14h November 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,632 MONDAY, 14 NOVEMBER, 2016 www.tribuneonlineng.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL

10 reasons you’re tired all the time LACK of sleep isn’t the only thing sapping your energy.

Little things you do (and don’t do) can exhaust you both mentally and physically, which can make getting through your day a chore. Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired, plus simple lifestyle tweaks that will put the pep back in your step.

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Abuja flights to be diverted for rehabilitation of runway —P35

Enemies of Rivers will be disappointed —Wike —P5

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Trump to deport 3 million illegal immigrants in January —P33

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Natural disasters force 26 million into poverty, cost $520bn —P34 —World Bank

Earth to experience supermoon today

—P33

Avengers to FG: Address 16-point demand now —P34

•Explain reasons for resuming hostility

FG suppressing states' agitation for new revenue formula —Finance Commissioners —P2

Ibadan trailer accident: Police go after runaway driver —P7

This bus was crushed by building debris after a 6.3 earthquake ripped through Christchurch, New Zealand, on Sunday. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES.

Ondo guber: Akeredolu's kick-off —P6 rally fuels APC crisis •Reconciliation stalls •Pressure mounts on Tinubu •Loyalists await final directive

Plan for Power, Works, Housing depends on adequate funding —Fashola —P2

2 news

Monday, 14 November, 2016

FG suppressing states’ agitation for new revenue formula— Finance Commissioners •Say politics of new formula intense •We’ll amend constitution —NASS Sanya Adejokun- Abuja

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FTER an umpteenth attempt to evolve a new revenue allocation formula for the country, states are beginning to show frustration about alleged determination by the Federal Government to ensure that such document does not see light of day anytime soon.

However, some members of the National Assembly had hinted at a plan to amend the Constitution in such a way that Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) will no longer present its findings to the president for onward delivery to the legislature.

Chairman of Forum of Finance Commissioners, Mr John Inegbedion, told the Nigerian Tribune that the politics of a new revenue allocation formula was very intense and had lots of political undertone.

He alleged that the Federal Government obviously did not want a new formula because it did not want to lose anything from its present 52.68 per cent share of the federation account.

When challenged as to why states and local governments had been lackadaisical on the important issue, Inegbedion, who was also Edo State Commissioner for Finance, quipped: “obviously, states and local governments want a new formula because the current one is archaic, but you know that Federal Government has not been enthusiastic about it.”

He cited the current situation whereby revenue generating agencies, like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) now shared from federation account whereas they were part of the load being carried by the Federal Government, which entitled it to a larger chunk of national revenue.

Both DPR and FIRS receive four per cent of revenue they collect as cost of collection every month, while Customs takes seven per cent.

He disclosed that revenue formula was a thorny and contentious issue that was always discussed during meetings of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meetings, but that nothing came out of such discussions.

Also Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel recently cried out saying review of revenue formula was long overdue.

Udom who was discussing

with a delegation of RMAFC said “the review of revenue formula to reflect the structure of the country based on equity, fairness and justice is long overdue. The Federal Government should look into it.”

Nigeria’s revenue allocation formula was last

comprehensively reviewed in 1992, but President Olusegun Obasanjo issued an Executive Order in May 2002.

“That modification order was amended in January 2004 and again in January 2004 as a result of a Supreme Court judgment.

Before then, however,

RMAFC had submitted a contentious proposal to Obasanjo who then presented it to National Assembly.

In it, the Federal Government was to have 46.63 per cent; states- 33 per cent and local governments20.37 per cent.

Also in 2013, RMAFC promised to submit a new proposal to the president before the end of that year.

Its Chairman, Elias Mbam, gave the assurance in October of 2013 of “a new, fair, and credible revenue sharing formula that would be out before the end of this

Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, cutting the tape to declare the “Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi Ultra-modern office complex” open. With him, from left, are Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale, the Oluwo of Iwo and the donor of the complex, Chief Abiola Ogundokun. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

Plan for Power, Works, Housing depends on adequate funding —Fashola We inherited 206 road projects, 100 transmission projects

By Wale Akinselure MINISTER of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has avowed the existence of a clear and workable plan being implemented for his ministry, but noted that the extent of implementation of the plan depended on the amount of resources available.

Noting the accumulated debts, liabilities and limited resources, Fashola, in an x-ray of activities of the ministry over the past one year, stated that 206 road projects, 100 transmission projects were inherited from the past administration.

As regards activities of the Works ministry, Fashola bemoaned that the N260 billion approval for the ministry in the 2016 budget was minimal compared to the liabilities of about N1.5 trillion that were outstanding to contractors.

He listed some priority road projects to include that of Port Harcourt – Aba Road, Sokoto-Tambuwal Makera-Kontagara Road, Ogbomosho-OkoIlogbo-Osogbo Road, Shagamu- Ibadan, IlorinJebba Road, OgbomoshoOko-Ilogbo-Osogbo Road, Abuja–Lokoja–Airport, Ikot Ekpene Border- Aba–Owerri dualisation.

Fashola, who prayed that the National Assembly approved more money for the ministry, revealed that the ministry had developed a three-year plan to build 42 bridges to the tune of N277 billion.

“Although the Works ministry’s share of the 2016 appropriation was N260 Billion, which was a lot more than the 2015 budget of only N18 Billion that the last administration left, it is a drop in the ocean against the liabilities that were outstanding to contractors.”

“Our interactions with contractors showed that many of them had not been paid for an average of two to three years before we resumed, and this explained the stoppage of work by the contractors, the lay-off of workers, and consequently, poor condition of many roads.”

“How far we go, how much we get and how much we can do, now depends on how much money the country can get and how much she gets approval to spend.

“With limited resources against liabilities, with debts already owed, we had to make difficult choices of deciding which of the 206 roads under contract we should start with, and how many. Our choices were informed by the realities of

our economy and the size of our resources.

“How much we can then deliver will be defined by the size of our resources and our ambition, and not by the absence of a workable plan,” he said.

On the situation in the power sector, Fashola said the indebtedness of the ministry to some contractors resulted in the abandonment of over 800 containers and hindered the completion of transmission projects.

Amid the gloom, Fashola said the power situation was bound to improve with the disbursement of the 2016 budget sum of N24 billion to contractors handling different power projects.

He lampooned notions that the nation’s power grid was static at 5,000Mega Watts(MW), hinting of the rounding off of power projects to include the 215 MW Kaduna Power, 40 MW Kashimbilla Power (Hydro), 40 MW Gurara I Power (Hydro), 29 MW Dadin Kowa Power (Hydro), 10 MW Katsina Power (Wind) 1,125 MW (14 Solar projects) and the 240 MW Emergency Power Project for Afam (Gas).

To improve the power situation, Fashola said the ministry was set to introduce the rural electrification implementation programme

aimed at improving access to power for rural communities.

The intervention, he added, included the use of small hydro dams in rural areas to support agriculture and agro processing to provide power.

“We are working with the generation companies to increase their power generation capacity through repairs and maintenance.

“Egbin has restored all its turbines even though it has suffered a gas outage as a result of vandalism.”

“Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro have increased the number of functional turbines, so they are producing 300 MW extra power during this year’s rainy season.”

year.”

He attributed half of Nigeria’s socio-economic and political problems to the wrong formula adopted by successive administrations in the sharing of revenue in the country.

“If we are able to produce a revenue sharing formula that most Nigerians are happy with, over 50 per cent of what the national dialogue aims to achieve would have been done.”

“We have finished literature review, touring, public hearing, sensitisation and collected all our memoranda, and the next stage will be to analyse what we have, and that will be done during the two weeks retreat the commission will go from 28th of the month,” he said.

“At the retreat, we will produce the draft, which will then be confirmed by the plenary committee of the commission, after which we will print and forward accordingly to Mr President for approval.”

The new revenue sharing formula, the chairman said, would endeavour to reflect the responsibilities of each tier of government in the country – the federal, states and local governments, by considering the objective and subjective approaches.

Unfortunately, when the commission eventually completed work on the document in early 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan never replied a letter requesting audience by members to submit its proposals.

A source in RMAFC told the Nigerian Tribune, at the weekend, that “Jonathan shunned the commission.

You know that our chairman was not a pushful person.

After he waited for many months and the president was not forthcoming, I think he just sent the document with an accompanying note.”

Airforce undertakes aerial patrol of Abuja-Kaduna railway Chris Agbambu -Abuja THE Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has extended its aerial patrol and surveillance of the AbujaKaduna highway to include the railway lines.

The exercise was part of the ongoing effort to protect lives and safeguard critical national assets within the affected areas.

The latest patrol and surveillance efforts cover both railway terminus in Abuja and Kaduna and environs using NAF

helicopters.

Given the security situation in the North-West region of the country and the usual trend of crime increase towards the end of the year, the NAF, in August 2016, commenced extensive aerial patrol of Abuja-Kaduna highway, including Abuja metropolis, Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road, KadunaZaria-Kano Road, Falgore Forest, as well as Minna and environs, to checkmate criminal activities such as armed robbery, cattle rustling and kidnapping.

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PoliticsNews No going back on commission of inquiry —Bello •As ex-Gov Idris challenges action in court Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja

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OGI State government, on Sunday, said its decision to set up a panel of inquiry on past administrations in the state was final, as it was meant to witch hunt anybody.

The clarification by the government on the issue came against the backdrop of a case filed by a former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, challenging the proprietary of the panel.

Government said it would not succumb to any form of intimidation aimed at frustrating the determination of the state governor, Alhaji Yayaha Bello, to promote accountability.

Idris, who governed the state between 2003 and 2012, had, last week, filed the suit at the Kogi State High Court, sitting in Lokoja, challenging the decision to constitute the commission of inquiry.

He queried the action of the government to constitute the panel based on the provisions of the 1963 Northern Nigerian constitution.

But, in a statement by the director general, media and publicity to the governor, Kingsley Fanwo, the government said it would be a disservice to the people of the state if questions were not asked about how their commonwealth was managed in the period under review..

It explained that the panel was aimed at achieving the goal of digging into the past to appreciate the rationale behind the rot of infrastructure in the state and to send signals to the present and future administrations that they would be made to give account of their stewardships after their tenures.

The government said it was not aimed at witchhunting anybody, but to set the record straight, “in keeping up with the anticorruption drive of the present administration,” just as he alleged that those who had gone to court to “stop us from asking questions are giving a strong impression that they have something to hide.”

It added: “Governor Yahaya Bello is a man of

justice and he will ensure no one is witch-hunted.

The panel is independent of any influence from any quarters and the governor has great confidence in the panel to ensure justice and

fairness guide its operations.

“As a governor with undeniable respect for the rule of law and constitutionalism, he will continue to lean on the guar-

antee of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nobody has accused them of stealing but they have shown they don’t want to be accountable.

“Today, Kogi State has one of the best public accountability system in the country. The administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello has made extra-budgetary spending a taboo

in the State and the Public Procurement Act is at full swing of practice. We have published our accounts, what the administration got and how we have dispensed the funds.

Muhammed to face Akinwunmi in Ifako-Ijaiye by-election

By Bola Badmus

Rivers State governor , Nyesom Wike (middle); former acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus (right) and Attorney-General of Rivers State , Mr Emmanuel Aguma (SAN) during the 2016 Super Sunday Service of the Christ Apostolic Church, Emohua, in the state.

Rerun: Enemies of Rivers’ll be disappointed —Wike RIVERS State governor, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the enemies of the state would be disappointed after the rerun elections on December 10, 2016, despite their negative plots against the state.

Speaking during the 2016 Super Sunday Service of the Christ Apostolic Church at Emohua, Wike noted that the enemies of Rivers State are working hard to stoke violence in areas where the rerun elections will hold .

He said: “I have to come to formally report to God that the enemies of the state are back. The way they were humiliated in 2015 and March 19, 2016 is the way they would be humiliated on December 10, 2016. “Pray for peace in the forthcoming rerun elections in the state” The governor said that the resources of Rivers State will always be used for the good of Rivers people.

“Never again will Rivers resources be used to sponsor national politics. We

will not take our money to play national politics”, he said.

Wike added: “Rivers is a Christian State and we owe nobody an apology for that. I want to reiterate our commitment to setting up a special intervention fund for churches to take care of their members, who are in need.

“At present, church leaders are fine tuning the details for this special fund, which we believe will further unite the church.”

The governor said that State Ecumenical Centre would be ready for the state’s 50th Anniversary by next year, while the Government House Chapel would be dedicated by De-

cember, 2016.

In his address, chairman, Port Harcourt Conference of the Christ Apostolic Church, Pastor G.C. Onuigbo, urged the governor to sustain his development programmes.

He also called on him to carry all the people of the state along, irrespective of their political affiliations.

HONOURABLE Fatimoh Aduke Muhammed has emerged as the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard-bearer for next month’s by-election into the House of Representatives’ seat for Ifako- Ijaiye Federal Constituency of the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed December 3, 2013 for the election, following the death of Honourable Elijah Olu Adewale, in Abuja on July 20.

Muhammed won 20 votes to defeat her closest rival, Comfort Toyin Oduwole Sonupe, who scored five votes.

Last Friday, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has elected, Honourable Nurudeen Akinwunmi, as its candidate for the election.

He emerged with 219 votes, beating his challenger, Mr Adisa Owolabi, who scored 166 votes.

Olaniwun died two days before Yoruba leaders’ meeting —Group LATE elder statesman, Chief Olaniwun Ajayi, had scheduled a meeting with some political leaders from Yoruba land on November 6, 2016 before he passed on, on November 6.

This was disclosed by leaders of a new political association, during a condolence visit to the family residence in Isara Remo, Ogun State, on Friday. They are recieved on behalf of the family by Dr OLu Olaniwun.

According to the leaders, the meeting was part of the ongoing consultations with eminent sons and daughters of the Yoruba extraction, including traditional rulers towards building

a consensus on a Yoruba agenda in the emerging political dispensation.

The 12-man delegation, which comprised Dr Kunle Olajide, Chief Oladosu Oladipo; Professor Soji Adejumo, Dr Femi Majekodunmi, among other leaders of the Patriotic Movement (TPM).

In their condolence message to the family, the leaders of the association described Sir Olaniwun as an exceptional Yoruba son, who committed all his God-given talents and resources to the cause of the Yoruba race and restructuring of the country.

They noted that despite his age, he led “delegates

from the South-West, who consisted of other senior citizens, distinguished persons and professionals to the 2014 national constitutional conference held In Abuja, where they shone like a million stars.”

While expressing deep sadness over the demise of the octogenarian, the leaders revealed that after contacting him for a meeting to discuss contemporary political issues in Yoruba- land and indeed the country, Sir Olaniwun willingly accepted to host them on November 6, 2016, at his country home.

They noted that he was not only committed to the unity and progress of the

Yoruba race, but was also in the forefront of fighting against injustice anywhere and regardless of which ethnic nationality was involved or affected.

“He was a loyal, dedicated and fearless apostle of the Awo creed and ethos. He stood solidly behind him through thick and thin, especially during the darkest hour in the First Republic,” they stated in the condolence message.

The leaders extolled the virtues of Sir Olaniwun, who they noted “exhibited uncommon retentive memory and scholarly acumen throughout his political and legal career.”

politicsnews Ondo Guber: How Akeredolu’s kick-off campaign rally heightened APC crisis 6

Jacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja

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HE crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a new turn, as the rally organised for its candidate, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) in the state to flag off his campaign for the November 26 governorship election may have heightened the tension in the party.

Nigerian Tribune gathered on Sunday that, the group believed to be loyal to the national leader of the Party, Senator Bola Tinubu, was taken aback over the utterances of some party leaders that addressed the rally in Akure, the Ondo State capital, who insisted that Akeredolu did not need the endorsement or the support of anybody to become the governor and that he would win the election despite all odds Vice President Yemi Osibajo, Tinubu, and SouthWest governors, except that of Ogun State among

Monday,14 November, 2016

others, were absent at the rally, which some partymen alleged, further confirmed that all was still not well over the choice of Akeredolu as the party’s candidate for the election This came as indications emerged about intense pressure on Tinubu to change his mind and support Akeredolu.

The source revealed that following the emerging signal that the reconciliation move by the stakeholders was no longer feasible based on the outcome of the Ondo rally, party members believed to be loyal to Tinubu, were said to have withdrawn to their shells, awaiting a definite directive from the national

leader on which direction to follow at the election.

According to a close associate of Tinubu, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune in confidence, “It is a fact that Tinubu was not happy over the outcome of the party’s primary which produced Akeredolu as the candidate, but our expectation was that Akeredolu will reach out to him for reconciliation.

“We expect Akeredolu to be more serious about reconciliation process; he is not doing that.

“Look at the offensive utterances of some of the so-called party leaders that spoke at his rally, which took place in Akure last Friday. It is very an-

noying for a former governor, who once benefitted from the support of Tinubu to become the governor of state to be saying that whoever that was against the candidate of Akeredolu was only wasting his or her time, as he would surely win the election squarely in his or her life time.

“One expects Akeredolu to caution those making such unguarded and provocative statements. It means such people, who could not even win a local government on his own for his governorship election in his state, is saying what may be interpreted as the mind of Akeredolu himself.

“To us, Tinubu holds the ace in the Ondo governorship race in APC. Though he will not come out openly to say go and vote for a particular candidate or a particular party, we are waiting to hear from him in the next few days.

“He is a loyal party leader to the core but from all indications, these people are not ready for reconciliation, going by their utterances.”

Another source in the party said that the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Olusola Oke, who came third in the APC primary, might be the ultimate beneficiary of the crisis rocking the party.

Oke to receive AD flag today Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

THE Alliance for Democracy (AD) candidate, Chief Olusola Oke and his deputy, Alhaji Ganny Dauda, will today be presented with the official flag of the party by the national leadership of the party, in Akure, the state capital According to the director general of the campaign organisation, Mr Bola Ilori, the AD national leaders will present the governorship candidate and deputy with the symbol and authority of the party to be its representatives in the November 26, 2016 election in the state.

Ilori added that occasion would avail Oke the opportunity to articulate his innovative ideas for the uplifting of the state within the mantra of the progressives party before the whole world.

He said “We want to invite our people to be part of this historic and epoch making event, one which all and sundry have been looking forward to for the benefit of our state and our future.

“The AD, as a progressive party, is poised to bring back the lost glory and restore the fortunes of our dear state and Chief Oke and his deputy, Alhaji Ganny Dauda are poised to drive the vehicle of this economy recovery to a safe berth.”

Wife of the Ondo APC governorship candidate, Mrs Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu (middle) with some selected young entrepreneur after an interactive meeting in Akure, at the weekend.

APC best for Ondo, says Akeredolu’s wife THE wife of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for November 26th governorship election in Ondo State, Mrs Betty Akeredolu, on Friday, met with young entrepreneurs in Akure, the state capital, to discuss the untapped potential and opportunities in the state.

The entrepreneurs also discussed the challenges

faced in their various establishments with Mrs Akeredolu.

During the meeting, she told them that when her husband was elected, many sectors such as agriculture, mining, tourism and ICT would be explored so as to create bustling economy and employment in Ondo state.

The participants were

challenged to explore various areas in the state that had potential to increase the revenue and attract foreign investors.

While responding, some of the participants expressed their chagrin at the state of the economy in the state, stressing that unemployment among youths had reached an alarming stage.

The entrepreneurs who

lamented the irregular payment of salary in the state, also complained about the fact that government has not created an enabling environment for business owners.

Mrs Akeredolu expressed hope that APC and her husband, when they won the governorship seat, would bring stability to the Ondo economy and create employments for the youths.

...Elegbeleye dumps PDP for APC Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

FORMER director general of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Chief Gbenga Elegbeleye, at the weekend, formally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the for All Progressives Congress (APC).

Elegbeleye, who defected with over 5,000 of his supporters, said the defection became imperative in order to join the change train in the country.

He alleged that PDP had been hijacked by “army of occupants’ who had been making it difficult for the party to play its role as mainstream opposition party effectively.

Some of his supporters that defected included a former chairman of Akoko South-East Local Government, Mr Ojo Victor; a former Senior Special Assistant to Governors Olusegun Agagu and Olusegun Mimiko, Mr Muyiwa Asa-

gunla and a former House of Assembly member, Mr Thompson Otito Atikase.

Elegbeleye said he buried his political ambition in order to support the APC candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, to achieve his governorship ambition and to bring the expected change into the state.

The former House of Representatives member said Akeredolu remained the best candidate in the coming election, having served as

Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of the state and as a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

He said Akeredolu as the Attorney General,when he was the chairman of Akoko North Local Government, meant well for the people of his constituency and the state, noting that Akeredolu had promised to dualise the Ikare-Akoko i township roads if elected as the governor of the state.

‘Judiciary must expedite action on Jegede’s case’ Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure A political group, Ondo Rebirth Group (ORG), on Sunday, hailed the decision of the Court of Appeal granting the factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the governorship election, Eyitayo Jegede, leave to appeal the judgment that shut him out of the election.

This was contained in a statement by the group and signed by its coordinator, Olusola Akinbinu, who commended the judiciary over its commitment and sincerity in the handling of the issue.

It noted that the ruling saved the state from creeping into a state of chaos and anarchy, which was almost occasioned by a clear travesty of justice in the wanton change of PDP candidate in Ondo State.

It commended the people of the state for the maturity displayed for not taking laws into their hands over the substitution of Jegede’s name as the candidate of the party saying “We also use this opportunity to congratulate and appreciate the people of Ondo State for their consciousness, maturity, patience and resilience in the face of unnecessary crass provocation.

The group also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure the free and fair of the election, saying “It is our patriotic wish, to advise that INEC should, as a matter of Justice, fairplay and equity shift the election date for nothing less than 10days, for parties involved in the election to be given a level playing ground.

“We assert that there is nothing cast in iron about November 26 as yet fixed date for the election, since the Electoral Act 2010 (with 2011 Amendments) & Allied matters Section 25(8) states that “An election to the office of the Governor of a state shall be held on a date not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30days before the expiration of term of office of the last holder of that office. So, any date till the 25th of January, 2017 is acceptable by the Law.” “Considering also the sensitivity of the candidacy issue of a major political parties to the election, and the litigation processes, and that nothing will be lost, if INEC allows the expeditious litigations at the Appeal Court to finalize with the short required time,” it said.

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Monday, 14 November, 2016

Metro...

crime, security, court

Edited By Oluwatoyin Malik 08116954633, 08078891950

e-mail: tribunecrimedesk@gmail.com

Police arrest man over alleged killing of business partner Adelowo Oladipo - Minna

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HE long arm of the law has caught up with a middle-aged man, Mallam Musa (surname withheld), who was said to have killed his business partner, Mallam Dauda (surname withheld), a 38-year-old from Dakumi village, Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State over N2,350,000 in the Republic of Togo.

The suspect, a nationale of Republic of Niger, who is now cooling his heels in the cell and assisting police operatives at the Criminals Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the state police command headquarters, Minna, on the immediate or remote cause of the death of his business partner.

The suspect was allegedly a long time friend of the deceased, whose corpse was found with injuries said to have been caused by object like knife or an axe in a hotel room in the Republic of Togo, where the two of them had wanted to buy a choice car.

The deceased was said to be a car dealer based in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State until his untimely death.

He was also said to have been married and blessed with four children while his last telephone call to his family in Niger State was last month, at the Seme Border between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin, while he was on his way to Cotonou.

Metro gathered that the deceased had called his client in Nigeria to send unspecified amount of money into the suspect’s account while the latter was said to have called back for confirmation that he had received the credit alert.

It was further learnt that despite efforts by the deceased and the suspect, they could not get the type of car demanded by the customer in Nigeria and had to proceed to the Republic of Togo with a friend of the suspect, who is at large and checked in the same hotel room in Togo with the name of the deceaced, a Nigerian.

However, after days of silence from the deceased and his phone calls not going through, it was discovered that his corpse was found in a mortuary in Republic of Togo and he was sus-

pected to have been stabbed to death the very night he arrived in Togo in his hotel room by unknown person.

An insider police source at the CIB, Minna, said the suspect was arrested in Lagos last Thursday after his bank account was blocked and he could not access it.

The source, who craved for anonymity, said the suspect was picked up by the police when he went for clarifications from his bankers

(names withheld) on what was responsible for his inability to make withdrawals from his bank account.

It was further learnt that upon his arrest and interrogation by the police, the suspect was said to have confirmed receiving the said amount, N2,350,000.

When contacted, the police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Niger State Command, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the inci-

dent, adding that the police were investigating a case of fraud and cheating levelled against the suspect.

Elkana stated this in a brief interview with Metro in Minna, on Sunday, noting that some money was sent to somebody’s account and the suspect, whose account was credited with the huge amount of money did not remit it to the rightful owner, who died prematurely in a bizarre manner

Nigerian Tribune

shortly after the payment was made to the suspect.

Elkana stated further that the case was an interpol issue, but until the embassy receives a report of established murder case against a Nigerian, it cannot pick up the case.

He stated further that until somebody could come up with the statement establishing of a murder case before police could commence investigation into the matter.

Widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Abu Ali, Samira (in brown) with relatives, while receiving the Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, at their Kaduna residence, recently .

Pastor kills colleague in Osun Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

AUTHORITIES of the Nigeria Police, Osun State Command have arrested a pastor, identified as Timothy (surname withheld) for allegedly killing his colleague, Pastor Bamiji (surname withheld).

The incident was said to have occurred in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State.

This disclosure was made on Sunday by the state Police Commissioner, Mr Fimihan Adeoye.

Speaking through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Folasade Odoro, the police boss said Pastor Timothy allegedly killed Bamiji at Olukunle village in Ikire, explaining that the reason for his gruesome action could not be ascertained.

Adeoye stated that a relative of the deceased, Adedeji (surname witheld), reported to the police that his uncle, Bamiji, who was 64 years old, was shot dead by his friend, Timothy.

According to the Police Commissioner, police detectives were deployed in the scene immediately and the remains of Bamiji was found with a gunshot injury on his head, stressing that when the suspect was arrested, he confessed to have killed his friend.

Adeoye said the body of the slain pastor had been deposited in a mortuary at the Catholic Hospital, Oluyoro area, in Apomu for autopsy, with investigation ongoing.

Ibadan accident: Police after runaway driver

By Tunde Ogunesan

OYO State Police Command is presently on the trail of the driver of a low-bed truck carrying a container which caused an accident involving a Micra car and tricycle at New Garage area of Oluyole Local Government Area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Saturday night.

The incident, according to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, SP Adekunle Ajisebutu, revealed that two people­— a male and a female died in the accident, while four others were injured.

An eyewitness informed that the driver of the articulated vehicle “was shouting ‘brake failure’ before he rammed the truck into the

shop.

Ajisebutu disclosed that the “vehicle involved has been recovered. The conductor of the vehicle is in police cus-

tody, while efforts are being intensified to apprehend the fleeing driver. Investigation is currently ongoing.”

He further stated that “two

people, a male and a female, died in the accident while four people were injured, adding that corpses have been deposited at the Adeoyo

Hospital morgue, while the injured victims have been taken to the Ibadan Central Hospital for medical attention.”

Police smash robbery, kidnapping gang in Niger Adelowo Oladipo - Minna THE Niger State Police Command has smashed a gang of armed robbers and kidnappers who have been terrorising citizens in parts of the state in recent times.

Prior to the arrest of one of the four-man robbery gang, at about 10.00 p.m. last Wednesday, the hoodlums had invaded a supermarket at Diko, a community in Gurara Local Government Area of the state.

Metro, however, gathered that no sooner thangang-

sters invaded the supermarket that a distress call was made to the police by some concerned citizens in the area.

It was further learnt that on receipt of the call, the command’s Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) mobilised to the scene and one Kingsley (surname withheld), who claimed to be an indigene of Enugu State, was arrested by the police.

Further checks revealed that during the confusion that enveloped the supermarket upon the arrival of

the police Anti-Robbery Squad and the arrest of one of the robbery gang, while the remaining three members of the suspected men of the underworld escaped arrest by the police as they fled the scene.

An insider police source told Metro that when a search was conducted on the suspect, a locally-made rifle was recovered from him.

The reliable source, who begged for anonymity, stated further that police were still on the trail of the fleeing robbery suspect, with the view

to getting them arrested for prosecution alongside the arrested member of the gang, while the case was still under investigation.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the incident on Sunday in Minna, the state capital.

He stated further that the police had commenced further investigation into the two cases, while assuring that as soon as investigation was concluded in the case, the suspects would be charged to court for prosecution.

news Ajimobi woos investors from China 8

By Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare

G

O V E R N O R Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has stepped up moves to bring investors from China into the state.

He assured the investing public of their safety and that of their assets.

The governor gave the assurance at the weekend while addressing about 1,000 Chinese investors on the need to participate in the Polaris-Pacesetter Free

Monday, 14 November, 2016

Trade Zone Development Limited in the state at the Great Hall of the People in China.

Governor Ajimobi reiterated that the free trade zone was a significant departure from previous experiments in Nigeria as it was being anchored on the China-Africa industrial capacity assistance and cooperation model, saying that the project had its bilateral as well as functional sister relationship with the Guye-Tangshan Free

Trade Zone in China.

He said it would further deepen bilateral relationship between China and Nigeria.

According to him, “Oyo State is genuinely and sufficiently interested in the Chinese industrialisation model. To this end, we recently kick started an industrial revolution with the turning of the sod of the $2.5 billion PolarisPacesetter Free Trade Zone on a 1,000 hectare parcel of land in Ibadan,

the state capital.

“The government of Oyo State is on a mission to improve the quality of lives of its people by bringing development to the state that will leap the economy.

We are conscious of the fact that this can be better achieved in conjunction with proven and tested investment partners,” the governor noted.

He explained that ready local and national markets await the investing partners, adding that with a

Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi (sixth right); his wife, Florence (fifth right); Chairman/President, China Polaris Group, Zhang Wendong (seventh left) and others, after the governor’s address to Chinese investors, in China, at the weekend. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF INFORMATION.

Ondo distributes free food in Ilaje, Irele today Targets 70,000 women in 18 LGs THE second phase of the free food distribution programme of the Ondo State government, which commenced at the weekend, moves to Ese-Odo, Irele and Ilaje local government areas today.

Okitipupa, the headquarters of Okitipupa Local Government in the Southern Senatorial District, last Friday, witnessed the inauguration of the second phase of the food palliative programme otherwise known as “Eto Igbe Ayo” targeted at 70,000 women in the state.

According to a statement issued in Akure yesterday by the Commissioner for

Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, the distribution train, which is expected to move round the 18 local government areas in the state, will move to Odigbo, Ondo East and Ile-oluji/ Oke-igbo local governments tomorrow, while it will be the turn of Akoko North East, Akoko North West, Akoko South West and Akoko South East on Wednesday.

It will be recalled that over 100,000 women had earlier benefited from the first tranche of the programme launched at IkareAkoko, the headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government Area in July

You need spiritual understanding to interpret my Hillary Clinton prophecy —TB Joshua HEAD of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Temitope Joshua, popularly known as Prophet TB Joshua, has said his prophecy on US election was not off the mark.

He added that people need spiritual understanding to be able to interpret it.

During a service at the headquarters of his church at Ikotun, Lagos, on Sunday, Prophet TB Joshua said, “there was nothing

controversial about the prophecy. It is human beings that are controversial.”

He stated that his words were misinterpreted because,”we are not on the same level (of spiritual understanding)”, an explanation which drew applause from his congregation.

Last week, Prophet Joshua, in a video that went viral, prophesied that Hillary Clinton would win the US presidential election.

this years.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the second tranche in Okitipupa on Friday, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who was accompanied by his wife, Olukemi and some government officials, noted that the programme was mainly for women irrespective of their political affiliation.

He said the only qualification for the exercise was for would-be beneficiaries to present their residency cards, known as “kaadi Igbe Ayo” which authenticates that the beneficiaries are genuine residents of Ondo State.

Governor Mimiko also stressed the need for Nigerians to re-order their priorities in the face of harsh current economic situation in the country, adding that Nigeria must be restructured to get out of the situation.

He noted that as a responsible government, it cannot fold its arms and allow people to die of hunger, stressing that the choice of women for the programme was due to their status as custodians of the family and courier of households.

He further assured that all residents of the state would benefit from the programme regardless of their political affiliations.

He also used the medium to canvass support for Mr Eyitayo Jegede in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

largely youthful state population of approximately 10 million and a national population of over 180 million, there are huge opportunities for manufacturers and service providers.

“The state’s economy is an emerging one. This presents no limits for the investing public as the economy can be expanded and stretched without lim-

Nigerian Tribune

itations.”

It will be recalled that the state government recently turned the sod of a Polaris-Pacesetter Free Trade Zone Development Limited in conjunction with a Chinese company, China Polaris Group, which will cost the partners the sum of $2 billion with the initial take off of $500 million.

Seinde Fadeni bags Ondo State distinguished leadership award CHAIRMAN/Chief Executive Officer, GMT Energy Resources Limited, Mr Seinde Fadeni, has been adjudged the Ondo State personality of the year, by Icon & Legend Publishing Limited.

This is in recognition of his exemplary leadership and contributions to youth empowerment in Ondo State, as well as his record of excellence–driven services to humanity, particularly in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

According to the CEO/ Publisher, Icon & Legend, Mr Omosehin Akinduro, the essence of this year’s edition of the award was to recognise the accomplishments of an illustrious personality of Ondo State origin, whose footprints have positively impacted lives of people in the area of education and

youth empowerment.

Mr Fadeni, a philanthropist and founder of Chris Alice foundation,according to the publisher, has rendered unquantifiable contributions to the education of the less privileged youth.

His investiture and award dinner, under the chairmanship of Oba Michael Obatuga Adetoye, the Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa, will hold in Akure, on Saturday, December 10.

The theme for the award lecture, according to Mr Akinduro, is: “Youth Empowerment in Nigeria and the Need for SelfEmpowerment” will be delivered by Professor S.A. Amuseghan, Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship and former Dean, Faculty of Education, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA).

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Monday,14 November, 2016

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THIS BOX IS FOR SALE

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editorial

Monday, 14 November, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

That arson by secondary school students in Oyo

T

HE nation was shocked to the core on October 27 this year when news filtered through that students of Isale-Oyo Community High School in Oyo town, Oyo State, had embarked on a violent demonstration that left in its wake torched school buildings, brigandage and unconfirmed reports of rape. Pandemonium and panic engulfed the ancient town after reports indicated that the students had set ablaze some of their classrooms as a result of their mass failure in the recently released examination results.

Students of Anglican Secondary School, Oyo, were also reported to have unleashed mayhem on their teachers, going a step forward to destroy billboards on the streets that bore the name and pictures of the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi.

Although Nigerians are aware that things had taken a turn for the worse in the nation’s educational sector, the fact that secondary school students could go to this extreme came to many as a great shock. The event seemed to be the worst nightmare that could befall the educational system of a state on which debates had earlier returned an unfavourable verdict.

While condemnations have trailed the unwholesome act of the students, it is time to probe why things have gone this awry. First, the Isale Oyo incident is a reminder that no matter how low morals have sunk in the present generation, a worse fate awaits the future if this descent is not tamed among those scheduled to take the baton from the present crop of national marathoners. To be sure, protest is a globally accepted weapon of expressing disavowal with uncomplimentary developments in the running of the affairs of society. It is an indication that a group of people, especially judging by the number of protesters, are unhappy with the state of things. Its peaceful nature also impresses it upon the world that the protesters are not violent mutineers and are simply unhappy with the trend of things which they want reversed. In most instances, governments have been forced to review their activities and make amends after such peaceful protests.

There have been deviations from this global norm overtime, but violent protesters have almost always been confronted with repercussions. For instance, in the 70s, 80s and even early 90s, violent protests by students of universities and other higher institutions became albatrosses for the students themselves. After the protests, the students soon realized that not only had they not succeeded in addressing the ills complained of, the authorities also taxed them for funds to mend damaged properties. This is besides the easy infiltration

of the camp of protesters by miscreants who used the protests as a façade for looting and violence.

In the case of the students of Isale-Oyo Community High School, the grouse that purportedly led to the violence is queer and generally agreed to be idiotic. The state government had reportedly begun the implementation of a new school promotion policy in which only students who score 50 percent in Mathematics and English would be promoted to the next class. Reportedly, the ceiling was 35 percent before now.

Thus, having failed to qualify and thus asked to repeat their classes, the students went on the rampage.

All people of goodwill must condemn this ugly development.

It is a frightening dimension to an already frightening state of education in the state. The most visible laxity that the violent protest shows is the absence or breakdown of parental monitoring and responsibility in homes. It is evident that the parents of these students had long abdicated their duty of giving their children proper upbringing. Another shocking revelation on the day of the rampage was that the students were operating under the influence of drugs. And even more shocking still is the report that some parents supported their wards in this shameful activity.

The critical question in need of an answer is why these accomplice parents allowed their wards to go to school in the first instance when they knew they did not intend them to pass their examinations. This is because the most visible deduction from the protest is that the students and their co-conspirators see passing examinations as an objectionable path. When juveniles rise against long-tested system of excellence as this, there is an ascertained systems breakdown in the Nigerian society which requires urgent remedy.

The system which earlier fixed 35 percent as the cut-off mark for the students in the first place is to be blamed for this descent. This systems breakdown was also revealed in some states like Edo and Ekiti when teachers refused to take the tests meant to determine their competence. We commend the Oyo State government for its effort to arrest the drift in the educational sector in the state. Still, the latest development provides an opportunity for it to take a critical look at the quality of education in the state.

We call for a total overhaul of the educational sector, not only in Oyo State but in Nigeria as a whole. Nigerian rulers need to be aware that their wards sent to Harvard, Cambridge and Hopkins would someday confront their counterparts groomed haphazardly at home. And that confrontation will be tragic. It is not too late to make amends.

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Monday, 14 November, 2016

LETTERS TO THE

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letterstribune@yahoo.com or by sms to 08054005323. It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

Lessons from the American presidential election

D

ESPITE the tough 19 months of campaigning for the American presidency, with the attack on contestants’ personal and family lives, the electoral process ended last week with the two final contestants commending each other for a great political battle.

Listening to the president-elect, Donald Trump give his victory speech, one would be tempted to believe it wasn’t the same Trump who was speaking after all he had said during the campaign. He sounded reconciliatory, promising that he would be the president for all Americans.

Even the defeated Hilary Clinton urged Americans to support Trump so that America can continue to be great.

When President Barack Obama met Donald Trump the following day in the

White House, he (Obama) acknowledged that although both of them had their differences, they were, however, after the greatness of the United States.

Even, after attacking Obama on several occasions, Trump described the president as a great American who had contributed immensely to the economic and political progress the US had experienced in the last eight years.

All the attacks during the campaigns were simply dumped in the trash bin, and all are now concerned about the future of their country.

I am glad that we saw this when former President Goodluck Jonathan lost the presidency during last year’s election to Muhammadu Buhari. In the history of presidential elections in this country, an incumbent president

congratulated his rival who had defeated him at the polls.

I hope our political leaders will continue to learn from America’s democ-

racy, thereby applying it to the benefit of our own democracy.

I am, therefore, wishing the US president-elect,

Donald Trump, a successful tenure in office when he takes over next year.

However, he should soften some of the remarks he

made during the campaign and work for a world where peace reigns.

•Yakub Aisha, Zaria, Kaduna State.

Putting the Trump victory in a context DONALD Trump has won and a new dawn has begun, people must be wondering how the hell this happened. Well, this is how.

First, in recent times, across the world, from Brexit in the UK to Le Pen in France and now Trump in America, there has been a recent surge in “nationalist” and “anti-establishment” movements. I dare even say that if Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other Biafra movements, were allowed to contest elections in Nigeria, they would do very well in some states. The establishment has often failed to address core issues and

have failed to listen to people at the grassroots for such a long time. Now, the “establishment” is paying the price, starting with the Western powers.

Second, it baffles me that the Democrats chose Hillary Clinton, who for long has been part of the establishment with relatively poor results (Libya, Syria, etc). A more credible candidate like Biden or Sanders would have blown Trump away, but they decided to appease Clinton and this is the result.

Third, people make this seem to be only about race. While it is true that race played a major part

as many “White supremacists” like David Duke supported Trump en masse, race is not the only factor.

Clinton’s close affiliation with “Wall Street” was seen as corruption, especially by people in the rural areas who were losing jobs due to technology, as Wall Street significantly represents big businesses, her email investigation and her calling Trump’s voters a “bunch of deplorables” didn’t help either.

Also, it should be noted that one tenth of White people in the mid-west who voted Obama in the last election voted Trump this time. Surely, not a simple change of mind? Clinton’s reputation surely did not help matters, race was only one of the many issues which helped Trump to the White House.

Again, many people who dreaded a Clinton

presidency because they believe she would get her way most times irrespective of checks and balances, decided to vote Trump speculatively, believing that the Congress would effectively regulate any rash action(s) he tries to take. Let us hope this is the case because if it turns out otherwise, it would be dreadful. However, you can’t fault these people, blame the Democrats for their poor choice.

I sincerely hope that this does not give the racists and bigots the voice they have longed for to persecute minorities. If that turns out to be the case, I hope all the minorities will stand strong and fight the oppression together and in four years, use the same power to drive Trump out.

•Oladapo Olaniyonu, Reading, United Kingdom.

Appeal to Oyo govt I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Oyo State government, under the leadership of Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to pardon the shut schools where some students rampaged recently thereby leading to the burning of some classrooms.

The truth is that when sinners suffer, the innocent also share in the suffering, and I want to say that the majority of the pupils of the affected schools are law-abiding.

It is so unfortunate that just a minute number of unserious students who failed their examinations had protested against the new education policy in the state, and many students are now sharing in the suffering as a result of the closure of the affected schools.

While being of the opinion that indiscipline students should be punished, I am against the idea of all

the students suffering due to the stupidity of a few. It is a good thing that those who burnt their classrooms have been apprehended, and they are giving useful statements to the police, but all the other students should not be made to suffer as a result of the actions of their unruly colleagues.

Consequently, I want to call on the Oyo State government to tamper justice with mercy and reopen the affected schools.

I also want to commend the government on this new education policy which is ensuring that only academically-sound students are promoted to the next class. This will go a long way in presenting brilliant students for the final year WAEC examinations, thereby improving the standard of education in the state.

•Sikiru Azeez, Ibadan.

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opinion

Monday, 14 November, 2016

Lasisi Olagunju

D

Lasgunju@yahoo.com (08111813053)

ONALD Trump gave the world enough notice of what happened on November 8 but we were too arrogant to look at the sense in his nonsense.

Months ago, he announced gleefully and with audacious impunity that he “could shoot someone” in the course of his campaign and “would not lose a vote.” Murder is a capital offence anywhere, even in the wilds of Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, a man seeking to lead the free world was so sure of the ground he stood that nothing, not even the commission of a capital offence, would stand in his way to wrench the nuclear code from the firm, sane grip of the American establishment. And he did just that on November 8. Trump openly ate every forbidden fruit but the granite ground he stood made him inherit the Garden of Eden. He committed every sin and got hailed for it. His win shouldn’t have been my shock. It shouldn’t have been for millions like me in all continents of the world who watched with horror the victory of Trump. He and his followers gave enough notice.

Truth is eternal, immutable. Politics, like war, has its own truth, its own logic. Its equation can only be correctly proved with its peculiar theorems. It appears the American nightmare has just started. I have seen local strains of the Trump virus before. They are always difficult, very difficult to cure. They are resistant to all conventional therapies. Trump, like his local lookalikes, understands the mentality of the disadvantaged and will forever seek their companion by forever preaching hope, forever shifting the goal post.

The American much-talked about democracy is actually a redefinition of democracy. The Athenians who gave us democracy conceived it as government of the majority.

In a democracy, the winner of an election is the person with the highest number of votes. Since November 8, the figures keep changing. By last weekend, Hillary Clinton had the votes of 60,839,922 Americans while 60,265,858 backed Trump. But the system says no, in that election, some other intermediaries called electors were the ones elected, not Hillary. These electors belong to Trump in their majority, so he won. This weird experience, which has happened five times, is full of lessons which have not been learnt by the US. Andrew Jackson had more votes in 1824, yet the system said he lost to John Quincy Adams. Same happened to Samuel Tilden in 1876 when he was pronounced the loser in the contest with Rutherford B. Hayes, although

Lessons from Trump’s nonsense

he had more votes. Grover Cleveland in 1888 lost to Benjamin Harrison, although his votes were more. Sixteen years ago, Bill Clinton’s Vice-President, Al Gore, was pronounced defeated in a contest with George W. Bush although he had more votes than the winner. But why has America refused to learn and let the people elect their president directly? At the very beginning, the ancestors of today’s America provisioned that the ordinary voters should not elect the president and the vice-president directly because the people were “too little informed of personal characters” of candidates and were “liable to deceptions” by politicians. In place of the people, the system planted some masquerades called electors who are presumed “well-informed” to escape the deceptions of politicians. Centuries later, and with television and other channels of mass communication, are the people still “little informed of characters” of candidates?

Hillary Clinton’s loss last week was many people’s loss.

Like many of my friends (except only three), I emotionally invested heavily in her bid for the United States’ Presidency.

I belong to two WhatsAppchat groups of English Studies graduates of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. In one of my several tirades against Trump, I posted (just as I regularly did on Facebook) that Trump’s supporters were the Almajirai of America. But a friend in that chat group replied me with the alarm that Almajiraicould swing a win for whoever they backed. Of course, he talked sense and I saw the truth in the counterview but my obsession with Hillary

quickly dismissed the bitter truth that in any popular election, the Almajiri holds the ace. An Almajiri (plural: Almajirai) is a street child — abandoned, ill, hungry, angry and vengeful. He doesn’t belong to himself but to anyone with enough opium to rouse him to commit any crime in furtherance of any goal. The Almajiri problem is a northern Nigeria phenomenon. The Ibos call the Almajiri “born-throway.”

The Yoruba would rather pray to have one, lonely successful, master-child than have 2,000 lazy, dirty, layabouts. But democracy has proven consistently that it has no respect for quality. It thrives on numbers. On Election Day, the mother with 2,000 Almajirai always trumps the one with a lonely, golden child. We saw it in Nigeria in the 12 million votes a brand new party got in 2011 and in the 15 million plus votes another brand new party got in 2015. We have seen it in the victory of the Trump movement in the United States.

The Almajiri has his own logic. He has his own argument which only he wins. He lives eternally on political and religious dopes. He chants what the master puts in his mouth.

The Trump mob, like the Almajiri, chanted and got high on its opium. The other side thought it was wrong to reply chant with chant. “When they go low, we go high,” Hillary and her evangelical congregation sang. You do not challenge a chant with a song. It doesn’t work with a charging, chanting mob.

Chants are murderous in effect while songs rock to sleep. All religions, even the turn-the-other-cheek gospel of Christianity, hint at violent enemies snatching kingdoms and that only with violence it is taken back by the owners. I was at a campaign rally some years ago where the big boss quietly sang, urging his supporters not to fight because, with ease, victory would be won. And the crowd yelled back, chanting: “We will fight/ We will fight/ Gentlemanliness does not win elections...”

The Almajiri lives on hope and on promise of a better future or a better life after death. He is the willing babble roused into any delirious action by the demagogue. The one with the right measure of promise and hope holds the mental code of the hungry and hopeless. We see it consistently in elections and in the violent aftereffects here.

The street child has been long condemned to eating the leftover. Now, as you take your meal, you get to know that the Almajiri sees no wrong emptying your plate into his plastic bowl. That was what happened to the American establishment last Tuesday. They lost concentration and lost their country to an army of extremist ‘deplorables’ with more than an axe to grind with the system.

White American women and the Trump card

By Dipo Kehinde

THE race for the White House between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald John Trump was so hot that the embers are still smouldering days after the smoke had cleared.

Many people have described the outcome as shocking, but nothing could be more shocking than the majority vote from white women that went to Trump.

How did he do that? Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869, must have been turning in their graves.

We never knew that Trump had what it takes to do that magic, after all the things he had said about women, and after all the hoopla about women having the chance of a lifetime to actually rule the world.

Many people were so caught up with their affection for Hillary that they could not see the forest for the trees. As an artist who majored in painting, I knew I had to step back to get a better perspective of what was happening on that political canvas.

Days before the election, I went into my study and picked three books on Hillary and Trump that I had bought about four years back, but never had time to read.

The titles and authors of the books are: ‘What It Takes,’ written by Amy Henry, with a foreword by Donald Trump; ‘Living History’, by Hillary Rodham Clinton; ‘HILLARY – The Politics of Personal Destruction’,

by David N. Bossie, the best-selling author of Intelligence Failure and former Chief Investigator for the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, who made great efforts to deconstruct Hillary in his book.

Trump has been a star and an angel to many women.

Most of his critics couldn’t see that he has a place in the hearts of these women. One of them is Amy Henry, who wrote the book, ‘What It Takes’, with much gratitude to Trump.

There was so much focus on Trump’s boisterous exterior that many people failed to see the true Trump. He did everything for effect, and it worked for him.

Like Republican political figures, such as the late President Ronald Regan, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mayor Clint Eastwood, American women love actors and Trump was one, so to say.

After he had appeared at the Miss USA pageants, which he owned from 1996 to 2015, and had made cameo appearances in films and television series, Trump has become a folk hero of sort. He hosted and co-produced The Apprentice, a reality television series on NBC, from 2004 to 2015.

It was through this programme that Trump had inspired Amy and other women to succeed in their undertakings. He says in the foreword, written for ‘What It Takes’: “Amy Henry’s life has changed dramatically since her experience with me on The Apprentice. She had a successful career in the high-tech sector before interviewing for the opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to work directly for me in a prestigious role at the Trump Organization.

“On the show, I continuously watched in amazement at her astonishing victory record—ten wins in a row.

No matter where she went, her team always won. Was it Amy’s leadership ability, her team spirit, her positive attitude, her work ethic? I think it was a combination of many traits that demonstrated her solid business savvy. She made it further than any other female contestant and was one of the final four to face me in

the boardroom. During The Apprentice, I consistently called Amy the team MVP because she was always the first-round draft pick and the first person stolen time I reshuffled the teams until I told everyone, “Enough!”

By telling me Amy was the first person they wanted on their team, her competitors only made her look better.

I thought it was a terrible move; I’d never do that if I were in their shoes.

“I must admit I was not at all surprised to see Amy rise above the competition on the show given her past successes off the show...

“When Amy told me she was writing a book, I was delighted that she had already learned my number one rule of business: tell people about your successes or else they will never know about them. Amy goes many steps further and shares lessons she has learned from mistakes as well as victories. Business is tough, and her advice can help you stay focused, speak directly, take risks, be a leader, earn respect, and think big, as well as get the recognition you deserve and the money you are worth. She may even share a few words of wisdom she learned from The Donald.

“I predict Amy will be a success at whatever she does.

She’s got intelligence, discipline, pragmatism, and beauty, both inside and out. This woman has her bases covered, and I have to say that she was right to name her book after something I once said about her: Amy’s got what it takes.”

In her acknowledgments, Amy thanked Trump “for bringing The Apprentice to life and teaching me invaluable lessons for success in business.”

Experiences such as this must have contributed to most women showing preference for Trump over Hillary, who is their own.

The President-elect may not be a bad man after all.

•Kehinde is a public affairs analyst.

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communitynews

Monday, 14 November, 2016

Hoodlums: Igbo-Iweje community sends SOS to Ogun govt by gbenga olumide

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ESIDENTS of Igbo-Iweje community in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State have called on the federal and state governments to save them and their properties from criminals, who want to force them out of their land.

Speaking with newsmen after a recent attack of the

community by hoodlums, who were alleged to have been hired from Lagos and Sango-Ota, the heir of Okolo’s family, Pastor Isaac Okolo, said they (hoodlums) have destroyed their property, including farm produce.

Okolo further alleged that the hoodlums have burnt demarcation signposts in the community, adding that cassava plants, watermelon, tomatoes among other crops planted

by him and other neighbours were destroyed.

According to him, the thugs had repeatedly visited the community to disturb their peace and threatened them with charms in order to drive them away from the land inherited from their late father, Pa Timothy Okolo.

Also speaking, the found-

er of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Idande Parish, in the community, Prophetes (Mrs) Bunmi Holymary, said that the thugs had threatened to kill many of them if they refused to vacate the community.

A farmer in the community, Mr John Olakinye, said that he was mercilessly beaten on his farm

by the hoodlums the last time they came to disturb the peace of the community and all his plantations were destroyed.

He said: “The last time they met me on my farm, they beat me and also destroyed my plantations.

I was asked to vacate the community but I cannot, because I have been in

this community for more than 20 years. I bought my land from late Pa Timothy Okolo, who is the owner of the community land and I also built a house here. So, I cannot leave this community. Government should help us checkmate these hoodlums and prevent our community from further attacks.”

Maintain peaceful coexistence, Igbo leader urges indigenes in Ondo Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure THE Igbo descendants in Ondo State have been urged to maintain peaceful coexistence with their host communities across the state in order to contribute to the development of the state.

The leader of the Igbo community in the state, Chief Gregory Iloehika, who stated this in Akure, Ondo State capital, during the annual yam festival of the Igbo in the state, stressed the need for the people to speak with one voice, calling on them to use the occasion to unite themselves and to exhibit patriotism.

He said the yearly gathering is an exhibition of culture and tradition of the Igbo, saying “this will afford the new generations who are far from homes to understand our culture so as to remain connected and to be proud of where they come from.”

He described the new yam festival as veritable platform for Igbo people living within the state to interact with one another.

He charged the people to always give priority to the welfare of their kinsmen around them.

He called on the Igbo indigenes to continue to contribute to the socioeconomic development of their area, urging them to exercise their political right wisely in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Iloehika urged the Igbos in the state to embrace peace and be law abiding before, during and after the election, adding that development exists in a peaceful environment.

In his remarks, the leader of the Igbo from Akwa Ibom State, Dr Cyril

Ezeumeakuka appealed to Igbo resident in Ondo State to always respect the culture and tradition of their immediate environment.

He said: “Our business are thriving because of the good relationship between us and our host communities, and I believe we will always build on this relationship to improve the economic development of the state.”

Some residents of Adebiyi area, Joyce B in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State, undergoing medical check-up organised for the people of the area by Honourable Adetunji Adebanjo, recently.

Baale of Gberigbe-Orilade reinstalled two years after deposition

By Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare THE traditional head of Gberigbe-Orilade community in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Baale Oluwasegun Ogunlana, has been reinstalled two years after he was deposed.

Chief Ogunlana was first installed by the late Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba S.A. Oyefusi on October 18, 2008 but was deposed in an unconstitutional manner.

He was welcomed back into the community by a team of the seven traditional community leaders within Ikorodu led by Jagun Osalade Chieftaincy family of Omitoro land in Ikorodu, Waheed Odusoga, who is the current chairman of the council of baales.

Baale Ogunlana was wel-

comed back into the community with pomp and pageantry with an entourage of traditional rulers which include Baale of Jaiyesimi, Baale of Poro Bage, Baale of Okeolokun, Baale Agura Iponmi and Baale of Eleshin.

Others present at the ceremony appealed to the people to allow peace reign and shun acts that can take

the community back to the doldrums.

They added that it is when there is peaceful coexistence among the people of the community that meaningful development can take place.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, has called on the people of the community to eschew violence and acts capable of

disrupting peace, urging them to live in harmony and warning that anyone found violating the law would be dealt with.

Chief Ogunlana had earlier, through his lawyer, Tola Onibon-Oje to the police to request for protection as armed and land grabbers had taken over the community and sacked the Baale.

The letter read in part: “In

Rural dwellers to benefit from Microfinance bank’s loan by gbenga olumide NATIONAL Association of Microfinance Bank, Osun State branch said, it has concluded arrangement to pursue the rural business plan for the rural dwellers across the state.

The chairman of the as-

sociation, Prince Yemi Adeoye disclosed this in a release which was made available to Nigerian Tribune, recently.

Adeoye further said that about 750 unemployed from different communities in the state have been gainfully employed by the Microfinance Bank and

promised to do more to alleviate poverty in the land.

According to him, “the Microfinance bank has disbursed N2 billion loans to some people in the state to enhance their business.

“As part of our contributions to the growth and development of the state, the association is in col-

IDU New York launch scholarship scheme

By Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare THE Ibadan Descendants Union in New York, United States of America, has put in place a scholarship scheme that will cater for thousands of indigenous Ibadan students in higher institutions of learning across the South-West states, to assist them in

2014 or thereabout, our client and his family members were chased out of the community by some groups of armed thugs and land grabbers.”

“The Lagos State Task Force team recently arrested some of the armed bandits disturbing the peace of Gberigbe-Orilade community and they are about to be prosecuted accordingly by the government.”

their studies.

Thousands of Ibadan students were issued cheques at the presentation of the scholarship recently, at the Faculty of Law auditorium, University of Lagos.

The Chairman of the event, Chief Olalekan Alabi, while speaking, warned the beneficiaries to justify the cash being given to

them.

“The money was not meant for you to go and buy the latest phone or latest wears, it is meant to aid your studies and be a good ambassador to yourself, your family, your school, your state and your country” The president of the Ibadan Descendants Union, New York, Alhaji

Olawale Olalere, also advised the youths who cut across higher institutions of learning in Oyo State to be focused and diligent in the pursuit of academic excellence.

He added that the scholarship which is in its first year will be an annual programme which was put in place to help students who are brilliant in their field.

laboration with the Osun State Micro Credit Agency (OMCA) to disburse the N2 billion loans to the beneficiaries.”

He, however, appreciated the state governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola for the payment of interest on the first tranche of N610 million loans disbursed to the people by the state Microfinance banks.

Adeoye said rural dwellers should be part of banking system, saying if they are integrated, they would be able to secure their money in the bank.

While speaking on the challenges of the association, Adeoye said it range from loan defaulters, emerging competitors, high operational cost, and unstable power supply, among others.

17

Monday, 14 November, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Group Business Editor Sulaimon Olanrewaju | 08055001708 | lanresulaimon@yahoo.com | @lanresulaimon

leadership & management

entrepreneuership

markets

Positioning communication sector as Nigeria’s highest revenue earner

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

C

RUDE oil is Nigeria’s albatross. Although its exploitation has positively impacted on the nation, the poor management of earnings from crude oil over the years has stunted the development of the country. That is why the regress in crude oil price precipitated a recess in the nation’s economy with telling effects on the people.

Consequently, the government has been considering ways of diversifying the economy to position the country for perpetual prosperity. The Federal Government has been looking in the direction of solid minerals and agriculture to accomplish this. While there is no doubt that these two sectors are important in the effort to diversify the economy, it is important to underscore the point that the world is fast moving into knowledge and innovation-based age driven by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Therefore, relying on mining and farming to diversify a 21st century economy will only make the country a laggard in the global community. It is, therefore, critical that while mining and agriculture are not neglected, more emphasis should be placed on unleashing the vast opportunities in ICT to buoy the economy and create employment opportunities for the nation’s teeming youth.

The statistics speak for themselves. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the telecommunications sector boosted the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by N1.58 trillion in the second quarter of 2016. This represents 9.8 per cent of the GDP. The sector was able to contribute this much because between August 2015 and August 2016, the number of subscribers in the telecoms sector grew by 5.9 per cent from 148.7 million to 152.28 million. Similarly, in the period under review, increase in teledensity shot up to 109.14 per cent from 107.67 per cent the previous year. Consequently, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector climbed up from $32billion in 2015 to $38billion in 2016. This has made Nigeria the country with the second largest telecom sector on the continent after South Africa.

However, in spite of the potentialities of the sector and the huge revenue that has accrued to the country therefrom, Nigeria is nowhere near maximizing the opportunities therein.

According to reports, Nigeria loses about $2billion yearly to importation of ICT hardware and services because foreign brands dominate the sector. Major multinational ICT hardware manufacturers such as Samsung, Acer, HP, Dell, Asus, Toshiba and Lenovo are said to account for 70 per cent of sales in the sector. The balance of 30 per cent is provided by Nigerian companies such as Zinox Computers, Omatek Computers and Brian Integrated Systems. But the bulk of the

money made by the former set of companies is repatriated to their home countries. Similarly, a fortune is spent on the purchase of software from foreign countries, while just a negligible percentage is produced locally.

Therefore, the country loses a lot as a result of its inability to produce what it needs in the sector.

Therefore, positioning Nigeria to benefit from the huge potentialities in the sector will require the development of the country’s capacity to meet the needs of the hungry telecom sector solution seekers.

Speaking on the need to pay attention to local content, a former President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chris Uwaje, said the country has to take the matter seriously. According to him, remaining a consuming nation would only make Nigeria a dumping ground for all manner of technologies.

Toeing the same line, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, Group Chief Executive Officer, Teledom International, said in an interview, that the capacity of local companies to meet

Nigeria loses about $2billion yearly to importation of ICT hardware and services because foreign brands dominate the sector.

the needs of the industry must be enhanced.

As he put it, “Most directives and policies in this industry are not being properly enforced.

So, we need enforcement of those beautiful policies, especially one setting percentage of local content that should be attained by players in each sector in the area of local IT content patronage.”

Noting the importance of local content to the development of the telecommunications sector, Minister of Communications, Barrister Bayo Shittu, shortly after assumption of office, said local content development would be a major focus of his leadership of the ministry, promising to unveil a blueprint that would engender its realization. The minister assured that a local content development policy would be implemented to protect indigenous players in the industry.

According to him, the ministry would galvanise appropriate policies tailored towards meeting the needs of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs), stressing that government’s role is to provide enabling environment within a free market economy.

Following up on this, the Minister, at the National Council on Communications meeting in Kaduna, unveiled a roadmap for the industry, part of which is moving for the establishment of a multi-campus ICT university and a National Digital Literacy Council.

The minister, who promised to work with his education counterpart to foster Digital Literacy Content in school curricula, premised the policy direction on the need to produce the manpower that will be able to produce both the software and the hardware needed to drive the sector. Barrister Shittu linked the not so good performance of the country in producing local content for the

analysis sector on knowledge and skill gap, stressing that equipping the youth with the required technological skills would make Nigeria an ICT hub, not just in the West African sub-region but on the continent as a whole. Barrister Shittu noted that the innovation centres in Lagos had helped in growing the skills of young Nigerians in software development but added that having more of such centres would result in the multiplication of people with such skills, which would increase the ability of Nigeria to earn more from ICT. The minister also recognized that one critical factor to driving ICT is the broadband penetration, since ICT is largely internet-dependent. He said broadband penetration had not reached a desirable level in the country.

He assured that all hands have been put on deck by the current administration to achieve 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018.

He added that the government was working hard to secure the cooperation of the international community and regional partners to achieve a reliable regional internet exchange points-of-presence.

But the ministry is not neglecting its other arm, the post, as efforts are on to reposition it to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

Barrister Shittu has promised to take the post in the country out of its current cocoon of mere mail movement into making it a centre that connects the people of the country beyond postal services. Although the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) is already into skeletal financial services, the current administration hopes to make this one of NIPOST’s core areas of concentration. Throwing more light on this, the minister said NIPOST was known for its postal and money order services in the past, adding that with the infrastructure at the disposal of the organization, and its presence in almost every nook and cranny of the country, it is positioned to offer outstanding financial services to rural people and the unbanked. He said cash transfer service could be handled perfectly and professionally by NIPOST given its antecedent in rendering similar services in the past. He assured that NIPOST would leverage technology to offer a highly competitive cash transfer service.

It was also gathered that the leadership of the ministry is looking at ways of positioning NIPOST for e-commerce. This is based on the fact that already the post office provides a meeting point for people from diverse backgrounds. Working on this, and with the deployment of appropriate technology, the post office can offer more than postal and cash transfer services. It can delve into e-commerce by providing meeting points across the country for sellers and buyers of various commodities.

The essence of all of these, Shittu noted, is not just to make NIPOST a self-sufficient or self-financing government agency but to position it as an exemplary organization through increased generation of revenue for the government and employment opportunities for the nation’s teeming population.

It is obvious that with the effort put in place by the current leadership of the Ministry of Communications, the communication sector, which currently comes behind oil and gas as well as agriculture in revenue generation, is striving to move to the top of the ladder as the nation’s highest revenue generating sector. The way to accomplish that is to do more of what has been done to achieve more than has already been achieved.

18

Monday, 14 November, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Kehinde Akinseyinde-Jayeoba

m: 08057336640 e: kehinde_07@yahoo.com

FBNQuest Investor Conference charts ways out of recession

From left, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, First Vice President, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, NSE; Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, President, NSE and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, former President, NSE during an Interactive session with capital market stakeholders and closing gong Ceremony at the NSE.

EU envoy tasks FG on Foreign Direct Investment protection Stories by Kehinde Akinseinde-Jayeoba- Lagos

T

HE European Union has called on the Federal Government to boost foreign investors’ confidence by facilitating policies that creates an enabling environment for investment in the country.

Head of EU Delegation in Nigeria, Ambassador Michael Arrion, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on the sideline of the fifth EU-Nigeria Business Forum, said European investors were ready to invest in the Nigerian capital market but were scared because there is no strong policy to back their investments in case of defaults.

He noted that investment opportunities abound in the country as the biggest market in Africa.

“There’s golden opportunity in the Nigerian market. Our investors have the market and are convinced about the potential of the Nigeria.

What is missing is to be sure about the protection

of their investment.

“The problem is the problem of rule of law; the problem of governance, the problem of protection of investment. The problem is not the money, not the investors; not the market; the problem is

the image of Nigeria and the capacity of Nigeria to have strong institution to protect the citizens, the residents and also the investors,” he said.

Earlier, Arrion had noted that the European Union and Nigeria have

developed robust economic relations with very large trade volumes at €30 billion in 2015, while adding that Nigeria was a key beneficiary of EU Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with FDI stock of €30 billion in 2015.

Private company listing, boards’ decision —FG THE Federal Government has said while it encourages private company listing into the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the decision is solely the board of management’s as well as its shareholders.

Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, during a working visit to the NSE in Lagos, reiterate the government commitment towards rejuvenating the country’s capital market as an important driver of economic activities and investments but ruled out direct government intervention in goading privatised companies to list their shares, noting that the decision to list by private companies will

remain decisions of their boards and shareholders.

He noted that while the main focus of the government is to create a generally amenable operating environment for the private sector to thrive, government will also consider proposals from the Exchange on ways to encourage listing and support corporate growth.

“We certainly want to encourage listing, and that’s part of why I am here, to promote interest in the market,” Osinbajo said.

He said the government would work with the market stakeholders determine possible areas of incentives and supports that could

stimulate participation in the Nigerian market.

“We will be acting a lot on the advice of the NSE council. Where the NSE council or the market makers think that there are things that may be done to make life easier in some way or to encourage listing in some way, we will be happy to listen to those,” Osinbajo said.

Osinbajo interacted with market stakeholders and traders and performed the ceremonial closing of the market in the company of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, a former president of the NSE and the owner of the largest group of companies on the Exchange.

THE Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okey Enelamah, has reiterated government’s commitment to ending the current economic recession through strategic policies such as robust partnership between government and the private sector, support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as well as intervening in high potential sectors including manufacturing and agriculture.

He made these points at the 2016 Annual Investor Conference organised by FBN Capital Limited, the Investment Banking and Asset Management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc. In his presentation tiled ‘Matching Opportunities with Patient Capital,’ the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okey Enelamah, emphasized the importance of government partnership with the private sector in order to move the nation’s economy forward.

He said despite the recession, Nigerians should see the economy from a positive perspective and deemphasize on the negative side of the recession. He noted that the oil price crash exposed the structural deficiency in Nigeria’s large and thriving economy.

According to him, “Countries in difficulty have used different strategies to strengthen and diversify their economies.

That is why Nigeria needs to move away from over dependence on oil. Diversification and growth is key to economic recovery and ensuring a more stable future. Nigeria should have a strong local base of investors because foreigners will always leave leading to dry up of capital.”

Enelamah recommended applying practical solutions such as creating the right environment and polices to harness the productivity of Nigerians in order to overcome the current inflation in Nigeria, as the economy remains large and full of potentials.

He added that it is very easy to have a disconnect between the government and the people when there is no trust in government policies.

Speaking further, the Hon. Minister identified the 5 execution principles of the Min-

istry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) which include creating a favourable economic framework, support to Micro, Small Scale and Medium Enterprise (MSME), sector prioritization, partnership and joint ventures and immediate implementation of policies.

In order to realise Nigeria’s diversification and growth plan, it is essential to concentrate on an area where Nigerians are advantaged and give them necessary support, he said.

He further identified areas such as energy, clarification of Nigeria’s foreign exchange policy, agriculture, manufacturing and transportation as critical to economic growth.

Gregory Kronsten Head of Macro-Economic Research FBN Capital, in a joint presentation with Head, Equity Research, FBN Capital, Mr Bunmi Asaolu, entitled ‘The Economy and Markets’, linked the recession to the fall in supply of foreign exchange and the lack of a buffer of reserves, while noting that non-oil inflows are now higher than oil inflows and that they could and should grow substantially.

Mr Bunmi Asaolu on his part stated that there was a strong double digit growth in revenue and Profit Before Tax (PBT), and triple digit growth for Payment After Tax (PAT), and that close to half of the of the PBT derived were from foreign exchange related gains.

A panel session comprising the MD of Secure ID, Mrs Kofo Akinkugbe; MD of Unified Payments, Mr. Agada Apochi; MD of Presco, Mr Felix Nwabuko; MD, GTI Group, Mr Rahul Savara and MD of Verod Capital Management, Mr Danladi Verheijen discussed ‘Capitalising on Disruptions to the Status Quo.’ The second panel discourse focusing on ‘A New Way of Thinking on Infrastructure Spend’ had the Senior Director Investment Group, AFC, Mr Ato Gyasi; Lead Partner, Detail Commercial Solutions, Mr Ayuli Jemide; Executive Director, ICRC, Mr Chidi Izuwa and CFO of Seven Energy, Mr Bruce Burrows as panelists.

Monday,14 November, 2016

MANAGEMENT Quote LEADERSHIP

The good will of the governed will be starved if not fed by the good deeds of the governors.

—Ben Franklin (1706-1790)

Trump:

Lessons for leaders

L

OVE him or loathe him, one incontestable fact about Mr. Donald Trump, United States of America’s president-elect who defeated Mrs Hilary Clinton in the presidential election held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, is that he is a man who knows what he wants and goes all out to get it. People may have issues with his conduct and utterances, but the likelihood of convergence of opinions on Trump being goal-oriented is high. He was not given much chance of winning his party’s nomination, but he did.

He was said not to stand any chance of defeating Mrs Clinton, who is a veteran inPAGE Washington politics, but 20 he defied the odds and beat her to the White House.

These feats show that there is more to Trump than

clumsy conduct and ugly utterances. He is apparently a man of strategy.

There are a few things that a leader with his eyes on the goal can learn from him.

Define what you want Right from the outset, Mr Trump knew what he wanted and left no one in doubt about his quest. He wanted the presidency and was determined to go the whole hog to get it. He did not want to be named among those who just contested the party’s nomination; he did not want to be an also ran; he wanted to win the presidency and he worked at it right from the commencement of the campaigns.

Continues on pg20

INSIDE

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

Donald Trump, US President-Elect

PAGE 20

Leaders’

forum PAGE 21

The 60-second

business coach PAGE 20

20

21

Monday,14 November, 2016

MANAGEMENT THE 60-SECOND business coach

Trump: Lessons for leaders Identify your market This is probably the most strategic move made by Mr Trump. He used statistics to advantage. He knew that White voters constituted about 70 per cent of the electorate in the 2012 elections, so he reasoned that if he was going to win the election, it would be with the votes of the Whites. So, he went for the Whites. He did not go after other segments of the electorate because he knew that his competitor, Hilary Clinton, was already making appeals to the generality of the electorate and he stood little chance of beating her at that. So, he targeted the Whites and appealed to their sensibilities. He never wavered; he stuck to his gut and gun till the very end. And it paid off eventually.

Very few players can operate successfully in the general market. Every organization that will go far must carve a niche for itself by identifying the segment of the market which it is best suited to serve. That is the power of focus. With unshifting focus, almost anything can be accomplished. Leaders must focus on the most important thing in their calling to go far in their mission; those who keep shifting hardly ever make any lasting impact.

Continued from pg19

Before this attempt that gave him both the party’s nomination as well as the presidency, Trump had made attempts before but when he saw the way things were going then, he withdrew. But this time, he decided not only to try his hand but made up his mind to get the presidency.

In the beginning of the contest for the party’s nomination, he was not taken seriously by a number of the party hi-

erarchy, who thought he had returned with his pranks. But they were later proved wrong when he won the party’s nomination against all odds. He also shocked a wide range of people and organizations across the globe when he won the presidential election.

To accomplish any task, it has to be defined. No one can identify what is not defined; and nobody can achieve what is not identified.

Tailor-made message for the identified market Mr Trump said what the White voters wanted to hear.

The Whites were concerned about jobs because they believed that the immigrants were taking the jobs that they ought to have.

So, Trump assured them that they were going to have jobs.

The whites were worried about the influx of immigrants from Syria and other places into their country. So, Trump told them that his administration would stop Syrian immigrants and Muslims from flocking into the country.

The Whites were bothered that the Establishment people in Washington were only concerned about themselves and not the people of the country. Trump promised to change the order.

Donald Trump took his time to know what the people with the electoral power wanted and he said that to them with such conviction that it was difficult to doubt his sincerity.

Leaders must not only know what the people want to hear but must also learn how to present what they wish to hear to them in a way that will ensure buy in. This is what Aristotle called pathos in his three elements of persuasion. Pathos is the meeting of the minds between the speaker and the audience. Where pathos holds sway, facts and figures are secondary. What is of primary concern to the audience is a connection of minds and an agreement of souls. The message must resonate with the audience for there to be a communion of minds.

Mr Trump was able to achieve that and it worked in his favour because not only did he know what the people wanted to hear, he was passionate about his communication of this to them. So, it was difficult for the target audience not to buy what he was pushing to

them.

Avoid wrong assumptions Donald Trump will be the first American president who never served in the military or public service before winning election to the White House. His lack of experience in government was one of the issues raised against him. The Establishment people were of the belief that there was no way he could win the election because of his lack of experience. With that, if he had thrown in the towel at any stage of the process, it would have been understood. But he did no such thing.

Instead of that, he went into the campaign with the belief that there would always be a first time for anything to happen. He never assumed that the electorate would not vote for him for his lack of experience.

In the same vein, he never assumed that the White electorate would give him their votes just because he was saying what they wished to hear. He visited all the swing and other states as many times as possible just to be sure that he got what he wanted.

Leaders must avoid being presumptuous but work assiduously as if things would go awry even when they have cause to believe that events would turn out in their favour.

Murphy’s Law which states that whatever

BOOK Reviewed by Harry K. Jones TONY Hsieh has founded two very successful companies.

Along the way, he has learned innumerable lessons and developed a model for creating intensely passionate corporate cultures. In “Delivering Happiness,” he gives insight into both.

Hsieh is the first entrepreneur I have seen to take many of the tenets from the emerging field of positive psychology (a.k.a. how to be happy) and apply them to a business, ultimately making his customers, partners and employees work together for a great, shared outcome.

In 1998, he sold his first business, LinkExchange, to Microsoft for $250 million. Today he continues to run Zappos, which he sold to Amazon in 2009 for $850 million.

Big ideas from Delivering Happiness: Develop core values – Even after building a successful startup, Hsieh realized he wasn’t happy with the culture he had built.

Not excited about going to work every day, he sold the company and decided that in his next company, Zappos, he would develop a set of core values among the team so he would always

can go wrong will go wrong should always guide leaders.

Anticipate downturns and plan defence Mr Trump was a man with a huge baggage, going into the campaign and the election.

He had no doubt that there would be dust raised over those issues and he planned ahead to handle them in the best way possible. He never allowed those issues to get him off track. He was accused of not making his

Leaders are courageous people, not because they are without fears but because they do not allow their fears to clip their dreams.

tax details public and he was ready with his defence. He told Mrs Clinton that it was the laws made by her party that gave him such latitude.

One of the responsibilities leaders are saddled with is to see problems and challenges ahead of others and find a way to circumvent them. A leader that is worth the title does not wait for problems to arise before running helter-skelter to solve them. Most great leaders plan for the worst while hoping for the best.

They do not allow themselves to be caught off guard so they always arm themselves with all kinds of scenario which ensure that they have a defence ready against any untoward turn of events.

Choose your fight Trump was smart enough to know that he could not win all fights, so he chose the ones he fought. When the news of his unsavoury statement about women broke, he knew that it was a battle he could not win.

He did not defend himself; he owned up to it and apologized to the country. But during the last debate, he turned the heat on Hilary Clinton who wanted to capitalize on that development to nail him. Instead of allowing Clinton to hem him in, he swiftly swerved the discourse to the issue of the Clinton’s email.

4 unique perspectives on what makes a great leader

With that, Clinton was put on the defensive.

Leaders must know when to admit their inability and cut their losses to avoid getting sucked into the sunk cost fallacy. A wise leader knows that it is impossible to win all battles. So, he chooses to fight only those he is positioned to win.

Be courageous enough to challenge status quo Those who challenge status quo are the ones who make history. Mr Trump’s electoral success has made him a record breaker in many respects. Apart from being the first elected president without military or public service background, he is also a first term president that will be over 70 years old. It is also on record that the leadership of his party was not with him, so he was more or less an independent candidate though he ran on the platform of the Republican Party. In spite of all these, he won. He won because he dared to challenge the status quo. If he had not contested, he would never have known whether he could win or not. Leaders are courageous people, not because they are without fears but because they do not allow their fears to clip their dreams.

“Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh enjoy being with the people at work. He outlines the process he created to develop and ingrain the culture.

Focus on a core competence – Hsieh wanted to do more than build a company.

He wanted to pursue an inspirational mission. After talking with other founders, he concluded that THE thing to focus on was outstanding customer service. With a reputation for amazing service, the company would be able to expand well beyond shoes to be an e-commerce vendor of a wide range of products. As a low margin e-commerce vendor, however, this was an expensive and (at the time) risky decision.

They made three audacious moves to purse the goal: they walked away from 30 percent of their revenues overnight, brought their warehouse capabilities in-house (in Kentucky) and moved the company (which was then almost 100 people strong) from San Francisco to Las Vegas.

Develop a great team – Hsieh knew that

From there, employees receive extensive training on the Zappos way of doing things with a focus on the steady progress and career growth they can achieve.

I was very impressed with Zappos University, and the company’s ongoing program to help employees continue to improve. By continuously investing in the pipeline of talent, Hsieh will have a steady stream of future leaders to drive growth and realization of their shared vision.

Transparency – To promote, ingrain and promote Zappos, every year the company publishes a community-generated and visible book about what the company’s culture means to the employees and partners. It also hosts tours and shares much more information with partners than most e-commerce vendors. The theme for these initiatives is transparency – make your goals, actions and results visible to build trust.

achieving the service quality he wanted meant he had to have the best people trained, focused and working together toward the goal. The resulting innovative talent development program begins with four weeks on the customer service desk, followed by incentive pay to leave after four weeks (to weed out the non-committed).

Pulling it all together – Hsieh’s program, BCP, stands for Brand, Culture and Pipeline. A company’s core competence becomes what it is known for, which becomes the company’s Brand. If people are really living up to the values and mission, the culture will be easy to identify. The Pipeline of talent, trained to execute against the core values and focused on the shared mission creates an impressive workforce.

By Brent Gleeson All business owners and executives have varying experiences and perspectives on the approach and qualities necessary for effective leadership. And not all situations require the same type of leadership style. Great leaders adapt to their surrounding environments and empower the team to succeed together.

Many experts across countless leadership books and articles agree on certain principles required for leading a team to greatness, but when it comes down to it, the most important factor is whether or not the leader is getting the job done.

My philosophies on leadership have evolved over time through research, experiences in combat as a Navy SEAL and from my successes and failures running my own businesses. I believe that the best leaders are passionate about developing the emerging leaders around them, they constantly work to improve their emotional intelligence and know that a strong team culture is the foundation for accomplishing the mission.

They are in a perpetual state of preparation and embrace the inevitable changes their businesses will face.

For the purposes of this article however, I wanted to get other business leaders’ perspectives by having them answer one question: In your opinion, what makes a great leader?

1 – Have Faith in Their Beliefs It’s a mix of a lot of things, but first and foremost it’s about having faith in your beliefs. You can’t expect others to consider you a leader unless you have solid faith in your ideas.

And once it’s there, you build on it by being a good communicator, listening to others, setting examples and by putting your best foot forward and not giving up. Leadership is all about being passionate about what you do, and having confidence in yourself and your followers whom you have to motivate and inspire.

2 – Make the Hard Choice Great leaders make the hard choice and self-sacrifice in order to enhance the lives of others around them. As a business owner, not only does your family rely on you – so too, do the families of those who work for you. Each employee has a family. Even if you’re a small business owner with four employees, you’re in essence potentially responsible for an additional ten or fifteen people.

3 – Earn the Respect of the Team Having the ability to show respect, empathy, and care to those that follow you, are all attributed to being a great leader. Earning respect is crucial to a successful relationship with someone, while also showing that you care about their work or ideas. Being empathetic allows a leader to tap into the emotions of that individual in order to connect in a way that lets that person know you understand what it means to be in their situation.

4 – Know the Team Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of every individual to effectively manage the outcome of a team is imperative for success. Leaders have a great vision and use the resources at hand to solve problems. They take risks and make hard decisions, knowing they could sometimes be wrong. Those are the most important qualities of a real leader that work similarly in our professional and personal lives.

5 – Know That the People are the Key to Success A great leader understands that it is the people they lead that ultimately determine the success or failure of any venture.

They surround themselves with great people that they can cultivate into a team of competent, confident individuals who can work well as a team. They then have the ability to guide this team towards a well-defined vision by clearly communicating short and long terms goals, inspiring confidence and trust among colleagues.

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Nigerian Tribune

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

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

How to effectively influence decision makers – 2

NO employer pays you to win an argument. So, do not be fixated on having your way. The corporate destination is more important than an individual conviction. The implication of this in influencing decision-makers is that instead of insisting on having your way while thinking everyone who doesn’t see things your way is stupid, put forward a realistic and implementable proposal that shows that you have taken time to do a cost benefit analysis of your idea.

There is no organization that has unlimited resources in terms of time, purse, processes or personnel. One of the greatest responsibilities of effective leaders is the effective allocation of available resources. When a proposal or idea therefore places an extra demand on resource status quo, the decision-maker is forced to be very calculating in his priorities to ensure the judicious use of available resources for the overall vision. Furthermore, in accepting the proposals you are making, one or more existing ideas may have to be sacrificed. These existing ideas may also be good ideas.

It is wrong to think that everything about status quo is evil or unproductive as proponents of new ideas often assume.

Many status quo ideas are responsible for the stability of the organization and the predictability of its outcomes.

Consequently, if a new idea is going to involve a major shift in thinking, process and other areas of operation, decisionmakers usually tread softly. Not because they are anti-progress or archaic but because, as the ones on whose desk the buck stops, they must be cautious and think through how the implementation of the new will affect everyone in the system. In getting a buy-in from decision makers on your idea therefore, you must be able to give good reasons why the organization should sacrifice the present for your proposed future. Rather than it being just a good idea that you probably copied from somewhere or dreamed up out of your own fancy, your proposal must address issues of relevance to corporate vision. What major changes would be required? At what cost to the organization? What are the short and long term benefits to the collective outcomes?

Very often, when we have what we consider to be the “silver bullet” idea, we tend to see all objection to it as myopic and

a rejection of the better for the good. It is not always so. You cannot force another to see what was revealed only to you.

It is your responsibility to pay the price of making them see it. Sometimes, an objection may simply mean, ‘I am scared and need to be reassured that I will not get my fingers and those of others burnt if I accept and implement this new proposal’. Consequently, you must also be prepared to address objections and reservations about your ideas in a way that assuages the mind of the decision-maker that his leadership will not be left holding the short end of the stick as a result of your idea.

A strong value system is the forte of effective organizations. Sometime ago on this page, I did a series on Ethical Leadership. When an organization begins to function in breach of its own core values, it begins a downward spiral.

The Nigerian banking system at a time witnessed the ascendancy of some “wonder, fertilizer-grown new generation” banks. In the drive for jumbo profits and higher market equity, they practically broke every rule in the books to attract customers and deposits. A couple of years ago, I wanted to begin a project aimed at profiling successful people in Nigeria, especially those with a touted belief in God. I had mapped out the various areas of our social, economic and political dialectics. I was to begin with the Banking sector where I had identified a few “shining star” CEOs who had taken their banks to the dizzying heights of “success” and consequent visibility. I picked on the defunct Oceanic Bank and frantically began to look for ways of connecting with its Chairman/CEO who at that time was literally a poster-face of a fledgling industry. I visited a Christian brother who I knew had worked there in its early years. I wanted him to connect me to the Chairman/CEO. When I told him why, he took a long look at me like one who pitied me and said, “Bro, I have known you for many years. And if there is one thing that I have respected and honoured you for in those years, it is your commitment to integrity and strong values. Please don’t mess that up by doing what you are planning to do.

Everything happening in that place is fuelled by a somersault of values”. With some prodding from me, he explained

that he quit that bank as its pioneer Managing Director because of the sheer enormity of underhand deals and immoral ways of attracting deposits which the Management was insistent on doing. Every counsel to the contrary was seen as dissent and rebellion. Torn between the demands of his employers and the dictates of a thoroughbred Christian conscience, He chose the ethical way out. He resigned.

Today, that bank is history. But for the intervention of its parent company in the UK, Cadbury Nigeria would probably have become history. A few years ago, it was discovered that the company had consistently doctored its accounts to reflect an exaggerated picture of prosperity. When the bubble burst, the Executive staff got the sack and the value of its shares plummeted! Your idea should never indicate a breach of the organization’s core values. As a matter of fact, if you are being prevailed upon to do things under the table, stand your ground and refuse. Where possible, find a means to report to top Management. And if those suggestions are coming from there, put up a written objection based on the expressed ethics of the organization and detail how the breach of these can affect the fortunes of the organization on the long run, even if it confers temporary benefits. In many cases, such instructions may not necessarily be because the Management wants to be devious. It may be that nobody has taken the pains to point out the pitfalls or maybe there is a communication gap somewhere. If the pressure continues after you have pointed out the underlying issues, consider looking for another job.

I am sure you have heard the statement “How can Management say they don’t know what is going on? Maybe they don’t qualify for that position” Or, “How can someone who is looked upon as a leader make that kind of silly mistake?

Even a messenger should know better!” You probably have made similar statements before about your superiors. Never be hasty to judge leaders. Too often, we assume that a leader is Robocop or Superman who must have a solution to every problem or an angel who can never be wrong. No. Leaders too are human. They are fallible…. Continued Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

Before you step out, do it!

MANY people consistently fall short in life, business and leadership for the reason that they pick to take no notice of the critical issue I am sharing with you today. When you step out without ‘doing it’, you are unquestionably going to fall flat on your face. Please understand that every go-getter in every field of life understands what I am sharing with you in synopsis at the moment and they do not joke with it.

The African man is where he is at the moment because he either does not know what I am addressing at present or he has been deceived that great and significant things can happen on their own—without walking-out in shoe-leather, the principle I am laying bare as onions before you today.

Are you ready to take pleasure in and relish the meal that I have got to serve you? If yes, then fasten your seat-belt and let’s set the ball rolling.

In recent times, I watched the making of one of the movies produced by an American that won an award. I was amazed to learn that it took the man and his team about twenty years to prepare for the film in question before shooting it. It was during those years of preparation that every “cost” was taken into consideration and when the movie finally came out, it did hit the ends of the earth in a few weeks! This is the startling and astonishing power of preparation!

In Nigeria, most of our movies are wishy-washy, because we do not invest quality time into preparing for them before shooting them. We are always in a hurry to make cheap money. And as an effect of this, most of the movies we bring into being here do not replicate excellence. I do hope the future generations of actors and actresses will take up the issue I am addressing today and live it out to the letter. To do anything that is going to have a global appeal and endure

for generations for come, you will need to spend a long time on it, in the room of preparation.

Let me go off on a tangent a little. Nigeria is a very religious country, but it is becoming glaring everyday that we are not Godly a hoot. We go to the mosque and church almost every-day, but we detest ourselves and we whip and pilfer what does not belong to us…Let us get back to the issue before us today. In Nigeria, most of our religious organizations do not emphasize values. And you know that people in point of fact do become what they consistently listen to. As a replacement for emphasizing values that make developed nations tick, our religious leaders, without fail, do present “Santa-Claus” to the people as God. Has this enriched them? Yes. And has this impoverished the masses? Yes. Let no one deceive and misinform you. To become successful and significant on earth, you’d need to prepare for it. In the realm of success, significance and greatness, preparation is non-negotiable.

Over the years, I have met with many people, who wished to have successful homes, but the truth is, successful homes do not respond to mere wishes, but serious preparation. Also, in this day and time, people only do prepare for the wedding, but they hardly do prepare for the marriage. Consequent on this, there are many successful weddings with a very few successful marriages.

Are you a youth, reading through this piece and you wish to have a successful home in the days to come? You’d need to be sincere with yourself and prepare for it. You will need to know and understand what makes a marriage work and do it.

Some years ago, I wrote and published a best-selling

book—which took me many years to prepare. I needed to stay awake when others were sleeping. And I needed to study hard for it, while looking at meals sometimes without touching them. What’s more? I needed to set aside money for it, because I wanted it to have a global appeal.

Also, I needed to look for a good editor and publishers to edit its manuscript and add flesh to my tall dream.

Buddy, I did not just wake up one day, wanting to write a best-selling book. It does not work that way. It did cost me about nine years to get the job done!

You cannot do overnight what will add a titanic value to humanity. It will take a long time of preparation. Even when it comes to God, every sudden act of God is always preceded by a long time of preparation. And I am yet to see anyone who became great and significant in the hand of God—who did not adequately prepare for it. When it comes to God, preparation is everything! The question today is: how prepared are you for some rare opportunities that await you in the days to come?

As I begin to coast home today. Over the years, I have seen many people who wasted rare opportunities just because they were not adequately prepared for them. And I have seen folks—who maximized a few opportunities that came their way, as an effect of them being well prepared for those opportunities.

For the umpteenth time, how prepared are you for some opportunities that will knock at your door in the days to come? It is certain that some life-changing opportunities are going to come your way in the days to come, but what is not certain is if you will be meticulously prepared for them.

Life-changing opportunities are coming. Get ready!

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Why entrepreneurs should embrace failure, difficulty —Alakija Stories By Ruth Olurounbi

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T’S no secret that Folorunsho Alakija, the wealthiest black woman in the world, has had a pretty rough journey to becoming one of the formidable female entrepreneurs on the planet.

Drawing on that experience gar-

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Why you should go on vacation —Pg 25

quote

nered from a long, hard journey, Alakija pushed herself through one of the hardest and yet uncertain times in her business career and she thinks young entrepreneurs in Africa should embrace some difficulty, in order for them to succeed.

At the Tony Elumelu Foundation Forum 2016 held in October, in Lagos, Alajika told a group of 1,000 African entrepreneurs selected for the $100 million Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme of the importance of embracing challenges and using them as stepping stones to greatness.

On the entrepreneurship journey, she said, young entrepreneurs may “need to fight yourselves, friends, competition and sometimes, your government in order to succeed.”

The fight, she encapsulates, if won, could launch the entrepreneurs to unimaginable success, one that she has experienced in more than

Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe. — Oprah Winfrey

30 years of business.

And it may make others to doubt that very success, she said.

My initial foray into the industry ...failed. Having got a food in the door, I decided to take advantage of the opportunities in industry for small contracts.

“Many people see the grace and the glory but they did not know the story,” she said, as she shared with the audience what she called the “little beginnings” of her life.

Taking the audience through how she started as a fashion designer to becoming an oil magnate, Alakija said could only survive those difficult years because of what she called a “higher power.”

Speaking to the fashion entrepreneurs, who make more than 10 per cent of the 1,000 African entrepreneurs, Alakija said “as a designer, your passion for fashion is one of the attributes that will sustain you in the industry.”

The fashion industry, she said, is one of the most demanding industries of one’s time and one’s energy. “It can practically drain you both emotionally and financially. At does bring the so much fame and fortune.

“I experienced all of this as a fashion designer and the ability to remain focused helped me to sustain it. Despite the attendant challenges I faced, I kept on at it.”

Continues on pg25

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Identifying entrepreneurship research priorities “ENTREPRENEURSHIP is a complex, inherently multidisciplinary field,” Peter Komives began his article, User-Based Methods for Identifying Entrepreneurship Research Priorities, written on gew.co. Komives is the Director, Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN).

Continuing, he said: “As such, there is often little consensus about priorities within the broader entrepreneurship research community.”

But how do researchers know or identify what they should they should focus their research on in the “multidisciplinary field” of entrepreneurship? Or what to give priorities to or to ignore for the time being?

There is no straightforward answer to this very tricky question. However, research focus, as this reporter has found, is largely based on the researchers’ interest.

Over the years though, there have been several researches that have helped answer some questions on what is most important to entrepreneurs, the roles of goverment in entrepreneurship development, what are the positions of women in global entrepreneurship, and so on.

These researches have been academic, which some have found issues with. from their perspectuve, “the right question from an academic perspective often does not provide

the answer that practitioners and policymakers are urgently looking to apply in their work.”

But then, who determines the right questions to ask, from an academic and non-academic questions perspectives?

Shouldn’t that role be left to reseachers to determine? Again, there are no easy answers to this question.

However, as entrepreneurship research continues to develop, evolve, and grow, one thing is certain, for evolution in the entrepreneurship field to be properly implemented, there is a need for a research-based data that supports claims in the entrepreneurship/ start-up spaces across the world. Therefore, there is the need for collaborative

efforts to increase the pool of researchers across the world, and especially in Africa, as the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Chair, Jonathan Ortmans in a 2015 interview with this reporter, put it.

He had called for “research-based data” in the field, to guide against what he called “promoting myths,” based on

assumptions, they have decided that to deploy the expertise of policy makers and qualified academic researcher to help come up with accurate data to back up any claims in the back-up space.

Thus, Global Entrepreneurship Research Network (GERN), which brings together research organisations with a keen interest in bolstering the

Have you heard of YALI? YALI is Young African Leaders Initiative, online interactive for young people of Africa.

But why is YALI important on the Entrepreneurship+ today?

It’s because of its entrepreneurships resources.

According to Macon Phillips, Coordinator, Bureau of International Information Programs at U.S. Department of State, the US Department took a survey asking how best it could serve the interests and passion of thousands of people on the network and the result showed that “thousands of members indicated an interest in entrepreneurship.”

As a result of this, the department said has been busy devel-

oping resources and information to help entrepreneurs in their business pursuits.

One of those resources is a four-part online course, which “explains critical aspects of entrepreneurship, from the process of developing a business, to how to identify and expand in the marketplace, to how to pitch to new investors.” The course allows the participants to earn a free certificate.

The course covers: Developing a Business Model, Creating a Business Plan, Identifying Your Markets and Pitching Your Business Ideas for Investment.

The courses are available on the YALI website.

body of research and data available to help build healthy entrepreneurial ecosystems.

GERN co-chair, Amisha Miller, was recently quoted in Komives’ article to have noted that an important goal for GERN is to “find ways to broaden the space and the experts involved in entrepreneurship studies.”

To develop new testable theories, she suggested “involving people from other disciplines – anthropology, ethnography, natural sciences, etc” in entrepreneurship research, who according to Komives, “have not traditionally applied their perspective to entrepreneurship.”

The beauty of having research in the entrepreneurship space is that, according to Ortmans, GERN co-chair, is that it point out things that are less effective in the start-ups space, which will be highly beneficial for the African start-up space, which hopefully, will help governments and/or private organisations that fund programmes to steer clear programs that have less impact.

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‘How to survive difficult time as an entrepreneur’ Continues from pg23

She also told them to be ready to take on multiple roles before they could begin to think about hiring more people.

“I found myself being the fashion illustrator, sometimes pattern drafter, the cutter and maybe even the tailor, depending on what the job demanded at the time.

“Often times, as I did, you may even have to be the merchandiser, the marketer, the account and play many other roles to make your business succeed.

She also encouraged the entrepreneurs to embrace failure, as learning from those failures could help calibrate them for a lifetime of success.

“My initial foray into the industry was to broaden the transaction for a client who wished to lift crude but this failed,” she said, adding that she did not allow that to stop her from pressing forward.

“Having got a food in the door, I decided to take

Folorunsho Alakija

advantage of the opportunities in industry for small contracts. My proposals went from providing catering services for offshore crude to providing transportation services,” and so on. From there on, she began another journey that gave her fame, fortunate and has placed her as world’s richest black woman in the world.

But like she said, that journey wasn’t without its challenges.

After spending 15 years, and all her life’s as well as her family’s life’s saving on an “extremely difficult to explore” oil block “in 5000 feet depth of water” she was engaged in a legal battle for another 12 years to claim what she said was hers, a catalyst to the magnitude of her financial success as a business woman.

“We had to fight back by going to court to seek redress and it took another 12 years for justice to be served in our favour. In all those years it was my trust in God, my perseverance and the support of my family that got me going,” she said.

Ruth Olurounbi

0811 695 4637 (sms only) e:ruth.olurounbi@tribune.com.ng t:@Olurounbi

3 reasons why you should take vacations IN the past few months, I have struggled with mental as well as physical exhaustions and it is easy to see why this is happening. You see, I take on many different roles on a daily basis, you see, one a personal as well as a professional levels.

I am mother, sister, daughter and a friend; I am journalist, a consultant, project manager and a student.

From these many perspectives that shape my world outlook, I can fully imagine what entrepreneurs trying to start a business off the ground, must be feeling.

The common and yet strong tendency for these entrepreneurs is to put in several hours (some up to 16 hours or more) work into a day, on as many days as possible, with little or no thoughts as getting a rest.

And for some entrepreneurs who have grown to certain stages that they can afford a very talented team, they idea of stepping away, even for a short time can be overwhelming.

And I can appreciate that feeling.

However, you need to take some time to breathe, to recharge your recharge your battery.

As much as I enjoy working and appreciate that I can stretch myself to the limit, I also know firsthand what exhaustion can do a human mind and consequently, body.

Beyond that, I have tried to itemise why it’s important to take vacations.

Freshness Mental and physical freshness is

He challenges, empowers and motivates us, each member of the team, here, at the Tribune office. His confidence in us allows us to thrive and get the job done. And I think it’s important that as an entrepreneur, you allow your team thrive, for the sake of your company’s success, if not for anything.

Your time away time from the office will not only encourage your team’s development and pro-activity and individuals and collective levels, it will also strengthen bonds among team members as they effectively address challenges in your absence.

important to your optimisation as first a human being and an entrepreneur. If you do not take care of your health, how do you function properly as an entrepreneur?

One of the ways to take care of yourself is to go on a break or a vacation. The beautiful thing about a vacation is that it helps you feel refreshed and energised.

Simply changing up your everyday routine and getting several nights of truly restful sleep can give the much desired

boost to take on the world.

If you need a book to take with you on your vacation, I recommend Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Improve your team Yes, your team needs a leader but your team shouldn’t be overly dependent on you either. I learned this from my boss, who allows us to take initiative and implement our ideas.

Get some new inspiration Some entrepreneurs have said that they get fresh ideas and inspiration from taking some time off their desks.

As many people will testify, doing the same thing over and over has a way of stiffling innovative ideas. But, from my experience, stepping away from work, seeing the world and engaging myself in something completely unrelated has given me som new perspectives to my work(s), and voila! New inspiration.

Don’t have the time to take extended vacation? Take smaller ones. It could be as small as turning off your smart devices, TV and take a nap. I recently started an exercise which I have found to be extremely useful. Whenever I feel overwhelmed with everything, I turn off my mind off work, take a walk, talk to a friend or just go sleep for a few minutes.

These processes have helped taken me back to a place I can optimally produce effective results.

And oh, I am starting my vacation next month by the way.

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Monday, 14 November, 2016

Sterling Bank renews financial inclusion drive in six geo-political zones STERLING Bank Plc has continued to receive commendations from communities where it activated the financial inclusion drive and promoted financial literacy during the just-ended World Savings Day(WSD).

The 2016 WSD was held last week worldwide and Sterling Bank, a pioneer in financial literacy and inclusion, having launched the Agency Banking system in 2014, joined other financial institutions globally to celebrate the Day in 12 locations across the six geo-

political zones in the country.

From Igede town in Osun State, Iwo in Oyo and Yaba in Abuja where the Bank activated the financial inclusion drive and Government Science Secondary School, Naman, Adamawa, Government Secondary School, Bichi, Kano and Federal Government College, Omu Aran in Kwara, it was all commendation galore for the Bank seen as a the major promoter of financial inclusion and literacy in the country.

The Onigede of Igede, His Royal Highness, HRM, Oba James Adelusi Aladesuru commended the Bank for selecting the town as a beneficiary of the programme adding that the gesture would not only promote financial inclusion drive but support the economic development of the town.

While commending the Bank for opening an Agency office in the town, the monarch called on the Bank to see the need to establish a full fledge branch in the town.

with Chima Nwokoji m:08032637535 e:chimatitus@yahoo.com

Nigerian Tribune

Money Market Review AT the start of last week, money market rates operated within a tight band but rose significantly towards the end of the week on account of tight financial system liquidity. In the absence of substantial inflows, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also held fire on primary market activities during the week.Accordingly, Open Buy Back (OBB) and Overnight (O/N) lending rates rose 12.2 and 13.3 percentage points week on week (W-o-W) on Friday (from 13.0 per cent and 13.5 per cent last Friday).

Dealers at Afrinvest West Africa Limited, an investment research and securities group said OBB and O/N rates opened with penultimate Friday’s close of 13.0 per cent and 13.5 per cent, closing flat on Monday but increased marginally on Tuesday. The impact of the tight system liquidity was however observed by midweek as OBB and O/N rates jumped 5.5 percentage points apiece to close at 19.2 per cent and 19.5 per cent at the end of Wednesday’s trading session. This uptrend continued on Thursday, as OBB and O/N rates further rose 3.5 and 3.7 percentage points to close at 22.7 per cent and 23.2 per cent respectively. Interbank lending rates inched higher on Friday, with OBB and O/N rates closing the week at 25.7 per cent and 26.3 per cent .

The dealers said activities in the Treasury Bills market were mixed during the week, with sentiment opening bullish before swinging bearish by midweek. Thus, average T-bills rate rose on 3 of 5 trading days. The week opened with significant buying interest particularly in the shorter termed instruments, and this triggered a drop in yields as average T-bills rate fell 1.0 per cent point to close at 16.3 per cent on Monday.

Afrinvest in a note to investors stated that The buying interests continued into the second trading session of the week before last as average rate further shed 11basis points (bps) to settle at 16.2 per cent. The buying interests were however not sustained into midweek as bearish sentiments filtered into the market and selloffs recorded across tenors, consequently, average rate rose 27bps to close at 16.5 per cent on Wednesday. The selloffs continued in Thursday’s trading session, triggering a 36bps increase in average T-bills rate to settle at 16.9 per cent, eventually closing the week at 17.3 per cent on Friday, down 4bps W-o-W.

Foreign Exchange Market

From left, Biomass Fuels Project Manager, Geocycle, Lafarge Africa Plc, Greg Salami; Head, Branding, Sterling Bank Plc, Peju Ibekwe; Head, Sub Sahara Africa for Geocycle (Waste and Common Management for Lafarge, Holian Group), Olivier Doyen and Chief Executive Officer, Globetech Remedial, Ola Oresanya, during the National Waste Management Conference in Lagos on Friday.

Initial mop up, maturities to dictate market rate movements

B

ORROWING rates at the money market this week are expected to trend northwards at the start of the week but moderate towards the end of the week on the back the apex bank’s liquidity mop up in the beginning of the week and subsequent maturities.

“In the week ahead, we expect money market rates to trend northwards at the start of the week but moderate towards the end of the week on the back of a scheduled N119.9 billion and N140.0 billion in Net T-bills and Open Market Operation (OMO) maturity.

“We also expect the Apex Bank to mop up liquidity through OMO

auctions accordingly, in addition to the T-bills auction scheduled for Wednesday,” one dealer said.

Also, activities in the local bonds market are expected to increase this week as the Debt Management Office (DMO) is scheduled to auction net N110.0 billion worth of the 14.50 per cent FGN JUL 2021, 12.50 per cent FGN JAN 2026 and 12.40 per cent FGN MAR 2036 instruments at its monthly primary market auction on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s overnight lending rate rose to 22 percent on Friday from 13 percent previous week due to tight liquidity, worsened by banks inability to get access to their balances with

the regulator, traders said.

According to some traders, lenders were demanding as high as 25 per cent to place funds on the market overnight, adding that a technical glitch at the central bank’s system which started last month had not been resolved.

They lamented absence of cash flow to the system last week because of no treasury maturity.

Another dealer also believes that rates are expected to climb higher due to bond auctions being planned; stressing that the central bank plans to sell around N120 billion in treasury bills and N95 billion in bonds at an auction this week.

DESPITE the sharp intraday volatilities in Naira/Dollar spot rate observed at the interbank market during the week, parallel market rate held steady as security agencies clamped down on market operators during the week. The Apex Bank reportedly sanctioned one of the Deposit Money Banks (Standard Chartered Bank), imposing a N2.0billion fine on the Lender (14.9% of its FY:2015 PAT) for currency market infractions. BDC operators were also reportedly under strict surveillance as officials of the Department of State Securities (DSS) raided the offices of some operators perceived to be breaching the approved BDC exchange rate. At close of business on Friday, parallel market rate was reported by local media to have been fixed at N395.00/US$1.00 (Buy) and N400.00/US$1.00 (Sell).

At the interbank, the Naira further weakened against the dollar on Monday with spot rate settling at N350.22/ US$1.00 from N328.00/US$1.00 the previous Friday.

Intraday spot rate touched a low of N375.00/US$1.00 before the Apex Bank intervened to moderate rate to N305.27/US$1.00 at the close of trade on Tuesday.

Interbank spot rate remained around Tuesday’s levels till the end of the week, closing the week at N304.75/ US$1.00 on Friday. Whilst interbank spot rate appreciated on some trading sessions during the week due to the CBN interventions, 1-Yr forward rate on the Financial Markets Dealers Over The Counter (FMDQ OTC) Platform depreciated on all trading days (from N321.00/ US$1.00 on Monday to N355.00/US$1.00 by Friday), implying bearish outlook on the local unit.

In the interim, Afrinvest said “we expect recent developments to constrain supply at the BDC/Parallel segments as operators withhold supplies. We imagine the possibility of this also leading to further fragmentation of the FX market, taking the parallel market further underground in view of the close scrutiny by security agencies. Thus, whilst parallel market rate could strengthen in the interim, the medium term outlook points to a more volatile currency.”

moneymarket Money changers: FG moves to shrink ‘black market’ 27

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N order to force a favourable exchange rate for the Naira, the Nigerian government has started obstructing the unofficial market through a clampdown on street money changers.

Explaining why Dozens of money changers have since Wednesday been arrested by officials of the State Security Service (SSS), in Lagos and Abuja, the duo of Mr Isaac Okoroafor, Acting Director of Corporate Communication and Dr Alvan Ikoku, Director, Trade & Exchange Department, both of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), said it is not CBN that is directly carrying out the

Ecobank’s fund management armlaunches dual Mutual Funds EDC Fund Management, the Asset Management arm of Ecobank in Nigeria has announced the launch of two mutual funds, the EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund and the EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund. The mutual funds gives customers of the Corporation and other interested Nigerians the opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio with as little as N5,000 for the Money Market Fund and N50,000 for the Fixed Income Fund.

Announcing the launch of the two funds in Lagos, EDC Fund Management Managing Director Ibukun Oyedeji said the Money market fund provides the benefits of pooled investment, allowing investors to invest in a diverse and high quality portfolio. Like other mutual funds, each investor in a money market fund is considered a shareholder of the investment pool. She stated that the Money market funds are managed within rigid and transparent guidelines to seek preservation of capital, liquidity and competitive yields.

The Money Market fund has two classes; Class A caters for the retail investor while Class B is targeted toward corporate investors as a liquidity management solution. The EDC Nigeria (Corporate) Money Market Fund will assist large corporate to efficiently manage their day-to-day liquidity while they focus on more strategic initiatives for their business.

The unit price for the Class B is N1 million.

On the EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund (the fund), the Managing Director said this is a collective investment vehicle which invests primarily in government and corporate bonds. The fund coming at an offer price of N1000.00 per unit aims to provide investors with liquidity, capital preservation, liability management and a diversification from equity risk for those investors who are currently exposed to the equity market. The minimum amount that can be invested is N50,000.00 and scalable in multiples of N10,000 . Incremental investments in these mutual funds can be done as frequently as the investor chooses.

Monday, 14 November, 2016

raids, but the bank is aware that the DSS is raiding places where miscreants are parading as Bureau De Change (BDC) owners.

“They are NOT raiding licensed BDCs,” Okoroafor told Nigerian Tribune in telephone conversation.

Similarly, while some market watchers believed the move can only reduce the number of street (black market) traders, but cannot eliminate them that segment totally, Ikoku in a TV programme monitored in Lagos over the weekend said though the exercise is really an enforcement of the rule, the apex bank is not aware of any arrests conducted in the offices of BDC operators for not obeying the rules.

“The hawkers of foreign exchange are breaking the law and we only trying to enforce the law. Bureau De Change operators are co-operating with CBN. It is the street

hawkers that we are after. We are only enforcing the rules by sending law enforcement agents after these people. “They are not registered and they need to apply for licences from the CBN,” Ikoku said.

The Central Bank allocates dollars to licensed money changers through Travelex at about N381 per dollar, to enable them sell to end users at about N385 per dollar.

As part of the guidelines, the Central Bank directed the operators not to sell foreign exchange above two per cent margin of the buying rate.

However, there have been reports that some money changers, particularly those unregistered, have been engaging in some illegal activities considered to be undermining the foreign exchange policy.

Asked what will happens to the approved rate in a situation where market forces

pushes the Naira/Dollar exchange rate to N480/$ or N500/$, clarified that BDCs are licensed and are expected to sell at approved rates.

However, if that happens, the director said the BDCs through their association will be asked to keep to the rules until such market changes are renegotiated.

The arrests, Nigerian Tribune learnt, commenced after a meeting between the SSS, CBN, and leaders of the Bureau De Change in Abuja last week.

At the meeting, held in Abuja, the officials agreed that sharp practices by Bureau De Change operators was a major factor responsible for the value of the Nigerian currency which has gone as high as N480 to a dollar at the black market and the parallel market despite selling below N400 at the official market.

From left, Vice-President / Chairman, Trade Promotion Board Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, (LCCI) Mr Sola Oyetayo; Regional Bank Head of Lagos Island, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr Ifeanyi Nwosu; oneof the winners of the Fidelity Bank Plc save and win promo, Miss Zainab Abdulrahman; Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr Adeyeye Adepegba and Deputy President, LCCI, Mr Babatunde Runwase, during Fidelity Bank Plc special day at the on-going 2016 Lagos International Trade Fair on Thursday in Lagos. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

Fidelity Bank sues for customer data use in retail expansion CHIEF Operations & Information Officer (COIO), Fidelity Bank Plc, Gbolahan Joshua, has advised financial institutions in Nigeria to explore fresh ways to utilise the increasing wealth of customer data available to them to drive sustainable growth and improved efficiency particularly in the retail space.

Joshua made this call at the 2016 Nigeria Retail Banking Workshop organised

by CIUCI Consulting and held at the Clear

Essence California Spa & Wellness Resort in Lagos on Thursday. He called for the development and implementation of policies that will provide Banks with required flexibility to utilise available customer information as well as sophisticated digital channels and systems to drive new levels of customer engagement.

Talking about the importance of retail segment as next frontier of growth for Banks, the Fidelity COIO noted that lend-

Stanbic IBTC Bank, Google take digital education to SMEs in Kaduna OPERATORS of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Kaduna and its environs will have an opportunity to acquire digital skills that will help transform their businesses as Stanbic IBTC Bank and Google organise a digital capacity building session in the city.

The event is part of the continuation of the collaboration which Stanbic IBTC Bank, a member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, and technology company, Google, sealed earlier in the year designed to empower the youth and operators in the SME segment in Nigeria with digital skills for economic advancement.

According to a statement from the Bank, the Kaduna session is scheduled to hold

Nigerian Tribune

on November 15, 2016 at the Kaduna Business School. Participants will be drilled in such areas as ePayment and online banking, digital marketing and the use of digital platforms for sustainable business growth as well as hiring and retaining third parties.

The partners said by organizing capacity building sessions across the country, they hope to build a critical mass of businesses through increased adoption of digital technology which will subsequently enhance their contribution to economic development.

Head, SME Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Obinnia Ukachukwu, said the participants will derive game-changing benefits by adopting new approaches to business, es-

pecially as the deployment of technological innovation has the capacity to boost efficiency and reduce costs, enhance better understanding of customers and their needs, increase revenue and even create an entirely new customer base or market.

“The SME segment is pivotal to the economic growth and development of any nation. Our commitment to the growth of the SME segment has over the years been demonstrated through the various digital banking products and support from Stanbic IBTC Bank’s stable. We have launched an internet banking offering specifically for SMEs as well as SME BizDirect, a personalized digital banking platform,” he stated.

ing which happens to be one of the most intricate services rendered by a Bank is critical to socio-economic development.

Commenting on the requirements to be considered by a bank before providing credit, Joshua pointed out that Nigerian Banks consider the interest rate and guaranteed sources of revenue before lending to individuals.

Chukwuka Monye who is the DirectorGeneral of Delta Economic Summit Group and Managing Partner at Ciuci Consulting, expressed his gratitude to all the representatives of the banks that were present at the workshop.

He also promised to organise more workshops to improve the operational standards of banks in Nigeria in relation with their prospective customers. Ciuci is a consulting company responsible for carrying out in-depth studies in various sectors of the economy.

By getting detailed consumer intelligence on different segments of customers, Ciuci is able to access the retail activities of banks in Nigeria through research. The workshop according to a statement from Fidelity Bank, served as an eye opener to some of the issues affecting the retail space in Nigeria’s competitive financial services sector.

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Nigerian Tribune

Gotv excites subscribers with new contents As Maid In Manhattan debuts

PAY TV service provider, GOtv, further raised the stakes for its teeming subscribers as another fresh and exciting content, a Cinderella-style story with a Big Apple twist, Maid in Manhattan, debuts on Telemundo .

Inspired by the eponymous movie, the 167 episode telenovela presents Mexican singer and actress Litzy, who steps into the figurative glass shoes of Marisa Luján Villa in the lead role.

Before she becomes a maid in Manhat-

BRANDS &

tan, Marisa Lujan is a mum in Michoacan, Mexico, where things are starting to get dangerous. Afraid of the safety of her son, Lalo, she moved to California and then, New York. Marisa lands a job as a maid at a luxurious Manhattan hotel, where

she works hard to build a life for herself and her son while dreaming of a brighter future.

The drama provides an exciting labyrinthine tale that leads to love, fraught with omissions; misgivings, doubt, and hard choices.

with Akin Adewakun

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

From left, General Manager, GOtv, Akinola Salu; MultiChoice Mega Dealer, Oladipo Okuwobi; Public Relations Manager, GOtv, Efe Obiomah and Marketing Manager, GOtv, Johnson Ivase, during the GOtv 5th Anniversary Customer Fun Fair, held at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos on Saturday

As NIMN goes to polls in Ibadan Stories By Akin Adewakun

H

ISTORY will again be made on Friday in the nation’s marketing clan, as marketing practitioners converged on the ancient city of Ibadan, capital of Oyo State for the annual general meeting of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), between November 17 and 18, 2016.

One thing that is significant about this year’s edition of the annual meeting, apart from holding in Ibadan for the first time, is the fact that it would provide the long-sought opportunity for the institute’s members to truly elect six new members of council, with three of the number being principal officers, President, First Vice President and Second Vice President.

Besides, it will be the first time a proper election would be conducted by a serving leadership, with a brand new council elected.

For instance, Aare Ganiyu Koledoye, while inaugurating the electoral committee that would conduct the forthcoming elections, few months ago, in Lagos, had made it clear to whoever cared to listen that he had no intention of vying for the exalted office, when his tenure expired in November.

Besides, he had expressed his commitment to conduct an election that would inaugurate a new coun-

cil that would continue with the legacies of his administration.

And, the legacies seem to be many.

For instance, the relative peace being presently enjoyed in the institute cannot, but be attributed to this Ibadan-born marketing guru.

It was obvious that the institute was again on the precipice, at the twilight of late Lugard Aimiuwu’s administration, with another faction, springing up and claiming ownership of the institute, before Koledoye intervened.

The eventual reconciliation and integration of members of the aggrieved faction into the institute’s mainstream, by the Koledoye-led council, no doubt,

succeeded in dousing the tension.

But, soothing as Koledoye’s achievements may sound, the question on the lips of many is about who would continue from where the man has stopped.

Interestingly, two marketing titans, Dr Rotimi Olaniyan, former Vice President of the institute and incumbent president of the EXMAN, Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria and Tony Agenmonmen, the incumbent first Vice President of the institute, and former Marketing Director at Nigerian Breweries Plc have so far signified their intention to run for the

institute’s exalted office.

Not a few believe that the two have what it takes to run the institute, especially going by their track-records in marketing practice, and how well they have been able to their various marketing roles in the past few years.

Olaniyan, many believe, is not new to the terrain as far as industry politics is concerned.

For instance, besides once being a Deputy President of the NIMN, he is presently overseeing the affairs of EXMAN. This no doubt equips him with the necessary experiences to effectively run the affairs of the institute, if elected.

Chi Ltd rewards consumers on social media platform As part of its resolve to meet its numerous consumers at their touch points, Chi Limited, a major player in the nation’s fruit juices market, recently rewarded its consumers across all the leading social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for their loyalty to the brand.

At a series of just-concluded social media contests such as ‘My 100% Achievement Contest’ and ‘Tea Side of Life Promo’ for Chivita 100% fruit juice and Chi Ice Tea respec-

tively, not a few of such consumers on the social media were rewarded with various prizes, ranging from Smartphones, Laptops, iPads, iPhones, Game Consoles, Gift Vouchers and Products Packs of the various brands Speaking on the promos, the company’s Head of Marketing, Probal Bhattacharya, described the promo as a way of connecting with the ever-growing population of consumers across Nigeria.

“While we congratulate the win-

ners of these promos, let me say the promos were conceived to connect with as well as reward the ever growing population of consumers across Nigeria that have made our fruit juices and beverages their preferred drink for refreshment, nourishment and rejuvenation.

“For us, we will not relent in our effort to ensure that consumers get the utmost satisfaction in their daily experiences with our brands,” he stated.

CSR: NBC donates classroom block to Abuja primary school AS part of its corporate social responsibility thrust and community development initiatives, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) has built and handed over a two-Classroom Block, fully furnished with desks, chairs and other classroom fittings to Kuchingoro Primary School, Abuja.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, held at the school premises, NBC Public Affairs Manager, Abuja and Northern Region, Aminu Mohammed, explained that since the need to contribute positively to societal development remains key to economic growth in Nigeria, the company would continue to play its part to provide the needed support in the areas of greatest needs.

“The provision of this fully furnished two-classroom block is borne out of a request from the community to support with additional classroom space for the pupils of the school, which was over-stretched, especially as it hosts thousands of internally displaced persons from the North-East region,” he stated.

He further expressed the company’s commitment to sustainable partnerships with stakeholders, collaborating with States’ Ministries of Education and Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) to provide the needed infrastructure for the development of education in the country, adding that donated project serves as a tool for the upliftment of education in Nigeria.

In his response, Head of Primary School Services, Kuchingoro Primary School, Hajiya Hauwakulu Lawal, appreciated the contribution of NBC to the school, stating that the company had continuously shown collaboration and deliberate contribution to the development of education in the country.

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Monday, 14 November, 2016

32nd Sagamu Day celebration organised by Sagamu Development Association (SDA)

From left: Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu Co-chairman, African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc and former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, at the 32nd Sagamu Day celebration.

PHOTO: TUNDE ADEGBOLA.

From right: Former Head of service, Ogun state; Princess Iyabo Odunlate-Yusuf; Alaye-Ode of Remo, Oba Adetunji Osho and Ewusi of Makun, Oba Timothy Akinsanya.

From right: Representative of Olu of Eleyin, Chief Sola Jaiyesinmi; Olu of Oyinade, Chief Dauda Awosanya; Olu of Otuyelu, Mosinmi, Chief Yekini Ogunlaja an Olu of Imusin, Chief Taiwo Bamgbose.

Sagamites from the United Kingdom (UK) that came for the celebration.

Members of Igbo Community living in Sagamu.

From left: Elepe of Epe, Oba Adewale Osiberu; Ewusi of Makun, Oba Timothy Akinsanya and Alaye-Ode of Remo, Oba Adetunji Osho.

From left: Olisa-Ofin Lisa Akarigbo Remo, High Chief Adeyemi Salami and Alado of Ado-Sagamu, HRH, Oba (Barr.)

Tijani Osokowu.

From right: Guest speaker, Dr Lai Shoile; President of Sagamu Development Association (SDA); Professor Tunde Ogunsanwo; Princess Folasade Ogunbiyi and Aare of Remo, Chief Idowu Shofola SAN.

One of the social groups that formed Sagamu Development Association (SDA).

Members of Hausa community living in Sagamu.

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Monday, 14 November, 2016

foreig naffairs

08116954632 with seyi gesinde foreignn ewseditor@gmail.com

Trump to deport up to three million immigrants in January

D President-elect, Donald Trump

ONALD Trump has said he will deport two to three million undocumented immigrants “immediately” upon taking office.

In his first television interview since winning the presidential election, Mr Trump insisted that he is going to carry out his hardline immigration policy proposals, while insisting that he would build a wall between the US and Mexico.

“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million – it could be even three million – we are getting them out of the country

or we are going to incarcerate,” Mr Trump told 60 Minutes.

“Be we’re getting them out of the country, they’re here illegally.”

He explained that once the border is “secure”, then the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement will assess the status of the remaining undocumented immigrants in the country.

“After the border is secure and after everything gets normalized, we’re going to make a determination on the people that they’re talking about who are terrific people, they’re terrific people but we are gonna make a determination at that,” he said. “But before we make that determination ... it’s very important, we are going to secure our border.”

Clinton blames FBI’s Comey for her defeat HILLARY Clinton blamed FBI director James Comey for her stunning defeat in Tuesday’s presidential election in a conference call with her top campaign funders on Saturday, according to two participants who were on the call.

Clinton was projected by nearly every national public opinion poll as the heavy favorite going into Tuesday’s race. Instead, Republican Donald Trump won the election, shocking many throughout the nation and prompting widespread protests.

Clinton has kept a low profile since her defeat after delivering her concession speech on Wednesday morning.

Clinton told her supporters on Saturday that her team had drafted a memo that looked at the changing opinion polls leading up to the election and that the letter from Comey proved to be a turning point. She said Comey’s decision to go

public with the renewed examination of her email server had caused an erosion of support in the upper Midwest, according to three people familiar with the call.

Clinton lost in Wisconsin, the first time since 1984 that the state favored the Republican candidate in a presidential election. Although the final result in Michigan has still not been tallied, it is leaning Republican, in a state that last favored the Hilary Clinton Republican nominee in 1988.

Mexico:

US border to be part fence —Trump

Fencing already exists along parts of the US border with Mexico. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

US President-elect Donald Trump has said his planned wall along the Mexican border could be partly fence.

In some areas, “a wall is more appropriate”, he told US broadcaster CBS, but “there could be some fencing”, Mr Trump repeatedly promised during his election campaign to build a wall to keep out illegal migrants.

He said he planned to deport or jail up to three million undocumented migrants with criminal records, such as

gang members and drug dealers.

Other undocumented migrants would be assessed once the border was secured, Mr Trump added.

Forcing Mexico to pay for a border wall became a rallying cry among Trump supporters during the campaign.

Their candidate caused outrage by suggesting Mexicans were exporting “their rapists” to the US, along with drugs and other crime.

New Zealand earthquake: ‘At least 65 killed’ AT least 65 people have died and dozens Canterbury.”

Civil Defence workers have retrieved are trapped in rubble after a devastating 6.3-magnitude earthquake ravaged the the 65 bodies from the rubble of buildNew Zealand city of Christchurch on ings destroyed when the earthquake hit the city at lunchtime, collapsing office Sunday.

Just minutes after New Zealand’s Civil buildings and sending bricks and other Defence director John Hamilton con- heavy debris toppling into busy city firmed about 3.50pm local time that streets.

17 people had died in the quake, Prime Minister John Key announced the death toll had risen to 65.

Mr Key said the death toll was expected to rise further.

“The death toll I have at the moment is 65 and that may rise. So it’s an absolute tragedy for this city, for New Zealand, for the people that we care so much The earthquake struck the South Island about,” he said.

“It’s a terrifying time for the people of just after midnight local time. PHOTO: AP

Earth to experience supermoon today THE moon is a familiar sight in our sky, brightening dark nights and reminding us of space exploration, past and present. Today, Nov. 14 the moon will be especially “super” because

it’s the closest full moon to Earth since 1948. We won’t see another supermoon like this until 2034, according to NAS. Gov. The moon’s orbit around Earth is slight-

France marks first anniversary of November 13 Paris attacks FRANCE on Sunday marked the first anniversary of the Paris attacks with sombre ceremonies and painful memories for the relatives of the 130 people killed.

President François Hollande unveiled plaques at sites across the city that were attacked by the Islamic State jihadist group, starting at the Stade de France.

Manuel Dias, 63, was killed by a suicide bomber outside the national stadium where France were playing Ger-

many in a football match in the first of a series of coordinated attacks on the evening of November 13, 2015.

Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also unveiled plaques outside bars and restaurants in the trendy neighbourhood where gunmen sprayed bullets at people enjoying a Friday evening out.

The final ceremony took place outside the Bataclan, the concert hall where 90 people were killed by three

attackers during a rock gig ally charged show held amid in the culmination of the tight security on Saturday. carnage.

“We will not forget them,” The names of those killed the British singer told the at the concert were read out crowd in French after a minas hundreds of people gath- ute’s silence for the victims. ered under rainy skies watched in silence.

Rock star Sting reopened the refurbished Bataclan with an emotion- People pay tribute to victims of a terror attack in front of the Bataclan concert Hall in Paris, France. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

ly elliptical so sometimes it is closer and sometimes it’s farther away. When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth it is known as a supermoon.

At perigree — the point at which the moon is closest to Earth — the moon can be as much as 14 percent closer to Earth than at apogee, when the moon is farthest from our planet. The full moon appears that much larger in diameter and because it is larger shines 30 percent more moonlight onto the Earth.

The biggest and brightest moon for observers in the United States will be on Monday morning just before dawn. On Monday, Nov. 14, the moon is at perigee at 6:22 a.m. EST and “opposite” the sun for the full moon at 8:52 a.m. EST (after moonset for most of the US).

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Monday, 14 November, 2016

10 reasons you’re tired all the time Continued from front page

1. You skip exercise when you’re tired Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. In a University of Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising lightly three days a week for as little as 20 minutes at a time reported feeling less fatigued and more energised after six weeks.

Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues.

2. You don’t drink enough water Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2 per cent of normal fluid loss—takes a toll on energy levels, says Amy Goodson, RD, a dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker.

This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs. To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day, Goodson recommends.

3. You’re not consuming enough iron An iron deficiency can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, weak, and unable to focus. “It makes you tired because less oxygen travels to the muscles and cells,” says Goodson. Boost your iron intake to reduce your risk of anemia: load up on lean beef, kidney beans, tofu, eggs (including the yolk), dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, and peanut butter, and pair them with foods high in vitamin C (vitamin C improves iron absorption when eaten together), suggests Goodson.

4. You’re a perfectionist Striving to be perfect—which, let’s face it, is impossible— makes you work much harder and longer than necessary,

says Irene S. Levine, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. “You set goals that are so unrealistic that they are difficult or impossible to achieve, and in the end, there is no sense of self-satisfaction.” Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it. In time, you’ll realise that the extra time you were taking wasn’t actually improving your work.

5. You skip breakfast The food you eat fuels your body, and when you sleep, your body continues using what you consumed at dinner the night before to keep your blood pumping and oxygen flowing. So, when you wake up in the morning, you need to refuel with breakfast. Skip it, and you’ll feel sluggish. “Eating breakfast is like starting a fire in your body by kick-starting your metabolism,” Goodson says. Goodson recommends a breakfast that includes whole grains, lean protein and healthy fat. Good examples include oatmeal with protein powder and a dab of peanut butter; a smoothie made with fruit, protein powder, low-fat milk, and almond butter; or eggs with two slices of whole-wheat toast and low-fat Greek yogurt.

6. You live on junk food Foods loaded with sugar and simple carbs rank high on the glycemic index (GI), an indicator of how rapidly carbohydrates increase blood sugar. Constant blood sugar spikes followed by sharp drops cause fatigue over the course of the day, says Goodson. Keep blood sugar steady by having a lean protein along with a whole grain at every meal, says Goodson. Good choices include chicken (baked, not fried) and brown rice, salmon and sweet potato, or salad with chicken and fruit.

7. You have trouble saying ‘no’ People-pleasing often comes at the expense of your own energy and happiness. To make matters worse, it can make you resentful and angry over time. So whether it’s your kid’s coach asking you to bake cookies for her soccer team or your

boss seeing if you can work on a Saturday, you don’t have to say yes. Train yourself to say ‘no’ out loud, suggests Susan Albers, a licensed clinical psychologist. “Try it alone in your car,” she says. “Hearing yourself say the word aloud makes it easier to say it when the next opportunity calls for it.”

8. You work through vacation Checking your email when you should be relaxing by the pool puts you at risk of burnout, says Lombardo. Unplugging and allowing yourself to truly unwind allows your mind and body to rejuvenate and return to the office stronger. “When you truly take breaks, you will be more creative, productive, and effective when you return,” says Lombardo.

9. You have a glass of wine (or two) before bed A nightcap sounds like a good way to unwind before falling asleep, but it can easily backfire. Alcohol initially depresses the central nervous system, producing a sedative effect, says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology & Sleep Medicine, P.C., in New York City. “But it ultimately sabotages sleep maintenance.” Alcohol creates a rebound effect as it’s metabolized, which creates an abrupt surge in the adrenaline system, he says.

10. You check e-mails at bedtime The glaring light of a tablet, smartphone, or your computer’s backlit screen can throw off your body’s natural circadian rhythm by suppressing melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles, says Dr Towfigh. Sensitivity to the digital glow of tech toys can vary from person to person, but in general it’s a good idea to avoid all technology for one to two hours before bedtime, he says. Can’t avoid checking your device before your head hits the pillow? Then hold it at least 14 inches away from your face to reduce the risk of sleep interference.

Courtesy: www.health.com

Avengers to Buhari: Address our demands now Alleges army security hierarchy not pleased with approach Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

W

ORRIED members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), on Sunday, warned President Muhammadu Buhari that the country was running against time over the delay in addressing issues raised in the 16-point demand presented to the president on November 1,

by Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

The group, in a statement issued on its website on Sunday, by its spokesperson, Brigadier General Mudoch Agbinibo, expressed shock over the continuous deployment of military personnel and hardware to invade some communities in the region.

This, it said, was antiethical to the spirit of the 16-point demand , accusing the Federal Government of playing the ostrich.

“The everyday deployment of military hardwares, houseboat, personnel etc is a dilemma of government’s insensitivity and incapacity to the legitimate demand by the Niger Delta people since 1994, under late General Sani Abacha.

“The Niger Delta struggle

is the people’s project. So, the more groups that are involved, the more the festivity.

There will be no cold war with any group and groupings no matter the circumstances of their emergence and their modus operandi,” the Avengers averred.

The group pleaded with the public for understanding, saying it should not be blamed for the recent resumption of hostilities because government had not halted the harassment and intimidation of innocent people in the creeks.

“Sincerely speaking, the High Command of the Niger Delta Avengers cannot be blamed for the continuous bombing of crude oil export pipelines and other oil installations, since the government has been relentlessly carrying out military build-ups to continuously harass communities and indigenes of the Niger Delta after the November 1 meeting of the PANDEF and President Buhari.

“We see this as a deliberate move by the military to undermine any effort of dialogue and negotiations with the people of the Niger Delta.

“The path to sustain the cessation of hostilities in

the region among fighters and structures cannot be achieved overnight, when there are clear cases of deliberate security surge by the Nigerian government.

“We ask for understanding on the side of the PANDEF and the general public.

“It will make a lot of sense on the part of the government of President

Buhari to restrain the security agents/agencies from engaging in activities that are inimical to the process, the people and communities of the Niger Delta.

“The idea of communicating with our fathers, leaders and royal fathers under the leadership of Papa Edwin Clark’s PANDEF before

acting will only amount to mere propaganda while the head is being cut off.

“We believed that our fathers, leaders and royal fathers are ready to meet the government of Nigeria with representatives of IOCs and the neutral observers, but not with guns, warships and jet fighters terrorising their communities, which, of

course, is one of the 16 keypoint demands presented to Mr President. So the government should stop the ostrich game,” the group noted.

“Until the burning issues of resources control, fiscal federalism and inclusive development are addressed no force will stop this struggle even with bare hands,”it added.

Natural disasters force 26 million into poverty, cost $520bn —World Bank

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju THE impact of extreme natural disasters is equivalent to a global $520 billion loss in annual consumption, and forces some 26 million people into poverty each year, a new report from the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) reveals.

“Severe climate shocks threaten to roll back decades of progress against poverty,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “Storms, floods, and droughts have dire human and economic consequences, with poor people often paying the heaviest price. Building resilience to disasters not only makes economic sense, it is a moral imperative.”

The report, Unbreakable:

Building the Resilience of the Poor in the Face of Natural Disasters, warns that the combined human and economic impacts of extreme weather on poverty are far more devastating than previously understood.

In all of the 117 countries studied, the effect on wellbeing, measured in terms of lost consumption, is found to be larger than asset losses.

Because disaster losses disproportionately affect poor people, who have a limited ability to cope with them, the report estimates that impact on well-being in these countries is equivalent to consumption losses of about $520 billion a year. This outstrips all other estimates by as much as 60 per cent.

With the climate summit,

COP22, underway, the report’s findings underscore the urgency for climatesmart policies that better protect the most vulnerable.

Poor people are typically more exposed to natural hazards, losing more as a share of their wealth and are often unable to draw on support from family, friends, financial systems, or governments.

Buhari to attend climate change summit in Morocco Clement Idoko -Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will attend the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also known as COP-22, in Marrakech, Morocco, from today to Wednesday, November -16, 2016.

He is expected participate in the official opening plenary on November 15 where he would deliver his national statement during the High Level Segment of COP 22.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja,

on Sunday.

The presidential address would highlight, among other key issues, Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and policy actions aimed at tackling climate change through environmental sustainable efforts.

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Customs collects N2.5trn as revenue in 34 months Say Nigeria’s export hits N233bn Tola Adenubi - Lagos

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HE Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has said that it collected a total of N2, 528, 466, 964, 156. 74, as revenue accruable to government between 2014 and 2016. This is even as the service revealed that Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of exports from Nigeria currently stands at N233, 642, 521, 641 while total imports (ECOWAS) is N360, 714, 779, 595.

The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.) disclosed this over the weekend while delivering a paper titled, “Oil Revenue for Economic Growth: Impact of Nigeria Customs Service” at a maritime conference held in Lagos.

The Customs CG said that a significant part of the amount formed part of monthly allocations to the three tiers of government to execute projects aimed at stimulating the economy, provision of infrastructure and social services.

According to the Customs boss who was represented by the NCS image maker, Wale Adeniyi, “In 2014, the NCS collected a total of N99, 099, 172, 939.51 as revenue into government coffers.

“In 2015, N904, 072, 689, 941.72 was collected by the Service into government coffers; while between January to September 2016, we have already collected N647, 295, 102, 275.

51. Aside all this figures, a total of 17,173 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N22, 274, 606, 826. 9 were made.

“The huge seizure count represents the havoc which smugglers would have wreaked or expressed in terms of the toll it would have taken on the local producers of the seized products.”

On the Common External Tariff (CET) he said, “The CET is structured as a pro-

tectionist instrument for the local economy. While raw materials, machiner-

ies are primary products required as input for local manufacturing industries,

on the other hand, finished products are clamped with high rates of duty and ad-

cal production.”

Ali further informed that NCS was a major implementer of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) which he said was a policy put in place to encourage sub-regional trade.

CIBN commends Skye Bank CEO Tokunbo Abiru

From right, Executive Director, Commercial, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc. (BEDC), Mr Abu Ejoor, Ag. Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Dr Vincent Akpotaire, MD/CEO, BEDC, Mrs Funke Osibodu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatization, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, Senator Shaaba Lafiaji, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi and alternate Director, BEDC, also from BPE, Mrs Martina Omojola during the visit by the Senate Committee on Privatization to BEDC on Thursday in Benin, Edo State.

Abuja flights to be diverted for rehabilitation of runway Shola Adekola - Lagos THE Federal Government has designated Kaduna Airport as alternative route to Abuja bound flights for the commencement of rehabilitation of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport runway in Abuja.

However, the Federal Government has deployed about N1 billion to urgently rehabilitate the runway.

Dropping this hint at the weekend was the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika who said he had already set up a committee to oversee the restoration work.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had earlier said the runway was in a bad state due to over-utilization which it said called for the need to do a total overhaul while efforts are ongoing to build another runway as alternative to the over flogged existing one.

The committee which is expected to schedule the maintenance dates,is

expected to also decide whether the runway would be closed daily or some hours of the day so that work could start at the facility.

“A ministry source said, government is making urgent effort to start the rehabilitation of the runway at the Abuja airport and government has provided

funds for the work which could start anytime from now. The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika had set up a committee about six weeks ago to oversee the rehabilitation, determine the dates and decide whether the airport would be closed for the period of restoration or choose to close it,

of this month.

From 12th to 20th November, StarTimes’ viewers can freely watch a variety of wonderful TV programmes on StarTimes TV platform, such as one of NGC’s biggest new documentary shows Mars, Fox Life’s popular drama series Empire Season 1, Bollywood’s movie Force and fantastic Bundesliga matches on StarTimes

for example, from 1:00 am to 6:00 am every day so that the airport could be operated part of the day.”

After the committee’s final presentation, the minister is expected to discuss with the National Security Adviser (NSA) to agree on the date work would start on the runway.

Senate Committee rates BEDC management high AS the Senate Committee on Privatisation and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) criss-crosses the power sector to assess the industry and get acquainted with its numerous problems, the Management of Benin Electricity Distribution Plc. (BEDC) has been commended for being innovative and well-run in spite of industry challenges.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, gave the commendation when he led members of the committee and a team from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)

on a fact-finding visit to BEDC last Thursday.

Senator Bruce, who acknowledged the myriad of challenges facing the power sector, observed that BEDC under the leadership of Mrs. Funke Osibodu, had done well since it came on board especially in the areas of community relations, payment platforms and customer services.

“We have seen the excitement of staff at the training programmes of BEDC, an enabling environment and air of camaraderie among management staff, which we have not seen in other

StarTimes to launch free Open Week ALL viewers and new subscribers of StarTimes in Nigeria can freely have access to several prominent channels including Fox Life, National Geographic Channel (NGC), StarTimes Bollywood and StarTimes World Football for one week, as the African pay TV giant recently announced that they would serve up a visual feast to subscribers with launching an Open Week in the middle

ditional levies with a long list of items under import prohibition to stimulate lo-

World Football.

“Consistent with StarTimes’ mission and values, the Open Week will allow every viewer of StarTimes to enjoy a visual feast in November,” Brand and Marketing Director of StarTimes, Kafar Oludare made the announcement on Monday. The announcement comes after FOX’s 3 major channels: Fox Life, National Geo-

graphic Channel and Nat Geo Wild aired on StarTimes in October.

“Open Week provides an excellent opportunity for StarTimes’ viewers to learn more about new channels and fully experience the fantastic content service of StarTimes,” said Kafar, adding that StarTimes’ selfowned channels, like World Football and Bollywood, will join the Open Week, too.

places, which goes to show that the company is wellrun, and we had expected no less a good environment given the pedigree and antecedents of your CEO”, Senator Bruce remarked.

“During our visits so far we have seen privatized companies that are wellrun, some average, while some are badly run, but with what we’ve seen so far about BEDC, I congratulate your management for being one of the well-run companies” he said.

The Chairman Senate Committee said he was familiar with some of the problems of the industry but pointed out that he was surprised about how the industry was being owed about N900billion even when power generation was very low, saying that he was also in the know that federal government was yet to fully honour its obligations to Discos and that they could not collect tariff at prevailing market rate due to high foreign exchange rate and the recession, but was more interested in what could be done to solve the problems.

THE President/Chairman of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Professor Segun Ajibola has lauded the Group Managing Director/CEO of Skye Bank, Mr Tokunbo Abiru for the leadership qualities he has demonstrated in strengthening the operations of the Bank since he assumed office.

The CIBN boss made this statement when he led the council on a courtesy visit to the management of the bank at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos, at the weekend.

Ajibola, stated that they were on a mission to familiarise themselves with the new leadership of the bank and seek areas of mutually beneficial cooperation between the bank and the institute.

While soliciting the support of players in the banking industry for the institute, the renowned academic charged members to continue to engage and contribute to professional enhancement of banking profession.

He used the opportunity to invite the management of the bank to the forthcoming Annual Bankers’ Dinner.

Earlier in his remarks, the CIBN President had enumerated the vision of the institute under his leadership as being guided by seven Cs; capacity building, certification, codification, communication, creativity, consolidation and constructive engagement.

He further noted that “the seven Cs is intended to transform and enthrone a contemporary institute that is responsive, reliable and resourceful in all areas of its mandate; scholarship, professionalism, relevance, ethical and result-oriented.

The GMD of Skye Bank Mr Abiru, thanked the President of CIBN and its council members for the visit. He further noted that as active members of the Institute Skye Bank will continue to live by the tenets of and ethics of banking profession.

He later pledged his support to the institute especially in carrying out their activities and programmes.

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Nigerian Tribune

2016 LAGOS INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR

Participants commend organisers on security, others, as 2016 Fair ends AkinAdewakunandQudus Kasali - Lagos

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ARTICIPANTS at the just-concluded Trade Fair have given Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), organisers of the Fair a pass mark, for providing adequate security and other facilities that enhanced the quality of this year’s edition of the Fair.

A cross section of participants who spoke with Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, noted that the provision of adequate security both at the entry points and within the Trade Fair complex, the provision of adequate toilet facilities and the relocation of the Fair’s auditorium to a more convenient place within the complex, were some of those factors that made this year’s edition of the Fair a success.

“The fact that the organisers never left anything to chance remains a major source of delight for me, this year. The fact that there is some level of security on ground, gave me and, I think, other people too, the confidence to attend

today’s Fair. I couldn’t have risked my life and those of my family members here, if such security had not been provided. It’s a good one, but I believe there is always room for improvement,” Gbadebo Alabi, a banker,

who was at the Fair, with some members of his family, told Nigerian Tribune.

The major delight for Amaka, one of the exhibitors at the fair, is the quality of the toilet facilities provided at the fair.

“The facilities are quite cleaner, this time around and more accessible. It really enhanced the quality of the Fair this year,” she stated.

The quality and quantity of wares displayed at the fair, no doubt, constituted major

incentives to those from the academia too.

In her interactions with the Nigerian Tribune on the essence of her school’s visit to the fair, Mary Agholor, the School Nurse of D-Ivy College, believed the Fair had

NCC warns against sales of pre-registered SIM

From left, Trade Commissioner , Japan External Trade Organisation, Mr Taku Miyazaki, receiving award for 2016 overall best Pavilion from Deputy Governor, Lagos State: Dr Idiat Oluanti Adebule. With them are President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief Mrs. Nike Akande and Chairman, Trade Promotion Board, Mr Tayo Oyetayo, during the 2016 Lagos International Trade fair closing ceremony, held at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos on Sunday. PHOTO; SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

FG to create 500,000 new jobs in skill acquisition come 2017 THE federal government has disclosed pkans to create over 500,000 jobs in skill acquisition, in 2017, as a way of boosting the nation’s economy.

Disclosing this at the National Directorate of Employment Special Day at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair, in Lagos, Minister for Labour , Senator Dr. Chris Ngige described the move as one of the federal government’s plans to actively engage the unemployed youths in the country.

He said that the Ministry had already opened a job portal which closed in August, adding that by the end of December 2016, thousands of Nigerians will be selected and trained in the

N- Power Train, N-Power Build and N-Power Communication Skills acquisition project, geared reducing unemployment in Nigeria.

He added that 50,000 graduates of Agriculture will be employed to help train

farmers in rural areas on how to use seeding and modern agricultural farming.

This,, he said, would help improve agriculture practices in Nigeria.

“The government is doing everything possible to diver-

sify the economy through agriculture and solid mineral sourcing that would create more jobs and help the country recover from recession. “ If this is not done and the country is allowed to go into depression, Nigerian

economy may not recover from the depression. So the federal government is doing everything in this period of recession to recover and create jobs for our unemployed youths,” the minister stated.

LCCI boss lauds Adenuga’s outstanding passion for entrepreneurship THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has lauded the Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga for what it described as “his uncommon entrepreneurial spirit and giant strides in the telecommunication industry which has made the Globacom brand a household name in the country.”

LCCI gave the commendation through its President, Chief (Mrs) Adenike

Akande in her opening address at the Globacom Special Day which was a feature of the on going 30th Lagos International Trade Fair at the Tafawa Balewa Square on Friday.

According to her, it was instructive that “latest figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) confirmed Globacom as the leader in new lines subscription for amassing 5 million new

subscribers between June 2015 and June 2016. This represents a growth of 68 per cent of all new subscriptions”.

She further disclosed that she was fulfilled that the Lagos TradeFair which had been consistently organised in the last 29 years had grown significantly to such an enviable height that it is now regarded as the biggest and best in West Africa.

Lagos assures LCCI of a more befitting exhibition centre THE Lagos State Government has assured the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organisers of the annual Lagos International Trade Fair, that it would provide a standard convention and exhibition centre, that would enhance the status of the annual fair.

Speaking at the closing session of this year’s edition of the fair, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, expressed regrets that that the chamber was being faced with the challenge of not having a purpose-built world-stan-

further deepened the knowledge of her students on a variety of subjects.

“Our visit to some stands here has provided us more insights into some of those things that these students learn in school.

dard exhibition facilities, where it could hold the Fair.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Idiat Adebule, assured that the state government would in no time provide such facilities to alleviate so as to raise the standards of the exhibition.

“Our government is already looking in that direction and making concerted efforts towards delivering a standard International convention and exhibition centre in the state.

“In the same vein, we shall continue to place high

priority on the provision of key infrastructure that would make our state safe, secure, functional and productive through a highly motivated and vibrant private-sector,” he assured.

He applauded the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) for staging a successful and high profile Fair, noting that the chamber had, over the years, carved a niche in the organization of high-quality trade fairs and exhibitions in the state.

In her remarks, LCCI President, Dr Nike Akande charged

governments at all levels to address the numerous impediments to investment in the country, especially those relating to infrastructures, policy framework, quality of institutions and funding.

Head, Corporate Sales, Kamaldeen Shonibare said that Globacom was participating in the Fair as a result of its firm belief in Nigeria as an economic entity.

He described the theme of the Fair “Positioning the Nigerian Economy for Diversification and Sustainable Growth” as timely and complementary of the efforts of the Federal government to enhance the economy.

While saying that the best strategy to reverse the current economic recession was patronage of homemade goods and services by all and sundry, Shonibare added that Globacom was committed to availing the populace the best and most cost-effective products and services.

NSC commended on automation THE Nigerian Shippers’ Council has been commended on the increasing adoption of automation by the Council in carrying out port operations.

Giving this commendation at the just-concluded fair, the President, Lagos

Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Nike Akande, noted that the increasing automation of port operations, advanced cargo tracking and the National Single Window Project had helped the Council in achieving some

THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has, again, warned telecoms operators against the sales of pre-registered SIM cards, as the Commission asked subscribers and other members of the public to alert the Commission or security agencies, whenever such infractions are noticed.

Giving the warning at the just-concluded Lagos International Trade Fair, held in Lagos, the Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Professor Umar Danbatta described sales of pre-registered SIM cards as constituting serious danger to the security of the individual and that of the society at large.

The NCC boss used the opportunity of the fair, which ended on Sunday, to reiterate the commission’s regulations that insist that any new number acquired by a subscriber should not be able to originate calls, until such number is registered before it is activated in the network.

“It also means that any number that is not registered or activated by the service provider would remain inactive in the network.

“However, we have a situation where some unscrupulous individuals engage in registering and activating huge number of lines with fraudulent identities with a view to selling them to unwary subscribers who are too busy or too ignorant to understand that they need to have identities behind their numbers,” he added.

efficiencies in its operations.

She however expressed the belief that the Maritime agencies would further enhance the nation’s economy if they move beyond their revenue -generating roles to become agencies of trade facilitation.

news NLC demands downward review of fuel price 37

Soji-Eze Fagbemi

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HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded immediate reduction in the pump price of fuel, saying what is urgently required of the government is not another increase but a downward review of the current pump price of petroleum products.

The congress said it was opposed to any further increase in the price of fuel, even as Nigerians are still struggling to cope with the severe hardship imposed on them by the last increase.

Speaking when the NLC opened its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting and a retreat in Sokoto, on Friday, the congress President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, cautioned that the government must not take Nigerian workers and people for granted.

He warned that the patience and perseverance of the entire populace must not be taken for granted “as we will sure mobilise the entire citizenry for mass protests in addition to other legitimate actions to resist any further increase.”

Comrade Wabba said: “While Nigerians are still struggling to cope with the severe hardship imposed on them by the last increase in the price of petroleum products, there are ongoing media campaigns and contradictory statements by the NNPC and government officials on yet another plan to review the template for the pricing of petroleum products.

“We are totally opposed to any further increases as we are yet to see the benefits of

Monday, 14 November, 2016

the last increase even as the current Minimum Wage Act has not been reviewed. It would amount to unleashing further hardship on workers and the poor if any further

price increase is allowed.

Also, the NLC president said it is impossible for any country to develop without industries, adding, “nearly all productive industries in

Nigeria, especially those in the manufacturing sector has closed down while some relocated to neighbouring countries, especially in the West Africa sub-region.”

Pastor Adeboye predicted I will be governor —Ortom Johnson Babajide - Makurdi

Mr Kehinde Oyetimi, Features Editor, Nigerian Tribune, with his wife, former Miss Titilope Fagade, during their wedding, at Divine Christian Assembly, Igando, Lagos , on Saturday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

MOSOP alleges ploy by politicians to hijack Ogoni cleanup

By Dapo Falade MOVEMENT for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has alleged a plot to blackmail the Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Mohammed, to appoint a political party loyalist as the Project Manager/Secretary to the governing council of

the HydroCarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), the implementation agency for the Ogoni cleanup.

The implementation of the clean-up exercise of the oil-devastated Ogoniland, kick-started by President Muhammadu Buhari last June, is yet to commence, even as it had become a sub-

ject of controversy among politicians in the Niger Delta region.

MOSOP, in a statement issued by its publicity secretary, Fegalo Nsuke, on Sunday, claimed that announcing the project manager for the programme was deliberately delayed in order to create apprehension among the populace who had been anx-

CAN parleys Buhari, Osinbajo over national security Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, are billed to join the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to seek the face of God in prayers over the security and economic challenges facing the country.

Against this background, CAN has declared November 15 till 21, as national days of prayers and fasting for the country being a spiritual endeavour organised to bail the country out of the current security and economic challenges.

He pointed out that some of the factors that led to the collapse of industries included consistent increases in the price of petroleum products, lack of regular public electricity and general infrastructural decay.

Wabba said: “Power stability is indeed very important and critical to industrialisation, self-sufficiency and economic growth and it is scandalous that eight months after the 45 per cent hike in electricity tariff and years after the privatisation of public electricity, we still fall short of enough electricity.”

It is the second time the leadership of CAN would call for national prayers and fasting sessions since the emergence of Reverend (Dr) Samson Ayokunle, as the CAN president.

The CAN President had earlier called for a three-day prayers and fasting for the country in September to usher in the last independence anniversary.

According to a press statement issued and signed by the media assistant to the CAN president, Bayo Oladeji, allChristians and churches are expected to participate in

the programme.

The grand finale will hold on November 21, at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, with President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo in attendance.

“Both President Buhari and his vice, have been invited by the CAN president, to participate in the programme,” he said.

The prayer points includes prayers against economic hardship occasioned by the ongoing economic crisis; prayers against the menace of Fulani Herdsmen; as well as Boko Haram activities, among others.

ious to see the commencement of the exercise.

“The calculation of the master schemers is that the delay will mitigate any protest against the appointment of a party loyalist to manage the programme as the agitated Ogoni public will be compelled to accept whoever is eventually appointed for the position “MOSOP wishes to unequivocally state that its position on the appointment of a project manager has not changed-that we will not accept party considerations in the choice of who becomes the project manager for HYPREP. “We note that the progress made to ensure a clean and safe environment for the Ogoni people has cost us the lives of some of our very best men, including Ken SaroWiwa, Chief Edward Kobani, Edward Badey, Theophilus Orage, Chief S.N. Orage, Dr Barinem KKiobel, Rev. John Kpuinen and over 2000 others.

BENUE State governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, at the weekend, declared that his emergence as state governor was handed over to him through divine revelation of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, in 2012.

Governor Ortom said since the fulfillment of the revelation he had decided to be close to the man of God, saying the revelation took place when he went for a retreat with his wife, at the RCCG. The governor disclosed this at an interactive session held with Pastor Adeboye, at the banquet hall of the Government House, on Saturday.

According to him, “it was in 2012 that I went for a retreat with my wife when the man of God told me to prepare to mount the state most exalted seat, here we are today as the governor of Benue State’.

The governor explained that Pastor Adeboye’s oneday visit to the state gave him (Ortom) the opportunity to appreciate God for bringing the two of them together again.

He said Adeboye thought him humility, recalling that since he dedicated Benue to God on May 31 this year with total humility, the challenges of security, economy and so on had reduced with the people coming very close to God. While speaking, Pastor Adeboye, who placed emphasis on ‘divine encounter’ said after Moses had divine encounter with God (Exodus 3 : 1-10) his life was not the same again.

Adeboye also said after Abraham and his wife had an encounter with God, God changed their barrenness to fruitfulness, and prayed for the various families in Benue to have divine encounter.

Lagos dep gov, others to converge on WISCAR’s 2016 anniversary

By Tayo Gesinde WOMEN in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a highly structured mentoring programme for professional career women, will bring together great men and women, at its annual mentorship and leadership event and and the induction of another batch of successful mentees.

The WISCAR mentorship and leadership programme encourages professional career women to achieve their full potentials and also guides them in making informed career choices.

This year’s event which themed: “Women RisingTransforming Leadership” is scheduled to hold on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at The Ace Olivia Hall City Mall, Muson Centre, Onikan Lagos.

The event will highlight the importance of the contributions of women to the growth and development of the nation, and equal opportunities and empowerment of women for real development of the country.

The keynote speech at the event will be given by the first female Rear Admiral in Nigeria, Rear Admiral Itunu Hotonou, while the goodwill message will be delivered by Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule, the deputy governor of Lagos State, and the special guest of honour.

Burial MADAM Deborah Aduke Omolayo (Nee Bodunde) is dead. She died on Monday, November 7, 2016 at age 82. She worked in the hospitality industry and retired as Chief House-Keeper, Premier Hotel, Ibadan in 1985.

She is survived by her husband, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Burial arrangements will be announced by her family later.

Madam Deborah

38 news Onnoghen may not be confirmed substantive CJN —Fayose

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KITI State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has raised the alarm over the appointment of Justice Walter Onnoghen as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

The governor said the acting appointment was “either a grand plot to deprive him of his well-deserved appointment as CJN, because he is from the South-South or that some cabals want to hold him in the jugular, demanding him to pervert justice before his confirmation as substantive CJN. In a statement issued in AdoEkiti by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere

Olayinka, Fayose said it was strange that despite the fact that National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended only Justice Onnoghen to President Muhammadu Buhari for appointment as the CJN, in line with its rules, his name had not been sent to the Senate for confirmation.

The governor said this was the first time Nigeria would have an acting CJN, with a president fully on ground, adding that “as of the time the NJC recommended Justice Onnoghen to President Buhari, it was 28 clear days to the November 10 retirement date of Justice Mahmud Mohammed.”

It will be recalled that

during the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, an acting CJN was named because the president was indisposed at that time.

The governor lamented that the legislative arm had been subdued by the executive arm of the government, adding that “there is now the grand plot to subdue the judiciary.”

Fayose, thereafter, said playing politics with the judiciary, especially at the CJN level, was dangerous to the survival of democracy, while he urged Justice Onnoghen to do his job without fear or favour, “bearing in mind that it is only God that put people in positions.”

Reinstate deposed Edo monarch now, PDP tells Obaseki Jacob Segun Olatunji -Abuja THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, condemned the deposition of the Ojuromi of Uromi, Anselm Edenojie, by the former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomole.

The party described the action as unconstitutional and vendetta.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday, by its national publicity secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the party urged “all well meaning Nigerians to prevail on Godwin Obaseki, the newly sworn in governor of the state, to reverse this deposition by restoring the monarch to his original position.”

The party declared that the monarch, who until his deposition was the paramount ruler of Uromi, was ostensibly deposed for supporting Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, its candidate at the recently concluded Edo gubernatorial election.

“The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers all Nigerian citizens to support, associate with and be affiliated to any political party and candidate of their choice.

“We, therefore, urge

DESPITE rhetoric about their determination to diversify the economy away from oil and particularly into solid minerals, indications have emerged that most states and local governments are ignorant of extant laws and the benefits immediately derivable from the sector.

Delegations from Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) were recently dispatched to all the states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on a

Bowen varsity graduates 1,064, produces first medical doctor

By Kehinde Adio BOWEN University, Iwo, Osun State, has produced its first medical doctor while about 1,064 students received the university’s various degrees during the eleventh convocation ceremony of the institution.

According to the vice chancellor of the university, Professor Matthew Ojo, 64 students had First Class Honours, 379 with Second Class Upper, 415 had Second Class Lower Division, while 145 had Third Class At the induction and graduation ceremonies held on Friday and Saturday, in the university, the vice chancellor expressed happiness on the consistent academic

progress and the ongoing infrastructural development in the university,which he linked to God’s intervention as well as the support of the Baptist convention He said the university would not relent in its effort at ensuring qualitative education .

The new Pro-chancellor and chairman of the council of the institution, Deacon Oluwole Abegunde, on the occasion, commended all relevant stakeholders of the univerity for its unprecedented growth, adding that funding still remained a major challenge of the institution, He said as part of the council’s 10-year strategic plan for the university, fund raising scheme would be given priority.

AT THE 50TH GOLDEN JUBILEE, AWARD NIGHT AND LAUNCHING OF THE MUSTARD SEED MAGAZINE OF MARYLAND CONVENT PRIVATE SCHOOL (MCPS, MARYLAND HELD AT MCGOVERN HALL INSIDE ST. AGNES CATHOLIC CHURCH MARYLAND ON SATURDAY IN LAGOS

PHOTOS BY SYLVESTER OKORUWA

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Nigerians to prevail on APC at various national and state levels to refrain from destroying institutions and individuals who exercise their constitutional rights and freedoms,” the party said.

Solid minerals: States ignorant of laws, benefits —RMAFC Sanya Adejokun- Abuja

Monday, 14 November, 2016

monitoring exercise on royalty collections and activities of miners between 2009 and 2015.

Although there are claims that 50 per cent of extractive revenue shared

by Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in recent times are from solid minerals, a source, however, confirmed that only N9 billion was shared in July from that source.

The visits, according to Nigerian Tribune findings, revealed that most companies holding mining licenses across the country were not involved in the activities, but using the documents to export minerals purchased from illegal miners.

In the letter sent to each state governor, the commission said the exercise “was necessitated by the need to diversify the revenue base of the Nigerian economy from oil to other viable sector, especially the solid minerals sector, in view of the current dwindling revenue from oil and gas sector.

“In the course of this exercise, the commission would conduct holistic auditing of the activities of major operators in the mining sector (both formal and informal), to ascertain if their operations are carried out in a way and manner that ensures conformity with the provisions of the constitution.”

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6 1. From left, Superior, OLA Sisters, Reverend Sister Assumpta Mundi, the event Chief Launcher and Alunmi of the School, Mr. Kola Adewale with his Ambassador of the School award and the Event Chairperson and Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

2. Superior, OLA Sisters, Reverend Sister Assumpta Mundi, The event Chairperson, former pupils of the School Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa with her School Teacher, Reverend Sister Agnes Mary Hassan ( OLA) 3. From left, the event Chief Launcher and Alunmi of the School, Mr. Kola Adewale, The event Chairperson, ex pupils of the School Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and the Head, Teacher, Maryland Convent PriVATE School, Reverend Sister Gladys Osagie 4. From left, Mr. Mr. Kunle Olayiwole, Mr. Gabriel Akams, Parish Priest, St. Agnes Catholic Church and Dean, Maryland Deanery, Very Reverend Father Anthony Fadairo presenting a hardworking Head Teacher award to Reverend Sister Gladys Osagie Head Teacher, Maryland Convent Private School, Chairman, Planning Committee, Mr. Debola Lewis and Chairman, MCPS, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Mrs. Ujubuonu Chindo.

5. Members of the High table and former Pupils of the School cutting the School 50th Golden Jubilee Cake 6. Staff award: from left, Best Section head, Mrs. Adaobi Uruaka, Long Service awardee, Mrs. Ali Abiodun, Hardworking Staff awardee, Mr. Cletus Adah, Thirty years Long Service Awardee, Mrs. Queen Oruorevarie and best Teacher Awardee, Mrs. Ohomina Grace

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Monday, 14 November, 2016

Saraki hails Eagles as players tweet win

BY GANIYU SALMAN

T Senator Bukola Saraki flanked on his left by Sports Minister , Solomon Dalung and Chairman, League management Company , Shehu Dikko at the Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

Rohr happy with Mikel Niyi Alebiosu in Uyo

ON the back of the victory of Nigeria’s national team over their Algerian counterparts in the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifier, the Nigerian coach Gernot Rohr has extolled the leadership role played by captain Jon Obi Mikel in the victory.

Chelsea star Mikel captained and played a sterling role in the 3-1 triumph over the Algerians in Uyo, Nigeria on Saturday.

Rohr told Tribunesport at the lobby of the Le Meridien Hotel after the match played at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, said Mikel was matured and a true leader that the team needed at this time.

“He played like a true leader, commanded the respect of the team, marshalling and putting so much energy into the effort of the team’.

The Technical Adviser also sought to clarify the statement credited to him alleging that Mikel was being “punished” by his club for representing Nigeria in the Olympic Games.

“I was quoted out of context. Perhaps the word ‘punish’ might have come too strongly. But I meant it in a larger sense of the price he is paying for his participation in the Olympics’.

Rohr contended that he, having been a club manager himself for years, he could never openly criticise the actions of any club in dealing with their players.

“What I was trying to say was that we should all acknowledge the commitment of the team captain to the national team and

the price that he might have had to pay, missing action for his club in the time he was in the Olympics’ he clarified.

HE Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki has hailed the Super Eagles over their 3-1 victory over the Fennecs of Algeria on Saturday in a World Cup qualifier.

Saraki, who watched the game at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, as special guest of honour, said through his twitter handle, Bukola Saraki ?@bukolasaraki that the Eagles made Nigerians proud in the encounter.

“Congratulations to our Super Eagles on the 3-1 victory over Algeria tonight.

You have made us all proud. @thenff @NGSuperEagles,” he tweeted.

Nigeria defender, through his twit-

ter handle Elderson Echiejile @EldersonEch savoured the fall of the Fennecs which he attributed to God. “Great 3 point! Good team spirit and work! Thank God Almighty, Fans were amazing,” the left back tweeted.

Belgian club, Standard Liege also rejoiced with their player, Elderson Echiejile who starred against the Fennecs while the game lasted as they posted through their official twitter handle, Standard de Liège @Standard_RSCL “Congratulations to @EldersonEch who played the whole game. His country won 3-1 against Algeria. #NIGALG #WCQ”.

Meanwhile, Nigeria forward, Brown Ideye through his twitter handle Brown Ideye (MON) @OfficialIdeye tweets “Great Win, Wonderful performance #GreatGod #believe.”

Scoring is never easy—Mikel SUPER Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has revealed that he fleetingly thought he was offside just before he scored Nigeria’s second goal in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Algeria in 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifying.

Mikel appeared to be offside shortly before he scored though television replays showed an Algerian defender had played him onside at the last moment.

The captain was pleased about the goal which saw the Super Eagles take a 2-0 lead into the break.

“I had just one thing at the back of my mind (when I received the pass from Ogh-

enekaro Etebo) and that was to put the ball in the back of the net.

“I controlled the ball, looked up to see if I was offside but when I saw that the assistant referee did not raise his flag, I decided to carry on.

“I looked at the (Algerian) goalkeeper and he was standing at the left side (of the goal) with the other side wide open so I decided to put the ball there.

“It wasn’t a difficult situation but at the same time, scoring a goal is never easy,” a chuckling Mikel told a packed press conference in Uyo on Saturday.

Black Stars better than Super Eagles —Essien Stars last won the African

By Wale Emosu

FORMER Ghana international, Michael Essien, says his country’s national football team are better than their Nigerian rivals.

Essien spoke to BBC in London on Saturday moments before the nominees for the 2016 BBC African Footballer of Year award were unveiled.

Asked by BBC reporter, “Who’s better: Ghana or Nigeria?” the former Chelsea FC player replied, “Ghana of course.” Reminded that he had earlier said that it was quite a long time the Black

Cup of Nations, Essien said: “It doesn’t matter!” Ghana last won the African title in 1982 while Nigeria, threetime champions, last won the title in 2013.

When asked to list his five nominees for the BBC African Player of the Year award, the former Panathinaikos of Greece midfielder, in his list, placed Nigeria captain and his mate at Chelsea John Obi Mikel in the fifth position.

He based his nomination of Obi on his performance at the Rio Olympics, where he captained the Dream Team to win the bronze medal.

Nigeria’s striker Ahmed Musa (Left) challenges Algeria’s defender Hicham Belkarou

Not yet over for Algeria —Leekens ALGERIA coach Georges Leekens has remained defiant about the chances of his team even after a crushing 3-1 loss in Nigeria on Saturday.

Algeria are now bottom of Group B of the qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, five points adrift of leaders Nigeria after two rounds of matches.

“One thing is for sure, we have not been eliminated,” maintained the Belgian coach.

“It will be difficult to qualify for the World Cup, but nothing has been de-

cided yet.”

He said the Desert Foxes were not lucky espe-

cially in the second half when they dominated play.

New blood are Eagles jokers —Akinwunmi THE Super Eagles are flying again thanks to the young blood coach Gernot Rohr has injected into the team, according to top NFF chief Seyi Akinwunmi.

Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, Dele Alampasu, Musa Mohammed and Kingsley Madu are all under 20.

The average age of the starting Eagles XI in Zambia last month was 25.

“The key is that we have lowered the average age of the Super Eagles,” said Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) vice-president Akinwunmi.

“This is a game for young people and you could even see at 90 minutes, when they were genuinely tired, they kept going.”

SIDELINES

NO 16,632

On November 5, Japanese monkey, Geda, before a large live TV audience ignored the banana placed on Hilary Clinton’s statue and ate the other placed on Donald Trump’s when asked to predict winner of November 8 United States’ Presidential election. Geda has to be careful!

Oracular animals hardly live long. There lived a Paul the Octopus who accurately predicted 2010 World Cup scores. Paul died shortly after. The world hates the truth.

N150

MONDAY, 14 NOVEMBER, 2016

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup:

Japan wallop Falconets 6-0

By Ganiyu Salman

NIGERIA’S Falconets on Sunday began their campaign in the eight FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea on a sad note as they lost 0-6 to The Young Nadeshiko of Japan.

The group B match at the Bava Park Stadium, Port Moresby practically turned to a one sided-affair as the Falconets, two-time finalists failed to get their act together throughout the 90 minutes.

Unarguably, the player of the match turned out to be Japan’s Mami Ueno who became the first player to score a hat-trick in the ongoing championship.

Ueno was on song in the 37th, 62nd and 82nd minute while her teammate, Yuka Momiki after scoring the opener in the 34th minute with a closerange header clinched a brace in the 51st minute.

An own goal by Mary Ologbsere in the 56th minute had compounded the woes of the Falconets who paraded goalkeeper Sandra Chichi, as they later conceded two more goals to make it a 6-0 scoreline.

The Young Nadeshiko started brightly and put the Nigerians under pressure from the off, with Ueno’s effort in the opening minute being tipped on the crossbar and out for a corner.

Ueno completed her hat-trick of the day with a wonder goal eight minutes from time, embarking on a valiant solo run and smashing a powerful strike into the top corner of the net.

Moses being mobbed by team mates after opening scores against Algeria on Saturday.

Scoring for Nigeria drives me crazy —Victor Moses Niyi Alebiosu in Uyo

V

ICTOR Moses, says he couldn’t control his emotion while celebrating goals for Nigeria.

Moses was booked for pulling off his shirt after scoring the first goal in Nigeria’s 3-1 win over Algeria in a Russia 2018 African Group 2 fixture played in Uyo. “I am a patriot and that is why I am so emotional

in the green colour,’ Moses told Tribunesport after the game.

“I don’t display such madness(pulling off jersey) when playing for my club, but I go crazy over any goal for the Eagles.”

Moses reminded Tribunesports of the hassles he went through before becoming a Nigerian international.

“The Eagles matter to me, it took almost two years to get me cleared to play for Nigeria and I remember the late Stephen Keshi telling me that I needed to step up my training sessions if I wanted to make it in African football.’’

Moses had played for England at

age group level after which he was convinced on playing for Nigeria.

The Chelsea player said he was aware he would be booked after over-celebrating Saturday’s opener.

“I knew I won’t escape the yellow card but the goal was important to me. I had to win some of my fans back and also help the team to take control of the game.’’

Moses is accused of feigning injury and failed to travel to Ndola during last month’s Day 1 fixture of the qualifiers where Eagles beat home team Zambia by 2-1.

“It is not as simple as that. You don’t just tell your federation you

don’t want to come because you don’t feel like. Chelsea showed medical evidence and the NFF were convinced.

Anyway that is gone, it is better we now know Moses is ‘Up Eagles.”

W-CUP Q’FIERS RESULTS Cape Verde 0 - 2 Burkina Faso Morocco

0 - 0 Cote d’Ivoire

Egypt

2- 0 Ghana

Guinea

1- 2 DR Congo

I value my Olympic medal more than Chelsea place —Mikel JOHN Mikel Obi has not played a single minute of football for Chelsea this season after being frozen out by the Blues’ new Italian manager, Antonio Conte.

Chelsea’s second longestserving player behind captain John Terry, Mikel went off to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics this summer, inspiring Nigeria to third place.

Mikel is unwavering in his stance that he would not swap his Olympic bronze medal for a place in Conte’s team and believes his 47-year-old boss may be punishing him for his absence in the early stages of the campaign.

The 29-year-old told The Sun: “I have never been a guy who makes excuses in life and never shy away from responsibilities.

“Yes, maybe people will say the new manager was upset I left and went to the Olympics; that I didn’t have a pre-season with the team.

“He probably thinks I don’t care about the team, things like that.

“But I don’t want to use those excuses. I have to keep training hard and make sure I change the manager’s mind. If not, then we’ll see what happens in January.

“But, no, I would never swap my Olympic medal for a place back in the Chelsea team.”

The defensive midfielder - who played 33 times for Chelsea in all competitions in the 2015-2016 season - helped the Super Eagles to a 3-1 home win over World Cup qualification opponents Algeria at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Saturday.

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. 14/11/2016.

Mikel

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I, formerly Miss Adedotun Abimbola Oyindamola now MRS. EDOBOR ABIMBOLA OYINDAMOLA. All former documents remain valid.

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CONFIRMATION OF NAME: I, Raimi Rasheed Akanfe am the same person bearing Rasheed Raimi Akanfe. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as RAIMI RASHEED AKANFE. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid. First Bank and general public take note.

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CONFIRMATION AND CHANGE OF ACCOUNT NAME: I, Ogunwale Rasidat Folasade am the same person as Alhaja Mualiyy Rasheedah.

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news Saraki tasks political leaders to be job creators H

Biola Azeez-Ilorin

S

ENATE President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has tasked political leaders in the country to empower youths to be job creators, so as to reduce high rate of unemployment in the nation.

Speaking at inauguration of first batch of beneficiaries of skill acquisition,

Monday, 14 November, 2016

training and empowerment programme which he introduced, the former governor of Kwara State also urged the state government, to continue to make youth empowerment main thrust of its administration.

“It is my hope that, from today, different leaders from all parts of the country will emulate what we are doing

and play their role by creating opportunities for our youths.

“I want to also appeal to the Kwara State House of Assembly, to look at laws that we can do that can help to create opportunities for a lot of youths, so after they get their certificates and they start work, can have customers to buy their products.

“This is the reason 8th Senate passed the law, which has become the talk of the town “made in Nigeria” products. It is our belief that, made in Nigeria products would create opportunities for Nigerians, who have products and services to be able to find market.

“We must think out of the box. These are challenging

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and his wife, Toyin, flanked by the governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed (right) and former Minister of Youth and Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, during the launch of the Senate President’s empowerment of 40,000 Kwara youths, at the Banquet Hall, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Sunday.

Focus on agriculture, Oyo HoS tasks Nigerians

BY OLAWALE OLANIYAN

OYO State Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade has urged Nigerians to focus more on agriculture for sustenance and overcome recession.

He noted that, the over dependence on oil and gas is taking its toll on the nation’s economic growth, as a result of persistent fall in the price of crude oil in international market.

Speaking at a workshop organised by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, in collaboration with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) on Thursday, Eniade said, in recent times most

Nigerians believe that their survival lies on oil and gas.

He explained that the motive of the workshop with the theme: “Validation Workshop on Industrial Policy of Oyo State,” was to accelerate the pace of industrial development, through efficient and effective utilisation and development of the human, mineral, water, agricultural and forest resources, by radically adding value at every stage of production.

He said “the reality is on all Nigerians that dependency on crude oil without diversification to other areas of the economy has affected the growth of the nation. As being presently

experienced, the price of crude oil is falling day by day in the international market. While the production is falling on daily basis.

“Earnings from oil and gas solely cannot guarantee economic growth, and sustainability. This nation can

Recession: There is need to support the government —Primate Ositelu ... Says $30bn loan needed to boost economy Collins Nnabuife-Abuja

THE Primate of The Church of The Lord (Prayer Fellowship), Most Reverend Rufus Ositelu has urged Nigerians to support the Federal Government in the recession pe-

Dogara charges entrepreneurs to tackle recession THE Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has urged captains of industries and entrepreneurs to help Nigeria come out of the current economic recession.

This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday,

by Dogara’s Special Adviser, on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the statement said Dogara made the appeal in Benin, at the inaugural ball of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

It said that the ball was attended by prominent industrialists, including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.

Dogara stressed the need for the entrepreneurs to put their heads together to reengineer growth in the economy, to tame the recession.

On the new governor and his deputy, the speaker was optimistic that they would deliver on their mandate.

“Judging from past performances, I am positive that Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shuaibu, have all it takes to deliver growth and development to

only attain genuine and sustainable growth, if her economy is anchored on strong industrial development, without which the nation’s dream of becoming one of the 20 leading economies in the world by 2020 would be a mirage.”

times for us as leaders, and we must contribute our quotas for the empowerment of the youths.

“It is against the backdrop of the economic recession in our country; the difficulty that people are going through particularly the youths, which account for about 70 million of our population, of which 50 per cent are unemployed, that we initiated this scheme.

“Every time I come home and meet with my constituency, I feel the pains and difficulties of the youths, the mothers and fathers who keep on complaining that there is no job, no food on the table and the costs of food has gone up.

“It is with these pains that I have come up with this scheme, to help our young people who are ready to work but could not find jobs, to be able to play their parts.

This is why we started this programme. It has taken a while to get the programme here but I am hopeful that with what we are seeing, this is the beginning of the great future for the young people of Kwara State.

“It is my hope and dream, that what we start with today will become successful enterprenuers and they would in turn eventually train more people and people they train will train more people. So that in four years time, we will have over 40,000 of our youths who have passed through this scheme”, he said.

Earlier, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed revealed that the state government had made over N1.9 billion available to entrepreneurs across the state.

Edo people.

“I had come in contact with the governor, when I was serving in the House of Representatives, specifically, on the House Committee on Capital Market.

“He made appearances before that committee and I can attest to the fact that, I knew him to be a man that is very deep.

“So, when I heard that the people of Edo State identified him as one of the shining stars that will take over from the governor that by popular consensus, performed credibly well, I knew that they had made a good choice.”

riod, to enable it come out of the menace.

The Primate also called on Nigerians, to support the government in its fight against corruption, by disengaging from corrupt practices in their different homes, and places of work.

Primate Ositelu made this known, while addressing journalists at the 3-day power packed revival programme tagged: “Divine Encounter”, in Abuja.

According to him “We are in a very difficult time right now, but the foundation for progress is being laid right now and that is why we are facing the challenging period.

“I have hope for this country that things will get better, we need to pray for the government and also fight corruption in our homes, schools, working places. We need to

fight corruption or else corruption will kill this country.”

Speaking on the Federal Government proposal to borrow $30 billion, Primate Ositelu said “in this situation we found ourselves where oil output has gone down, we need this loan.

“When we have economic downturn, we need loan to buttress the economy, but only one thing I want to tell the loan giver is that, they should tie the loan to projects. They should not give the money to the Federal Government; they should tie the loan to projects that will benefit the masses.”

The Provincial Head, Northern Ecclesiastical of the church, Archbishop Moses Olasemojo said the purpose of the programme was to seek divine intervention, to end the problems the country is facing currently.

Kogi injects funds in health care Yinka Oladoyinbo-Lokoja THE Kogi State government has said it would massively invest in the health care delivery system in the state, to ensure qualitative heath care for the people of the state.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs Folasade Ayoade, said this on Saturday, in Lokoja, the state capital, during a humanitarian visit to patients at the state specialist hospitality.

According to her, government had decided to ensure the improvement of the infrastructural facilities, at the government owned health facilities across the 21 local government areas of the state.

She said the ministry of health had been directed to give a detail presentation, on the requirement for a qualitatively health care delivery system in the state.

The SSG, who was in the hospital to present monetary donation to offset the hospital bill of one of the patients, Mrs Elizabeth Balogun, said the present administration had made health as one of the cardinal programmes to be implemented.

Kwara holds maiden agric fair on food security Biola Azeez-Ilorin FARMERS, stakeholders in agriculture and agro-allied industry would converge on Ilorin, Kwara State capital, for a six-day international agricultural exhibition, tagged: agricultural trade fair.

Speaking with journalists, in Ilorin, at the weekend, the Divisional Head of Agric in state owned Harmony Holdings, Mrs Iyabo Amajo, said the agric fair was conceived to key into the policy of the state government on improved agriculture. She said the agric fair was designed to ensure food security, develop export and capacity for exchange.

Mrs Amajo, who said that the state had become a centre point in the area of agriculture with abundant fertile and arable land, added that, the fair would afford stakeholders in the state to showcase their potential in agriculture to the world and attract heavy investors and off-takers to the state.

She said that, many big organisations would also participate at the exhibition, with equipment and other prototypes to address observable problems in the agricultural sector.

“Exhibitors from around the country and abroad will be presenting innovation in Agric mechanisation, access to improved seedlings and financing to farmers.