15th October 2015 by Nigerian Tribune

nigeria’s most informative newspaper no 16,349

THURSDAY, 15 OCTOBER, 2015

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Nigeria loses $15bn yearly to non-passage of PIB —NNPC GMD —P4

•Says subsidy will go after palliative measures

Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

Reps to probe Jonathan's sale of power assets —P8

Nigerian Tribune

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Senate confirms Fashola, Fayemi, Ngige, Lai Mohammed, 14 others as ministers •Defers screening of Amaechi •Fashola defends N78m website —P4 •Buhari withdraws Ibeto's nomination, replaces him with Bawa

Sylva to —P41 IGP: Arrest Bayelsa APC chairman now

Fashola

Malami

Dalong

Adeosun

Kachikwu

FESTAC bank robbery: How my wife, —P9 daughter died —Husband

Boko Haram: Obama sends US soldiers to Cameroon Ogbeh

Fayemi

Alhassan

Mohammed

Ngige

•Multiple explosions kill 20 in Borno —P8, 43

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915-2015)

PHOTOS: YEMI FUNSO-OKE

7 1. From left, former governor of Ondo State, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua; Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran and Senator James Kolawole. 2. From left, Aare Baroyin Egba, Chief Layi Labode; Bantun Egba, Chief Kehinde Sofenwa; Balogun Egba, Chief Sikirulai Atobatele; Seriki Egba, Chief Oluwatosin Fadare and the Ilagbe Egba, Chief Akanni Akinwale. 3. From right, Remo Area Superitendent of The Apostolic Church, Nigeria, Pastor Z.O. Odugbose; Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu, Iya Ijo, Obafemi Awolowo Anglican Church, Chief (Mrs) Mercy Ajayi and Pastor E.A.

Folorunso. 4. From left, Chief Mercy Ajayi, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu, Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran, Mr Odufuwa Joshua Oluwadamilare and Mrs Sade Solarin. 5. Chief Tayo Soyode, flanked with Ekiti State APC stakeholders. 6. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu with Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Band, Ogun State command. 7. Ekiti State APC stakeholders, led by Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, with Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu. 8. The Apostolic Church Nigeria, Remo Area Choir and Pastors with Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu.

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Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Akpabio, Dankwambo win at Tribunal

HE National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed a petition by the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, Chief Inibehe Okorie, which challenged the election of Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio as the duly elected representative of the senatorial district. In a judgement which lasted about one and half hours, the chairman of the tribunal, Honourable Justice Goddy Anunihu, with other two other Justice dismissed the petition against the electoral victory of Akpabio, describing it as baseless and lacking in merit. Chief Okorie had claimed that due to a clerical error, Chief Akpabio was not the candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, a position the Judges said was untenable as it was only the party which sponsored the candidate that can determine who its candidate was. The Tribunal held that the error in the nomination form was not enough reason to nullify the election. According to Justice An-

unihu, the nomination of a candidate was the domestic affairs of the political party and the court could not interfere with it. The Judges also held that the petitioner had failed to prove that the alleged violence on the day of the

election could be linked to Chief Akpabio and dismissed an uncertified computer print out of accredited voters was not known to law. In the unanimous decision, the Judges dismissed the case in its entirety and

awarded a fine of N2, 500 against the petitioner, Chief Okorie. In his reaction, Senator Akpabio said he was grateful that the judiciary has affirmed the wishes of the people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial

NGF calls for rice importation ban Leon Usigbe-Abuja

STATE governors are pressing for a ban of rice importation in the next two years, during which they hope that the country would have developed sufficient capacity to produce enough to meet the nation’s requirement. Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, gave this hint while speaking with State House correspondents in Abuja after some of the governors and other stakeholders held a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the new policy on agriculture and food sustainability in his office. The Federal Government had only recently removed rice from import restriction list. Yari noted that with the population of the country,

it was regrettable that it still had issues of food security. According to him, Wednesday’s meeting discussed with relevant government agencies policies to be put in place to ensure self sufficiency in rice production so as to make further importation unnecessary. Yari explained: “We dis-

cussed how we can boost rice production in Nigeria and start thinking about how we are going to put policy in place on how rice importation will be banned in the country. “We have the potential; we have the human resources; we have the arable land to grow rice. In

District as freely expressed by them on March 28 and said the victory would be an added impetus for him to continue to give quality representation to the Senatorial District, Akwa Ibom State, the South South and Nigeria as a whole.

the next two years, we will not need to bring rice from outside Nigeria. We are going to ban it. “It is only in Nigeria, a country of millions of people, that there is no food security. We discussed the policy with the relevant permanent secretaries and CBN governor.”

Deacon Jackson Udom, Former Special Assistant to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State on Media. Meanwhile, the Gombe State Tribunal charged with reviewing the election petition of Mr Inuwa Yahaya, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the last gubernatorial election, ruled in favour of the incumbent Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo. The tribunal, presided over by Justice Suraj, charged Mr. Yahaya for “deliberately attempting to defame” the integrity of the tribunal, as a result the APC gubernatorial aspirant was charged the sum of N3500.

150 police wives commence Rotary’s adult literacy programme By Wale Akinselure

ONE hundred and fifty wives of officers and men of the Nigerian Police, Oyo State Command are set to be beneficiaries of a nine-month Adult Literacy Programme of the Rotary Club, Ibadan. This followed the kick-off of the programme at the State Police Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, by the District Governor of Rotary International District

9125, Nigeria, Dr Mike Omotosho, on Wednesday. The programme to be implemented in collaboration with Oyo State Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education (AANFE) is aimed at empowering the participants to be better mothers and wives in their families, as well as function effectively in society. In his remarks, Omotosho who saluted the initiative pointed out the need

to imbue women with requisite knowledge that will enable them train their children to be responsible citizens that will positively impact on the country. Emphasising the importance of the Adult Literacy programme, he added that the education of a woman, translated into educating a generation. Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade represented by DCP Amba

Asuquo appreciated the sponsorship noting that the programme will avail the wives of officers the opportunity to be up to date with technological advancement. Noting the crucial role of women in the society, Oyebade held that the programme the capacity of the women to be knowledgeable and skilled as the economy moved towards medium scale investment.

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Senate confirms Fashola, Fayemi, Lai Mohammed, Ngige, 14 others as ministers •Defers screening of Amaechi •Fashola defends N78m website, N258m borehole •Buhari withdraws Ibeto's nomination, replaces him with Bawa Taiwo Adisa -Abuja

HE Senate, on Wednesday, confirmed the nomination of 18 minister-nominees whose names were among the first batch of 21 nominees submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 30. This followed the screening of eight of the nominees at the Wednesday plenary, after 10 had been screened at the plenary on Tuesday. Those confirmed as ministers were Senator Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chief Audu Ogbeh (Benue), Dr Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi), Mr Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu (Delta), Abubakar Malami (Kebbi ) and Dr Chris Ngige (Anambra). Others were Dr Osagie Ehanire (Edo) Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazzau (Kano), Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Kwara), Amina Muhammed (Gombe), Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa), Ibrahim Jibril (Nasarawa); Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan (Taraba), Mr Solomon Dalong (Plateau), Mrs Kemi Adeosun (Ogun) and Senator Hadi Sirika (Katsina). There was drama, however, as the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, announced the name of the spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for confirmation. Senators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shouted ‘nay’ on the two occasions when his name came up. The Senate, firstly in the committee of the whole, considered the names of each of the nominees and the Senate President was expected to put the question on each of the nominees. The same question was put at the Senate plenary just after the committee of the whole. The PDP senators, on each occasion Lai Mohammed’s name was mentioned, shouted “nay” but their APC counterparts shouted “aye,” making the Senate President to rule in favour of Mohammed. The first nominee to appear on Wednesday was the former Lagos State governor, Fashola, who was drilled for close to an hour. Fashola attributed his achievements in Lagos to team work and the foundation works by his predecessors. “It will be extremely inappropriate and immodest of me and, indeed, they would

not let me if I had attempted to take personal responsibility for all that happened,” he said. On the essence of Value Added Tax and the possibility of increasing the tax, Fashola said “I do not have scientific basis to say today that there is an argument for increasing the value added tax and I think that before we increase taxes, we must first optimise the capacity to connect what is in place. “One of the things we did in Lagos was to increase the number of people who were contributing to the commonwealth instead of seeking to increase the number of taxes that we levy. “Between 2007 and 2015, the number of people who were paying taxes (in Lagos), grew from half a million to five million, but our number showed in the population of about 21 million that there were nine million earning income in the state. “So, there is still scope for collection of taxes to close to about five million. In that sense, the burden of managing the state becomes lighter when responsibility is shared and spread.” On the allegation that he spent N78 million to build a website and N258 million on a borehole in Government House, Fashola attributed the allegations to misinformation and poor understanding of how his administration operated. “Let me say first that as governor of Lagos State, I don’t sign cheques, none of my commissioners sign cheques. “I don’t fix contract prices. It is an institutional process. The only training I have is that of a lawyer. Nobody can award contract over benchmark price. “Throughout my tenure, I have been confronted with the price of things and the reality is that when designing a road, what you meet in reality when construction starts is usually not what you end up with. “In all of these, nobody has alleged that I have corruptly enriched myself. I could not have been a master in computer and technology. I need something to do my work.” While speaking on issue of loyalty, he said there was never an agreement on any promise he gave and did not keep. “As for loyalty, the concept of loyalty is a strange one. The real answer to that question is, may your loyalty not be tested. I always pray that my loyalty will not

be tested because you might have to take a bullet for somebody. “We discuss it loosely but in public service, I have remained loyal to courses that I have signed unto and in all my life, nobody can fairly accuse me of giving my word and going back on my word,” he said. Fashola, however, apologised to Nigerians over the policy of his administration to rid Lagos of destitute from other parts of the country, stressing that his action was misconstrued. Also on Wednesday, the

Senate deferred the screening of former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, following the failure of the committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to submit its report on the petition against him. It was learnt that the committee was unable to form quorum to consider the report on the former governor. Sources in the Senate also told the Nigerian Tribune that a serious crack had crept into the workings of the committee, sharply divided between the APC and the PDP.

But the senators were said to be tired and also deferred the screening of the Oyo State nominee, Adebayo Shittu, till another legislative date. It was confirmed that the screening would not take place today and that the next screening would resume on Tuesday next week. Sources said the decision to defer the screening informed the confirmation hearing for the 18 nominees held on Wednesday. President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, withdrew the name of Musa

Ibeto as a nominee from Niger State. He was earlier submitted as one of the 21 names originally sent to the Senate on September 30. The Senate President, at the plenary on Wednesday, read a letter from President Buhari, asking the Senate to withdraw the name of Mr Ahmed Ibeto from the list of 21 ministerial nominees forwarded to it last week. Ibeto had since been replaced with Honourable Abubakar Bawa Bwari, who was among the 16 nominees unveiled in the Senate on Tuesday.

Nigeria loses $15bn to non-passage of PIB —Kachikwu Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi -Abuja THE Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu, on Wednesday said Nigeria loses $15 billion (about N3.3 trillion) to non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Kachikwu, who stated this while appearing before the Senate during the ministerial screening, said the new government would, however, tinker with the bill to ensure its passage. “I will not be constrained by lack of PIB to continue to tinker with the operations of NNPC to ensure efficiency. As long as we would like to pass a holistic PIB, which will be cumbersome, it is better we break it up and take it in parts. “We lose $15 billion yearly due to lack of PIB, because we have started the bill and no investor is willing to invest in an uncertain environment,” he said. He spoke at length on the reforms he already put in place at the NNPC, adding that the revival of the refineries was paramount to his agenda. “When I cancel contracts, it is not against the person behind the contract, but the terms of the contract. Contracts was the problem, structure was the problem. The expenditure in NNPC was so high. A lot of services in NNPC is done by subsidiaries. NNPC spends 40 per cent of its earnings. “I am putting together NNPC manual which will be a monthly publication of events in the corporation. We have about 12 to 13,000 staff and we have started a weekly broadcast for NNPC staff. I also give weekly update to the president. Information to the public is a

right of the citizens. “We have also contracted PricewaterhouseCooper for a forensic audit of NNPC from 2010 to 2014 and their audit report is almost ready,” he said. He also said some factors were militating against the take-off of companies licensed to build refineries, as, according to him, many of those who applied for licences to build refineries did not understand the financial implication of such a project. He said some others were out to use the license to have access to crude oil. Kachikwu also said NNPC would distribute free gas cylinders to Nigerians in

2016, as a way of popularising the use of gas. He said that the NNPC was not planning to reduce pump price of petroleum products, adding that the corporation was working on the capacity of the refineries. “There was no plan to increase price of PMS. We have enough fuel to last another 50 weeks. Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are being maintained. The landed cost of imported products is higher, that is why we want to make our refineries work. “When refineries work, kerosene will continue to be available. We want to make cylinder available free to

all,” he said. “Apart from being someone from the SouthSouth for which the environment is a major concern to me, gas flaring cannot be a commercial way of dealing with issues. “Although we approached gas flaring from a position of penalty for flared gas, we need to begin to look at taking away flaring from a position of investment in the translation of flare to money. “To stop flare, we need investment and a lot of that money is not there, so we need to provide a National Master Gas Plan which must be gazzetted,” he added.

PDP BOT, NEC in crucial meeting today Jacob Segun Olatunji and Leon Usigbe -Abuja THE Board of Trustees (BOT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will, today, hold separate crucial meetings in Abuja, as an alleged N200 million bribe rocked NEC members. Nigerian Tribune learnt that the two meetings would discuss the report of the PDP post-election review committee headed by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu. According to the source, the meeting of the BoT would come up around 12 noon and to be followed with the NEC meeting fixed for 4.00 p.m. at its Wadata Plaza national secretariat, Abuja The source added that the PDP post-election committee would be debated and ratified for implementation The meetings, Nigerian Tribune source further added, might also discuss how to fill the vacancies in the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and the BoT.

The vacancies were created with the resignation of Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and Chief Tony Anenih as national chairman and BoT chairman respectively. It was gathered that the party was already divided over whether or not the acting national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, should continue in office until the expiration of the current NWC in March next year, after which a new national chairman would be elected.

Those supporting Secondus to continue in office, it was learnt, were arguing that bringing in a new national chairman to serve only for five months would not be in the best interest of the party. National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, confirmed to newsmen in Abuja that both the NEC and BOT meetings would hold today on sundry issues that would move the party forward.

Adewole’s nomination as minister unfair —Osun group By Moses Alao The nomination of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Isaac Adewole, has been described as unfair and unjust to other groups that make up Osun State, as the state governor and Adewole are said to be of Ijesha extraction and indeed, from the same town in Osun East senatorial district. A group under the aegis of Osun Concerned Citizens, in

a statement on Wednesday, protested Adewole’s nomination, noting that it was disrespectful to indigenes of the state in Ile-Ife axis of Osun East and, indeed, Osun West and Osun Central districts. The group, in a statement signed by its chairman and secretary, Chief Ilelabola Akanni and Alhaji Isa Ayinla respectively, stated that the fact that Adewole and Aregbesola are from constituency was strange and spiteful.

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Thursday, 15 October, 2015

SERAP to Buhari: Investigate Volkswagen over emission scandal

ocio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to use his “good offices and leadership to urgently investigate Volkswagen’s business in Nigeria to see if cars sold to Nigerians rigged carbon emissions data and potentially in breach of human rights including the rights to life, health and a general satisfactory environment.” “Unless the Nigerian government urgently intervene as requested, SERAP will take appropriate legal action to hold both the government and Volkswagen accountable for breaches of constitutional and international law,” the group said. The letter dated October 14, 2015 and signed by SERAP executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, reads in part: “SERAP notes that the Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) recently revealed that your government has no position on the Volkswagen, VW emission scandal. Yet, the SON has stated that Nigerian citizens are at risk. Even Volkswagen has admitted wrongdoing for

breaching the public trust and stated that about 11 million of its cars worldwide were fitted with the technology dubbed defeat device.” “SERAP is concerned that while other countries are carrying out investigations on the problem and sanctioning Volkswagen for the serious breaches to the rights to health and environment, the Nigerian government has so far taken no action on the matter.” “SERAP is also concerned that breaches by Volkswagen may violate Nigerian Consumer Protection Act, in addition to constituting human rights abuses. Suppression of emission controls can lead to serious health problems such as asthma, and contribute to premature death, especially among the most vulnerable sectors of the population like women, children and elderly.” “The Nigerian government has an obligation to respect, protect, fulfil and promote the rights to life, health and a general satisfactory environment, including by protecting Nigerian citizens from pollution and in particular certain chemicals and agents that can cause disease and undermine citizens’ hu-

man rights. Accordingly, the government has an obligation to ensure that automobile manufacturers like Volkswagen are not allowed to operate in a way that will undermine effective enjoyment of human

rights by Nigerians.” SERAP therefore urged the President to: 1. Order appropriate bodies to urgently investigate the potential human rights risks to millions of Nigerians as a result of

admission by Volkswagen that it used a defeat device in cars to evade clear air standards 2. Ask Volkswagen to come clean as to the number of affected vehicles which have been affected

in Nigeria, and to recall any such vehicles and implement a free replacement programme consistent with human rights standards and to pay adequate compensation where appropriate

Kogi, Bayelsa guber polls: APC inciting violence to disrupt polls —PDP ...Calls for Buhari’s intervention JacobSegunOlatunjiAndLeon Usigbe-Abuja

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday, raised an alarm that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was inciting violence in Kogi and Bayelsa states with a view to cause confusion, frustrate the electoral process and possibly impede the forthcoming governorship elections in the states. In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Wednesday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party alleged that the APC, “having realised that it does not have the support of the electorates in the two states, especially given its unpopular candidates, is now employing devious machinations, including violence to terrorise the people, disrupt and

eventually truncate the elections.” It stated that “the imprint of the APC could be felt in the sudden militancy in Kogi as well as the growing cases of political violence in Bayelsa ahead of the November 21 and December 5 governorship elections in the two states respectively.”

The statement reads, “The APC has perfected a heinous plot to inject crisis in Kogi and Bayelsa, ostensibly to frustrate the electoral procedures within the constitutional time frame, so as to prevent PDP candidates, Governors Idris Wada and Seriake Dickson from being re-elected into office.” “We invite Nigerians to

note that the build up to the militancy in Kogi has been long started by the APC and its candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, who has been fouling the state’s political environment with hate and inciting utterances, including threats to lives of PDP supporters and perceived political opponents.”

NASS election: Tribunal upholds Ubah’s victory, dismisses Ojukwu, others’ petitions Suzy Oruya-Onitsha

THE National Assembly election tribunal, sitting in Awka, on Tuesday, upheld the victory of Senator Andy Ubah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the March 28, 2015 senatorial election for Anambra South senatorial zone as declared by INEC. Ubah was dragged to the election tribunal by the

senatorial candidate for All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Ernest Ndukwe, who filed the petition seeking to be declared the winner of the said election. Delivering judgement late Tuesday, Justice Naya Aganaba, ruled that the petitioner failed to mention those he accused of committing electoral fraud in the course of the election.

On the issue of the first respondent not being qualified to contest election for not having WAEC certificate, the tribunal panel cited section 109 and 65A of the Electoral Act, and said that even a First school leaving certificate is enough qualification for any Nigerian citizen that is above 35 years, with a political party backing, to contest National Assembly election.

news Flood: 2 die in Delta, community threatened 7

Alphonsus Agborh - Asaba

ELTA State government has confirmed the death of two persons in the flood that is ravaging coastal communities in the state. The state deputy governor, Kinsley Otuaro who is also the chairman of the state’s special committee on flood, disclosed this on Wednesday after inspecting the Infant Jesus area (Awai Road), Asaba and the Internally Displaced

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Persons (IDPs) camp at the Asaba Township Stadium. Majority of the over 250 IDPs in the camp are women and children.

According to Otuaro, despite advocacy by the special committee, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and other

organisations, the people in flood prone areas have continued to have primordial attachments to their environment.

Toyin Saraki advocates end to child marriage WIFE of the Senate President, Mrs Toyin Saraki, on Wednesday, called on parents, guardians and governments at all levels to put an end to the tradition of girl-child marriage. Mrs Saraki, who is also

the founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), stated this in her message to mark this year’s “International Day of the Girl Child” with the theme: “The power of the adolescent girl: Vision for

2030.” She further urged Nigerians to intensify efforts at supporting the education of the girl-child and investments in interventions aimed at adolescent girls in local communities.

Ekiti gives 6-month deadline to squatters on govt land Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti THE Ekiti State government has given a sixmonth reprieve to about 5,000 people who it said had built houses on government land in Olorunsogo and Olorunda areas of Ado-Ekiti to regularise their titles to the land. The state Commissioner for Lands, Prince Taelolu

Otitoju, who addressed newsmen on the activities of his ministry in the past one year, explained that they were expected to pay N100,000 per plot on the expanse of land belonging to the state government. The Commissioner for Public Utilities, Mr Deji Adesua, who also addressed journalists on the

first anniversary of the Governor Ayo Fayose administration, called on communities in the state to form Electricity Consumer Association, saying this would enhance effective bill collection and settlement. Adesua stated that the state government would no longer be involved in help-

Kano govt to conduct exams for civil servants Kola Oyelere - Kano THE Kano State Government, in its efforts to ensure effective service delivery in line with global best practices, has resolved to conduct promotional examinations for civil servants in the state. The state Head of Service, Muhammad Awwal Na’iya, disclosed this on Wednesday in Kano, during a courtesy visit by the association of Dietetics/Nutrition in Nigeria, Kano State Chap-

ter, to his office According to him, the introduction of promotional examination for civil servants in the state became imperative following some challenges the state government is determined to tackle. Na’iya, however, advised members of the Dietetics/Nutrition Association to seek employment opportunities in both private and public sectors because of the importance of their profession

Alleged N10bn fraud: Judge’s absence stalls Audu’s trial Sunday Ejike - Abuja ABSENCE of Justice A. O. Adeniyi of an Abuja High Court on Wednesday stalled the trial of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the forthcoming Kogi State Governorship Election, Abubakar Audu, over an alleged fraud of N10.9 billion. Upon inquiry from the registry, Nigerian Tribune gathered that the trial judge was on assignment on election petition matters outside Abuja. Audu, who was originally arraigned since March 2013 is being charged along with one Alfa Ibn Mustapha on a 32-count charge which included stealing, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation punishable under Sec-

The deputy governor described the task before the flood committee as challenging even as the medical team was up doing to

tion 315 of the Penal Code, Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. Chief among the charge was the allegation that while Audu was governor and the said Mustapha was the Director-General of the Kogi Directorate for Rural Development (DRD), they conspired to steal a total sum of N10,965,837,040 from the state “which you falsely claim to be payment made to Aresanmi Technical Industries Limited in respect of a contract allegedly awarded by the Kogi Directorate of Rural Development to the said Aresanmi Technical Industries Limited and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code, Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.”

Earlier, the Vice President of the association, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed, had urged the state government to consider the appointment of a professional nutritionist/dietician as State Nutrition Officer in the Health Ministry.

ing communities to offset their electricity bills. Otitoju, while listing the achievements of his ministry, said squatters on government land in Olorunsogo and Olorunda were given the concession following appeal to the government. He, however, said the government would no longer condone indiscriminate development and erection of structures without due approval. To also guide against fraudulent practices in the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy, Otitoju added that the portraits of applicants would now be embossed on the certificates.

2015 NYSC honours award: Committee recommends 60 corps members Adetola Bademosi - Abuja THE committee saddled with the responsibility of short-listing qualified corps members for the 2015 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) presidential honours award has recommended 60 corps members for the honour. Presenting the report to the Director-General, Brigadier General Olawumi Johnson, yesterday in his office, the chairman of the committee, Dr Kevin Ihenetu, said though the screening process was rigorous the committee was able to short-list the best among the 222 corps mem-

bers previously selected. He said the criteria was that corps members must have distinguished themselves at the orientation programme, primary assignment, the community development service, and the group DCS before they can be nominated from the state. Ihenetu who said there was no pressure from any quarters on the committee said: “We have worked assiduously with all sense of patriotism and we have come out with a report to the best of our knowledge that would be accepted. The public don’t know us, so there wouldn’t have been any pressure.

She noted that empowering the girl-child to grow into respectable womanhood takes lots of challenges, while urging the people to move away from the culture or belief that training a girl-child is unrewarding. Mrs Saraki tasked governments to continue to associate with the global campaign to end child marriage by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She said: “The danger posed by teenage pregnancies should not be underestimated. Few things are so dangerous and barbaric to life as children delivering children. “With adolescence being an important transition phase which determines many of the opportunities and challenges that girls will later face as they become women, empowering girls at this stage with education, protection and opportunities, will set them on the right path to being empowered women and mothers. “I hereby call for improved access to educational opportunities for adolescent girls, both in the formal and informal education spaces and for improved access to health services and commodities,” Mrs Saraki stated.

attend to victims at the various camps in the state. He called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other well meaning donors to come to the aid of the state. Meanwhile, the flood has also threatened Ewulu community in Aniocha South area. Similarly, the multi billion naira Gas Plant in Okpai Delta State that produces 600MW of electricity to the national grid is under a threat by flood as water has virtually encircled the mega electricity complex. The palace of the Igwe of Okpai, HRH Goldring Ugbome 11 and Okpai-Oluchi are not spared as communities along the River Niger count their losses. The Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC) commissioner representing Ndokwa Ethnic nationality, Comrade Nnamdi Ezechi who visited the area, said that what was paramount and urgent at the moment was to evacuate all those under sever threat to safety. According to Comrade Ezechi, farms, crops and houses in Oluchi, Obeze, Umagulu, Okpai-Ashaka, Obodoyibo and Anieze Communities in Okpai Kingdom were ravaged by the flood over the weekend, leaving the residents scarpering for safety. He also advised farmers to stack their yams and other food products in barns to avoid post harvest losses and prevent hunger after flood.

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Again, bomb blast kills 20 in Maiduguri Residents arrest Boko Haram suspect in Birnin Kebbi James Bwala - Maiduguri

ULTIPLE explosion in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, has left 20 people dead, while several others were said to have sustained injuries when suicide bombers attacked a local community, Ajilari cross, in the troubled north-eastern state of Nigeria. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the attack on Ajilari cross for the third time in one month, resulting in killing of over 250 people. Residents of the area who spoke to newsmen said the first attack left 214 people dead, while the second left 63 dead and now, 20 people lost their lives. They blamed the state and Federal Government for not being proactive in their case. Also revealing that some of the suspected Boko Haram, who were released by government, as well as others who found their way back to town and settled in the area, may be behind some

of these recent atrocities. “Some of those people they are release are Boko Haram proper, because during the first crisis in 2009, they all participated and we know them. They have been threatening the area and made a lot of us flee our homes, but we were sur-

prised when we saw some of them as pardon by government,” Umar, one of the residents who spoke, said. According to them, the area which had been peaceful, suddenly woke to all forms of criminality, a situation which should be of concern to all, but govern-

ment was not doing much, because since the first explosion, when the governor visited the area and made promises, they have not seen anything or anyone visiting again. The explosion which occurred about 8.00 p.m. on Tuesday, forced many resi-

dent to flee the area, defying the 9.00 p.m. curfew and moved their families to relations at the city centre. A resident, Mallam Goni Usman, told Nigerian Tribune that: “We were all confused; people were running helter-skelter. Many people have been killed. I

From left, Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olanisakin; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Defence, Amanda Dory; Commander, United States (US) African Command, General David Rodriguez; President Muhammadu Buhari; US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle and the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno, after President Buhari’s meeting with the visiting commander, US African Command, in Abuja, on Wednesday. PHOTO: NAN

Military will end insurgency by December, Buhari insists Leon Usigbe - Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his full confidence that by the end of this year, Boko Haram’s ability to attack, seize, ravage and hold any Nigerian territory will have been completely obliterated. He gave the assurance at an audience with the Commander of United States Africa Command, General David Rodriguez, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday. Buhari said with greater support from his administration in terms of improved training, equipment, logistics and welfare, the Nigerian Armed Forces was now well positioned to meet the December deadline given to end the Boko Haram insurgency. He restated his appreciation of the United States’ support for Nigeria’s efforts to overcome terrorism and insurgency. According to him, “we must thank the United States for sending training teams and equipment to us. The positive results of our collaboration are evident. “Structured attacks by the insurgents have reduced and by the end of the year, we should see the final routing of Boko Haram as an organised fighting force.”

The president, however, appealed for greater cooperation from the United States in securing the Gulf of Guinea, through which stolen Nigerian crude oil was shipped abroad.

Decrying the severe revenue losses which Nigeria suffers from crude oil theft, Buhari said his administration was determined to end this criminal practice and would welcome more

support from the international community in this regard. In his remark, General Rodriguez explained that he was in the country to strengthen Nigeria/United

States military relations and also explore further options in assisting the Multinational Joint Task Force established by Nigeria and her neighbours to fight Boko Haram.

Buhari receives national ID card, as NIMC processes 20 million BVN data Leon Usigbe - Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, was on Wednesday, presented with his electronic National Identity card by the Director-General of the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Chris Onyenenam. The brief ceremony took place in the president’s office, Presidential Villa, Abuja, after which Onyenenam told State House correspondents that the commission was now processing about 20 million data from the ongoing Bank Verification Number scheme. He revealed that the commission had also collaborated with other agencies, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Pension Commission (PENCOM), the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Federal Road Safety Corps and Nigerian Immigration Services.

He explained that the management of the commission was at the Presidential Villa to demonstrate to the president how the national identification number could be used to confirm the identity of an individual even if the person was not present. According to him, “that is the reason we said the identification number is a security number, because with that and if you have access to our database, you can confirm the identity of an individual.” Onyenenam said apart

from presenting the electronic card to the president, NIMC also demonstrated to him how it would be taken round. He added: “This is one Rome that was not built in a day. Slow and steady, with the help of harmonisation and integration, that he has directed, we are getting rapidly far more than we ever did, in trying to unite our data base and I demonstrated that. “So, basically, what we did was to activate the electronic identity and the security on it and subsequently,

the payment solutions on the card and I explained to the president that there are certain applications on the card and this activation that he has done cuts across the entire activation. “What is then left is for each agency, once they are using their own application to then customise it with their security on it and then control the use of that application.” Onyenenam blamed the challenges of harmonised data capturing on those who were awarded contracts in the past but failed to implement it.

don’t know how many as of the time we left, but we called some people this morning, who told us that they have carried 20 corpses to the state specialist hospital and many other injured ones to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for treatment.” He added the rumour making the round in the area before the explosion was that the Boko Haram members were training their people in Sambisa Forest. Meanwhile, a man suspected to be member of the Boko Haram sect, disguising in women’s attire, has been apprehended by a vigilante group in Birnin Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital. General Manager of Birnin Kebbi Central Market, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, made this disclosure to newsmen on Wednesday. Bello said the man (names withheld), was caught within Birnin Kebbi Central Market with the assistance of traders and customers in the market, but said he was unaware of the suspect’s motive of appearing in a woman’s dress. He said the suspect was apprehended by the vigilante group after an alarm was raised by people patronising the market. “We later alerted the security agencies in the state on the development and we handed him over to them for further investigation,” he added. When contacted, the state police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Nafi’u Abubakar, confirmed the incident. Abubakar, however, disclosed that the suspect had a mental problem and was a staff of the state-owned Jega School of Health Technology. He said not a single weapon was found on the suspect. “After the suspect was handed over to us for further investigation, we found out that the suspect either had a mental disorder or was a mad man. “He will be examined further by medical doctors to ascertain his health condition,” Abubakar added.

Reps to probe Jonathan’s sale of power assets Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel - Abuja THE House of Representatives, on Wednesday, set machinery in motion to investigate the alleged nontransparent and fraudulent sale of power assets by the

Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) under the administration of former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. The House then resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the processes and sale of all aspects of power assets in Nigeria by the BPE, to determine if

there were malpractices and misconduct in the exercise and also whether appropriate value was had for money and determine if any person breached the rules and the law. The House resolution was sequel to a motion moved by Honourable Chike Oka-

for, entitled: “Alleged nontransparent and fraudulent sale of power assets by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).” While moving the motion, Honourable Okafor said the processes leading to the sale of Nigeria’s power continues pg15

Thursday, 15 October,

Lagosmetro

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

FESTAC bank robbery: How my wife, daughter died — Husband Olalekan Olabulo

he husband of the woman who died with her daughter in the Tuesday armed robbery attacks in FESTAC area of Amuwo Odofin in Lagos State, Evangelist Peter Ihejirika, has urged Nigerians to learn from the incident. The bereaved man, who described his wife as a person who was ready to do anything for humanity, also advised that no one should be blamed for the incident. Evangelist Ihejirika stated that Nigerians should rather see the incident that led to the death of his wife and daughter as fate. The man, while speaking on the incident said, “When I got back home in the evening, I saw blood

every where and I met people in the house and I saw a girl cleaning blood and was shouting ‘my sister!’” He continued that, “I asked what happened to your sister? But she couldn’t give me an answer to my question; then I was told to go to the hospital at First Gate. “When I got there, I saw my wife lying lifeless and then I asked about my daughter. They told me that

they had taken her to Navy Hospital at Satellite Town. “Then I had to take my wife away from where she was to the Chosen Hospital where I was later told to transfer her to Alimosho General Hospital where she used to work as a nurse.” He also said that, “It was there that she was confirmed dead. She has since been taken to a mortuary around Isolo General Hospital. I was still in the shock

over the tragedy when I received a phone call from my wife’s younger brother and I asked him where my daughter was. He told me that she was dead as well.” The man, while speaking about his wife said, “My wife is a type of person that works for humanity and all her manners and intentions are on how to please the next person by her side. “That was her vision since I got married to her. She

cared for the less privileged. She was a nice and lovely wife. She was always ready to help. “The fact still remains that we don’t have to blame anybody, even God Who allowed it to happen because I believe there’s nothing that can happen in this world without His permission. “We all should learn from what has happened. Now she’s gone, the way I know her, and who she means to

‘Limousine’ operators down tools at Lagos airport Shola Adekola Activities were on Friday paralysed at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos following the downing of tools of ‘limousine’ operators and car hire services over their re-routing by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Information gathered indicated that the car hire operators had complained to FAAN that the ‘limousine’ operators (users of Toyota Camry cars) regularly “hijack” their passengers. As a result of the complaint, FAAN allegedly rerouted the ‘limousine’ operators to Hajj camp from Ikeja while the Sienna users were re-routed to the international wing of the airport from their usual hajj camp at the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, (NAHCO) Plc. The strike led to passengers being stranded at various bus stops from Ikeja under bridge to hajj camp and international airport car parks. For many hours, passengers who intended to use the airport trekked many hours from their various destinations. The ever busy road suddenly became light of traffic.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle) commiserating with wife of late Tajudeen Disu, the Managing Director of Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited, Dr. Sade (right) and brother of deceased, Mr. Adekunle Disu during the governor’s condolence visit to the family residence in Victoria Island, on Wednesday.

Why gridlocks have returned — Govt Bola Badmus Lagos State government may have started to bare its fangs owing to the increasing gridlock on the state roads as it disclosed that no fewer than 500 traffic offenders have been booked and fined so far, and also vowed that lawless motorists found culpable would be prosecuted. Permanent Secretary Ministry of Transportation Mr. Seyi Whenu alongside the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works, Mr. Ajibade Adebowale; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Environment Mr. Toyin Onisarotu, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information, Mr. Folarin Adeyemi as well as the General Manager of LASTMA Mr. Bashir Braimoh, disclosed this at a press briefing they jointly addressed on Wednesday at Bagauda Kalto Press Cen-

tre. Governor Ambode had said enforcement of the state traffic laws would be done with human face and total courtesy. The permanent secretaries explained that the governor’s instruction should not be misinterpreted as relaxation of enforcement, say-

ing anyone caught violating the state traffic law would be prosecuted irrespective of his status. According to Mr. Adebowale the state government was not unaware that the increasing gridlock in the state in recent times was partly caused by massive construction and rehabilita-

tion of roads that were going on, saying measures were being put in place to checkmate the problem. “We have called on all the contractors to double efforts and ensure speedy completion of the roads so that people would not have to suffer and endure the hardship for long.”

me, I know she and my little daughter are in a better place.”

Disu was planning his 70th birthday — In-law

Olalekan Olabulo The deceased Managing Director of the Lekki Free Trade Zone Tajudeen Disu was optimistic of celebrating his 70th birthday. This was disclosed by an in-law to the deceased Disu, Oluwabukunolami Folayan, who described the deceased as “a philanthropist and a man with a great sense of humour.” Folayan said, “Mr. Disu is not just an in-law but a fantastic brother who doesn’t discriminate. He is so open and accommodating. He has a lot of sense of humour. He is a philanthropist.” He added that “I just want to appeal to the government to try as much as possible to investigate this incident thoroughly and bring the perpetrators to book, not because it is Disu today but it could be someone else.” He added that, “When I heard of his death, I was totally down. I didn’t even know how to talk to my sister, but God has given us the grace. “She has accepted it in good faith. We have been using Bible passages to console her. “He (Disu) was even joking recently that ‘I am going to celebrate when I’m 70.’ He was looking forward to be 70.”

Traditional ruler, subjects face trial for armed robbery, rape AyomideOwonibiOdekanyin A traditional ruler (baale) in Odo- Onosa Village, Chief Jimoh Balogun and two others have been accused of armed robbery and rape. The other defendants are Morufu Adekoya and Adefowope Kazeem. It was gathered that accused persons armed with a gun and other offensive and dangerous weapons robbed one Adeomi Ayomide of her wristwatches, three laptops

and a cash sum of N272,000. They were also accused of robbing one Korede Fayibo of a television set, one DVD player, an unspecified amount of money and other valuables. They were further accused of raping a woman after robbing her of all her valuables. Counsel to the defendants A. O Omodele, told the court that the defendants had a bail application dated September 23, seeking the order of the court to grant bail to Adekoya

and Kazeem, who were already at Ikoyi Prisons custody pending the final determination of the matter. He also asked the court to grant bail to the baale in self recognizance, adding that on the day of the incident, he was at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s office. He further claimed the case before the court was purely a land dispute matter. “There has been dispute over ownership and control of

the entire land at Odo-Onosa Village, via Agbowa Ikosi-Ejirin Local Council Development Area via Ikorodu for the past five years the defendants are residents and indigenes of Odo-Onosa,” he said. Omodele also stated that on the day of the incident, the baale and Adekoya were at EFCC’s office in respect of a petition they wrote against Chief Jibowu Faibo as to the fraud he allegedly perpetrated on the sale of the family land at Odo-Onosa village.

10 news

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Fuel crisis looms in Rivers over police brutality No one was manhandled —CP Dapo Falade - Port Harcourt

ESIDENTS and people of Rivers State may witness another round of fuel crisis as the state chapter of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) begin an indefinite strike over alleged attack on their members by the police. Chairman of the Port Harcourt zone of NUPENG, Godwin Eruba, disclosed this to newsmen, on Wednesday, saying the development was in protest against the assault and injury perpetrated by men of the state police command on some of their members during an industrial action against an oil firm in Port Harcourt. He said members of the union were on a legitimate action to picket the premises of Weatherford Nigeria Limited over an unresolved industrial issue with the company, when heavily armed policemen stormed the area and allegedly descended on the labour leaders. “On October 12, as early as 3:00a.m., the Rivers State Police Command sent over 10 Hilux vehicles full of policemen, armed to the teeth and came to where our members were picketing and manhandled them. “They (the police) shot at them, both with gun and

tear-gas. As we speak, four of our members are lying critically at the hospital,” he said. Corroborating Eruba, chairman of the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Chika Onuegbu, condemned the alleged attack on the leaders of oil

workers by the police. Onuegbu, in a statement, said TUC, Rivers State, condemned the unwarranted attacks on NUPENG and PENGASSAN members. However, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Musa Kimo, has denied the allegation that the labour leaders

were brutalised by the police under his command. According to him, the security operatives were only at the premises of the Port Harcourt-based oil firm to enforce a court judgment. The Rivers police boss, in another statement signed by the police spokesman,

From left, Governors Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo; Willie Obiano, Anambra; the moderator, Mr Frank Aigbogun; Governors Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun; Rauf Aregbesola, Osun and Adams Oshiomhole, Edo, during a “conversation with state governors”, at the 21st Nigerian Economic Summit, in Abuja, on Wednesday. PHOTO: NAN.

Tsav to Ortom: Tell Benue your involvement in N1.8bn road deal •It’s a figment —Ortom Johnson Babajide - Makurdi FEDERAL Commissioner of Public Complaints Commission, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has taken a swipe at Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, saying that the governor would not yield to pub-

lic demand of his administration extending the probe to Senator George Akume’s era due to shady deals he (Ortom) got entangled during the period. Tsav, former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, in a press statement issued and sent to news-

men in Makurdi yesterday, asked the governor to address the people of the state on how rural road contracts in the state during Akume administration, running to the tune of N1.8billion in which he alleged Ortom was a principal actor, was not executed.

Nasarawa ex-students protest over NECO fees Ademola Adegbite - Lafia EX-Students from different secondary schools in Nasarawa State, on Wednesday, matched across Lafia, the state capital, to protest the inability of the state government to register them in the just concluded examination conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO) as promised, thereby leading to non release of their results by the institution. The students, who lamented the non challant attitude of the present administration towards education, displayed different placards such as “Do not play with our future”, “We cannot get admission without our NECO”, “Pay our

DSP Ahmad Muhammad, said, “It is relevant to state that the Rivers State Police Command acted to request of Court Bailiffs/Officials to enforce court judgment delivered by Justice J. T. Agbambu-Fishim of the National Industrial Court, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

registration now”, among others. Aggrieved students, who gathered in their hundreds, later matched to the state House of Assembly to register their grievances. In an interview with

the Nigerian Tribune, some of them, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, bemoaned the government for its failure to register them for NECO, as part of its free education policy.

In its reaction, the state government, through the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr Usman Sani-Umar, said the government was on top of the situation.

Ido-Ekiti FETH doctors suspend 4-month strike Sam Nwaoko - Ado-Ekiti DOCTORS at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI), have announced the suspension of their four months strike. They embarked on the strike following disagreements with the management of the hospital over pay-related issues. In a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Eki-

ti on Wednesday, the doctors explained that they ended the strike “having considered the plights of the patients and that of Ekiti people and the relentless intervention by prominent, well-meaning and senior citizens of Ekiti State in the prolonged industrial dispute.” The statement signed by Dr Otutoaja Uzoma and Dr Ekundayo Oladeji, president and secretary of National

Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti chapter, respectively, indicated that the doctors also decided to suspend the fourmonth industrial action “after due consultations, interventions, and considerations of the prominent persons and in particular the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) president, Dr Kayode Obembe.”

Tsav maintained that as a kitchen cabinet and party scribe during Akume’s administration, Ortom was deeply involved in the shady deals of the administration, saying the governor would not have the courage to extend the probe to the era because doing so might exhume his shady and dirty deals especially where he used one Thomas Adejoh to systematically defraud 23 local government areas. But in a swift reaction, Governor Ortom described the claim as figment of imagination of Tsav, saying “this lays the basis for the expectation that he (Tsav) would have got his records straight that Ortom was not the contractor awarded the rural roads construction in 2004.” The governor who reacted through his media aide, Mr Terver Alase, said, “In 2004, it can be recalled correctly that Tsav was no longer in the service of the Nigeria Police and was back to Benue State. This lays the basis for the expectation that he (Tsav) would have got his records straight that Ortom was not the contractor awarded the road construction.”

Bank of Agriculture disburses N850m soft loan in Jigawa Adamu Amadu - Dutse THE Bank of Agriculture has disbursed the sum of N850 million soft loans to 6,548 farmers in Jigawa State to support rice production. This was disclosed by the Managing Director of the bank, Professor Danbala Dauju, yesterday while fielding questions from journalists during an inspection tour of the state. He explained that the amount disbursed was grossly inadequate considering the number of farmers and landmarks for rice cultivation in the state. According to him “we are talking about N850 million that the Bank of Agriculture has invested in supporting about 6,548 farmers in the state over years. Absolutely, not up to a billion for a population that has the potential in terms of agricultural production to achieve a lot.” Commenting on the Three Brothers, Professor Dauju maintained that the bank supported the company to achieve the target capacity of seven million metric tons per annum with the sum of N350 million.

JUSUN suspends proposed strike in Kano Kola Oyelere - Kano THE Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Kano State chapter, has suspended its proposed strike following a fruitful deliberation and intervention of the state House of Assembly Speaker, Honourable Kabiru Alhassan Rurum. This was contained in a statement signed by the state JUSUN chairman, Muktar Rabiu Lawan, on Wednesday and made available to newsmen in Kano According to the chairman, it was resolved that the state government should pay the judiciary workers their promotion with effect from October salary. Lawan also added that they resolved that the government should pay the judicial officers’ house rent/medical allowances in three instalments but not later than November this year.

businessnews

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

FG directs MDAs to submit 2014 procurement records to BPP

he Federal Government has directed its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to collate and submit all procurement records for 2014 to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) by Oct. 26. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, gave the directive on Wednesday in Abuja at a one day interactive session with directorate cadre, procurement officers of federal MDAs. Represented by the Director, Economic Policy Analysis, Mrs Ijeoma Unaogu, he said that all statutory requirements of the Procurement Act would be enforced because the current administration would uphold the rule of law. “I was made to understand that these records will give government an overview of all procurement activities embarked upon by the various MDAs, irrespective of approval thresholds. “This information will enable government to design its financial commitment and subsequently allocate resources appropriately. “Unfortunately, I have been informed that only a few MDAs complied with this directive. “The BPP is accordingly directed to submit the list of MDAs that fail to comply with this directive to my office for appropriate sanctions,” he said. Lawal, however, noted that there were some procurement malpractices that needed to be addressed. They include splitting of contracts to evade approval thresholds established by government and award of contracts above the approval limits of MDAs. The SGF observed that procurement should be a tool for good governance and as such, anti-graft agencies such as the BPP would be supported to achieve the objective. He, however, said that the Federal Government would support the BPP “to collaborate with state governments to domesticate the Procurement Act in their various states”. The Director-General, BPP, Mr Emeka Ezeh, said the already declining price of crude oil was putting a lot of strain on the nation’s economy and so all avenues of leakage should be checked. “It is important to remind us of the declining price in crude oil, our main source of financing the national budget. “This will put more pres-

sure on the already insufficient funds for our national prospects. “This makes it more imperative to ensure judicious use of funds and avoid bad procurement practices that may lead to project abandonment and non-attainment of valuefor-money in project delivery.” He said the forum was aimed at finding appropriate solutions to the challenges affecting imple-

mentation of procurement reforms. Mr Bayo Awosemusi, Acting Country Director, World Bank, said that the elements for effective reforms include committed leadership and political will to make the necessary changes. Others are the development of enabling legislation with new procedures and practices. He said that challenges of procurement reforms were

weak capacity in the judiciary to hear procurement related cases and need for a broader coalition of support for the reforms. Others are timely payment of suppliers and contractors; payment of interest on delayed payment and difficulty of the regulatory agency to enforce liquidated damages and termination of contract due to non-performance. He said there were con-

sequences for not reforming such as slow infrastructure development, corruption, unemployment and inequality which could lead to unrest and instability of the country. Representing the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Mr Eze Onyekpere of the Centre for Social Justice, said that the objectives of national policies should be about growing the economy.

From left, Mr Sunday Agbotoba (Ondo); Dr (Mrs) Modupe Alade (Ekiti); Honourabel Taye Adeoluwa (Ogun); Chief (Dr) Isaac Akintade, chairman, Odu’a Investment Company; Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (Osun); Alhaji Olalekan Alli (Oyo) and Mr Raji Adewale, GMD/CEO, Odu’a Investment Company, during the 33rd annual general meeting of the Odu’a Investment Company, held at the company board room on Wednesday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

Odu’a Investment earns N4.29bn, pays N150m dividend By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

Odu’a Investment Company Limited, a conglomerate owned by five South West states, recorded a revenue of N4.29 billion in 2014. Disclosing this at the company’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, in Ibadan, the chairman, Chief Isaac Akintade, said the five per cent slide compared with 2013 earnings of N4.29bn notwithstanding, the conglomerate’s performance was thrilling despite the country’s hostile business environment. According to the chairman, the company’s profit before tax in the year under review, N759milliion, represents a 53 per cent increase over the 2013 figure of N95m. Similarly, its Earning Per Share (EPS) also rose by 98 per cent from N0.72 in 2013 to N1.43 in the year under review. Given the stride recorded by the conglomerate over the last one year, the board approved a dividend of N150million, representing 26.1kobo per share, to the shareholders. This would be the first time in the last six years that the company would

be paying dividends to the owner states of Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun. While giving a breakdown of the financials of the conglomerate and the performances of the subsidiaries at the meeting attended by all the directors as well as the Secretary to the State Government from each of the owner states, the Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment, Mr. Adewale Raji, said, “the payment of dividend is a commitment that we vow to maintain considering that we have not paid dividend in the past six years.” Speaking on the performance of the holding

company, the GMD said, “the revenue rose six per cent from N1.90bn to N2.02bn and Profit Before Tax increased 63 per cent to N615m compared to N378m for year 2013.” He added that the EPS for the holding company increased 57 per cent to N0.94 from N0.60 while other financial ratios demonstrated improved performance fundamentals. Raji reported that the property development projects being undertaken by the conglomerate were reviewed and the best available options were selected for each.

On the hospitality business, the GMD said “the business continued to be challenged by obsolete facilities and stiff competition.” He added that various options aimed at repositioning the hotels for maximum returns and enhanced profitability were being explored. On the future outlook of the conglomerate, he said the management had rolled out a five-year strategic plan “that posits to grow the Group’s revenue by 340 per cent from N4.5bn to N20bn between 2015 and 2019 with a baseline of 15 per cent Profit Before Tax.”

Nigeria loses N200bn to Customs auction —NAA Tola Adenubi-Lagos

The Nigerian Association of Auctioneers (NAA) has said Nigeria lost about N200 billion in four years to fraudulent disposal of seized goods by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). In a statement by the NAA General Secretary, Isibor Benjamin Abhulimen, the auctioneers alleged that ‎the huge loss was recorded because the previous Customs administration was not transparent in the disposal of seized cargoes.

Abhulimen said customs officials set ridiculously low prices for the items to be l.auctioned and sell them to their cronies without conducting competitive bidding. “It is our prerogative to bring this glaring anomaly to the attention of Nigerians and President Muhammadu Buhari administration, especially now that the revenues to the Federal Government coffers have dwindled. “The customs should allow the professional auc-

tioneer to do their jobs. Nigerians will witness a sharp rise in the amount of revenue generated from the sector if professional auctioneers are invited to conduct public auctioning of items impounded by customs,” he said. He added: “There has been no effort in the past years to generate additional revenue for the government, instead they make the government lose so much revenue and this is simply because the method adopted by the customs.”

Emirates sweeps 2015 APEX, passenger choice awards with seven wins

Emirates emerged as the biggest winner at the 2015 APEX Passenger Choice Awards held at the Oregon Convention Center Ballroom in Portland, Oregon, USA on Monday. The airline clinched seven awards, topping all the categories it was nominated in. The honours included Best Overall Passenger Experience and Best in Region: Middle East for the sixth consecutive year. Emirates was also recognised for its on-board product offering and airport services, being awarded: Best In-Flight Entertainment User Interface, Best In-Flight Connectivity and Communications, Best Cabin Ambience, Best Food and Beverage and Best Ground Experience. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, said: “The customer is at the heart of everything we do. In the air and on the ground, at the frontline and behind the scenes, our dedicated workers work hard every day to deliver an exceptional travel experience.”

‘Nigeria, Turkish trade to hit $560bn soon’ Gbola Subair-Abuja

The one -sided trade relation between Nigeria and Turkey will soon be addressed as the Federal Government predicted a trade volume of $560billion between the two countries in the nearest future. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory, John Obinna Chukwu, made the prediction Wednesday in Abuja at a reception held for the Turkish trade delegation by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Chukwu, who noted that trade relations between Nigeria and Turkey had been consistently in favour of Turkey, disclosed, however, that efforts were being made to address the trade imbalance by encouraging the adoption of Comparative Advantage and Technical Know How principles in the showcasing of economic strength and identification of areas of collaboration and partnership for Improved trade relations for both countries. He noted that Nigeria imports from Turkey typically households products such ad clothing, food items, engine and automobile parts while Turkey imports from Nigeria are mainly raw materials such as sesame seeds and semi processed leather and rubber.

businessnews 56% of businesses have access to electricity —NESG

he Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) has observed that 56 per cent of businesses have access to electricity due to improved power supply in the country while 41 per cent of them still generate their own electricity. This was made known at the ongoing 21st Nigerian Economic Summit organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), representing the private sector, in partnership with the National Planning Commission (NPC), representing the public sector. The summit expected to run from October 13 to 15, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, is themed ‘Tough Choices: Achieving Competitiveness, Inclusive Growth and Sustainability.’ Speaking at the ceremony, NESG Chairman, Kyari Bukar, canvassed for immediate passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law by the National Assembly. Bukar said the bill contained provisions that will transform the oil and gas sector. He said the country is faced with numerous challenges in developing a stable business environment as she ranked 170 out of 189 countries the World Bank is doing business with. According to him, as an emerging nation with developing institutions and structures, Nigeria faces significant challenges in developing a stable business environment as she ranks 170th out of the 189 nations the World Bank is busy doing business with. The security situation has made that challenge more pronounced despite

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

some successes against Boko Haram in the Northeast. In that part of the country, security is a major challenge. We acknowledge the significant improvement recorded in the power sector since the inception of this administration. This administration has demonstrated a rare dedication and determination in providing a stable and constant power supply to all Nigerians. Speaking further, he said that power generation has, for the first time in Nigeria risen to an all time high as a result of efforts at tack-

ling corruption, fixing the ailing facilities of the transmission companies, stable gas supply and tackling vandalism. All these improvement, he stated are laudable and are merely the beginning if the desired change required in the power sector. “As at today, over 56 per cent of Nigerians have no access to electricity and those who are connected to the grid faces substantial power disruption. An estimated 41 per cent of Nigerian businesses generate their own power

supply” Bukar noted. Nigeria he further stressed ranked far behind other developing nations in terms of electricity consumption, adding “We commend the present government for ongoing restructuring of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). However, for the fourth year running, we must appeal to our legislators to work on the PIB and bring it to a positive conclusion. He said, “This bill contains provisions that will redefine and change the oil and gas sector and line

Cement manufacturing company, LafargeHolcim, has announced plans to set up a research centre in Nigeria to further demonstrate its commitment to deepening the nation’s built industry. Speaking at a Media Engagement event on Wednesday, in Lagos, the General Manager, Independent Power Project, Lafarge Africa, Mr Lanre Opakunle, stated that Nigeria’s built market remains very strategic to the operations of the company, noting that as a major player in the industry, the company would do every-

terprise and so, cease to be a wholly operated government enterprise.

SEC approves new issues worth N53.65bn in 9 months The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday said it had approved new issues worth N53.65 billion between January and September. Statistics by the commission made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos showed that 10 companies indicated interest to access the primary market segment

From left, Mr Hakeem Ogunniran, Managing Director, UAC Properties Company Limited; Mr Ayodapo Shoderu, outgoing President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers and Mr Tunde Lemo, former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria at the 2015 National Insurance Conference at Insurance Brokers House, Yaba, Lagos.

of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). A breakdown of the new issues indicated that the new issues dropped when compared with over N400 billion raised in the corresponding period of 2014. NAN reports that the companies that applied for the new issues during the period under review were Union Homes Savings and Loans, Notore Chemical Industries and Fortis Microfinance Bank. Others are Champion Breweries, Golden Capital, Jaiz Bank, Bankers Warehouse, Afrik Parmaciticulars, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Riggs Venture West Africa. NAN also reports that the approvals were for rights issue, special and private placements and Initial Public Offer (IPO). An analysis of the data showed that Union Homes during the period was given an approval for a special placement of 781.25 million shares worth N5 billion at N6.40 per share. Fortis Microfinance Bank applied for private placement of 788 million shares valued N1.18 billion at N1.50 per share and Notore Chemical IPO of 371.59 million shares worth N19.59 billion at N52.72 per share.

Naira strengthens against dollar at parallel market Chima Nwokoji-lagos

The naira, on Wednesday, firmed against the dollar at the parallel market. The naira gained N1 on

Wednesday afternoon as it traded for N225 against the dollar compared to previously traded N226 against the dollar. Traders at the parallel market expressed the be-

lief that the naira might experience further appreciation as the price of oil at the international market went up recently. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had, on Mon-

While insisting that the series of building collapse witnessed in the country in recent past were not as a result of cement, but due to poor cement mix, Opakunle argued that the com-

pany is presently advocating the use of ReadyMix Concrete among builders; since such completely eradicates the likelihood of compromise by artisans at building sites.

LafargeHolcim to establish cement research centre in Nigeria Akin Adewakeun And Chima Nwokoji-Lagos

with the philosophy of the NESG to turn the NNPC into a fully commercial en-

Nigerian Tribune

thing within its strength to enhance its growth. He stated that the partnership between Lafarge and Holcim Cement, two global names in cement industry, last year, 2015, had enhanced the nation’s built industry and enabled the stakeholders, especially consumers get value for their money. And to demonstrate the company’s social responsibility commitments, he added, plans are underway to transfer 40 out of the 90 Megawatts the company is presently generating, into the national grid to further boost electricity in the country and catalyse the economy.

day, strengthened its exchange rate peg slightly to N196.98 against the dollar on the interbank market from N197 it set last week. The local currency therefore traded at N196.98 against the dollar at the interbank market on Wednesday. Traders said the regulator sent a message announcing the adjustment which is the eighth since the bank introduced tight currency controls in Feb-

Inflation rose to 9.4% in September The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the nation’s consumer inflation rose to 9.4 per cent year-onyear in September from 9.3 per cent in August 2015. The NBS made the disclosure in its September Consumer Price Index on Wednesday. The NBS attributed the increase to a result of higher food and non-food divisions which include alcoholic beverage, tobac-

co and kola; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels divisions. “While the Muslim holidays period may have contributed to higher food prices, the food sub-index as a whole recorded a marginal increase by 10.2 per cent (year-on-year) in September from 10.1 per cent in August. “Prices rose in major categories such as bread and

cereals, meats, fish, oils and fats groups. “The fruits, vegetables and potatoes, yams and other tubers groups have, however, held constant or grown at a slower pace for three consecutive months, ultimately weighing on the index. “The advances recorded by the ‘all items less farm produce’ or core sub-index increased at a marginally slower pace in September relative to August,’ it said.

ruary. Last week Tuesday (29th September, 2015) the CBN Intervention rate slightly moderated to N196.95/ US $ 1.00, but returned to N197.00/US $1.00 on Monday (5th October, 2015) . Similarly, in the Interbank market last week, the naira opened at N199.08/ US $1.00 but returned to N199.10/US $1 on Tuesday and was sustained all through the week. Dealers at Afrinvest noted that pressure however continued to mount at the parallel market, as the naira depreciated from N224.00/ US $1.00 to N225.00/US $1.00 during the week. The depreciation in the value of the naira has continually been attributed to insufficient supply of the foreign currency in the market. Barring any major pronouncement from the CBN this week, dealers expect rate to trade within the current band.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

news

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Akanbi, Adeyemi win at tribunal Ladoja loses at Appeal Court By Dare Adekanmbi

THE National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal adjudicating on the petition filed by Senator Olufemi Lanlehin against the election of Senator Soji Akanbi has dismissed the former’s petition for lack of merit. Delivering a three and half hours judgment in the petition in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday, a member of the panel, Justice Rafael Ajua, held that the petitioner could not prove his allegation of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act. Lanlehin, Accord Party candidate, had challenged the victory of Akanbi, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the grounds of malpractices, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, among others. He said the general statements contained in the petition alleging malpractices in “several units, most units” were not specific and consequently struck out nine paragraphs relating to such in the petition. All pieces of evidence tendered in respect of the councils not specifically pleaded were rejected by

the tribunal as well as all oral evidence led by the witnesses called by the petitioner. The tribunal, however, expunged all submissions made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Toyin Akeju, for filing their replies to the petition late. In another judgment by the same panel, the tribunal chairman, Justice Usman Tanko upheld the

election of Honourable Akeem Adeyemi, of the APC for Afijio/Atiba/Oyo East/Oyo West Federal Constituency, dismissing Honourable Kamil Akinlabi’s petition against him. Meanwhile, the Appeal Court in Ibadan has refused the appeal brought before it by Senator Rashidi Ladoja of Accord against the ruling of the governorship election tribunal which rejected the report of a forensic he sought to tender in evidence.

Tribunal nullifies ex-Taraba ag. gov’s senatorial election Sylvanus Viashima - Jalingo

NATIONAL and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Jalingo yesterday nullified the election of ex-Taraba acting governor, senator Sani Abubakar Danladi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing Taraba North senatorial district in the National Assembly. Mr Ali Sani Kona of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), had approached the tribunal challenging the declaration of Sani Abubakar Danladi of the PDP as the winner of the election on the ground that

the election conducted in 54 polling units in three local government areas of Karim Lamido, Zing and Yorro were marred by irregularities. He prayed the tribunal to declare the election inconclusive and order a fresh election in the 54 polling units to determine the actual winner of the election. In his ruling Justice Ibrahim Yusuf who read the judgment held that the 1st and 2nd petitioners, Ali Sani Kona and APC respectively have given satisfactory evidence to proof their case.

Need to reduce burden of diseases informed awareness, screening programme —Mrs Ambode WIFE of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode has stated that the need to prevent and reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases in the state informed the State Wellness Week Programme; which is an integrated free awareness and

screening exercise for noncommunicable diseases of hypertension, diabetes, breasts, cervical and prostate cancers. Mrs Ambode, who stated this on Wednesday at the flag-off ceremony of the Third Round State Wellness Week Programme, at

Kokori remains leader of Delta APC —party Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

THE leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State has debunked the rumour making the rounds that elder statesman and leader, Chief Frank Ovie Kokori has been removed as lead-

FGC Maiduguri holds AGM THE Federal Government College, Maiduguri Old Students Association (FEGOCOMOSA) will hold its 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Eko 2015, with the theme: “Networking as a vital tool for growth,” on Saturday, October 17, by 10.00 a.m. at Berkeley Hotel, 9b, Isaac John Street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos.

er of the APC in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. The falsehood, according to the party, was published in an online medium, newsbeatportal.com, what it termed faceless “unscrupulous elements.” The leadership, in a statement signed by APC Delta Media Directorate, Asaba, Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, said the alleged illegal ascension of one Mr Philip Eyagomare as the new leader of APC in the local government was laughable and criminal. It urged the public as well as APC supporters and party faithful to disregard the rumour and the said online publication and reiterated that Chief Ovie Kokori remains the only authentic leader of APC in Ethiope East.

the Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Secretariat noted that the overall aim of the programme is to prevent and reduce non-communicable diseases through awareness creation and early detection and treatment of affected individuals. Ambode, who was represented at the event by the wife of the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibiyemi Bello explained that non-communicable diseases are chronic diseases that cause dysfunction, impairment in the quality of life and death. She added that these diseases are very common, especially in the middle age and elderly stressing that they are said to be hidden and dangerous because they usually develop over relatively long periods without manifesting any appreciable symptoms until they reach advanced stages. “At this late stage, the diseases cause complications and can no longer be successfully or satisfactorily managed; they have negative impacts on both individuals and their immediate families, resulting in debilitation, reduced productivity and economic loss,” Mrs Ambode said.

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Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Deji Falae’s widow slams Associated Airlines with N245.5m Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin - Lagos

SE Lynn Falae, widow of Deji Falae who died in an ill-fated plane crash has instituted a N245.5 million against the Associated Airlines and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The widow and her three children stated that their demand represented compensation for the earnings Mr Falae would have made over the next 15 years, less living expenses, cash discount and the statutory limit of $100,000. Apart from the widow, the other plaintiffs were Ayomide Falae, a 15-year-old student of Day Waterman College in Abeokuta; Omowonuola Falae, a 13-yearold girl and Oreoluwa Falae, a 7-year-old pupil at Corona Schools, Lagos. Deji Falae was 42 years old at the time of his death, on October 3, 2013. It will be recalled that Falae died in an aircraft owned by Associated Airlines which was conveying the remains of a former governor, Olusegun Agagu from Lagos to Akure, the Ondo State capital, for burial. At the time of his death, he was the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Ondo State. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs averred that the aircraft crashed due to the defendants’ wrongful acts, neglect or default. According to the lawsuit, some of the defendants breached their statutory duties by allowing Associated Aviation Nigeria Limited to operate its ill-fated Flight 361 in a manner that endangered the lives of passengers and, indeed, caused the death of Mr Falae. The plaintiffs’ claim that the NCAA’s delinquency enabled the airline to fly without procuring a legally binding insurance policy covering its liability under Nigerian law, as well as its liabilities for damages which may be sustained by third parties such as the plaintiffs. The lawsuit stated that the deceased made N10 million annually from his law firm practice at the time of his death, adding that he received N5 million annually as a commissioner in Ondo State. The lawsuit also listed the deceased’s income from his construction firm at N20 million. It added that the deceased spent N8.750 million annually as his living expenses. The widow stated that the

late Falae paid rent on a five-bedroom duplex at Dolphin Estate, Lagos, where he and his family lived until his untimely death, adding that the burden of paying the rent had fallen on her since her husband’s death. She added that if he had not died, Mr Falae would

have paid the school fees for their children till the completion of their education. The lawsuit also stated that the late Falae used to pay for the plaintiffs’ vacation outside Nigeria every year. The lawsuit disclosed that the plaintiffs spent N2.5 million on the funeral of Mr

Deji Falae on November 14, 2013. In addition, they incurred legal fees of N5 million in prosecuting the current lawsuit. The lawsuit urged the court to declare the defendants culpable in the death of Deji Falae. They are also petitioning the court

to award N108.5 million, £160,740, and $19,000 against the defendants. In its own statement, Associated Aviation Nigeria Limited described the lawsuit as gold-digging. Represented by the law firm of M.A. Bashua, the airline denied the plaintiffs’

From left, a former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; chairman on the occasion, Professor Akin Mabogunje; representative of Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan (UI), Professor Ayelari Emilolorun; African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) president, Professor Lungisile Nisegbeza and Professor Toyin Falola, at the first International Conference of African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA), held at the International Conference Centre, UI, Ibadan, on Wednesday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

claims that the airline was negligent in the handling of the plane that crashed. A sworn statement by the airline’s Chief Operating Officer, Taiwo Raji, declared that the doomed aircraft had nothing wrong with it at the time of takeoff, adding that it never developed any mechanical fault. Declaring that the plaintiffs were neither aviation experts nor the statutory body responsible for investigating airline accidents, the airline argued that there was no evidence before the court to prove negligence on its part. According to the airline, the plaintiffs were not qualified to claim damages under common law, the Fatal Accidents Act 1846 and Fatal Incidents law of Lagos State. The defendants also stated that Mr Deji Falae’s widow had picked up agreement forms to receive initial immediate payments of thirty thousand dollars, adding that she had failed to return the forms with necessary documentation establishing her relationship with the deceased. The court adjourned further hearing till November 4.

African universities devastated due to 20 years of misguided policies —Obasanjo By Wale Akinselure A former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has charged African scholars to correct the devastation in African universities owing to 20 years of misguided policies by prioritising their research works on the production of knowledge about Africa. Obasanjo, who bemoaned that African scholars had remained content with contributing knowledge that is capitalised in by the West, called for the revitalisation of African universities and scholarly communities in the continent through focus on indigenous-based tradition of knowledge. Speaking on Wednesday, at the first International Conference of the African Studies Association of Africa of Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Obasanjo noted that such refocus of African studies would help dismantle the jaundiced European perspectives and to construct the glorious history and integrity of Africa. According to him, the success of African studies was tied to the intellectual, philosophical, ideological and

institutional transformation currently taking place in various socio-cultural and political systems in different countries. He warned scholars against limiting African studies to contributing to the accumulation of knowledge about Africa, but advocated that African studies should be a wider project that was truly

interdisciplinary and which integrated the three branches of humanities, social sciences and the natural sciences. Adding, Obasanjo charged scholars involved in African studies to ensure that the continent was up to speed with intellectual configurations that emerge in an increasingly globalised world. He, however, appreci-

ated the efforts of scholars, noting that African studies literature had continued to grow in recent years. This, Obasanjo noted was evidenced in the fact that Africa studies had moved from the quest of Africanisation and national discourses into important advancements in theory and methods of African development and ability

to produce alternative and sometimes radical narratives of African history. To this end, he expressed joy that European historians, who had professed that Africa had no history, were beginning to realise that African history and culture had impact and ramifications on other parts of the world, including theirs.

Reps to probe Jonathan’s sale of power assets continued from pg8

infrastructure to private investors by the previous Federal Government was faulty, noting the importance of power to every business, family, public or private institution, household and the general growth of the nation’s economy. To this end, he said “the process of the sale of these assets fell short of the prescribed criteria set down by the enabling law guiding the activities of the BPE in the privatisation process and also not in tune with international best practices.” He added that “all the gains expected from the privatisation process were lost through alleged underhand

deals, manipulation of rules of engagement, corruption and disregard for extant laws that are the hallmark of business transaction. “The sale of power distribution utilities was marked by lack of transparency in

bid awards in the three sectors of generation, transmission and distribution, as it was alleged the preferred bidders, who were selected, had low capacity, and lacked technical knowledge in the sector and also had little or

no financial and managerial know-how to run power companies,” he maintained. When the motion was put to vote by the Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, it was unanimously supported by majority of the members.

Alamieyeseigha: Dickson sets up burial committee, promises state burial GOVERNOR of Bayelsa State, Honourable Seriake Dickson, on Wednesday, announced the setting up of a committee to plan for the burial of Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the first civilian governor of the state, who recently passed on at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said Dickson, constituted the committee at an enlarged emergency State Executive Council meeting, at the Government House, Yenagoa. The governor promised that Alamieyeseigha would be given a state burial.

The Committee has the deputy governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (retd) as chairman. Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Honourable Kombowei Benson is the vice chairman and the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Edmund Alison-Oguru is secretary, among others.

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Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Globacom has made Ofala festival memorable —Obi of Onitsha

Glo Business Director, Enugu State, Mr Abidemi Ajagbe; the Lolo of Obi of Onitsha, Igwenwanyi Ngozi Achebe; the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi; Globacom’s National Sales Coordinator, South-South, Mr Augustine Mamuro; Nollywood actress and Glo Ambassador, Mama G and Chief Chika Okpala aka Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwogbo, Alias 4.30, at the Ofala Royal Banquet, organised by Globacom, in honour of the Agbogidi at the Mulumba Palace, Onitsha, on Tuesday.

THE Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, has expressed gratitude to Globacom for its enduring faith in Nigerian culture and for putting structures in place to make the annual Ofala festival memorable. Speaking in Onitsha, Anambra State, at the 2015 Ofala Festival celebrations, held at Ime Obi, Igwe Achebe said the success of Ofala Festival, in recent years, had been due to the cooperation and support given to the festival by the next generation network, Globacom. While receiving the governor of Anambra State,

Ogun NUT, APC Ekiti stakeholders, Olumilua, Master bakers eulogise HID Awolowo •Bakers promise free bread during her burial From Olayinka Olukoya and Tunde Ogunesan

HE Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Ogun State wing, stakeholders from the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ekiti State, master bakers (SouthWest) and delegation from the Alake of Egbaland Oba Adedokun Gbadebo, are among dignitaries, who paid courtesy visit to the Ikenne home of the Awolowos, on Wednesday. The teachers from Ogun State described Chief HID Awolowo as a jewel to all administrators in the education sector in Nigeria. This was contained in a condolence message delivered to the children of the deceased on Wednesday morning, at the Efunyela Hall, Ikenne, Ogun State. The contingent, led by the state chairman, Comrade Dare Ilekoya, in a condolence letter, signed by the state chairman, publicity secretary and assistant state secretary, Alhaji Najeem Adesina Macgregor and Comrade Grace EsoheIdehen, stated that Mama’s feature was a rare feat in the African genre. According to the message, “Mama, your departure to the great beyond at this time in the history of Nigeria is a great loss to Ogun State, in particular, and Nigeria in general. A great loss, because your unfathomable wisdom, brillance and guidance will be greatly missed at this period of the country’s renaissance. A colossal loss to our dear state, Ogun, because the “custodian” of the sacred place of

political, educational and social engineering can no longer be accessed. What a loss! Earlier in a sermon delivered during the 25th edition of the daily service anchored by the Anglican Diocese, Remo, Venerable Francis Eniola Oladele Olojede, who led a delegation from Ogere Archdeaconry to Wednesday morning service, told the congregation, especially the children of the deceased to “always trust in the Lord.” Ministering through a background Bible passage taken from Acts 27:1425, Venerable Olojede affirmed that “only God can be trusted. At any time and in any situation, his trust endureth and brings joy at the end of the day.” In his short message, Elder Jonathan Taiwo Popoola, whose message was titled “Those that died in the Lord,” said the soul of the righteous is precious to God. Meanwhile, the delegation from the Alake of Egbaland was led by the Balogun of Egbaland High Chief Sikirulai Atobatele. Others are the Seriki of Egbaland High Chief Oluwatosin Fadare, the Ilagbe of Egbaland High Chief Akanni Akinwale, Bantun of Egbaland Chief Kehinde Sofenwa and the Aare Baaroyin of Egbaland, Olootu Layi Labode. Presenting the condolence letter to the children of the deceased, the Balogun of Egbaland High Chief Sikirulai Atobatele said the same delegation had gone to deliver a message of the traditional ruler at the palace of Ooni of Ife.

In the letter, Oba Adedokun Gbadebo, Okukenu IV, described Mama HID as a woman of strong faith. In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Major-General Seni Shoboiki (retd), said Mama’s death was a personal loss to his family, because of the closeness to her while alive. He said “Mama is a great mother and nobody can take that away from her reasons she was known as Yeye Oodua. She is a mother to al most everybody, especially those who have the opportunity to relate with her. She takes particular interest in every individual and their wellbeing.” The Divisional Officer, Nigeria Security and Civil

Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ikenne division, Johnson Oguntade, urged sympathisers to do justice to a life well spent of Mama by emulating her legacy. Oguntade said “Mama has played her part, it’s left to us to continue with the legacy she left behind.” The Master Bakers from six South-West states, including Kwara State, led by their national president, Chief Bayo Folarin, informed the audience how the group was formed by Chief Awolowo 64 years ago. Chief Folarin said Chief HID Awolowo was a mother to everybody, saying she “is a mother in a million.” The Master Bakers, however, promised to make free

bread available during the final burial programme in Ikenne, on November 25. Also, the APC stakeholders in Ekiti State, led by a former governor of Ondo State, Bamidele Olumilua, Basorun Dare Owotumobi, secretary and Hajia Bimbola Ogunlade, described HID Awolowo as a rare bred woman. The group said Mama was a pillar of hope, worthiness, being a shrewd businesswoman who managed Awolowo family right from their marriage in 1938. In his address, Evangelist Olumilua said there was no way you would mention Mama and would not mention Papa’s name, adding that “their marriage was divine.”

Chief Willie Obiano, former president of Ghana, Mr John kuffor, who was represented by the country’s former Minister of Health, Road and Transport, Dr Richard Anane, former Nigerian Minister of Aviation and serving senator, Stella Oduah and other dignitaries, who thronged the Ime Obi to felicitate with the monarch during this year’s Ofala celebrations. The Obi, who spoke on many issues, ranging from local to international politics and world economy, singled out Globacom for praise for adding glamour to the festival since 2011 when it took over the sponsorship. According to him, it was now time to express gratitude, firstly to our longstanding partner, Globacom Limited. “ The success of Ofala Onitsha over the past several years had depended materially on the cooperation and support we have received from Globacom,” he declared. Igwe Achebe added that Globacom had helped to bring out the huge tourism potentials of the festival and project, not only the Ndigbo race, but the entire Black Africa. In his Goodwill message to the 2015 festival, chairman of Globacom, Dr Mike Adenuga Jnr., said the company supported the festival because of its capacity to boost Nigeria’s tourism industry, as well as the need to preserve the country’s traditional values and systems.

She epitomised love for the downtrodden —Former Tribune editor A former Editor, Sunday Tribune, Mr Wale Ojo, has said Mama HID Awolowo stood out for her deep love for human safety and concern for the plight of the downtrodden. Rendering his tribute, Ojo added that Mama Awolowo was a loving mother, who showcased deep feeling for the poor and needy at the slightest opportunity. Saluting Mama Awolowo for her commitment to the continued growth and sustenance of African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles, he urged the current management of the organisation to uphold the lasting legacy of the Tribune. Epitomising Mama Awolowo’s deep concern for

people’s plight, Ojo recounted his meetings with the late HID Awolowo. “First, I was in 1977, when I was employed and was sent to Sagamu, where a gang of robbers found their way into your shop and the security man there was killed while they made away with

N20,000. Your concern was for the security man who lost his life. You were also concerned with how I would get back to Ibadan safely. “The last encounter was in 1996, when I had challenges with my job and I came to you for help. Your reaction was that of deep concern for

a young man, but you could not help based on your principle of non- interference with the day-to-day running of the Tribune titles. “History would remember you as a mother with deep feelings for the poor. You have touched on lives by living yours the way you did.”

She was mother of the nation —Omonayajo-Davis By Gbenga Olumide OYO State Patron and Community Policing Ambassador, Elder Oladipo Omonayajo-Davis, has described Mama Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo as the mother of the nation. Elder Omonayajo-Davis said this when he paid a

condolence visit to the Tribune House, Imalefalafia, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, over the death of Mama Awolowo, on Wednesday. According to him, “our Mama was a reference point in political history, humanity and the Christian faith. She witnessed many things both positive and negative, but due

to her shock absorber, she was able to surmount them. “I still remember when our leader, Papa Obafemi Awolowo, died. Those who were against him when he was alive were accommodated by Mama when they visited Ikenne, because she had a large heart. I hope the children will toe that line.”

Thursday, 15 October, 2015 With Tommy Adegbite 0811 695 4631 tommyabijo@yahoo.com

8 1. From left, Corps Commander, Bizi Kazeem; Head, Media Relations and Strategy, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC); Corps Marshal/Chief Executive of FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi; FRSC Zonal Commanding Officer, Bulus Darwang the Corps Public Education Officer Imoh Etuk, during an Operational Visit by the Chief Executive to the Rivers State Command in Port Harcourt. 2. From left, Member, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) Technical Committee, Thomas Omofoye; Head of Government Affairs, West Africa Area, BATN, Odiri Erewa-Meggison; Head, Legal and External Affairs, BATN, Freddy Messanvi; Executive Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, Mrs Seyi Ashade; members, BATNF Technical Committee, Prof Chidi Ibe and Professor Fatai Afolabi and the General Manager, BATNF, Ms Abimbola Okoya, at the BATNF dialogue session on smallholder farmers and sustainable agriculture held in Lagos, recently. 3. From left, Vice Chairman, Nigeria Economic Summit Group and CEO, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC,Mrs Sola David Borha; Senior Partner, Banwo and Ighadolo, Mr Asue Ighodalo and the CEO, Kainos Edge Consulting, Mrs Wonu Adetayo, during the 21st edition of Nigerian Economic Summit, in Abuja, recently. 4. From Left, Hajia Binta Bello, Permanent Secretary, Mr Ene Ekpo, chairman, Independent Corrupt

7. 8.

Practices Commission (ICPC), Alhaji Abubakar Tsafe, Deputy Human Resource Manager, Ministry of Aviation, Capt Muktar Usman and Director-General Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), During the open the Corruption Risk Assessment forum between the Ministry and I CPC, held on Monday, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. From left, Presdient, Automobiles and Road Safety Initiative, Mr Samuel Oloyede Oriowo, chairman, NURTW, Oyo State council, Comrade Taofeek Fele; Mrs Joke Onireti; Olusola Joseph and Oyo State Sector Commander, FRSC, CC Yusuff Salami, during the third annual tyre safety day by automobiles and road safety initiative, held at the Adamasingba Stadium, Ibadan. PHOTO: YEMI FUNSO-OKE From left, Mr Femi Adebowale, Mr Sadiq Ibrahim, Operations Controller Department of Petroleum Resources, Ibadan, Mr Olakunle Ogunlana and Mrs Ini Osemeka, during the annual DPR/major marketersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; meeting, held at Harry Events and Hall, Adeoyo Road, recently. PHOTO: YEMI FUNSO-OKE The couple, Reverend and Mrs Sunday Peter Ajasa, during their wedding at Calvary Baptist Church, Bodija Oju-Irin, Ibadan, recently. Miss Titilayo Oladoye and her husband. Femi Dibo, during the traditional wedding, held in Ogbomoso, recently,

For bookings, contact â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Laolu Afolabi on 08116954645 or Tommy Adegbite on 08116954631

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

yournews

SEND YOUR SHORT MESSAGES TO: 08054005323, 08055001746

Towards tackling unemployment in Nigeria ONE of the biggest problems facing this country today is the lack of employment opportunities for the

youth. It is so unfortunate that youths will graduate and find themselves unemployed. This is the reason

crime is on the rise. An unemployed psychology graduate for instance will be good in fraud. If we don’t

utilise the brains we have, then they will use it negatively against the society. If we look well, educated

Govt should legalise illegal refineries On illegal refineries, the Federal Government should legalise the activities of the so-called illegal refineries and allow them to operate freely under certain laws. In a situation whereby the country’s main refineries have refused to function properly, is it not advisable to allow the illegal refineries

function legally, while government tax them like real businesses? This will definitely bring

about healthy competition in the oil industry that has been plagued by endemic corruption, bunkering, oil

theft and vandalism. It will also reduce the influence of the oil cabals, thereby erasing the huge money government is paying as subsidy. It will also lead to a drastic reduction in the price of petroleum products in the country. Tola Akinwumi, 09020142910.

people will also be behind the numerous baby factories in the South East, and the kidnapping business in the South South. Do we ever wonder that unemployed Chemistry graduates are behind the illegal refineries that dot the South South?

It is, therefore, important that government of President Muhammadu Buhari should focus on getting unemployed youths off the streets, and put them into jobs. Sanmi Adekunle, 08191143941.

Complete Ogwuashi-Ukwu library I want to appeal to our political representatives to ensure the speedy completion of the permanent site of the Ogwuashi-Ukwu Library. This will go a long way in building the knowledge of people in the area. It will also provide students in the area a place

where they can read after school hours. The library as a storehouse of knowledge is so important, and I want the people of Ogwashi-Ukwu to start enjoying the benefits. Feyisetan Akeeb Kareem, 08098245620.

Let’s support Adebayo Shittu as minister BARRISTER Adebayo Shittu served in the Oyo State House of Assembly at a relatively young age between 1979 and 1983. He was also a two-time commissioner in the state. While in public office, he served creditably and meritoriously, and the controversies being generated by

his nomination as a minister in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration should not have arisen at all. The people of the state know that Barrister Shittu is eminently qualified to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Femi Oyedemi, 07080184253.

...His appointment is good news for Oke-Ogun The decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Barrister Adebayo Shittu as a minister in his government is good news for people of the state, and the Oke-Ogun people in particular. I have known Barrister Shittu for a while now. He is someone who believes in helping the underprivileged; he has handled several legal cases for people without collecting legal

The super power of sango. Photo: Tommy Adegbite.

Appeal to Gov Ajimobi on retired teachers’ gratuities, arrears

want to appeal to the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to use the opportunity of the bailout fund given the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay the

gratuities and 24-month pension arrears of retired primary school teachers in the state. The teachers retired in 2011, and they went for 24 months before they started receiving monthly pensions from the

government. We hope the government can first clear the arrears, as well as the gratuities. Again, for some months now, the monthly pensions have not been regular. We hope the governor can settle the back-

log of the pensions too. We will be grateful if this is accepted without delay as the retirees are really suffering. Comrade Remi Babatunde, 08055201906.

fees. Shittu and his principal, President Buhari have the same ideology, and as such, they will find working together easy. However, whatever grouse politicians have against the former Oyo State attorney general and commissioner for justice should be settled once and for all. Jimoh Mumin, 08034435211.

Gov Ambode, do more for Epe I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode to do more for his constituency — Epe. Epe Local Government is one of the largest local governments in the state, and it therefore deserves more than it is currently enjoying from the state government.

The community definitely needs more support from government, and it is an opportunity now that the governor is also from the area. The governor should focus on the provision of social amenities in order to ease the suffering of the people. Ademola Orunbon, 08057700199.

editorial

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Gamaliel Onosode (1933-2015): A tribute

OR several decades, Sapele-born Gamaliel Offoritsenere Onosode’s name was a byword for technocratic excellence and personal restraint. In many circles, whenever the subject of corporate excess and bureaucratic decrepitude in Nigeria came up, the mere mention of his name usually sufficed to brighten the invading gloom. He lived simply, oozed class and gave moral instruction even when he did not utter a word. With his passing away on Tuesday, 29 September, at the ripe age of 82, the country is genuinely the poorer for it. The stream of condolence messages from across the professional and political spectra amply testifies to a life spent in truth and diligent service. Instructively, none of those messages have alluded to Onosode’s wealth. That’s not because he was poor: it is because when you think about Onosode, material wealth is the last thing that comes to mind. Instead, the attributes that come to mind are honour, civility, professionalism, decorum, austerity, and moral rigour. Onosode was one of those rare individuals who have managed to pull off that singular miracle: giving more to the world than they actually took from it. With his scrupulousness and meticulous attention to detail, Onosode invoked the image of the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, who, according to legend, was so fastidious that his fellow townsmen in Konigsberg set their time according to his daily regimen. Such was Onosode’s painstakingness that he once reportedly refused to accept a public award for the simple reason that his name was misspelt. By living simply and living his entire adult life in the same house on Adelabu Street, Surulere, Lagos, Onosode is reminiscent of the Sage of Omaha, 85-year-old American billionaire, Warren Buffet, who has lived in the

same house since 1958. The takeaway from this has nothing to do with living in the same house no matter what, or performing one’s daily chores at the same time of the day just because Onosode and other grandees did so. Rather, the moral lesson has to do with frugality, dedication, commitment, having a sense of purpose, and most important, refusing to be tossed hither and tither by every wind of doctrine. Gamaliel Onosode had plenty of opportunities to enlist in the Nigerian rat race. Starting with the Second Republic (1979- 1983), he advised successive federal administrations and served on public commissions and parastatals too numerous to mention. He was a boardroom powerhouse, serving as Chairman of Dunlop Nigeria (1977- 1993) and Chairman of Zain Nigeria, the country’s oldest GSM operators, until his death. Yet, in every office, whether public or private, Onosode followed the same ethical playbook. His refusal to feather his nest meant that his reputation always preceded him. The reason Onosode’s life of service, austerity and abstemiousness strikes everyone as remarkable is because it stands in sharp contrast to the excess and incontinence now associated with the Nigerian elite, both corporate and political. Surveying his brilliant life, we are reminded that there was an era, not too long ago, when public good was the overriding concern, and a man’s success was not measured by the amount of wealth he accumulated. We express our sincerest commiserations to Mr. Onosode’s family, and urge the entire nation to borrow a leaf from a life lived in full, a stirring example of moderation and sobriety, one that the 16th century Puritans who adopted the name Gamaliel would have been proud of.

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opinion

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

the

avant-garde

The judge and the judges

HE judiciary is one sacred institution that is pivotal to societal development. It is the bulwark for the underprivileged against the whims and caprices of the haves. For Plato, one of the greatest Greek philosophers, justice is a virtue for establishing rational order. In view of the importance of the judicature therefore, actors are expected to be above board and are expected to be men and women whose integrity quotient is very high. A courtroom is not called a temple of justice for the fun of it. It is a place where justice is not only served but seen to have been served. Justice should be given irrespective of whose ox is gored and the rich as well as the poor should be equal in the eye of the law. One of the Latinate expressions in Law that speaks pointedly to justice dispensation as the core essence of the judiciary is fiat justitua ruat caelum which means let justice be done though heavens will fall. However, Nigeria, like some other countries, is still grappling with justice dispensation. Our judiciary gives off a terrible stench as a result of which efforts have been and are being channeled towards addressing this critical challenge with a view to removing the kink in the hose of justice. The outcome of any law suit instituted in a law court is to get the correct outcome, which is to dispense reward and punishment as the case may be. A few weeks back, the subject here was the call for further judicial reforms at the 2015 conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). A former president of the NBA, Chief Joseph Dauda made a profound suggestion on how to deal with the scourge of corruption which has unfortunately crept into the judiciary. According to him, we will be waiting for Godot if we are looking to see a modicum of evidence of exchange of money between parties in a suit and a judge. The smoking gun in his estimation is the judgment that is given on any matter. If it is

evident that a judge has, having been bribed, turned the law on its head, we should show such judge who delivers such verdict the exit route immediately. On February 3, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mahmud Mohammed, empaneled 242 judges said to be carefully chosen from the various courts in the country. They are to adjudicate election petitions filed by candidates in the elections. The CJN’s charge to the judges went thus: “Let me use this opportunity to sound a note of warning to all judicial officers. Do not allow any political party or politician to compromise your integrity or your future. We must never again be used as tools to truncate our nation’s democracy.” By yesterday, October 12, the 180 days stipulated for the determination of election litigations regarding National Assembly elections lapsed and all judgments should have been delivered by now. Despite the warning not to dismiss applications or petitions on technicalities, some judges did and their decisions were consequently upturned by the superior courts. Allegations of bribery have also been flying about against some of the judges. But in the desert of cash and carry justice system we have found an oasis in one judge who stands out from among the 242. He is the chairman of the tribunal in Ogun State, Justice Tobi Ebiowei. While delivering 12 judgments in the petitions filed by various candidates in the election, he invoked the wrath of God

Nigerian Tribune

with Dare Adekanmbi

m:08053412982 e:samueldare2002@yahoo.ca t:@dareadekanmbi

on whoever collected bribe to buy justice. “Anybody who has collected money to influence the judgments may the judgment of God come upon him. The judgment of God be upon anybody including me who has collected money to influence the judgments, I invoke the judgment of God come upon me. Nobody has given me any money. Our conscience is clear. So if you have collected money on behalf of the tribunal, you better return it. God is (the) overall judge, hell for bribe givers and bribe takers.” Granted, Ebiowei does not need to rain curses upon himself to prove that his beard of integrity has not been shorn. But what he has done speaks volumes of a judge who is confident of having dispensed justice as it ought to be served, especially in our polluted ecology where there is a world of difference between the court of justice and the court of law. In the former, there is justice dispensation even if the heavens will come down crashing. In the latter, the letters and the spirit of the law are interpreted and twisted to suit personal and political purposes even if it calls for turning logic on its head. Ebiowei, like Mahatma Ghandi, believes that there is a higher court that the courts of justice, which is the court of conscience. Justice Ebiowei truly deserves the title of ‘Justice,’ which unfortunately has blanket application to all judges, whether they have a deficit in their integrity accounts or not. The same testimony as we have for Ebiowei cannot be recorded for some of his colleagues in other tribunals. If the CJN and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa would take kindly to Dauda’s suggestion at the NBA conference, then it should be the case that the judges in any tribunal whose any verdicts are upturned by the Appellate Court should be made to face sanction. The pronouncements of judges have far reaching consequences of lives. Once a guilty verdict is breathed on an innocent person it cannot be remedied. This is why the appropriate authorities should constantly sanction any judge that does not live up to expectation.

INEC: Why the silence over Zakari’s acting position? By A.A Adebisi

The recent squabble between Governor Adams Oshiomole and ex-governor Timipre Sylva in the Bayelsa APC primary which was cancelled and rescheduled has vividly made clear, even to the most undiscerning, the dangers of structural capture in deciding electoral victory in present electoral process. Sylva’s alleged capture of the Bayelsa APC election accreditation/nomination process brought to the fore the important question of why electoral opponents should feel secure if elections will be conducted under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, led by a woman who is known to be a relative of the President. That Governor Oshiomole, needed the services of the Defence Headquarters, IGP and several top Security agencies to leave Sylva’s electoral enclave, brings home the thorny issue of, if electoral opponents including those within his party, the APC are cornered by the President, under his relative’s supervised election, where can such opponents turn to? Will they be rescued by the Department of State Security (DSS), the National Security Adviser (NSA), or the Police? Given the fragile political relations even amongst the ruling party and other political parties, would it not be in the best interest of the nation to prevent the possible disaster that awaits us in the 2019 elections? Apart from The Guardian, Vanguard, Punch and Tribune newspapers that have written very strong editorials on this matter, Civil rights advocates and election monitoring groups have accepted and are willing to make excuses for, or condone the appointment of an individual, confirmed to have grown up in the same home as the president as the chief electoral umpire of the nation? Until this writer logged on to Youtube..(inecchairrelationshipwithbuhari) that has gone viral now on the internet, no one could believe that such a development is

possible in this country. The less than ten minutes interview clip of Alhaji Tanko Yakassai on Channels televisIon revealed that a relationship indeed exists between Mr President and Mrs Amina Zakari. Since this information was made public, it is sad to note that no one has spoken up about Mrs. Zakari’s appointment as acting INEC chairman. So loud is the silence on the matter that one is tempted to assume a spell has been cast on Nigerians. Or how else can one describe this silence in the face of a situation that spells doom for future elections in the country. Several decades ago, Alexander Pope ago declared that “political corruption is the worst beginning of all other forms of corruption in a society.” The present scenario raises a moral question: that a man who is a beneficiary of an electoral process midwifed by a sitting president (Goodluck Jonathan) who appointed an INEC chairman of the calibre of Prof.Attahiru Jega and others totally out of the circle of his family, friends, political party and even outside his geo-political zone of the South-south, made it possible for Buhari to win the 2015 general election on the fourth attempt. It is shocking that the same beneficiary could turn-around after victory to now appoint a relative as “Acting chairman” of INEC and worst still, unconstitutionally in total disregard to the mandatory con-

sultation with the Council of State and more importantly the confirmation of such appointment by the Senate. What would have been the fate of the 2015 presidential election if Chief Godsday Orubebe who is not related to President Jonathan except that he is an ljaw from South south was appointed INEC chairman? Is Nigeria under a spell of some sort? This is not only bad because it offers one party an advantage, it is bad for all and wrought with dangers in a multi-party democracy. We recall that prior to the 2015 elections when there were speculations that ex-President Jonathan was contemplating a replacement for Professor Jega, to replace him with Professor Mimiko, there was intense anxiety, several advertorials, TV programmes and radio discussions on why Jega’s replacement was unacceptable. President Jonathan had to speak on the matter both to national and international media and the international community on the need for the Electoral Commission to be Independent. Without prevarications, it is difficult to see how INEC can gain the confidence of political actors as an impartial umpire if the president is a participant in elections, directly or indirectly as the leader of a political party. This is the dilemma that INEC must live with as long as it has Mrs Zakari as the Chairperson, because under her all elections conducted by INEC will carry a taint of partisanship, an egregious flaw for an independent electoral management body. Whether Nigerians are under a spell to accept this arrangement, or sympathisers of the President are paid to spin romantic spiels to make such situation look acceptable, this arrangement is a disaster waiting to happen for future elections in Nigeria. •Dr Adebisi, a member of Yoruba Study Group writes from Ibadan, Oyo state.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015 Femi Olukunle Co-ordinating Editor 08158610216

maka nd’igbo

Men at work on one of the Nigerian power plants.

EEDC begins integrated network in Igboland Jude Ossai - Enugu

HE Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has kicked off its integrated network improvement programme in Enugu with a view to improving its services in Igbo land. Disclosing this to newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday, the Principal Communication Manager of the EEDC, Eugene Aniowo, explained that the programme

commenced with the most sophisticated GIS programme ever to be embarked on in Africa. The GIS programme, he said, would map every inch of the 5 Southeastern of Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia states, adding that it would herald the equally elaborate enumeration of all the assets and customers within EEDC network while a comprehensive metering of the

Nigerian electricity power plant.

82 Div soldiers take free medical services to Enugu communities —pg22

Achina community fasts, prays over kidnapping of son —pg22

enumerated customers were expected to follow suit. Aniowo noted that the GIS programme would provide a digital map of the entire Southeast zone, stressing that the spin – offs from the project would include providing identification for every road, street and property in the region. "It will be used to develop a comprehensive addressing system with post code, among others, as obtainable in developed countries, develop a navigation system for the entire region such that with a post code of an address, the navigation system in a vehicle or a smart phone can lead a driver or phone holder to the address without hassles. It can also be used for vehicle tracking system", he said. According to him, "the impact of all these on security in the region can only be imagined as it becomes easier to track kidnappers, fleeing armed robbers and helps police identify with precision at any point of distress call, ditto with fire service and hospital ambulance service. State governments could avail themselves of the use of the digital map of states for their physical planning". The EEDC image maker further said that the programme was in line with the vision of the investors in EEDC to use the platform of power distribution network to engender and drive transformative development across the Southeast geopolitical zone. It was learnt that the GIS project is to be undertaken by Krinoll & Partners Consortium comprising, amongst others, TomTom International BV, a leading provider of navigation and location based products and services; TomTom

maps, traffic information and navigation technology power automotive in-dash systems, mobile devices (Iphone & Blackberry). Others include Afriadd of Uganda which implemented Uganda’s utility GIS mapping and enumeration programme as well the country’s addressing system. The enumeration of the assets will determine the location, state of repair of EEDC assets including substations, transformers, poles etc, with a view to determining their serviceability and adequacy while the customer enumeration will identify all the properties/customers within EEDC network area. In like manner, data obtained from the exercise could be used by corporate organisations as well as local and state governments for planning, tax administration etc. In another development, the EEDC metering scheme has kicked off with the metering of all customers whose metres have already been procured and installations in progress while 150,000 prepared non MD smart/prepaid meters are being procured with installations expected to commence within the last quarter of this year.

CREW

Jude Ossai-Enugu-South East Bureau Chief 08052817955 Joe Nwachukwu- Owerri 08033271227 Suzy Oruya- Onitsha 08063653735

22 makand’igbo

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

82 Div soldiers move free medical services to Enugu communities Jude Ossai - Enugu

UCCOUR came the way of some communities in Enugu State in the last one week as the Nigerian Army, 82 Division headquarters, Enugu, moved to rural areas and conducted a medical outreach. The selected communities for the medical outreach are Obiagu, Gariki and Emene. The exercise, which coincided with this year’s Independence Anniversary, saw a medical team comprising officers and soldiers taking healthcare services to the door steps of the people of AbakpaNike, Gariki and Emene communities to the delight of the rural dwellers. Some of the medical services included, among others, Eye/Dental care, hypertension, awareness, blood pressure monitoring. Maka Ndigbo observed that appropriate drugs were given to patients who included old men, women and children at no cost while the beneficiaries were full of praises after receiving treatment from medical team that came from the army formation.

Speaking to newsmen at AbakpaNike near Enugu, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 62 Division of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Attahiru, said the exercise was aimed at enhancing the already existing cordial civil military relationship between 82 army division and its host communities, adding that members of the

general public were encouraged to make themselves available during the exercise. Earlier, the traditional ruler of Nike, Igwe Julius Nnaji, had commended the GOC, Brigadier-General Attahiru, for leading his men to conduct free medical outreach in his domain, pointing out that his people had benefited immensely from the exercise.

Imo govt can't relocate Ekeonunwa market —Ekeonunwa Joe Nwachukwu - Owerri

General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Enugu, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Attahiru and Igwe Julius Nnaji of Nike at the Army Free- Medical Outreach ar Abakpa-Nike Community.

'Masquerades play crucial role during traditional festivals' Suzy Oruya - Onitsha MASQUERADES have their role to represent the spirit of ancestors in Igboland and they are usually on display to make traditional events which include Iwa- ji (new yam festival) colourful. The annual new yam festival of NkwelleEzunaka, Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State, became a carnival of sort as all manners of masquerades featured and proved their mettle to the delight of spectators. Speaking on the new yam festival and large turn-out of masquerades, a native doctor, Ambrose Tochukwu Anyakorah, who was flanked by his younger brother and former chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the council area, Mr Vincent Obiora Amakorah, said it was a period of thanking God for the harvesting of farm produce and preparation for new farming season. He said: “I celebrate this new yam festival for my ancestors and good people of Nkwelle-Ezunaka”. The native doctor added that the masquerades were not left out as they played a major role during traditional activities such as the new yam festival. “These masquerades are of different types and shapes, we have the Ijere, Izaga, Agboghor Mmuo and the rest, you have the dancing ones too”, he stated. “You have so many of these masquerades because people come from far and wide to enjoy and offer them money for entertaining them”, he stated further. Speaking, Vincent Anyakorah expressed satisfaction with the festival, adding that the community was known for her hospitality and love for strangers. Vincent, who is now the secretary of Anambra North Senatorial Zone of APGA, described the new yam festival as a period for interaction among friends, wellwishers and relations. In a related development, the people of Enugwu-Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area, celebrated their new

Igwe Nnaji remarked that the exercise was the first of its kind to be carried out in his community in recent time, urging other institutions to emulate the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in the humanitarian project. "My people came out en-masse for the free medical treatment. As you have seen, I took part in the medical exercise. I checked my blood pressure. I am happy I was declared fit", he said

yam festival in a grand style as it was more of praise-singers who dominated the event. In the words of Mr Ofobuike Isiogwugwu, who is the chairman of Enugwu-Aguleri vigilance group, “these praise singers abound in our community and we have the area naturally endowed with singers”. He expressed satisfaction with the annual festival, adding: “We also use the period to unite and interact”.

On the security situation in the area, he said: “Kidnappers, armed robbers and assassins cannot come here because we have the power to catch them”. He recalled how he recovered a stolen child and arrested those who stole the child. Also speaking, a youth leader, who is simply identified as Itemba, said the new yam was mainly celebrated in the area than any other festival.

Ijele masquerade from Umunya performing at Anambra State Cultural Festival at Awka.

IMO State government has been warned to rescind its planned decision to relocate the ancient Ekeonunwa Owerri Market as people should be allowed to develop the market according to their cultural pattern. Dr Philip .C. Njemanze, a medical practitioner, who hails from the royal family of Njemanze of Owerri, gave the warning while speaking to Maka Ndigbo in Owerri, Imo State, at the weekend. According to him, any attempt by the state governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha or the task force committee to relocate the market will amount to rewriting the history of the market and such person will be visited by evil. He said: “You cannot commit crime against history and anybody who tries to relocate the market will be visited by evil and of course will get resistance from Owerri people”. Dr Njemanze pointed out that a research had been carried out on the existence of the market, whose original name was Ekeukwu Owerri in Owerri Nchi Isi, and that findings revealed that the market had remained in world heritage centre and therefore property of the entire world. Going down the memory lane, he explained that the name Ekeonunwa was exactly not the original name. Giving his interpretation, he explained that Ekeonunwa, meaning Eke Onu Wa Osisi in Igbo land, means the Eke market place where Christ cut wood. Just as he stated in his book, the four Igbo market days were the important days in Christ Life Eke, meaning the day of regeneration and creation- Afor means the day on his birth, Nkwo means the day of his baptism and Orie the day he was offered to Almighty.

Achina community fasts, prays over kidnapping of son Suzy Oruya - Onitsha THE entire Achina Community in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State recently in their various churches prayed for God’s intervention in the unconditional release of their illustrious son, Sir James Uzochukwu Uduji. The churches spent hours of intercessory and intervening prayers asking God to touch the hearts of his abductors to release him immediately as his kidnap had brought sorrow and pains to the Achina community especially widows and the less privileged. Uduji, Chairman of Cometstar

Manufacturing Company, Agbara Industrial Estate, Agbara, Ogun State, known for producing the best armoured cable in West Africa, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen in front of his residence at 7th Avenue in FESTAC town, Lagos a month and four days ago. And on Saturday, the entire Isi-Achina Autonomous community, led by its town union and traditional ruler and the immediate community of Sir Uduji, known as Onwagbulugbulu-Aguata in Achina, closed markets and shops to pray for God’s intervention in the release of their illustrious son.

The Isi-Achina Autonomous Community leaders, widows, men and women, including children numbering over 3,000, gathered at the Isi-Achina Town Union Hall for an interdenominational service to seek God’s intervention for the release of Sir James Uduji. They requested President Muhammadu Buhari, governors of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode and Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano respectively, to intervene in the immediate release of Sir Uduji whom they described as a peaceloving man and creator of jobs, happiness and saviour of their people.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

campusbeats

Doyin Adeoye 08058130577 kreatifink@yahoo.com

Sprite Triple Slam lights up UNIBEN

UNDREDS of students thronged the Indoor Sports Hall of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) for the 2015 edition of the Sprite Triple Slam (STS) experiential activations, where they gathered to enjoy the unique and exciting fusion of basketball, music and dance skills, the three pillars of the STS activation. The activation saw many of the students taking turns to showcase their skills in one or more of the basketball, dance and music categories. According to some of the students, it was a relief to take time out from preparing for and writing examinations to relax at an event filled with such fun and excitement. “We should do this from time to time. I have been very refreshed by Sprite today,” said Rex Joseph, who was the crowd’s favourite in the dance category. Another star performer in the basketball category, Nwachukwu Lilibeth, a 100-level student in the Department of Fisheries, expressed her delight saying, “I am so excited. This is actually the first gift I have ever won in my life, and I am happy it came from Sprite.” Recounting how he was discovered through Sprite Triple Slam a few years ago, Otse John, who now plays professionally for Dodan Warriors Basketball Club, said: “I was in 100-Level in the university then. After the regional competitions where I emerged as the winner, I progressed to the finals which was held in Lagos. It was while playing in Lagos that I was approached to play in the Ni-

gerian league, and since then, my life has never been the same.” The event reached its climax with a musical performance by Vector da Viper. The ‘King Kong’ crooner had the students screaming and dancing all through his performance. Taking his performance to yet another level, Vector

Nigerian youths a platform to express themselves. According to him, the Sprite Triple Slam concept is a unique, cool and laudable one. “This event is different from what you see around. Basketball is somewhat similar to rap. It’s all about the attitude of both of them.”

Students of the Department of Modern European Languages and Linguistics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, during their annual week celebration.

Nigerian OSCAR to honour Tinubu, Falana, Kelani, others •Tribune reporter bags 2 nominations

THE National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu,

TESA, UI set to hold annual week THE Technology and Engineering Students’ Association (TESA), University of Ibadan (UI), is set to hold its annual week. The week-long event which will start on Monday, October 19 will involve various activities such as an inter-departmental paper presentation, where students from different departments in the Faculty of Technology will present papers in the latest developments in their fields. The Games Day, as part of the outlined events, would be an avenue for students and lecturers to relax and participates in indoor games such as the scrabble, ludo, draft, monopoly and others. The sporting event will eventually be rounded up with an inter-departmental football completion,

called on the two persons who had emerged tops in the music category, Hero Oghenen and Nanya O to join him on stage, where they performed with him. While expressing satisfaction with the impressive turnout and good crowd engagement, Vector commended Sprite for giving

where the departments will compete for the Dean’s Cup. Speaking with Campusbeats, the president of the association, Kolawole Oladimeji, said the week will be fun filled, as it will be avenue for the students to interact better with one another. An award and banquet night will also be held in honour of outstanding students, brands and individuals who have supported the association in one way or the other in time past. The faculty will also in the coming week mark its 40th anniversary. Prince Yemisi Shyllon will be at the event to give a lecture on the theme: ‘Culture as a Panacea for National Development.’ The event will be held at the Trenchard Hall of the institution.

has been named by the Nigerian Outstanding Students’ Choice Awards of Recognition (OSCAR) as one of the 15 most exceptional persons in Nigeria. The Nigerian OSCAR is an initiative of a global youth organisation, Ecstasy International, and it is aimed at honouring outstanding Nigerians, including students who stand out in their various institutions. In the same development, the CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema; filmmaker, Tunde Kelani; CEO, X3M Ideas, Steve Babaeko; Sam Omatseye; Femi Falana; 2face Idibia, and Babajide Omoworare also made the list of the 15 most exceptional persons in Nigeria. Others are Dr Taiwo Afolabi; Ejiro Amos-Tafiri; CEO, Saint Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, Dr Dapo Majekodunmi; Alhaji Mohammed Mutiu Anthony; Head of Service of Katsina State, Alhaji Mohammed Lawal Aliyu, Professor Okechukwu Ukwuoma; and Japheth Omojuwa. According to the spokesman,

Nigerian Tribune

Ojekune Aderemi, the list recognised 15 Most Exceptional Nigerians (MEN) of 2015 in different fields: activism, entertainment, media, administration, and service to the nation. “These are people who are using their ideas, visions and actions to transform the country. So the award is an acknowledgement of their selfless efforts. “More than 850 persons were nominated by student representatives of OSCAR Nigeria, but only the leading 15 were considered for the recognition.” Tribune reporter, Doyin Adeoye was also nominated in the celebrity category of the award as a Campus Education Reporter of the Year and her page, Campusbeats, as the Student Choice Newspaper of the Year. Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the other people selected for the list are expected to be at the 15 MEN of 2015 Gala Award, which will be held in Lekki, Lagos on Sunday, November 8, where the list will be officially announced and awardees will be honoured.

UDUS MELL students hold annual week MEMBERS of the Modern European Languages and Linguistics Students’ Association (MELLSA), Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), recently celebrated their annual week in a three-day event organised by the Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies of the institution. In his address, the MELLSA coordinator, Muhammad Sajo, said the programme was organised to enlighten the students and build their capacity for the challenges awaiting them in the future. In a debate held between the 100-Level and 300-Level students, Ahmad Najanatu, Ibrahim Sheu and Muhammad Yusuf Ali, represented the 100-Level students, while Rachel Oyelade Oluwakemi, Fidelia Innocent and Alibi Taofeeq represented the 300-Level students, on the topic: ‘Internet Has Done More Harm Than Good.’’ Najanatu and other members of his team opposed the motion, while Oyelade and her team spoke on how much the advent of internet has made life better for many Nigerians. After strong contributions from the debaters, the 100-Level students emerged the winner, while Oyelade was voted as the best speaker of the debate. The Head of Department of Modern European Languages and Linguistics (MELL), Dr Aminu Mode, said the department runs four degree programmes: English Language, Literature-in-English, Linguistics and French. “The purpose of the debate is to celebrate brilliancy on the part of the students of the department,” he said. 100-Level students, Ademola Akanji and Ridwan Yakubu also emerged winners in a quiz competition organised in the event. Other competitors were Abdulrahman Yahaya and Musa Idris, representatives for 200-Level; and Hafsat Yusuf and Babatunde Musa, representatives for 300-Level. Dr Muhammad Ango Aliero, the examination officer of the department, said the programme was put together to encourage the students. He also urged the students to give proper conduct during their examinations. Reacting after the event, Abdulllahi Abdulmajeed, a 300-Level student said the week was impactful. Yasin Olawumi and Wakili Sahabi (Department of English Language, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto)

education

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

education

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

Addressing education needs of IDPs children

CLEMENT IDOKO writes that urgent steps must be taken to respond to the plight of over 1.4 million Nigerian children who are displaced by Boko Haram insurgents and are in various Internally-Displaced Persons (IDP) camps across the country.

report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that over half a million children have fled attacks by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, over the past five months. This brings the total number of internally displaced children in Nigeria and neighbouring countries to about 1.4 million. Majority of them suffer from acute malnutrition with some of their camps affected by cholera. Worst still, these children lack access to basic education, a situation many describe as time bomb. While the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) estimates the total number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country at 981,416, another report estimates that of the more than 27 million children that lack access to education in emergency situations, substantial numbers are internally displaced. For these children, not only is their educational development denied, they are also deprived of other important benefits as well. Going to school is known to provide a degree of stability and normalcy in the traumatised lives of internally displaced children, and can be a critical source of psychosocial support. It can help to reduce children’s exposure to threats, including sexual exploitation, physical attack and military recruitment. Classrooms can also be effective forums for conveying lifesaving information about other risks, including landmines and HIV/AIDS. Moreover, access to education is an important element of internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) integration into the local community where they are displaced, as well as when they return to their home areas or resettle elsewhere. In line with established international human rights law, the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement underscore the responsibility of national authorities to ensure that IDPs receive free and compulsory education at the primary level. In addition, the Principles urge authorities to make educational and training facilities available to the inter-

Children at an IDP camp at Yola, Adamawa State.

nally displaced, including adolescents and women, whether or not living in camps, as soon as conditions permit. Accordingly, the Executive Secretary of National Commission for Mass Literacy Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC), Alhaji Jibrin Paiko, said the commission and the State Agencies for Mass Education in affected states are aware of the need to meet the learning needs of IDPs. Alhaji Paiko said specifically that the commission is considering the provision of basic literacy to the IDPs which will enable them use printed and written information to function in the society, “achieve one’s goals and develop one’s knowledge and potential, with the ability to deal with the everyday literacy and

numeracy demands in their own local context.” He explained that literacy could not be narrowed down to a single skill, saying NMEC has planned to use three domains, each encompassing a common set of skills relevant for diverse tasks. The three literacy domains include document literacy, which is the knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained in various formats, including job applications, maps, tables and graphics. The second is prose literacy, which is the knowledge and skills required to understand and use information from texts, including editorials, news stories, poems and fiction; and quantitative literacy, that is the knowledge and skills required to apply arithmetic operations, either

alone or sequential, to numbers embedded in printed materials, and all forms of vocational skills. Paiko noted that since the majority of the people live in a makeshift setting, the commission would not have the challenge of providing literacy and non-formal education to the people. He said the commission would work with state governments in the affected areas to ensure provision of “quality and learning society” in which all the IDPs have equal right to obtain lifelong learning and training opportunities. He, however, identified funding as the major challenge, since the IDP phenomenon is emergency situation, and no budgetary allocation has been made for this kind intervention. According to the UNICEF, in northern Nigeria alone, nearly 1.2 million children (with over half of them under five years old) have been forced to flee their homes, while another 265,000 children have been uprooted in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The National Coordinator of Education Rights Initiative (ERI), Mr Isaac Okpo, lamented that often, education is treated as a secondary need to be addressed only once conflicts have subsided. “Yet, conflicts and emergencies

can go on for years or even decades, leaving many IDP children to grow up without education as well as deprived of the protection and support that going to school can provide,” Okpo said. Meanwhile, public-spirited individuals and altruistic groups have taken over the task of helping the IDPs meet their basic needs through various forms of humanitarian assistance, while lack of education for children and the joblessness of youths in the camp remained a big challenge. For instance, in new Kuchingoro, a village just 200 metres from the popular Games Village in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is typical of a slum settlement for IDPs, lacking in all the basic amenities required for decent, modern living. The IDPs camp comprises mostly persons from Gwoza Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State who have been displaced by the Boko Haram sect. The camp has also provided refuge for people rendered homeless through clashes between by Fulani herdsmen and indigenous people of various areas in Kaduna and Nasarawa States. Tribune Education observed in this camp that quite a number of malnourished children, so scrawny that one can count bones in their ribs, often roam aimlessly. If one asks their parents why these children are not at school, they have different tales to tell – the most predictable being lack of fund to pay school fees. One thing that is also obvious is the non-availability of a government school within a five-kilometre radius from their settlement. Thus, the risk of sending little children who are complete strangers in the city to a school five kilometres away is also a huge challenge. Although, since the inauguration of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the military has intensified war against the Boko Haram insurgents and many towns and cities that were under the control of the sect have been reclaimed, Continueson pg25

education

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

FUNAAB hosts Yam Roasting Festival

The hosting of the Yam Roasting Festival by the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), to commemorate the annual harvest of new yams, has been described as a veritable mechanism of promoting and enhancing the ‘Town and the Gown’ community relations. The vice chancellor of the university, Professor Olusola Oyewole, stated this during the 2015 Yam

Roasting Festival, held at the Directorate of University Farms (DUFARMS) premises. “We started this tradition of new yam festival many years ago in this university and suddenly the tradition stopped,” he said, commending the support of industrialist and philanthropist, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, for his support and encouragement in the resuscitation of the festival in 2012.

NGO tasks youths on agriculture, ICT to tackle unemployment THE Director, Institute for Enterprise Development, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Mr Anthony Fatokun, has called on youths to exploit opportunities in agriculture and information technology to solve the nation’s unemployment conundrum. Fatokun gave the advice while speaking during a skills development workshop organised for corps members in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, by the Institute for Enterprise Development, Ijebu-Ode, with the theme ‘After NYSC, What Next?’ He said the reality of global unemployment

meant that not every graduate would have access to white-collar jobs, thereby prompting the need to be innovative. Fatokun further urged government at all levels to accord priority to agriculture by making it attractive to youths through capital investment waivers. He also called for massive public and private investments in agriculture, saying that it was the panacea to unemployment. “We will continue to have a huge unemployment crisis unless we take advantage of agriculture, which will lead to industrialisation.

Professor Oyewole said the university’s mandate does not end only at training students, but ensuring the overall development of the university and those who relate with it. While restating FUNAAB’s commitment to developing and sustaining the environment, the vice chancellor described the venue of this year’s event as “very strategic”, saying that it was done to create awareness about other crops that the university produces, apart from yam. “For the first time, we are organising this year’s festival not on the outskirt of the farms, but right

within the farm for people to know that it is not even yam alone that we deal with,” he said. Oyewole, who is also the president, Association of African Universities (AAU), said that FUNAAB is not only noted for teaching and research activities, but also runs an Industrial Park Unit (IPU), where the institution’s raw products are processed. Speaking at the occasion, Chief Osunkeye, who is also the Chairman, Board of Directors, Nestle Nigeria Plc, said that he was passionate about the university and what it stood for. Reminiscing on the ex-

isting collaboration since 1988 with his 900-hectare farm situated in Kaduna State, he noted that Soyabean seeds were taken from his farm and planted in the university in a bid to boost crop production. He challenged FUNAAB on the need to market the displayed products in the open market, saying that all the exhibited products should not be confined to the shelves. Chief Osunkeye also decried the menace of cattlerearers, who destroy agricultural farms, as he called for an end to the scourge. He charged the university to explore the possibility

of using drones to monitor its territorial farmlands and engage in negotiation with those concerned, for amicable resolution of any conflict that may arise. In his own remarks, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the university, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, called for better understanding and collaboration with members of FUNAAB communities, charging the university to concentrate more efforts at establishing linkages with industries in order to create better awareness on what the university could produce for the public.

Teachers and Students of Amazing Grace High School, Sodende Street, off Anfani Road, Ibadan during their excusion to Tribune House, Imalefalafia on Thursday October 8, 2015

KwaraPoly not only for indigenes —Rector Biola Azeez, Ilorin AGAINST a number of allegations on its admission policy, the authorities of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, have said that merit has always been a major consideration for students’ admission, and not solely based on Kwara State indigeneship. Speaking with journalists in Ilorin during inauguration of some students’ projects, the rector of the institution, Alhaji Mas’ud Elelu, said admission criteria had always been on 10 per cent merit, 60 per cent on consideration by the admission committee and 30 per cent on requests by

friends and stakeholders. The rector, who showed journalists the computerbased processes at which admission lists were arrived at, said that requests by government officials, traditional rulers and friends would soon be discouraged to allow for more opportunities for merit. According to Alhaji Elelu, a total of 1.2 million Nigerians sought admission into tertiary institutions in 2015 with spaces for only 800,000 candidates, adding that out of a total of 35, 467 candidates that applied for admission into KwaraPoly, only 4,380 could be offered admission.

Teachers and students of Amazing Grace Nursary and Primary School, Ibadan during their excursion to Tribune House, Imalefalafia on Tuesday October 6, 2015.

Addressing education needs of IDP children Continueson pg24

many internally-displaced people are reluctant to return home. What is observable is that since being pushed out of the territory, the terrorists have reverted to guerrilla tactics, raiding villages for supplies and bombing targets such as places of worship, markets and bus stations. This has continued to instill fears in the people. Government on its own also generally gives priority attention to formal education while non-formal education is relegated to the background.

The acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs Hindatu Abdullahi, supports this line of argument. “Governments generally direct more of their resources at formal education programmes than the non-formal sub-sector, which accounts for a large number of illiterate adults and out-of-school youth,” she noted. Meanwhile, in order to bridge the educational gap for the IDPs children, some stakeholders have called on government to prioritise education for IDPs at the ear-

liest stages of emergencies, including systematically providing interim educational services, such as ‘School in a Box’ kits and mobile educational programming, in IDP camps and settlements; providing IDP teachers, especially female teachers, to teach in the camps and settlements; organising escorts for IDP children by older children, their parents or protection monitors to help ensure their safety walking to and from school; and taking special measures to facilitate the school attendance of displaced girls, for example by supplying

them with clothing, soap and sanitary material, building separate latrines, and providing childcare opportunities for adolescent mothers, among others. It is therefore imperative that NMEC commits to coordinating the participation of the State Agencies for Mass Education (SAMEs) in addressing the challenge of education for the IPD children in Nigeria. This, however, requires adequate funding and it is hoped that the federal government would explore avenues of generating fund to support the project.

education

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

‘Distance Learning will address shortfall in UTME admission’ Naza Okoli - Lagos

HE Director of Obafemi Awolowo University Centre for Distance Learning (OAUCDL), Professor Michael Adeyeye, has charged admission seekers to avail themselves of distance learning opportunities since tertiary institutions “can only admit one-third” of the total number of qualified candidates due to “space constraints.” Adeyeye stated this recently while announcing the opening of applications into the centre’s degree programmes in Accounting, Economics

and Nursing for the 2015/2016 session. He said: “The eLearning programme is a step in the right direction. The existing higher institutions can only admit one-third of degree-seeking Nigerians. E-Learning, therefore, is

the way of the future. “We are excited about the success of this programme. This programme opens up opportunities for everybody to go to school. We are no longer limited by space and location. We have students from

National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2014, already has a total of 317 students who have now completed their first semester examinations. A press statement issued by the centre on Friday

said students in the programme have access to lectures electronically anytime, and will upon graduation receive the same kind of certificate as all other graduates of the university:

Crescent Varsity honours Okoya, others at 7th convocation Olayinka Olukoya, Abeokuta

THE Chairman, Eleganza Group of Companies, Chief Rasak Akanni Okoya; the Executive Secretary, Muslims in Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN ),Prof Dawud Noibi, and former Adviser to the Lagos State

Governor on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga, on Saturday received honorary degrees of the Crescent University, Abeokuta, at the institution’s seventh convocation. Okoya was conferred with the Doctor of Science (honoris causa) in

How undergraduates can prepare for tomorrow —FUTA, VC THE vice chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Professor Adebiyi Daramola, has admonished students of higher institutions to acquire extra skills in addition to their degrees in order to have a unique selling point. During an interaction with the institution’s Students Union officials led by the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Idowu Ayodeji, Professor Daramola said having a

different states in Nigeria participating in the programme and we even have enquiries from outside Nigeria.” According to Adeyeye, OAU’s eLearning, which was approved by the

distinctive expertise like foreign language, software skills or higher degree in an uncommon course would give undergraduates added advantage in the labour market and make increase their chances with prospective employers. Speaking on the state of the education sector in the country, Daramola stated that ICT has made learning broader and students have unlimited access to diverse information and opportunities to broaden

their horizon. On students’ unionism, the vice chancellor said that dialogue should be the key factor in students’ engagement with university authorities, government, communities and other stakeholders. According to him, strikes by students cause setback and destroy the system. “The university is a civilised place where ideas can be cross fertilised to achieve the best result,” he said.

Business Administration, while Professor Noibi and Otunba Olukoga were honored with the Doctor of Science (honoris causa) in Political Science and International Relations respectively. A total of 435 students graduated from Colleges of Information and Communication Technology, Natural and Applied Sciences, Social and Management Sciences as well as Environmental Sciences. Crescent University, Abeokuta was founded a decade ago by the former World Court Judge, Prince Bola Ajibola. Speaking at the event, both Prince Ajibola and the vice chancellor, Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiaila, had charged the graduands to uphold the vision of the university to excel not only in academics but also in character.

Unskilled teachers are the biggest problem of education —SUBEB chief The Executive Chairman, Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board, Murtala Adamu, in this interview with KEHINDE ADIO, speaks on the education challenges and way forward. Excerpts:

AN you share some of your achievements at the Zamfara SUBEB? Our objective is to create an environment that would guarantee qualitative education and to propagate academic aspect of western education. This informed the board to convey a meeting of a crop of professional and experienced teachers at tertiary level, mainly doctoral degree holders and professors in the field of education, drawn from colleges of education and universities in the north, to rub minds and identify the major problems of primary education in the state and how to redress them. The findings of the study led the state to organise an education summit involving the general public and the governor, to intimate them with the state of education in the state. Following the education summit, the state government embarked on a massive restructuring and construction of new classrooms across the

state. Not less than 50 new schools were established and adequately equipped. Teachers were retrained on how to teach and impact the knowledge effectively. On training and retraining of teachers, the board invited institutions in charge of training of teachers to the state, the National Teachers Institute, Kaduna, and Japanese government, to retrain our teachers. In the state, we have teachers’ residency training programme, a retraining centre where teachers are lodged to put them through in all the aspects of teaching, ranging from school management to effective teaching methods. But more than these, we ensure adequate teachers’ welfare through series of incentives, regular payment of salary, and staff promotion to enhance their performance on the job. About 400 teachers were given motorcycles to ease their movement. The state trains not less than 5,000 teachers every year. In addition, the board provides working grants for effective management of the schools in the state. What is the teacher population vis-à-vis the pupils in the public schools in the state? We have about 465,000 pupils in the public primary schools with about 10,500 functional

educational welfare needs.

Adamu teachers. How do you manage the outof-school children in the state? This is a common phenomenon in this part of the country. We have many parents who will just not allow their wards to go to school, for no serious reason, while some of the other parents’ children drop out of the school system. However, the board has worked out strategies to

reduce the level of out-of-school children in the state. The board has a strong concern for almajiri education, a very good medium to arrest the situation in the state. Very soon, the state, in collaboration with UNICEF, will conduct a population census of almajiri in the state. The effort will give us the number of almajiri in the country. The information will aid us in making adequate preparation for their

Experts have been giving diverse opinions as regards education reform strategies in the education sector. What is your proposition? I believe strongly that reform must start from the basic level of education. Unqualified teachers are the major problem we have at the basic level. This is the foundation of education, and if the foundation is not solid, nothing can be built on it that will stand. One of the problems in the teaching profession in this century is lack of skillful teachers, especially at the basic level. We have to address the teacher factor by removing all the unqualified teachers in the system and pay them off with substantial amount and inject into the system trained graduates in the teaching line. In some advanced countries, graduates dominate the teaching profession in the basic schools. In the light of this, it will not be out of place if graduates are employed to teach in our public primary schools. By and large, to have a meaningful education reform progress in the country, Nigeria’s basic education programme must be standardised, furnished with teaching aids under conducive learning environment, adequate funding and dedicated experienced teachers.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Group Business Editor Sulaimon Olanrewaju

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

aviation

anchor Shola Adekola

m:0803 365 4818 e:sholanig@yahoo.com

Our overall strategies for airports will exceed FAAN’s expectations —Afromedia Afromedia Plc is the first media company to be engaged as a concessionaire by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to, on its behalf, lease spaces to willing advertisers and agencies to display their brand messages and advertisements at airports at stipulated charges. In this interview with SHOLA ADEKOLA, an Associate Director in charge of sales and marketing in the company, Femi Olaiya, speaks on the activities of the company at airports. Excerpts:

ANY airport users have commended the ongoing efforts being made by Afromedia to boost the revenue of FAAN. How have you been able to achieve this? We are the first at the airport and this implies that we have a better understanding of the advertising opportunity at the airport. We understand what the advertisers want and we are innovative enough to develop solutions to deliver them. For instance, in the past, the approach was to maximise all available spaces there was for advertising. This created clutter and somewhat discouraged some advertisers from spending. We have moved to a new approach geared towards creating near exclusivity for the advertisers. You will agree with me that a happy advertiser will be willing to spend more money and that means more revenue for FAAN. Clients’ commitment to payment is one of the most difficult challenges media suppliers go through. How do you get back your advert cost from your clients? We subscribe to global practice in this regard, which dictates that you have to pre-pay before your campaign is displayed. Moreover, FAAN takes no prisoners when it comes to remitting their portion of the revenue. Sixty per cent of FAAN’s revenue comes through adverts generated from the airports. How do you intend to grow this? I cannot readily confirm to you that 60 per cent of FAAN’s revenue comes from the airport. There are two strategic approaches one can use to increase revenues at the airport. One is to increase the value you deliver to

the advertisers and hence, charge some more and secondly, seek for new advertisers who hitherto do not know about the premium appeal of advertising at the airport so that you can increase your occupancy rate. Our overall strategy for the airport is a careful mix of these two approaches which we are convinced will exceed FAAN’s expectations. How do you ensure FAAN is not short-changed by those who advertise within the airports? We have agreed rates with FAAN, hence, the likelihood of FAAN being short changed is practically impossible. In view of your long period of working at the airport, what has been your worst experience? Our worst experience was when our concession agreement was cancelled abruptly in 2012. We lost clients, lost money; and we are yet to fully recover from the effect of that. FAAN had in the past ran into crisis with some of its concessionaires over lopsided contractual agreements. What is your agreement with FAAN and how have you been able to keep them? With respect to Afromedia’s dealings with FAAN, both in the past and this current agreement, considerations have been given to the needs of both parties in arriving at the commercial terms of our agreements, so lopsidedness does not occur. Do you think the country’s airports and the aviation industry at large is lucrative for your type of business? Every economy has its own peculiarities and capacities. For a competitive airport like Heathrow

and some other global airports, we are not able to charge up to a tenth of what advertisers pay in those economies. Nonetheless, compared to other locations in Nigeria, the airport is a premium site for advertising and more often than not, attracts premium pricing.

ship with the company and do you share ideas? We are not rivals; we are co-concessionaire and partners in progress with FAAN. We always put the interest of the advertisers and their brands ahead of any other consideration.

Promoworld is a major rival which carries out a similar function for FAAN, do you have cordial relation-

What are the challenges of outdoor advertising in Nigeria and what is the value of outdoor advertising media

in Nigeria? As at 2013, according to Media Facts, a reliable publication measuring advertising spend in Nigeria, outdoor advertising spend was about N23 billion. The challenges are infrastructural and economical. Once the economy is depressed, the ability of the brands to advertise is also affected. Deficient infrastructure raises the cost of service delivery which may impact on service quality.

NAMA boss seeks new procedures to block financial leakages ByShola Adekola-Lagos

THE Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has taken some steps that will help in blocking financial leakages in its system. Dropping this hint was the managing director of the agency, Engineer Ibrahim Abdulsalam at a twoday interactive meeting of senior staff of accounts and commercial departments of the agency, held at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) training school last week. Abdulsalam expressed optimism that the blockage of leakages by the agency would further strengthen processes and procedures towards effective revenue generation and collection of revenues at the vari-

ous airports across the country. The NAMA boss on the occasion, charged staff of the agency to devise new initiatives of improving the revenue base while he stressed the need for a working synergy between both departments to thrive in the general interest of the agency in particular and Nigeria as a whole. Abdulsalam also admonished the participants to employ their professional expertise to effectively review the revenue Standard Operating Manual (SOM) in order to meet industry best practices and also make for effective service delivery. “We all have to align all the agency’s operations to embrace the fiscal policies of the President Buhari-led administration like the Treasury Single Account (TSA)

which are geared towards promoting transparency and accountability in the public sector.” Meantime, efforts by the agency to implement the Performance Based Navigation (PBN) system in the country has started yielding positive result with the publication of PBN Area Navigation (RNAV) Approaches for 15 airports across the country. The publication as further explained by the Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Olajumoke Adetona, will enable duly equipped aircrafts with necessary approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to fly PBN procedures into the airports without the use of ground navigational aids.

aviation

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Ethiopian Airline wins awards for excellence

crucial moment With

Shola Adekola

0803 365 4818

Women in aviation:

Put your house in order

RECENTLY, Women In Aviation International (WAI) celebrated the maiden edition of ‘Girls in Aviation Day’ in line with the United States proclamation of September 26th of every year as a day to mark the event. Women in Aviation is the only association in the sector that has as its members, women from all professions across the aviation sector. There is no doubt that WAI is a group that may go far in view of the brilliant ideas it has for the purpose of turning around the fortunes of the sector. Latest of such ideas was the motive behind the recently celebrated ‘Girls in Aviation Day’ which was meant to help tackle shortage of manpower in the aviation sector particularly as it concerns women. The purpose of the event was to woo young girls to the unparalleled carriers available in the sector. Unfortunately, despite the brilliant ideas the existence of the group would have attracted to the sector, lack of unity among the members has remained its Achilles’ heels. Not too long after WAI came into existence in the sector that crisis of ego and power tussle erupted in its leadership which led to the birth of another faction. Presently, there are two factions of WAI, with one being led by Mrs Ify Megwa, while the other faction is being led by Mrs Rejoice Ndudinachi. Both groups have similar ideologies which would have made stronger impact if they could come together, but sadly their ego will not give room. The cat and mouse game the two WAI groups are playing with each other has become a source of concern to key players in the sector especially women. From investigations carried out, some of the reasons attributed to the disunity range from pride, ego, selfishness, and above all ‘woman factor.’ Despite efforts made by some people to prevail on the two groups to come together, it has not yielded any good result as the gap between the two continues to widen. This sad development has come to confirm the general believe that women don’t love themselves and this is majorly responsible for the bad treatment the Nigerian women suffer in the hands of Federal Government and other professional organisations, as they cannot support each other. It is strange that women who should love and share ideas among themselves often end up working against each other for pride’s sake. The sad drama is not being helped by the followers of the two factions who rather than prevail on their leaders to reconcile, have decided to take sides. The Cold War has even spread to the various parastatals where female workers now line behind any of the two leaders that come from the parastatal they work. It is at this juncture that the Crucial Moment is appealing to the two factions to put aside their toga of pride and once again come together if actually they have genuine reasons for joining the international group, but if they are being members of the global women body is for selfish purposes, then let the status quo remain and time will surely tell. Their failure to resolve their crisis will definitely be a bad example to even the young girls they are trying to woo into the sector as those little girls would have form the bad impression that even those talking to them to pick up their careers in the sector are not united. Refusal to do things in line with how it is being done in other places like the United States, Britain and other places where the WAI originated may just see the branch in Nigeria as a mere jamboree.

Nigerian Tribune

Ethiopian Airline Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam (right) receiving the Centre for Aviation(CAPA) Award on behalf of the airline from the Executive Chairman of CAPA, Peter Harbison in Helsinki.

A/Ibom govt appoints S/African to manage state airport Stories By Shola Adekola - Lagos

KWA Ibom state Government has appointed Mrs Johanna Swiegers, an international airport manager as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer on a threeyear contract to restructure the Akwa Ibom International Airport to meet required purposes; reduce maintenance cost and increase revenue. The three-year deal which took effect from October 1, according to the state’s Commissioner for Special Duties, Engineer Etido Inyang, is aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating total reliance of the airport on the state government to meet its increasing expensive running cost, by significantly reducing the running cost and optimally increasing revenue. The commissioner who bared the minds of the state government during the inaugural meeting with the new management team of the air-

port at the conference hall of the administrative block of the facility at the weekend, said it was also expected of the Swiegers led team to streamline and professionalise the airport’s organisation, and management in line with international best practice. “The state government wants the airport to be properly positioned to provide world class airport services and internationally compliant operational safety and security. “We want the team to develop a crop of talented Akwa Ibomites to become capable

Dana Air wins best customer service airline award DANA Air has once again reaffirmed its position as a leading customer friendly airline following its consecutive recognition as the Best Customer Service Airline in Nigeria, during the 2015 edition of Nigerian

Air France to reduce long-haul capacity by 10% in 2017 THE Chief Executive Officer of Air France, Mr Frederic Gagey has declared that the airline’s long-haul capacity would reduce by about 10 per cent between now and 2017. The development came just as he hinted that the Air France-KLM’s passenger network business, capacity would fall by about 2 per cent within the same period, compared with a previous expectation of around 3 per cent growth. Speaking at the Central Works Council, a progress update on the Perform 2020 plan, Gagey stated that the current situation had now forced the airline to launch a restructuring plan of its longhaul network. The long-haul fleet he said would be scaled back by 14 aircraft, from 107 in operation during Summer 2015 to 93 in Summer 2017, saying that

and competent hands to manage the airport at the highest international standards into the future after the three-year restructuring exercise.” Inyang explained that the choice of Johanna Swiegers stems from her vast experience which covered over 30 years in aviation management industry, having worked in several countries including; China, Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa and Namibia, adding that she is an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) certified Airport Inspector, Auditor and Trainer.

this adjustment would mainly be made via the accelerated retirement of Airbus A340s, which will not be replaced by Boeing 787s as earlier planned. According to him, in 2016 and 2017, the related capex reduction could reach up to €200 million. His words: “This reduction in activity will result in estimated overstaffing of 2,900 people, comprising approximately 300 pilots, 900 cabin crew and 1,700 ground staff. In segments where consultation, negotiations enable the achievement of the Perform 2020 targets, the adaptation in staff will take the form of voluntary departures. “In the other segments, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out. The restructuring charges will be recorded once the pace and conditions for these departures has been determined.”

Customer Service Award held recently at the prestigious Four Points by Sheraton Lagos. The Nigerian Customer Service Awards (NCSA) is an annual award that celebrates service excellence in Nigeria by recognising companies that deliver effective and exceptional customer service with a view to make them leverage on value-orientation and encourage other entities to emulate such commitments to business social responsibilities According to the coordinator of the award, Dr Aliyu Ilias, Dana Air and the other outstanding companies were accessed based on their customer service practices in a process that includes customer feedback, review of staff and management processes that relate to customer service. He said “the NCSA helps organisations listen to the voice of their customers by conducting an independent assessment of quality customer service survey tools, to collect and analyse feedback from customers and grade their responses using world standard as benchmark.”

ETHIOPIAN Airlines has won the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) Airline of the Year Award at the 2015 CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence, held on October 7 in Helsinki, as part of CAPA’s 2015 World Aviation Summit. CAPA, formerly known as the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation is the leading provider of independent global expertise in aviation market intelligence, analysis and data services covering worldwide developments. The CAPA awards for excellence are independently researched by CAPA and Heidrick & Struggles and selected by an independent International panel of judges. Ethiopian was selected by the judging panels for its ability to establish pan-African operations and thrive in an increasingly important emerging market; being the biggest standout strategically during the year and emerging as the leader in Africa with a pioneering strategy.

Etihad Airways’ destination manager records growth HALA Abu Dhabi, the professional conference organiser and destination management company of Etihad Airways, has recorded double-digit growth on its Abu Dhabi’s Stopover Programme. The programme welcomes guests from across the globe with Australia, Germany and the UK providing the largest visitor numbers. To meet the increasing demand, Hala Abu Dhabi Stopover Programme and staff continue to offer competitive rates and multiple packages, working closely with travel agents to provide business, tourism and cultural services. Etihad Airways is the only airline in the region which offers two stays for the price of one and excursions as part of their stopover programme. Speaking on the development; Mohammed Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways’ Vice President UAE Commercial, said: “One of Hala Abu Dhabi’s strategic mandates is to promote Abu Dhabi as a destination and contribute to its growth in the tourism sector.” More than 30 per cent of the stopover travelers have used the tours and excursions offered in the emirate.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

anchor

maritime

Tola Adenubi

m:07068476673 e:adenubiadetola@yahoo.com

Convention advocates diversification of Nigeria’s monolithic economy

With dwindling global oil price and seaports cargo lull affecting the economy, operators and stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime sector met at the inaugural edition of the International Sea Trade and Investment Convention to brainstorm on how Nigeria could transform about 853 kilometres of Atlantic coastline into other forms of trade. Tola Adenubi reports.

HE inaugural edition of the International Sea trade and Investment Convention 2015 held in Lagos recently had in attendance who is who in the Nigerian maritime related trade sector. The convention showcased problems and impediments confronting Nigeria’s trade pattern, and to an extent African seaports vis-a-vis alternatives to other trade pattern. The convention which had as its theme “Exploring New Trade Frontiers” was graced by a former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (GCFR). Issues affecting Nigeria According to industry analysts who graced the convention, a myriad of problems are behind Nigeria’s failure at facilitating export trade at her seaports and land borders, rather than the nation’s monolithic approach to trade over the years. Among issues raised at the convention were Nigeria’s dependence on oil despite the nation’s endowment with vast natural resources, coastline, expanse of land and

huge population which is critical for trade diversification; Nigerian economy as well as that of the entire African continent is import/mono product based; the vast trade opportunities in landlocked countries which should not be neglected, for instance Nigeria is not yet tapping the immense trade benefits landlocked countries like Niger provide for her economy and many Nigerian seaports designed and sited for imports rather than export purposes. Also, effective government regulatory climate needed to ensure quality control as the cornerstone of the production of indigenous goods and services was discussed, as well as how low volume of export cargo in Nigeria and other African countries leads to high cost of shipping and thus is detrimental to intra-regional trade, among others. The convention touched on the fact that design and location of seaports in Nigeria do not make room for export trade whereas in western states seaports are designed purposely for exports, saying there are no direct trade

routes among African countries and this is detrimental to intra-regional trade. Also among the deliberations, it was said that standardisation is key to international trade, regrettably, most Nigerian exporters are unable to manage and preserve the standard of their products as they do not have adequate knowledge of existing international specifications, adding that most Nigeria export tariff were ambiguous and complex therefore not easily understood

There should be a financial system that supports export trade to allow easy transfer of funds and robust insurance/export guarantee scheme in place.

by exporters. Policy inconsistency and overt dependence on road transportation are major obstacles to Nigeria’s export trade, undocumented export trade is the reason for inaccuracy in export data and adversely affects funding by commercial banks, lack of upgrade in the quality and scale of infrastructural investments in the hinterland ports contributes to high transportation cost, as well as lack of maintenance of pipelines contribute to gridlocks in port access roads in Lagos areas were some of the challenges the convention identified as hindering trade in Nigeria. Recommendations Although the International Sea trade and Investment Convention advocated for trade diversification, it however postulated some suggestions that could drive export trade in Nigeria. According to it, there should be goods to export, the nation’s means of transport should be effective and there should be ports for ships and cargoes to interface.

The convention added that there must be adequate transport logistics services and infrastructure, and terms of trade governing the contractual agreement between the seller and the buyer should be reviewed, while also saying that there should be a financial system that supports export trade to allow easy transfer of funds and robust insurance/export guarantee scheme in place. Accordingly, the convention advocated that international standards for the goods to be accepted at international markets should be made clear, while there should be an efficient regulatory standard in place to monitor and compel compliance. Also, there should be a sensitisation and establishment of proper economic policies to encourage local manufacturers, while also putting in a place an integrated planning which included the provision of rail systems should be part of the criteria for the approval of new ports to avoid the mistakes of the past which is currently bedevilling ports in Lagos.

maritime Stakeholders fault C\Rivers gov over seaport reform 30

Stories by Tola Adenubi - Lagos

TAKEHOLDERS in the Nigerian maritime sector has faulted comments made by the Cross Rivers State governor, Professor Ben Ayade, over calls that the port reform of 2006 has not improved Nigeria’s economy. Ayade, a former member of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport under the last National Assembly had called on the Federal Government to review the port reform of 2006 due to worsening unemployment, dilapidating port access roads, and depleting maritime assets, stating that increased importation leading to higher cargo throughputs at the nations seaports are not indices to celebrate. Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune, the National President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Eugene Nweke, said Ayade should not generalise what is happening at the Calabar ports as if the whole port reform process has failed. According to him, “To a certain extent, one is constrained to appreciate Prof. Ben Ayade’s comments because he is not a novice to the port reform process. He was a member of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport in the 7th National Assembly. However, I will disagree with him that the port reform has not improved the economy. “I will urge the governor to look beyond the port reform and examine Nigeria’s maritime sector. If he is looking at just the port reform, then he is just talking about a part of the maritime sector which has served as a nodal point for the interface of seaborne goods with other modes of transportation, which is the port. “However, when we talk

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

about the navigation and process whereby goods get to the ports, then we are talking about maritime industry. I understand why Mr Ayade is talking in this manner. He is aggrieved because the money spent by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to dredge the Calabar port has not yielded any improvement. “To this moment, vessel call at the Calabar port is

nothing to write home about because many vessels are looking at deeper channels for their new and modern ships. “There are so many sides of the maritime sector to look at rather than just condemning the port reform that it has not paid off. If the port reform has not paid off in Calabar, that does not mean that it has not paid off in Onne where we have Intels, or Lagos

where we have the Apapa and Tin-Can ports, the two most busiest ports in the country as at today. “He should rather channel is frustration on the aspect of port management and not the port reform. Port reform has a lot of element and parameters that is used to measure its success or failure. The port reform has paid off in the Western part of the country.

tional to attract foreign investment which will rub off positively on trade activities around the state. “If Tinapa becomes functional, there will be smaller vessel calls at the Calabar port. I think that is where he should channel is efforts on instead of saying that the port reform has failed. If there are increased activities at the Calabar port due to a functional Tinapa resort, then the NPA and government at the centre will focus more energy on that port to make it more functional,” he said.

Maritime Microfinance Bank appoints Atekoja as Chairman

Lt General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) (right), receiving a plaque from Haruna Baba Jauro, Acting Director General, NIMASA, while Lt. Col. Iliyasu, PR Officer to COAS looks on during a courtesy visit to the Head Quarters of the Nigerian Army in Abuja by the NIMASA boss recently.

Customs CG to meet with NPA, Shippers Council, others today THE Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ibrahim Ali will meet with the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) and other government agencies in the Nigerian maritime sector today. Disclosing this to Nigerian Tribune in an interview, the Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Wale Adeniyi said the Customs CG had met privately with stakeholders

in the cargo clearance logistic chain on Monday and has also met with the Customs Area Controller (CAC) in charge of the Apapa Command of the NCS. “The CG was at the Apapa Customs Command on Monday to meet with the CAC and his team. He also met with stakeholders who are involved in the cargo clearance logistic chain. “On Tuesday, he will be visiting Customs Commands located at the Tin-Can Island Port. You

know we have 2 Customs Command at the Tin-Can Island port, the Tin-Can Island Customs Command and the PTML Customs Command. These were private meetings which aimed at making the workings of these units clearer to the CG. The CG is here to see things for himself. “On Thursday, he will be meeting with government agencies like the NPA, Shippers Council and others who are involved in the cargo clearance logistic chain at

NSDP: COAS urges NIMASA to engage fallen soldiers children THE Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has urged the Management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to engage the children of soldiers who died while fighting the dreaded militant Boko Haram in the agency’s seafarers programme, Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP). Speaking when the Acting Director General of NIMASA, Haruna Baba Jauro paid a working visit to the

“He did not say this as a Senator when he was a member of the Senate Committee on marine transport, why is he now condemning the port reform now that he is Governor? “He is now governor of Cross River State; let’s see what he achieves with Tinapa Resort which is currently going moribund. Let’s see how he integrates that resort for it to be func-

Nigerian Tribune

Army Head Quarters, the Army Chief appealed to NIMASA to engage some children of the soldiers who lost their lives in the battle against insurgency in its NSDP as a way of alleviating the suffering of those families. General Buratai also commended NIMASA for its efforts in combating piracy and other criminal activities on Nigeria’s water ways, assuring NIMASA of the cooperation of the Army in curbing criminal activities especially in

the creeks where barges and other water crafts are used to commit crimes like crude oil theft and piracy. The army chief appeal to the Management of NIMASA and other corporate organisations to assist with the resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) through the Corporate Social Responsibility programmes in order to have them properly re-integrated into the society. “I want to appeal to you and other responsible corporate bodies to assist with

the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons now that calm is being restored to some of those communities because the situation in the camps is not really conducive,” Buratai said. Earlier in his remarks, the DG of NIMASA congratulated the Chief of Army Staff on his appointment and also commended him for the successes recorded so far in the fight against insurgency in the North East under his leadership.

the ports,” Adeniyi stated. The Customs CG, on Monday, said corrupt practices would no longer be tolerated, be it by officers or clearing agents. Ali said this while addressing stakeholders at his maiden working visit to the Apapa Area Command in Lagos. “The days of corruption are gone. Anybody caught shall not be let go scotfree. I am a stickler for the enforcement of the law. There is need for law and order, and it is important to follow the rules as they are, so that we all do not have problems,” he said. He emphasised that his mandate as the CGC was to reform, structure the service and importantly, collect revenue for government. He said that it was very possible for the customs to clear goods from the port within 48hours if there were no falsification in declaration of goods. He said that in carrying out his assignment, he would ensure that all acts of cutting corners by some importers and agents be checked and stopped.

Former Executive Director, Finance and Administration of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Adetola Atekoja, has been named the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Maritime Microfinance Bank Limited. According to a statement signed by the Co-founder/ Director of the bank, Bolaji Akinola, Atekoja brings to the MMFB a wealth of experience cutting across banking and finance and the maritime sector. He is an alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University (University of Ife), Ile-Ife, State of Osun, and Harvard Kennedy School, Boston, USA. He is a Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and Chartered Institute of Taxation. Atekoja’s work experience of over three decades covered Public Practice and Consulting (with the prestigious firm, KPMG), Industrial, Financial Services and Public sectors of the Nigerian economy. He served on the boards of Lagos Channel Management Co. Ltd, Bonny Channel Co. Ltd, Continental Shipyard Limited and Metropolitan Insurance Co. Ltd and was a member of several Government Committees in the Maritime Industry. Currently, he is a non executive director of Heritage Bank where he heads the bank’s Board Credit Committee. Other members of the Board include Bolaji Akinola, Adetoro Suleiman, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, Mr. Ben Ogbeide, Lami Lois Tsakma and the Bank’s Acting Managing Director, Oluwaseyi Hamilton.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015 With Adewale Oshodi tribunearts@yahoo.com 08054005323

Encomiums for a gallant police officer at book presentation By Adewale Oshodi

SSISTANT Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sybil O. Akinfenwa is a popular police officer in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. When she served as the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Sango Police Station, the news about her ‘toughness’ spread far and wide, particularly among commercial bus and okada riders, who behaved themselves while in areas under her jurisdiction. Popularly known as Mama Sango, ACP Akinfenwa does not tolerate nonsense; she did, and is still doing her work with the fear of God, and it is these traits that drew a lot of people to her. No matter one’s standing in the society, Mama Sango is accessible to all, and that was why hundreds of people turned out to be part of a book presentation in her honour on her birthday last week at the Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan. Written by three researchers — Bayo Busari, Yinka Ajibike and Tayo Asogbo — the book, Imaging the Nigeria Police: A Public Perception, takes a critical look at the police, and how the subject, ACP Akinfenwa, reflects an ideal police officer. In his opening remarks, the chairman on the occasion, General Oladayo Popoola (retd), admitted that the Nigeria Police need more officers in the mould of ACP Akinfenwa. “Here is an officer whose impact is felt by people around her; she takes her job seriously and is truly after the transformation of the society,” General Popoola said. Representing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase, was the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade, who commended ACP Akinfenwa for the positive image she is giving to the Force. “The force definitely needs more officers like ACP Akinfenwa, and the ongoing recruitment is an opportunity to bring in people who are truly committed to serving the Nigerian people,” Mr Oyebade said, while wishing the celebrant many more years of service to her fatherland. In his keynote address, renowned political scientist, Professor O.B.C Nwolise of the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, described ACP Akinfenwa’s attitude to work as one that needs emulation, even by people in different professions. “Many people today don’t see their professions as their jobs; they see it as if they are rendering members of the society a favour. “However, ACP Akinfenwa is nothing of such; she discharges her duties as a police officer to the best of her ability. “Her attitude to work is highly commendable, as she makes herself available to everybody, and I must say that she is a barometer of how our attitude to work should be,” Professor Nwolise said, while admitting that the police need more officers who have the same work ethics as ACP Akinfenwa for it to have a more positive image among Nigerians. On the book, the don admitted that it is a well-researched book. “It’s key message is that whereever we find ourselves, or whatever we are doing, we should be diligent. “If ACP Akinfenwa is a bad officer, nobody will be here to celebrate with her today, but as we have people from the top rung of the societal ladder celebrating with her, so we also have people who are from the inner communities celebrating with her too, and I can say she is getting her ‘judgment of excellence’ today. “This tells us a lot about who she is and her way of life; she is one officer who doesn’t discriminate,” Professor Nwolise concluded.

•From left, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police and representative of the Inspector General of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade; the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Lagos State, Oba Kabil Adewale Shotobi, Adegorusen V and the celebrant, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sybil O. Akinfenwa, during the public presentation of a book written in her honour. In his review of the book, Professor Oyesoji Aremu of the Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ibadan, admits that the police are battling with its corporate image, “but some officers have chosen to stand out by doing the Force proud. “The book’s first chapter focuses on the History of the Police, while the second chapter examines the birth of the subject, ACP Ainfenwa. “As she was growing up, those around her starts identifying certain traits in her like hardwork, strict adherence to norms, non-conformity to societal beliefs, among others. “While the third chapter highlights the testimonies of the subject’s superior and retired officers to her character, it also focuses on her tertiary institution days at the University of Lagos, where she studied Psychology; this chapter looks at her husband and support, Prophet Caleb Akinfenwa, and when she finally takes the step of faith to join the police in 1990. “In People’s Thoughts, which is the fourth chapter, focuses on how people from different walks of life view the subject, ACP Akinfenwa. Here, respondents talk about a woman who is well-educated, disciplined, humble, loving, and one who follows laid-down rules and regulations to the latter.” At the event were royal fathers, serving and retired po-

She makes herself available to everybody, and I must say that she is a barometer of how our attitude to work should be.

lice officers, officers of community associations, representatives of commercial bus drivers and okada riders, among others.

POEM My Crippled Child Like a statue, she looks Not standing, walking or running I have laboured on my child Till this age, yet she can’t stand Perhaps she is weakened by frightening faces Scaring,killing her spirit To stand, walk or run She stands and falls At intervals like sea waves I have laboured on my child Happy to see her compete with Her younger ones in other climes At her age, she is carried everywhere Like a babe in arms My child, what is your problem? When will you outgrow this phase? Breasts you have not at your age But your feminine pride is gone Taken by your famed lovers When will you start procreating? Listen, my dearly beloved child You were not destined to be In this deformed state of life Unnoticed like bones in necropolis You are a queen to be Honoured, deified and decorated, destined To sit among royal robes Not in the midst of rags Where you look like beggars, beast of burden By Emmanuel Ikuoye

arts&review

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Total: Giving direction to students’ future Dapo Falade, Port Harcourt

IL giant, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPNG) Limited, has been consistent in hosting the annual Open Day Forum, a programme intended for secondary school students in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the essence of the forum was to enhance the development of the Nigerian youth. Since the commencement of the forum in 2003, it has become a source of immense benefits to students from more than 100 schools in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states. The students have been provided a platform for orientation on the activities of the company, thereby exposing them to career opportunities in the oil and gas industry. They do receive career guidance from different resource persons presenting papers on different topical issues on career future and lifestyle. Not departing from the established norms, TEPNG, penultimate Saturday organised the 2015 Open Day Forum, drawing participants from eight secondary schools from the two states. The schools included Holy Rosary Secondary School, Port Harcourt; Model Secondary School, Port Harcourt; Jeneda Secondary School, Rukpoku; New Heaven International Secondary Dchool, Oyigbo; Girls Secondary School, Kregani; Comprehensive High School, Ogbogu; Brain Way Secondary Commercial School, Oron and Government Girls Secondary School, Orominike. In his welcome address, TEPNG Deputy Managing Director (Port Harcourt District), Mr Nicolas Brunet, said the

•Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth Development, Mrs Clara Nmebe-Davis; Deputy Managing Director Port Harcourt District, Mr Nicolas Brunet; Guest Speaker, Dr. Chineze Uche and Executive General Manager, Administration, Port Harcourt District, Mr Joseph Ajilore.

theme of the 2015 event, “Knowledge in Self Confidence”, was apt. This, he said, was because it had been ob-

The essence of the forum was to enhance the development of the Nigerian youth.

Pan fails to spark box office imagination MOVIE Neverland 3D-fantasy film, Pan has failed to reach the top of the North American box office chart, despite much promotion and its $150m (£98m) cost. The movie, starring Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard and directed by Atonement director, Joe Wright, took $15.5m (£10m) and entered the chart at number three. It was outshone by space thriller, The Martian which held on to the top spot for a second week, taking $37m (£24m). Hotel Transylvania 2 stayed at number two, making $20.3m (£13m). Pan’s relative lack of success ranks it alongside The Fantastic Four and Tomorrowland as one of the year’s most disappointing big budget achievers. Pan was released over the four-day Columbus weekend, which remembers Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas in 1492. “It’s a huge misfire,” box office analyst Jeff Bock told journalists. “We won’t see another Peter Pan film for a while.” The film’s story is an invented prequel of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan and Captain Hook adventure. Levi Miller plays Peter Pan alongside Jackman’s ruthless pirate and features Rooney Mara and Kathy Burke. It opens

in the UK on 16 October. Ridley Scott’s The Martian, in its second week of release, has now notched up $108.7m (£71m) at the US box office. Hotel Transylvania 2 also showed its staying power. Now in its third week, it has takings to date of $116.8m (£76m). Workplace comedy, The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, earned $8.7m (£6m) and finished the weekend at number four, the same spot as last week. It has now made $49.6m (£32m). Drug war thriller, Sicario, starring Emily Blunt, brought in $7.4m (£5m) and came in at number five, dropping from its previous number three position. The film has overall takings to date of $26.7m (£17m).

served that examination malpractice, cheating and other vices practised by students to pass examinations by all means had been traced to lack of preparation and self-confidence when they are entering for examinations. “There is no doubt that a student who prepared adequately and studied hard for his or her examination must have built up a high level of self-confidence to sit for and pass the examinations with good results. “Today, we at TEPNG are encouraging you to grow, both in knowledge and self-confidence, in all endeavours. This, we believe, would in turn translate to discipline and integrity in character which are priceless virtues, highly sought after in all spheres of life,” he said. The guest speaker at the event, Dr (Mrs) Chineze Uche of the Faculty of Education Management, University of Port Harcourt, spoke on “Enhancing Knowledge and Self-Confidence for Improved Performance and Productive Living.” She said the talk was aimed at making the students to, among others, understand the meaning of knowledge and self-confidence; understand the importance of knowledge and self-confidence; appreciate the relationship between knowledge and self-confidence and to know the strategies for achieving, enhancing and retaining knowledge and selfconfidence. The university lecturer said knowledge in self-confidence is a topic that is hardly talked about due to lack of awareness or understanding. According to her, knowledge is the sum of what is known, while self-confidence is “simply the feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities or judgment.” She further said self-confidence is not about being proud or arrogant, but about the power of knowledge in every individual. She emphasised the need to have knowledge, based upon the age-long saying that “Knowledge is power” and said having self-confidence is essential as it makes one to feel good about him/herself and also enhances intelligent and comfortable communications among peers and with the larger society. “Self-confidence provides you with

a background for a future career. It opens doors and opportunities for you in school and in the society. It frees you from stress, fear, anxiety and gives you peace of mind. Self-confidence improves your standing amongst your peers and makes you unique,” she added. She said the secret to getting knowledge was in knowing what and knowing how, adding that to achieve this, the students must desire it, seek it, try it and utilise it. And to retain the knowledge to acquired, the university lecturer urged the students to ask, read experiment, observe, practice and never stop wanting it. Giving 10 steps to self-confidence, Dr (Mrs) Uche advised the students to let go of self attacks, negative talks, negative core beliefs, negative influences, pessimism, negative people, underlying guilt, being victim, being alone and always thinking that something is not achievable. She gave examples of leaders who were known globally for their knowledge and awesome self-confidence. This people, she said, included President Muhammadu Buhari, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Dr Martins Luther King (Jnr), Mary Slessor, Dr Nelson Mandela and Bill Gates. She identified a major barrier to acquisition of knowledge and selfconfidence namely, no adequate professional guidance to develop wider knowledge and self-confidence among the young generation. She thus recommended the need for: professional guidance and monitoring; occasional career talks for school children; professional consultants on education, training and guidance; retraining of teachers in content, pedagogy and contemporary issues. “For the students, my advice is, never give up; never say never. Have knowledge but have it in self-confidence. Believe in God; believe in yourself and your dream. Improve your performance; be productive and add value to your world. Yes, you can,” she said. While commending Total for galvanising young children for scholarship and future professional growth, Dr (Mrs) Uche said the forum was a step in the right direction, but asserted that the oil company cannot do it all alone, as there was a need to expand the forum to accommodate more schools and more students. She therefore urged other companies, non-governmental organisations and relevant government agencies to support TEPNG. Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Youth Development, Mrs Clara Nmebe-Davis, gave a motherly advice to the students, even as she elaborated on the essence of confidence, awareness and self-assurance. “Believing in the self would enable you to identify your talents. Personality clash is what culminate into secret cult activities but you don’t need all that to get recognition. If you believe in your capacity or capability, you will soon become somebody people will look up to. Self-confidence makes you a leader and not a boss,” she said.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015 Editor:

health YOU&EYE

Sade Oguntola sadeboguntola@yahoo.com 0805 506 9260

SEX,SEXUALITY&YOUR HEALTH

NATURALHEALTH

INSIDE

‘Just a mosquito bite can cause malaria’

Low consumption of vegetables promotes colon cancer

Page 36

NATURAL HEALTH By sade oguntola

T Scientists verify herbal remedy for arthritis

Page 37

Vital steps for better breast health

HEALTH QUOTE

Page 37

HE rains are here, and so are mosquitoes that spread malaria. Unlike many other insects, rains do not deter their quest to make life miserable for many people as they have evolved a way to stay airborne, even during a downpour. Besides flying in the rain, mosquitoes breed in puddles of water which can form round homes after a down pour. Unfortunately, only a single mosquito bite is all it takes for someone to become infected with the malaria parasite and then its progression to malaria. Malaria is a serious illness that can get worse very quickly and can be fatal if not treated promptly. Statistics reveal that malaria is the major cause of death and ill health in Nigeria. It is also the main reason for out-patient admissions, visits to health facilities and is responsible for most deaths of pregnant mothers in Nigeria. Preventing malaria, Dr Taiwo Ladipo, the Malaria Control Programme Manager, Oyo State Ministry of Health, said starts with preventing the bite of mosquito that tends to increase in population during the rainy season. Malaria is caused by the transmission of plasmodium, a type of parasite that is transmitted during a bite of female anopheles mosquito. According to Dr Ladipo, “there are lot of mosquitoes around that bite people. So long as the mosquito that bites is without plasmodium, such a bite does not progress to malaria. “That is the reason why malaria control programmes looks at various ways to truncate the transmission of plasmodium from one person to another,” he declared. Essentially, programmes at preventing malaria include the use of barrier methods such as sleeping inside insecticidal treated mosquito nets; prompt case management of all confirmed malaria cases; use of prophylactic

treatment of malaria in vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children below five years of age; and indoor residual spraying. These are all aimed at ensuring that there is no plasmodium for mosquitoes to transmit. Sleeping inside a long lasting insecticide treated net to create a barrier between man and mosquitoes, Dr Ladipo, said was a habit that Nigeria Malaria Eradication programme was trying to promote with distribution of free mosquito nets all over the country. “We had lost that habit of sleeping under the net. I remember when we were in school; we were using nets in boarding school. So we are now trying to inculcate that habit back into ourselves. “Now, nets have insecticide impregnated in their fabrics right from their manufacturers, such that when mosquitoes or other insects like bed bug get in contact with the net, the insecticide kills them. “The long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLIN) serves a dual function. It reduces the density of mosquitoes around as well as the chances of plasmodium transition from an infected mosquito to humans, hence prevent malaria.” Oyo State between 2012 and 2013 distributed 2.7 million LLIN in its 33 local government council areas, ensuring at least two nets per household. Another 4.5 million nets are expected to be distributed in February, 2016 to ensure the previously distributed ones can be replaced. The nets are expected to be replaced after three years or 20 washings. One net will be given to two people. Does LLIN have advantages over other modes of preventing mosquito bites such as the use of aerosol sprays and mosquito coil? Dr Ladipo said LLIN have long lasting effect, is cheaper and more effective in reducing the population of mosquitoes than aerosol insecticide sprays

and mosquito coil. “In terms of preventing mosquito bites, you are better off with LLIN by more than 100 per cent when compared with the use of aerosol sprays and mosquito coil,” he declared. “A can of aerosol insecticide spray costs about N500. However, LLIN can be bought for as low as N100. That an LLIN can be used for three years means the person can have a mosquito bite cover for just N100 rather than the expensive aerosol insecticide spray.” Ladipo, who suggested the use of wall paints containing insecticide as another cheaper option to the use of aerosol insecticide sprays and mosquito coil, added that mosquito bites prevention can be through a multi-prong approach. Dr Adebola Karim-Mohammed, Oyo State Coordinator of FHI 360 MAPS Project, an organisation working in conjunction with government on malaria eradication, however, indicated the need for people to know where they can easily access malaria services, including LLINs. With Oyo State now rated third best in Nigeria on health management information collection following support from FHI 360 MAPS Project, he said many people are now imbibing the culture of sleeping inside a LLIN to stay free of malaria. Karim-Mohammed, remarking that malaria is preventable, treatable and curable, said individual’s body immunity to malaria would also determine those that a bite from mosquito would quickly lead to malaria. The expert said LLIN was also a better option for individuals that cannot tolerate aerosol insecticide spray, adding that LLIN also gives a whole night cover from bite unlike the aerosol spray aside its lower cost. “It is far cheaper than even the mosquito coil and it can be used repeatedly. It is safer than the other options,” he concluded.

“The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.” —Jimmy Carter

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Dr. Ben Ajayi 0805 400 5447

you-and-eye@gmail.com

Should eye drops be used before or after meals?

“

GOOD morning dokita,” Mama Bose greeted me as usual. “Good morning young lady,” I replied teasing. At 69, she looked more like 49. I asked if all was well and she was using her medications. “Certainly I use my medicines regularly,” was her enthusiastic response. A few minutes later, my tests, confirmed she wasn’t really using her medications. She certainly hadn’t used them that morning. “Mama Bose, why aren’t you telling me the truth? You certainly haven’t used your medicines today?” I avoided telling her she was lying. In Yoruba culture, it is rude to tell an older person or a stranger he is lying to his face. It is not proper! But you can say what he is saying is not exactly correct - semantics! “It is because I haven’t eaten,” she replied. It was about 10am. The only reason I had given her an appointment for that day was to see if the new medicine I had prescribed for her was working adequately or not. If it was effective, I could leave her on the medication. If on the other hand it wasn’t, I would have to change to another type. Now, what would I do? Obviously, she would have to repeat the visit on another day! A few minutes after this encounter, Chief Daruba, another patient came in. He had been on treatment for glaucoma for a number of years. Chief had not been good at using his medications. I had scolded him many times, but it didn’t appear to have made any impact on him. He was seeing very well and for him that was all that mattered. He couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

From experience, I knew that Chief would soon become apprehensive. He had lost a considerable portion of his visual fields and even though he could still see very well, he was actually sitting on the edge of a cliff! He could suddenly lose the remaining nerve fibres in his right eye and go blind if he continued with his lackadaisical attitude. I checked his intra-ocular pressure. My fears were confirmed. It was exactly the same value as at the last visit before I introduced the new eye drops. “My dear Chief,” I said affectionately, looking at him straight in the eye, “you have not used your medications. Why?” He smiled wryly. His answer hit me like a bomb! I was dumbfounded. I thought my ears were misbehaving. I repeated the question in another way. He held on to his statement, “Doctor, I haven’t eaten, how could I put in the drops in my eyes? I usually use the tablets after my breakfast and then follow with the drops.” Must you eat before you instill eye drops in your

Others claimed eye drops often provoke them to vomit if used before food.

eyes?,” I asked. As ridiculous as it sounded, I was later to discover that he was not alone. Some patients chose to use their eye drops after eating. How this idea came about I wouldn’t know. Some said that the bitter taste of the medicine passing into their throat made their food unpalatable. Others claimed eye drops often provoke them to vomit if used before food. I decided to find out a bit more on how patients used their eye medications. The result was fascinating. Peter told me that he would only use his eye drops if he didn’t have any important engagement within three hours of using them. They make his vision blurry. He wasn’t alone! I discovered that limitation of activity was a major impediment to the use of eye drops. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The eye is for seeing and if for any reason a medicine that is supposed to promote healthy eyes makes it impossible for the patient to see well, it is unlikely to find favour with him. Many patients found it inconvenient to use eye drops more than twice a day except they were in severe pain or discomfort. At the best, they would use it in the morning and night even if told they should use it three or more times daily. Really, is there any scientific basis for taking medicines after meals? Are there drugs that should be taken on empty stomach? Which drugs should be taken after meals? Should you use eye drops before or after meals? What has eye drops got to do with vomiting? Watch out for the answers to these questions and more next week.

Dr Abayomi Ajayi

ivf &you

info@nordicalagos.org

0700 6673422

How are ovarian cysts and tumours treated? (Continued from last week) Other imaging tests: Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron tumours can help see whether and how far they have spread. Hormone levels: The doctor may take a blood test to check levels of several hormones. These include luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, and testosterone. Laparoscopy. This is a surgical procedure used to treat ovarian cysts. It uses a thin, light-tipped device inserted into your abdomen. During this surgery, the surgeon can find cysts or tumours and may remove a small piece of tissue (biopsy) to test for cancer. CA-125 If the doctor thinks the growth may be cancerous, he might take a blood test to look for a protein called CA-125. Levels of this protein tend to be higher in some — but not all – women with ovarian cancer. This test is mainly used in women over age 35, who are at slightly higher risk for ovarian cancer. If the diagnosis is ovarian cancer, the doctor will use the diagnostic test results to determine whether the cancer has spread outside of the ovaries. If it has, the doctor will also use the results to determine how far it has spread. This diagnosis procedure is called staging. This helps the doctor plan your treatment. How are ovarian cysts and tumours treated?

Most ovarian cysts will go away on their own. If you don’t have any bothersome symptoms especially if you haven’t yet gone through menopause, your doctor may advocate “watchful waiting”. The doctor won’t treat you. But the doctor will check you every one to three months to see if there has been any change in the cysts. Birth control pills may relieve the pain from ovarian cysts. They prevent ovulation, which reduces the odds that new cysts will form. Surgery is an option if the cyst doesn’t go away, grows, or causes you pain. There are two types of surgery: Laparoscopy uses a very small incision and a tiny, lighted telescope-like instrument. The instrument is inserted into the abdomen to remove the cyst. This technique works for smaller cysts. Laparotomy involves a bigger incision in the stomach.

Birth control pills may relieve the pain from ovarian cysts. They prevent ovulation, which reduces the odds that new cysts will form.

Doctors prefer these techniques for larger cysts and ovarian tumours. If the growth is cancerous, the surgeon will remove as much of the tumour as possible. This is called debulking. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, the surgeon may also remove the ovaries, womb, fallopian tubes, omentum – fatty tissue covering the intestines – and nearby lymph nodes. Other treatments for cancerous ovarian tumours include: •Chemotherapy — drugs given through a vein (IV), by mouth, or directly into the abdomen to kill cancer cells. Because they kill normal cells as well as cancerous ones, chemotherapy medications can have side effects, including nausea and vomiting, hair loss, kidney damage, and increased risk of infection. These side effects should go away after the treatment is done. •Radiation – high-energy X-rays that kill or shrink cancer cells. Radiation is either delivered from outside the body, or placed inside the body near the site of the tumor. This treatment also can cause side effects, including red skin, nausea, diarrhea, and fatigue. Radiation is not often used for ovarian cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation may be given individually or together. It is possible for cancerous ovarian tumours to return. If that happens, you will need to have more surgery, sometimes combined with chemotherapy or radiation.

healthnews

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Rotary provides free care for 350 rural dwellers By sade oguntola

T was a time of refreshing when members of Rotary Club of Ibadan, Akobo undertook a three-day medical outreach to Kute, a suburb of Ibadan, where over 350 people also benefiting from free HIV counselling and testing. The medical outreach, which had the support of Society for Family Health (SFH), dewormed and treated children for malaria; distributed 2,000 male and female condoms, mosquito nets and sanitary pads as well as screened for HIV, diabetes and hypertension. President, Rotary Club of Ibadan, Akobo, Mrs Olufunmilayo Ogunbamiwo, said the medical outreach was part of the organisation’s health programmes

to support family health. Ogunbamiwo said the distributed sanitary pads were to discourage the use of toilet paper for menses, adding that particles of toilet roll when stuck inside the vagina can predispose to infections that can affect their fertility in the future. The medical outreach, which had awareness creation on HIV prevention and control, she said found about 15 per cent of the adults screened having high blood pressure and about five per cent of cases of suspected diabetes. Ogunbamiwo, who said majority of the persons with high blood pressure, had been on hypertension medicines before but stopped, said those with high blood pressure and blood sugar levels had been advised to go to the hospital.

The medical outreach was capped with the commissioning of the upgraded lying ward of the Primary Healthcare Centre, Alegongo to support good maternal and child health in the community. Commissioning the upgraded lying ward, Rotary Assistant governors, Gbenga Oluniyi and Stella Olufadeji, stressed the need for people to always give to the cause of humanity rather than amassing wealth. They described giving as a benevolent act that should be inculcated by all, adding that the newly refurbished ward would go a long way in providing comfort for mothers and their new babies. They said cases of mothers and babies dying from preventable causes were not right and hence pleaded for more support for the improvement of facilities at

the primary health care centre. Head of local administration, Lagelu Local Government, Mr Tunde Osunbunmi described the refurbished ward as an indelible contribution towards the attainment of some targets of the millennium development goals (MDGs) in the council. Osunbunmi, who assured of optimum use of the facility by people in the area, said Oyo State government was committed to improving healthcare service delivery in every community in the state. He, however, declared that government need more support from individuals and organisations to continue to engender human development in the state.

Experts challenges Nigerians on pain A medical expert, Professor Olaitan Soyannwo has urged Nigerians in pain from different medical conditions that cannot be cured to speak out, saying through palliative care, such pains can be relieved. Professor Soyannwo spoke at the 2015 World Hospice and Palliative Care Day celebration with the theme “Hidden lives, Hidden Patients” at the Agodi Prisons to create awareness on what palliative care for its staff and prison inmates. It was organised by Centre for Palliative Care, Nigeria in collaboration with the Hospice and Palliative Care unit of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Soyannwo, saying that pain can occur due to both curable and incurable diseases, stated that ameliorating such pains, be it a physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual, will improve their quality of life despite the illness. The expert, noting that prison inmates top the list of hidden people that may have health challenges, despite their rights also to health, solicited the partnership of Nigerian Prisons to build capacity of its health professions and volunteers for them to be able to also provide palliative care to prison inmates. Given that cancer top the list of diseases that require palliative care, Soyannwo called for philanthropist and wealthy Nigerians to support provision of treatment for cancer in the country. The expert, while decrying medical tourism from cancer care, said such monies used in cancer treatment abroad can be pulled together to develop facilities in the country to care for more people that develop the disease. Dr Oladayo Aikomo, an expert also in palliative care, said it was not all about taking care of people that are dying, but rather to ensure that people with illnesses that cannot be cured such as diabetes and HIV have good quality of life. Aikomo, stating that the palliative care is an all encompassing care that is far more than prescribing medicines alone, added that “by the time some of them have answers to questions bothering them, they get better.” Earlier, Mr Olufemi Ogunyadi, Deputy Comptroller of Prisons, had called for increase support for expansion of palliative care in the country to ensure a pain free life as well as assured that officers in the medical and welfare unit would be sent for training on palliative care.

From left: Alhaji Murano Kufeyiji; Rotarian Assistant governor, Gbenga Oluniyi; Rotarian Assistant governor, Mrs Stella Olufadeju; Baale of Alegongo, Professor Muyiwa Sanda; President, Rotary Club of Ibadan, Akobo, Mrs Olufunmilayo Ogunbamiwo and Alhaji A. Yisau after the commissioning of the upgraded lying ward of the Primary Healthcare centre, Alegongo, recently in Ibadan.

International day of Older Persons: UCH to expand geriatric centre THE University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan has disclosed its readiness to expand the Chief Tony Anenih Geriatric Centre (CTAGC) for improved quality healthcare services for the older persons. The Chief Medical Director (CMD), of UCH, Professor Temitope Alonge disclosed this during a programme organised to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons with the theme:”Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment”. According to Alonge, the provision of quality healthcare for older persons has been one of the aims of his administration and hence the plan to the centre to include sections for x-rays and laboratory services. “We have noticed overtime the stress and delays older persons encounter at the main hospital when they require x-rays and series of tests. To celebrate the third anniversary of this geriatric centre on November 17, we will start its expansion for

improved services. We will also construct car parks and game centres for our aged,” he said. Alonge also disclosed that Chief Tony Anenih has promised to purchase two mobile vans to convey the older persons on daily basis from their homes to the centre for medical check-ups. He went further:”I had a meeting with the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr Femi Thomas and he promised to review the charges for the services from N18,000 to N15,000 in order to give older persons more access to quality healthcare. “The olderly people are dependable and reliable people and their care should be the top priority of their children and the government. I have great love and passion for them because they are an acumen of intellectuality. The older people are the ones to make this world a greater place and that is why the younger ones must

learn from them.” He promised that the hospital’s management will do all possible to give older persons proper care and at a subsidised and cheaper rate. In her lecture, Dr Eme Owoaje stated that in the next 50 years, the number of older persons in the world will grow from 600 million to two billion. “Older persons make major contribution to promote health and active ageing in the society. If we exclude them from our society then we are excluding a larger percentage of our society. In 2050, the urban environment will have one quarter population of older persons and it carries a lot of challenges which only the government can start addressing from now,” she said. Owoade further stated that by migrating to the urban environment, it also gives the older persons the opportunity to improve their quality of life and provide them with adequate security among others.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

healthpeople Low consumption of vegetables promotes colon cancer

Dr Obinna Ogbonna is the National president, Nigerian Union of Allied Professionals, and Chief Dietician at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile Ife, Osun State. In this interview with SADE OGUNTOLA, he explains how best individuals in this austere time can feed well with little money, among other issues.

EOPLE talk about portion and serving sizes, a major reason for the rising incidence of malnutrition in Nigeria, is this truly the situation? Portion and serving sizes is individualised depending on who we are addressing, the age, food type, gender, level of activity and disease condition we are addressing. There are two forms of malnutrition, what is termed undernutrition and over nutrition. For people with under nutrition, portion or serving sizes are adjusted to achieve the maximum nutrient for the consumer, so the quality and quantity of the food to serve is important. However, persons with malnutrition require replenishing with adequate energy and protein giving foods, preferably a protein with a high biological value. Proteins from animal sources have high biological value than those from plant sources. Now, the size and servings of the protein is determined by whether it is from an animal or protein source. If it is from the animal source, you may not need as much quantity as that from the plant source. What is appropriate as a portion for a 40-year-old man that wants to eat fish or beans? An average size egg contains seven grammes of protein, but his protein requirement in a day depends on his body weight. An average adult will need about 0.75 grammes protein per kilogramme body weight. For instance, a 60-kilogramme individual will need about 45grammes of protein in a day. It means in each meal, he needs about 15grammes. So, if you have a breakfast of eggs and bread, that single egg that is fried has supplied seven grammes of protein. Now, if it is with, say, four slices of bread and a slice of bread has between two to three grammes of protein in it, which gives you another 12 grammes of protein. In total, the protein content is about 19grammes. It is already higher than what the 60kilograme person should take for breakfast, so protein body requirement is individualistic. The body weight helps to determine the quantity of protein you are to take. Does it therefore mean that the bigger you are, the less the amount of protein you need? Again, size could be deceptive. For females, they seem to be larger in size, but may not weigh as much as the males of the same body composition. This is because males have more muscles in them than the females. So,

rather than size, we consider the body weight in determining the quantity of protein an individual requires. Generally, between 0.75 to 0.8 gramme per kilogramme body weight of protein per day is recommended. Does that mean that, for a 60-yearold man, taking two pieces of egg with four slices of bread and tea for breakfast; three pieces of meat with a plate of boiled rice and beans at lunch and a big bowl of beans and vegetables for dinner may not be appropriate? Such a person may be overloading his kidneys, the organ that is involved in excretion of waste products from the body. The excess protein is unnecessary. This is why people must be guided; information is power. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just do something because others are doing the same; clarify issues with experts. For instance, people see a person that buys, say N10 worth of eba or pounded yam and N50 worth of meat, as enjoying himself, but such a person is gradually killing himself. Moreover, the type of meat consumed is also important. For instance, offal or intestines of animals contains a lot of cholesterol. With age, it is better to avoid such types of meat. With age, you do not need too much of meat. The body will require just about 40grammes of the entire meat being consumed to keep wear and tear away. The excess is excreted as part of stool. So basically, one does not need more than one or two pieces of meat. Are these supposed to be big or small pieces of meat? What we recommend is between 50 to 60 gms of meat. When you club your fist, half of it represents about 50grammes of that meat. For fish, that is equivalent to about the space created when you make an oval shape of your forefinger and your thumb. Persons need not over indulge in eating food.

Higher consumption of junk in rich people is the reason they experience more cases of micronutrient deficiency.

Diet is often linked with health challenges like fertility and chronic conditions like hypertension, why is this so? There is a close relationship between your diet and health. When you eat well, you keep well. For instance, infertility has been linked with poor dietary pattern. Research has shown that over indulgence in fatty foods, for instance, can affect oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fertility. Excess fat deposits in areas of the body, especially around the abdominal area, in a woman can contribute to infertility. Often times, women with infertility issues are referred to dieticians from the gynaecology unit, asking that they be advised on proper diets to improve their fertility. Now, we have many young girls attaining puberty at age nine because of their diet that is rich in saturated fat. Moreover, increasing intake of a diet that is rich in saturated fat can clog blood vessels, leading to heart problems, including hypertension and heart attack. Also, higher consumption of junk in rich people is the reason they experience more cases of micronutrient deficiency than malnutrition compared those others in the society. The assertion that the body cannot be healthier than the food consumed is true... It is true because you are what you eat, garbage in, garbage out. If you eat well, you will keep well. But some people also misconstrue this when they are climbing the ladder of socio-economic status. They change their pattern of eating, leaving natural foods for the artificial ones. This is the bane of micronutrient deficiency in the affluence group. In an attempt to maintain their social status, they leave the needful and start to take exotic foods, served in many eateries which

do not have the basic food ingredients in them. For instance, people play low on vegetable intake. Vegetable and fruit intake is essential. Fruits and vegetables are assumed by many as no food, but it is important that we imbibe them in our dietary pattern. In Nigeria, people are not doing that any more, they just eat whatever is available. They do not take vegetables in their array and this is endangering their system. People who do not take lot of vegetables may suffer from colon cancer. Before now, colon cancer was not common in Africa, but its incidence is on the rise because of industrialisation and change of dietary pattern. Due to decline in purchasing power of Nigeria, how can women provide healthy meals for families? What is needful as a meal is an adequate diet, one that is adequate in quality and quantity. Achieving adequate diet, however, does not need too much money to prepare. For instance, in the Yoruba setting, there is polished maize (egbo in Yoruba) which when combined with beans is adequate. Its protein quality is adequate. You have used what you have within the ambit of available resources to get adequate or complete protein through beans and maize or rice and beans. They are the same. Also, soya products are rich in protein and can be used to replace animal protein like meat. Rather than take cocoa beverage, a cheap alternative is hot pap with bean cake. Similarly, such insects as termite and grasshopper can also be good sources of protein. For instance, a 100grammes of termite will give more protein than that same amount of meat. It is cheaper and can be used to prepare vegetable soup and served with such food as Amala and Fufu. The insect can serve as meat.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

By Sade Oguntola

natural

or people with arthritis, common herbal remedies may improve walking, build strength and reduce pain. Experts have found common herbal remedies, including Alchornea cordifolia leaves, that could ensure less trouble moving due to stiff and painful joints. In a new study, experts found that individuals can use herbs such as water decoction of Alchornea cordifolia leaves to ease rheumatic pains and enhancing physical performance. Rheumatoid arthritis, a type of arthritis, is a long-lasting inflammatory disease that causes painful, stiff, swollen joints. Diseasemodifying treatment, started as soon as possible, can slow or prevent the disease from wreaking havoc on the joints. Joints are places where two bones meet, such as your elbow or knee. Over time, a swollen joint can become severely damaged. In Nigeria, it is estimated that 12.3 per cent of Nigerians in urban cities have rheumatoid arthritis. More females are also affected than males. In the treatment of the disease, non-steroidal drugs, steroidal agents and immunosuppressants are usually used but these drugs sometimes have unwanted effects thus, efforts are currently channelled towards discovering new drugs. Alchornea cordifolia is commonly known as the Christmas bush. It is known by other names such as dove wood (English). Its local names include ewe eepa, esinsin, and eepa in Yoruba; baushe in Hausa, and edo or ubebe in Igbo. In the indigenous system of medicine, the plant is used for the management of pain, rheumatism, and arthritis, pile, febrile convulsions, toothache and some other inflammatory disease states. In West Africa, pulped root is widely taken to treat venereal diseases. Dried leaves or

health Scientists verify herbal remedy for arthritis

Alcornea cordifolia roots, alone or with tobacco, are smoked to cure cough. They are also taken as a blood purifier, as a tonic and to treat anaemia and epilepsy. Leaf and root decoctions are widely used as mouth wash to treat ulcers of the mouth, toothache and caries, and twigs are chewed for the same purposes. The root and stem bark are used in the treatment of jaundice. In Gabon and Congo, its root decoction or maceration is taken to treat amoebic dys-

October is the month that is all about pink and pink products in support of women who have or have suffered from breast cancer. Chances are that you know someone who has faced a breast cancer diagnosis. Many of us have lost loved ones to breast cancer, but there are so many factors on the plate when it comes to preventing and managing breast cancer. In particular, diet is an extraordinarily powerful anti-cancer treatment, but that is a whole separate post in itself. Here, the focus is on three lifestyle changes every woman should know for better breast health. Ditch or remove the underwire Breast tissue houses a big part of our lymphatic tissue. Our lymph system is like the garbage disposal for the

entery and diarrhoea and used as eye drops to cure conjunctivitis. The rural populace of South-west Nigeria also employs the decoction of the leaves in the management of febrile convulsions in children. In the study, the researchers evaluated the efficacy of different amounts of extracts of the leaves in rats, which were made to develop arthritis, to prove its efficacy in the local management of arthritis. Its effect was also compared with that from celecoxib, the conventional medica-

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tion for treating arthritis. Parameters such as the width of paw, body weight, full blood count as well as its effect on organs of the body such as the liver and kidney were assessed. The researchers found that A. cordifolia significantly inhibited the experimentally induced arthritis as well as inflammatory markers in the animals. In addition, the anti-arthritic effect of A. cordifolia was found to be comparable to that of celecoxib. The researchers, who also found the extract improved the weight gain pattern in the treated arthritic rats, suggested that this could be due to improvement in the arthritic state of the rats. The 2014 study published in the African Journal of Traditional, Complement Alternative Medicine involved Adejuwon Adewale Adeneye; Adekunle Ibrahim Oreagba, Ismail Ogunbayode Ishola, and Hassanat Adeola Kalejaiye. Overall, they declared, “the results of this study lend credence to the folkloric use of water decoction of Alchornea cordifolia leaves against rheumatoid arthritis.” They said, however, that further studies would be required to isolate and determine the content of the plant that works in treatment of arthritis. Previously, researchers had also indicated its effectiveness in ameliorating pain and other inflammatory disease states such as toothache and pile. In the journal, International Journal of Applied Research in Natural Products, researchers found that its pain lowering effect was dose-dependent, thus confirming the folkloric uses of the plant in painful disorders. Also, its effect was comparable and not significantly different from that produced by common painkillers like aspirin and morphine. It also has a wide margin of safety and is well tolerated by the animals.

body and it flushes out toxins. Unlike our cardiovascular system, however, the lymph system does not have a pump to move the fluid. Instead, the movement of our body is fully responsible for flushing toxins through lymph. Yes, that means breasts are supposed to bounce! According to breast health expert, Cheri-lynn Burk, underwire bras impede the movement of breast tissue and cause the lymph tissue to gather toxins. The metal in underwire bras impede the flow of several important meridians that flow across our torso. But are underwire bras really such a big deal? Some convincing but circumstantial evidences say yes. In the book ‘Dressed to Kill’, authors Sydney Singer and Soma Grismaijer conducted a study on over 4,000 women and discovered some shocking results: • Women who wore bras 24 hours per day had a three out of four chance of developing breast cancer • Women who wore bras less than 12 hours per day had a one out of 52 risk of breast cancer • Women who never or rarely wore bras had a one out of 168 chance of breast cancer • Furthermore, one controlled study found that bra wearers had twice the risk of breast cancer compared with non-bra users. Although this could also reflect the point that the non-bra users generally had smaller breasts and that correlated to a reduced cancer risk. A Japanese study found that a bra can lower your melatonin; an extremely beneficial hormone level, by 60 per cent. • Women who did not use bras benefited in the longrun, developing more muscle tissue to provide natural support. As France’s The Local notes, Rouillon also noticed that nipples gained a higher lift in relation to the shoulders, in women who went braless. When bras are worn, the restrictive material prevents such tissue from growing, which may actually accelerate sagging, the study concluded. Fortunately, there are safer bra alternatives that allow better lymph flow. • First, you can remove the underwire from your bras. If you purchase an underwire bra, the first thing to do is remove the wire. It is simple and the bra still provides support and shape. (To be continued next week)

38 politics&policy

Thursday, 15 October, 2015 Group Politics Editor Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 tai_adis@yahoo.com

Raging crisis of ethnic agitation Stakeholders in the Nigerian project are unrelenting in their demand for true federation. TUNDE BUSARI examines this issue against the background of some core recommendations of the 2014 constitutional conference.

F a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Minister of Finance, Chief Olu Falae had not been abducted allegedly by a gang of Fulani herdsmen in his Akure, Ondo State farmland, perhaps the summit of the Yoruba elders held in Ibadan last week would not have come so soon.. But a critical look at the communiqué issued after the well-attended meeting revealed that the gathering went beyond an after-thought. It was indeed overdue for the Yoruba leaders, who have never hidden their misgivings against the abuse of the Yoruba peace-loving culture. They went down memory lane and specifically recalled the experiences of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1964, Chief MKO Abiola in 1994 and other Yoruba personalities who had paid the supreme price in the course of seeking a better Nigeria. They, thus, sent a strong message and a declaration to the rest of the federation that the Yoruba nation was not a weakling contrary to the assumptions in some quarters. The leaders, in an unmistakably term, stated that their patience was running out, asserting: “We shall take it no more.” But, an activist lawyer, Mr Femi Falana called for caution, warning on the implication of a threat to the unity of the country. “It is unfortunate that the senior citizens, who issued the threat did not address the legal implications of their demand. It ought to be pointed out that every Nigerian has a constitutional right not to be expelled from any part of the country,” Falana argued Another lawyer, Festus Keyamo also expressed misgivings over the Yoruba leaders’ declaration. He chided them for toeing a confrontational path as against their traditional mature articulation of strong views. However, a former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope differed with Keyamo’s position, stressing that Yoruba leaders wre not confrontational but only calling the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari to respect Yoruba and guarantee their protection within the federation. The member of Board of Trustees of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) argued that ethnic agitation for respect and protection was constitutional but frowned at a call for secession. Remarkably, the Yoruba leaders’ agitation has since raised a question on the similar ones promoted by other ethnic nationalities in the country. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has used every available platform to express its readiness to remain in Nigeria with a proviso that Nigeria should respect the existence of the Igbo within the federation. The South-West president of the group, Prince Nathaniel Uzomah, shortly after

Buhari

Almost two years after the submission of the confab report to the government, no action has been taken beyond the occasional reference to it by concerned ethnic groups.

President Buhari won the March 28 elections, had demanded the implementation of the 2014 National Conference report, as a panacea to the continuous ethic agitations. A similar demand has been made by others, including the Ijaw National Congress and Middle Belt Forum with the latter declaring that the conference would solve challenges facing the country. Some of the key recommendations of the 492-member conference on the face value, are targeted at dousing the age-long apprehension and mistrust, which are the hallmark of the relationship among major ethnic groups in the country. For instance,

the conference recommended the creation of 18 states in addition to one new state for the South-East to make the zone have equal number of states with other zones except the North-West which has seven. It also recommended that states willing to merge could also do so based on certain conditions. On resource control/derivation, and the principle of fiscal federalism, the conference noted that assigning percentage for the increase in derivation principle, and setting up special intervention funds to address issues of reconstruction and rehabilitation of areas ravaged by insurgency and internal conflicts, as well as solid minerals develop-

ment, require some technical details and consideration. The conference therefore recommended that government should set up a technical committee to determine the appropriate percentage on the three issues and advise government accordingly. Another recommendation states that local government will no longer be the third tier of government. The federal and states are now to be the only tiers of government. States can now create as many local governments they want. The Joint State/Local Government Account be scrapped and in its place the establishment of a State RMAFC with representatives of LG and a chairman nominated by the governor. The Constitution should fix the tenure for local government councils at three years. Conference recommends the scrapping of state Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs). It should be noted that some politicians had turned down the opportunity to participate in the conference. For instance, The All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders argued that not only did the delegates represent the various segments of the country, but were selected by the authorities, Keyamo is also averse to the conference, which he dubbed President Jonathan’s instrument for his re-election bid. Other public affairs commentators also contended that for the recommendations to be implemented, the report ought to have been subjected to a referendum which would confer the validity or otherwise to the report. Almost two years after the submission of the confab report to the government, no action has been taken beyond the occasional reference to it by concerned ethnic groups. But with President Buhari’s prompt intervention in Chief Falae incident, through a directive to the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase and the recovery of Chief Falae in a record time, what is the implication of the message issued by the Yoruba leaders when they met in Ibadan? The eventual arrest of the suspected kidnappers, and their confession, appears to have justified the anti- threat analysts, thereby vindicating President Buhari’s sincerity and his resolve to give all ethnic groups level playing ground. Even beyond addressing major ethnic nationalities’ agitations, national question remains a contentious issue, which resolution depends on the political will of the president. According to a right activist and lawyer, Femi Aborishade, national question refers to the oppression of nations, nationalities and/or minorities within nations. This classification, to some political pundits, is suggesting that if the numerous minority ethnic groups in the country are not also respected and carried along by the major ones, the consequence is predictable. To forestall this, Keyamo recommended the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference with acceptable modailties that would engender the confidence of majority of Nigerians. Chief Babatope, however, insisted that the 2014 conference report was still relevant, calling on President Buhari to give his nod to the recommendations or convoke another one.

39 politics&policy

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Why the war on corruption won’t succeed —Suraju Mr OlanrewajuSuraju, a lawyer, is the chairman, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), a coalition of civil society groups waging war against corruption in the country. Suraju speaks in this interview on some national issues. BOLA BADMUS brings excerpts:

HY does your organisation, the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), focus solely on fighting corruption? We had been existing before the so-called mantra of change and emergence of All Progressives Congress (APC). We have been around since 2011 and the whole essence of our coming together at that material point in time was to see how we could harness forces together with several civil society organisations and individuals that are campaigning against corruption. That was at the point when many of the issues about corruption began to be known and the anti- corruption institutions were waking up to their responsibilities. That was also at the point when the effect of the investigative reports of the media was actually gradually being eroded in society and what you see simply then was once you report a case of corruption against any public office holder, all the general public does is just to read the news, discuss it within themselves and then move on. Before you even digest one, another is already propping up. So it becomes just mere debate without any action and nobody is kind of tracking. It was at a point, we were sure we were running into crisis. President Muhammadu Buhari’s major concern is anti-corruption in line with what you are doing. To what extent do you think the fight against corruption can restore sanity in Nigeria? I would look at it in two ways. I think the first one is for us to be serious about the fight against corruption and that will involve Nigerians very critically. The second one is for the government of the day to take advantage of the whole sentiment that we have against corruption. So, if we are leaving it to just the President and what he wants to do, all we will end up with will just be a function of sloganeering of fight against corruption and we wouldn’t have substance. The whole effect of fight against corruption and what we can see as its impact currently are not even the activities of this current government or the party of the President. It is just the function of the body language and the whole spill-over of what we can call political revolution that happened with the elections of March this year which brought in this new government. It is not to say that the government has formulated any policy, appointed any other new person in the anti-corruption institutions or allocated any additional resources to them that is bringing about what we are having in terms of the little impact in the fight against corruption. So, when we want to do a constructive analysis of it, we can’t say the President has started fighting corruption in form of policy or programme. We can say that the body language is clear. His appointments will also assist us to know if we are fighting corruption or we are likely to go the way of the old order. But then you can see that the Spartan nature of the President is also already bringing about the potential change that we might have. Your organisation and similar oth-

Suraju

With what Ribadu said during Obasanjo regime that he reported to Obasanjo because the then president was his boss, there was no basis for him to have done.

ers like CACOL are daily condemning corruption and fighting it tooth and nail. But we still have the scourge everywhere. I should say that CACOL is also part of the CSNAC. Ours really is not to fight corruption. The anti-corruption institutions are the ones that have the powers to actually do that. Ours is to expose all those corrupt cases, monitor the activities of those anticorruption institutions and engage them to ensure that they deliver. One of the first things we did and that you can see when you check the record is to ensure that the anticorruption agencies are formally informed of cases of corruption that are reported either in the media or by whistle-blowers in government agencies or even private sector. I can say we have done that so much effectively in such an unprecedented manner in

the history of Nigeria. We’ve had cause to report nothing less than 300 cases to different anti-corruption agencies. Ours is to do the uptake. All is reported in the media and we can see a constructive report and a link. Sometimes, we do our own investigation to establish the veracity of many of the claims and we formally report them to anti-graft institutions and do necessary follow-up. Unless the stakeholders rise up to that challenge and decide for once that we want to fight corruption to a standstill, it’s just going to be a little drop in the ocean. How effective do you think we can tackle corruption when the heads of anti-graft agencies are responsible to the Presidency? The first thing I said is that the people should take the anti-corruption war serious

because if we leave it to the generosity of the President, it then means it is subject to his mood to determine which fight to fight and who also to engage; we are going to lose it. The most critical thing is one; we are going to look at the law in force to the extent that those provisions like the gazette I just mentioned, which requires the EFCC to get the confirmation of the Attorney- General before proceeding with prosecution must actually be dropped. Also, the president’s commitment to granting independence or autonomy and financial support to anticorruption agencies must also be enforced. The anti-corruption agencies are meant to report to the National Assembly. The Presidency must cease from controlling them and their report must cease from going to the Presidency. It is meant to go to the National Assembly and that is why it is stated under their law that every September, they will turn in their annual reports. The reports are not only talking about their (agencies) financial reports, they also include their operational reports. But unfortunately, it is a whole circle of corruption. This is because many times, the reports are not submitted; when they are submitted, they are not interrogated because the interrogation should have been able to unearth how many cases were reported, who were those investigated, what were the outcomes of the investigations, how many of them were prosecuted and what is the state of the prosecution? This then can assist the corruption agencies in showing that the challenges or the encumbrances they suffered are caused either by the Judiciary or the resources that were insufficient for them to prosecute the cases. But, we don’t have such situations. It is the culpability of both the corruption agencies and the National Assembly, as well as the unnecessary influence and interference by the Presidency. With what Ribadu said during Obasanjo regime that he reported to Obasanjo because the then president was his boss, there was no basis for him to have done. The president can also be investigated by an anti-corruption agency without even telling him. The only thing they would have waited for was for his immunity to cease after the expiration of his office and then they proceed to prosecute him. But unfortunately, we have not seen any of the presidents investigated because no anti- corruption agency appears ready to do that. How do you reconcile the war against corruption by Buhari with the choice of candidates by the APC for the governorship election in Bayelsa and Kogi states? In real sense and candour, the only thing that is clearly different between PDP and APC is just their names and certain individuals that you find in them. Given the same circumstances and opportunities, they (parties) will commit the same atrocity, and that you can check with governors of both parties. We are just looking at the national level; if you look at the state, the atrocities that are committed in Kogi is not going to be different from the same thing that was committed by a governor elsewhere. The same offence that was committed even in Lagos State is going to be slightly different with what you have with another PDP state governor. So, it is expected that for a party that claims that it is riding to government on the mantra of change, these characters should not have been allowed to contest in the first place.

40 politicscommentary

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

A new Nigeria is evolving ble for their social status or their suffering. This has led to the ongoing religious, tribal and ethnic conflicts in Nigeria.

By Kayode Ogundamisi

ITH the challenges of living in Nigeria, it becomes difficult for citizens to feel a sense of national identity.It is probably easier for a child to fly a spacecraft to the moon than for any Nigerian to define what a “Nigerian identity” is.This is something citizens of Nigeria have been grappling with since the West African country gained independence in 1960. This is partly historical, and partly a result of continuous skewed governance structures and unaccountable governments. Pre-1960 Nigeria was a forced entity created by British colonialists and made up of strong, pre-colonial, independent nation states. After independence, there has not been a conscious effort to build a society based on fairness, equity and justice. The new post-colonial beneficiaries of a defective system simply carried on. And in the end, what we have today is a nation state and a national identity that mean different things to the more than 300 ethnic nationalities, which are the building blocks of what is today referred to as Nigeria. Nigerians in a self-help world It is challenging for individuals to identify with a non-existent or poorly functioning state. Citizens over the years have had to create “mini-states”, with their own “governments” in their communities. Nigerians had to produce their own electricity through generators, construct boreholes to access water, and set up vigilante groups for security. With the collapse of public education, citizens are more or less ministers of education, who have to rely on private education. Healthcare is inaccessible, even for those who have some resources, leaving the majority of Nigerians to turn to local herbalists for remedies. With the challenges of living in Nigeria, it becomes difficult for citizens with no access to the state services to feel a sense of “Nigerianess”.There is no sense of shared, common resources that are beneficial and to be defended, and which are accessible to everyone without discrimination. What evolved in Nigeria is a situation where a sense of belonging and having a “Nigerian identity” is dependent on a compensatory relationship - those who benefit from the system feel more Nigerian, and the other way round for those who benefit less. Those who feel more Nigerian and proclaim loudly their “Nigerian identity” and take pride in being Nigerian are likely to be those benefitting, or have benefitted, from corruption, mismanagement, and social and gender inequalities. And they probably do not constitute more than one percent of the population. This group includes the very successful civil servants and political office holders who might own several properties, are able to send their children to the best schools and access the best healthcare facilities outside of Nigeria. Dire living conditions Around 70 percent of Nigerians earn under $1 a day.To be at the forefront of proclaiming how “great Nigeria is” and the need for Nigerians to come together is some sort of forced nationalism. State officials often deliberately confuse the criticism Nigerians level against the

Buhari

Nigerians are now breaking old suspicions, barriers, prejudices and biases about the “other” and are seeing themselves as having a common destiny, despite ethnic and religious differences.

government for failing to provide a better standard of living as simply a poor sense of Nigerian identity. Exploitative colonisation and failure of subsequent governments have led most Nigerians to resort to their primordial and ethnic identities and group affiliations at the expense of a national identity. This has led to a cynical population of deprived Nigerians trying to eke out a daily living while facing the challenges of day-to-day survival. As a result, they do

not bother with what a Nigerian identity means. Of course, there are exceptional instances: Being a Nigerian is often associated with the national football team - the Super Eagles - when they want passports and are targeted negatively by other countries. Unfortunately, the situation has also given way to a generation of poor communities who constantly look for scapegoats among their classes, and who hold their own ethnic or religious groups responsi-

The wind of change The upside is that Nigeria has built an army of illustrious and industrious people, who can be potentially proud, with enough individual resourcefulness if only the social issues of corruption, poverty and the structure of Nigerian state, good governance, and strong viable institutions are genuinely addressed. A new generation of Nigerians is emerging - helped by the social media and leading to more openness and interaction among themselves.The voices of those who have been oppressed and want a better Nigeria are now being heard through social media and are getting louder - louder than those of the minority voices who have held Nigeria in a comatose state and who continue to benefit from the dysfunctional state. Nigerians are now breaking old suspicions, barriers, prejudices and biases about the “other” and are seeing themselves as having a common destiny, despite ethnic and religious differences. Governments are being held more accountable than before, budgets are being scrutinised, politicians and those who hold public office are being interrogated, and their past misdeeds are being exposed to render them ineligible for government positions. Ordinary citizens are defining the political narrative and taking power away from powerful people who own traditional media.With a renewed clamour for issues, such as gender equality, equitable distribution of wealth, responsible citizenship, the need for good governance is becoming more prominent with young Nigerians. The wind of change is slow, but it is happening and is soothing to well-meaning Nigerians. Despite the threat of Boko Haram, organised kidnappings, general state of insecurity across the country, and a deteriorating economy, Nigerians are now more determined to make change possible through nonviolent means. The power of the ballot box to make a change is still seen as much more effective than the power of AK-47s.This was represented by the powerful images of women displaced from their homes in the northeast, patiently waiting in queues for hours to vote during the last elections.Nigerians are steadily beginning to change governments they do not like, voicing more criticism of governments they supported to get into office, and holding fellow citizens accountable for their actions and inactions, leading to the negative perception of Nigerians from the outside. It is in this new generation of Nigerians where the possibility of a Nigerian identity lies.However, this is still dependent on the core question about the Nigerian state.As Nigerians, we should resolve the issues of resource control fairly and equitably. We, the Nigerian people, deserve transparent electoral processes, open governments, free and responsible press, strong and independent institutions, and we should uphold the true values of separation of powers and federalism. •Kayode Ogundamisi is a commentator on Nigerian and international affairs. He was involved in the Nigerian pro-democracy struggle. The article is culled from www. aljazeera.com

41 news

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Sylva to Igp: Arrest Bayelsa Apc chairman now Austin Ebipade - Yenagoa

HE crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, is assuming a frightening dimension as the governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva, has impressed it on the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, to order the immediate arrest of APC state chairman, Tiwe Orunimighe. Recurring protests at the party secretariat, it was gathered, should be the basis for the arrest as Orunimghe as he is believed to be behind the protests, even as Sylva had moved fast to stop it. It will be recalled that Since Sylva named an 80-year-old retired educationist, Wilberforce Igiri, as his preferred running mate, there had been protests at the APC secretariat, allegedly sponsored by Orunimighe, causing faceoff between him and the candidate. Orunimighe the party chairman was said to have been promised the slot of running mate by Sylva, who later reneged on his word. According to a reliable source, Sylva’s request for the arrest of Orunimighe was contained in a letter to the IG, stating the repeated protests, destruction of properties at the party’s secretariat and the danger to public peace. The party chairman was also accused of planning to further sponsor a mass protest against the candidature of Sylva, purportedly on the premise of anti-corruption protest geared towards dropping the former governor as candidate. It was claimed in Sylva’s letter that the planned protest was a decoy to disturb the peace in the state and the reason the IG had to move against the chairman without delay. “What is playing out is normal in politics. Sylva is only engaging in power show. You recall Sylva promised Tiwe the deputy slot, but why not fulfill his promise? So you can see that Tiwe is only protest-

ing that action and it will surely continue no matter the call for arrest. His deadly boys, about 1000 armed boys, are slated for the planned protest and it will be difficult for anybody to stop it because of their leader, Tiwe,” a source disclosed. However, supporters loyal to Tiwe had debunked Sylva’s claim, saying that the planned protest would be peaceful and mainly to

call on the EFCC and President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the APC from fielding Sylva as candidate in the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State. They stated that their concern was in the interest of the party as fielding Sylva in their perception would spell doom for the party at the polls. Meanwhile, a faction of APC supporters loyal to

the governorship aspirant, Timi Alaibe, was said to have indicated interest in supporting the PDP candidate, the incumbent Seriake Dickson. It was gathered that the faction told party leaders at a recent meeting that its action was necessitated by the emergence of Sylva as candidate which it claimed, had effectively shut out other key interest

Son of the late former Bayelsa State governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Victor; the widow, Margaret and wife of the former president, Mrs Patience Jonathan, during a condolence visit to the family, in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday. PHOTO:Nan

Alamieyeseigha’s death shocking, painful —Patience Jonathan Alkali mourns him DapoFalade-PortHarcourt and Leon Usigbe - Abuja Dame Patience Jonathan has described the death of the first elected civilian governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, as shocking and painful. She made this known during her visit to the Port Harcourt residence of the former governor, on Tuesday. The former president’s wife arrived at the home of the late governor at about 2.30p.m. and stayed with the widow, Margaret, till about 5.30p.m. “Daddy, on behalf of my husband, former President Goodluck Jonathan and the entire family members, we mourn you so dearly. “We are in shock and our hearts are full of pains,

though we cannot question God. We are saying goodbye. May your gentle soul rest in perfect peace, Amen,”she wrote in the condolence register. Speaking on behalf of the family, Tari Okosi, said “We are still in shock. For now, we have not believed that he has gone,”he said.

Meanwhile, former Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Professor Rufai Alkali, has expressed condolences to former President Goodluck Jonathan, over the death of Chief Alamieyeseigha. In a statement he made available journalists in Abuja, on Wednesday,

AGAINST the backdrop of a rumoured plan by the Osun State government to merge Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY), Iree with other colleges of education in the state, the community on Tuesday, urged Governor Rauf Aregbesola not to tinker with such idea. Addressing a press conference in Iree, on Wednesday, the spokesman of the community, Alhaji Fasasi Adetayo Olatoke, said the

siting of OSPOLY in Iree, had positively enhanced the socio-economic growth of the town, contending that relocating the institution or merging it with another institution would spell doom for the community. Olatoke, who read a prepared speech on behalf of the Asiwaju of Iree, Mr Aderenle Afolabi and the president of Iree Progressive Association (PAC), Alhaji Yekini Oyedele, said that “it is our considered

entitled: “The Iroko has fallen,” he expressed his deep sorrow and heartfelt condolences to the former president, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dikson, the government and the entire people of Bayelsa State, over the passing away of the former Governor of Bayelsa State.

UI VC’s nomination as minister triggers jubilation in Ibadan THERE was spontaneous jubilation at the nation’s premier university, the University of Ibadan, on Tuesday, when the name of the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole was unveiled by the Senate

President, Dr Bukola Saraki, as a ministernominee. Following the pronouncement, students, academic and non-academic staff of the institution momentarily abandoned their daily routine to celebrate his

Don’t relocate, merge OSPOLY, community begs Aregbesola Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

groups in the race. “Now that the APC has succumbed to Sylva, Bayelsans have a right to wonder whether this is the kind of change the party promised Nigerians. And if not, whether the welfare of Bayelsans is of no consequence? Why must the APC now seek to restore Bayelsa to a state of anarchy where warlords now have full reign?” he asked.

opinion that if and when the course rationalisation, merger or outright sale would have been concluded, there would definitely be a change in the configuration of the institution, affecting staff, students and infrastructural development of Iree in many ways.” According to him, “economic and commercial activities would be adversely affected. Social activities in the town would be totally brought to a halt, while indirect provision of employment

through the activities of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) would be brought to an abrupt end, among others. “The major reason for government’s intention to embark on this unholy adventure is to reduce cost of running tertiary institutions, when total cost involved is less than two per cent of the monthly allocation from the Federation Account. We believe that the state government could conveniently pay workers’ salary without stress.”

nomination, even as cab operators on shuttle services blare out the horns of their vehicles to demonstrate their excitement. This was just as other members of the community, including shop owners joined in the merrymaking by trooping to the roads on the campus. Although there had been media speculations that the outgoing vice chancellor was one of the minister-nominees, the entire university campus erupted with euphoria when the news of the vc’s nomination was broken on the floor of the Senate. A media assistant to the outgoing VC, Mr Sunday Saanu described the mood on campus as “overwhelmingly joyous”, saying, the university community received the news with so much of elation.

Jehovah’s Witnesses’ convention holds Friday The second of the nine series of the convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses will come up this weekend, October 16 to 18, 2015, at the Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ifatumo village on Ibadan-Iwo road, Ibadan, Oyo State. The theme of this year’s programme is: ‘Imitate Jesus’. The three- day convention will discuss the keys to family happiness and will also demonstrate how Jesus example could give parents and children the tools to build stronger and more united families. This was contained in a press release made available to the Nigerian Tribune and signed by its media officer, Mr Sunday Olukayode Oladele. The programme starts on Friday through Saturday at 8.20 a.m and 3.55p.m and continues on Sunday by 8.20 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Jehovah’s witnesses in Nigeria are organising 267 of such conventions for this year in 18 languages including French and American sign languages across 31 cities. Admission is free while convention of Jehovah’s witnesses are supported entirely by voluntary donations.

Enduring Word holds convention Enduring Word Ministries aka Victors’ Chapel, off Alexander Junction on Kuola Road, Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State, will hold its 18th anniversary and Victors’ Power Convention 2015 themed: “ The Voice of the Lord”. The programme starts from October 19 and ends on October 25, 2015. It will feature miracle rally on Monday, October 19 to Friday 23, at 5.30 p.m. daily. Worship and Wonders come up on Saturday, October 24 at 4.oop.m while the grand finale and anniversary convention thanksgiving will hold on Sunday, October 25, at 11.ooa.m, at the church auditorium, Victors’ Chapel. Ministering at the programme are Reverend Bode Jegede, Reverend Ibukun Gbeleyi, Bishop Ayoola Olubusuyi, Reverend Dr. Odun Oriokem, among others.Wisdom Voices of the church will minister in songs at the event. Pastor (Mrs) Sade Olabaju is the hostess while Reverend Segun Olabaju is the General Overseer of the church and the chief host.

Reverend and Mrs Olabaju

news

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

Throw garbage, risk prosecution —RIWAMA boss DapoFalade-PortHarcourt

o check incessant flooding in Rivers State, the state Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) has cautioned against indiscriminate dumping of refuse, warning that perpetrators risk arrest and prosecution. Sole administrator of the agency, Mr Felix Obuah, gave the warning in a statement signed by his media aide, Jerry Needam and issued in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

Obuah also inspected ongoing works at Ntanwogba Creek, Mini Nwondugba, Mini Aziri, Mini Ngwolu and Mini Ekere canals, all in a bid to checkmate flooding in some parts of the state and said the agency had commenced the de-silting of major creeks and canals in Port Harcourt and Obio Akpor Local Government Areas and its environs, as a measure against the predicted impending flooding of coastal areas of the country. Accordingly, he said,

residents and people who engaged in the habit of throwing refuse into the canals and creeks would be the dealt with in accordance with the relevant sanitation laws, if caught in the act. The RIWAMA boss said the de-silting initiative was part of Governor Nyesom Wike’s determination to rid the state of the impending floods. Obuah also lamented that free flow of water in all the canals and creeks had been hampered due to indiscriminate dumping of

garbage. He made mention of some erections which are potential cause of flooding, “These are typical examples of blocking the drains and preventing the free flow of waters. It is as a result of these that the governor has mandated that all of these creeks and canals in the state must be cleaned to avoid flooding,” he added. Obuah however expressed satisfaction with the level of work being done by the contractors handling the canals. He

said the agency would demolish all buildings and structures blocking waterways in all the creeks and canals, adding that those putting up such structures or throwing garbage to block the drains would henceforth be arrested and prosecuted. He said four swamp buggy vehicles have been deployed and now working in each of the creeks and canals, adding that the project had reached advanced stage and could be completed in a month’s time. He said the use of the swam buggy vehicles became necessary in order to dig up the quantum of garbage buried beneath the canals and creeks, assuring that the Wike-led administration would not compromise standards in executing projects. Obuah also said the second phase of the project would be the clearing of the excavated silts to provide walkways at both sides of the creek so that pedestrians could trek beside it.

South-West NUP decries non-inclusion of pensioners in bail out From left, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Arkwught; Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai and the United Kingdom Minister for Africa, Mr Grant Shappes, at the launch of the Nigeria Public Sector Accountability and Governance programmes, in Kaduna, on Wednesday. PHOTO: NAN

Call Yoruba elders to order, northern group tells Buhari Leon Usigbe-Abuja

THE North East Solidarity Forum (NESF) on Wednesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call Yoruba elders to order, following their call for secession over the recent kidnap of Chief Olu Falae. In a communiqué made available to journalists in Abuja, on Wednesday, after its meeting, which held in Bauchi, the group described as treasonable felony the threat for self-determination and secession by the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), the Oodua Foundation, Afenifere, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), the Coalition of Yoruba Autonomy (COYA), the Oodua Democratic Coalition (ODC), the Ominira Yoruba Apapo, and the Agbekoya Organisation. Signed by its Coordinator-General, Usman Abdulkadir, the communiqué accused the Yoruba elders of inciting the general populace especially the people of the South West region of the country to violence and bloodshed. It noted with apprehension what it observed was

the ethnic dimensions and utter recklessness attributed to the kidnapping of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, by the elders in the region, “that are supposed to work with the government of the day and the security agencies to unravel the remote causes of the kidnapping with a view to bringing the culprits to justice.” The communiqué added:

“We have gathered here today to critically examine the recent unguarded and unwarranted vituperations that emanated from the Summit of Yoruba Elders in Ibadan, Oyo State and wish to state unequivocally that the threat to secession in the South West must not be taken lightly nor ignored by the Federal Government. “It must be properly investigated by the security agencies and all ac-

tors in the summit must be brought to book. “The group be reminded Nigerians of the situation of Boko Haram that has ravaged the North East and the various kidnapping taking place in different parts of the country and questioned whether the Yoruba Elders would have threatened to secede if the kidnappers of Chief Falae were an Igbo or from other tribes in Nigeria.”

Plateau Assembly refuses N10bn loan facilities proposed by executive Isaac Shobayo-Jos

THERE are strong indications that Plateau State House of Assembly and the Executive are heading for a show down following the refusal of the Assembly to accent to the request of the Executive arm to obtain N10 billion loan facility proposed by government. The Assembly has summoned the Accountant General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance to appear before its standing committee on finance for further explana-

tion. The proposal for the collection of the loan was contained in a communication sent to the House by the state governor. The proposed loan, if accessed would be used by government for developmental projects in the state. It stated that the loan which was authorised by the National Economic Council (NEC) would be accessed from the Excess Crude Account (ECA). Speaking against the communication, member representing Kantana

Constituency and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Yusuf Gagdi urged members to give assent to matters that would breed development. He said the Assembly had recently approved a loan of N4.5 billion, which was taken by government, and that there was nothing meaningful to be seen that the said loan obtained was used for. According to Gagdi, granting approval for the loan would further mortgage the future of the state and its inhabitants.

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), SouthWest Zone has decried non-inclusion of bail-out for pensioners by the Federal Government throughout the federation as insensitive and unacceptable, calling on the government to quickly approve with dispatch bailout for retirees. This was contained in a press release made available to the Nigerian Tribune, and signed by the chairman Alhaji Nojeem Ibrahim and the secretary, Mr Olusegun Abatan, respectively. The union noted with grave concern the huge disparity between the pension of old pensioners and recently retired workers, while advocating harmonissation of pensioners. The press release also called on the Federal Government to quickly, put into machinery the process of payment of the arrears of 42 months arising from the 33 per cent pension increase in 2013 and other entitlements of retirees. The union made a passionate appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to expressly return the five per cent counterpart fund to the local government pension boards of states in order to put paid to the suffering of retired primary school teachers.

Al-Makura submits list of commissioners to State Assembly Governor Tanko AlMakura of Nasarawa State on Wednesday submitted names of 16 nominees for confirmation as commissioners to the State House of Assembly. The House Majority leader, Alhaji Tanko Tunga, All Progressives Congress (APC), Awe North, submitted the list of the nominees on behalf of Governor Tanko Al-Makura on the floor of the House in Lafia. Al-Makura urged the House to screen and confirm the commissioner nominees to enable them assist him in running the affairs of the state for the overall development of the country. Tunga while reading the list said, “First of the message is that Govenor Tanko Al-Makura is requesting the House to approve 20 special advisers that will assist him in running the affairs of the state. “The second message read as thus: If we will recall, I assumed office for the second term as the executive governor of the state on May 29, 2015 and I deem it necessary to submit 16 commissioner nominees to the House for your screening and confirmation.”

Women constitute 70% of agric labour force —WARDC Adetola Bademosi-Abuja

‘Over 50 per cent of Nigerian women live in the rural areas and perform about 70 per cent of agricultural labour force. The Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) has on Wednesday stated. It said in spite of their role in nation building, they still lack access to agricultural inputs and finance. WARDC founding Director, Dr Abiola AkiyodeAfolabi, in a statement issued by the communication officer, Ifeanyi Adigwe in Abuja said they have less than 14 per cent land holding rights, while culture, traditions and discriminatory laws deny women, the equal access to government programmes at national and state levels. According to him, the International Day for Rural Women is set aside to give special focus to the critical place occupied by rural women in the struggle to reduce poverty and improvement of food security, especially in developing countries of Asia and Africa.

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

foreig naffairs

08116954632 with seyi gesinde foreignn ewseditor@gmail.com

US presidential election: Clinton’s debate

showing may spell trouble for Biden

nited States Vice President Joe Biden faced an altered political dynamic on Wednesday after Hillary Clinton reasserted her command of the Democratic Party presidential race during a debate that may have left little room for him to run, Reuters has reported. Analysts widely hailed Clinton, 67, as turning in a nimble, effective performance on Tuesday night, perhaps easing the fears of some Democrats fretting that the flap over her use of a private email server while in the Obama administration was torpedoing her candidacy for the November 2016 election. In doing so, she may have dampened calls for Biden to make a belated entrance into the race while also blunting the threat from insurgent candidate Bernie Sanders, a 74-year-old U.S. senator from Vermont and self-described democratic socialist. “If you’re a Hillary supporter and you were worried for whatever reason, you should feel very good about yourself,” said Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist who attended the televised debate in Las Vegas. “This is the kind of debate that helps build momentum.” Sanders, Clinton’s top rival among declared candidates, was handed the op-

portunity by debate moderators to assail her over the email issue. Instead, he dismissed the controversy as trivial, drawing an ovation from the crowd and shoving the spotlight away from Clinton’s most

profound political weakness. For Biden, 72, who continues to ponder a bid for the presidency, the evening served as a reminder of how tenacious Clinton can be as a candidate, steeled

by scores of debates in her 2008 presidential run and four years as secretary of state. At times, Clinton seemed to be reaching out both to the progressives in her party more likely

to back Sanders and the moderates who may prefer Biden. She went toe-to-toe with Sanders over gun control, addressed income inequality and advocated for more liberal family-leave policies.

One of the debate’s memorable moment was when Bernie Sanders shook hands with Hilary Clinton, following his take on her email scandal. PHOTO: AP.

Boko Haram: Obama sending US

soldiers to Cameroon President Barack Obama is sending United States military personnel to Cameroon to conduct airborne surveillance of Boko Haram militants. The president announced the deployment in a letter sent on Wednesday to the heads of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the VOA said. The letter makes no mention of Boko Haram, but White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the move is part of a regional effort to stop the spread of the Nigerian militant group

and other extremists. Boko Haram has been active in northern Cameroon, across the border from its home base of northeastern Nigeria. Obama said about 90 U.S. military personnel began deploying to Cameroon on Monday. He said more will follow to conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in the region. The total U.S. force is expected to number about 300. Press Secretary Earnest said the troops will act in coordination with

Cameroon’s government, and that the troops are armed for their own security, not for a combat role. Boko Haram has killed hundreds of civilians in Cameroon in addition to at least 10,000 in Nigeria over the past few years. Cameroon is one of the countries taking part in a joint regional task force to fight the militant group, which seeks to create a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria. Other countries in the task force are Chad, Niger and Benin.

otherNEWS

UK’s first Ebola patient critically ill, in isolation About nine months ago, Pauline Cafferkey was discharged from a London hospital seemingly signaling her victory in beating Ebola. Now, not only is Cafferkey back in the hospital with a rare relapse of the deadly virus, but she’s gotten worse, , CNN reported. London’s Royal Free Hospital announced Wednesday afternoon that “Cafferkey’s condition has deteriorated and she is now critically ill.” The hospital didn’t elaborate on the news about the Scottish nurse, who last year became the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United Kingdom. But it’s not a good sign, coming five days after the same medical facility confirmed Cafferkey had been transferred there from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow “due to an unusual late complication of her previous infection by the Ebola virus.” That day, the Royal Free Hospital indicated that Cafferkey was in “serious condition” and being treated in a “high-level isolation unit.” Since her January discharge, Cafferkey has been out and about, including receiving a Pride of Britain award late last month and paying a visit to 10 Downing Street, where pictures showed her with the prime minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron. Last week Dr. Emilia Crighton, director of public health for the National Health Service group NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, insisted that the risk of the 39-year-old Cafferkey inadvertently passing on Ebola to anyone else was “very low.”

Online attackers steal £20m from UK bank accounts British PM, David Cameron

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency is hunting cyberattackers who stole more than £20m from British bank accounts, the BBC reported. Malware called Dridex harvested victims’ online banking details so the attackers could siphon off funds. The NCA said it was working

with the FBI and other authorities to limit the malware’s usefulness to criminals and one man had already been arrested. One expert told the BBC the attackers had been particularly cunning to avoid being detected. “This is very sneaky software that relied on people not being vigilant with their online bank-

ing,” said Professor Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert who advises Europol. “If you imagine thieves making lots of little transactions, rather than one big one, it is more likely to go unnoticed.” The Dridex Trojan infected computers through a malicious Microsoft Office document, typi-

cally disguised as an invoice and emailed to victims. The malware relied on tricking people into installing it on their machines, rather than exploiting a security hole in the operating system. It would then eavesdrop on people entering their bank account details and send the information back to the attackers.

Israel sets up Jerusalem roadblocks in bid to stem attacks Israel started setting up roadblocks in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and deploying soldiers across the country on Wednesday to combat a wave of Palestinian knife attacks. In the latest incident, Reuters

reported that a Palestinian attempted to stab paramilitary police at an entrance to Jerusalem’s walled Old City and was shot dead, an Israeli police spokeswoman said. Palestinian officials condemned the security measures

- the most serious clampdown in the Jerusalem area since a Palestinian uprising a decade ago - as collective punishment. Israel’s security cabinet had authorized the crackdown hours earlier in an overnight session after Palestinians armed with

knives and a gun killed three Israelis and wounded several others on Tuesday. Seven Israelis and 31 Palestinians, including assailants, children and protesters in violent demonstrations, anti-Israeli have been killed in two weeks of

Troops deployed to assist Israeli police at the roadblocks. PHOTO: REUTERS.

tribunepools

BEST BARGAIN

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DR J.K POOLS 07039275802

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HERITAGE NAP

08032428268 (14 MUST 15) This is a new beginning in pools forecast in the current English season, with the support of our ever reliable compilers. The pair above must supply this week with other draws. Pay N25,000 and have the game with the key and stop your losses. It is very easy to win pools.

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Thursday, 15- 21 October 2015

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE POOLS PAGE THE WINNERS CHOICE get a copy and win MBA EXPERT (08077247137/08104694618) 31 X 32

One of the numbers 31x32 is fixed to draw this 3rd Blue color from the week and dates of play as witnessed in weeks 6/10 with alternating sequences respectively. The normal playing dates of 17th /18th are set for one good draw from the matches at Preston versus Cardiff and Reading vs. Charlton while provisionally; numbers 8/9 are flexing muscles to record a draw regardless of being in different division. Also let us take into consideration the week 12 jinxed MBES in league Two Week 14 Blue from sequence computation have the duo of Cambridge UTD vs. Northampton and Stevenage vs. Wycombe for a likely draw. No scared cow in the premiership sprit as no go area. Draws abond there as well with week 06/10 as reference point just as league Two is another hunting spot at 36/37. Call or text to 08104694618 only. Good Luck

FAITHFUL – INTERVENTION – 07082899957

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OBINYAN PROMISES TO GLADDEN STAKERS The wizard of 1.2X and chairman /managing Director of king and George group of forecast papers. Prince Willy Ehi Obinyan has assured stakers that he was up to the task of dishing out draws. He also assured stakers of more rewarding harvest of draws this season. Africa’s number one bookmaker in pools compilation and computation has enjoined stakers to weekly buy his papers and rely effectively on the late News of his papers for regular winning. The papers are Pools telegraph, Zetters, Pools Guild, Shoot pointer, Murphy sports, the NEW DREAM and Final result.

OLA-CITY ON STUDY LEAVE (08140575314) Pairs 32xxx 41xxx Launching Sir Waddy Naps again set for 3 Draws in week16 for those who paid five thousand naira only. The compiler of Ola-City International and Publisher of Sir Waddy Naps who is now on study leave assures his facts of his 3 Draws in week 16 COH N5,000 = instead of N10,000 to recovered their part loss on pool. Pay your N5,000 cash to First Bank Plc in the name of Olafenwa R.OlaCity Account No 3033318854 as only those who paid N5,000 cash to the account will be eligible to have the 3 Draws for week16 and smile to the Bank on Monday. Happy Weekend.

Triple offers respite on 2 – 8 (08035324990) With only 8 draws on the coupon last week, the disappointment was a surprise to most punters and compilers who were so sure that the teams have finally settled and systems and computations would fall in place. Not to worry. Hard times don’t normally last. Lets’ look at coupon nos 2 & 8 this week for a possible draw this weekend. Add the to your entries this week and be save of good dividends. Our IBK still sells for N1,500, @ draws cost N3,000 and 3 sure draws go for N10,000 on 08035324990. You are blessed.

HOPE NAPS & CO IN ACTION (08107128449)

Pair 5xx 27xx0. Hope for 3 Draws this week 14 card week 15 and week 16. The Compiler of Hope Naps & Co Assures stakers and readers of his 3 Draws for this week 14, week 15 and week 16cost N10,000 cash to First Bank Plc, In the name of Stephen Gbadebo A. Account no. 3088328923 and collect the 3 Draws on phone after confirmation of your payment.

DR. SANJ., THE KEY’S YORK/YEOVIL TEAMS AT AWAY ON NOS:- 32 AND 40 IS FIXED FOR ONE DRAW. + THREE OTHERS TEAMS = (3 OVER 3) = 4/5..!!! 32xx & 40xx 07038878227 OR 08189472447. (29xx 30) = “X”

1. You need to check this fact key’s:- in wk6., plymouth at away., portsmouth at home., the teams in the “mid” of the both teams = draw nos:- 42x, 38x, 32x. = 3/3.. now wk14., = xxx, xxx, xxx. = 3/3.. (32, 40.) = 4/5. 100% 2. Next wk15., key’s Wimbledon at away nos:- 41., on top bar., yeovil/York both teams on top bar (home) + three others teams., watch out draw are fixed.! (2014) nos:- 28x, 39x, 49x. = (23x, 24f) = 4/5...all members won last year.!!. (2015) no:- xxx, xxx, xxx. = (40x, 41x) = 4/5..join us this year 2015..!!! All payment call dr. Sanj now on 07038878227/08189472447..for our bank acct our last wk13, (14f, 15panel) & (31x & 41f) nos:- 15 is not play note.!!

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HON. EMMANUEL – 08102874949. (32x 40)

10/10 weeks winning Assurance = 4 Weeks, 4 – 14 – 24 -34. Week 42013 – M. M = 32x 33x – 2BKS = 43x Week 42014 – P. P = 18x 19x – 2BKS = 40x Week 42015 – B. B = 13x 14x – 2BKS = 16x. PAIR = FULHAM and FALKIRK. Week 14 – 2013 – 14x 15x = -2BKS = 19x Week 14 – 2014 – 05x 06x = -2BKS = 30x Week 14 – 2015 – X X= -2BKS = 32x40. Extract from 2013 – 2015 weeks of 4s winning guide. N25,000 – winning Assurance. Good luck. Till week 24 and 34. Week 4 winners this serves as a remindal- N25,000.

DONOHILL NAP 08107048991 (7 PAIR 8)

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Sir. marcus albert world of investment. (08143137569) 25 wed 45.

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EMIRATES FLY-

08087104491. 42 MUST 43= STEVENAGE MUST BROMLEY.

All clients on board with Emirates fly were now in fortune Kingdom on 16x 32x 45xxx alt 25f of 8 draws. Thank God another good opportunity is here for the doubts. Join the successful stakers that visit their banks on Mondays. No bet! No Win!! N20, 000= boarding fee. Winners celebrates.

OLOYEDE WONDER NAP WITH KEY

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LEKE INTERNATIONAL

– 09091798611. (05XX 06X).

Bank on coupon No 5XX to draw and 2 other unfailing bankers to play 3/3. Starting of my 2weeks winning operations. Don’t miss it. Cost N20,000 – cash with 100% guaranteed. Call for details.

AKANDE BANKS 45x pairing 34x 35x Papa Akande says no. 45x must draw while 34x 35x must give us one draw. Its a pointer to my 3 draws on Saturday, Papa Akande says with all facts and call all my clients to give me a call to confirm this banker as xmas is at hand.

LABAEKA BACK IN ACTION 08053303522

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tribunepools

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LABAEKA BACK IN ACTION 08053303522

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MAGIC EXPERT TO SHINE

08160742266 (x5xxfacex20x)

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WEEK 14 STATUS EKO – 31 LKO – 07 SUNDAY – 05 and 12

PLEIAD DE MAXWELL – 09099968585 BARNET MUST YORK = 32xxCBK

In Pools Betting 2 + 2 = may likely be 22. With what is happening in the Barclays Premiership where the giants are falling with Chelsea at the relegation zone on regular defeat. Could Chelsea hold Aston Villa at Stanford Bridge this Saturday? It a forgive issue, Morinho will be forced to play so as to record a home win. In fact they have all it takes to win the match in front of their teeming supporters a draw may cost Morinho his head. Barnet – Crawley and Doncaster, Oldham – Scunthorpe, are wise stakers draws region. Stevenage and Aldershot is free for one. Sincerely, your winning is sure with De Maxwell draws clinic discharged after surgery. Call & win. Good luck.

THE CYRIL ( WINNING MANAGER ) . 26X 43

PORTVALE – PETERBORO – 3week NAPS. Our 3 weeks 12,13 and 14 Bumper to Bumper win started well with records Week – 12 = WATFORD., West ham and Walsall. 3x 9x 32x Week – 13 = WIGAN, Grimsby and Gates head. 16x 40x 45x Week – 14 = x x x 26x 43 Congratulation the above illustration confirmed our weeks 12 & 13 success. Wise stalkers win pools on authentic information. Its your turn. Your winning problem is doubt but the cyrilistic sure contact is your pay point. N30,000 – winners – N250,000. Goodluck

NAZAR MASTER CONTINUES TO EXCEL

The leading pools company in Oyo State and environs, NAZAR MASTER Pools Company Limited, Ibadan, has continued to excel with its wonderful performance in the current U.K. Football season This was made known to TRIBUNE POOLS during the week by industry stakeholders in different interviews. According to them “NAZAR Master is a solid industry player. The pools company has continued to endear itself to stakers, collectors and other stakeholders with prompt payment of winning no matter the amount involved.” They therefore appeated to the pools company not to lower its guard by maintaining its leadership position in the pools industry. (NAZAR THE WISE STAKERS CHOICE) IKECHUKWU RAMPAGE MANAGER- PROMOTERS ENEMY

08168157259= BONUS- 43X 42X 43BK

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MANCITY SYSTEM= 0903863666= 08135888720= 17 XX 18XX

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DR B4 DR ON WINNING TRACK. 08062748396 = 18 LEAD 43.

LEEDS ON DATE OF PLAY. Reference weeks any year – confirmation. Week 17’2012 – 03x 28x 47xxx – 20x 43x Week 09 – 2013 – 06x 24x 33xxx - 19x 43x Week 14 - 2015 – x x x - 18x 43 Alternate Banker teams on 2nd bar and 43 additional winning volume. Dr B4 Dr. is now house hold name as stalkers (winners) friends. The descending 2nd bar calculation from 20, 19 and 18 is a winning epitone= price considered - N25,000 = Welcome & Good luck

MADAM DE MADAM – 08023329191 (40XX43)

NO EXCUSS FOR FAILURE (WINNING DIRECTIVES) NO. 40 – NO. 40 – NO. 40 = (READ & WIN). The 2015 / 2016 English season started in week 4 and since them till last week number 40 has never recorded a draw either score or goalless. BRAINLTREE Home 40 = concluded its draw formation after its mission llast week it then disappear on coupon fixtures this week to control 3 good draws on fixed matches with Nos 40 and 43 as sure – NOTSCO- SURE BROMLEY. Join our Millionaire friends. Call our Media Manager ( Mr JOSHUA ) for your winning details. Welcome to MADAMS winning world.

DR. JACKSON IS BACK – 08156829811 – (39XX 32) B and B= NAP IS ON Current winning information on B and B in 2014/2016 winning gazette. (MUST) B vs S ON NO 1. Good reference to week 31’ 2014/2015 and week 8’ 2015/2016. Week 31’ 2014/15 – 17x 34x 49x 6DRS on-MANSFIELD, MACCLESFILD and MORTON ALT. 32x Week 08’ 2015/16 – X X X= 39x 32 Congrats our week 8 scheduled win is on subsidy of N25, 000= to enable you to have a good winning experience. Welcome to Dr Jackson NEW Era winning country. Goodluck

FORTUNE DONOR DONATES (2 – 3) (08099111828)

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WEEK 13 XRAY

He who fight and ran away leave to have a good fight another day. Our reliable compilers promised good winnings this week despite the odd performance last week of 8 draws. Faithful Intervention Naps indeed intervened in their sure Nap and a free pair also, Authority, The Lilies, Short Gun, Oloyede and Akin Mr. Akin promised more winnings, Other Experts in a chat with the pools Editor were touched with last week result in fact that’s pools for you, They are now on avenge mission on promoter this week embrace them and win with them, they deserve appreciations. Winning is a reward of big task.

ATTENTION ALL COMPILERS, OUR POLICY ON NO ADVERT NO WRITE UP STILL IN PLACE — MANAGEMENT

Thursday, 15- 21 October 2015 MODUPE (08033566694) 2- 24- 25. 2drs Call for super winning now. MADAM HILLARY – (08163902330) 39 SURE 36 STEVENAGE HOME 42 Congrats the reference week is not farfetched. Only compilers with Authentic winning information can unveiled the complied draws. Week 12 – 06x 27x 48xxx pair 36x 39x Week 14 – x x x pair 36x 39x No controversy your winning is sure N20,000 = welcome.

NEW PROFF – 07069009601.

05X 25X 26X 27X 40X 43X.

The above sure win is to prepare you for Annual Weeks 15, 16 & 17 usual sure WIN. The 3 direct fixed Nap for the above winning games cost N10,000 = Win bet! Win Nap!! Its pays.

PROFESSOR ONE BANKERS=

08055230300= 5XX 6XX

PROFESSOR 3 BANKERS N7500 WK 12 NO 12X 27X 32X= 3/3 PROFESSOR 3 BANKERS N7500 WK 14 NO NAP NAP NAP= 3/3 PROFESSOR 3 BANKERS N7500 WK 14 NO NAP NAP NAP= 3/3 PROFESSOR 3 BANKERS N7500 WK 15 NO NAP NAP NAP= 3/3 PROFESSOR 2 BANKERS N7500 WK 12 NO 12X 32X PAIR 3X 9X PROFESSOR 2 BANKERS N7500 WK 14 NO NAP NAP PAIR NAP NAP Professor. English system booklet out cost 3000 membership group a. cost N100, 000. Send MTN Card to 08055230300. The game will send to you by text message.

KAMARK SUPER NAP – 08186673842 3x4x6x8 for 2draws

MIDDLESBRO vs. FULHAM in blue colour controls our 3 direct nap for this week 14 that cost N8,000 while the permutation cost N6,500 = to all interested staking public. Payment to Mr. S.B. Odesola, IBTC Bank, Alc no – 0001361916. Good luck.

SINBAD NAP07083993858

40X 32X 25X – 2 Draws

Your silent leader Sinbad week 14 fixed NAP is to enrich all our clients. The above 3 games is sure for 2 draws for the Nap – Call for details Goodluck.

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08062978995 (05 sure 32)

Leeds at home 14 is the key to our 5 fixed Naps for week 14 = LEEDA at week number your winning is crystal clear N15,000 – at G.T Bank to Alhaji Sadiku Adedoja accts No. – 0030411077. Call 08062978995 or 08057416201 for details. Good luck.

SHADOW 08087670776 (14 PAIR 17)

Don’t be a looser again, always patronize the master of all pool forecasters (SHADOW) and become a millionaire. Send #5,000 MTN recharge card to me this week 14 and laugh to your bank on Monday.

MONEY DOLLAR= 08135637650= 29XX 30XXX

WK 14 TWO BANKERS N4000. 4 BANKERS COST N6, 000 Two BANKERS N4, 000 Wk 14 No NAP NAP NAP PAIR NAP NAP 4. Special draws N6, 000 wk 14 No NAP NAP NAP NAP WITH= 29.30 4 SpecialN6, 000 wk 15 No NAP NAP NAP NAP with 39.40 Stakers try to get money Dollar 4 special draws this wk 14 Costs N6, 000 two special draws this wk 14 cost N4, 000 two special draws this wk 14 cost N4, 000. Wk 14 4 BANKERS COST N6, 000 TWO. BANKERS COST N4, 000. Send MTN card to 08135637650. The game will send to you by text message 08135637650.

ADEOTI SYNDICATE. 07051327960

BANKS: WALSALL VS. WIGAN. = 29/30 Now, CARDIFF is on Nos. 17 date of play as I have told you. All members should take note of the games this week and take the two games above permit, you will be among of the winners. Once Charlton is already do his own in a week 9 of this season. Play 6x 12x 14x. It is turn of Cardiff this week 14. For any information about weeks 16-17 cup week release contact 0705132760. AHMED SHAFIRI. A/c. Nos.2001788431 ZENITH Bank. Nos. 29x 30x Direct Banker. Thank. Goodluck to you all.

NJOROGE – MR – ASSURANCE

– 08177474535 (WINNING-POINT) NEWCASTLE VS NORWICH = N vs. N = N = 14 35 MUST 27

N vs. N = Newcastle vs. Norwich is the current KEY to unlock/open assured winning in week 14, 15 and 16. 3weeks Annual win. Week 10 – 2012 – 08x 20x 37xxx – 35 – 27 Week 19 – 2013 – 10x 26x 34xxx – 35 – 27 Week 14 – 2015 – x x x 35 – 27 Mr. Assurance week 14 Nap is a must for all rise stakers that knows the beauty in winning. Winning/Success worth celebrating. At Njoroge our PRIDE is you. Welcome to the Winning Assurance Family - N25,000. Good luck.

EDITOR’S PLACE (32 x 33)

Thursday, 15 October, 2015 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

NFF to stop cash payment to Eagles

layers of the Super Eagles will no longer be paid their win bonuses by cash beginning from next month’s World Cup qualifier, AfricanFootball.com has gathered. Instead, they have been directed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), to open accounts with a particular local bank, where their win bonuses will now be paid. “We have been asked to open foreign currency accounts with a bank where our bonuses will now be paid,” a player informed AfricanFootball.com. This directive comes on the heels of a new financial policy pertaining to foreign currencies adopted by the new government of President Muhammadu Buhari. T h i s arrangement is one of the measures contained in a players’ code of conduct NFF president Amaju Pinnick announced will soon be implemented. The Eagles as well as the various national teams have thus far been paid their bonuses in cash. Last year, the country’s former sports minister Tammy Danagogo, had to fly with a presidential jet to Brazil with over three million US dollars to pay the team appearance bonuses for the World Cup.

Salami (left)

A board member of the Wheelchair Basketball Federation which is under the auspices of the Paralympics Committee of Nigeria, Comrade Ovenseri Iduozee, has commended the former Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Honourable Victor Ochei for his consistency in sponsoring the international wheelchair basketball championship in Nigeria in the last four years. “He has been good to us for the past four years, I will also use this medium to thank him for his unalloyed support which has vastly improved the sport in Nigeria,” he said. Ovenseri said the eight teams in the male and female categories

—Salami By Olawale Olaniyan

Super Eagles forward, Gbolahan Salami has debunked the rumours that he is nursing an injury, and not fit for this weekend’s 2016 CHAN qualifier against Burkina Faso in Port Harcourt. The Warri Wolves highest goal scorer with 14 goals disclosed that he’s always ready to play for his country and happy with the authority of the national team led by Sunday Oliseh. “I’m not injured, I only took a break from training on Tuesday with the consent of the technical crew. I have been declared fit for the match against Burkina Faso and I hope to put in my best if featured in the game,” Salami told Tribunesport by phone. The former Sunshine Stars player added that he cherished wearing the national colours. “I love to play for my country, this is my chance I want to utilise it in helping my country to qualify for the tournament. “Burkina Faso will not escape defeat here and we are prepared to win the game convincingly ahead of the return leg. I hope to deliver if selected for the match and my joy is that I am free of injury,” insisted the former Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) striker.

CHAN qualifier: Yusuf assures on

Eagles readiness

Super Eagles assistant coach, Yusuf Salisu has said his side will overcome the challenges of the Etalons of Burkina Faso. Yusuf will take charge of the match in place of the head coach, Sunday Oliseh who is reportedly ill. The home-based Eagles will confront the Burkinabes in Saturday’s 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) first leg final round clash at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt. Yusuf said his wards have shown promise in training and can hope for a good performance on Sunday. “The players returned today from eight states only registered for the tournament, just as as he refuted insinuation that wheelchair basketball has lost its national apBy Nurudeen Alimi peals across the country. “In the last three editions, we were FORMER coach of Shooting Stars having more than 20 states with Sports Club of Ibadan, Rafiu Sateams also coming from neigh- lami is dead and has since been bouring countries in West Africa. buried according to islamic rites. “The states that did not show up Salami, died in the early hours may have one or two reasons why of Wednesday in Ibadan, after a they are not here, but as you can see battle with an undisclosed illness the standard is okay and we are do- at the age of 73. Idowu Otubusen, a former IICC ing well,” he said. The winner of the 2015 edition Shooting Stars player described in the men’s category will go home the late Salami as a man of integwith the prize money of N1.5million, rity who during his lifetime lived a second team will pocket N1million, honest and productive life. “He was my coach at Shooting while the third placed team will go Stars in 1974, He was indeed very home with N750,000.

Ovenseri lauds Ochei’s consistency in wheelchair basketball sponsorship By Niyi alebiosu

I’m fit for B/Faso clash

(Tuesday) from their respective weekend matches for their clubs and so far their responses to instructions have been commendable. “We will continue on our approaches and tactics for the CHAN clash against the Etalons of Burkina Faso in Port Harcourt. “Right now we do not believe there is a small team any more on the continent so we will accord

Burkina Faso their due respect on and off the pitch. “We have secured their U-23 team tapes at the just-concluded All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo, to give us an idea of what to expect from their CHAN team. “Burkina Faso performed well at the All Africa Games so we are expecting a tough challenge,” Yusuf said.

Ex-3SC coach, Salami dies at 73 accomodating, he never discriminated among the players, he treated all of us equally. I pray God for the repose of his soul.” While reacting to the death of coach Salami, the management of Shooting Stars, through a text message by the media officer of the club, Jubril Arowolo, said: “we thank God for his life which we strongly believe was well-spent and therefore commiserate with the family of the deceased most especially at this time of grief. We pray that God will grant the

soul of coach Salami eternal rest and grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.”

Coach Salami

Thursday, 15 October, 2015

CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915-2015)

PHOTOS: YEMI FUNSO-OKE

7 1. Cross section of clerics singing during the service. 2. From right, Chief (Mrs) Bukky Ajomo, Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran, Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Animasahun and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu. 3. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Major General Seni Shoboiki. 4. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu with Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Ogun State. 5. Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu and Mrs Omotayo Morgan.

6. Ogun State Union of Pensioners, Remo branch, with Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu. 7. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu with executive of Association of Master Bakers and Caterer of Nigeria, South West Zone. 8. Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ikenne division, led by Mr Oguntade Johnson, with Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu.

SIDELINES

no 16,349

n150

THURSDAY, 15 OCTOBER, 2015

“Nigeria stands to learn a lot from countries like Colombia which have contended with insurgency over the years. While some have advocated a more high, handed approach including further militarisation of the region, others have advised that the insurgents be engaged in dialogue”.

n Monday 12th October 2015, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo paid a well-publicised visit to the President Muhammadu Buhari. According to reports, the former President was accompanied by several persons including the Chief of Defence Staff of Colombia. The aim of the visit was stated to be a need to brief the President on measures adopted by Colombia in its decades’ old war against insurgency by the FARC rebels and how Nigeria can learn from such measures. According to the Vanguard Newspaper, Chief Obasanjo is reported to have stated as follows: “I brought a delegation of those of us who visited Columbia last year under the auspices of a foundation which I am the chairman.We went to Columbia to see how all the Columbian authorities were handling the issue of insurgency which had been with them for more than 50 years.As a result of that visit and the experience we had, a book was produced and I said to them that it will be interesting for us in Nigeria to learn as much as we can learn from the experience of Columbia. The specific thing is that they have been fighting insurgency for 50 years. They celebrated their 50 years in existence in May last year, in fact, we went there in June.So, we want to see what has kept them going, what has kept insurgency going? What has made the government of Columbia to make three attempts to seek peace, to end the war and insurgency and they failed. What is the new efforts that they are making? How likely are those new efforts going to succeed?Oh yes. If we won the civil war, we can win this one. But like the Columbian said, we are not waiting until we kill off every insurgent to say we have won.I believe that once the military has the upper hand,

OFR, CON, SAN, LL.D, D.Litt

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has described those fixing roads during rainy season as mad men. Hmmm, but does the governor know that in these days of advanced technology almost everything is possible? Funny enough, we know that Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike has not stopped fixing roads since he assumed office.

afeonthursday

aareafe@gmail.com

Insurgency: Lessons from abroad other measures that have to be taken will be put in place.There will be measures of socioeconomic development, education, employment. All that has to go into the process of eventually winning the war and saying, ‘here is Uhuru.’” What is clear from the above is the fact that the former President, being the statesman he is, is still commendably concerned with the problem which the ongoing boko haram insurgency poses for Nigerians and Nigeria. The visit came just days after about 22 Nigerians lost their lives in the twin bomb blasts that occurred in Abuja on the 2nd of October. Similarly on the 1st of October, a day set aside to commemorate the independence of Nigeria, more Nigerians had lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in Adamawa and Maiduguri. As he has stated, Nigeria stands to learn a lot from countries like Colombia which have contended with insurgency over the years. Indeed some countries have completely eradicated insurgency. Chief Obasanjo’s gesture becomes even more imperative when it is considered that there has been a divergence of opinion in Nigeria of late as to the best approach government should adopt in controlling or defeating the insurgency. While some have advocated a more high handed approach including further militarisation of the region, others have advised that the insurgents be engaged in dialogue with a view to identifying and addressing their grievances. To fully understand these divergent views and to fully understand the extent to which Nigeria can truly learn from the experiences of other countries, it is necessary to examine and understand the

nature of an insurgency such as that currently faced by Nigeria. WHAT IS AN INSURGENCY? Wikipedia defines an insurgency as “a violent rebellion against a constituted authority (for example, an authority recognized as such by the United Nations) when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents. An insurgency can be fought via counter-insurgency warfare, and may also be opposed by measures to protect the population, and by political and economic actions of various kinds aimed at undermining the insurgents’ claims against the incumbent regime.” It also goes on to state that although a rebellion may be regarded as an insurgency in some cases (where the participants are not regarded as belligerents), this is not always the case and that the term insurgency is mostly used by governments to indicate that they regard the objectives or motivation of the insurgents as illegitimate. What is however most instructive is the aspect of the definition which states that all “insurgencies include terrorism”. INSURGENCY IN HISTORY In his book, “Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present” author Max Boot, gives a brief history of insurgency through the ages including the American revolution; the struggle against Napoleon in the Iberian peninsula; Greece’s war for independence against the Ottomans; the wars of unification in Italy and various uprisings against colonial powers, such as the slave revolt against the French that led to the foundation of the Republic of Haiti.

In modern times, several countries including Colombia, Cuba, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Egypt, Mali etc have witnessed one form of insurgency or the other. In 2013, Nigeria recorded 4,727 deaths to rank 7th in the list of countries with casualties as a result of armed conflict. In 2014, it recorded 11, 529 deaths to rank 4th. A common feature of insurgency through the ages and in modern times is that it is often waged by those who feel they have been oppressed by the majority and therefore see the take up of arms as the only viable means not only to protect themselves but also to subject the majority to their own ideals and principles. In an article titled “How the weak vanquish the strong”, the “Economist” stated as follow: Because insurgencies pit the weak against the strong, most still end up failing. Between 1775 and 1945 “only” about a quarter achieved most or all of their aims. But since 1945 that number has risen to 40%... Part of the reason for the improving success rate is the rising importance of public opinion. Since 1945 the spread of democracy, education, mass media and the concept of international law have all conspired to sap the will of states engaged in protracted counter-insurgencies. In the battle over the narrative, insurgents have many more weapons at their disposal than before. Next week I will examine the rise of the insurgency in Nigeria, the ideals stated to be behind it and efforts made by government to contain it. AARE AFE BABALOLA SAN, CON

U-17 World Cup: Eaglets in Chile to write history —Osimhen Striker Victor Osimhen has said that Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets are in Chile to write their own history in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Nigeria begin its title defence on Saturday by 9pm Nigerian time when it confronts the United States of America in the tournament’s opening game in Santiago. Osimhen is the Eaglets top scorer with 39 goals in 71 matches. “We are here to win,” said the

striker on arrival in Santiago. Also, the head coach of the team, Emmanuel Amuneke said his wards are out to make history. “We are here to write our own story as a team and players. We are here to defend the trophy. “We are here with new players who want to write their own history and we are looking forward to our first game against the United States of America, which is very important for us,” Amuneke said. Immediately after dinner at

their Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Santiago-Vitacura, where they are accommodated for their opening match against USA, Amuneke reminded his wards to focus on nothing but football as the team seek a fifth World Cup. The defending champions flew into Santiago from their preWorld Cup camp base in Buenos Aires at 8:20pm local time on Tuesday (which is in the early hours of Wednesday in Nigeria (12:20 am), aboard a Lan Airlines flight. Osimhen Victor (right) challenges an opponent.

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