22nd August,2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,572

MONDAY, 22 AUGUST, 2016 www.tribuneonlineng.com

We will apply 'no pay, no work' rule —NLC

Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

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N150

Arbitrary judgments by judiciary condemnable —NBA president

•Chides INEC over 136 inconclusive •Asks FG to review budgeting system elections in one year —P6

—P4

We won't bomb Niger Delta but... —Air Force •As Avengers agree to cease fire, seek negotiation through Edwin Clark —P6 •Don't listen to Clark's stakeholders' resolutions, MEND tells Buhari Mayowa Ahmed, cancer patient, dies in S/Africa —P7

Managing Director/CEO, Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou; Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima and others, in a group photograph with some of the beneficiaries of the clothing materials, blankets and shoes donated by the Dangote Foundation to the IDPs in Bama, Borno State, at the weekend.

Naira depreciation heightens foods security, malnutrition —Report —P12

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RESULTS OF SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION- The following candidates accepted into the American University of Nigeria who sat for our Scholarships Examination this year are winners of the AUN New Students Scholarships for the 2016/2017 academic session in the categories listed against their names.

The winners must contact the Scholarships Office at 08056048697 and/or send a message to scholarships@aun.edu.ng

by Tuesday, August 23, 2016 to confirm the acceptance of their award(s).

Nigerian Tribune

4 news

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Ezekwesili never said Buhari didn’t deserve to be president ...What she said

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ORMER Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, never said President Muhammadu Buhari did not deserve to be president.

Our sister publication, Sunday Tribune, had attributed the statement to be part of what she said over the plight of 2,000 immigration service recruits who slept at the entrance of Aso Villa from Friday till Saturday morning.

The statement was actually made by Aisha Yesufu in her reaction to the immigration issue.

Yesufu, a BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) campaigner, was miffed over the misrepresentation in the report, saying “I said if PMB says he doesn’t know youths are camped at his doorstep, then he is not capable of being president.”

On her Twitter handle, @aishayesufu, she said “so, why attribute my words to another person. These weren’t said while she was there, for you to say you mixed the speakers up. “@Obyezeks I know is one who would never say such to media or anyone, but to the President himself if the need be.

“Never for once did Dr Oby Ezekwesili @obyezeks make such a statement. She talked about government’s need to talk to them.

“When did Dr Ezekwesili talk about the President not fit to be in office? When did I commend the last administration?

“Even when some of us forget and say Buhari, she would always ensure we respect the office and add President.

“I said no one can say PMB doesn’t know youths are camped at his doorstep.

If he says he doesn’t know, then what does he know?

“I, Aisha Yesufu, did say several times and in different words that President Buhari was insensitive to the plight of the masses “I, Aisha Yesufu, never commended Jonathan administration. I only said to redeem themselves, they had a transparent exercise.”

Ezekwesili, while addressing the recruits, had said “I am, therefore, appealing to the president to immediately ask the military as well as the Nigerian Immigration Service to do what is right, give justice to all these young men and women who, on the basis of merit, were appointed into positions in the NIS. “I want to say that if justice is not given to them im-

mediately, I certainly will join them in sitting here everyday until they get their justice. Justice is to be able to come to table with them.

“Whatever the challenges are, let it be known, but don’t let anything be done in secrecy, and let nothing be done with such opaqueness.

These young people are the present of Nigeria, not just the future of Nigeria. If we don’t treat our young right, we are laying ourselves up for what we already have troubling us in the country.

“So, I join my voice with them and I appeal to the President whom they have

come to see to immediately do something about their cause. And I also use this opportunity to speak to the Federal Government, there have been too many instances of allegations of illegal recruitment into the public service.

“If our public service is dysfunctional and you are worsening it by recruiting people through the back doors, people who don’t have the talent, skills, competence, capacity, character to be able to give us good service in public service, then, we certainly have no plans to be better than we are.

“So, we should just from henceforth desist from doing this. And usually, when these illegal recruitments are done, we sacrifice the best for the worst among us.

Usually, when these illegal recruitments are done, what ends up happening is that the children of the poorer segment of our society who struggle to get through their education are left behind, then, that is the basis of worsening inequality.

“We cannot afford this and an unequal society is a society laying itself up for implosion and God forbid that would be the case with our nation. I

want to just applaud all of you for coming out and standing, standing for your cause. I want to say that I would actually be speaking to a lawyer who will become your lawyer in this matter, so that, not just would you be on the streets, but you would have to get legal redress of your sitaution, because that’s very important.

“I also applaud the fact that you have been civil. Today is Saturday, I don’t know what your plan is, Saturday is not a work day. Sunday is also not a work day. So people might say they are not at work, that’s why they are not

able to speak to you. Maybe what we would do is have a discussion among yourselves and perhaps resume your sit-out by wherever you chose to do that, by the first day of the week. Then whatever you want to say to the President, I think you should give the opportunity for all your members to speak to the President. He’s the one you came to see.”

The Tribune Newspapers hereby tender unreserved apology to Dr Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu and the Presidency for the misrepresentation.

Salary: NLC to apply ‘no pay, no work’ rule Asks FG to review budgetting system THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said all state councils where salary liabilities of up to three months exist, will apply “no pay, no work” rule.

Its president, Ayuba Wabba, made this known when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja, on Sunday.

“We have given instructions to all of our state councils that where there is liability of salary up to three months, they should also apply the rule of ‘no pay, no work’ it is not only ‘no work, no pay’.

“You can also apply the rule in a reverse order of ‘no pay, no work’ and that is legitimate, because the law provides that after 30 days of working, the worker is entitled to be paid.

“How can we encourage people that have put in their best or even those that are still in the system trying to put in their best without addressing this very fundamental issue?

“Those are the situations we have found ourselves across states and across different employments; I feel very sad with the situation, but I think we will do all we can within our means and power to try to continue to protect all those workers,” he said.

The NLC boss said workers must be seen as an asset to the county and challenges should not be shifted to them.

“The challenges have been there; instead of looking inward to try to address these challenges, the bulk of the issue have been shifted to the workers and that is why I think that you can effectively say that ‘yes, these workers are under attack’,” he said.

Wabba said the NLC held

a meeting with the state councils, where they took inventory of the liability of pension, gratuity and salaries, adding that the data was alarming.

“When you see the data of how much it stands today of liabilities that workers have not been paid, the worst is that of gratuity, which some states have a liability of up to 10 years.

“Workers have put in 30 or 35 years in service; they retired following the normal process, yet after retirement, they were not paid a dime.

“Therefore, it is like they are slaves; it is only a slave that will work and not be paid his entitlements,” he said.

He decried a situation, where the political leaders

did not see the payment of workers’ salaries as important, but rather as a waste.

The NLC president noted that some governors would prefer to award bogus contracts rather than pay workers their salaries.

Meanwhile, the NLC President, Wabba, also said empowerment of workers through an upward review of wages will stimulate growth of the Nigerian economy.

He said now was the right time to review the present minimum wage of N18,000, adding that the congress had made a formal demand for it.

He stressed the need to have a happy workforce, saying it would increase productivity.

He, however, said the government had accepted the

NLC’s stand on the need to review the minimum wage.

Wabba, also urged Nigerians not to succumb to efforts by external forces working hard to break up the country.

He said Nigeria’s size, population and natural endowments were assets many other nations were envious of.

He expressed optimism that the current security challenges and agitations which, according to him, were being fuelled and funded by forces determined to undermine Nigeria, were surmountable.

In a related development, the NLC president has called for total review of budgeting system in the country, saying the current process was outdated.

“We have said importantly that our process of budget making is faulty and, therefore, needs to be reviewed totally; we have sent very clear signals; it has to start early.

“In South Africa, the budget is subjected to public debates, the details will be made public, people will come in for public hearing.

“There will be a very good debate, there will be input from organised labour and that is what I think we should do now.’’

He said since the present administration won the election on the change mantra, the need to change the budgeting process was imperative, so as to avoid a situation, where individuals would continue to be blamed.

Arbitrary judgments by judiciary condemnable —NBA president Chides INEC over 136 inconclusive elections in one year Dapo Falade - Port Harcourt PRESIDENT of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augustine Alegeh, has condemned the increasing spate of arbitrary judgements being churned out by the judiciary in recent times.

This was as he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that his anti-corruption war is fought within the ambit of the law.

Speaking in a welcome address at the opening ceremony of the 56th annual general conference of the association, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Sunday, Alegeh also did not spare the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for having 136 inconclusive elections across the country within the last one year.

Speaking on issues affect-

ing national growth and development, the NBA president said the theme of the conference: “Democracy and Economic Development,” was chosen in recognition of the socio-economic challenges facing the country.

He noted that out of 36 states, 28 were having difficulties paying salaries, while pensioners were owed pension arrears, even as the national fortunes were declining with the increasing drop in the price of crude oil.

“It is time to interrogate the problems. If our fortunes continue to decline, can we afford to continue to remain as a nation? We need to look at the problems and proffer solutions.

“Panels were set up to look at the problems from several perspectives, including diversification and sharing the little

that we have. Are we sharing it correctly? Is the amorphous centre taking too much to the detriment of the federating states? Is the 13 per cent derivation too much or too little?

“The time has come when we can no longer sweep under the carpet our challenges as a nation. As an association in a country grounded by corruption, we cannot but talk about corruption and examine if the government of today is able to make the change.

“We must examine whether the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is moving forward or stagnating in the war against corruption,” he said.

Restating the commitment of the NBA to zero tolerance against corruption, Alegeh admonished that “the war against corruption should be

fought, must be fought and can be fought within the ambit of the law.

“Any attempt to shortcut the law in fighting corruption is corruption in itself. If the fight against corruption was to stifle political enemies; if the fight against corruption is to take back what was fraudulently stolen to give to another person, then count NBA out.”

Taking a swipe at the judiciary, the NBA president described as unfortunate, the spate of judgments which, he said, were avoidable.

“We call on the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Chief Justice of Nigeria to look into this matter as quickly as possible. It is a shame, an embarrassment.

It diminishes us as lawyers in this country,” he said. continues pg37

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We won’t bomb Niger Delta but... —Air Force Says no intelligence on Chibok girls yet Taiwo Adisa - Abuja

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HE Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has said the Air Force will not bomb Niger Delta but it will protect the people and the oil and gas infrastructure in the region as much as possible.

Abubakar, who spoke to a select team of newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday, also said the Force did not have concrete information on the location of Chibok girls.

Speaking on the operation of the force in the SouthSouth region of the country, Abubakar said “the talks, negotiations, meetings and so on are political issues; I am not competent to really express an opinion on that.

“But what I can tell you is that our mandate, by the constitution, is to ensure that we protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria and ensure that the Nigerian people are able to go about pursuing their legitimate aspirations and goals without any hindrance.

“We already have airplanes in the South-South that is supporting the operation which the Defence Headquarters is handling.

“What we are doing is to give protection, as much as possible, to oil and gas infrastructure and to also protect the communities.

On whether we are going to start bombing Niger Delta, no.”

He also stated that the issue of dialogue with Niger Delta Avengers is a sensitive issue, which only the authorities could decide.

He declared that the military would be making a final push into the Sambisa forest once the rain subsided.

The air chief also debunked recent claims by the Boko Haran sect that the Air Force might have killed a number of the Chibok girls during its air raids of the forest.

Asked if there is any intelligence report on the presence of the Chibok girls, he said: “honestly, we don’t.

That is the truth of the matter.

“Even if you see women in Sambisa Forest dressed in hijab, how are you sure they are women and not men?

The insurgents can lure you into coming in, thinking that the girls are there and it is only when you get there that they remove their hijab and you will see that they are men with their rifles.

That is one of the tricks of war. They want to remain alive and they want to kill

you.

“So, there is no credible intelligence that will specifically tell you that these girls are there. All of us are passionate about these girls, on a daily basis, we search for them. We are working, I believe we will get there one day.”

Speaking further on the video clips released by the Boko Haram, he said: “as for the latest video clip by the insurgents, this is cheap propaganda. Even the IED that they developed, have you ever seen a complete body together after an explosion on any location?

“Even the IED, the crudest form of bomb, you put there and sometimes you go

there, you don’t see nothing after an explosion, not to talk of a 250kg bomb. What they used in the IED, how many kilogrammes are we talking about? It is insignificant.

“Someone even told me: ‘I saw one of the girls moving her head.’ I said, well I didn’t see that. What I can tell you is that, just looking at the way they did it (the video clip), it could not have been something after an airstrike. If you drop a bomb, there is a crater, where is the crater?

“If you drop a bomb, within certain meters of the point of impact, everybody there will be gone and will be shredded in most cases,

depending on the type of bomb, where it is dropped and the kind of configuration you used to do the bombing.

“But if you now neatly arrange people and said these people were killed by air strikes, it does not make sense at all. Let people ask themselves. They have seen IED explosions, have they ever seen live bodies kept intact together? These guys (insurgents) are just trying to whip up sentiments. It is because they know that every Nigerian is concerned about these Chibok girls. I have daughters and sometimes when I looked at my daughters, I remember those girls.

“There is no day that the sun rises and sets that we don’t go out hoping to see these girls. From January this year to August 17, we flew about 2,600 hours, all missions, and about 50 per cent of that was ISRS (Intelligence Surveilllance and Reconnaissance).

“Why do we do that?

First, we were hoping that through intelligence, we might be able to capture the movement of those girls.

Maybe through that intelligence, we will be able to locate what we consider ‘legitimate targets’.

“Somebody asked of collateral damage. There is no military operation without collateral damage. Even in

the most advanced countries of the world, sometimes you find collateral damage. We are not saying that everything is perfect, what we are saying is that we are taking every step humanly possible within available resources, to ensure that we have a clear understanding of the battle space and we are able to determine the legitimate targets to be attacked.

“We don’t go out specifically to attack civilians. Like I said, counter-insurgency is about winning hearts and minds. The thing at the back of our heads is that make sure, as much as possible, you look out for the criminals.”

Avengers agree to cease fire

•To negotiate through Edwin Clark •IYC welcomes development •Don’t listen to Clark’s stakeholders’ resolutions, MEND tells Buhari Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

CONVINCED by the genuine effort being made by elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, to engender peace in the Niger Delta region, members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have expressed support for the proposed peace initiative with the Federal Government.

The group, which has denied its involvement in any dialogue with the Federal Government in the past, made this known in a statement signed by its spokesperson, ‘Brigadier-General Mudoch Agbinibo and published on its website late Saturday night.

“The struggle has always been a pan-Niger Delta one; we only know the anti-Niger Delta elements are using some disorganised characters from the region to scuttle all efforts to restore the essence of our humanity, resources control and self determination.

“We are going to support any collective/negotiation team emerging from Chief Clark, Niger Delta elders and genuine stakeholders’ conference to engage with the Federal Government of Nigeria, representatives from the home countries of all multinational oil corporations and neutral international mediators that will be focused on achieving the short, medium and longterm frameworks and objectives to de-escalating conflicts in the Niger Delta,” the group declared.

It, however, advised the Clark-led stakeholders’ forum to consult and be guided by past submissions,

reports, declarations and recommendations of various commissions and committees for the region.

“Most of the frameworks and objectives are clearly stated in various reports, declarations and recommendations of the like of the Sir Henry Willinks minority rights reports of pre-independence Nigeria (1957-8), the Kaiama Declaration document, the General Alexander Ogomudia report, the Leedum Mittee headed, Niger Delta Technical Committee report and restructuring to fiscal federalism.

“We have resolved to reject any idea of the peace of our times; we want the peace with honour this time around,” it warned.

The group said it would continue its unannounced cessation of hostilities provided security agents stopped harassing and intimidating innocent folks in the Niger Delta creeks.

“We are going to continue the observation of our unannounced cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta against all interests of the multinational oil corporations, but we will continuously adopt our asymmetric warfare during this period if the Nigerian government and the ruling APC continue to use security agencies/ agents, formations and politicians to arrest, intimidate, invade and harass innocent citizens, suspected NDA members and invade Ijaw communities especially,” the group warned.

It, however, vowed to resume hostilities if the opportunity being offered by Clark failed.

According to NDA, “we

promise to fight more for the Niger Delta, if this opportunity fails.

“Therefore, we will give our Niger Delta elders and genuine stakeholders that tacit support to go to the dialogue table with the government and the multinational oil corporations whenever enabling environment prevails,” it added.

The militants singled out some groups and personalities, asking them to inform their sponsors that doom awaits them in the nearest future.

“Those sold and bought up interests from around the corridors of power cannot armtwist the NDA with bandits, drug addicts, illegal bunkerers, bank robbers and disorganised characters to derail the Niger Delta struggle,” the Avengers conjectured.

It will be recalled that Chief Clark, last Friday, held a one-day Niger Delta coastal states stakeholders’ meeting in Warri, Delta State, to de-escalate the persistent security concerns in the region, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the debacle.

The stakeholders, including traditional rulers, elders, leaders of thoughts, youths and women from Niger Delta coastal states, made seven recommendations in a communique issued at the end of the meeting.

They called on the Federal Government to stop the deployment of military hardware and personnel to the creeks of the region.

They also contended that the deployment of military hardware in the area was causing fear, unease and social dislocation of innocent

people.

The communique also called on agitators and aggrieved groups in the region to listen to pleas by traditional rulers, elders and leaders of thoughts to halt further hostilities on the nation’s oil and gas facilities and embrace dialogue.

It urged the Federal Government to show more seriousness by reaching out to authentic representatives of the region, involving all ethnic nationalities, interest groups in an all-embracing manner, in order to chart a way forward.

The communique also demanded, among others, the adoption of the restructuring of the political system and the practice of equittable fiscal federalism for sustainable peace and development of the country, as recommended in the 2014 national conference.

Meanwhile, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has welcomed the decision by members of the NDA to halt all hostilities and embrace dialogue with the Federal Government.

Spokesperson for IYC, Frank Omare, in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune, in Warri, on Sunday, commended the militant group for the roundtable option.

“IYC has always advocated dialogue as the means to resolving the Niger Delta crisis.

“As a result, we welcome the conditional declaration of ceasefire by the NDA if it is actually from them,” he stated.

He, however, called on the Federal Government to seize the ceasefire window period, to address issues

affecting the region, as well as show sincerity and commitment.

“We call on the Federal Government, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, to take advantage of this ceasefire to aggressively dialogue with the people of the region to address the issues affecting the region.

“For the umpteenth time, we call for a bi-partisan and sincere dialogue to resolve the root causes of the recurrent Niger Delta crisis,” he said.

In another development, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) has urged the Federal Government to reject the resolutions in the communique issued at the end of the Niger Delta coastal states stakeholders’ meeting held last Friday, in Warri, on Friday.

MEND said conveners of the forum, Chief Edwin Clark and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, lacked the moral rectitude to oversee a stakeholders’ meeting, let alone speak for the people of the region or restructuring of the country.

Spokesperson for MEND, Jomo Gbomo, in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday, said none of the elders and leaders at the meeting had the capacity to lead discussion on restructuring of the country.

He said the communique issued after the one-day meeting categorically did not condemn the heinous activities of the rampaging members of the NDA, who had, since January, held the country’s oil economy by the jugular through bombing of oil and gas installations.

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Nigerian Tribune

APC tackles PDP over Obaseki’s WASSCE results Banji Aluko -Benin City

A scene of an accident involving a truckload of livestock, chickens, near Oniru Bus Stop, Mile-12/Ikorodu Road, on Saturday. PHOTO: OVADJE ELLIOT

A forgery allegation has been made by the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Godwin Obaseki, with the PDP alleging that Obaseki falsified his West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) result to gain admission to the University of Ibadan.

Obaseki had, last week, said he had found the originals of his academic qualifications, after the PDP raised concerns over an affidavit he deposed to at an

Mayowa Ahmed, cancer patient, dies in S/Africa Newton-Ray Ukwuoma - Lagos

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A Y O W A Ahmed of the #SaveMayowa campaign has lost the battle to cancer.

Her cousin, Asiwaju Foye, confirmed her death in a series of tweets on Sunday afternoon.

Using his Twitter handle @asiwajufoye, he wrote: “She tried, we tried but God’s will prevailed #RipMayowa.

By Allah in whose hands our lives is, Mayowa Ahmed has left us in this world. We pray that Jannat becomes her home”.

The stage 4 ovarian cancer patient reportedly died in a hospital in South Africa barely 10 days after her arrival.

She was moved to South Africa on August 11, 2016 for intensive medical care, after an exhaustive police investigation into a scam allegation leveled against her family and the #SaveMayowa online campaign by a Nollywood actor, Toyin Aimakhu.

Mayowa Ahmed had been in the news since the #SaveMayowa campaign was launched on social media by actress Toyin Aimakhu to raise funds for her treatment, a development that was later fraught with claims of fraud and misappropriation.

The campaign, generated a lot of media, public and police attention which began on July 26, when the actress visited Mayowa, a 28-year old HB SS patient diagnosed, with bilateral Ovarian Mass Carcinomaon, at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), and made a video soliciting financial assistance to support Mayowa on her Instagram page.

The campaign raised over N90 million within two days for her to be flown to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for surgery.

The management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi Araba,

in an official statement regarding its involvement in the treatment of Ahmed Mayowa Sukurat, then on admission at the hospital, confirmed that Mayowa could not be flown abroad due to her low blood count

and body mass.

The family however requested to fly Miss Ahmed outside the country barely 24 hours after her admission in LUTH, thus stalling all the planned investigations meant to arrive at a

definitive diagnosis. We were able to transfuse her with much needed blood only after lots of persuasion where the family was told point blank that it was risky for her to travel by air, given her low blood count.

Adamawa govt gazettes 30 grazing reserves Registers over 1.5 million cows ADAMAWA State government has announced the gazetting of 30 grazing reserves across the state.

This came as the government announced that it had registered over 1.5 million cows in the state.

Dr Isa Salihu, the state Commissioner for Livestock Development, made this known in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune Salihu said the development was in line with the effort by the Federal Government to establish grazing reserves in interested states.

“We have 72 grazing reserves in the state, out of which 30 are already gazetted.

“5,000 hectares of piece of land was allocated to Federal Government for the establishment of national grazing reserves and the state government is willing to allocate

more additional lands for the programme,” Salihu said.

The commissioner said recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, visited the state, where he interacted with various livestock stakeholders.

He explained that the estab-

lishment of grazing reserves and ranches would significantly solve the lingering conflicts between the two neighbours, farmers and herders.

He regretted that for quite long time, livestock departments from federal, state and local government levels in the country were totally

neglected.

He observed that with the recent development, Adamawa, which is leading in cattle production in the country, would advance to diversify its internally revenue generation toward meat, milk, cheese butter, hide and skin production.

FG reopens Apapa bridge Akin Adewakun - Lagos THE Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has ordered the reopening of the Apapa Bridge, shut down few weeks ago, to ease movements around Apapa, on Saturday.

The bridge was closed few weeks ago, to enable the Ministry carry out some repair works on some bad portions of the bridge, a development that had fur-

ther compounded vehicular movement around the area.

The decision to re-open the ever-busy bridge, according to the Minister, was informed by the fact that some degree of success had been achieved concerning the emergency repair works being carried out on the bridge.

Fashola, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Communication, Mr Hakeem Bello, ex-

plained that the bridge was reopened on Saturday evening, since repairs on it had reached a milestone.”

He stated that placement of height restriction gantry, as a way of ensuring that only light traffic could access the bridge, had been completed.

According to him, while repair works still continue on the diversions, the bridge is now open to light traffic while repair works continue on the diversions.

Abuja Federal High Court on June 7, 2016, stating that he lost originals of the certificates.

A new twist was, however, introduced into Obaseki’s academic qualifications at the weekend by the state chairman of PDP, Dan Orbih, who displayed a purported copy of the WASSCE result obtained

by Obaseki in 1973.

Speaking in Benin at a sport summit organised to look at the challenges facing sports development and proffer solutions to them, Orbih revealed that facts available indicated that Obaseki’s WASSCE results to gain university admission was questionable.

“I have heard Oshiomhole refer to him as a technocrat and the candidate himself described himself as one.

“Here with me is the school certificate he used to gain admission to the University of Ibadan. In this result, he did not pass Economics, but he calls himself head of economic team. In the same certificate, he made P7 in English and failed Mathematics.

Reacting, coordinator of the Godwin Obaseki Campaign Organisation, Martins Osakue, described the PDP’s allegation as unimaginable, tasking journalists to verify Obaseki’s academic qualifications at the University of Ibadan.

“Some people could make all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable allegations to cover up the fact that they are not marketable.

“Obaseki attended the University of Ibadan at at time cheating was alien to Nigeria’s academic system. Unless you are qualified, you cannot be admitted to the premier university that the university is.

“It is just stupidity to make that kind of allegation against a man that is acclaimed all over the world. However, we will come up with a press statement on the matter later as we are campaigning now,” he said.

SERAP to FG: Find out the truth about missing $12.4bn oil windfall SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to Mr Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, asking him to “use your good offices as a defender of public interest, and exercise your powers under Section 174(1) of

the Constitution of Nigeria 1999, and Sections 104— 106 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act to re-open the unresolved case of missing $12.4 billion oil windfall.”

The organisation asked Malami to “establish the truth about what exactly happened to the public funds reportedly spent be-

tween 1988 and 1993 by the government of former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida.”

The letter, dated August 19, 2016 and signed by SERAP executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, urged Malami to “work diligently and effectively to find and publish widely the Pius Okigbo panel report,

as well as bring to justice anyone suspected of corruption and mismanagement of the colossal public funds.”

The letter read in part: “SERAP has for many years sought explanations and official release of the Okigbo panel report, which the government voluntarily established, but

successive governments have blocked every chance to make this happen, even claiming that the report of the panel could not be found. SERAP’s request is entirely consistent with established legal principle that in matters relating to crimes, including corruption, time does not run against the state.”

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COMMISSIONING OF DIGITAL AND SMART CLASSROOMS AT UCH, IBADAN,

BY HONOURABLE SAHEED AKINADE-FIJABI

Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi unveils the project.

The Chief Medical Director, University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Professor Temitope Alonge, welcoming a member of the House of Representatives representing Ibadan North West/South West Federal Constituency and the Chairman, House Committee on Telecommunication, Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi to the event.

Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi (right) signing the visitor’s register at the UCH.

Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi visits the Accident and Emergency Unit of the UCH, Ibadan, which was gutted by fire recently.

From left, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Secretary, North West, Ibadan, Alhaji Abiodun Adeleye Sulaiman; Mr Moruf Ajibolu and one of the APC executives, Ibadan South West, Alhaji Musibau Afolabi Some computer sets at one of the digital classrooms at the UCH. Okebola during the event.

Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi (fifth left) front row with members of staff of the UCH, Ibadan.

Professor Temitope Alonge (with the microphone) explaining some points to Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi during the event.

10

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

11

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

12

businessnews

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Naira depreciation heightens food insecurity, malnutrition —Report •As naira extends depreciation to N397 at parallel market From Sanya Adejokun and Chima Nwokoji

R

ESTRICTED access to parts of the Northeast contribute to Emergency food insecurity Recent decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to float the naira against the US dollar and other international convertible currencies will likely lead to further depreciation of the naira, escalate inflation and result in food insecurity in Nigeria particularly the north east, a report on Nigeria: Food Security Outlook June 2016 to January 2017 has warned.

In the report published on the Reliefweb by the Famine Early Warning Security Network, inflation rate increased from 13.7 percent to 15.6 percent between April and May and further worsened in June hitting 16.5 percent.

“Consequently, prices of local and imported staples such as rice, millet, maize and sorghum will continue to rise beyond normal levels, limiting purchasing power and food access through the lean season period until harvests in October.”

It said conflict in Northeast Nigeria has left a significant portion of the population without access to adequate food, water, and health services.

A “nutrition emergency” has been declared in Borno State by the Nigerian Ministry of Health and information from recent rapid assessments, although limited and not statistically representative, also raises the possibility that a Famine (IPC Phase 5) could be occurring in the worst affected and less accessible pockets of the state.”

According to the Network, Boko Haram conflict and atypically high staple food prices have substantially restricted food access for most households across large areas in the Lake Chad region.

“Diminishing community and humanitarian support, below average harvest stocks and restricted income earning opportunities will continue to limit food access in this region.

“Consequently, affected households will continue to have difficulties meeting their minimal food needs and will remain in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or Stressed (IPC Phase 2) food insecurity, depending on the zone, through January 2017. Several LGAs with proportionally high IDP populations are expected to be in Emergency (IPC

Phase 4) acute food insecurity”, it continued.

It observed however, that most households outside of the Northeast are engaging in normal incomegenerating activities, early green harvests as well as livestock and cash crop sales.

But “some market dependent poor households are unable to meet nonfood needs as their food stocks diminish due to the depreciating naira, high food prices, flooding along

major floodplains and low purchasing power.

“Most households will continue to face Minimal (IPC Phase 1) acute food insecurity, although some poor households will face Stressed (IPC Phase 2) through the end of the lean season.”

As maira extends depreciation to N397 at parallel market Meanwhile, the naira on Friday suffered further loss against the dollar at the parallel market as it

exchanged at N397 to the U.S. currency, from N394 it posted on Thursday, while it traded at N505 and N442 to the Pound Sterling and the Euro, respectively.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market, the currency closed at N395 at the trading, while to the Pound and Euro, it exchanged at N503 and N434, respectively.

However, it strengthened at the official interbank market as it exchanged at N316.55, from N347.13

posted on Thursday.

Traders at the market expressed hope that the local currency would rebound in the coming weeks as banks sell foreign exchange to BDCs. “There is no liquidity” in the interbank foreignexchange market, Kunle Ezun, an analyst at Ecobank Transnational Inc. in Lagos, said by phone. The central bank sold dollars on August 15 and 16 and will continue intervening, he said.

From left, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman; Head of News, Nigeria Television Authority, Mr. Ademola Adeoye and Managing Director and Chief Executive, Cowry Assets Management Limited, Mr Johnson Chukwu, after a live show on NTA in Lagos at the weekend.

‘Nigeria can no longer afford N22bn food import bill annually’ Collins Nnabuife-Abuja

THE Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has reiterated the need to improve the agricultural sector, saying Nigeria can no longer spend N22 billion importing food annually into the country.

The minister made this

known while inspecting the facilities of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), in Sheda, Abuja.

He said the government will seek collaboration with relevant stakeholders, donors in order to assist the NASC to improve their facilities for effective monitoring of the seed subsector.

“We have seen the necessity to improve the facili-

ties we have here, for them to improve, themselves, we need to improve their facilities.

“We can’t afford the import bill of N22 billion spent annually on food importation. The objective of this administration is to see how we will be able to produce enough food for Nigerians to feed”, Lokpobiri stated.

He further said that the

The spot rate was therefore estimated to be a 20.3per cent discounts to parallel market rates(difference of N80.45) and also higher than 12-month treasury (T)-bills discount yield of 18.1 per cent.

The implication of this according to investment securities experts is that the naira could be sold in the spot market to earn a better return relative to risk free assets like T-Bills.

According to the experts, this means that either the true value of the naira is yet to be found or that in-

terest rate increase did not help cover the risk of fluctuations in the value of Naira to dollar.

“This suggests two things, exchange rate is either yet to be appropriately priced in the interbank market or interest rate does not compensate for exchange rate risk. The CBN appears to be comfortable with the second explanation hence the gravitation towards aggressive liquidity tightening to force shorter term rates higher and attract foreign capital,” experts at Afrinvest securities house explained.

Return of naira sales beat returns on other assets —Investigation Chima Nwokoji-Lagos

A money market insight carried out by the Nigerian Tribune has shown that Naira could be sold in the spot market to earn a better return relative to some other investments including risk free assets like Treasury-Bills.

At the Interbank spot market, the naira closed at N316.55 to US$1.00 Friday (19th August 2016). At the parallel market,it closed the week at N397.00/ US$1.00 though traded at N395.00/US$1.00 in certain street locations.

government was also planning on how to export a lot of the food produced locally as a substitute for petrol products.

He, therefore, said the foundation of achieving the objectives is the availability of quality seed, stressing that without supporting the Seed Council, the target of producing food for the entire populace will not be feasible.

While tasking NASC to dominate the seed market in Africa, Lokpobiri also told them (NASC) to live up to its responsibilities by tackling fake or substandard seed vendors.

Speaking on revenue generation, the Minister told NASC to commercialize their own seeds they produce as a Council, noting that it will bring a strong competition in the seed industry and generate revenue for the Council to run its affairs.

In his remarks, the Director General of NASC, Dr. Philip Ojo pointed out lack of funding as a major problem that have been hindering the activities of the Council.

SunTrust Bank targets over 100m unbanked Nigerians CHIEF Executive of SunTrust Bank, Muhammed Jubrin, has pledged to attract more than 100 million un-banked Nigerians, into the banking sector, using technology. He believed this will go a long way in deepening the financial sector and achieving the Central Bank’s goal of encouraging savings culture among the populace.

In a chat with select newsmen last week, Jubrin said: “ It is unfortunate that we have just about 30 million Nigerians within the banking sector, as captured by the BVN…this is alarming when we consider the number of Nigerians that should have bank accounts.

We are determined to use technology to attract more Nigerians into the banking sector. We are very positive that this is possible and with the success in the Telecommunication sector, we are sure, that our mobile banking applications will entice millions of able Nigerians into the sector.”

Noting that more than 113 million functional telephone lines are now being used by Nigerians, he said the success story in the Telecommunication sector is enough to give the Management of the new bank hope that their aim of banking millions of unbanked Nigerians, using technology is achievable.

He promised that the bank will “…bring banking to your home rather than make you come to us…

We will be everywhere but we will be nowhere…We will offer telephone, mobile and Internet banking underpinned by the traditional banking ethics of probity and integrity.”

The bank’s competitive edge will be the strong reliance on technology and the bank will be encouraging customers to access its services from the comfort of their homes and offices and as such the bank will not be engaging in a proliferation of branches.

“Our services will be available to our customers 24 hours daily, seven days a week and from anywhere in the world where there is a good Internet service.

“Even our data centre is outsourced, this way we will not have the overbearing requirement to put on the generator at our locations,” he explained.

By adopting a branchless strategy, SunTrust will save the N100m-N120M required to build a modern branch and the about N2.5m it costs to run the generators at a typical bank branch, he added.

13

editorial

R

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Guns, guns everywhere!

ECENTLY, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) impounded a mind boggling cache of arms and light weapons. In a very significant sense, the country is virtually at war with itself. If the United States, a population of 300 million people, has arms put at 300 million at the ratio of one weapon per person, Nigeria with a population of 170 million people having arms in excess of 350 million is at the ratio of two arms per person, which means the country is neither safe nor secure since these arms are indubitably in the wrong hands. The contradiction is perplexing: Nigeria, where private possession of guns is outlawed, is more heavily armed than the USA where it is legitimate to privately own guns for self protection!

Certainly, the administrators of Nigeria’s porous borders have not yet realised the full implications of their lethargy. We recall that even President Muhammadu Buhari once suggested that the weapons in the hands of the ethnic militias and other insurgents in the country are more sophisticated than the legitimate arms in the possession of the country’s armed forces. This is dreadful, to put it mildly, for a country that is not officially at war.

When these figures are extrapolated to include the arms in the hands of the security forces which are being wrongly or unprofessionally deployed in extra judicial killings, the picture that emerges is indeed bloody and unsettling. The issue of security challenges on the African continent largely has to do with the preponderance of arms in the wrong hands.

We recall with anguish the rate at which the polity in Africa has been militarized over the years by the military corporations of the West that are compelled to seek markets in struggling democracies in Africa from which peace and development have been banished through violence underscored by power greed and corruption amongst the ethnic nationalities seeking dominance in their respective countries. All the bitter wars on the continent were spurred by weapons in the wrong hands and fed the attrition which has virtually robbed the continent

of the potential for growth and development. Apart from the activities of the ethnic militias, Nigeria’s crime terrain is also fuelled by the light arms in the hands of the angry, unemployed youths who have scores to settle with the society.

Sadly, while the countries which produce these arms have the sophisticated equipment and the responsive security infrastructure to monitor and apprehend their wrong deployment, the African continent remains the victim of uncontrolled violence because it can neither monitor nor control these weapons.

For instance, only recently, the Nigerian Army courtmartialed 20 soldiers for murder and arms trading.

This is why the rate at which the civilian population has been militarized is too dreadful to contemplate.

We think that those in leadership positions in Africa must begin to think of monitoring and controlling these light arms as a means of enforcing peace.

Matters have got to such a worrisome level that many of the light arms are concealed even in such unlikely places as funeral hearses and caskets, leading to official distrust of many distraught compatriots conveying their loved ones to their final resting places. In a society hobbled by a prostrate economy and an unemployed, restive youth population, there is indeed a conflagration waiting to be ignited.

The testy ethno-political relations amongst the geopolitical zones of the country also recommend absolute vigilance and caution, so that the Nigerian state can live up to its statutory billing of protecting lives and property, and be in a position to continue to play a leading role in African and global security.

We think that it is absolute self delusion to speak of national security with guns and other light arms including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) being available at the drop of a hat.

There is therefore a desperate need for the security agencies to be equipped with modern gadgets that can spot these guns easily, so that their transporters and merchants can be apprehended. Failure to act fast can only lead to a state of nature where life is short, nasty and brutish.

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

LETTERS TO THE

editor

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

PDP crisis not good for democracy

W

E may not like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but the truth is that it is better for democracy in the country to have a strong PDP as opposition party than a weakened one.

The current crisis over who runs the affairs of the party between Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi will continue to weaken the party. Last

week’s aborted national convention of the party came after the Sheriff faction got a court injunction stopping the second exercise in months, and there is no silver lining in the sky that one of the factional groups will reason with the other any time soon.

Members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and those who hate the PDP may be happy with what is happening in the

former ruling party, but it is a negative development on our democracy. The American political system has thrived on the strength of the Republican and Democratic parties. When Americans elect a party for the presidency in a political dispensation and they are not satisfied with the performance of the party, they go for the other party in the next dispensation.

Even if we do not like the

FG, swap Boko Haram fighters for Chibok girls THE Boko Haram video of the Chibo girls that emerged last week reveals that quite a number of the girls are still alive, and the terror group’s leadership is demanding that the girls be swapped with its fighters in the detention of the Nigerian military.

Since the coming of the Muhammadu Buhari government, the military has sustained its onslaught on the terror group, which has largely been defeated, and it is only struggling for survival now.

The bold statement by the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai that Boko Haram can no longer stage attacks against Nigerian targets shows how that the existence of the group is nearing its end, and apart of the strategies it is employing is the release of the video of the Chibok girls. The Boko Haram leadership is using the innocent girls as bait in its survival tactics, and the Nigerian government should capitalise on this and negotiate the release of the girls.

One thing is sure, our military has regained the professionalism through which it prosecuted the Liberian and Sierra Leonean civil wars, and even if the Boko Haram foot soldiers are released, they no longer have the means to attack Nigerians. This is a great opportunity for us as a nation to secure the release of the girls which has caused us global shame.

We can imagine mothers and relatives of the victims seeing their daughters in that video and they have no power to rescue them.

No one can imagine the pain the families of the

victims are going through now, and taking the decision to rescue the girls, even through the exchange of captives, will go a long way in easing the pain in their hearts.

I, therefore, want to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, to give the military the go-ahead to negotiate the release of the

Chibok girls with the Boko Haram leadership. However, the military must ascertain that those who they will be speaking with have direct links with the leadership of the terror group, so that their efforts won’t be exercise in futility.

•Nelson Ekwale, Benin, Edo State.

performance of the PDP in the 16 years that it reigned at the federal level, I believe the party has learnt a lot from its fall from grace after losing out at the 2015 general election. I believe that the party is seriously working towards making it up for Nigerians if it eventually returns to federal power.

As a result, all Nigerians should not feel unconcerned with what is happening in the party, and I think it is high time elder statesmen in the country, no matter their political affiliation, waded into the crisis.

It is because of this that I want to differ with the position of former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the party. No matter what might have transpired in the party in the past, Chief Obasanjo has a legacy to protect in the PDP. This is the party that offered him

the opportunity to become Nigeria’s first civilian president in this current political dispensation, and he should not just sit by and watch it fall apart finally.

What caused the misunderstanding between Chief Obasanjo and the PDP was as a result of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s insistence on contesting the 2015 presidential election, and now that that episode is gone, it is important for Chief Obasanjo to help save the party by helping to mediate in the crisis.

I am happy that Chief Obasanjo does not belong to any political party at the moment, but he should use his influence to solve the political logjam in his former party.

It is not only Obasanjo who should come to the aid of the PDP, several other elder statesmen like former President Ibrahim

Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Chief Ernest Shonekan, among others. It is not that these people will be aiding the PDP against the APC, but for us to have a strong democracy, it is necessary that the opposition party is strong for it to be able to check on the excesses of the ruling party.

•Dr Taju Alalade, Ilorin, Kwara State.

Militants attack: Kudos to military I want to commend the Nigerian military for the good job it is doing towards tackling the activities of militants in the riverine communities of Lagos and Ogun states. Before the response of the military, the militants acted as if they were above the law, kidnapping and killing people at will.

However, since the military came to our rescue, the militants have been flushed out of their bases, with many of them relocating to other riverine communities in neighbouring states.

While commending the military, I want to charge it to set up water patrol on the waters in these South West states. Before now, militants and armed robbers had been using the waterways to escape from law enforcement agents in Lagos State after committing a crime. I could remember a robbery incident that happened in Victoria Island a couple of years ago. After successfully robbing a couple of banks, the robbers headed for the water and escaped via a boat that had already been stationed there for that purpose.

It is, therefore, important that the waterways are well secured so that these criminal elements won’t continue to have an escape route on the water after their nefarious activities.

•Isola Tayo, Ikorodu, Lagos.

15

opinion

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Lasisi Olagunju Lasgunju@yahoo.com (08111813053)

I

T does not matter that you are from Sokoto, Kaduna, Yenagoa, Lagos, Enugu, Ilorin or Port Harcourt.

You are the same. And it is of no distinguishing consequence that one is in Abuja and the other in the states. There is no distinction besides the costume. And yet you tell us we must say you are different from the others. We see no difference between two strange men in the market place. One may be clothed, the other nude. One may brandish his machete and the other’s concealed in his ragged apparel. You are same, of same world of death and strangeness.

I know that you, even you, do not understand yourself.

You organise party primary, you rig or cry rigging. You participate in general elections, you rig or shout rigging.

Even ordinary choice of party officials is a big issue for you. You go for congresses and conventions, you change and unchange allegiances like the lady in the brothel next door. The only thing that has value is cash. You say many things and do nothing.

There is nothing you do that does not mark you out as a special breed even among other politicians in other climes. You laugh at your people when they fight and kill one another because of you. You shake your head when your supporters break heads and smash skulls because they think the other person is an enemy. You look at them and feel sorry for their idiocy. It is their lot to see enemies in the other party. It is your own fortune to see political opportunities and business partners on the other side.

The people cannot understand. It is their luck.

When a man is very capable in what he does, he looks at himself and trembles. Do you marvel at your capacity for doing what evil means? We have always been amazed at your capacity for the impossible. You say you are different and we see same of shame. You beat up the afflicted and demand apology. You rape and demand garlands. You take food from the mouth of the hungry and charge him to court for grumbling. You spit odious sputum into the mouth of the unpaid labourer and warn that he mustn’t throw up. You beat up the deprived orphan and say he cries at his own peril.

It does not matter that you are from the party of doves or of the band of hawks. Your dove devours what the hawk eats. We see this and freeze in horror. In your eyes, beauty is ugliness and ugliness beauty. And you insist we

In praise of the Nigerian politician

must use your eyes to watch the world, our world. You stand on the pedestal of truth and spew falsehood. You claim virginity but live in the dingy recesses of whoredom. You promise construction but spread devastation.

You beat drums of spirits and drag humans to the dance floor. You promise light and give darkness. Why? The people must work and get good pay. That was the promise. And, only you know great places to work and earn nice pay — NNPC, FIRS, CBN. You know where to sweat less and earn more — the palaces. Your own thirdrated children, they work in these houses of money. They deserve it. You remember you promised job creation and you graciously buy cutlasses and hoes and okada - great empowerment for the people’s first class children! It is their lot, their destiny.

It matters very little that you reign over rich states or you manage poor states. When and where it is good, you alone know it and feel it. For the people, their lot is the same - in Kubwa, in Funtua, in Ado Ekiti, in Akure, in Benin, in Koko, in Omoku. The state may not have money for salaries, but there are no poor government houses. What do you feel in your heart as you peep through the tinted windows of your limousine and you see bent shoes wearing out the walkways of your gilded palace road? Do you at all feel what we feel — revulsion? Do you see at all we see everyday on expressways of gloom — sweating school-age children hawking, running, falling for little nothings during school hours?

To you, nothing is sacred, profanity is an art. You are rich, the nation may be poor. There is no contradiction in that. You have your own way of buying everything and

everyone. The one you can’t buy, you bend. The one who refuses to bend, you break. To you, Nigeria is your inheritance. That is why you do not know when to quit even when old age has eaten away all the usefulness in you. If your eyes can’t see, at least you are not deaf. Nigeria needs fresh air but your body odour fouls the air. If you are incapable of sensing shame, what about your household?

You tell yourself that there is nothing to be ashamed of, service is a commandment from God. Politics is a divine calling, an assignment set for you by God. You don’t retire serving God and you are serving and serving hard.

Nigeria may have forex problem. Families with children schooling abroad may be stranded, marooned. That is not your problem. It is not your problem because your own children are not complaining. They are well-fed, and so, you won’t know if anyone is crying of hunger. You are very hardworking, serving the people. You pay your bills, home and abroad without hassle. Others may be running from pillar to post, scratching their heads, looking for naira or dollars. It is their problem, their luck. You have enough in your safe to last a lifetime. What you have is for you and yours and let no one call you selfish. You worked so hard to earn your dollars.

We know the beautiful ones aren’t here. You say ‘look at me! I am not of them who eat your yam!’ But in your flat tummy is the yam, eaten with hired fingers! But, why is it that you are never in love with dreams of beauty? We vote democracy and get nepotism. What we get is government of father by the wife and for the children. And that is everywhere and anywhere. And so what? What can they do? You ask yourself and smile. True, what can we do? We are helpless. We have always been helpless. But we thought this way is the way? If you are this, where is tomorrow?

You may not see it, but they see it. Who are the ‘they’?

The ones whose poor feet you crushed with your kids’ tyres. On those sweating faces hawking in the blazing sun of traffic jams, are unspoken vows of revenge, of pounds of flesh from a system that takes and does not give. A system that does not give jobs but derives joy in taking the wood from hewers; a system that does not pay for jobs done but demands tax from the unpaid. A system that crushes and gives no damn.

That is your world, politician of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Ambode and the Lagos example

By Rotimi Ayanbeku IN the mid 1990s when the town that I was living in finally took the danger of climate change seriously, it passed an ordinance mandating recycling of cans, bottles and plastics.

To achieve its goal the town embarked on massive public service announcement campaign encouraging citizens to recycle. It didn’t stop there. It met the citizens halfway by making sure that every home and rental property has recycling dumpsters next to the regular dumpsters. It was a massive success. While my friends in other parts of the state were still throwing away their bottles, cans and plastics, just about every home in my town was recycling.

A few years later, the town’s population increased and so did people’s fondness for having pet dogs. It wasn’t uncommon to enter one’s home with dog feces caked to one’s shoes because some people weren’t cleaning up after their pets. The municipality was faced with another dilemma, how to get the people to change their behavior without too much disruption to their way of life. And once again the municipality met its citizens half way by installing racks with trash bags on each block so that dog owners could use the bags in the racks to clean up after their four legged companions. Lo and behold dogs feces soon disappeared from the sidewalks. Don’t get me wrong, there are still people who would not clean up after their dogs no matter what you do for them. However, if those people are caught, they will be cited and pay fine.

In order to discourage crime, overcrowding in the streets, and other adverse environmental effects, the Lagos State government enacted the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law in 2003, which prohibits street trading and hawking. However, each successive administration since 2003 had not implemented or enforced the law.

The Ambode administration is finally trying to enforce the law, but now wahala don come. A young hawker was killed while he was fleeing from state enforcement officers.

In return, hawkers protested violently, injuring innocent civilians and destroying 48 BRT buses.

Everybody is now having their say about the pros and cons of the ban, which is a great thing for Nigeria’s fledgling democracy. The governor of Lagos State believes that street hawking encourages criminality and cheats innocent civilians by pawning off fake merchandise as authentic.

On the other hand, civil society organisations and human rights organisations are condemning the law as inhumane and that it will exacerbate unemployment problems. Furthermore, motorists and commuters accustomed to buying things on the go are anxious about the government’s plan.

What then can be done to de-escalate the situation?

First of all, unlike other state governments that are stuck in the hellish stagnation of business as usual, the Lagos State government should be applauded for tackling this issue. I’m sure the government sees that for its citizens to progress they must embrace a new concept of life that somewhat formalises business transactions, make the roads safe for its citizens and protect consumers. In all the advanced economies of the world, business transactions are formalised to protect their citizens and to make business entities contribute to the society in which they operate.

As such, the Lagos State government is on the right track.

Notwithstanding Lagos’ noble endeavour, it must provide means for the street merchants to carry on their trade. It is true that in a society like Nigeria, where most small businesses conduct their transactions informally, to disrupt the merchants trade is almost inhumane. How else are they going to make a living? Sure there are criminals elements

on the streets as there are in every business, but most of the hawkers are trying to make genuine living, young and old. Most of these people have no other skills. This is the only way they know how to feed and clothe their families, and send their children to school. For the government to start implementing the law without helping them find alternative means of selling their products is a mistake of biblical proportion.

The Lagos State government must meet the traders halfway by constructing stalls and rent it to the traders for low price. The purpose of government is to look after all its citizens. That was what the political leaders of the aforementioned town understood. They also understood human nature, that humans don’t like change because it can be disruptive. So they met them half way. Helping the traders to transact their businesses with as little disruption as possible will be a testament to how much the Lagos State government cares about its citizens.

On the other hand, the civil society organisations are justifiably concerned about the effect of the disruptions on the traders’ livelihood. They reason that it will lead to unemployment and other societal problems. However, street trading is not compulsory. The traders can be trained to learn other skills or move their businesses to government provided stalls.

Lagos State government should, therefore, be applauded for trying to get out of the rot of business as usual. It is trying to elevate business conduct in the society, but it must also balance that with what will be best for the segment of the society that is hit the hardest by the current economic doldrums.

•Ayanbeku, an attorney, sent in this article via rotimiayanbeku@hotmail.com.

16

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

Tambuwal

Abdulaziz

Ayade

Shettima

Govs’ visit to Germany: Waste or gain?

LEON USIGBE reviews the recent controversial trip made to Germany by some state governors which they said was for investment drive.

R

ECENTLY, states governors caused quite a stir when it was revealed that many of them would be traveling to Germany for a vocational training under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). It was strange. What are governors doing on a vocational training? What are they going to learn? Who will they impart their newly acquired skill on when they return?

At the time the news of the trip broke, not all governors were interested in the endeavour and at least, one of them, Nasir el-Rufai of Katsina State did say that publicly. Six of them made it to Germany along with other lesser state officials who represented some of their chief executives.

The governors that made the trip were Darius Dickson, Taraba State; Kashim Shettima, Borno; Ben Ayade, Cross River; Dave Umahi, Ebonyi; Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto and the Chairman of the NGF and governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar. Benue State was represented by the governor’s Special Adviser on the Diaspora, Kebbi sent its Finance Commissioner while Niger State delegated a member of its House of Assembly on the mission.

The suggestion that the journey was for a vocational training riled some governors including Ahmed Abdulfatah of Kwara State who queried its necessity. He was also not happy over how it had been portrayed in the media. But the NGF denied

that they were on the trip for a vocational training. According to the NGF, the trip was an idea generated by the German ambassador in Nigeria, Dietmar Kreusel, who made a presentation at the July 17, 2016 NGF meeting showcasing several areas that Nigeria could tap to diversify its economy as the nation bids to lessen its dependence on oil.

On their return, the NGF gave a report on the trip which showed that 135 German companies participated in what it said was an investment partnership drive.

They include BEAR Technology GmBH, Aqua Consult Ingenieur, Deula-Nienburg, SUNZILLA Green Energy, Solar-und Windtech, CTS Automotive, MOBISOL, Tecknische Univeristet Berlin, Deutche Infrastructure, BVMW, Deutschtec, Sunfarming GmBH, R-Biopharm AG, Zell & Co and Heller Tools among several others.

Ambassadors of other African countries resident in the German capital, Berlin like those of the Congo DRC, Madame Clementine Shakembo, Florence Isabelle of Madagascar, Marmo Phillips, Tanzania and Nchama Maylboro of Equatorial Guinea also seized the opportunity to attend the meeting “due to its importance to their countries’ economies.” According to the report, out of these, 25 companies had by the end of the mission indicated their willingness to invest in Nigeria. The NGF now expects that they will be in the country to sign MOUs and make further

arrangements towards the take-off of their projects between 4th and 8th of October this year.

The forum argued that the relevance of the presence of the governors on the trip could not be allowed to simply evaporate as Cross Rivers Governor, Ayade declared a one-stop-shop by asking the investors to return with him to Nigeria to commence the implementation of their agreed programmes on alternative energy in his state. It also explained that apart from the immediate benefits that could accrue to the mission, another thing that made the

The suggestion that the journey was for a vocational training riled some governors including Ahmed Abdulfatah of Kwara State who queried its necessity.

governors’ presence absolutely imperative was what the NGF noted was “the reputation that Nigerians has acquired in the eyes of the world.”

The NGF also highlighted the role played by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who was on hand to inform the Germans of Nigeria’s departure from a mono-product economy towards diversification to, especially agriculture, job creation, renewable energy, rural electrification and solid minerals. Malami explained that it was against this background that the governors were in Germany to partner with prospective investors and declared while enumerating the numerous business opportunities in Nigeria that his office has “revised Nigerian laws and policies to provide an enabling and clement business environment, where investors monies are safe and secure, as well as their lives.” Malami was also keen to stress that Nigeria has successfully tackled insecurity in the country and therefore allayed investors’ fears for their personal security.

At the end of the visit, Ambassador Spasswasser of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was hopeful that his compatriots would capitalize on the improved security atmosphere in Nigeria to invest in the country. The governors, on their part, are also hoping that the investors would now partner with their states in different sectors to exploit their vast potentials for the benefit of their people.

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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

leadership & management

entrepreneuership

markets

analysis

Budget deficit:

Experts caution govt on bond market reliance

President Muhammadu Buhari Sanya Adejokun Abuja

S

INCE the official introduction of bond market by the Debt Management Office (DMO) the debt instrument has largely phased out the Ways and Means and greatly relegated the Treasury Bills to a far background in the Nigerian financial system. While officials of DMO insist that even when government did not actually need to borrow money because of its positive financial position, there was still need to raise bonds regularly in order to deepen the emerging market. The situation has changed however, and a much battered economy occasioned by slump in crude oil prices now necessitates governments both at the national and sub-national levels to rely on debts to finance widening budget deficits.

Government’s financing options are to run a balanced budget for its expenditure to equal its revenue, issue bonds or print money. Although it almost became a norm especially among states, governments do not normally borrow money directly from domestic bond market. Where a country has a developed market for its government bonds, then it will generally avoid borrowing from banks. This boomeranged recently when total revenue shared by Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) was much less than N300 billion. Some state governments, which already had irrevocable standing orders went home with less than N300 million that month. The Federal Government was forced to intervene by asking banks to forgo that months’ repayment.

In the N6.03 trillion 2016 Federal Government budget, the N1.8 trillion deficits is expected to be funded through various forms of borrowing. Out of this, both Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and her Budget and National Planning counterpart, Udoma Udo Udoma, have explained that N900 billion would be raised domestically while the balance would be sourced internationally.

Last week alone, DMO raised N110 billion from the bond market. Various aspects of the bonds would mature in 2021, 2026 and 2036 respectively.

Aside funding its own budget, the Federal Government is also raising an additional N510 billion from the bond market on behalf of states to help them get through current financial difficulties. Most states are not able to pay salaries because of dwindling revenue from FAAC. According to Adeosun, this will come in form of N50 billion per month for the first three months, and N40 billion per month for following nine months.

She said 35 states had applied as against erroneous claims in some newspapers that “only seven or five states have met FG’s conditions. This is factually wrong. FSP reforms will take 18 months to fully implement,” and the states are in the process of submitting the required documentation, which are being reviewed.

Before this time, DMO had helped to restructure bank loans for states which submitted requests for the bank loan-to-FGN bond restructuring. Phase I of the process consisted of eleven states which had completed and submitted all necessary documentations, including the submission of

jointly authenticated balances with banks.

Bank loans of those states were restructured into 20-year FGN bonds effective August 17, last year. Phase II of the restructuring consisted of 12 states whose bank loans were restructured into 20-year FGN bonds effective September 16, last year.

The second phase, which concludes the restructuring exercise, showed that 14 banks were involved in phase I debt restructuring operation and their total loans to the 11 states which were restructured amounted to N322.788 billion. In phase two, 12 banks were involved with total loans restructured amounting to N252.728 billion bringing the total restructured amount for the 23 states to N575.516 billion.

Cameron Hume, notable financial expert, said governments borrow money to cover the shortfall between the amount they raise through taxes and duties and the amount they spend. In the long run the amount a government borrows is a result of political choices, in the short run it is influenced by unexpected events, such as weak growth.

According to him, “governments typically finance the great majority of any expenditure from taxes but tend to have persistent budget deficits, i.e. to spend more than they raise. A budget deficit of 10% of GDP is exceptionally high, and such a deficit is generally the result of an economic shock, which causes both tax revenue to fall and government expenditure to rise.

In summary, governments fund most of their expenditure through taxes, but bond issuance is the principal secondary source of finance. Other means of financing deficits

such as printing money or borrowing from the banks have a history which suggests that they have adversely, and on occasion materially, distorted the way an economy works.

Three economists cautioned seriously on over reliance on the bond market to fund budget deficits.

Chief Executive Officer of Time Economics, Dr Ogho Okiti told the Nigerian Tribune that now, “government is borrowing money basically because it needs to”. He however, said there is limited amount to borrow because borrowable fund is fixed.

Ogho warned nonetheless that in approaching the bond market, government should be careful so as not to crowd out the private sector.

With monetary policy rate currently standing at 14 percent, the cost of bank loans is currently prohibitive and Governor of Kaduna State Ahmed el-Rufai said at a conference organised by Women in Business in Abuja recently that only illegal businesses can thrive at the current bank lending rates in Nigeria. As such, the bond market becomes a more convenient source of credit to businesses and once government begins to compete with the private sector in that segment of the market, the private sector will certainly lose out.

Ogho also explained that government will determine its debt sustainability based on GDP and percentage of debt.

On his part, Professor Badayi Sani of the Bayero University, Kano also agreed that Continues on pg27

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

CSCS, capable of supporting any market initiative —GM Joe Mekiliuwa is the General Manager of Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS). In this interview with KEHINDE AKINSEINDE-JAYEOBA, he speaks on the activities of CSCS as relative to Nigerian capital market.

W

HAT is the importance of CSCS to the investors and operators of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)?

The CSCS is a financial market infrastructure and as the name implies, Central Securities Depository (CSD) is an entity that ensures that securities are centrally deposited for ease of transactions and that there is the clearing of transactions for eventual settlement.

Clearing by definition is determination of obligations arising from securities transactions. So, CSCS does the clearing of the transactions and facilitates the settlement of same.

In the case of security leg of the transactions, the CSCS performs settlement as well as ensuring that the seller is debited on the day of settlement and the buyer is credited.

But for the cash leg, the CSCS having done the clearing would advise the settlement banks to do the cash leg of the settlement.

Why should a company like CSCS which performs critical service to investors have one location?

The name of an entity like CSCS all over the world is known as the Central Securities Depository. As the word ‘Central’ implies, it means it must be a centralised entity for securities and with the use of IT infrastructure, it doesn’t require opening of branches across the country. Rather it opens its resources to enable people access same within the country and from all over the world.

That is why you will find out that brokers who are trading across the various branches of the NSE for example, enter their orders at the NSE branches or even from their various offices and same orders are routed to the trading engine of the stock exchange which is on real time with our system.

So, it means that anywhere you are through the IT infrastructure, you can access the exchanges from all over the world or within the country. You can also access our system through the exchange for the broker to be able to trade.

Also, for an investor, he can access our portal through the web to know his balances or stock holdings.

How can investors get full benefits of full dematerialisation?

The advantages of dematerialisation are many; it enables the investor to trade at any time without necessarily passing through the bottlenecks of verifying the share certificates any longer, because the shares are now domiciled with CSCS, he can give a mandate to his broker at any time and

the broker accesses the Exchange that same day and trade for him. So the beauty of dematerialisation is that it enhances market dynamism, liquidity and decision making in securities investment, etc.

What are the processes involved in account consolidation or mergers for an investor’s accounts and what are the causes?

In the past during the IPOs/POs, we had the challenge of investors trying to beat the system to be able to purchase more shares beyond the mark or threshold allowed.

For example the policy then was that one would not get more than 10,000 units to ensure equity distribution of the shares, some investors who had the money to buy large chunk and were limited to buying only 10,000 units used their names in different forms and toggle same to be able to acquire more thereby beating the system.

As a result, investors now have multiple names in the system representing only one natural person in each case. Having discovered this, we have been discussing with the capital market stakeholders and SEC , investors have been advised to consolidate the accounts, otherwise, orphan accounts will clog the system because some used fictitious names that are non-existent.

So the advice to such investors is to observe the current rule of providing the evidence of purchase of those shares, past dividend stub, photocopy of the earlier form used in the purchase, etc and a letter through the broker to CSCS and registrar, instructing merger of such accounts.

However, in a situation where such investor does not have any of these items, the person may have to go to court to swear an affidavit.

Meanwhile, a committee has been set up

by SEC to work out the modalities including the required grace period, thereafter penalty will apply.

With the existence of many inactive or dead Houses arising from re-capitalisation of stockbroking firms, how can investors transfer accounts to active firms?

With the recapitalisation exercise and its deadline, many stock broking firms could not make it and the implication is that many are now inactive. The process to do such transfer is as follows: the investor should approach an active stockbroking firm of his choice that will do a robust KYC on such investor to validate the investor’s claims. After that the investor would come to the CSCS for biometric data capture , he would also provide his bank details. Thereafter, the broker

Mekiliuwa of the active stockbroking firm chosen (Target House) would be expected to log on to the CSCS data exchange portal to initiate the transfer. Once this is done, the portal would automatically generate an indemnity form. The MD of the target stockbroking firms would be expected to come physically to CSCS to sign on the indemnity form as an evidence that he has done robust KYC on the client. The KYC documents would be transmitted to SEC for further directives on the broker, on confirmation, SEC would direct CSCS to go ahead to process.

follows: DCS form is filled by the investor indicating bank details that includes BVN and submits same to his broker. The broker in turn, logs on to the NIBSS portal to validate the investors BVN, on validation, the broker forwards same to CSCS for second level confirmation through the settlement banks. Thereafter, subsequent proceed of transactions would be credited directly into the investor’s account, instead of the usual practice where the broker would issue cheques or pay into the investor’s account.

What does the CSCS special account entail?

For one to be a member of special account family in CSCS, an investor is expected to apply for the service, the forms are available on the CSCS portal for download or at CSCS Customer Care Centre. Thereafter, at submission and payment of N5,000 per annum (for individual), family members of the same surname (N10,000 per annum) and the corporate account for N10,000 the account would be setup. The special account enables an investor to have full control of his stock accounts. He can consolidate all his account from the various stockbroking firms into this special account and has the latitude to move the only quantity he chooses to the broker’s position.

Despite the proactive measures to prevent fraudulent acts of dealing houses, cases are still being recorded of unauthorised sales of clients shares. Does CSCS sanction defaulters?

There is a very strict rule now on unauthorised sales of shares that is why we have low incidence of such actions. Also, we have what is called X-alert. This is a mechanism through which an investor is alerted whenever there is any action on his account.

When sales, movements or updates happen on the account, such investor will be alerted and the reason for such alert is to create investor’s awareness to such action, so that it will be reversed if not authorised.

The only way to get such alert is when one submits his GSM number through his broker to CSCS. This is used to update his account in CSCS, thereafter, whatever happens in his account, such investor will be alerted.

If for any reason there arises a situation where a broker sells shares unauthorised, the broker would be heavily penalised.

Apart from the fact that the broker would be made to buy back the shares, the broker would be fined both at the Exchange and the CSCS, it is majorly to build investors’ confidence. The incidence of unauthorised sale is becoming a thing of the past.

What is Direct Cash Settlement (DCS) and how can investors participate of this service?

SEC, NSE and CSCS working in collaboration with brokers introduced what is called DCS. It is a service that enables an investor to get direct credit of proceeds of sales of his shares when his broker sells his shares after the usual client’s mandate to sell. Therefore, instead of the proceeds passing through his broker to him, he gets such directly into his bank account.

The procedure involved in DCS is as

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

Quote LEADERSHIP

The ability to summon positive emotions during periods of intense stress lies at the heart of effective leadership.

— Jim Loehr

The CEO’s most important task

T

HE chief executive officer is an appointee of the board of directors. So, he reports to the board and makes the directors’ expectations his focal point so as to have a successful tenure. Since a CEO holds office by the grace of the board, he has to strive consistently to meet and even surpass the directors’ expectations.

Board’s expectations A company’s board of directors consists mainly of investors or their proxies. The board acts on behalf of the shareholders, people who have put their resources in the company with the hope of getting worthwhile returns on their investments. Though not directly involved in the daily management of the organization, the board has its eyes fixed on the bottom line, which is tied to the performance of the company. Since assessment of the board is linked to the performance of the business, the board works on the management to improve the company’s financial profile and make it not just a going concern but a profitable business. So, in broad terms, the board has two expectations; increasing revenue and reducing cost because if revenue increases and cost decreases, profit will soar.

Continues on pg20

The 60-second

business coach PAGE 24

PAGE 24

Leaders’

forum PAGE 24

20

THE 60-SECOND business coach

3 leadership skills critical for driving change

By Brent Gleeson ALL organizations experience periods of much-needed culture change in order to achieve the results they need to grow, compete and win. Changing or improving the culture of a company or team requires focus, accountability and consistency. And it must be led from the top.

Without total and complete buy-in from the senior leadership team the desired culture will fail to be achieved.

Leaders either move actively through an organization or unconsciously. When an unconscious leader attempts to fake their way through culture change they will not create the necessary experiences required to instill the correct beliefs. Without the needed cultural beliefs, actions will not achieve results.

Leaders driving significant culture change must be honest and sincere in their effort exhibiting true passion for change. They must take aggressive strides in mastering three critical culture change leadership skills. And most of the time the organization can’t wait for them to do so, it must be done in tandem with driving change. This requires a consistent and deliberate effort and places this ability within reach of leaders at all levels.

These three skills are: leading the change, responding to feedback, and having a facilitative communication style.

Leading the change Culture change initiatives are not something that can be delegated to Human Resources or any other department. This is a leader-led model which must start at the very top. Every experience a leader creates, communication they deliver and action they take will either support or undermine the effort. The senior leadership team must actively manage the process and make sure that it’s at the top of every manager’s priority list.

Some of the best practices leaders must own include: establishing accountability across the organization; defining the results needed from the culture change (what are we trying to accomplish?); developing a cultural belief statement (again, this shouldn’t belong to the marketing team); developing and communicating the case for change; and consistently ensuring alignment across the leadership team.

For leaders to master the ability to lead the change, it requires learning and practicing the tools, planning what to do and what to say, and internal and external coaching.

Responding to feedback Without the team there can be no leadership. During a change effort the team will scrutinize the leadership team more than ever. They will be hopeful for new change they have been craving for a long time, but they may also look for signs of potential failure.

Providing feedback focused on supporting the desired cultural beliefs and

21

Monday, 22 August, 2016

desired outcomes to team members is critical for success. But it goes both ways.

Senior leaders must ask their reports, or anyone for that matter the question, “What feedback do you have for me?”

Leaders must create a culture supportive of managing up and transparency.

Some leaders are good at taking constructive criticism and other are not.

Responding with an excuse or dismissing the feedback as irrelevant or incorrect will foster beliefs about that leader’s willingness to change. In times of culture change, leaders must usually be the first to change the way they think and act.

Facilitative communication style When I speak to organizations or perform workshops with their leadership teams, communication is always a key component. As a former Navy SEAL, we used to evangelize the saying “move, shoot and communicate.” We work in highly chaotic environments which require effective communication in order to adapt to change.

Leaders must not just ask for feedback every now and then but create organizational experiences that foster ongoing collaboration and communication. It doesn’t happen on its own. These experiences will empower the team and involve everyone in being accountable for driving the positive change forward.

Needed change is usually created through many internal and external environments. Either way, it can be scary for the team. It is up to the leadership to drive the change, ensure alignment, and see it through. It can have revolutionary effects to the bottom line when done right.

The CEO’s main task

performance heads south. No organization can be exceptional with that type of workforce.

Greg Ogbeifun, Chairman Chief Executive Officer, Starzs Investments Group

Nick Imudia, Nokia Managing Director, West and Central Africa

ingly difficult task because it was not content with merely meeting market expectation but exceeding it. Apple understands the market quite well and has profited immensely consequently. Those who run Apple know that irrespective of his social status, the average person is vain. Any appeal to his vanity will spur him to part with his money. This is what successful marketers understand and deploy to their advantage. That is one of the secrets of Apple’s success with the iPhone 6 series.

If any phone can be described as gorgeous, definitely the iPhone 6 is. With its full glass, aluminium construction and the fluid look of the rounded edges, the piece is a masterpiece.

The phone is unbelievably thin (the iPhone 6 is just 6.9mm thick, while the iPhone 6 Plus is 7.1mm thick) and this accentuates its astonishing look.

Those who are adroit in marketing readily agree that while the form and content are important, the form has an edge over the content for the simple reason that if the form is not tempting, the content may be deemed con-

temptible. The packaging is, more often than not, more important than the content.

If you ever wonder why perfumes are expensive, the answer is because the package, which holds the perfume, does not come cheap. The perfume actually accounts for about 35 per cent of the total cost, while the bottle and the box account for the balance. This underscores the importance of the form. If the outward appearance of an item is not satisfyingly attractive, the product stands a good chance of being turned down by the buyer. Apple understands this fact very well hence it does not spare costs when it comes to packaging its products. Therefore, the customer is already wowed by the figure of the handset before considering its usefulness.

But Apple did not just work on having a good form, it also ensured the phones have great content. The iPhones are built with Apple’s new iOS 8 software, which has the new Healthkit application that monitors the user’s well being.

With the software, the user’s heartbeat rates, sleep, weight and blood pressure are measured.

The iOS 8 software also enables users to control

Continued from pg19

Increasing revenue There is no magic to increasing revenue; the revenue generated by a company is directly proportional to the size of the market it controls. Companies increase revenue when they up their game and give their customers the kind of products or services that are not easy to come by. Modern day customers have no loyalty; they go where their needs are met the most. So, to increase revenue, a company must keep its customer hooked to its products and services; it must have the customers literally eating out of its hands.

In 2014, Apple released Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus. The products hit a record sales figure of 10,000,000 within three days and that was when the phones had yet to open for sale in China and 26 other regions. The record was unprecedented in an industry where others were experiencing reduction in sales.

How did Apple achieve this feat?

The company was able to accomplish the seem-

Enchantment

By Guy Kawasaki

GUY Kawasaki enchants with Enchantment.

It’s a lovely word, but of course Guy wants it to mean more than just charming the socks off someone. He is talking about how you delight people with a purpose: to buy your product, help you achieve something, or just be your friend.

Can you use Kawasaki’s insights to give better speeches? Guy offers some specific advice on giving presentations: Customize the introduction. Guy’s idea here is that you give better speeches when you give the same one over and over again. Presentation practice makes perfect. But you enchant people by tailoring the beginning to them – showing that you know or are connected with them in some way. Guy often takes pictures of the audience or the city and puts them in the introduction.

This is good advice, but not enough. You really need to tailor a speech to an audience throughout. Of course, there may be big chunks of your usual speech that fit with a particular audience, but you should never

assume that’s the case. Good speaking starts with good research, and that research may affect not only the beginning but the middle and the end of your speech.

Sell your dream. Guy means that you need to sell the sizzle with the steak, the big idea with the product, the differentiator with the beta release. It’s a good point, but the real way you enchant an audience is to solve the audience’s problem. To do that, you need to know what that problem is.

Think screenplay, not speech. Great movies follow a 3-act structure, and so should your speech, says Guy. This is good advice, and widely proffered, but all too often watered down to saying that a good speech has a beginning, middle, and end. A great screenplay is much more than that. A great screenplay takes viewers on a journey, seen through the eyes of the hero. A great screenplay begins with a situation, then a complication that forces the hero out of her comfort zone, her daily life, her stuck situation. It may be an event, a new person, a decision. Then the complications begin. A great screenplay throws obstacles in the way of the hero so that it will take 2 con-

vincing hours for her to reach her goal. When these complications reach their zenith, the hero faces a test that reveals her true character.

If she passes the test, the story resolves more or less happily. If she fails the test, the story resolves more or less tragically.

Dramatize, shorten, and practice. I’m combining three of Guy’s points here because they all have to do with upping the ante and avoiding dullness. Dramatize your talk with great slides that convey emotion. Shorten your speech – no one ever complained when a talk finished early. And practice, because it makes perfect. Guy also says “speak a lot,” which is the same point.

Warm up your audience. I like this point, because it’s not as obvious – or as frequently given — as the others. Guy means going out into the audience before your talk begins to get to know them. This is a very good idea, and not practiced enough by speakers everywhere. ‘Visiting’ with your audience beforehand will warm them to you, help with your nerves, and potentially give you stuff to say to customize the talk. All good, and very worthwhile.

Charles Anudu, Managing Director, CEO of Swift Network

all the items in their home with the phone.

This is one of the edges that Apple has over competition; it always delivers more. The phone is more than just a device for making calls, connecting the internet, listening to music, taking photographs or watching movies; it also affords the user to keep tab on his or her health status. For this reason alone, a number of people will prefer it to other phones in its category.

So, to increase revenue, a company has to consciously work towards exceeding market expectations.

There is also the need to consistently work on improving strategy. Most companies lose relevance and revenue because they rely on what worked in the past. Nothing in nature stays stagnant over time, everything changes eventually. Companies that fail to move with change are usually left behind to lick their wounds as they see others leap into prosperity.

A company may up its revenue by also identifying new areas of opportunities.

Great companies don’t just follow trend, they set the trend. So, to have customers tied to its apron string, a company must make available to them what they need before the need becomes obvious to the customers.

Reducing cost Many organizations have a warped understanding about cost reduction. Whenever the issue of cost reduction comes up for discussion, what occurs to them is the need to reduce staff strength or overhead cost.

While those may be part of cost reduction, they are not all there is to it. Cost reduction is principally about improving the processes of an organization. Once there is an improvement in the processes, every area of wastage will become evident and these can be done away with.

Improving the operational processes of an organization has to do with being effective and not just efficient. An effective company spends less to achieve more, an efficient one gets the job done at a huge cost. Being effective boils down to seeking a better way of achieving maximum value at the least cost possible. When an organization is effective, it means it has the capacity to achieve its stated goals with a minimum deployment of energy, time, money, human and material

Peter Ashade, MD, Africa Prudential Registrars Plc

resources. An effective organization ensures that every resource is made to deliver optimal result. It is when resources are not effectively deployed that a company amasses wastage and the cost invariably shoots up.

Great companies consistently tweak their processes to ensure maximum value delivery by every of its resources.

The CEO’s most important task However, as important as increasing revenue and reducing cost are, they are not the CEO’s most important assignment. His most important task is keeping the workforce unflaggingly inspired. There is a limit to what the CEO as an individual can accomplish. Whatever he hopes to accomplish can only be done to the extent to which his people are inspired to be part of it. With an inspired workforce, reaching the moon will be a done deal for the CEO. Therefore, more than any other thing, keeping the workforce inspired is the CEO’s primary task.

Between motivation and inspiration In his book, Good to Great, Professor Jim Collins counsels that there is no need to motivate the workforce. His point is that external motivation does not last the distance, arguing that the best thing is to have a self-motivated workforce. A self-motivated employee is self-driven, focused and determined. He knows what he wants and aligns this with the goal of the company to ensure that both the organization and himself profit from his endeavour. He does not rely on external stimuli to do what he ought to do, rather, he challenges himself to be at his optimum at all times.

That is the point of departure between the inspired employee and the one who waits to be motivated. The level of performance and the quality of delivery of the latter is dependent on the motivation he receives. The downside is not that he needs motivation; it is that it has to be done repeatedly. Hence, as Zig Ziglar, a personal development expert, once observed, “People often say that motivation does not last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” The import of this is that those who are not self-motivated are like junkies; they are irredeemably hooked on external stimulation. If the stimulation is taken away their

How leaders inspire others According to Simon Sinek, author of the book, Start With Why, the difference between companies like Apple and others is that they start with why. Sinek has developed a concept which he calls the ‘Golden Circle,’ which has three layers. The first layer is the ‘Why’, the core belief of the organization. It’s the raison d’être of the company. The second layer is the ‘How’. This is about how the company realizes the core belief. The third is ‘What’, which is the activities engaged by the company to realize its core belief.

Sinek explains that every organization knows what they do but few understand why they do it. He adds, “if you don’t’ know why you do what you do, then how will you ever get someone to buy into it, and be loyal, or want to be a part of what it is that you do.

“The goal is not just to hire people who need a job, but people who believe what you believe.

If you hire people who just need a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire people that believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.”

This is why revolutionaries are usually successful; they never start with what they want to do but why they want to do it. This makes it easy for their followers to buy into their vision.

Their followers are often so sold out on what the leader wants to do that laying down their lives for its accomplishment is not considered a huge sacrifice.

The leader has to effectively communicate the why to ensure a buy-in by the workforce.

Aristotle explains the three elements of effective communication as ethos, pathos and logos.

He says ethos is the credibility of the speaker.

Whether a leader’s speech will be believable or not depends on his credibility. This is not determined by what he promises to do but what he has already done; the reputation he has already built.

Ethos has two components; competence and integrity. The two are rooted in the speaker’s reputation. The audience would believe a speaker if it is convinced that he has the competence to deliver on the promises being made and if it believes that breaking promises is not in line with the speaker’s character.

Pathos has to do with making emotional connection with the audience. This is touching the audience’s core, touching the listener’s heart, communing with him. Pathos is making emotional appeal to the listener. It is the heart of the speaker touching the hearts of the listeners.

It is when a leader connects with the people emotionally that buy-in takes place.

Logos is about the logic of the communication. Many leaders have little problem with this because it often has to do with the use of data; facts and figures. But facts and figures can be disfiguring for a leader who lacks the capacity to use them in driving home his point.

For statistics to come handy to a leader, he must first have a handle on it.

The CEO’s most important task is the continuous communication of the essence of the company to the workforce for them to buy into its vision. If he is able to do that effectively, he will have a company filled with committed people who are prepared to give their all to the realization of the vision. This will lead to the company being roundly profitable; always increasing revenue and decreasing cost. If he does not get that right, he will have a pack of uncommitted and acidic employees who are likely going to make both him and the board sad.

22

leadership&management

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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

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

Creating momentum with moments - 3

TO create and sustain momentum in a collective dynamics, a leader must deliberately create special, memorable moments in the organization for the benefit of all stakeholders.

There are two ways by which leaders create moments. The first is through actions and the second is through events or a combination of both. Suffice it to say that whichever way he does it, it must be deliberate, memorable and inspiring.

Every collective must be guided by a vision if it wants to be successful and sustainable. A team without a collective vision is nothing but an association of strange bedfellows.

In time, a little conflict could result in emotional conflagrations that could disintegrate the association. For this reason, leaders who want to sustain momentum must constantly create moments of inspiration. Such moments help to remind everyone about the essence of the collective vision and the attendant guiding values. The scriptures have well said that where vision is lacking, people soon cast off all sense of restraint. Moments of inspiration could be created by engaging followers on a personal level to discuss issues that pertain to their personal lives in a way that, in a manner of feeling obliged, challenges and inspires them to deeper commitments to the collective. Moments of inspiration can also take the form of strategy or ideation sessions where a “war room” situation is created that fires up the imagination and enhances the contribution capacity of participants.

The power of execution in many organizations is vested in only a few people, usually at management level. The implication of this is that if officials in whom such authority resides are not on ground or indisposed, certain things cannot get done. If the critical execution gap is not filled at the appropriate time, many things suffer and many people’s functions in the organization may actually be hampered. Leaders must therefore diffuse that authority through the organization by creating moments of empowerment for their followers. Empowerment can come through various means ranging from delegation of responsibility to the actual empowerment of subordinate officers to commit the organization up to certain limits. A supermarket chain was said to have given even its floor officers to commit the company to the tune of $2500, if need be, in going to great lengths to satisfy the cus-

tomer. Their customer approval rating went up significantly and so did bottom-line! Everyone likes to feel ‘in charge’.

The only way to know if any man will be responsible is to empower him with responsibility. Education is also a significant form of empowerment. Leaders should take special interest in the training and personal development of their followers. Many leaders achieve this by making almost every meeting with their followers a learning experience. Better still, they simply create a learning organization instead of sporadic, knee-jerk training programs. They have no hesitation encouraging and sometimes aiding the educationally deficient to get further education.

Sensitivity to the emotional state of their followers requires that leaders create moments of encouragement when they deliberately affirm their followers. At such times, they are extravagant with praise, privately and publicly, of the good works of their followers. Leaders must constantly create moments when they make the people around them, no matter how subordinate their status, feel good about themselves.

Such moments actually build up the followers’ self-esteem and earn respect for the leader. The corollary is a desire to contribute significantly to the organization’s progress. Secondly, they stand with their followers through moments of crisis in a way that reassures their followers that someone has got their backs. When leaders demonstrate empathy, walking where their followers walk, they create in followers a deep sense of obligation.

Last year, I was privileged to facilitate sessions on Team Bonding for two different corporate organizations, one in telecoms and the other a pensions management organization. One of the fallouts of both meetings was the team exercise that required interactions within group dynamics where each person had to work with a group comprising largely people they had never seriously related with even though they all worked in the same organization. From the feedback at the end of each of the two programs, the exercise remained indelible in the participants’ minds because for many of them, that helped them to correct some misinformed opinions they had about some of the people they had to work with! Sitting down at the end of the program to unwind, dine and dance

with people who hitherto were total strangers even though colleagues at work, was the icing on the cake. To several participants, it was an unforgettable experience. Synergy only makes sense when members of the team can bond and trust one another. A team is not just a group of people working together but a group of people trusting one another. Every team is only as strong as its bond of trust.

Everyone has something to say. As they say, opinions are like noses, everyone has them! And given the opportunity, everyone can give an opinion on how the organization can best move forward. There is no useless idea. Sometimes, the idea that appeared very ridiculous at first may be the one that would bring a solution to the problems at hand and it could have come from a least expected person. No matter how dedicated and loyal a follower may be, there would be several issues and areas of dissent from the leader’s point of view. When there is no conducive atmosphere created for him to express his misgivings, he begins to withdraw into himself and begins to sabotage the organization from within by adopting a “siddon look” approach to serious issues. Whether you will like what they say or not, or how they say it, give people room to express themselves. You and the organization would be the better for it.

What do you think would happen if the CEO of a large organization with about one thousand people on the payroll would send an e-mail or a text message using his personal number to every employee on their birthdays or wedding anniversary? No marks for answering right. We all love to be celebrated, don’t we? Other moments of celebration a leader should create include award ceremonies where people who have performed well are publicly recognized and rewarded through promotion, awards, cash bonuses, etc.

When leaders strategically create memorable moments both for individuals and the collective, people work as if on steroids because they feel that they are part of something that is worth their while and for which they are willing to invest a significant portion of their lives.

When their leader asks them to jump, they simply ask, “How high?”

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

Sterling lessons from failures

FAILURE can be demoralizing, but only if you’d let it be. Here are some of the inspiring lessons you can learn from the failures of a few influential leaders. This week’s article, “lessons from failures” is going to make you become a better leader.

Failure is a necessary experience on the condition that you want to eventually become successful. That may seem like an illogical and specious statement, since failure and success are generally considered complete opposites, especially in a nation as Nigeria. However, the experience of failure is both enlightening and motivating—as long as you view it with the right perspective; learning from your mistakes and working harder to achieve your goals are both important ingredients in finding success. Kindly pause and meditate on this.

At the moment, failure can range from off-putting to devastating, depending on the ruthlessness of the experience. As a young entrepreneur or anybody trying to achieve something significant, failure has the potential to hold you back indefinitely—but only if you let it. Take inspiration from the hundreds of radically successful individuals—who reached their peak only after multiple rounds of significant failure. Here are some of their stories: Bill Gates is one of the most recognizable figures in the tech industry, responsible for creating Microsoft and currently standing as one of the wealthiest people on earth. Many people attribute his success to a kind of luck or sudden twist of fortune; he had a great idea at just the right time during the technology boom, and got rich developing it to perfection.

But the reality is Bill Gates experienced a crushing failure before he had anything to do with Microsoft. Originally, Gates created a product called “Traf-O-Data”, which analyzed data from traffic tapes. The product did not work properly, and the company never took off, so Gates decided to try something else. What lesson can you glean from this? “Traf-O-Data” never had any hope of being successful, but that was no reflection on Gates’ potential. if your idea, though seems great,

does not pan out the way you thought it would, remember that you still have plenty of ideas and opportunities ahead of you.

Also, one of the most recognizable novelists of the modern era, Stephen King, is widely regarded as a master of horror writing. Despite now having dozens of financially, critically, and popularly successful titles in circulation, King’s first novel, Carrie, was almost a failure. The novel was rejected 30 times before it was finally accepted and published, leading to King’s career breakout. King considered quitting, and many people would have quit, but his perseverance led to greatness.

What lesson can you glean from this? Simple adjustments can turn a failure into a success. Revising your idea, targeting a different audience, or redefining your brand identity could all easily take a failed concept and turn it into something more successful.

What is more, a mastermind of technological innovation and corporate vision, late Steve Jobs is responsible for making Apple the company it is today. However, his past is littered with failures, setbacks and crushing defeats. Jobs started Apple in 1976 and the company began to take off, but after an unsuccessful product launch in 1985, Jobs was kicked out of his own company. Most ordinary people would have given up at that point, but instead, Jobs founded a new company called “NeXT”. “NeXT” was considered unsuccessful as well, at least for a time, until it caught the eye of a struggling Apple in 1997.

Apple purchased the company and brought Jobs back into a leadership position, which he used to develop and launch Apple’s breakthrough products, including the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. What lesson can you glean from this occurrence?

Perseverance is everything. Because he committed himself to doing great things, Jobs was able to work past his personal and professional failures, and eventually leave behind a monumental and unprecedented legacy.

Today, Disney is an entertainment giant of nearly unfathom-

able scale. It holds hundreds of properties, including Marvel Studios and the Star Wars franchise, and continues producing record-setting films and operating theme parks around the globe. Behind the initial company was the innovative, imaginative genius of Walt Disney himself. While many people recognize his earliest successful films, few know the difficulties he faced prior to making them. Disney’s first animation studio was dissolved, and Disney could not afford to pay his rent. Even after the successful premiere of Snow White, many of Disney’s early movies—classics like “Pinocchio and Fantasia”—were financial failures. What lesson can you glean from this? The strength of an idea cannot be objectively measured by its relative success or failure. Most of Disney’s earliest films are considered masterpieces, even though commercially, they failed. Even Disney’s first studio, which went under, likely produced some amazingly high-quality work.

Buddy, the next time you experience failure, on a small or large scale, remind yourself that you are in good company.

In your own life, ask anyone you feel has been successful in achieving their goals or living their dream if they had ever experienced failure. The answer is, invariably, yes! Failure is never the end of the road—it is only a small step in the greater journey. Pick yourself up, learn what you can from the experience, and force yourself to move on.

Lastly, never you throw in the towel because of mere impermanent failures. That you fail does not mean that you are not intelligent. I had failed before. And everyone who is successful today in every field of life had failed before. I have come today to pat you on the back, telling you that you are not far from the room of success. Generations unborn shall get to read your story and it shall be a blessing to them. Do not give up. That what you are doing now is not working does not mean that it is not going to work. Keep at it. You shall surely make it.

See you where great leaders are found!

23

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

CBN’s Collateral Registry:

MSMEs may get increased access to finance

By Ruth Olurounbi

A

LTHOUGH the number of registered borrowers has steadily increased to 29,285,471 as of October 2015, growing from 78,189 in December 2010 to 18,640,000 in June 2012, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Deputy Director, Banking Supervision, Steven Nwadiuko, there is still an urgent need to increase access to finance to businesses in Nigeria, especially the smaller ones.

It is unclear how many of Nigeria’s 37 million Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) have access to finance to grow or expand their businesses, but the fact remains that they “play an

important role in the country’s economy,” as the World Bank puts it, but “accessing loans to grow their business is difficult” for them and they “generally lack traditional collateral that banks require for loans – such as land and buildings.”

However, a new online registry launched in May 2016, may serve to bridge the gap between the MSMEs and the financial sector. Launched by the CBN with the support of the World Bank Group and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the collateral registry will allow MSMEs to secure loans against assets such as machinery, livestock, and inventory.

It will be recalled that in August 2013, the CBN launched an MSME Development Fund with N220 billion as seed capital, 60

per cent of which was targeted at women, to provide financial services to women “in view of their peculiar financial exclusion circumstance” and 10 per cent structured to go to start-up business owners, among others, in the view to promote and deepen access to finance, provide cheap wholesale funds and build capacity for stakeholders, etc.

With the new registry from the CBN, it is expected that the level of loan that goes into the MSME sector will increase substantially as financing without using immovable collateral such as land as bonds is now acceptable.

Prior to the launch, the CBN’s deputy director, Development Finance Department, Mainasara Mohammed, explained that col-

TEF Entrepreneurship Forum Season 2 for Oct

Godwin Emefiele, Governor, CBN.

lateral registry would be a databank where moveable assets such as cars, inventories, and equipment, as well as intellectual properties are registered for the purpose of using them as collateral to obtain facilities from financial institutions.

The CBN, in the 2014 Collateral Registry Regulations issued by its governor, Godwin Emefiele, explained that the regulations is aimed at stimulating responsible lending to the MSMEs “by providing a mechanism for efficient registration of security interests in movable property and realisation of such interests in the event of a default.”

It also noted that the registry will be maintained and operated by the apex bank.

Continues on p24

Digitisation, Nigeria’s alternative to oil

24

Monday, 22 August 2016

Nigerian Tribune

With N1,000, MSMEs can now register for collateral Continued from p23

To access financing, the regulation stipulates that a “collateral” means movable property, whether tangible or intangible, that is subject to a security interest; while “consumer goods” means “goods that the debtor uses or intends to use primarily for personal, family or household purpose” and “debtor” being “a person that has rights in the collateral, and includes a grantor of any type of charge, chattel mortgage, pledge or lien in movable property.”

“Equipment” in the context of the collateral registry means “machinery or other capital goods used in the operation of the debtor’s business, while “farm products” include “(a) crops grown, growing, or to be grown; (b) fish stocks; (c) livestock, poultry and their unborn offspring; (d) seeds, fertilizers, manure and supplies used or produced in a farming operation; and (e) products of crops and livestock in their unprocessed states” and “financing statement being” the prescribed forms on which information is provided to effect, amend, cancel or continue a registration under these regulations.”

“Goods” means tangible movable property and include farm products, inventory, equipment, consumer goods, trees that have been severed and oil, gas or minerals that have been extracted and inventory means “goods that are; (a) held for sale or lease in the ordinary course of business; and (b) raw materials or work in progress, while “movable” means tangible or intangible property that can be moved or displaced.”

The regulations also stipulate that “the financing statement must include a description of the collateral that reasonably allows its identification. A description of collateral is sufficient if the collateral is described by (a) item, kind, type or category and year of manufacture; or (b) a statement that a security interest is taken in all of the debtor’s present and after-acquired property.”

The collateral registry has been hailed as a major step towards increasing access to finance to small businesses by “encouraging banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria to increase lending to MSMEs by creating a mechanism for registering security granted by MSMEs over assets, the registration of which other laws do not provide for,” Udo Udoma and Belo-Osagie wrote in their paper, The Establishment of the Central Bank of Nigeria Collateral Registry and its Effect on Financing Transactions in Nigeria.

“This is a major achievement to help improve access to finance for MSMEs and more broadly the financial inclusion agenda in Nigeria,” Sebastian Molineus, Director of the World Bank Group’s Finance and Markets Global Practice, also said.

Although it is unclear at this time if the process of registering security will be straightforward and efficient, Joe Abuku, Press and Public Affairs Officer, British High Commission, Abuja explained in an email that the programme has “proved to be an effective mechanism for this purpose elsewhere, giving financial institutions more confidence to lend.”

Elsa Rodriguez, the Bank Group’s project lead, earlier this month said: “In Ghana, the collateral registry has facilitated $1.3 billion in financing for the small-scale business sector since it was established in 2010, and $12 billion in total financing for the business sector using movable assets as collateral. We are very excited that a registry is now also in place in Nigeria.”

Abuku explained that particular types of asset can be registered online to the registry, and once on, cannot be reg-

istered again in duplicate or by different individuals or firms also claiming ownership. “This will help to avoid an item being used multiple times for different loans, with banks unable to be sure that they have the first claim on the item in case of loan default. The registry is now open online for firms to register assets,” he added.

To sustain the programme, Abuku said “consultation and engagement with financial institutions is still being undertaken, so that they, including microfinance institutions

(important for enabling access to finance for the hardest to reach entrepreneurs) are mobilised to start using the collateral registry facility.”

He added that in the coming year, it is hoped that the Secured Transactions Bill, which relates to the collateral registry, will be passed. “GEMS3 and IFC are collaborating on the design of expansive sensitisation events in key economic centres. GEMS3 will also help identify a pool of initial potential end-users in order to increase confidence

Digitisation, Nigeria’s

Digitisation. Photo: nationalgallery.sg

IN recent years, digitisation has emerged as a key economic driver that accelerates growth and facilitates job creation across the globe and experts in Nigeria are saying that given the country’s sluggish economy, digitisation can play an important role in assisting policymakers to spur economic growth and employment.

A Booz & Company’s econometric analysis estimates that, despite the unfavourable global economic climate, digitisation contributed $193 billion to global economy in 2011 and created six million jobs in that same year. And according to a Forbes report, digitisation adoption in the Middle East and North Africa alone resulted in an extra $16.5 billion in output and nearly 380,000 new jobs.

25

Monday, 22 August 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Digital Disruption, theme for GEC 2017

By Kizito Okechukwu

T

HE world in which we live has become increasingly virtual as concepts such as “digital disruption” and technology disrupt the traditional ways of doing business and simplifying life. This is an increasing phenomena across various industries and sectors, both on the African continent as well as globally.

The digital disruption concept aims to explore how technology and digitization are revolutionizing industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, education and healthcare. The local organizing committee, which was established to prepare for Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) in Johannesburg, chose Digital Disruption as the official theme for the Congress.

“Digital disruption is transforming our economies and making vast improvements in our lives but it will require leaders from all parts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem – entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers and more to be nimble and adapt,” said the South Africa Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu.

“Those who embrace innovative new processes, policies and programs will be best positioned to seize the oppor-

Okechukwu

tunities in front of them.” The Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) is the largest gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, researchers and policymakers from more than 160 countries and nearly 4,000 delegates. The global entrepreneurship ecosystem will gather in one of South Africa’s most innovative hubs – Johannesburg.

Speaking from the Global Entrepre-

neurship Network (GEN) headquarters in Washington, D.C., Jonathan Ortmans, president of GEN, thanked all the partners who participated in the various focus groups in the theme selection.

“The theme of ‘digital disruption’ will create platforms of engagement between startups and corporations to create innovative new ideas, as well as provide a pathway to explore disruptive technologies in various industries in the African continent, and globally,” said Ortmans.

A member of the local organizing committee, Nyeleti Shirilele, executive governance at Hollard, echoed similar sentiments and encouraged all corporations to join forces and ensure greater collaboration and support for startups, and small and medium sized businesses.

The GEC 2017 Johannesburg will be hosted by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), Kauffman Foundation, SEA Africa, the City of Johannesburg, National Department of Small Business Development, Gauteng Provincial Government, Absa – a member of Barclays, Transnet, Hollard, Microsoft, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Telkom.

Okechukwu is the Executive Head, SEA Africa.

TEF Entrepreneurship Forum Season 2 for Oct

By Ruth Olurounbi Nigerian Market. Photo: Wikipedia in, and usage of the registry. In addition, they will help to develop an improved process for addressing collateral registry disputes,” he said.

With respect to the costs for registering security, the CBN said a N1,000 fee is required for the initial registration of a security interest/financing statement. “This is significantly less than would be the case if the security were to be registered at the CAC or the lands registry,” the Udo Udoma and Belo-Osagie noted.

Ruth Olurounbi

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

THE second edition of Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum has been slated for October 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria.

The forum is the largest annual gathering of African entrepreneurs, where over 1,000 entrepreneurs meet with business leaders, established entrepreneurs and policymakers to forge partnerships, share insights and fashion Africa-made solutions to accelerate the transformation of Africa, the foundation media team stated in a release.

The gathering is the culmination of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), Elumelu’s $100 million commitment to identifying, training, mentoring and empowering 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years.

“The 2016 edition of EEF will feature interactive learning sessions between the entrepreneurs on one hand and thought leaders, investors and veteran entrepreneurs on the other. There will also be exhibitions and displays by entrepreneurs from all across Africa, supported by third party service providers targeting SMEs. It will be a gathering of the entire entrepreneurship ecosystem,” the media team added.

Tony Elumelu. PHOTO: TEF

alternative to oil There’s no gainsaying that digitisation is fundamentally reshaping business models, lowering barriers to entry and expanding market reach for enterprises. In fact, it is changing the way companies manage their production assets, enabling companies develop the best design and user interface, studies have shown. Nigeria’s Printivo, Hotelsng, Andela and co readily come to mind.

A year ago, Nigeria’s earnings from crude oil exports were negatively affected, losing $22.53 million (about N4.48 billion) in June 2015. This has forced the government to urgently look into diversifying the economy with special focus on agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

Although the diversification programmes are com-

mendable, stakeholders find it curious that Nigeria’s government, despite remarkable growth experience of its ICT industry, is not leveraging on the industry to push its diversification goals.

Throughout the world, ICT continues to proliferate at breakneck speed so much so that by 2012, the number of mobile lines worldwide was more than six billion—nearly as many as the global population of around seven billion, according to a Booz & Company report.

Although internet penetration is not as deep, an increase of more than 20-fold during the past decade in regions such as the Middle East and Africa, gives an opportunity to policy makers around the world, especially in these

continents to revaluate their strategies on employment, per capita growth and their continent’s developmental goals, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s 2013 Global Information Technology Report.

As has been established, access to ICT services is no longer the primary issue facing policymakers, “the critical question is how to maximise the adoption, utilisation, and impact of these services.”

Digitisation, a key driver and enabler of socioeconomic benefits, according to WEF’s report, may just be a key to maximise the adoption, utilisation, and impact of these services.

To be continued next week.

26

Monday, 22 August, 2016 CBN Exchange Rates

Date

Currency

8/19/2016 US DOLLAR

307

307.5

308

POUNDS STERLING

401.863

402.5175

403.172

EURO

347.4319 347.9978 348.5636

SWISS FRANC

320.1251

YEN

3.0626 3.0676 3.0726

320.6465

321.1679

CFA

0.54 0.55 0.56

WAUA

454.6202 455.3606 456.101

YUAN/RENMINBI 46.116

RIYAL

81.8536 81.9869 82.1202

DANISH KRONA

46.6828

SDR

431.4578 432.1605 432.8632

46.1915

46.7588

Government Securities

FGN Bonds

Buying(NGN) Central(NGN) Selling(NGN)

46.2671

46.8348

Date of Auction 5/11/2016 5/11/2016 5/11/2016 4/13/2016 Security Type FGN Bonds FGN Bonds FGN Bonds FGN Bonds Tenor Maturing On 5 Year 10 Year 20 Year 5 Year

2/13/2020 1/22/2026 3/18/2036 2/13/2020

2/13/2020 1/22/2026 3/18/2036 2/13/2020 Amount Offered (N mn) 15 40 50 20 Subscriptions (N mn) 35.40 51.71 72.49 58.53 Tot. Successful (N mn) 7.50 20.00 25.00 20.00 Net Sales (N mn) Range of Bid Rates 10.9900 11.0000 11.0000 10.0000

- 18.0000 - 18.0000 - 18.0000 - 18.0000 Successful Bid Rates 10.9900 11.0000 11.0000 10.0000

- 13.2490 - 13.7430 - 13.9000 - 12.0000 Marginal Rate 13.249 13.743 13.9 12

Auction Date 8/18/2016 Security Type OMO Tenor 315DAY Auction No 18-08-2016 Auction OMO Maturity Date 6/29/2017 Total Subscription 236118.05 Total Successful 236118.05 Range Bid 17.9800 - 18.5000 Successful Bid Rates 17.9800 - 18.5000 Description Issue Rate 18.5 True Yield 22.0148 Amount Offered (mn) 50000

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

Cash crunch: CBN clears N1.3trn excess liquidity in 2 months

E

VEN as most Nigerians are saying there is no money to meet daily financial needs, and the private sector struggling to find investible funds, latest figures from investment bankers and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have shown that from June 2016 till date (barely two months), a whopping N1.3 trillion has been mopped up through Open Market Operation (OMO) auctions by the CBN. The apex bank in pursuit of aggressive Monetary Policy Tightening, cleared this amount which investment analysts at a Lagos-based securities house, Afrinvest, estimated to be N40 billion short of total value of auc-

tions carried out all through six months or half year (H2):2015.

According to the analysts, this was also in CBN’s aggressive effort to push interest rates higher and attract foreign capital (FPI & FDI) into the economy and reduce external sector pressures, thereby supporting the stability of the domestic economy.

According to the analysts, though tight monetary policy stance has remained largely predominant since November 2011 (with Monetary Policy Rate hovering between 11 per cent and 14 per cent since then till date), the recent policy thrust of the CBN suggests the aggressive nature of tightening for which a number of criticisms

have been generated from both trade and industrial circles as well as political space.

As a result of the above development, the securities house said shorter term rates in the secondary fixed income market have adjusted upward to 15.7 per cent on average from below 12 per cent in May 2016 with discount yields on 364-Day treasury (T)-bills instrument trading as high as 22.4 per cent.

It should be recalled that a professor of Economics at the university of Ibadan who went all the way to do a research sponsored by Magnum Trust Bank Plc, Professor Ademola Ariyo, said that in spite of the existence and activities of relevant intermediation institutions and

financial sector regulatory agencies, excess liquidity has become persistent macroeconomic headache for Nigeria over the years.

Ariyo said that the government which is adjudged the major cause of excess liquidity is also considered the greatest benefactor of its management strategy employed by CBN while the private sector, is the worst victim. He stated that while fiscal operations of government is the overriding cause of the liquidity problem in the country, banking system credit to the public sector is another major cause. It therefore appears that the problem of (excess) liquidity revolves around the public sector in Nigeria.

Investor confidence yet to return to Nigeria’s financial system —Analysts A herd of economic and financial experts have concluded that Nigeria is still going through crisis of confidence in the hand of foreign investors.

Incidentally, this is coming at a time when Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and Deputy Governor Sarah Alade travelled to the United States and United Kingdom to try and entice bond investors to buy assets in Africa’s largest economy.

Several investors in London, it was learnt, told the governor there wasn’t enough liquidity in Nigeria’s foreignexchange market for them to be comfortable buying naira bonds.

Nonetheless, a finance and economic

expert, Mr Ayodeji Ebo, believes “the relative paucity of Foreign Exchange inflow may be linked to investor confidence deficit which may not improve until the recent reforms are deemed sustainable.”

Also, a France-based financial analyst, Jurgen Hecker, in an email message to Nigerian Tribune revealed that most foreign investors still wonder whether President Buhari and the CBN really mean what they say about naira.

“Is the naira really where it should be or are there still hidden controls? Is there still some pretending going on?,” he queried.

According to Hecker, investors sus-

pect that there are hidden controls despite claiming that market forces determine exchange rates and maybe the currency has not hit rock bottom.

“But until it does there will not be any significant investment going into naira assets, because who wants to invest in a currency that may have further to fall?

“So this creates uncertainty and this is probably unavoidable, until trust can be built. The pain was quick, the recovery will be slow,” Hecker stated.

He went further to assert that it will take time to build export industries that can profit from selling cheaply abroad because of the weak currency.

Skye Select Summer Campaign gathers momentum THE on-going Skye Select Summer campaign has continued to gather momentum as enthusiastic members of the public have been opening account in large numbers.

The Skye Select summer campaign offers a new investment window for discerning high end individuals who value personalized services and unique lifestyle.

The campaign is targeted at the upper-middle level managers and professionals who earn a monthly net income of N750,000 and above, and

travel regularly.

According to a release issued by the bank, those who take advantage of the summer campaign to either open new accounts or build up their existing accounts would enjoy increased earnings via interest on their credit balances, as well as benefit from discounted interest rates on personal loans.

Other benefits of the Skye Select account are free cheque book and the ability to make unlimited withdrawals from their accounts.

The bank explained that other lifestyle benefits that customers would enjoy include exclusive discount at Hilton Hotel, Abuja; free priority pass membership as well as two free airport lounge visits per year.

The bank further said customers will enjoy packaged holiday tours through its Skye Travel Finance in addition to being offered fast track services in designated branches, and will also be assigned dedicated relationship officers.

Skye Select is an individual

current account designed for discerning high-end individual customers who value personalised service and could afford a constant credit balance of N100,000 in their accounts.

It also gives benefits and values that are specific to the life styles of premium customers. Some of the target audience include: people who undertake frequent foreign trips, businessmen, top government officials and individuals who undertake regular holy pilgrimages.

Nigerian Tribune

Money Market Review

SIMILAR to the previous week when liquidity levels opened at negative N75.1 billion, system liquidity on Monday also opened with a negative balance of N167.8 billion. This notwithstanding, Open Buy Back (OBB) and Over Night (O/N) rates settled at 22.3 per cent and 26.7 per cent respectively on Monday as a result of the OMO auction that took place the previous Friday which pressured system liquidity.

On Tuesday, however, OBB and O/N rates crashed to 7.2 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively on the back of improved system liquidity occasioned by 16 August 2016 bond maturity worth N581.4 billion which hit the system, resulting in closing liquidity of N3291 billion on Tuesday.

According dealers at an investment research company, Afrinvest West Africa, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned two OMO maturities worth a cumulative sum of N205.1 billion; mopping up N198.1 billion and N7 billion respectively at marginal rates of 18 per cent apiece. By midweek, system liquidity level settled at N65.5 billion. Accordingly, OBB and O/N rates fell 2.4 per cent and 1.9 per cent to 4.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.

On Thursday, the CBN continued on its aggressive drive to mop up liquidity as another OMO auction of N236.1 billion was floated and cleared at a marginal rate of 18.5 per cent. As a result, OBB and O/N rates rose to 21.1 per cent and 22.6 per cent respectively.

However, OBB and O/N further rose to 23 per cent and 25.6 per cent on Friday as system liquidity closed the week at N70.6 billion.

Investors continue to display higher appetite for shorter term treasury instruments due to higher attractive yields relative to longer tenured instruments.

Average treasury (T)-bills rate opened the week at 17 per cent, rose as high as 17.7 per cent but eventually closed the week at 18.1 per cent. Across the T-bills term structure, 9M and 12M tenors remain the most attractive with rates closing respectively at 19 per cent and 22.4 per cent on Friday. During the week under review, T-bills maturities worth N62.4 billion on 91-Day and 182-Day instruments hit the system but the same amount was rolled over at marginal rates of 15 per cent and 17.5 per cent respectively.

Foreign Exchange Review The exchange rate remained pressured late week amid liquidity constraint. At the interbank, the exchange rate stayed around previous week’s levels with spot rates closing at N317.50/$1 on Monday, before appreciating to N313.65 on Tuesday. The closing spot rate however weakened to N312.50 on Thursday and eventually closed at N316.55/$1 on Friday. In the parallel market, the exchange rate closed flat week on week (W-o-W) at N397/$1 though traded as high as N393/$1 during the week.

In the futures market, the over the counter (OTC) foreign exchange (FX) Futures contract calendar as at August 19th, 2016 showed the value of open contracts at $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion in the previous week.

The APR 26 2017 futures instrument remains the most subscribed with the value of open contracts settling at $706.25 million, currently trading at N260. The second most subscribed instrument is the JUNE 21 2017 instruments, with $466.01 million worth of open contracts and currently trading at N244/$1.

According to Afrinvest, AUG 24 2016 contract will be maturing next week Wednesday, “we expect the CBN to re-open a new 1 month futures contract at its maturity.

“We are of the view that the foreign exchange market will remain pressured in the interim, especially at the parallel market, until sizeable amount of FX flow into the system,” the firm’s analysts said. In a note.

In furtherance of its efforts to improve activities in the currency market, the CBN during the week increased the sale of FX to a single BDC operator from $30,000 a week to $50,000.

Bond Market Review Events in the domestic bonds market stayed soft last week as investors continue to favour short tenured debt instruments given the prevailing attractive yields.

As against the previous Friday, average yield across benchmark instruments rose 0.2 per cent to 15.3 per cent on Monday. On Tuesday, as trading activity remained relatively minimal, average yield across benchmark instruments slid 0.1 per cent to settle at 15.2 per cent. On Wednesday, however, the Debt Management Office (DMO) executed its Bonds Auction for August 2016 raising a cumulative sum of N110 billion issued in N40 billion (JULY 2021), N30.0billion (JAN 2026) and N40 billion (MAR 2036) instruments at marginal rates of 15.1 per cent, 15.3 per cent and 15.5 per cent respectively.

27 Sustainable banking: Sterling Bank partners FG on desertification AS part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focus on the environment and in support of the Federal Government’s plan to sustain the environment while reducing desertification, Sterling Bank has concluded plans to carry out tree planting exercises in three states in Northern Nigeria.

Nigeria is faced with rapid desert encroachment affecting fifteen northern states all with varying levels of severity. As such, the bank said this initiative became imperative as one of the solutions to cushion the effects of desertification.

This is also in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Developmental Goals for environmental preservation, and a way of challenging other private institutions to support the initiative.

Experts describe desertification as the degradation of drylands. It involves the loss of biological or economic productivity and complexity in croplands, pastures, and woodlands.

It is due mainly to climate variability and unsustainable human activities.

The most commonly cited forms of unsustainable land use are over-cultivation, overgrazing, de-

forestation, and poor irrigation practices According to a statement from Sterling Bank, the Executive Governors of the three flag-off states; Plateau, Bauchi and Gombe have confirmed participation at the events and the novel occasion will hold on Tuesday August 23, 2016 in Jos and Wednesday August 24, 2016 in Bauchi respectively.

The bank in a statement signed by its Group Head, Strategy and Communications, Mr Shina Atilola, emphasised the need for the private sector to support the government at all levels to checkmate the rising challenges posed by desertification in the country.

Nigerian Tribune

Monday, 22 August, 2016

From left, Group Head, Micro Finance and Financial Inclusion, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Group Head, Marketing Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Ama Okyere, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Anthony Okpanachi and Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria,Charles Kie at the launch of new Consumer Banking Media Campaign MOVE ON UP held at the bank’s head office, Victoria Island, no Wednesday. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

Only 210 BDCs meet CBN’s forex requirement on KYC FRESH facts emerged over the weekend that out of a total of 2,990 registered Bureaux De Changes (BDCs) in Nigeria, about 2,780 failed to meet the foreign exchange requirement on Know Your Customer (KYC) stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) leaving only 210 BDCs eligible to access foreign exchange.

Currency dealers explained that the situation in the market may have been part of the reason Banks begun intensive scramble

for the few eligible Bureaux De Change accounts after their efforts to stop the operators from accessing the Diaspora-related foreign exchange (Forex) failed.

Meanwhile, in the just concluded week, the Nigerian foreign exchange market witnessed sustained depreciation of the naira against the US dollar at both the interbank market and Bureau De Change market segments.

The Central Bank of Nigeria last week increased the weekly dollar supply to

BDC operators by licensed banks from 30,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars. The bank said that the increase was necessary based on the present prevailing circumstances where the available Forex in the market was not sufficient to meet the needs of Nigerians.

The CBN had recently issued a circular directing that banks that are agents to International Money Transfers Operators (IMTSO) should sell foreign currency to the tune of $30, 000 per week to licensed BDC oper-

ators.

The bankers committee revealed that before the increase was made, there were lots of consultations by the CBN and the Committee based on the feedback received from the market which necessitated the increase.

The issue of making Forex available to Nigerians has been very topical and CBN has been working very hard to address this. This development the committee believes will ensure that there is more cash available to

the BDCs and increase the supply and this will help to drive down the price.

“The reason for this decision is to ensure that people get enough for school fees, student allowance and personal travel allowance and any BDC that tries to circumvent this gesture will be severely punished,’’ said Kennedy Uzoka ,Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc., told journalists at the end of bankers’ committee meeting.

FG, budget deficit and bond issuance Continues on pg17

“borrowing is an important aspect of financing development.” He declared that while there is nothing wrong with borrowing, it must be utilized for the purpose for which it was procured. “As an elementary example, assuming you borrowed N10,000. That borrowing is economically beneficial so long that that N10,000 is able to generate a direct return of another N10,000 or even N15,000 or indirectly if the money borrowed is able to generate other services and goods.”

He also observed that when government borrows through the bond market, such borrowing may not be limited to the domestic fund as foreigners may also take advantage by importing capital and benefiting from the market, which he described an advantage to the economy.

“The other implications are that when governments borrow too much, what is left for the private sector may be less and that indirectly defeats the objective of government to make the private sector a partner in developing the economy. This crowds out the private sector. This is because fund managers rely on returns on what they may get so, the real sector suffers to some extent because the private sector would have used their borrowing to expand businesses and create more jobs and services. But the presence of government in the market will crowd out private sector borrowers because there is the guarantee that government will not fail in payments.

“At the same time, if government revenue falls as we are witnessing because of the fall in oil prices, fall in production and devaluation of the currency then government is constrained to borrow in order to fund its activities. This is perfectly in order. Sometimes Economists tend to look at the net effect of this on the economy. If the net effect is negative, government may not achieve its objective and so the economy may suffer. It all depends on how serious and committed government is in utilizing the borrowed funds to finance development”, Badayi declared.

Also speaking with this newspaper on the same issue, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafia, agreed that the bond market is a verifiable and sustainable means of bridging government revenue shortfalls. He however, dismissed the view that government’s presence in the bond market is a threat to the private sector also assessing funds to enhance operations.

“It is one of the tools that governments have to fill the financing gap with funds from the bond market,” Mailafia stated while adding that government has the additional option of either borrowing domestically or from the international bond market. He cautioned nonetheless, that “we should emphasise more on naira denominated bonds.”

The international financial consultant disclosed that “a lot of foreign investors are now showing interest in bringing money into Nigeria now that the Monetary Policy Rate has increased to 14 percent” while also

noting that “so far, our net debt to GDP ratio is still below 10 percent and it is under control.”

While reiterating that the liquid finances available to government has dwindled, he urged caution, saying government has to be careful. “There are several advantages with bond financing. Starting with the private sector, the repayment process is slow and the risk profile are less. Mailafia advised that there should be a vibrant bond market that would create the right curves that will be instrumental to the growth of the economy and also ensure quickened maturity of payment system.

“First it is advisable for emerging markets to quicken the yield curve by not only having interesting results from the bonds but also having a primary as well as a secondary market. That is the sign of maturity in any capital market.

“Bond financing holds several advantages: it can deepen the financial market; it is much more liquid; it can also create secondary market opportunity that will be quite active in the market. It can also help strengthen the transition mechanism for the monetary policy. On the downside, we have to be careful about the yield especially when it involves foreign currency because when the payback time comes. When foreigners hold your assets, you have to pay them back promptly for the sake of country reputation,” he observed.

On the possibility of government crowding out the private sector from the bond

market, the former Deputy Governor of the apex bank disagreed. “All capital markets are managed by the private sector. It is not really a government market. There is corporate bond financing in every system for big corporations to have their own bond issuance. Nobody is stopping them. It is just that the market is not so matured enough and the people who manage the private sector are not so confident.

“But we should encourage the big business to continue to talk about corporate bond issuance. It will be good for the system; it will be cheaper for them than go to the banks for a loan. I don’t see how government can prevent the private sector businesses from accessing the bond market because a lot of people have money and they are looking for credible investment outlets regardless of whether it goes to the private sector or government. It is just that we have to package them carefully so that the risk will be highly minimised.

For the Director-General of West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Prof. Akpan Ekpo, with declining government revenues from oil, budgetary allocations alone may not be enough to finance the infrastructure deficit in the country. He said the debt option is still the most viable at this time. Nigeria, he said, could borrow up to 40 per cent of its GDP externally, adding that the DMO has in the past, demonstrated good negotiation skills in dealing with the country’s debt matters, either with internal or external creditors.

28

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Akin Adewakun

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

Nigeria needs to develop clear communication path for its citizens —Bunmi Oke Former president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and Chief Executive Officer, 141 Worldwide, Mrs Bunmi Oke, in this interview, bares her mind on various issues about the nation’s advertising industry, noting that the country has not been able to successfully mobilise its citizens, due to lack of a well-defined communication path for the citizenry.

W

HAT has it been like, making a living in a male-dominated industry such as the nation’s integrated marketing communication industry?

First, a profession has certain things you need to have in common which cut across, whether you are a man or a woman. I think what has distinguished me in my career is the fact that apart from the grace of God, I have been able to learn the ropes very fast.

I think we need to realise something; that whether you a doctor or a lawyer, you have to learn the ropes.

In advertising, you have to understand the ropes. I think I also developed great interest, which explains why I have lasted this long. For me, gender defies professionalism, whether it is a woman or a man is irrelevant.

If you are a professional and you know what you are doing, people will respect you. That is why I have also had the privilege to be the president of the association when I finished my tenure in 2014.

I remembered that 90 per cent of those who worked with me at the executive level are gentlemen. It is not about gender but really about what you have got to offer. In fact, gender can be of an advantage. At the end of the day, what is important is that you can do the job.

You were part of the last national conference in 2014. How did the industry fare at the conference?

I represented the marketing communication industry at the conference. And even though I worked in the committee representing foreign affairs and diaspora matters, one thing we were clear about is the role communication plays in rebuilding the society.

Now, we realised that Nigeria needs to develop a very clear communication path for its citizens to understand their roles as ambassadors. At the conference, I was able to realise that ambassadorial calling is not limited to representation of the country in another nation.

Every citizen is an ambassador of that country or profession, or their homes. And the sooner we realise that, the better, because branding and ambassadorial role go together. Whether you are a brand ambassador or a national ambassador, you are representing a bundle of benefits.

We were able to make people understand clearly, that Nigerians would determine the

destiny of the future as a country. Countries that people throng to visit today are built on brand benefits. Even though they are not necessarily the best, the citizens have been able to promote those images. Now, talking from that background, we need to ask, what are the marketing objectives that Nigeria needs to attain such heights? What are those brand metrics or citizens’ right that people must imbibe?

For instance, as a proud citizen of Nigeria, this is what I represent. That is why you see some countrymen of other countries always ready or wanting to die because they know their brand benefits. They know that if they die today, there are benefits that would accrue to the families.

In Nigeria, I know we are going through a turbulent time, but this is the right time to take stock and reappraise to determine how we can move forward. Of course, there were other issues like restructuring Nigeria.

For me, I don’t believe that the restructuring should be necessarily physical. Rather, it should be mental. I believe communication starts from the mind and the mind is a powerful tool.

But don’t you think that would be an herculean task to achieve, given that the ethnic groups in the country have different value systems?

Just as I have said, coming from the marketing objective, what makes value systems right is the mind. A situation where you are in a country and someone starts to ask if he is a man or a female, Yoruba or Igbo before granting something cannot take us anywhere. For me, it is an irrelevant conversa-

Oke tion that we have to get behind us. If we want to move the country forward, we have to do away with all of these things.

You must bear in mind that in marketing communication, we market by objectives. If our objective is to move Nigeria forward, we have to change the orientation, by ensuring that we get the best of men or women to positions. We should not underrate the women or men because half of us are a make up of our background, education and exposure.

That certain practice happens, does it make it right? Not necessarily. Globally if it is not suitable, I don’t think we should make it right in Nigeria. As we speak, I am yet to see a country where theft is legal or lawful.

I am yet to see a society where stealing is commended. I am yet to see killing your fellow human being seen as something right, or immorality being considered good.

At the inception of this government, we thought it was going to be a new direction for the nation’s advertising industry, especially with the information minister’s meeting with some key

stakeholders, apart from members of the AAAN. How satisfied are you with this development and what is presently on ground?

As far as I am concerned, I think we need to be fair in our comment. That people have not seen certain groups on the pages of the newspaper does not mean they have not been meeting. We have a lot of past presidents who may have had one on one interaction with the minister.

Although we don’t know if the current executive has had a scheduled meeting with him, but one thing that matters to me is the result. For me, the result that we are looking at is to see whether we are using national orientation or ministry of information to ensure that we achieve what we, as professionals, can contribute to get the country right. And this can only be made possible if we get our council operating, to allow some of the day-to-day operation dealing with the communication mix that has to do with advertising is, at least ratified and corrected. I think we should just wait and look forward for results in coming months.

UNAIDS, StarTimes collaborate on anti-AIDS TV contents in Africa ONE of the nation’s pay TV platforms, StarTimes, has stated that it is currently in extensive discussions with Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), over a robust collaboration roadmap targeted at delivering anti-HIV/ AIDS TV contents.

This, the pay tv channel says, is designed to increase awareness and positive reorientation to Africans through its network across Africa.

Speaking on the collaboration, UNAIDS Executive Director under Secretary-General of the United Nations, Michel Sidibe said UNAIDS expects to establish partnership with StarTimes to build a new bridge

between Africa and China during a meeting with China-Africa Business Council in Beijing.

Sidibe added every intervention, in this area, had become pertinent and relevant, noting that the collaboration with StarTimes, would the organisation to really project its vision.

“Collaborating with StarTimes is also for me very important because what we are going to project is a new vision, which is to reach more people and create social reorientation, which will also ensure that everybody can benefit from the digital revolution.

“StarTimes technologies, innovations,

creativity and international stature can help expand access to information and aid Africans to live healthier,” Sidibe stated.

UNAIDS Director for Communications and Global Advocacy, Annemarie Hou, expressed the willingness of the organisation to work together with StarTimes to deliver anti-HIV/AIDS TV content to Africans.

Speaking on the partnership, the Vice President, StarTimes Group, Guo Ziqi, explained that with the collaboration, the pay tv platform, would be joining other global leaders, committed through a political declaration, to double the efforts to end AIDS by 2030.

29

news

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Ondo 2016: Agunloye emerges SDP candidate, as PDP holds primaries today Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

A

HEAD of the November 26 governorship election in Ondo State, former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, on Saturday, emerged the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Agunloye, who was the sole aspirant in the party’s primaries, held in Akure, Ondo State capital, was unanimously elected as the

party’s flagbearer after polling 277 out of the 279 available votes.

The pioneer Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in his acceptance speech, pledged to use his experience and expertise to rebuild and reposition the state.

Agunloye said “I humbly accept the flag of the party and the responsibility associated with it. I assure you that I will not let the party down. I will carry the flag to victory and install it high

at the government house of Ondo State in February 2017.

“I am ready for the great task ahead. I am ready to treat you with honour and respect so that together we can re-engage youths and workforce, cater for all and set us all free from bondage.”

Speaking before the election, the state chairman of SDP, Chief Korede Duyile, said the primaries was being conducted in line with the guidelines of the Inde-

pendent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He said “INEC guideline stipulates that all participating parties should conduct their primaries between August18 and September 19, 2016. Here we are today, August 20, holding our congress; the very first party to do so in Ondo State.

“This shows our level of preparation for the election and pointer to our readiness for governance. I want to make it known to all delegates in our congress to-

day that our sole aspirant, Dr Olu Agunloye, has been a man tested in public offices in the past and has been successful in all.”

Duyile, however, warned politicians and political parties to abstain from politics of bitterness urging all the players to play the game according to rules and should not see the contest as a do or die affair.

The SDP primaries was witnessed by officials of INEC while the party electoral committee was chaired by the National Deputy Chairman, Mr AbdulAmed Ishaq.

However, the primaries of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state will hold today at the International Event Centre

(DOME).

This was contained in a press statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the party, Banji Okunomo, who disclosed that accreditation of delegates will commence 8:00a.m.

He said no fewer than 840 delegates will participate in the process to elect the party’s candidate for the November governorship election.

The statement said “The event which will kick off at exactly 8:0a.m. with accreditation of all delegates to the state congress will attract local and international observers, security apparatuses of the state and will be monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

APC South-West chairmen call for calm in Ondo, advise against change in party exco

By Tunde Ogunesan

Elder Olutayo Soyode (right) exchanging pleasantries with Chief Lekan Alabi, while Comrade Moshood Erubami watches at a lecture, entitled: "Awolowo's Welfarist Ideas and its Benefit on National Development," organised by Awolowo Wheel of Oasis Organisation, at Mapo Hall, Ibadan, on Saturday. PHOTO: ALOLADE GANIYU

Defamation of Alaafin: Ex-Rep, 2 traditional chiefs arraigned in Oyo, granted bail

By Tunde Ogunesan

A former member of the House of Representatives representing Oyo federal constituency, Honourable Kamil Akinlabi, and two Oyo traditional chiefs were on Thursday arraigned before an Oyo Division High Court on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, attempt to cause breach of peace and defamation of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III. The two chiefs arraigned along with the former All Progressives Congress (APC) two-term lawmaker are Jacob Oluokun and Isola Sulaiman.

All the accused persons, who were represented by Abiodun Abdul Raheem, pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

According to the charge brought by the prosecutor, Mr J.I. Ebosereme, the accused persons committed the offence on January 31, 2016 in Oyo town within the Oyo judicial division of Oyo State. They allegedly “conspired to commit misdemeanour to wit: defamation of character of a prominent traditional ruler in the state, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Ad-

eyemi.”

They were alleged to have committed the offence by publishing a defamatory story in the Sunday edition of a national newspaper (not Nigerian Tribune) on the said date alleging that Oba Adeyemi was trying to plant a bomb

somewhere in Oyo town, “which was false”.

They were also accused of conducting themselves “in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace of the state.”

The offences, according to the prosecution, were “contrary to and punishable

under Sections 517, 375 and 249 of the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”

In his ruling, Justice Bayo Taiwo granted the accused persons bail on self recognition.

The matter was thereafter adjourned till August 30, 2016 for further hearing.

Senator Akume denies owning hotel in Makurdi Ademola Adegbite-Abuja

A member of the National Assembly, Senator George Akume, on Sunday, denied owning a hotel, which was recently sealed off by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax evasion in Makurdi, Benue State.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by his Special Adviser, Mrs Becky Orpin, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja.

It said it was an independent action-oriented non-governmental organisation (NGO), which Senator Akume, given his humanitarian disposition to the disadvantaged members of society, only identified with the ideals for which the hotel was incorporated.

The statement added that the hotel, which was incorporated in 2002, with a Board of Directors, was a charitable non-profit foundation that took care of widows, orphans and the physically-challenged in the state, saying it also fed and provided homes and workable skills to the underprivileged and awarded scholarships to indigent students.

“However, the hotel will work co-operatively with the FIRS to resolve this issue professionally. We believe that the reason will soon prevail and the hotel will be re-opened; to continue generating revenues to support humanitarian endeavours.

“Apart from taking care of the underserved in Benue State, HAF Haven Hotel is a law-abiding corporate body that diligently

adheres to tax regulations.

We have not defaulted on payments as we have always endeavoured to make minimum payments. For instance, between 2011 to 2014, HAF Haven Hotel has paid a cumulative N1.1 million in taxes and N745, 000, full payment, for the year 2014/15.”

THE Forum of Chairmen of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-West has appealed for calm in Ondo State ahead of the forthcoming governorship primaries in the state.

The forum stated this in a press statement signed by the chairmen of the party in Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Oyo states; Henry Oladele Ajomale, Alhaji Roqeeb Adeniji, Gboyega Famodun, High Chief Jide Awe and Chief Akin Oke, respectively and the secretary of the party in the South-West, Ayo Afolabi.

The chairmen, according to the statement, made available to journalists in Ibadan, at the weekend, said “The APC chairmen, after an emergency meeting, hereby appeal to all the governorship aspirants, their supporters and the generality of our party faithful in the state to remain calm and not allow fifth columnists who are bent on preventing the party from winning the next governorship election in the state to have their way.”

The signatories further stated that “the Forum of Chairmen of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-West Zone express concern and worries on the

state of distraction, disturbance and turbulence that has set in within the party in Ondo State and therefore call on all party members in the state to remain calm and keep the peace within the party.

“We like to state that the party will conduct a free, fair, open and credible primaries devoid of any interference from any quarter as was done in Kogi and Edo states.

“The state chairman, Honourable Isaac Kekemeke, has no role whatsoever to play in the process and conduct of the primaries as the team to conduct the primaries will be put together by the national headquarters of our party. That up till now, Honourable Isaac Kekemeke had performed creditably well in mobilising the party.”

He and his state executive had increased and expanded the party’s acceptance to the generality of the people of Ondo State. The party will therefore not be favourably disposed to any clamour for the change of its structure and leadership at this critical time.”

The forum, however, appealed to the “party members in the state and the governorship aspirants to remain calm.”

Foundation to assist Osun people for launch in October

By Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare

A foundation, Johnson Adedoja Adewopo Foundation (JAAF), a non-governmental organisation with the aims of alleviating poverty, provide economic development and financial assistance to indigent citizens and localities in Osun State, will be launched in October.

JAAF is set to raise funds and give assistance to the tune of N1billion per an-

num in the areas of education, agriculture, infrastructural development, health care and youth empowerment. It also has the vision of delivering access to equal opportunities and economic development for all Osun indigenes.

The body is, however, not waiting for the October 29 official launch in Ife as it has started making an impact on the lives of Osun citizens. It started the con-

struction of a cottage soap factory in Iwo to provide employment opportunities and bring about economic development.

It has sponsored the distribution of food items to over 400 widows in Ife during the Sallah and is planning GCE remedial classes in Ife, Ikire, Ila, Osogbo, Ede and Ilesa for 10 weeks with six centres that will provide for minimum of 600 indigent students.

30

news

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Tax enforcement for real —Oyo govt

By Wale Akinselure

F

OLLOWING the recent sealing off of some firms by the Oyo State Inter-ministerial tax enforcement team over tax default, the state government has vowed to be unrelenting in ensuring that all individuals and corporate organisations keep their tax affairs up to date.

According to the Special Adviser to the state governor on Board of Internal Revenue, Mr Biyi Oloko, the era of tax evasion or avoidance was gone, adding that the tax enforcement which commenced on August 17 was for real.

He said the tax enforcement team would push for the payment of all forms of taxes, levies and fines as a key component of the renewed focus of the state government on building its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Boasting of a reliable database which dated back to 2011, Oloko said some corporate entities had begun checking to confirm their tax position and defaulters had commenced payment promptly.

Oloko noted that the state government had unsealed all the corporate organisations that were sealed off last Thursday,

having reconciled their tax position.

“It is an ongoing activity, so, it is a destination which, by any means, we will carry on. People are not necessarily going to know when and where.

But the expectation is that people should put their tax affairs up to date.

And anyone that is unsure should find out how much is owed. We have unsealed MTN, Shoprite, Airtel and all other corporate organisations that

were sealed off.

“We are getting more favourable responses from other tax-paying identities, so, the awareness has worked in terms of people inquiring and ensuring that their tax affairs are up to date.

Some were making payment just as we got there.

By the third day, corporate entities were already checking and confirming their tax position and rectifying that promptly,” Oloko said.

Buhari’s appointments balanced — Group Sanya Adejokun - Abuja CONTRARY to allegations of lopsidedness in appointment into public offices by the President Muhammad Buhari-led administration, a confidential document has revealed that overall, the administration has been balanced and fair in distribution of available public offices.

A group, Fairness and Justice for All, at a briefing, in Abuja, at the weekend, said that such arguments are indeed, unfounded and a product of certain elements bent on causing disaffection among Nigerians.

According to Mr Okey Ibe, who spoke on behalf of

the group, “a cursory look at the statistics of political office holders based on geopolitical zone, revealed that North West with the largest number of states, also has the largest appointment of 53, followed

by South West with 47 and South-South with 46.”

He said that the North Central came in fourth on the list with 45, South East has 35 representatives while North East came in last with 33 politcal office holders.

“What has been happening since President Buhari came to power is a sort of balancing in the lopsidedness against the North, which happened during the last administration.

31

news

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Restructuring: Fayose commends APC

Says Nigeria must be restructured for true federalism to prevail SamNwaoko-AdoEkitiand Biodun Awolaja

G

OVERNOR of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has shed his political garb and commended the All Progressives Congress (APC) for its position on restructuring.

Governor Fayose, according to a statement by his aide, Lere Olayinka, was reacting to a position assumed by the APC last Thursday during a gathering of the party in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Olayinka, who is Fayose's special assistant on Public Communications and New Media, said the governor hailed the position expressed last Thursday by the South West APC on the restructuring of the country and the practice of true federalism.

Fayose, however, said "the party must now go beyond playing to the gallery and set machineries in motion to restructure the country."

Convention WORD of Life Mission Int’l (Bethel city), Odo-Ona Kekere, Arapaja Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ibadan, Oyo State, will hold its 25th annual convention tagged “Beloved, from August 29, till Sunday, September 4, at the church auditorium. The 2016 annual convention will commence with a morning session lecture at 9 00am till12 noon daily, while the afternoon session with a workshop, will start at 2 00p.m. and end at 400p.m. daily and the evening session with revival at 500p.m. daily, at the same venue. There will be a night vigil on Friday September 2, by midnight The grand finale of the programme and convention thanksgiving service, will take place on Sunday, September 4 by 10 00a.m., at the church auditorium.

The event will also feature salvation, drama, songs minis-

Fayose had lent his voice to those of other Nigerians calling for the restructuring of the country, saying it was "strange that the APC, which was at the fore-front of the agitation for true federalism, was now against restructuring as the ruling party."

Governor Fayose said: “Under the current APC-led government of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria is returning to full-blown unitary system of government.”

According to him, "it is on record that the APC said at a debate on ‘Addressing the rising insecurity in Nigeria, what is the master plan?’ organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), on December 18, 2014, that it would ensure true federalism and ensure adequate community policing through the establishment of state-controlled police so as to curb the protracted security challenges in the country.

“Sad enough, now that it is tration, deliverance as well as the cutting of the anniversary cake. Guest artistes expected at the convention are Life of God Drama Ministry, Word of Life Voices among others. Ministering are Prophet Gideon Owoseni, Pastor Albert Oladele, Pastor Femi Akinnoye, Pastor Joseph Oluwatunmise, Pastor Sunday Adeboje among others. Reverend (Dr) David Oyedeji, is the founder and pioneer General Overseer of the church, while Pastor (Mrs) Lizzy Ola Oyedeji, is the hostess and Prophet Olaoluwa Oyedeji, is the current General Overseer of the church and the host.

Prophet (Dr) Oyedeji

the ruling party, the APC is no longer talking about true federalism, especially, the state police that it canvassed while in the opposition.”

Governor Fayose, who said states must be strengthened for the country to develop, noted that; “Nigeria developed faster in the 50s and 60s when it was practising confederal system of government, with the regions running its own af-

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Bridget Kwekwere Tuoma Police now MRS BRIDGET KWEKWERE CHRISTOPHER EBERIYE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

fairs almost autonomously.

“A situation where there are mineral resources in a state and the state cannot do anything about them without approval from the Federal Government, will not foster the development that we all yearn for.

“It was in this spirit that the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government organised a Na-

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Iwalola Adebisi Olarewaju now MRS IWALOLA ADEBISI ILUYOMADE. All former documents remain valid.

LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo and general public take note.

tional Conference in 2014 and far-reaching decisions were made by eminent Nigerians during the conference.

Meanwhile, the resolution made by the leadership of the APC, in the South West, on Thursday, calling for the restructuring of Nigeria’s federalism and endorsing free and qualitative primary and secondary education in the Yoruba states, has been

described as a giant step forward in the business of nation building.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, in Ibadan, at the week-end, the publicity secretary of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), Dr Kunle Olajide, said the call made by the APC South West leadership, at a meeeting held in Ibadan, was in tandem with the wishes of patriotic Nigerians.

32

Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

36 CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Badejo Akinyemi Olajumoke Olubunmi now MRS. NASIRU AISHAT OLAJUMOKE OLUBUNMI. All former documents remain valid. Ikenne Local Government and general public take note.

Monday, 22August, 2016 CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CORRECTION OF NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH

I, Olaoluwa Esther Bukola am the same person as Faloye Esther Bukola.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as MRS OLAOLUWA BUKOLA ESTHER. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc, Osun Youth Empowering Scheme (O’YES) and general public take note.

I, Ugboaja Sylvester Chibuike, my name was mistakenly written as Ogboo Sylvester Ogbonna instead of Ugboaja Sylvester Chibuike. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as UGBOAJA SYLVESTER CHIBUIKE and my correct date of birth is 15th November, 1981. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss. Medinat Abimbola Olaleye now MRS MEDINAT ABIMBOLA OLALEYE-AROWOLO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Lateef Amina Jolaade now MRS. ALIMI AMINAT JOLAADE. All former documents remain valid. Osun State Universal Basic Education Board, Osogbo and general public take note

I, formerly Miss Tijani Azeezat Folashade now MRS IMAM AZEEZAT FOLASHADE. All former documents remain valid. Oyo State Teaching Service Commission and general public take note.

I, formerly Mr. Bisiriyu Bashiru Omotayo now MR. ADEBAYO SAMUEL OMOTAYO. All former documents remain valid.

GTBank Plc, Trustfund Pensions Plc and General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Agbetunsin Adetoun Victoria now MRS BABATUNDE OYEYEMI ADETOUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ayeni Adetola Alake now MRS ABIODUN ADETOLA ALAKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss. Sokoya Kehinde Oluwatoyin now MRS. ADESANYA KEHINDE OLUWATOYIN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Oyeyemi Oluremi Abosede now OMOTUNDE OLUREMI ABOSEDE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, Akande Florence Adekunbi am the same person bearing Akande Bolanle Oluremi. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as AKANDE BOLANLE OLUREMI. All documents bearing these names remain valid. First Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, GTBank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olonade Rafiat Funke now MRS LAWAL RAFIAT FUNKE. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olarotimi Adebukola Iyabode now MRS EWUOLA ADEBUKOLA IYABODE. All former documents remain valid. Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, UCH, Ibadan and general public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Risikat Titilayo Azeez now ROSELINE TITILAYO ADEYEMOSODIPO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Oladiti Isiaka am the same person bearing Isiaka Bioku.

Now, I wish to be known as ISIAKA BIOKU. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME AND CORRECTION OF DATE OF BIRTH

I, formerly Adedokun Kehinde Olukemi Moses now ADEDOKUN RACHEAL KEHINDE. My date of birth is 18/06/1966 not 04/06/1977.

All former documents remain valid.

L.G.S.C, Secretariat, Ibadan, First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Hellen Labake Isa now MRS LOLA FAVOUR BAMIDELE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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I, formerly Miss Owojori Ayotomiwa now MRS AZAGIDI AYOTOMIWA. All former documents remain valid. OAU, Ile-Ife, NYSC, UI, GTBank Plc and general public take note.

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I, formerly Odeh Grace now MICHAEL GRACE ONYEDIKACHI. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Yekinni Alagbe now BELLO YEKINNI ALAGBE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Dupe Muji Oyegbori now MRS DUPE MUJI YUSUFF. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Joe Obuks Agarin am the same person bearing Joseph Agarin.

Now, I wish to be known as JOE OBUKS AGARIN. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

Stanbic Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and general public take note.

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I, formerly Faronbi Kehinde now ABIOYE TOYIN MODINAT. All former documents bearing Abioye Toyin and Abioye Toyin Modinat remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Micheal Oluwatosin Adenine now MRS OGUNBADEJO ADENIKE OLUWATOSIN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Oladepo Idowu Oyelayo am the same person bearing Oyelayo Yisau Oladepo. Now, I wish to be known as OYELAYO YISAU OLADEPO. All documents bearing these names remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Fatimoh Faith Muhammed now FATIMOH FAITH IBRAHIM. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Hammed Monsurat Omobukola now MRS IDRIS MONSURAT OMOBUKOLA (nee Hammed). All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Oladosu Ayodele Oluyemi now ADEDOKUN OLUWAYEMISI DAVID ADEWALE. All former documents remain valid. INEC, GTBank Plc, Stanbic Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Nigeria Police Force and general public take note.

I, formerly Adediwura Michael Olugbenga now ADEDIWURA MICHAEL GBENGA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Oseni Temitope Mariam now BABALOLA TEMITOPE MARIAM. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Yusuf Ibrahim Oladapo am the same person as Yusuf Ibrahim Oluwakemi. Henceforth, I wish to be known as YUSUF IBRAHIM OLADAPO. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

Wema Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Omotosho, Oludayo Hannah now MRS. IPADEOLA, OLUDAYO HANNAH. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., Zenith Bank Plc., EcoBank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ayejimi Rukayat Opeyemi now MRS. AYANDIPO RUKAYAT OPEYEMI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ige Deborah Damilola now MRS APENILEOLA DEBORAH DAMILOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Modupe Sakirat Sulaiman now MRS MODUPE SAKIRAT OMOGORIOLA. All former documents remain valid.

Unity Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olajide Hassanat Ajoke now MRS. ESOGWA HASSANAT AJOKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Olufowobi Titilayo Opeyemi Fausat now SANYA TITILAYO OPEYEMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Owolabi Margaret Atinuke now MRS BABALOLA MARGARET ATINUKE. All former documents remain valid. NMCN, Ondo State HMB, Ondo State Trauma Centre and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Adewoye Adefiola Abiola now MRS FAREMI ADEFIOLA ABIOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Oladimeji Yusuff Folaju now OLADIMEJI YUSUFF ADEFOLAJU and my date of birth is 8th March, 1994. All former documents remain valid.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Kolawole Sakirat Adeola am the same person bearing Olasupo Sakirat Adeola. Now, I wish to be known as LAWAL SAKIRAT ADEOLA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Banks and general public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Francis Ava now MRS ABIODUN AVA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

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I, formerly Mr. Adegoke Babatunde Soji now MR. ADEGOKE BABATUNDE SUNDAY. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Chioma Faith Ekeji now CHIOMA FAITH TRINITY-EJIOFOR. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olatidoye Adebanke Adebola now MRS ADIGUN ADEBANKE ADEBOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Modebola Oluwole Falade now MATT WOLE DANIELS. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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I, formerly Miss Phebean Tomilola Fabusuyi now MRS PHEBEAN TOMILOLA FALAYE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Adeniran Sarat Adedoyin am the same person as Adebiyi Sarat Adedoyin and Adebiyi Felicia Adedoyin.

Henceforth, I wish to be known as ADENIRAN SARAT ADEDOYIN. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Skye Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Nwolisa Vivian Chinenye now MRS ONYEMAECHI VIVIAN CHINENYE. All former documents remain valid. UBA Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Arowosegbe Ojo now IMAFIDON AROWOSEGBE. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc., and general public take note.

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I, formerly Deacon Ojo now OJO SOLOMON. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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I, formerly Miss Bada Aminat Titilope now MRS BALOGUN AMINAT TITILOPE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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I, formerly Miss Oyediran Toyin Omogbonjubola Oyeladun now MRS OJEYINKA TOYIN OMOGBONJUBOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Situ Simisola Oluwaseun now MRS ODEDINA SIMISOLA OLUWASEUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Emmanuel Kofie Alawo now EMMANUEL ADEOYE BABALOLAALAO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Adeyemi Opeola Lawal now HASSAN LAWAL BABATUNDE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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I, formerly Miss Odega Ruth Uzorchukwu now MRS IBEJI RUTH UZORCHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Akindele Adejoke Bose now MISS AKOMOLEDE ADEJOKE BOSE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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I, formerly Tokunbo Bose Oyebimpe now TOKUNBO OYEBIMPE OLUWABUNMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Omowunmi Hannah Ige am the same person bearing Omowunmi Aloko. Now, I wish to be known as OMOWUNMI HANNAH ALAO OLUWA-FEMI. All documents bearing these names remain valid. GTBank Plc, Wema Bank Plc and general public take note.

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Wema Bank Plc and general public take note.

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I, formerly Miss Dada Olufisayo Nihinola now UDOH OLUFOLAKE NIHINOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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I, formerly Miss Ajayi Ruth Adebimpe now MRS. ADESOKAN RUTH ADEBIMPE. All former documents remain valid.

Lautech Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso and general public take note.

I, formerly Akeju Omolara Dorcas now AKEJU AYINKE OMOLARA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Aladesanmi Racheal Opeoluwa now MRS. FALEGBE RACHEAL OPEOLUWA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Akanmu Seun now MRS. OLALEKANMI SEUN EWAOLA. All former documents remain valid.

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I, formerly Oseni Yetunde Abisola now OLADIPUPO YETUNDE BISOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Mr Olajide Babatunde Iyiola am the same person bearing Mr Olajide Babatunde Fisayo.

All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Owoyeye Ruth Omowumi Abike now MRS OLOTU RUTH OMOWUMI ABIKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Smith Patience Titilayo now MRS LATEEF PATIENCE TITILAYO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ronke Asisi now GANIYU FAUSAT RONKE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ajayi Folusho Adeyinka now MRS ADIO FOLUSHO ADEYINKA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olagunju Opeyemi Aanuoluwa now MRS. OYERINDE OPEYEMI AANUOLUWA. All other documents with Olagunju Opeyemi Aanuolu or Aanuoluwapo remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Titilayomi Adebimpe Falade now NICOLE TITILAYOMI DANIELS. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Jimoh Muslimat Abidemi now MRS ABDULLAH MUSLIMAT ABIDEMI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Adedeji Adedolapo Mercy now MRS OBAWOMIYE ADEDOLAPO MERCY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

I hereby declared that my correct name are FAJIMI ADENIKE FELICIA and not FAJINMI ADENIKE FELICIA. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olagunju Olubukola Benedicta now MRS LOREMIKAN OLUBUKOLA BENEDICTA. All former documents remain valid. Osun State Local Government Service Commission and general public take note.

37

news

Monday, 22 August, 2016

No prisoner escaped in Abakaliki attempted jailbreak —CGP

T

HE ComptrollerGeneral of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed has confirmed that no prisoner escaped during the attempted jailbreak in the early hours of Thursday, August 18, 2016.

He made this disclosure while addressing newsmen during a courtesy visit to the Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, on Friday, August 19, 2016.

The Comptroller-General, who had earlier inspected Abakaliki Prisons,

stated that trouble started when prison officials were about to carry out routine cell-search in the morning, adding that the inmates in a particular cell resisted the exercise.

“They suddenly became riotous, broke other cells and released the inmates.

They eventually broke into the workshop to arm themselves with dangerous weapons and severely attacked some staff trapped in the yard while others made for the main gate and pulled

it down.

“The prisons armed squad and men from other security agencies on guard outside the perimeter fence were firing warning shots to deter the rampaging inmates but a number of them rushed out to escape.

“The bold attempt was resisted by the combined team of armed personnel who presented what would have turned into a catastrophic security situation had the inmates succeeded in escaping,” he said.

He stated that at the end of the fracas, six prisoners regrettably died with 10 others injured. He said six prisonWs officers, however, were severely injured, adding that both staff and inmates were responding to treatment even as some of them had already been discharged from the hospital.

The Comptroller-General disclosed to newsmen that he had set up a three-man panel to carry out a detail investigation into the incident in order to establish both

the immediate and remote causes of the riot.

He commended the officers and men of the Abakaliki Prisons for successfully foiling the attempted jailbreak, and also thanked officers of other security agencies that promptly responded by resisting the jailbreak.

He noted that such synergy was essential in maintaining peace and good order in the society, and also expressed appreciation to the governor for his assistance and timely visit to the prison.

Routine cell-search is a tradition in the prison usually carried out as a proactive security measure to ensure that prisoners do not keep dangerous items that could aid escape or compromise the safety of their fellow prisoners or staff.

It is the near abandonment of this practice that has largely been responsible for the recent escape of prisoners in Kuje, Koton Karfe and Nsukka prisons.

65-year-old woman dies inside well in mosque Biola Azeez - Ilorin

Nasarawa State governor, Tanko Al-makura, evacuating refuse, during the sanitation exercise, at Mararaba/Karu area, on Sunday. PHOTO: NAN

Dangote clothes Borno’s displaced persons UN hails Dangote Foundation

AS part of its humanitarian gesture, the Dangote Foundation has provided clothing and other materials to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State.

This is just as the United Nations applauded the Foundation’s philanthropic stride in Africa.

Earlier, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had announced a staggering donation of N2 billion to the IDPs in Borno State.

The Foundation said thousands of clothing materials, blankets and shoes were delivered at the weekend, to the displaced per-

sons in Bama, Borno State.

Speaking at the flagoff ceremony, Governor Kashim Shetima of Borno State, commended Mr Dangote, saying his Foundation’s contribution toward helping the displaced out of difficulties, is the biggest private sector intervention they had received so far.

2012 flood: Displaced villagers still live in public buildings in Edo FOUR years after the 2012 flood disaster in parts of Edo State, many displaced persons are still staying in public buildings in the affected local government areas, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported.

Five villages, Daba, Anegbette, Oghomere, Udochi and Ukepeko in Etsako Central Local Government Area, were displaced by the disaster.

Also, houses and food crops worth millions of Naira were destroyed, leaving the residents with no option than to relocate to public buildings.

Although some of the affected victims had moved out of the camps, many who had no option, are still

living at temporary camps.

The Federal Government has embarked on the construction of a resettlement camp at Oghomere-Ekperi, to relocate such villagers and provide shelter to victims of similar disaster in the future, The coordinator of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Edward Osigbeme, while fielding questions from NAN in Benin, said the camp would be completed soon.

He said the project had reached 90 per cent completion level, adding, “the project will be handed over to state government in the next few weeks.’’

He said some of the facilities provided at the camp

included single rooms, one-bedroom apartments, open dormitory, boreholes, stores, relaxation centres and security post.

The site engineer, Mr Lucky Iyamah, also confirmed that the camp had reached 90 per cent completion level.

“The camp is almost completed, what is left is not much. The camp will be ready in the next few months,” Iyamah said.

The Egiegbai of Ekperi, Chief Deke Kanoba, who commended the Federal Government for the project, urged the affected persons to be patient, saying the Federal Government was working hard to complete the project.

“The people of Borno State will forever remain grateful for the generosity and large heart of Alhaji Aliko Dangote; and for his relentless assistance to our people during our time of need. Words are not enough to quantify the amount of gratitude we owe Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Our only prayer is for God to continue to bless and guide him,” the governor said.

The event in Bama coincided with the celebration of the World Humanitarian Day. The UN Assistant Secretary General, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Mr Toby Lanzer, who was also in Bama for the event, commended the efforts of Dangote Group in Africa, specifically its support for the IDPs in Borno State.

Speaking at the event, Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou said the intervenetion was in continuation of the Foundation’s assistance to the IDPs in the state.

She added that the Foundation had so far donated N800 million worth of food items to support the feeding of IDPs since the month of Ramadan.

A 65-year-old woman, popularly called Iya Majeobaje, who was in charge of ensuring sanitary condition of a mosque in llorin, the Kwara State capital, has been found dead inside a well on the mosque’s premises.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the incident happened at AnsarulDeen Mosque, Osere, Sawmill area in llorin West Local Government Area of the state, at the weekend.

A source disclosed that the woman might have fallen inside the well last Friday, at about 5:00 p.m while fetching water to clean the mosque, but was brought out dead on Saturday afternoon.

Residents in the area said nobody was within the vicinity of the mosque to rescue her when the incident happened.

Some of the residents of the area, who discovered the dead woman, it was learnt, immediately alerted the state fire service in llorin.

The Director of the State Fire Service, Mr Tiamiyu Raji, who confirmed the incident, said personnel from the Fire Service removed the woman from the well dead on Saturday afternoon.

He said the corpse of the woman had been taken to the B Division of Police State Command, Surulere in llorin metropolis.

However, the Kwara State police command is yet to confirm the incident.

Police recruitment:

Aptitude test begins today

THE Police Service Commission (PSC) has said it will conduct aptitude test for shortlisted applicants for recruitment into the Nigeria Police across the country today.

This was contained in a statement issued by Mr Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the commission, in Abuja, on Sunday.

Ani said coordinators for the exercise were already in their states of deployment to ensure the success of the process.

He said the chairman of the commission, Mr Mike Okiro, had advised successful applicants who had yet to receive invitation via e-mail to check their names at the state police command headquarters in their respective states.

He said the list containing the names of the invited applicants had been pasted in all the state command headquarters.

Arbitrary judgments by judiciary condemnable —NBA president Continued from pg4

The NBA president did not spare the human rights groups in the country as well, as he said some government bodies were eager to take over the functions of other bodies when the sector was suffering.

“The National Human Rights Commission, in your focus on human rights, you have failed to identify and to deal with the abuse of human rights. It will be a tragedy in the country for the National Human Rights Commission to take over the functions of the other agencies,” he said.

The NBA president also condemned the failure of the present leadership of INEC for failing to hold conclusive elections, adding that “elections can be easily conducted, like the NBA had done. It is a shame to 136 inconclusive elections in the country within one year.”

Also speaking, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State said education was the key focus of his administration, adding that the core objective was to turn around the fortunes of the youth in the state and get them better educated.

He also announced that his administration had made a policy pronouncement to stop street begging in the whole of the state, adding that stipends were being provided to ease the pains of the excruciating poverty facing the people.

The governor also made it known that his administration was not owing pensioners, adding that the people of the state should expect bumper harvest this year, as he had made subsidised agricultural inputs available to farmers.

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Monday, 22 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

39

Monday, 22 August , 2016 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Dream team, others are Olympic heroes

Mikel Obi and coach Samson Siasia displayed the cheques presented to them by the Japanese fans, Katsuya Takasu in Rio

—Dalung FOLLOWING the bronze medal winning feat of the Dream Team VI at the Rio 2016 Olympic games, the Honorable Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung has described the players and coaches as the “real heroes” of the games after defeating Honduras 3-2 in the 3rd place match played on Saturday.

An elated Dalung while reacting after 2 goals from Umar Sadiq and a goal from Aminu Umar said that the team coached by Samson Siasia has given Nigerians something to smile about at a time when many people had lost hope in Team Nigeria’s ability to win any medal at the Rio Games.

“I want to commend these brave heroes who against all odds surmounted all obstacles to finish at the tournament as the third best team in the football event. They are the real heroes of this Olympics. They

showed determination in the face of challenges and set all aside to win this Golden bronze” According to Dalung, the victory is a testimony to the unrelenting Nigerian spirit and our belief as a nation never to give up in the face of stiff opposition and adversity.

Responding to questions on the future of the Dream Team VI, Dalung said, “I believe the nucleus of the future Super Eagles can be built around this under-23 side who performed creditably well despite the numerous challenges before and during the games.

This victory is symbolic.

It came at the right time and it is the beginning of something new in Nigerian sports.”

“On the overall, Nigeria placed 75th out of 205 participating countries.

We could have done better but we will now have to go back home and bring all stakeholders on board to begin planning and preparations for the next games.

“In the recent history of Nigeria’s participation at the Olympics, we went with a smaller contingent of 75 athletes who participated in 8 sports, including a few coaches and ministry of-

ficials who were in Rio for administrative purposes in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives.

“The players and athletes can attest to the unprecedented level of transparency. Camp allowances were paid directly to the athletes even before the end of the Olympics which has never happened before. Admittedly, there were administrative lapses here and there but we will make up for that in subsequent competitions.

For now, we will savour the victory of our ‘golden’ Bronze and celebrate our athletes” Dalung concluded.

Australlian athletes stranded in Rio NINE Australian athletes whose Olympic accreditations were altered could be left stranded in Rio because team officials have not been able to pay their fine.

A public holiday in Rio on Monday means the Australian Olympics Committee will still not be able to pay the $47,000 fine and collect the athletes’ confiscated passports unless they can do so outside the city.

20 players begin camping for 2016 ITTF World Juniors THE National Training Centre of the Lagos National Stadium will come alive on Monday August 23 as 20 players made up of 12 boys and eight girls begin camping for the ITTF World Junior Championships in Cape Town, South Africa.

The camping would be used to select the players that will represent the country at the global championship under the watchful eyes of seventime Olympian, Segun Toriola as part of his efforts to inspire young players.

Some of the players were

part of the team that featured at the ITTF African Junior Championship in Algiers where they qualified for the World Juniors.

Also, the outstanding players from the National U-16 tournament also made the list of players invited to camp.

According to the President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi, the camping is necessary as some of the players would gain from the experience of Toriola, who has been celebrated globally for his consistency and discipline in the sport.

“We are blessed with talents just like Aruna Quadri and we don’t want to lose the momentum by ensuring that we come through with our programmes. This camping becomes necessary as we want to select the best hands among the junior players so that they can also test might with their foreign counterparts at the world juniors. With the experience of Toriola and Michael Oyebode, who were both in Rio Olympic Games, I am confident that camping would have impart on the players and prepare them for the

championship,” Oshodi said.

He added: “The selected players will later go into close camping before the championship in November and they will continue to train in readiness for the competition. Toriola will surely depart to his base after the camping and we hope the coaches around can continue to sharpen the skills of the players before the tournament which has Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and Tunisia representing Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.”

The invited players are

Abayomi Animasahun, Azeez Solanke, Amadi Umeh, Michael Abayomi, Augustine Emmanuel, Jamiu Ayanwale, Ololade Oyenekan, Tobi Falana, Etim Orok, Babafemi Babatunde and Umar Ibrahim for boys and the girls include Tosin Oribamise Agnes Onoja, Ajoke Ojomu, Alimot Ayinla, Rofiat Jimoh, Iyanuoluwa Falana, Vivian Akpan and Sukurat Aiyelabegan.

NTTF will cater for the players’ feeding and accommodation while their states are expected to offset their transport fare.

Australia’s team is due to leave Rio on a chartered flight on Monday night but the nine athletes might be left behind until a second flight on Tuesday.

Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller says the athletes don’t have their passports but team officials might have to drive out of Rio to pay the fine.

Chiller admits, however, the logistics of doing so remain unclear.

“It is a public holiday in Rio today and it is actually physically not possible to have the fine paid and passports delivered today,” Chiller said on Sunday.

“Our latest understanding is that we will need to drive out of Rio to make the payment and collect the passports.

“We will do everything we can to get the passports back.”

The nine - cyclists Ashlee Ankudinoff and Melissa Hoskins, rugby sevens player Ed Jenkins, archers Alec Potts and Ryan Tyack, rowers Olympia Aldersey, Fiona Albert and Lucy Stephens, and hockey player Simon Orchard - were charged with falsifying a document.

SIDELINES

NO 16,572

MONDAY, 22 AUGUST, 2016

I

have just learnt from the presidency that President Buhari is “suffering from tyranny of high expectations” (see Nigerian Tribune of Monday, 15 August, 2016). All of us who read the story/report would react to it differently.

And those who are skilful a little as literary artists or as imaginative journalists would construct tales that would fashion their thoughts to accommodate the feelings generated in them by the atrociously precious and preciously atrocious declaration of a top presidencynologist in the Buhari presidency. And the presidencynologist in question is a thorough bred composer and weaver of words and apt phrases and epithets that in the not distant past were employed faithfully and decently on behalf of the suffering, exploited and hungry masses and poverty-stricken people of our country. But the times for him have since changed for the better. Now he carves and composes terms to underline his new status as an all-powerful composer of political yoo-hoos. His well couched “tyranny of high expectations” that his principal is “suffering from” has touched a unique chord in me. But this writing is not about our inventive presidencynologist.

Never before have we seen what we are seeing now in our polity. Poverty has occupied our land fully. Hunger is everywhere about us and we are fully under its occupation. All the things we thought we would get under Buharism are now mirages tantalizing and tyrannizing our great expectations. Our “high expectations” have captured us. They have turned us into real captives of deception.

We are gradually losing all our rights to live as decent human beings who can no more banish hunger and live and die artfully as happened well before now.

When will hunger and poverty stop insulting us day by day? These dangers, these tragedies, these storms, when shall we toss them out of here? These are questions that are questions that we must keep asking until we are free again, until to eat well becomes a new human reality; until our horrifying circumstances are tackled by a new Resistance of uninsipient thoughts.

Comrades and compatriots, things cannot go on like this. Comrades and compatriots, things must not go on like this. Comrades and compatriots, we must dare to dare the political and economic

N150

Fake malaria drugs are in circulation, the Federal Government warned at the week-end. Since the malaria that Nigerians suffer from is real and can therefore not be cured by fake drugs, we all have to be vigilant...especially in these hard times where many people even suffer from financially induced malaria.

in&out with Tony Afejuku 08055213059

The republic of deception tyrants who are denying us the freedom to feed well as Nigerians who must be wellfed. We must buy plantain and yam and garri and rice and beans and tomato and kerosene and gas and petrol and diesel at affordable prices. We must buy bread and biscuit and vegetable and chicken and fish and fire-wood at affordable prices. We must get medicines for good health to buy at affordable prices. We must have good jobs, well paid jobs that will enable us to do everything that we must do rightly and well as human beings and as Nigerians who must live and exist as healthy free persons of our country that no one, no political leader, no army that we call our army should torment further.

This regime has done well, excellently well, in terms of its crusade against corruption that it wants to imprison, deport and kill permanently. But what has it done so far with all the stolen monies it has retrieved from the big, bigger and biggest thieves that are yet to enjoy in jail the music of their atrocious acts?

Buhari’s spiritual mission will soon be a meaningless and forgotten mission if the recovered stolen monies are not used to give the masses of our people the freedom of a living people who are no more abandoned by a regime that is seemingly turning our country into a Republic of Deception.

It is curious that our central regime piloted by “Mr Integrity” now seems to have an obligation to defend and protect a parliament whose top leaders have been

This regime has done well, excellently well, in terms of its crusade against corruption that it wants to imprison, deport and kill permanently accused of the very serious crime of budgetpadding. Let me state clearly that I uphold the declaration that until the dramatis personae in the centre of the storm that is not a storm in a tea-cup are found clearly guilty, the presidency may treat them with extreme care. But I am worried that the presidency is seemingly allowing his acolytes and executive institutions to hunt and intimidate the whistleblower who is seemingly ready to go the whole hog to prove his allegation against his boss.

I use the term “seemingly” here because our politicians are a special breed whose untroubled consciences always compel

Saraki advocates trust fund for Nigerian athletes THE Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has advocated trust fund to cater for Nigerian athletes while alive and after their demise.

Saraki represented by Alloy Chukwuemeka, his club’s Director of Football, made this known in Ilorin on Sunday.

“When you look at what is happening around our heroes in sports, you will agree with me on the need to have trust fund for them.

“This fund will be used to take care of them when they are no longer active or aged or their families after they might have died.

“The situation around late Rasheed Yekini’s family has also informed the need to come up with such initiative,’’ Saraki said.

He also challenged Nigerian sportsmen and women to make judicious use of their fortunes when they were active so that their future would be secured.

“There is the need for our active sportsmen

and women to invest their wealth wisely.

Investing wisely does not mean we should not come up with the trust fund.

“Not all these athletes make the same fortune and those who participated in the 80s and 90s did not enjoy the goodies those active today are enjoying,’’ he remarked.

Saraki had on Aug. 19 commenced U-13 football competition to be known as Rasheed Yekini U-13 football competition for lads in Ira, Ijagbo and Offa , Oyun Local Government Areas.

them to be chameleons of the finest breed.

In any case, until the whistleblower in the House of Reps changes his colour, he must be allowed to display his boundless tongue to blow the whistle that he must blow. The police force, EFCC, state security services, including the army must let him be. By the way, why did the president refuse to see the lesser of the men who are boxing themselves in the budget-padding ring? The president must be neutral as the gladiators entertain and cease to entertain us. Whatever happens in the end must, however, serve the cause of justice. And the guilty party must experience deportation from parliament, a deportation that must lead him to imprisonment. It is the responsibility and obligation of “Mr. Integrity” to make this happen. We highly expect him to do this – as a man of ascetic virtues that we must not interpret as a vizard, a mask, a means of disguise to do us in – further and further.

This Republic must not be the Republic of Deception. Mr. President must assert and re-assert himself and fulfil his destiny and our country’s destiny urgently. He must redeem his pre-election promises NOW. If not, abandonment will abandon him before he knows it. He must be deceived no more. Or does he want to enter our history books as a two-time abandonee?

Our pens are waiting. They are the true weapons to bail our suffering, dying and dead compatriots out of the depths and graves of murderous deception.

NPL RESULTS Ikorodu United

1 Niger Tornadoes

0

Kano Pillars

1 Rivers United

0

Warri Wolves

0 FC Ifeanyiuba

1

Akwa United

1 Lobi Stars

0

Heartland

1 3SC

0

El-Kanemi Warriors 3 Sunshine Stars

2

Wikki Tourists

1

2 MFM FC

ENGLAND EPL RESULTS Sunderland

1 Middlesbrough

2

West Ham United 1 AFC Bournemouth 0

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