.

Bello noted that the dearth of legal practitioners and judges who are knowledgeable in Maritime Law has continued to hinder the adjudication of maritime cases in the country.

He expressed concern that Nigerians interested in developing a career in admiralty practice had to undertake such course abroad at great cost.

According to him, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) has directed the council to collaborate with the NUC in introducing the basics of Maritime Law in the curriculum of faculties of Law in Nigerian universities, and that other Justices of the Supreme Court have

also requested the council to do same.

He said: “This, according to their lordships, is because until recently, Maritime Law was not taught in our universities both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

“As a result of this, our judges who are called to dispense justice on complex maritime issues found it extremely tasking to dispose of such matters expeditiously.

“As matter of fact, some Justices of the Supreme Court and those of the Court of Appeal had in the past admitted that they had no prior contact with admiralty law until after participating in the Maritime Seminar for Judges series.

“In several instances, their lordships find solace in the papers that were presented at the past seminars in determining complex maritime cases,” he said.

He disclosed that the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has also consented to the proposal for the introduction of Maritime Law in Nigerian universities.

Bello added that the teaching of the subject as an undergraduate course would give judges and lawyers a better grasp of the subject matter, and help speed up complex maritime cases like impounding of vessels through arrest and detention.

If properly harnessed, he said, the maritime

sector is a veritable source of economic sustenance and diversification.

Professor Okojie in his remark said that NUC and the council have agreed to set up a committee to work out the modalities for the introduction of the programme as fast as possible.

He urged the council to do its survey and work towards capacity building in the area of manpower.

Okojie immediately nominated some staff of the commission that would be members of the joint committee on introduction of the course in Nigerian universities and urged the council to do the same.

Again, FCE Pankshin lecturers down tools Isaac Shobayo - Jos MEMBERS of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Federal College of Education (FCE), Pankshin, Plateau State, have commenced a strike over what they described as the school management’s insensitivity to their welfare and an the shortage of staff in the college.

The chapter chairman, Mr Hembe Emmanuel, told newsmen in Pankshin last weekend that since 2012, no single lecturer had been employed to replace those who have retired, are deceased or left the college for greener pastures.

“The non-replacement of those retired, transferred and deceased academic staff since January 2012 has been weighing us down, and we cannot continue like this any more. As a result of this, the few of us that are remaining are so over-stretched with work load,” he explained.

Emmanuel further explained that the strike is not just because of unpaid salary but also over college management’s inconsiderate determination to implement the still-underreview Scheme/Condition of Service “even though the content has not been made known to us at any time by the college.”

One other burning issue, according to him, is the non-implementation of 2015 staff promotion/annual increments and the attendant arrears.

He expressed regret that the management had failed to understand the weight those issues place on members.

Emmanuel added that since the suspension of the union’s first strike action of January 19 on Feb 29, the dispute has continued to grow and accumulate to include non-payment of 47 per cent of December, 2015 salaries, and the irregular shortfall in the salaries of members since January.

Chief Mrs Folorunso Modupe Alakija, being assisted by former Head of State, General Abubakar A. Abdulsalami in cutting the tape while comissioning the N100 million, 350 seats capacity Lecture theatre at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State last Wednesday as the state Commissioner for Education Hajiya Fatimah Madugu and a former First Lady of the state Senator Zainab Kure and other dignitaries looked on ( Picture by Adelowo Oladipo, Minna)

Alakija builds N100m lecture theatre for IBB University Adelowo Oladipo - Minna

F ORMER Head of State, General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, has stated that the vision for establishing Ibrahim BadamasiBabangidaUniversity, Lapai, Niger State is coming to reality while applauding a Lagos based philanthropist, Mrs FolurunsoAlakija for building N100 million worth lecture theatre for the university.

He stated this last Wednesday at the commissioning of the 350-seaters capacity lecture theatre by the donor, Mrs Alakija, named “Modupe and Folurunso Alakija” Lecture Theatre.

General Abdulsalami, who is the university’s Endowment Fund Committee Chairman,

stated that the lecture theatre could not have been completed over10 years ago, but due to unavailability of funds, until MrsAlakija came to the rescue of the committee.

In her remarks at the wellattended ceremony, which had in attendance both Emirs of Minna DrFaruk Umar Bahago and his Lapai counterpart, Mr Umar Bago, Mrs Zainab Kure, wife of a former governor of Niger State, MrA. A. Kure among other important dignitaries, MrsAlakija stated that in view of the dwindling standard of education in the country and the economy crisis, well- meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations should join hands with gov-

ernment in funding education.

She advocated for private initiative on education as a deliberate attempt by all concerned Nigerians and corporate citizens to improve the standard of education in the country and to also help younger generations of Nigerians to get quality education for a better future.

Also, the State Governor,AlhajiAbubakar Sani Bello stated that his administration has the ambition of making IBB University achieve her vision to become a world-class centre of excellence, driven by people, partnership, Science and Technology.

He urged the management of IBB university to explore more ways of attracting funds,

given government’s dwindling resources in recent times, as he expressed appreciation to Mrs Folorunso Alakija and her husband, who was unavoidably absent at the commissioning ceremony.

At the event, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Mohammad Nasir Maiturare stated that the university will remain grateful and appreciative of the effort of the philanthropist, who he said exhibited a lot of simplicity and commitment to scholarship and humanity.

The governor was ably represented at the occasion by the State Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Fatimah Madugu.

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education

Group appeals to FG on lopsidedness of principal officers at FUAM JohnsonBabajide-Makurdi AS controversy trails the appointment of Mrs Helen Nyitse, the new registrar of Federal University of Agriculture, Markudi, kinsmen of former Senate President, Senator David Mark, under the auspices of Idoma Socio Cultural group-Opihatoha K' Idoma' has called on federal government to look into the lopsidedness of the appointment of principal officers of federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.

In a statement signed by the Secretary General of the group, Mr Adoka Adaji, a copy made available to newsmen in Makurdi, noted that the university sited in Makurdi to feed the six states of the North central zone has slid into tribal based institution.

It added that, “at the moment, the federal university has three of its principal officers; vice chancellor, deputy vice chancellor (admin) and bursar from the Tiv speaking area of Benue.”

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Education minister urges graduates to acquire vocational skills Banji Aluko - BeninCity

I

N line with the diversification agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, has urged graduates of institutions of higher

learning to acquire technical and vocational skills so that they can become employers of labour.

He said that the present state of affairs in the country called for a reinvention of approaches and acquisition of multi-skills on the part of the citizenry.

Malam Adamu spoke at

the weekend at the 2016 Candidates’ Selection and Placement exercise which took place at the national headquarters of the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB).

The exercise involved selection and placement of successful products of the

2016 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into the federal science and technical colleges in the country.

Represented by the acting director, Technology and Science Education in the ministry, Mrs. Tina Eyaru, the minister urged stakeholders to collaborate in the

From left, Dr. P. I. Farayola (principal, Emmanuel Alayande College of Education Model High School); Mr. T. L. Adediran (registrar); Dr. R. A Adefabi (provost); Professor Adenike Emeke (director Institute of Education, University of Ibadan); a Lead Paper presenter; Dr. A. L Ogunmola (former provost and chairman of conference); Mr. D. A Adediran (representing Professor K. O. Usman (Provost, SPED, Oyo & keynote presenter); Dr. Mrs S. M. Asiru (college librarian); Mr. L. A. Opasina (college bursar); Dr. G. O. Akanbi (dean, School of Education) and Mrs F. A. Ajasa (dean, Early Childhood and Primary Education Care), during the 2nd National Conference, School of Education, EACOED, Oyo

Parents laud Babcock University High School

By Kehinde Adio

Security: Kwara poly to partner Civil Defence Corps Biola Azzez- Ilorin THE management of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin has re-affirmed its readiness to partner with members of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to ensure safety of lives and property within the two campuses of the polytechnic.

The Rector, AlhajiMas’ud Eleludisclolsed this when the Divisional Officer of Ilorin East Division, Chief Superintendent, Efeomah Joseph paid him a courtesy visit in his office recently.

Elelu noted that men of the Civil Defence Corps had been of assistance to the polytechnic’s fight against crime, adding that, relevant information had been received from them, which he said had helped in reducing crime to the barest minimum within the Polytechnic community.

The Rector stressed that the management do not take security issues lightly, noting that the issues of vehicles and handcuffs raised

by CSC Efeomah would be urgently addressed.

area of technical and vocational education and training in order to adequately promote skill acquisition and training.

The registrar and chief executive of NABTEB, Dr. Olatunde Aworanti, disclosed that NABTEB had developed teachers and assessment guides to teaching, learning and assessment in the country’s vocational and technical institutions.

Dr. Aworanti noted that the twin malaise of unemployment and underemployment required placement of higher premium on skills acquisition and vocational training.

The NABTEB chief urged parents to encourage their children and wards to pick interest in technical and vocational education and training.

Pupils Teachers of Creative Montessori School, Odo-Ona Kekere, Ibadan, during their excursion to Tribune House, Imalefalafia, Ibadan recently. PHOTO: PETER OYEBANJI

168,843 pupils jostle for placement in Lagos secondary schools Bola Badmus - Lagos A total of 168,843 pupils from both private and government primary schools across Lagos State took part in this year’s Primary 6 Placement Test into Junior Secondary School 1 which took place last weekend.

The executive chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), Dr. Ganiyu Oluremi Sopeyin, who monitored the exercise, disclosed this, describing the test, which took place in 255 designated centres across the

state, as one of the best ever recorded by the state.

This was just as he reiterated the state government’s commitment to providing qualitative and quantitative education in a conducive atmosphere had led Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to approving the employment of an additional 1,000 teachers for the state’s secondary schools.

Speaking on the exercise, Sopeyin said that question papers and answer scripts known as OMR sheets as well as officials got to their respective centres ahead of

time, and that the exercise was successful largely because the state government carefully planned for it, taking into consideration LSUBEB’s past experiences.

Sopeyin noted that despite the state government’s earlier announcement of the time and date of the commencement of the exercise, some students came to the exams centres late, while some others who were not registered for the exams also reported for it in some centres.

Despite the challenges,

however, he said “all the minor hitches were immediately addressed peacefully without harassment or molestation.”

He explained further that the employment of additional 1,000 teachers into the state-owned secondary schools would complement the existing workforce in the schools to take care of the upsurge recorded in placement test.

About 140,000 pupils took part in a similar test in about 160 designated centres across the state last year.

PARENTS whose children attend Babcock High School Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, have described the school as an institution to reckon with in the country.

Speaking with Tribune Education last week during the school’s 21st graduation ceremony, a parent, Mrs Bisi Makinde, she discovered that Babcock High School was as an institution where children could develop their intellectual capacity with godly character.

She noted that the Babcock’s learning environment is study-friendly, and “a Christian-based school where you can entrust your child for academic excellence and moral upbringing.”

Also speaking in the same vein, Mrs. Julie Adefulu, another parent, said the quality of teaching staff and the infrastructural development in the school informed her decision to bring her wards to the school.

She said four of her children have passed through the school, and they are doing well in their academic pursuits at the tertiary level.

Meanwhile, as the school celebrated its 21st graduation, the school management, headed by Mrs Bolanle Adebawojo, presented three projects worth not less than N133 million for inauguration as part of efforts to boost learning in the school.

education Our educational system is faulty because we are too certificate-conscious —Lead City VC

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Professor (Venerable) Olufemi Onabajo is the vice chancellor of the Lead City University and also doubles as a priest in the Anglican Communion. In this interview with MODUPE GEORGE, he spoke about his passion for writing and publishing, achievements in office, among other educational issues. Excerpts:

Y

OU were once a journalist.

How will you rate the performance of the media in promoting education in Nigeria today?

If you look at the perspective of Education, you will discover that communication itself is a product of information and it is also internalised information. So, when you look at education, you are not looking strictly at whether you are talking about education in terms of schools, universities or polices, but you are looking at the total development of a person in terms of media efforts towards developments. Be that as it may, the media has improved in terms of having education desks and education correspondents in various media houses. People just must be informed and the information must be internalized for people to act on the information. The media has always been involved in promoting education.

As a professor of Mass Communication & Media Technology, do you see the media as a major tool in promoting education in Nigeria?

Well, if you look at it in the context of whether we have actualised all the potentials, we have not. The media itself has not known that they can do so much in terms of education; and if they are aware of that, they would create so many dimensions of educational messages in terms of programmes formulation on radio, television and covering the various aspects of education in the print media. Don’t forget that the agenda-setting theory says that the media is very powerful in setting agenda for what people should think about and how people should act. If, therefore, the media is aware of that, it must ensure that it taps all these potentialities to make itself relevant to the various publics. It is this lack of awareness that has not made the media to diversify when it comes to information dissemination.

You have authored 25 scholarly books, especially in the field of Mass Communication. What has been your motivation?

God is my motivation. Two, man is a product of his experience. Also, as a mass communicator, I have practised mass communication in its various aspects…. I was in radio, television, public relations, advertising, and I had been media consultant to even Nigerian Tribune, Third Eye, Tell Magazine at different points in time. If you now look at the totality of all these experiences, you think that they must be documented for posterity. If not, those years would have been wasted. Before I came into academics, I had spent 20 years on the field. I started with the OGBC; then NTA,

are the problem of their congregations.

Tell us the efforts you made to achieve the joint accreditation of both the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council of Legal Education at the same time?

It was a tedious and hazardous journey; but then, I keep saying that with God, all things are possible. I became a vice chancellor at a tumultuous time; a time that we didn’t know whether we were going to survive. However, whenever I stood before authorities, my collar gave me a lot of preference; they saw Christ in me.

So, Christ opened doors and we are now where we are today. By the grace of God, Lead City University is now a university to be. The standard is very high; and not just that, we train bold students.

What would you say have been your major achievements?

Achievements cannot be done by one person; it is ‘our’ achievements. People love to be here, especially when we hold international conferences. They come from America, Britain, China and other countries and they ask to be our ambassadors, and ensure that we get collaborative partnership with other people and help us spread the gospel of the university because they love our environment. Also, we have a lot of mileage in terms of image. More courses have been granted to us and we have quality staff. We now have a postgraduate school.

Prof Olufemi Onabajo AIT, I was Group Public Relations Director of Eleganza Industries and I was also in advertising. I have written books on advertising, public relations, international public relations and advertising. So, when I came into academics, it’s like one is in a hurry to document these things.

You have served as external examiner for many departments of Mass Communication of universities in Nigeria. How do you manage the general and institutional context of the role, having quality control in mind?

I love work. My pastime is used for writing. I’m happiest when I’m by my table writing books or journal articles, contributing to knowledge. That is what excites me.

When you act as external examiner to other institutions, you look at what they are doing, you look at the growth of the students to see whether they are properly mentored or not. In a way, you are contributing to knowledge in all forms. Since these things excite me, I allocate time to them.

People have questioned the proliferation of churches. They say the more the churches, the more the preachers and the more the crimes.

What is your take as a spiritual leader?

For those who are saying that, we are in sync; and that is because it is now ‘Jesus Plc.’ The fastest growing concern now is the church; not only because the Church is growing, but because they have mixed church with mammon. When you see a church which starts today and the congregation is 1,000 tomorrow, it is not ordinary. People consult Satan for some powers with which they indoctrinate their members. There are lots of miracles that are not real. The gullible Nigerians are being manipulated because they want to walk the fast lane. Why should there be so many churches and so much crime? One of the major reasons is that many preachers today didn’t attend seminaries; they just claimed that God called them and therefore started a church. Evangelism is a life style, and if you look at many of these preachers, they don’t reflect the lifestyle. The pastors

As a scholar and researcher, how do you think the issue of unemployment can be addressed in Nigeria?

I would like to say that our educational system is faulty because we are certificate over-conscious. Also, the concept of free education is wrong for an economy that is still developing. Education should be for people who can benefit from it; that is no person should be denied education if the person has the capabilities to cope. In a situation where because of politics you have free this and that, what kind of people are you training? There is one major gap in our employment today; there are no skilled workers again. People no longer want to be mechanics, tailors, carpenters and the rest; everybody wants to get a certificate.

There is nothing wrong in getting a certificate. If you are a degree holder and you are a tailor, you will do things better. Those who operate on skills should not be looked down upon. There is a need for restructuring. Also, there should be nothing called a unified salary structure. Every state should pay what it can afford. There are graduates in private schools who take home N10,000\N12,000 and they have not died, which is better than sitting at home. This is pro-activeness of job; you take what is available. Let everyone get a skill, because it is in area of skill acquisition and practice that we are having vacancies. For example, in India, wrist-watch repairers are earning more than the people working for the government. There are jobs all over; you can be a graduate and go learn an electrician job and you will eat. There is nothing wrong in learning from the road side. People need to reeducate themselves, acquire skills and begin to use their hands. This will solve a lot of unemployment problems.

African Diaspora school records first graduation in Calabar Anthony Ubong, Calabar CALABAR Imperial College, also known as the African Diaspora School, has recorded its first graduation in Calabar, Cross River's capital.

The ceremony sawDawnelleEffah, age 10 became the pioneer pupil of the school to make the first and only graduantsince the school was established in June 5, 2012 in Calabar.

Speaking at the event, the College

Director,Dr Victor Ani Offiong worried about the increasing number of Nigerians traveling overseas to obtain educational and health services, in countries believed to be offering these services.

Dr Offiong stated that it was against the backdrop of curtailing these increase in the number of Nigerians and other Africans travelling abroad for better standard of education that Calabar Imperial College was established.

The services the college offers, the direc-

tor, said included education at primary level, while a secondary and even university level of education is on the way, it also offers guidance and counseling as well as other educational services.

On his part, Mr Effiong Obong, one of the directors of the school said the college was sited at Esuk Atu Diaspora Village in order to bring about development in the community.

He said the school, apart from offering subjects in general knowledge had also engaged stakeholders in the area of renewable energy

with the sole aim of imparting renewable energy skills on the pupil of the school.

At the event, the school's renewable energy board was constituted and included: Mr James Oba, CEO,Tecil, Nigeria's foremost solar power installation company; MrIsreal Adams Burns, the director of Power Management; Effiong Solomom; Roland Edu, the college Diaspora director, and directors and administrative staff of the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH), Calabar.

22 education ‘I’m glad I was able to help build lives’

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

who have gone into laying of marble tiles; many of them are making money from these skills and are no longer keen on looking for white collar jobs.

Prince Tunde Adegoke Ajiboye just retired from the Osun State Ministry of Education as the Coordinating Director, Office of Higher Education, Osun State. He shares with KATE ANI his experiences while in service and his take on issues in the state’s education sector.

You have spent 35 years in active service as an educationist. Where do you think we got it wrong in recent times, education-wise?

The dedication is no longer there; teachers are no longer committed to their job. I remember when I was in the Government College, every teacher would have to write a report on the performance of students and justify the performances of the students after exam. Then, the facilities were there.

We have now gotten to a stage where schools can no longer accommodate the number of students. Now we have more students, less teachers, less infrastructure, less commitment.

A

S an education stakeholder in Osun State, do you think the standard of schools in the state has improved radically?

It has, because we have modified some of our programmes in the tertiary institutions. Most of our higher institutions have introduced new courses; the schools have been able to have additional infrastructure that have gone a long way in making sure that students that are produced are well read and have a good opportunity in practical aspect, in terms of their training. So, by and large, we have moved forward.

For almost four years, you held the position of the coordinating director of the office of higher education in Osun State. What would you say was your input into the system?

My responsibility is to liaise between the schools and the government. The decision and policy of government concerning higher institutions in Osun State is passed from my office to the institutions. I represent the governing council of the institutions. We are the employers by the law establishing those institutions. The only thing we are not directly involved in is the day-to-day management of those institutions. Our school fees in Osun higher institutions are the cheapest; the government in its magnanimity has graciously reduced drastically what students pay.

A lot of dust was raised over the merger of schools in Osun State. Do you think this policy has improved the standard of education?

It has, because if you look at the structures on ground now, it makes the provision of facilities available to schools.

If you look at many schools, they don’t have laboratories,

Ajiboye libraries, and so on; but with the reforms that the state government is having now, you will see these structures there.

By bringing together the students through the merger of various schools, he (Governor Aregbesola) has been able to maximize the resources that he has. He also made sure that (previously) non-existing facilities are now made readily available. These reformed schools now have pipe-borne water and facilities that will make education interesting. By the time the reform is completed, Osun students stand to gain a lot from it.

Millions of fresh graduates flood the employment market yearly. In Osun, what do you think Governor Aregbesola should do to address the high unemployment rate?

In all our institutions in Osun, we have introduced what we call entrepreneurship skill acquisition, which is a compulsory course for every student. They must learn a trade so that when they graduate and cannot get a job, at least they can sustain themselves with the vocational skills they acquired while in school. I have seen some of our students

What challenges did you face during you active years in the ministry?

As my responsibility was increasing, the contending areas for resources available were also growing. I didn’t have many resources to carry out some given assignments; it was a very big challenge to me.

What would you point out as your achievements?

I thank God for how far he has helped me. When you work in an educational sector, you are building human beings, not like an engineer that would boast of being the one that tarred a certain road or this bridge. Throughout my service and when I was directly involved in the school system, I have been able to touch so many people’s lives and with God’s wisdom, I have been able to make great decisions. I once bumped into one of my students in the United Kingdom, he recognized me but I didn’t. He narrated how I helped him in making the right decision—which I had already forgotten—and I was deeply touched. Some of them still contact me after 30 years.

Any regrets?

If I have regrets, I would have left that job long ago. I started and completed it. Almost 100 of us were employed into the civil service as education officers in 1981; right now, those of us that made 35 years in service are not up to 15.

Lagos gives August 10 deadline for private schools registration Naza Okoli - Lagos

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HE Lagos State government has set August 10 as deadline for an emergency registration exercise of all private schools in the state.

The exercise, which began last Wednesday, is free and compulsory, and will continue in all the six education districts in the state until the deadline.

The deputy governor of the state and head of the

Ministry of Education, Dr Idiat Adebule, who announced this at a press conference in her office last week, said there schools that fail to take part in the process would be penalised.

“In line with the pursuit of the state government to ensure the delivery of high quality education to all pupils and students in the state, it has become imperative to direct all proprietors of private schools in the state, irrespective of their accreditation status,

to register their educational institutions at the education district within their area of operation within two weeks,” Dr Adebule said.

She, however, stated that the exercise was not intended to victimise any school, but to provide a comprehensive database for the government, and to ensure that the standard of learning and the learning environment are “in tandem with the vision of the state for the future of the students.”

“This process has been

designed to eliminate touts and middlemen who exploit them and make the accreditation process cum-

bersome. I must warn that should any school refuse to register, it would be deemed to harbour ulterior

Alumni laud FG on resolution of OAU crisis MEMBERS of the Great Ife Alumni Association have commended the federal government on its quick resolution of the crisis that trailed the process for the appointment of a new vice chancellor for the Obafemi Awolowo

University.

Speaking to newsmen at the end of its national executive council (NEC) meeting held at TINSED Hotels and Resorts Centre, Ijebu-Jesa, in Osun State, the national president of the association, Mr. Segun Oke, thanked

Snail potential untapped in Nigeria —Researcher

By Laolu Harolds

IN tune with the agricultural diversification objective of the federal government, a snail researcher, Dr. F. A. O Akinusi, says snail farming is an untapped treasure with potential to boost the revenue generation of the country.

Dr. Akinusi made the revelation while delivering the 5th Inaugural Lecture of the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, entitled ‘Hidden Treasure in a Snail: the Vision, Passion and Action of Malacologist’ on Thursday, 21st July, 2016.

Highlighting the economic, nutritional, medicinal and industrial importance of snail, the one time dean

of the School of Vocational Studies and the immediate past director of the Centre for Degree Programmes (CEDEP) of the college, said snail meat is a good source of protein; rich in amino acids, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C, but low in sodium fat and cholesterol which are considered harmful to human health.

She also identified snail as a valuable ingredient in livestock nutrition.

Dr. Akinusi further explained that due to its low sodium, fat and cholesterol, and high level of calcium, phosphorus, iron and potassium, snail can be used in the treatment of arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, anemia, hemorrhoids, asthma, stomach ulcer and kidney-re-

motives, and our enforcement agents will sanction them as appropriate,” she warned.

lated diseases.

Eating snails, according to the researcher, increases life expectancy, suppresses occurrence of stroke and provides curative meal for people with diabetes and low virility, vitality and fertility.

She cited a recent study that showed that eating large quantities of snail has high levels of linoleic acid reported to have protective effect against cardiovascular diseases.

Concentrated snail mucus, according to her, has been demonstrated to have antibiotic effects, while snail syrup can be used for chronic bronchitis cough and as a prognostic indicator for breast, stomach and colon cancer.

Dr Akinusi

President Mohammadu Buhari for asking the university’s Senate to choose a man of integrity among them for appointment as the acting vice chancellor.

Mr Oke said the association believes that this development will restore normalcy ot the institution, as all academic, administrative, technical, teaching and research activities will start in earnest.

He also congratulated the acting vice chancellor, Professor Anthony Elujoba, who himself is an alumnus of the university, on his new assignment, praying that God would give him the needed wisdom, knowledge and understanding to take OAU out of crisis.

He pledged the support of the association to the new vice chancellor, and called on all other stakeholders to rally round him to take the university to greater heights.

23

Thursday, 4 August, 2016 Editor:

health

Sade Oguntola sadeboguntola@yahoo.com 0805 506 9260

House chores not enough exercise to maintain health — Oshin, doyen of Nigerian’s physiotherapy

Dr. T. Abayomi Oshin, the doyen of physiotherapy in Nigeria and the first black African to qualify as a physiotherapist, in this interview with SADE OGUNTOLA, recounts his experience in the profession, why back pain is on the rise and how best to maintain good health. Excerpts:

B

AD sitting habit is a reason for back pain in some individuals, how is this so?

Basically, low back pain occurs for various factors. A wrong sitting posture is one. Whether it is to prevent low back pain or maintaining the correct posture by sitting upright, maintaining the curvature of the spine and neck is important. When sitting upright, the lower back should be rested adequately in conformity with the shape of the back bone.

Of course, not every part of the back will touch the chair’s back rest because of the curvature in the neck and lower back. And it cannot be forced to be straight. One can only place, say, a pillow to maintain that curvature.

Nonetheless, back pain can arise from maintaining a wrong posture when lifting a heavy object. It can also be as a result of a strain in the muscles, ligaments or even bones of the back.

Also, individuals with deformities on their back such as those with hunch backs or those arising from wrong posture also can develop back pain.

But just as there could be back pain, so

also do neck pains occur. When the neck is not properly supported, neck pain can arise.

In fact, a sprain in the neck is one of the reasons why some people wear collar around their neck.

Given that low back pain can result from different conditions, one mode of treatment will not fit all cases.

As a physical therapist, how do you rate Nigerians’ involvement in exercises?

If I can take myself as an example, personally I do series of exercises everyday.

As a routine, maybe because I am a physiotherapist, I exercise all my joints lying on the bed and while standing in my room every day before having my bath to maintain the integrity of my muscles so that they will not be weak, flabby or unable to perform their roles.

Is this part of the reason you are still standing tall and straight at age 90?

Well. I do not know. Many people have suggested this. But I do not know. But I al-

ways ensure I maintain good posture when walking or standing.

Also as part of my exercise routine, every evening, I walk gently four times round this house. Again this is to maintain the aeration of my lungs; blood and body fluid circulation in a bid to improve the nutrition of my muscles and take waste products away.

Of course, I also encourage people to climb stairs rather than use the elevator. I do it too because it is a part of my daily exercises. In my house, there is a staircase and I cannot count the number of times I climb it in a day.

Maybe I left my glasses upstairs, instead of asking one of my maids to go up and fetch it, I would go up to get it. Visitors, and sometimes my children, think that it is too much for me and even caution me against it. But I always remind them that it is part of my daily routine.

Many people are not educated enough to know that anybody can become disabled for different reasons– postural defects, paralysis from stroke and motor accidents. Some people end up being wheel chair bound because of a spinal cord injury from road traffic accident.

Also of concern is the fact that, in donated wheel chair, donors never consider that those wheel chairs, clutches and other gadgets persons with disability use should be tailor made for each individual. When donating wheel chairs for kids, very large wheel chairs are given. Like one’s clothing, it should be size and disability specific. The wheel chair a hemiplegic requires, for instance, is different from that for amputees.

Again, there should be centres where people will be thought how to use these gadgets, not only wheel chairs so that their benefits can be maximised.

Is the normal day to day activity enough exercise to maintain good health?

Aside the fact that the normal day to day living activities are reducing because of technological advancement, the activities of daily living are never enough to keep healthy. It is always limited to certain parts of the body. For instance, take someone that is washing, such only uses the hands. Therefore to equate house chores to sufficient level of activities to maintain good health is wrong.

While active in service, you developed many prosthetics for your clients, what were some of them?

Many years back, we lacked equipment and things that the patient needed and so I started designing gadgets to help to revitalise weak nerves in different conditions like polio. There were appliances for correcting things like injection palsy and even oja palsy.

How responsive has the Nigerian government been to the plight of people with disability since they form a high percentage of physiotherapy clients?

Not much care is given to people with disability in Nigeria, unlike when I was in the USA or UK, when people with disabilities were 100 per cent cared for. Aside having centres where things were provided for them, they also have people visiting them in their personal homes to assist them with chores they could not do. And that is lacking in Nigeria.

Take homes like Oluyole Chesire Home and School for the Handicap in Ibadan, there is not enough input by the government except by volunteer organisations.

How about the society’s response to their plight?

Take homes like Oluyole Chesire Home and School for the handicap in Ibadan, there is not enough input by the government except by volunteer organisations.

What is oja palsy?

Oja palsy is a palsy you find in Nigeria when babies are strapped on the back especially of younger persons, who have not developed enough muscles of the back to support the baby. So that the baby will not drop, it is made very tight and this constricts the nerve around the knee, thus preventing impulses going to the muscles and eventually paralysing it over time. Now, if the oja is at the middle of the thigh, there is no problem. But if at the knee area, it can lead to this problem.

If you are to rate physiotherapy care in Nigeria, how accessible is it to the common man?

Well, there is increased awareness on the profession of physiotherapy in the society, unlike in the past. Presently, many teaching hospitals and general hospitals offer physiotherapy care. So, I think that physiotherapy is accessible, but if you are talking about cost, I cannot tell you what the situation is.

In my days of practice, treatment was free.

But presently, they must make money to ensure sustainability of the facility. So, they charge for clutches. Even for consumables like bandage, patients must pay.

Your contribution to the practice of physiotherapy Being the first Black African physiotherapist in 1954, my greatest contribution to physiotherapy is capacity building. Even now, in retirement, Association of Physiotherapy students still come to visit me, wanting to know what physiotherapy was like in our time and at such opportunities I ended up teaching.

24

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Dr. Ben Ajayi 0805 400 5447

you-and-eye@gmail.com

Today I beg of thee to heed my warning

A

T thirty five, in the prime of my youth, Eyes white, vision clear and sharp, Could see at distance what none did see, And thread a needle in the dimmest of lights.

My blood vessels, the doc said, Were pink and radiant with pride; And swollen with bright red blood, Flowing freely and unhindered.

Could see was bright and radiant, But of the second a few moments ago, Even with my failing sight, Could see was dull, white and horrid All the radiance’s gone and pride buried.

The inside of my eyes, doc said, was but a sorry sight,

And nothing but prayer could restore.

Today, I beg thee to heed my warning, Spare the time for your eyes to check.

And ask the doc to look out for the dreaded one So it can keep its distance from you.

And keep you from walking the path I trod.

Glaucoma, see what you’ve done to me.

Robbing me of my most valuable sight, Making an old man of me at fifty.

All the radiance’s gone and pride buried”

My veins, he said, were pounding At every beat of my heart While the arteries looked on quietly as if unconcerned.

I revelled in delight and contempt For those who saw not what I saw And felt ‘twas all their fault For if they’d cared They need not come to this.

Now at fifty, still strong and agile, Could walk ten miles and more Without a stop to gasp for breath, But ‘cause of my failing sight, I dared not walk the streets alone.

How I came to this I do not know.

Doc said I have Glaucoma, And delayed my coming just too long.

Two pictures he flashed before my feeble eyes, The first, he said, he took 15 years ago,

My eyes at 35, “pink and radiant with pride”

My eyes at 50,“dull, white and horrid

12,000 develop fistula in Nigeria annually •As Oyo gets support for fistula care and prevention

BY SADE OGUNTOLA FISTULA care and prevention in Oyo state got a boost on Monday with the donation of equipment to support family planning and maternal health care by the USAID’s funded Fistula Care Plus project.

USAID Fistula Care Plus Project Manager, Dr Habibu Sadauki, speaking at the occasion, said the donation was to support the state government in improving health in the state and especially those with fistula, a condition that leaves the women ostracised by their husband and the community because they smell and are offensive.

Sadauki, remarking that women affected by fistula are small in number but vulnerable because they are often ignorant, rural poor women, said up to 12000 new cases of fistula occur yearly in Nigeria, mainly due to prolonged obstructed labour.

“Only few cases of fistula occur from complications of caesarean operation when handled by people not competent to do the operation,” he added.

He declared that the Fistula Care Plus project being implemented by Engender Health alongside its other partners, was only able to repair 5, 000 cases annually, leaving a large backup every year.

Sadauki added that under the project, funds were made available to support the identification and repair of fistula, adding that after fistula was surgically repaired, the women can be re-integrated into their families with their dignity restored.

Such women, he added, can also resume their reproductive health life and even

bear children.

The include equipment for maternal health and family planning services, he said was important because there is a strong relationship between the number of babies a woman has; how often she gets pregnant and fistula, a complication of childbirth.

According to him, “Before they are pregnant, they should be in very good health and they should get supervised in pregnancy and during labour to minimise complications and in particular eliminate fistula.

“After a repair, we always want them to remain without pregnancy through the use of family planning for at least a period of six months and afterwards have selective caesarean operation to deliver their baby so that they can have a life baby, remain healthy and without fistula.

“About 95 per cent of mothers who develop fistula as a result of obstructed labour will also lose their baby in the course of that childbirth because the baby is stillborn, so it is a double jeopardy,” he said.

He also solicited for increased support of everyone in ensuring that fistula is re-

From left, Dr Adamu Isa; USAID Fistula Care Plus Project Manager, Dr Habibu Sadauki; Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan and the Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr Olayemisi Iyiola at the occasion.

paired and prevented by ensuring that every pregnant woman is attended to by a skilled birth attendant during childbirth.

Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan, receiving the donors, said that the prevailing economic situation in Nigeria required more privatepublic partnership interventions.

Adeduntan, remarking that fistula and the women subsequently becoming ostracised had led to many committing suicide, assured that he will do everything to protect infant and maternal health and reduce it to the barest minimum.

Given that the fistula care plus project was important to reducing infant and maternal mortality rates, he assured that his doors would always be open to support the project.

Earlier, Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr Olayemisi Iyiola, had declared that the cardinal programme of the Oyo State government included health care provision, adding that the partnership was important in addressing the plight of many women suffering in silence and ostracised.

Dr Olusoji Adeyanju, the Chief Consultant, Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital, Ibadan said that for the past two and half years, the hospital had undertaken up to 60 fistula repairs under the Fistula Care Plus project.

The repair, which were done irrespective of the financial status of the women, had also ensured that capacity of health workers was built to be able to handle fistula repairs better.

25

healthnews

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Persistent hoarseness in voice, early warning for cancer —Expert

By Sade Oguntola

A

N Ear, Nose and Throat expert, Professor George Nwaorgu has asked that Nigerians pay adequate attention to persistent hoarseness in their voice because it could sometimes be an early warning of cancer of the larynx.

Professor Nwaorgu in an inaugural lecture he deliv-

ered at the University of Ibadan said that persistent hoarseness and obstructed breathing were two major symptoms of laryngeal disease.

The expert, who declared that causes of hoarseness could be varied, stated that any hoarseness that had been persistent for more than three weeks require early referral to specialists for detailed evaluation.

Nwaorgu, who high-

lighted other cancers that affected the neck, head and throat regions, said it was worrisome that the increase in the number of cancers in these parts of the body had not been matched with a commensurate increase in diagnostic and cancer treatment centres and facilities.

“Presently in our country, the chances of prognosis for nasopharyngeal cancer, the cancer that

starts in the upper parts of the throat behind the nose and close to the base of the skull is still very gloomy.

“Although there is an improvement in the level of awareness on cancer of tbe larynx with a consistent rise in tbe number of patients to us, a challenge which still remains incompletely solved is voice restoration post-laryngectomy.

While many people delay

From left: Professor Thamradeen Junaid, Mrs Dola Junaid, Mrs E Kukoyi and Deputy Vice chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Gbemisola Oke at the lecture.

NAFDAC confiscates trailer load of counterfeit drugs and chemicals Newton-Ray Ukwuoma Lagos OPERATIVES of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have confiscated a trailer load of counterfeit drugs and chemicals allegedly heading to Kano.

The truck was intercepted at the Iddo Motor park laden with 570 cartons of unregistered Dr. Relly Extra (Paracetamol, Diclofenac and Caffeine tablets), 448 cartoons of Dicloforte 550, 273 cartoons of Chlorophenamine (Chlorpheniramine maleate 4mg), five cartoons of Kdmotil (Loperamide Hydrochloride tablets), 18 cartoons of Newdol (Diclofenac sodium capsules 50mg), 51 cartoons of Bospan, 25 cartoons of Tramadol 225mg/200mg, 10 drums of Toluene disocyanate 80/20 (TDI), 10 drums of Malachite Green powder and five drums of Methylviolate crystal.

The unregistered products concealed in bundles of fairly-used clothes, food products and registered products were being transported to the warehouse of one Cho-

sen Global Haulage Nigeria Ltd, Kano State.

Speaking to newsmen at its Oshodi office, the Acting Director General of NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said that two syndicates, one Mr. Ikechukwu Adiba of 82 Atikan Road, Sabon Gari, Kano and the Managing Director Chosen Global Haulage Nigeria had been arrested.

She said that the counterfeit products were allegedly manufactured in Gujurat in India and that investigations were still ongoing as to the source of the chemicals.

She, however, stated that the importation of chemicals such as Toluene disocyanate 80/20 (TDI) and Tramadol were controlled by the Federal Government because they can be easily converted to illicit drugs and weapons.

It will be recalled that the agency recently impounded 880 bags of chemical compound used for manufacturing explosives.

Speaking she said, “Toluene disocynate is a highly regulated and controlled chemical that could be used as a precursor in the manufacture of illicit drugs and as a chemical weapon by ter-

rorist because of its volatile nature, while Tramadol is highly abused by youth notably commercial and truck driver as dependent substances”.

While assuring the public of a mop up operation of the

counterfeit drugs in circulation across the nations, the Acting DG implored the National Union of Road Transport Workers to discourage as well as to report the hawking of all aphrodisiac chemicals.

seeking medical care because of poverty, religious and socio-cultural beliefs, poverty and illiteracy and initial self medication, he reiterated the need for improved awareness of the general populace on these cancers, like is done for lung cancer.

The expert also linked some cases of recurrent or recalcitrant sore throat to viral infections like Neisseria gonorrhoea, the germ that causes gonorrhoea, warning that orogenital sex can pave way for cancer of the pharynx.

In addition, other cancers in the neck and head region, he said were linked to Human Papilloma Virus, HIV and some dietary deficiencies like vitamin A and Zinc.

To this end, he suggested that government should put in place a targeted and well coordinated health education and awareness programme for ORL diseases and their prevention at the community level, through the various media and even religious organisations should be pursued with the support of appropriate and relevant agencies.

Also, inclusion of therapy for head and neck cancers in the existing National Health Insurance Scheme will likely encourage early presentation to the ORL specialist while also reducing default from treatment.

In addition, programmes aimed at creating awareness and encouraging immunisation against HPV and other infective agents that may result in new infections and abscess.

FG launches rapid result initiative for better health

THE Federal Ministry of Health has launched Rapid Result Initiative programme tagged “Better Health for all” designed to produce quick and visible impact that would affect the lives of every Nigerian, especially the most vulnerable and poor in the society.

The launch of the programme portrayed preparedness and determination of the Federal Ministry of Health to kick-start the operationalisation of the programme to achieve result within 100 days.

Briefing the press, in Abuja, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole said the goals are ambitious, but certainly doable and would keep the top management of the federal ministry of health

on their toes in the next 100 days of implementation.

He said that the Rapid Result Initiative would be deployed in seven major areas that would conform to both local and international health priorities.

On revitalisation of Primary Healthcare Centres, Prof. Adewole said under this project that the federal ministry of health would work to revamp 110 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) within the next 100 days, one in each senatorial district including a facility in Fuka Local Government in Niger State.

The Minister said that Fuka community suffered high case fatality from Lassa fever due to cultural interpretation of the cause of the disease.

“During my unscheduled visit to FUKA I noticed that there was no functional PHC to offer basic health care and I promised that Federal Government will provide a functional facility, today as we speak the Fuka PHC is ready for commissioning,” the minister said.

Adewole said that the Ministry was to also inaugurate Mutual Health Associations at community level to improve access to affordable and qualitative health care.

The Mutual Health Associations are either privately or publicly incorporated body registered by the National Health Insurance Scheme solely to access health care service through health care facilities accredited by the scheme, he explained.

‘Mosquitoes can transmit hepatitis’

By Sade Oguntola ASIDE mosquitoes simply irritating with buzzing sound in the ear and spreading malaria, a Pathology expert, Professor Thamradeen Junaid has said some mosquitoes also infect their victims with hepatits B, the deadly virus responsible for liver cancer.

Professor Junaid spoke at a lecture titled “’Boy Joe’: Infections and Cancers”, in remembrance of Dr Joshua Ayodele Smith, a foremost consultant pathologist to the University of Ibadan in Ibadan.

Junaid, who linked this discovery to the research work of Dr Joshua Ayodele Smith and his collaborators far back in 1970’s, said studies had shown that hepatitis B virus could be carried by the culex mosquito.

The expert, stating that other mosquitoes’ species like Aedes aegyti also spread other viral diseases such as Zika and yellow fever virus, said that this could be a reason why hepatitis B is more common in the tropical areas.

The expert, noting that many viral infections including Ebola and Zika viruses had made many people sick, with some resulting into death, declared that even among some that recovered, some end up having the virus still present in body fluids.

“Zika virus could be present in fluids of the eye, urine and semen of recovered persons, new knowledge has shown,” he said.

However, Professor Junaid, also a former head of Department of Pathology, University of Ibadan, said that conditions that lower body immunity such as malnutrition, chronic illnesses and malaria could end up making hepatitis B infection develop into its chronic form and eventually liver fibrosis and cancer.

According to him, common cancers in our environment such as Burkitt lymphoma, liver cancer, cervical cancer have been proven beyond doubt to be caused by infectious agents, largely viruses.

He, however, asked that people be vaccinated against the viral diseases, adding that there are vaccinations to prevent common cancers like that of the liver and cervix.

At the occasion which had Dr Smith’s colleagues, relatives and friends like Professor Jide Ajayi, Professor Jide Bademosi and retired Justice Zai Smith, an endowment in his own was announced for the best degrees graduating student in pathology.

26

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Corn silk tea soothes urinary problems, kidney stone

By Sade Oguntola

W

E consume corn in a variety of ways: as food, as popcorn, in feeding animals and even for beautifying walls. Corn meal, for instance, is widely used in poultices. In fact, Iraqis make teas from its shiny, silky fibres at the tip of an ear of corn silk for urinary tract disorders such as bladder and urinary tract infections — or cystitis.

Corn silk contains many beneficial properties including allantoin, flavonoid, vitamins B, C and K, and potassium. Corn silk soothes and relaxes the urinary system, acting as a diuretic. It calms problems of the bladder and urinary tract inflammations that stem from infection.

Its potential healthcare benefits as antifatigue, anti-depressant, anti-diabetic, and as blood sugar-lowering agent have been claimed in several reports. In addition, its efficacy in the treatment of cystitis, prostate disorder, bedwetting and obesity has also been reported.

Corn silk’s potassium content acts as a diuretic by reducing fluid retention and eliminating deposits as well as irritants and toxins from the kidneys and bladder. It has been used safely for centuries to aid healing.

To make tea for treating urinary tract problems, a handful of corn silk was added to boiling water and allowed to infuse for 10 minutes. It was thought that three cups of corn silk tea a day are necessary for its healing effects to take hold.

In a 2012 clinical study, researchers evaluating the benefit of water extract of corn

silk found that it significantly reduced the symptoms in patient with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI), without any reported side effect, which indicated its efficacy and safety. It was published in the Journal of Intercultural Ethnopharmacology.

These were in 42 Iraqi patients with Urinary tract infection attending outpatient clinic in Alkindy College of Medicine, Baghdad, Iraq, over the period from October 2011 to March 2012.

All of the patients were followed up after five days, 10 days and 20 days from starting course of treatment with aqueous extract of corn silk.

Moreover, researchers also substantiated its usefulness in decomposing kidney stone. Its effectiveness was comparable with alkalinizer agent which is considered an effective decomposer factor.

This study also carried out at Al-Yarmook Teaching Hospital between October 2010 and April 2011 involved 60 male patients with ages range between 20 and 60 years.

They were divided in two groups and the first group of patients with lower urinary

natural

health

stone size were advised to take alkalinizer agent (Uralyt-U) while other group of patients were advised to take corn silk. The dose was one cup of tea three times daily and two cup of tea daily for each group respectively.

The study reported that corn silk increased the urinary output and increased the percentage the passage of urinary stones through the urinary tracts without decomposed stones while alkalinizer agent increase the decomposition of stone. It was in the 2012 edition of the International Journal of Health and Nutrition.

The researchers suggested that corn silk plays important physical role in treatment by increasing the contraction of smooth muscles of urethra, leading to increase the urinary output without decomposition of

stones while Uralyt-U- decompose stones by providing alkaline pH. Meanwhile, drinking corn silk tea is also protective of drug induced kidney damage, experts indicated in the 2011 edition of Comparative Clinical Pathology.

The researchers, who evaluated the toxic effect of corn silk on the kidneys of 60 Wistar rats, said corn silk may ameliorate kidney damage from prolonged use of an antibiotic like gentamicin.

Folk remedies show that the corn silks have been used as an oral antidiabetic agent in China for many years and as herbal tea in other world nations for the amelioration of urinary tract infection. But is it safe for the heart?

Experts assessing its safety on the functions of the heart using animal models said although it is medicinal, patients with compromised heart conditions, especially need to be careful drink corn silk tea.

In this study, which involved researchers at the University of Ibadan and published in the journal, Macedonian Veterinary Review, they reported significant changes in the heart rate of animals in the tested animals that had corn silk tea for a period of seven days when compared to the control group. Sections of the heart were found to be swollen.

Also, researchers at the Kwara State University suggested that corn silk extract does not predispose the animals to anaemic or cardiovascular condition when used in low doses and within a short period of time.

Why your paediatrician might start asking your child about sex THE American Academy of Pediatrics released a clinical report urging pediatricians to talk to adolescent patients about healthy sexuality and contraceptives.

Medical statements don’t usually make for captivating reading, but the American Academy of Pediatrics released a clinical report Monday that ought to be shouted from the rooftops.

The statement, which will appear in the August Journal of Pediatrics, urges pediatricians to talk to their patients about sex, using evidence-based information about healthy relationships, contraceptives and responsible sexual activity.

“Sexuality education is more than the instruction of children and adolescents on anatomy and the physiology of biological sex and reproduction,” write authors Cora C. Breuner and Gerri Mattson. “It covers healthy sexual development, gender identity, interpersonal relationships, affection, sexual development, intimacy and body image for all adolescents, including adolescents with disabilities, chronic health conditions and other special needs.”

But wait! There’s more!

“Developing a healthy sexuality is a key developmental milestone for all children and adolescents that depends on acquiring information and forming attitudes, beliefs, and values about consent, sexual orientation, gender identity, relationships and intimacy.”

Consent! Intimacy! Relationships! Be still, my beating heart.

A third of all adolescent patients don’t receive any information on sexuality from their pediatricians, according to the report. And patients whose doctors do address sex say the conversations last “less than 40 seconds.”

That doesn’t leave a lot of time for specifics.

“For providers, this statement is helpful because it calls for backing up what we do with science and giving some uniformity to what we do,” said Rebecca Unger, a pediatrician at Chicago’s Northwestern Children’s Practice and an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “For parents, the message is that we are helping children learn to be advocates for themselves and make healthy and safe decisions.”

All too often, our sex-ed conversations get bogged down in whether to stress abstinence as the safest (or only) option for teens. But an

early, healthy understanding of sexuality can shape a person in ways that are significant and lifelong.

“Healthy sexuality,” the statement reads, “includes the capacity to promote and preserve significant interpersonal relationships, value one’s body and personal health, interact with both sexes in respectful and appropriate ways and express affection, love, and intimacy in ways consistent with one’s own values, sexual preferences, and abilities.”

That’s hard to cover in 40 seconds. It’s also pretty hard to Google.

Ideally, a pediatrician is just one of several respected adults talking to a kid about

Pastor Segun Ologunowa (middle) presenting glasses to one of the benefiaries of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Jesus Calvary community outreach last sunday at the church premises, while an opthalmologist from University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan Dr Adetayo Adebayo looks on. PHOTO: ALAWALE OLANIYAN.

healthy sexuality. The report acknowledges as much: “Education about sexuality that is provided by pediatricians can complement the education children obtain at school or at home.”

And, as Unger pointed out, any fruitful conversation about sexuality needs to be ongoing.

“It’s not a one-time conversation,” she told me. “A child might see something in an advertisement or movie and ask, ‘What does that mean?’ And you want to answer that question in a developmentally appropriate way. It’s a lifelong conversation.”

I’m glad doctors are being urged to join it.

27

politics&policy

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Unending crisis in Enugu APC

The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State is locked in internal crisis, even as notable politicians in the state are swelling its ranks. South-East Bureau Chief, JUDE OSSAI, examines the issues at stake.

I

N the South-East of the country, just like any other zone, the politicians have begun strategising ahead of the 2019 general election. Perhaps, it is against this backdrop that the tempo of horse-trading, particularly in the two dominant parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued to rise in Igboland In the Enugu Stae APC fold, this is certainly not the best of times. The party has been polarised along different interest groups. The APC is divided into two major factions with the state chairman of the party, Dr Ben Nwoye leading one front and the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, heading the other. Sources revealed that the internal squabble, which is as old as the formation of the mega party itself, is as a result of the alleged inordinate ambitions of the two leaders. Both Nwoye and Okechukwu want to control the party structure in the state.

The other reasons for the great divide are obvious. While Nwoye came from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Okechukwu rose from the then Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) flank. The CPC prides itself as the group that produced President Muhammed Buhari, hence believes that its followers should be in a position to dictate the affairs of the party in the state. But the ACN supporters think differently. They contend that nobody is a stranger and, therefore, they are equal owners of the party.

Prior to the last general election, Okechukwu and Nwoye were the last men standing in the opposition in the state.

While Okechukwu, under his former CPC, fought gallantly against the perceived misrule of the PDP administration, Nwoye was at the then ACN party fighting seriously against their common foe, the PDP. With the coalition of the opposition groups that led to the formation of APC and its victory at the centre, the question becomes, who takes charge of the party structure in the state?

To Nwoye, he invested much of his personal money in the building of the party while Okechukwu contends that he sacrificed his time, life and money more than any other party member in the state. The pro-Nwoye group alleged that Okechukwu was fueling the crisis, as he was said to have been able to convince some members of the state executive that Nwoye, Chief Okey Ezea, the gubernatorial candidate of the party in 2015 poll and the zonal vice-president, Emma Eneukwu, allegedly needed to account for campaign funds to the tune of N400 million. Some of the state executive members on the side of Okechukwu include the Enugu-East Senatorial zone Vice Chairman, Chief Anike Nwaoga, deputy state chairman, A.C. Udeh; state secretary, Major General Chris Eze (retd), Mrs Kate Ofor, publicity secretary, Juliet Ibekaku, deputy governorship candidate, Lolo Queen Nwankwo (Woman Leader), Chief Onyemuche Nnamani among others.

Sources revealed that the renewed crisis in the South-East zone, especially Enugu State, started early this year, when the APC national secretariat ordered all state chapters of the party to compile 50 names for nomination for federal boards, ambassadors and other appointments. The trio of Ben Nwoye, state chairman, Hon Emma Eneukwu, zonal national chairman and governorship candidate, Chief Ezea, were entrusted with this responsibility. Reports had it that the list was skewed in favour of Nwoye and his loyalists to the extent that Okechukwu’s name, among others in Ezeagu local government area, were excluded. It was learnt that the marginalised group led by Okechukwu took the matter to the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr David Lawal and later to the national chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun. The issue stands unresolved till date.

Sources also said that anothr crisis reared its head, when the party ordered membership mobilisation, especially in weak zones like the South-East. “Since the party has the progressive ideology, it is expected that all progressive minds should be allowed to come into the party. It is because of this that the likes of Senators Jim Nwobodo, Fidelis Okoro, Chief Gbazuagu Nweke Gbazuagu and Dr Mrs. Dorothy Nwodo joined APC”, the source added.

Further checks showed that the bottled anger in the two camps resurfaced during the formal declaration of Nwobodo and other “decampees” held at the state APC party secretariat in GRA, Enugu. The controversy reportedly occurred in the presence of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Godfrey Onyeama, the vice chairman of the Enugu-east senatorial zone, Chief Nwaoga allegedly led the “rebellion”, insisting that Nwobodo could not boost the profile of the APC, because of the Dasukigate arms scandal.

Another nagging issue confronting the party is how to accommodate the ambition of some top party stalwarts. For

Nwoye

instance, Okechukwu, Eneukwu and Mrs. Ibekaku who is the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Judicial Reforms, are said to be eying the Enugu-West Senatorial seat in 2019.

The theory is that if the deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, is indicted, over alleged forgery for which he is to face trial, the coast will be clear for the APC candidate, with little or no resistance from the PDP in the zone. Dr Nwoye, while briefing newsmen in Enugu recently, alleged that Okechukwu was creating crisis in the state chapter of the party. Nwoye said his attention was drawn to publications in a section of the media, purporting that he sacked the vice chairman of APC in Enugu-East senatorial, Nwoga because he tongue-lashed Senator Ekweremadu for informing the international community in writing over his alleged forgery trial.

Will the crisis in the APC affect its fortune in 2019? In an interview with Okechukwu who was one of the members of APC merger committee which midwifed the party, he said, ”We are not talking of 2019 in the actual sense of the word. Rather, we are seriously pre-occupied with the Herculean task of revamping our decayed physical and social infrastructure in the land. We inherited the collapse of all the federal roads, especially in the South-East, from Enugu-Port Harcourt, Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Markurdi, Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene, to Otuchocha -Lokoja. Going by Mr. President’s program as enlisted in the 2016 Budget, we are working towards creating employment, fixing collapsed infrastructure, containing insurgency and fighting corruption.

“It is painful that our infrastructure collapsed in spite of unprecedented oil wealth which accrued in the last 16 years.

When sometimes crude oil sold above $100 per barrel, it is a painful experience to inherit a squandered economy. For

The renewed crisis in the South-East zone, especially Enugu State, started early this year, when the APC national secretariat ordered all state chapters of the party to compile 50 names for nomination for federal boards, ambassadors and other appointments.

Okechukwu

us, we take the economic outlook as critical because it’s the substructure, which creates the material conditions for the political superstructure. The issue of strategizing is natural in the political arena, especially when we now have surge of new members. new members who are streaming in because of the hope generated by President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory and transparent leadership. We are busy harvesting new members from our sister political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

On the insinuation that his group was opposed to new members, he said: “Let me state clearly first that Emeka Anike is the zonal Organsing Secretary of Enugu East and authored his statement. I understand that they even wrote petition to the national chairman. Disregard Nwoye’s blackmail. He talks as if our members are imbeciles.

“It is needful to state unequivocally that we have great respect for Chief Nwobodo, he was our mentor in our days in the university, when he was governor. The only snag was that he joined via the wrong door, through one chance elements in our party, who sabotaged our efforts in every angle during the general elections. Therefore, I personally have no ill feelings against our elder statesman. They wanted to use Chief Nwobodo as a shield, so we shouted.”

The APC stalwart dismissed the allegation that the party was polarised with him leading one front and Dr Nwoye heading the other. According to him, “It is not polarisation as such, but as I said earlier, it is more or less a difference which arose between those who believed sincerely in Mr. President and worked for his victory and those who never believed that an incumbent can lose an election in Nigeria.”

On the impact so far made by the coming of politicians such as Senator Nwobodo, Onyemuche Nnamani and Dr Nwodo into APC in the South-East and the state in particular, the VON boss noted, “Chief Onyemuche Nnamani, is a foundation member of APC and the financier in Enugu State. He sponsored the great Buhari Road Show, which was one of the signposts of the campaign. I treasure the entry of eminent persons into our party very much; it makes for growth in a region where we are weak. We were very weak in our region in the 2015 general elections. President Buhari got only 22 per cent from the south, 16 per cent of which was from the old Western Region and 5 per cent from the old Eastern Region.

With their entry, we surely will reverse the trend. This is our grand strategy.”

As it is, the battle of wits among the warring political lords in APC in the Coal City State seems unending.

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politicscommentary

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Tony Anenih at 83: Longing and belonging

By Sufuyan Ojeifo

T

HIS time last year, in my tribute to the former chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, titled: Anenih @ 82 and the longing for more odysseys, I had strongly posited that the politician was yet to get to the terminus of his political odyssey. It is obvious that, notwithstanding his exit from the Chair of the Conscience Department of the PDP in the aftermath of the party’s loss to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 presidential election, he is still as relevant as he was in the saddle. He has continued to make his characteristic subtle moves that underpin and feed his survivalist instincts in the nation’s cloak-and-dagger politics.

Anenih remains a founding leader of the PDP and foundation member of the party’s BoT. He has never, for once, resigned his membership of the BoT. Therefore, the question of his readmission into the board, as erroneously canvassed very recently in some quarters in the party, is an aberration.

Doubtless, he has had his high and low times in the party; yet, he has particularly survived all manner of political intrigues and shenanigans. Part of what sustains his politics and relevance is the massive goodwill he enjoys from friends and political associates; and, this has, over the years, resulted in the building of contacts that cut across the length and breadth of the nation. It is quite instructive that members of his political family in the Edo State chapter of the PDP call him “National Leader.” This is understandable. Anenih has continued to provide guidance and support to his loyalists and members of the party alike. He has stood steadfastly in the gap in the area of funding the activities of the party in the state. This has been his essential sacrifice and price for leadership.

His desire for more actions in politics, albeit moderately this time round given his advancement in age, explicates a life that is committed to politics. Anenih’s longing fits well into the architecture on which he has built a life and time of robust politicking. Thus, his belonging in the nation’s political circles for over three decades is quite explicable.

He has panache. He has accomplished so much in politics.

However, his trajectory in life, especially his starting point, which was hitherto not highlighted until his 80th birthday in 2013 through publications in the print media, apprised Nigerians of his grass-to-grace narrative, which touched the sensibilities of readers and provided a new perspective of his individuality.

The narrative was succinct. It, therefore, bears repeating on occasions such as this: after his successful sojourn at Government School, Uromi, he could not proceed to Saint Thomas’ Teacher Training College, Ibusa, subsequent to passing the qualifying examination due to the inability of his parents to afford the six pounds required for scholarship; and, he had to, among other things, take to rubber tapping to raise fund for his education. That account had shattered the mindset in some quarters that Anenih came from an aristocratic background. Truth is, he had endured the vicissitudes of life: he headed for Benin City to stay with and serve, for one year, Lance Corporal Omeben, the father of retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Christopher Omeben, who was then in Edo College. It was the late older Omeben who advised and encouraged Anenih to enlist in the Nigeria Police Force in 1951 (from where he voluntarily retired in 1976 as Commissioner of Police to venture into private business, which he later combined with politics.) His forthcoming autobiography, which is due for launch before the end of the year, will lay out in greater details the story behind the story of his life and time.

The occasion of his birthday has always afforded him obligatory introspection on the journey of life and the vagaries of socio-economic and political tempers that he had to deal with in the journey of life. The consequences of this annual introspection must have informed his devotion to the service of God and humanity, which adverts attention to the silent chapter of his life: his philanthropy that is hardly celebrated. Among countless individuals and institutions, both academic and religious that have benefitted from his eleemosynary are: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; the University of Benin; Igbinedion University, Okada; and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. In 2012, he endowed a multi-million naira Geriatric Centre at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the first in Africa, to support the care of the aged and senior citizens.

Perhaps, what may have significantly set this year’s birthday apart from the previous celebrations was a life threatening health condition that he overcame in October last year.

Anenih

He witnessed the manifest hand of God that saw him undergo a successful major surgery. He has not ceased thanking God for His tender mercies and loving kindness. There is no doubt that his appreciation of that divine rescue will come alive today in much bolder motif: possibly through songs and dance. Anenih is poised to rock. Those who have benefitted from his large-heartedness- friends, political associates and relatives- will happily rock with him.

And because my assessment of him over the years has not changed, I will like to recap part of what I wrote last year concerning Anenih: “…It is curious that in a society where politicians clamour for recognition, and advantageously position themselves in the media to gain mileages, Anenih would rather restrain himself and choose, instead, to dance to the quiet rhythm of his soul. This is a disposition that has helped to define his persona as a taciturn and decorous politician, whose maturity, experience and fidelity can hardly be faulted.

“Anenih is a purposeful and quintessential politician, a politician who has earned his place in the nation’s politics as a Leader of his people and his numerous followers within and outside his political sphere of influence. But his tenacity of purpose and legerdemain had actually crystallised in the defunct Second Republic when, as chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Bendel State, he plotted and led the political/electoral onslaught that saw his party’s candidate, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, defeat the then sitting governor, the late Professor Ambrose Alli of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

One thing that is discernible from his body language is his desire for PDP to regain its lost prize. He believes this is possible if only the party can get its act together. He has kept on preaching quietly to steadfast leaders of the party.

“The strategist had replicated similar feat in the ill-fated Third Republic as Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and in the current Fourth Republic when, during Obasanjo’s re-election gambit in 2002/2003, he had taken charge of the machinery that fashioned out strategies that ensured the defeat of opposition to Obasanjo within and outside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In 2007 and 2011 general elections, he played a frontline strategic role in the electoral success of the PDP. “Anenih’s ability to consistently, at every turn, resolve knotty political puzzles would later earn him the sobriquet“Mr. Fix It”, which the opposition elements had tried to twist negatively to demonise him. The deprecating aura that the ‘Mr Fix It’ tag exudes in the nation’s political arena does not aptly convey the essential content of the Anenih persona. Yet, the other camps have always played it up in their deliberate schema to demonize him within and outside the cosmos of political affairs where he hit the limelight. It is, indeed, paradoxical that politics, which brought him fame, has also earned him scorn in the camps of the opposition elements.

“But then, he has chosen to bear the cross philosophically: politics is in his blood and he plays it with the passion and devotion of a religious aficionado. He accepts the compliments that come with it as well as the bashings. He relishes the victories, the accomplishments and the bravura performances of his party and candidates during electoral contests. He has also learned to live with the pains of defeat whenever he suffers any….”

He is presently living with the defeat of the PDP by the APC in the 2015 presidential election but he does not appear to be hysterical about the development. However, the important question is: at 83, will he opt out of politics or is he considering retiring from the game of which he has become a master? It is only the Iyasele of Esanland that can answer this question since politics is in his blood. But one thing that is discernible from his body language is his desire for PDP to regain its lost prize. He believes this is possible if only the party can get its act together. He has kept on preaching quietly to steadfast leaders of the party. This is Anenih’s disposition to politics and the sum of his inspirational life: a grand and archetypal politician who is consistently and persistently loyal to his leadership and followership; an ardent mobiliser of human resources; a political strategist with the can-do spirit, who believes in positive thinking,as well as the force of great and reasonable expectations.

•Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine, sent the piece from Abuja.

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

12 th

ALL NIGERIA EDITORS’ CONFERENCE (ANEC 2016) PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE

THEME:

ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION: AGRICULTURE AS OPTION FOR A PROSPEROUS NIGERIA KEYNOTE SPEAKER: MR. LUCAS ADENIJI, MD/CEO, NIJI FARMS CHAIRMAN:

AREMO SEGUN OSOBA, FNGE, FORMER GOVERNOR, OGUN STATE

SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOUR:

HIS EXCELLENCY DR. EMMANUEL UDUAGHAN, CON

HOST MINISTER:

HOST GOVERNOR:

ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED,

HIS EXCELLENCY BARR. NYESOM WIKE, CON

HON. MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE

FORMER GOVERNOR, DELTA STATE

DATE:

AUGUST 3-7, 2016 FUNKE EGBEMODE Ag. President 0803-786-7488

EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR, RIVERS STATE

TIME:

9:00a.m.

VENUE:

PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL, PORT HARCOURT

KEN UGBECHIE Chairman, Planning Committee 0803-436-4524

30 2015/2016 END OF YEAR PARTY AND VALEDICTORY SERVICE OF PACESETTERS GROUP OF SCHOOLS, ASHIPA, ODO-ONA ELEWE, IBADAN

From left, Special Guest of Honour; Pastor Mrs Y. O. Agbonghale, the Proprietor; Mrs F. F. Odutola and the Chairman, Board of Governors, Pastor S. O. Odutola, at the valedictory service, on Wednesday, July 27.

JSS 3 graduating students.

SSS 3 graduating students.

Pacesetters College Calabar Dance Troupe

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

PHOTOS: TOMMY ADEGBITE

60TH ANNIVERSARY AND 51ST ANNUAL CONVENTION OF GOFAMINT

From right, General Overseer, The Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT), Pastor (Dr) E.O. Abina; General Secretary, Pastor Femi Omowunmi, Assistant General Secretary, Pastor O.O. Onayemi and a member of the executive committee, Pastor (Dr) E.T. Oluwayemi, at the 60th anniversary and 51st annual convention of the church, held at International Conference Centre, Gospel Town, Igbo-Oloyin Road, Ibadan, on Monday.

From left, Reverend (Dr) Gary Maxey; Deputy General Overseer, GOFAMINT, Pastor (Professor) S.O. Ewuola and Pastor David Broughton, on Wednesday.

The Olusi of Usi Ekiti, Oba Adedayo George Akande and his olori, on Wednesday.

General Overseer, Pastor (Dr) E.O. Abina (right), welcoming Pastor Paul Carthay from Australia to the convention on Wednesday.

From left, Pastor Broughton; General Evangelist, GOFAMINT, Evangelist Augustine Sossa; and the Regional Pastor, Region 2, Pastor M.O. Adeogun.

Pastor Imelda Mesa (Australian) with Pastor Paul Carthay.

From left, Pastor S.O. Okomolehin; Pastor (Engineer) E.O. Olagunju, chairman, Convention Working Committee; Pastor M.A. Olatunji; Pastor G.B. Ifaola and Mr Bamidele Ogunrinola.

From right, Pastor Amos Akangbe, Pastor Taiwo Fagbuyi and Pastor Simeon Akinde.

A cross section members of the choir on the occasion.

A cross section of the congregation at the convention, on Wednesday.

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Thursday, 4 August, 2016

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south-westnews

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Ajimobi heads APC 7-member Ondo governorship screening committee •Agunloye picks SDP form •Don’t heat up polity, civil society group warns

By Jacob Segun olatunji, Kolawole Daniel and Hakeem Gbadamosi

T

HE National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Osita Izunaso, on Wednesday, at the party’s National Secretariat, in Abuja, inaugurated a high-powered seven-member screening committee and three-member screening appeal committee for the 2016 Ondo State gover-

norship election primaries.

The seven-member screening committee is chaired by the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.

Other members are Mr Joe Igbokwe, Honourable Fatsuma Talba, Chief Felix Nwachukwu, Mr Aminu Jacob Momoh, Alhaji Mustapha Abubakar and Alhaji Umar Duhu (Secretary).

The three-member Screening Appeal Committee is chaired by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Agunwa

Anaekwe. Other members are Honourable Sadiq Abdullahi and Dr Bashiru Ajibola (Secretary).

The APC National Organising Secretary charged the seven-member screening committee to carry out comprehensive screening of all documents submitted to the party by aspirants. He said all candidates must meet eligibility requirements provided by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), 2010 Electoral Act (as amended), the party’s constitution and

the party’s 2014 guidelines for the nomination of candidates for public office.

He said: “The assignment of this committee is a very serious one. You are expected to look at the qualifications of the aspirants that have bought forms to contest for the Ondo State governorship on the platform of our party. Their qualification must be looked at in line with the 1999 Constitution and in line with our party’s guidelines as well. You must also make

National Organising Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Osita Izunaso (third right), exchanging pleasantries with the chairman, screening committee for the 2016 Ondo State governorship election primaries, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, during the inauguration of the committee, in Abuja, on Wednesday. They are flanked by the APC national auditor, Chief George Moghalu (left) and the National Vice-Chairman (South-West), Chief Pius Akinyelure (right).

Landlord commits suicide in Ibadan

By Tunde Ogunesan ONE of the landlords at Ayegbami Zone 7, Idi-Ose, along Akanran Road, OnaAra Local Government Area, Oyo State, Popoola Adepoju, on Tuesday evening committed suicide by hanging himself in his room.

Popoola, a 48-year-old father of three and a former staff of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), tied a rope to a ceiling fan in his room to hang himself.

The deceased was said to have left a three-sheet suicide note.

The note, sources said, caused controversy between some members of the family and the police as the family members refused to release the note.

He was said to have sent his children out of the house on Tuesday evening before committing suicide.

His wife was also said not to be at home at the time of the incident.

Upon persuasion, the Nigerian Tribune gathered

that the suicide note was eventually released to the General Chairman, Idi Ose Community, Chief Taiwo Alimi.

The wife told the investigation police officers that visited the house on Wednesday that her husband was disengaged from the defunct NEPA establishment at Abeokuta two years ago, but had not been

paid his entitlements.

She added that she had engaged in cement business to sustain the family.

It was gathered that Chief Alimi later led the community members and the deceased’s relatives to the Akanran Police Division where the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Aliko Dankoli, gave the directive that the corpse be buried as

requested.

Sympathisers who besieged the house of the deceased were emotionally aroused around 10:20 a.m. when the deceased’s son, Timileyin, was led to the residence by a relative.

Relatives, community members and the church members later interred the remains of Adepoju within the premises.

Mimiko reshuffles cabinet

Ondo exco approves completion of Okitipupa-Ayeka-Irele Road GOVERNOR Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has approved a minor cabinet reshuffle in the state executive council.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing, held at the Governor’s Office, Akure.

Mr Akinmade was flanked by the commissioners for Works, Mr Gboye Adegbenro; Agriculture, Pastor Segun Ayerin; Justice, Remi Olatubora and the chairman of OSOPADEC, Pastor Johnson Ogunyemi.

Mr Akinmade noted that

the erstwhile Commissioner for Adult, Technical and Vocational Education, Mr Remi Olatubura, had been appointed as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, while Jide Adejuyigbe, Commissioner for Education will oversee the ministry of adult, technical and vocational education.

According to him, the Commissioner for Natural Resources, Mr Tunde Atere, will oversee the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs while the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Chief Ayo Abiola, will take

charge of the ministry for environment.

The development followed the resignations of Mr Eyitayo Jegede, Honourable Bamiduro Dada and Chief Sola Ebiseni, all former commissioners for justice, local government and chieftaincy affairs and the environment respectively, in pursuance of their governorship ambitions.

Meanwhile, Ondo State executive council has approved the completion of the Okitipupa-AyekaAraromi-Irele Road in the southern senatorial district of the state.

sure aspirants have paid the N5million for the nomination form and N500,000 for the expression of interest form. There must be evidence of this payment.

You must also look at the aspirant’s contributions to the party at ward, state and even at the national level.

You must also look at their knowledge of the party’s manifesto.

The APC National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, stated that the screening exercise is mandatory for all aspirants and aspirants are not to be screened by proxy.

Speaking at the inauguration, Chairman of the Screening Committee, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, expressed confidence that the APC would win the Ondo State governorship election.

He also said all aspirants will be treated fairly during the screening exercise.

Also, former Minister of Power, Dr Olu Agunloye, on Wednesday, raised the alarm over the increasing rate of poverty in the country and called on President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to shift its fight to the scourge in the interest of democracy.

Speaking in Abuja shortly after he picked his nomination form to contest for the governorship ticket of Ondo State on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he cautioned the Federal Government that the ongoing fight against corruption should not be fight of individual but about institution.

While presenting the form to the aspirant, the party’s Deputy National Chairman, Dr Abdul Ahmmed Isaiq, said the PDP government in Ondo State had failed woefully.

Meanwhile, civil society groups under the umbrella, Coalition of All Civil Society Organisations in Ondo State, on Wednesday, called on political parties and politicians to desist from heating up the polity in the state.

The group, which also faulted the just-concluded voters registration exercise conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the election, called on the electoral umpire to analyse the last exercise.

Speaking to journalists during a press conference in Akure, chairman of the group, Franklin Oloniju, noted that the registration exercise was marred with irregularities, saying “people were brought in from neighbouring states to register as voters in Ondo State.”

Nigerian Tribune

Ose LG PDP denies endorsing Jegede Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Wednesday, denied adopting one of the governorship aspirants, Eyitayo Jegede, ahead of the party primaries slated for August 22.

This was contained in a communiqué issued by the stakeholders after its meeting in Idogun, urging the leadership of the party in the state not to impose any of the aspirants.

In the communiqué, signed by the former chairman of the council, Victor Olotu, the stakeholders stated that the governorship slot should be zoned to the northern senatorial district.

They said they supported Thompson Ayegunle, an aspirant from the area.

The stakeholders said “PDP stakeholders in Ose observed that the rotation of the office of the governor of Ondo State has completed its full circle round the three senatorial districts and it should naturally come back to the northern senatorial district.”

Chief Farohunbi’s burial begins today THE Aagba Akin of Ororuwo, Osun State, the oldest man in his community, Chief David Agboola Farohunbi is dead.

He died on Monday, June 20, at age 99. His burial arrangement begins today.

Christian wake keep holds today at 4.00p.m at the family house, Esa’s compound, Ororuwa.

Burial and thanksgiving service hold on Friday, at St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Ororuwo, by 10.00a.m, while reception follows immediately after the service on the ground of St.Luke’s Anglican Primary School, across the street from the church.

Chief Agboola Farohunbi

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Nigerian Tribune

Turn intellectualism into money, acting OAU VC urges researchers

By Ronke Sanya

T

HE acting Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Professor Anthony Elujoba, has said that “any research that is not developed is a waste. Researches should be turned into development and products that generate money.”

Professor Elujoba disclosed this during a visit to the Institute of Agriculture Research and Training (IAR&T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan, recently.

Professor Elujoba, who noted that he is acting presently as a soldier on a mission and a head of a transition that has a mandate to pave a smooth way for the incoming vice chancellor of OAU, urged the IAR&T to commercialise research findings.

“As academics, we are trained to solve problems.

Every skill can be commercialised. Every research that you have done successfully, there is money in it.

People expect magic from the Federal Government but failed to note that skills can be commercialised,” he said. He stated further that

LAUTECH dons seek adoption of orange fleshed sweet potato A team of lecturers in the Faculties of Food Science and Engineering, as well as their counterparts in Agricultural Sciences, have began efforts at seeking adoption and utilisation of Orange fleshed Sweet Potato (O.F.S.P), as crop and food in Oyo and Kwara states.

Led by the university’s Director of Quality Assurance, who coincidentally is a Professor of Food Science, Professor Aishat Bolanle Akinwande, the group is embarking on creating awareness about the potentials of the specie as a means of enhancing the livelihood and nutrition of the masses in the Ogbomoso and Offa zones of both states.

The project, a multi disciplinary and multi-institutional one which harnesses the expertise of different researchers is jointly funded by the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) and LAUTECH, Ogbomoso.

Akinwande who is the coordinator of the activities of the LAUTECH team spoke at the beginning of the awareness programme during the week at Odo-Oba, describing Orange fleshed Sweet potato as an excellent food security crop which is good for under-nutrition and micronutrient malnutrition.

this should be a new dawn of research.

“Let’s re-orientate our-

selves and turn intellectualism into money. That is what we will work towards

and ensure it works well, even, during my six months in OAU.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the director of IAR&T, Professor James

Adediran, noted that the institute is a multi-commodity research institute.

news You are not CEOs, NUC boss tells VCs 36

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

Abducted UNIPORT lecturer released over mistaken identity

Buhari expresses worry over low ranking of varsities Clement Idoko-Abuja

T

HE newly appointed executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed, has described as vain, the assumption and air with which many vice chancellors of universities carried themselves as though they are chief executive officers(CEOs) Speaking on Wednesday, in Abuja, when he assumed duty as the substantive executive secretary of the commission, Professor Rasheed said it was wrong that many vice chancellors thought that they were CEOs. “They are not chief executive officers,” he stressed.

According to him, university administration requires team work, adding that everyone in the system has a role to play from the driver to the vice chancellor.

Professor Rasheed, a former vice chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, said he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, with specific mandate to ensure that Nigerian universities were restored to their lost glory, working with relevant stakeholders.

The acting executive secretary of NUC, Professor Chiedu Mafiana, handed over the mantle of leadership of the commission to Professor Rasheed at a brief ceremony attended by two former presidents of Academic Staff Union of Uni-

versities (ASUU), Professor Abdullahi Sule-Kano and Dr Nasir Fagge.

The new NUC boss, however, said that the immediate past executive secretary of NUC, Professor Julius Okojie, would properly handover to him tomorrow, while also appealing to the staff of the commis-

sion to work together in an effort to transform the nation’s university system.

Meanwhile, President Buhari, has expressed deep worry over low ranking of Nigerian universities and pledged to ensure that the lost glory of the nation’s ivory tower is restored.

He has accordingly chal-

lenged the new executive secretaries of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and the NUC, Dr Abdullahi Bichi Baffa and Professor Rasheed, to close rank in ensuring Nigerian universities become globally competitive.

Dr Baffa, who is the newly appointed executive secre-

Head of Call Centre, CWG, Ebenezer Ajibola (right), at a medical examination by a metro health doctor, during CWG’s Health Farm Day, in Lagos.

Rice production in Kebbi has increased by 300% —Farmers Ruth Olurounbi-Kebbi NIGERIA’S vision to lift thousands of smallholder farmers out of poverty and to increase the level of rice production from 50 per cent

to at least 70 per cent, by 2020, may become a reality a little earlier than anticipated, farmers in Brinin Kebbi, Kebbi State, said this on Wednesday.

The farmers, who were speaking during independent interviews with the Nigerian Tribune, on Tuesday, said if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-initiative,

Fayose, Ekiti teachers in stormy meeting over salaries, emoluments Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti GOVERNOR Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and teachers in the state’s public schools held a stormy meeting on Wednesday where they discussed issues affecting the welfare of teachers.

The gathering, tagged “Interactive Forum between Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose and Teachers from Ekiti State Public Schools on Improved Education Outcome” was devoid of conviviality.

The teachers listed their demands to include: Payment of March-July 2016 salaries; payment of 2014 September salary to primary school teachers; recognition of degree holders in primary schools; promotion of teachers beginning from 2010; 2016 salary increase; Core Subjects Allowance for primary school teachers.

Others were: Stoppage of deductions on loan repayment and other sources, over-deduction of salaries of members from the Accountant General’s office; payment of Duty Post Allowance; payment of Leave Bonus for 2016, stoppage of arbitrary cooperative deductions, advocacy for robust car and housing loans, renovation of schools and effective inter-

tary TETFUND, said this on his assumption of office on Wednesday, in Abuja.

Dr Baffa, said President Buhari’s clear directive was for him to work with relevant stakeholders towards ensuring that Nigerian universities rank among the best 100 universities in the world.

cadre policy for teachers.

Mrs E. A. Olaoye and Mr Adetunji Akinyemi spoke on behalf of the public primary and secondary schools’ teachers.

Governor Fayose set up a committee to look into complaints on loans and sundry deductions.

He said the committee

would commence work on Monday, August 8.

Governor Fayose also told the Head of Service, Dr Gbenga Faseluka, to meet with relevant stakeholders, including principals and head-teachers of public schools to fashion out ways to resolve the issue of promotion that had been stalled since 2010 before the

end of the year.

The governor said: “I am still the same Fayose you knew before now. If the funds are available, I will pay. You know that when I pay, I will have rest of mind. The challenges we are facing today was caused by the loans borrowed under the immediate past government.

FAAN suspends staff over fraud Shola Adekola-lagos THE management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has suspended three staffers of the agency, following their involvement in a fraud running into millions of naira.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives, having stepped into the matter, have subsequently, detained the prime suspects.

The affected staff ,who before their suspension, worked at the finance department, were found to have diverted the agency’s funds into different accounts of staff and others over certain period of time

until they were discovered by the management.

Before now, the management of FAAN upon discovery, set up a committee, which investigated the major suspect, who promptly named others involved in the fraud and they were swiftly suspended.

According to the information gathered, it was when the committee drilled the main suspect who confessed that some of the monies were sent to her brother’s accounts, which prompted the management to further invite more suspects who were subsequently suspended.

FAAN has also concluded the plan to set up audit team

to further investigate the general financial transaction in the department.

The objective of the audit, according to FAAN, is to carry out investigation on the activities of the personnel in the accounts and commercial departments, to close all loopholes on the sources of revenues and to ensure that all revenues are captured and accounted for.

FAAN ,has however, said that after the audit that it would further modernise its accounting system, explore new ways to boost revenues and also to continuously monitor the activities of its personnel involved in revenue generation and accounting.

the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) was sustained; Nigeria could feed itself earlier than 2020.

Speaking during an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, at his Labana Rice Mills Limited office, the General Manager, Abdullahi Zuru, said through the programme, Birnin Kebbi currently expects to produce one million tonnes of rice in six months, as against 400,000 tonnes it previously produced.

While explaining how Nigeria could meet the 2020 target, Zuru said that if Kebbi could produce one million tonnes of rice in six months, Sokoto and Zamfara states, which have dams that Kebbi does not have, could produce 1.5 million tonnes respectively.

He said if other rice producing states join in, the country could significantly lower its import bill on rice in the country.

Zuru, who said the company he works for, produces 16 tonnes of rice per hour, said that it has 5,000 rice farmers under the ABP programme, who supply the company rice as at when needed.

Speaking on the economic implication of the progamme on the rice farmers in the state, Zuru said farmer who previously sold 75kg of paddy at N5,500 now sold the same for N10,000, an indication to economic improvement in the farmers’ lives.

Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

THE kidnapped lecturer of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Dr Reginald Ohiri, regained his freedom on Tuesday night, while his abductors said he was not their target of abduction.

Ohiri, of the Department of Biochemistry, was abducted at gunpoint from his resident in Aluuu community, Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, on Monday night.

The kidnappers, who asked for N2 million ransome, were however, said to have released their victim upon the realisation that the lecturer was not really their target.

Though, the university lecturer, who was said to have arrived his house on Tuesday, could not be reached as at the time of filing this report, the spokesman of UNIPORT, Dr Wiliam Wodi, said the man indeed, regained his freedom on Tuesday night.

He said Dr Ohiri reported at work on Wednesday but could not confirm if any ransom was paid before he was eventually released.

Wodi said it was true that the kidnappers informed their victim that his abduction was a mistaken identity, adding, “the man has been released; he left my office a few minutes ago. He was a victim of mistaken identity.

That is what the man told me when he came to my office.”

College students protest hike in school fees in Benue Johnson Babajide, Makurdi STUDENTS of College of Agriculture, Yandev, Benue State, on Wednesday, took to the streets to protest hike in their school fees.

The protest forced the management of the institution to shutdown the school indefinitely.

Protest erupted on the campus around 10.00am over what some students termed “outrageous” increment in their tuition fees and called on the management to immediately revert to old fees.

It was gathered that the managment had increased the tuition fees by 100 per cent, the decision which the students described as ‘satanic development.

Consequently, the school managment shut down the institution, according to a circular with Ref. No. AOCAY/REG/OFF-28/1/ titled “Closure of School” signed by the rector of the school, Dr Ahemen Samuel and posted round the school, the management asked the students to vacate the premises of the school yesterday, (Wednesday), by 2.00pm.

37

Thursday, 4 August, 2016

38

tribunepools

DR. JK POOLS07039275802.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE POOLS PAGE

Welcome to U/K Scottish pools season 2016/2017 with the above captioned headline games as I said earlier I will do wonders advance weeks.

Where I will apply many poological sequences and formula for the overall interest of my enrolled customers, those who have not enrolled the fee still stand at n5000 – only. Payable to EKHOMU JOHN at Zenith Bank account no – 2085795936.Bank now ,stakers pick two bankers from 5,10,24,26,45 and add to the above bracket games. goodluck says DR.JK Pools.

GET A COPY AND WIN WELCOME TO PROMISING ASON 2016/17 UK/SCOTTISH SE

(01XX 02) 5,10,24,26,45.

LUCKYMAN 08054352685 (11 SURE 12)

The fantastic 2016-17 English Scottish Football Season is here with us again you are all welcome. We thank you for your patronage and we hope you will stick to us throughout the Season Fortune is assured if you stick to us. We are set to help you trap the elusive draws winning is wonderful join our winning club and big Fortune on Pools wishing you best of luck 11 sure 12.

THE- LILIES

08086944309 (37 MUST 38)

The-Lilies welcome all our fans to 2016-17 English and Scottish Season stick to us weekly as we are set to help you win big jackpot winning club now and win on pools regularly big jackpot await all our fans 2016-17 A Jackpot Season 37 must 38

MISTER-DRAW 08030415683

We are starting the new season at Wembcly Stadium where Leicester City clash Manchester United honors will be share even at full time No 1 must draw 1X1X1X1 VICTOR NAP 08126994034 4X 10X 32X 02X 12X 21X Free welcome permutation the 3 direct draws cost N10, 000. Starting of Annual early 4 weeks Nap. Invest now.

SUNDERLAND SYSTEM=

09038460009= 18 NAP 24XX

WINNER MEMBERSHIP N50, 000.

ENGLISH SYSTEM BOOKLET N30, 000 4 Bankers N6, 000 Wk 04 No Nap Nap Nap Nap 4. Bankers N6, 000 Wk 05 No Nap Nap Nap Nap Two Bankers N6, 000 Wk 04 No Nap Nap Pair Nap Nap Two Bankers N6, 000 Wk 05 No 04 Np Nap Nap Pair Nap Nap Two Bankers N6, 000 Wk 06 No Nap Nap Pair Nap Nap FIRST ENGLAND season release Sunderland system 4 special draws this week 3 PURPLE cost N6, 000 two Bankers cost N3000 winner membership group A N100, 000 Hurry up to get your copy today. Send MTN Card= 09038460009.

FORTUNE DONOR GREETS ALL WITTH 42/43 (08099111828)

All pools lovers are heartily welcome to the New English and Scottish Football Season, 2016/17.

We pray that the Almighty Lord will make the season a very rewarding one for us all. For a start, all punters are urged to make use of coupon Nos 42/43 for a gift. Combine the duo with our IBK to start the season on a happy winning note. Our IBK sells for N1,500.00, 2 draws cost N3,000.00 and 3 sure draws sell for N10,000.00 only. Be a regular winner this season. Stick with us!

COMFORTABLE HERITAGE INTER

WELCOME WEEK 04 = 43 BK

We welcome you to our winners club in year 2016/2017, commence with week ‘5’ Fixture, as you step into another season of Big Fortune, that will again change your life with our guarantee draws Registration fees is N2,000,000) two million naira, with deposit of N100,000 cash. The balance should be paid from winning on installment basis.

This wk 04:- Nap 43XXX to draw plus ‘2’ others for our register members, or pay only N20,000 cash for the wk - 08065833138

DR.EKONDO 08034383290

XX06XX 06XX 06XX CBK

NAP! –HUDDERSFIELD BRENTFORD plus 2 others cost you n10,000 = cash or N50,000 = payment after winning. It’s 3 weeks operation. Book for your new key to success in this English season. You would not regret from there, you would know draws are fixed. Call me and be connected for a special discussion while details of payment would be made known to you. GOODLUCK.

DOSA -08072216644

2XXBK PLUS TWO 07 HERS

You are all welcome to 2016/2017 U.K season. I am starting the season with 3 Nap draws non payment after winning of N100,000. What you should do is to send to me N2,500 MTN recharge card for my own staking. Please don’t play any other game this week 04 than Dosa 3 nap draws, you will smile on Saturday when result comes out.

EDITOR’S PLACE 43XX 45XX

THE WINNERS CHOICE

PLEIAD DE MAXWELL-09099968585.

CAN LEICESTER CITY HOLD MANCHESTER UNITED? BIRMINGHAM AND READING XXX Good times are here with the most prestigious and famous league in the world.

The Barclays Premiership league and its lieutenants to the Scottish division. HAPPY NEW SEASON. Leicester and Man Utd- Mourinho acid test with Ranieri. Can Mourinho survive it?

Draws are sure at Birmingham, Reading, Sheffield Wed, Northampton, Swindon, Accrington, Stevenage, Ayr Utd, Dumferline and Brechin, Shrewsbury, Newport co, Brechin and Ross Country are punters delight. Contact De Maxwell draw clinic for your sure winnings. YOUR WELCOME NAP is ready, call & win. TOKEN MANAGER.

ZENITH NOW IN ENGLAND= 08146879314

02 MUST 04 FOR 2016/2017 UK/SCOTTISH SEASON.

Bristol. C – Wigan winning statement. The 2 teams met once a while only to put smile to stakers face in 2000 in the matches played on 25th Nov. and January 2000.

Now, the meeting to yhe 2 teams is a pointer to our week 4’ 2016- sure win.

And a must pair- B and B. Birmingham must Bristol. C Start your winning in 2016/2017 season on a lighter but solid state. #25,000 to state of wealth. Good luck.

OBINYAN GIVES FIRM PROMISE AS HE WELCOME ALL TO PROMISING 2016/2017 SEASON.

The DON of pools compilation and computation in Africa and chairman/managing director of Kings and George group of forecast papers. Prince Willy Ehi Obinyan has again promised stakers jackpot winnings.

He made the promise to stakers following not very impressive performance of his papers in the outgoing Aussie. He promised a pleasant winning season for assured recovery. He therefore enjoined stakers to carefully study draws movements from all his papers for easy WIN. The fortune winning guaranteed papers are Pool Telegraph, Zeters Pool guide, Murphy sports, Shoot pointers, New dream and final result. WATCHOUT FOR THE NEW SEASON RELEASE.

OLA-CITY BOAST OF U.K DRAWS

U.K. Wizard key set in week 5 with 5 correct Draws.

Week 4 pairs 12XXX 47XXX

The compiler of Ola-City International assures stakers of regular winning in 2016/2017 English Season with U.K Wizard key for 2016/2017 English Season cost N30,000 cash with 5 correct draws in weeks 5. E.t.c Winnings Club Member Registration fees for 2016/2017 English Season cost N100,000 cash.

Pay your cash to FirstBank plc Account Number 3033318854 in the name of OLAFENWA R. OLA-CITY and your request will be send to you after confirmation of your payment. Happy new season to you all. May God bless you all.

A trial will surely convince you.

TRIPLE WELCOMES ALL WITH A BANG

FOR REGISTRATION ON 13- 29-37-30/43 (08035324990)

It’s a great pleasure welcoming everyone to 2016/17 English and Scottish Football Season. We are doing so with a bang. We want you to start winning from the beginning. You will be glad to stick with us.

Our registration remains the same on N500,000.00 for the season. We provide the wherewithal to do this on 13-29-37-30/43 for 4 solid draws This is a promising Football season and we are set to make you realize the dreams. Don’t doubt us as we shall do business with only serious punters this season. Wishing you a very happy season on 13-29-37-30/31 start calling 08035324990 on Monday.

INNOCENT NAP 10 NAP 12XX = 08095602590

ENGLISH SYSTEM BOOKLET COST = N30,000 CASH WINNER MEMBERSHIP COST: N50,000.O0 CASH 4 Special Draws cost N6,000, Wk 4 Nap! Nap! Nap! Nap! = 4/4 4 Special Draws cost N6,000 Wk 5 Nap! Nap! Nap! Nap! 4 Special Draws cost 6,OOO, Wk 6 Nap! Nap] Nap! Nap! 2 Special Draws cost 4,0O0 Wk 4 Nap! Nap ‘I Nap! Nap I 4 Special Draws cost 4,OOO, Wi 5 Nap! Nap ! Nap! Nap! 4 Special Draws cost N4,000 Wk 6 Nap! Nap! Nap! Nap!.

1 Special Draw cost 2,O0O with Pair.

KEY: Every Week 4 Purple if Preston set at Home bank on Preston and game on top to draw. If Preston set at away bank on Preston to draw, count 3 down from Preston to draw. Wk 04 No. lOx 12x plus 4 others cost N6,000 cash. Following Wk 05 to control 4 Special Draws cost 6,00O, send MTN cards to 08095602590 the games will be forwarded tp you via text message. 08095602590 It’s time to get your own copy of our release and the Current English Booklet which is now on sale. One Banker Wk 4 got No. Nap. There is no need for much advertisement or boasting, just get your copy now without further delay. For your bookings, kindly send MTN/GLO recharges and send to 08095602590, goodluck.

CONGRATULATIONS 2016/17 ENGLISH SEASONS HERE AGAIN.

HOPE NAPS & CO 08107128449. (10XX49)

49 MUST ON SATURDAY AS LEICESTER V MAN. UTD ON ONE ONE(1) ON COUPON WITH THREE DRAWS FOR THREE WEEKS, WK 04, 05&06. Call Hope naps & Co and wins from wk 04,05&06 ( pay to First Bank Plc, account no 3088328923 in person of Mr. Gbadebo Stephen. A. whlie the week releases will be sent to you on phone by (message) wk 04 cost just N20,000 only while wk 05&05 cost just N25,000 only. Bank on No 10 pair No 49, you must be happy these season. God bless you all. Bye.

MALLAM BAWA MUSA AGAIN 08052506287 HOT PAIR 4,13.

Coupons Nos.4 and 13 will play one draw as key to my 3 unstoppable nap draws in week 5. Any staker who wants automatic sure winning should get my special release next week cost only N10,000 cash. UK season systems book now available at N50,000 cash deposit payment at Access Bank to Mallam Musa Ibrahim Bawa, accts No.0042075587 phone 08052506287.

ADEOTI SYNDICATE 07051327960

ROSSCO-DUNDEE (41X1 -1) BRECHIN-STENH’MUIR. (49XZ-2) TO GOD BE THE GLORY. The wicked AUSSIE SEASON (2016) has come and gone.

Welcome to 2016/2017 English/Scottish Season. Wishing you fortune galore. Used the above two bankers it is our first free. Our 3 draws and a pair for 3 weeks operation will start in weeks 06-07-08. /am ready to enrich all my fans and readers of Thursday Tribune in the first 3 weeks and throughout of the seasn. The prize of the game is N10,000 cash. Each week send your money to Ahmed Shafiri A/C Nos. 2001788431 Zenith Bank, Ibadan. Membership Registration fees N50,000 cash. Don’t used any G.S.M cards to send the money. 41XXXBK1-1. 49XXXXBKZ-Z must.

MONEY DOLLAR - 08135637650 = 10 NAP 19

ENGLISH SYSTEM BOOKLET OUT FOR N30,000 CASH WINNER MEMBERSHIP - N50,000.00 WK 04 RELERASE NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP! WITH 10 NAP 19 Get 4 Special Draws for N25,000 Week 5 No. NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP! 4 Special Draws for N25,000 Week 6 No NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP!NAP! 2 Special Draws for N 10,000 Week5 No: NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP! 2 Special Draws for N 10,000 Week 6 No NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP!NAP! Congratulations!

Our Week 4 Release No. Nap! Nap! Nap! Nap! Nap! For your booking, send MTN recharge cards to 08135637650, and the message will be send to you.

DR B4 DR- 08062748396 (01XX02)

LEICESTER- MAN UTD. BIRMINGHAM – CARDIFF.

2016/ 2016 foreign winning directive booklet received information started as follows. Anytime the Barclays Premiership title holder meets Man United a draw is a must at Cardiff.

Cardiff is the home of football, so Leicester must Cardiff as pair and other quoted 3 teams as your direct 3 draws. Congratulations. Your winning is SURE. #35,000.

Welcome back after 2 months holidays.

ATTENTION ALL COMPILERS, OUR POLICY ON NO ADVERT NO WRITE UP STILL IN PLACE —MANAGEMENT.

Thursday, 4 - 10 August, 2016 MODUPE NAP (08033566694) 6/33/34 for 2 draws

Wining galore at Modupe Nap. Call for details. Goodluck.

DR JACKSON BACK IN UK – 08156829811

04 MUST 10 (READ ME & WIN)

Winning assured on READING and PRESTON annual week 4 starting from 2013 to date as fixed pair that added to our winners winning dividends with special fixed draws.

Remember our early winning in every new season put us ahead of others.

Welcome to 4 starting undiluted winning sensation- starting fee N25,000.

Welcome & Congrats.

LABAEKA NAP(08053303522) 18 PAIR 24

Our 4 weeks operational naps start now with the above pair. Your weeks 4,5,6 and 7 naps is set. Call for details. Good luck.

NEW ERA AUTHENTIC NAPS-07088103080

Congratulatory win on annual week 5 to 4 controlled winnings to welcome you back to England.

21xx 21xx 21xx 21xxcbk Bonus annual banker draw.

Week 4’ 2013 – 07x 26x 39xxx – 21x Preston Week 4’ 2014 – 10x 23x 46xxx – 19x Nottsco Week 4’ 2015 – 04x 20x 43xxx – 27x Port vale Week 4’ 2016 - x x x - 21x Milton KD= 21xxx CBK Freshly served winning instruction since 2013-2016 on Preston, Notts.

Co, Portvale and Milton K.D. assured Banker and other fixed annual 3 draws for your refreshment from our 3 weeks naps.

HINT: Home team number 30 in every week 5 a registered draw in week 4.

MR. A. GEORGE,

08036224198. WEEK 04, 2 OR 5, 22 OR 23, 36 OR 47

Welcome on board English football 2016/2017 season from the messiah with absolute guarantee of winnings beyond your imagination from our compilers in London for weeks 04 05, 06, 07,08 with (3) Nap draws and a pair on sale at #50,000.00 each week.

A System Booklet called ‘THE PATHFINDER TO HAVEST OF DRAWS FOR 2016/2017 SEASON‘ With (7) all current and accurate keys on sale at #150,000 and the V.I.P MEMBERSHIP CLUB REGISTRATION FOR 2016/2017 Season at #500,000 and it pays to be a member.

If you have what it takes, contact me in person or pay through the bank Account Number, 2028316301, Assam George (UBA) ADDRESS NO. 60 RING Road Ibadan, Oyo State.

DR. M.M. PROMISE RELEASE...

08037174526 PAIR 17, 32

The paymaster and Nigeria foremost pools compiler, Dr. M.M. promise will release 3 sure nap draws to all interested stakers in week 5. Cost price N30,000 cash. The erudite compiler and pools legend is set to gladden the hearts of all in week 5. It is time to win and laugh again. Pay at UBA, to DR. Maxwell Promise, accts No.1003610591. Tel. 08037174526.

PORTUGAL

TWO BANKER WK 04 N3,000

1 NAP 10 NAP WK 04 PURPLE NAP NAP

COROATIA

TWO BANKER WK 04 N3,000 19 NAP NAP 10 WK 04 PURPLE NAP NAP

TURKEY

TWO BANKER WK 04 N3,000 3 NAP 4 NAP WK 04 PURPLE NAP NAP

SEND MTN CARD TO 09038633666

SHADOW (22 PAIR 23) 08087670776

You darling in pool forecast shadow is out again this week 04 to give you 3 unfailing nap draws and 1 hot pair. The master will remain the master forever.just send to him N5,000 MTN recharge card and laugh to your bank on Monday to save your winning money on pool staking.

4 MEMBERS 4 BANKERS - 08162705220 = 1OXX 1OXXBK

4 BANKERS COST N5000 WK 04 NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP! 4 BANKERS COST N6000 WK 05 NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP! -4 BANKERS COST -N6000 WK 06 NAP!—NAP1-NAP!- Nap! 2016 ENGLISH SYSTEM BOOKLET COST: N50,000 CASH KEY: Every week 4 Purple bank Preston to draw Wk 04 gift 10x 10x 10x plus 3 others cost N6,000 cash Wk4—2013 Preston—21x22x32x33xWk4—2014 PrestonNo. 19x 14x 34x 40x = Wk 4 2015 Preston No. 20x 27x 28x 29x; Wk 4 2016 No. 10x 10x lOx lOx, following week 5 to cOntrol 4 Special Draws at N6,000 send MTN recharge cards to 08162705220. PRESTON 10x NAP! NAP! NAP! NAP!

MADAM EMILIA 08068523407

THE WINNERS CHOICE OF POOLS STAKERS SPECIAL RELEASE FREE GIFT FOR WEEK 04 PURPLE!!! NAP 14XX 21XX 34XX PAIR 9 OR 10…

Join us in week 05, 06, and 07, to experience the power of change!!!

We have done it before and we are to it again! Welcome you all back to 2016/2017 English Football Season!!!

This key system set every first week of the season in (Purple colour) to control (3) NAP-DRAWS in week 4 and other three weeks colour operation PRESTON is the key that controls it all. Is is current, this is the chance WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!! If you are interested, cost N50,000 each week. For more information call 08068523407 Address: No 110 Oke-Ado, Ibadan, Oyo State. Wishing you all a successful season and happy new month. Good Luck.

DENMARK

FINLAND

ONE BANKER WK 04 N2,000 NAP

WK 04 PURPLE

TWO BANKERS COST N3,000.

WK 04 NO NAP NAP 4 BANKERS. COST N10,000. SEND M.T.N

TO 09038633666

ONE BANKER WK 04 N2,000 NAP

WK 04 PURPLE

TWO BANKERS COST N3,000.

WK 04 NO NAP NAP 4 BANKERS. COST N10,000. SEND M.T.N

TO 09038633666

BARNET

ONE BANKER WK 04 N2,000 NAP

WK 04 PURPLE

TWO BANKERS COST N3,000.

WK 04 NO NAP NAP 4 BANKERS. COST N10,000. SEND M.T.N

TO 09038633666

VIC DESTINY SET FOR UK SEASON OPERATION WIN 3 NAP NAP NAP CALL 09099813819 REGISTRATION WIN WK 4 NAP NAP NAP X33XX43X @ N150,000.

WIN WK 5 NAP NAP NAP PAIR XX WIN WK 6 NAP NAP NAP PAIR XX GET UK HAND WIN WK 7 NAP NAP NAP PAIR XX BOOK @ WIN OUR WEEKLY NAP = 3/3 @ N20,000. N35,000.

WERRIBEE.C

BALCATTA

MODBURY

TWO BANKER WK 04 N3,000

TWO BANKER WK 04 N3,000

TWO BANKER WK 04 N3,000

WK 04 PURPLE

WK 04 PURPLE

WK 04 PURPLE

NAP NAP

NAP NAP

24 25

X12X X13X NAP NAP

10 19

X12X X24X

18 36

NAP NAP

SEND MTN CARD TO 08162705220 NJOROGE MR ASSURANCE BACK ON WINNING TRACK TO WELCOME ALL STAKERS TO 2016/17 SEASON THE ASSURANCE WINNING PLACE. 08177474535 (12 GLUE 21 and TURN 12) SHEFF. WED — SHEFF. WED — SHEFF. WED

Sheff. wed turn Shrewsbury starting 3 weeks instructed NAPS. In week 4 Sheff Wed is scheduled on home number 12, and No. 21 at home in week 6.

Note must be on bar to control 3 weeks back to back operational Naps in weeks 4, 5, and 6. At Njoroge your winning is our PRIDE. N25, 000 welcome and goodluck.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH TEXT MESSAGE OF WRITE UP WITHOUT ADVERT IS REGARDED VOID . PLACE YOUR ADVERT FOR EFFECTIVE PUBLICATION OF YOUR FORECAST. THANKS POOLS EDITOR

39

tribunepools

JOSEPH INITIATIVE

– 08167278061. 05X 09X 26XXX 23F. 02F = (10XX 31)

Our Aussie concluded winning directive recorded huge success as it was complemented with the above win from 6 draws.

Back to England, History is to repeat itself as it was week ‘4 2013 with cutting of coupon number (Nos) on divisions. Cutting of numbers 01, 12, 24, and 36 as directed by our reliable tested and trusted overseas managers on fixed matches to welcome all winning desired punters to 2016/2017 UK/Scottish Season. CALL & WIN. N25,0w00 = starting cost implication Goodluck.

KING DAVID NAP07069009601 32 SURE 17.

BRECHIN HOME 49 = FIXED PROGRAMME. Records has it that whenever Brechin is fixed at home 49 is to produce 3 fixed draws and Mansfield and Northampton is sure.

Reference to week 31 in 2015- of 6 draws?

Week 31’ 2015- 26x 34x 49xx = 17x (Mansfield) Week 4’ 2016 - x x x = 17xx32.

Welcome to 2015/2016 English season you are now advised to partnership with compiler in associates with current foreign reputable Experts for easy win. Stop your waste, contact us for sure win today for better tomorrow. #35,000.

Good luck.

AKANDE WELCOME YOU TO U.K PAIR 21X 31X

PHONE 08025572554/08176758978 Akande welcome all Nigerian pools p;unters to the current 2016/2017 U.K season. Please read our full fletch write-up and advert next week.

Happy weekend.

YEMA GAMES – 07064660296. 14 MUST 29.

Welcome win at Yema games with the above sure pair and others 3 fixed draws. Call for your winning details to mark the beginning of the season 2016/2017.

MID-WEEK HAPPILY WELCOMES

YOU TO THE NEW SEASON WITH 1-29-37-15/30 (08087176217)

We happily welcome you to the new English Season which we hope will be a huge success in terms of winning.

We invite you to quickly register with us so as to be able to maximize the benefit which will surely come with it this season.

Registration costs only N500,000.00 with a minimum deposit of N300,000.00. use th above games to pay for your registration and call for details next week on 08-87176217.

KING OF CHAIN

DRAWS= 24XX 25X 26

08142362005=

Wk 04= 2016 KEY NO 27X NO 28X 29X with 34x 35f 36x Wk 04 PURPLE No Chain Chain Chain with Chain Chain Wk 05 PURPLE No Chain Chain Chain with Chain Chain Wk 06 BROWN No Chain Chain Chain with Chain Chain KEY. Every wk 04 Bank WALSALL to draw with two game under for 2 draws wk 04 Purple No 24x 25x 26x plus 3 Chain draws wk 04= 2016 No 27x 28x 29x with 34x 35f 36x wk 04= 2016. No Chain Chain Chain with 24. 25. 26. Following wk 05. To control 3 Chain draws cost N7000= 08142362005, 08103222635= Wk 05= 2016 No 20x 21x 22x with 25x 26x 27f cost N7, 000 wk 04 No Chain Chain Chain.

WEEK 04 STATUS EKO – 40 SUNDAY MATCHES – 01,09,12,37&42

Thursday, 4 - 10 August, 2016

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE POOLS PAGE

THE WINNERS CHOICE WISE STAKERS DELIGHT GET A COPY AND WIN.

M-B-A EXPERT (08104694618) PAIR 29XX 30.

To kick-start the year 2016/2017 UK Soccer Season, perm heavily nos – 11x 29x 30x 34x 43. As your new fortune begins from here. Although the 3 direct Nap draws are hidden among these 5 super draws, they will not however be pin pointed glaring. Stakers who cherish paired numbers on go for 28x 29, 34x 35 and 42x 43. All the 8 numbers mentioned are good for long /short selections. This first week is loaded particularly from week /Dates formula.

Week 4 of 2010 paraded nos 29x 30 while only 29 had drawn twice since are set with example drawn from 2015 week 19. Good luck.

YEMA GAMES – 07064660296.

NAZAR POOLS OPTIMISTIC

The Ibadan based indigenous promoter NAZAR master pools company has declared that the company remains resolute and optimistic in giving its teeming customers the best of service that will contribute to their welfare in this UK/Scottish 2016/2017 season.

A spokeman of the company while speaking with the TRIBUNE POOLS correspondent at the Uncle Joe building mokola, Ibadan. Head office reiterated to render positive and good services to stakers in all states.

The top manager therefore appealed to all stakers in the pools betting industry to continue alligning with NAZAR master pools company for assured bigger dividends. He also welcome all stakers to prosperous New seasons (He declared).

ACHIEVERS INTER= 08034097902 WELCOME BACK WEEK 04: - 20XX 37XX.

Goodbye to Australia season as we herald to the 2016/2017 English season which Archievers inter. Have promised to make pools stakers happy and with big fortune. Starting from week 04 of the U.K season, our life current keys will start to perform wonders, with positive result. The ‘3’ draws setting for week 4,5,6, and 7, are fully guaranteed to make stakers recover their losses in the just concluded Aussie season.

The secret of Coupon draws are right inside our ANNUAL booklet that also contain the ‘5’ life current keys that cost N60,000. Only. This week ‘04’ 20xx

PATRICK THE ENGLISH MAN 08154836338 (10XX21)

PRESTON ON ANNUAL WEEK ‘4’ CONSTANT WIN 2013-2014-2015 AND 2016.

Preston at home in 2014 and 2015 to draw and game on top, Colchester and Brentford= Nap 4/4 Nap= win.

Preston at away in 2013 and 2016-week 4 In week 4’2013 Preston was on No 21 away to draw and in week 4’ 2016 on No 10 away. A formidable pair on its 2013 position and 2016= 21xx10 and other scheduled teams and Nos xxxx.

Win! Sure!! Nap!!! with the English Man. Read & Win Promo = N25,000. Good luck.

MADAM DE MADAM- 08023329191 (10XX 12) BRADFORD.C AND FORTUALE

WEEK 11, 2014 – 07X 16X 38XXX - 10/12 - 9drs WEEK 07, 2015 – 01X 25X 36XXX - 10/12 - 11drs WEEK 04, 2016 – X X X - 10/12 - 1X 3 years annual winning rights unveiled to the madams from the PPA top official to smoothen the nerves of unfortunate stakers in Aussie. Our Madams are now at England to make sure our clients are duely updated with draws movement in this 2016/2017 season.

Our clients home and abroad please stay with your reliable madams for 4weeks to notice the big difference in your staking carrier.

Call our media manager (Mr. Joshua) for your winning directives. #25,000= considered now.

MAGIC KINGDOM 8056753098\07085060512 NAP – 17X 18X 19XXX PAIR 23 AND 32.

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Friendly: Police, Oyo SWAN settle for 2-2 draw

BY OLAWALE OLANIYAN

OYO State Police Command and the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Oyo State chapter, on Wednesday, settled for a 2-2 draw in a football friendly held at the play ground of the Oyo State Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan.

The friendly which featured the number one police officer in the state, Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade and other senior officers of the command produced a lot of thrills which kept the playing arena alive while the game lasted.

Area Commander Agodi Ibadan, Chimeze Alocious, opened the scoring in the 10th minute as he cashed in on a rebound after SWAN goalkeeper, Eniola Afolabi had parried away a shot by CP Oyebade.

The SWAN Chairman, Mr Niyi Alebiosu equalised in the 18th minute, as fans continued to ask for more exciting moves by both sides.

The police team shot into the lead again through the

chief host, Oyebade after his shot beat goalkeeper Afolabi in the early minutes of the second half.

However, the pen pushers still undaunted equalised through Wale Amzat of Lagelu FM in the closing minutes to end the tie on two goals apiece.

The match was organised to foster a more formidable working relationship between the media and the police command in the state.

In his address, Oyebade said he was extremely happy to see his men and the members of the media compete in a friendly environment.

“I know with this friendly match, I believe the relationship between the media and the police in the state will be strengthened as we aim at ensuring cordial relationship reigns between both parties at all times.

Meanwhile, Alebiosu in his remarks disclosed that it’s a new dawn in Oyo State SWAN, just as he promised that his administration will continue to organise friendlies for members to keep fit at all times.

Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, Mr Oyeleye (left) presenting a Jersey to SWAN Chairman, Oyo State , Mr Niyi Alebiosu, at the novelty match between, Oyo State Police Command and SWAN, Oyo State at the Police Headquarters Eleyele , Ibadan, on Wednesday: ALOLADE-GANIYU.

SIDELINES

NO 16,560

N150

THURSDAY, 4 AUGUST, 2016

T

The 15 hoodlums who gang-raped a woman and her 14-year-old daughter off a busy highway in northern India, after tying up their male relatives last Sunday have been arrested by the police. When will the world ensure that those who commit such horrific crimes are immobilised for the rest of their lives?

“

HE creation of the 12 States by General Yakubu Gowon structure was necessitated by a need to address structural imbalance which was at that time seen as the greatest impediment to the political and economic stability of the country. However, it appears that subsequent creation of States were born out of other considerations of which the ability of the new states to sustain themselves was obviously not one”.

Last week I focused on the agitation for the creation of new states and how this will further aggravate the problems being encountered by Nigeria as a result of the adoption of the Presidential system of government. This is why the issue of creation of new states is a fundamental one.

If created, the new states themselves will require new Civil Services and urgent infrastructure to meet the demands of the new governments. New commissioners, personal assistants, etc will have to be appointed at huge cost to the States. In an article published online by Ajayi Opeyemi, the writer highlighted the facts that each State governor goes about in a fleet of vehicles, in the company of officers from the Police, Department of State Service, National Civil Defence Corps and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). Therefore the creation of the new states will also impact negatively on the ability of these important security organizations to fulfill their constitutional duties; after all a situation in which a sizeable percentage of their personnel are dedicated to providing security for elected officials cannot be described as being in the best interest of the country.

To further compound matters, there are also countless parastatals and agencies, at bot the state and federal levels, which end up performing the same tasks. The only difference between the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) is said to be the fact that whilst the former is concerned with the investigation of financial crimes, the latter is saddled with the responsibility of investigating cases of official corruption.

Each body despite the similarity in their functions, receive allocations from the National Treasury to support their organizational structures and functions. There

OFR, CON, SAN, LL.D, D.Litt

afeonthursday

aareafe@gmail.com

Creation of additional 18 states: Need for a referendum (6) is also the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Civil Defence Service Corps (NCDSC), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and numerous others saddled with law enforcement duties. Yet in this same country we have the Nigeria Police Force which constitutionally and statutorily is the number one law enforcement body but which has had its duties eroded by some of those mentioned.

To sustain a huge work force comprising of political office holders and career civil servants, the federal government of Nigeria expends about 70% of its annual budget. As a result of this government lacks the funds necessary for development.

Several sectors of the national economy such as power, housing, health, education, transportation, etc have all been deprived of much needed funding particularly at the state levels. As a result, many states engage in unending bickering with the federal government over issues of statutory allocation. On the 24th September, 2014, it was widely reported in the media that the 36 States of the Federation had instituted a suit against the Federal Government of Nigeria over deductions being made by the Federal Government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, from funds which ought to have gone directly into the Federation accounts. The States contend that whatever deductions are deemed just or legal can only be made after the funds have been firstly paid into the Federation Accounts and not before. Prior to this development, the government of Lagos State had threatened to institute an action against the

Federal Government over what it claimed to be unlawful deductions on revenue due to it from the Federation Account. In this respect, the Governor of Lagos State held a special briefing with members of the State House of Assembly during which he revealed that he had even written a letter of protest to the Federal Government. In a similar vein, during the last administration, governors elected under the auspices of the All Progressive Congress (APC) met in Abuja to discuss what was termed the dwindling federal allocation to the 36 states. The governors also highlighted increasing instances of deduction from allocations due to their States. In essence, over reliance by the states on federal allocation is a serious problem and continually as recent events have shown, comes with the risk that states will in the event of deductions or reduction in the said allocation, become unable to perform their duties to the populace.

Rationale behind states creation in times past It is in the light of this that it is important to recall the rationale for the creation of 12 States by the then government of Gen. Yakubu Gowon. The creation of the 12 States by General Yakubu Gowon structure was necessitated by a need to address structural imbalance which was at that time seen as the greatest impediment to the political and economic stability of the country. However, it appears that subsequent creation of States were born out of other considerations of which the ability of the new states to sustain themselves was obviously not one. I am of the firm view that the creation of a new

problem is not the solution to an existing one. The way out of the problem posed by the inability of the current 36 States to self-sustain is not the creation of additional 18 States. The possibility of getting the current States to merge should be explored rather than carving new ones out of them.

Conclusion I conclude by reiterating that I cannot conceive how the present National Assembly can in good conscience and impartially address some of the issues from which they are benefitting under the lopsided 1999 constitution. Some of such issues include the following: Whether the number of legislative chambers should be reduced Abolition or drastic reduction in salary or allowances.

Reduction of number of legislators in each house of Assembly Payment of sitting allowances to National Assembly members instead of jumbo salary Abolition of constituency development grant Abolition of bicameral legislature Abolition of 1999 Presidential system Adoption of parliamentary system Reduction of the huge annual budget for the National Assembly etc.

State Creation/ Creation of additional states.

I therefore call on the government as a matter of urgency to put in place measures for the holding of referendum on all the above issues which have already been discussed and addressed by the last Constitutional Conference.

Rio Olympics: Bosso tips Dream team for glory

As Nigeria faces Japan Friday at 2am NIGERIA’S Dream Team will begin its campaign in the Rio 2016 Olympics against the Samurai Blue of Japan on Friday (tomorrow) at 2am, in a group B game scheduled to hold in Manaus.

Nigeria won the Olympics soccer gold at Atlanta ‘96, the first time by an African country, before Cameroon equalled the feat at Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Former Flying Eagles coach, Ladan Bosso, believes the Samson Siasia-coached side has what it takes to shine in Brazil, in spite of poor preparations.

“There have been a lot of problems with our preparations for the Olympics, but I have confidence in (under-23 head coach,

Samson) Siasia and I believe he can manage the players to achieve the desired results.

“They must have a very positive mindset towards their first match against Japan.

“At the preliminary stages of such competitions, it is important to win that first match.

“The minimum target should be four points from three group games, but the third match is just as important as the first two,” the Elkanemi Warriors coach told supersport.com.

Nigeria will face Japan, Colombia and Sweden in the preliminary round of the competition and Bosso expects the Dream

Team to do well amidst criticism over an underwhelming build-up.

“There is something I love to refer to as the ‘Nigerian character’ and that is what I believe will see us do well in Brazil.

“Anytime we have the best of preparations for major tournaments, we do not do well but when the reverse is the case, we perform excellently.

“This team will surprise Nigerians; I am very sure about that.

“Let us not also forget that this is not the first time Siasia is coaching at the Olympics, so he knows what to expect.

“He will bring out the best in our players,” the man who coached Nigeria to the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup said.

Siasia, it will be recalled, coached Nigeria to win the silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

See www.tribuneon

lineng.com for:

as sixth Nigeria’s flag hoisted in Rio nation risk —Mikel Going to Rio Olympics, a eria on Saraki charges Team Nig e excellenc fore Eagles will name coach be n Tanzania clash —Gree

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. 4/8/2016.