25th September 2016

NO 2,065

SPECIAL TREAT

SUNDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER, 2016

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

Nigerian Tribune

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Save cost, improve your health with backyard farming pg8

Why we want to sell national assets —Minister

pg46

Nigeria may lose $8.64m daily pg4

Nothing wrong with cosmetic surgery...

•As Avengers resume bombing of oil facilities

•6 soldiers, militants killed in clash in Bakassi •We lost 1 soldier —Military •N/Delta leaders send US to FG

THIS IS LAGOS...

Pic 1

Pic 2

—Pelumi of Jenifa’s Diary

Nigerian girls in sex slavery

•Forced to pay 1,000 euro daily pg23 •Beaten with sticks, brooms

4 drown on the way to Tompolo’s father’s funeral

pg43

•11 rescued by marine police

Lagos demolishes structures in VI, Ikoyi, Lekki Pic 1: Some of the structures and shanties being demolished by Lagos State Task Force in Victoria Island, Lekki area, Lagos State.

Pic 2: Flooded Olaosebikan Street, Ajiliti, Mile 12, Lagos, on Saturday. PHOTOS: BOLA BADMUS and SYLVESTER OKORUWA

Recession: Parents withdraw

•Urges residents to vacate flood-prone areas

Edo gov election:

pg5

pgs5,30,41&44

Oshiomhole, Igbinedion children from private schools in•Election war of words to cost state, residents •Patronise less expensive ones, public schools •Some proprietors slash fees pg2

millions of naira •State govt declares 2-day holiday

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25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

specialreport From ‘expensive’ to ‘affordable’ schools How recession forced parents to withdraw children from private schools

Due to economic recession many parents are finding it difficult funding their children’s education. BIOLA AZEEZ, ISAAC SHOBAYO, TADE MAKINDE and NAZA OKOLI report that schools are frantically making efforts to retain their students, just as parents mull their next move.

A teacher and her students in a classroom

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S the economic situation of the country bites harder, parents are increasingly finding it difficult to cope with their responsibilities towards their children, especially in the area of their education.

Just as prices of goods and services had gone up, school fees in many private schools across the country have also increased, leaving many parents in a dilemma.

Investigations across the states show that many schools are currently coping with withdrawal of pupils and students by their parents who could no longer cope with the increased fees while several schools have also put in place measures to entice parents to enrol their children in their schools.

Most of the private schools in Lagos have, quite uncharacteristically, refrained from increasing their fees.

The Deputy National President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and Proprietor of Lagooz Schools, Lagos, Mr Abayomi Otubela, who spoke with Sunday Tribune recently said it is increasingly becoming difficult for many parents to meet their financial obligations to the school.

“Some of these parents used to be very prompt about these payments,” he said, “but when we noticed that some of them were suddenly not able to pay their children’s fees, we allowed them to continue. We understand that things haven’t always been like this. The economic situation is seriously affecting all of us, school owners, because whatever happens to parents in their places of work would surely affect us one way or another.”

Cutting expenditure The Chairman of the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Ebute-Metta Zone, Lagos, Deacon Omoyajowo Babatope Peter, said it would be unthinkable for any school to increase its fees at this time.

“No, no, we have not been able to increase our fees. In our meeting as school owners, we discussed these issues.

We found that even with the amount they are paying now, some of them are withdrawing their wards. Many children have stopped coming to school, due to the fact that parents cannot afford to pay the current school fees. No school is thinking of increment at this time, because it is obvious

that the economy is so bad… increasing the school fees is like making the matter worse.

“So what we do in essence is that we try to reduce whatever will be our overhead expenditure. Where we should have used three teachers, we may decide to use one or two, so that we can reduce the amount we pay as salaries.”

Though it has been rumoured that private schools have been losing their pupils to public schools (where education is free) since the beginning of the economic crisis, many of the private schools contacted by Sunday Tribune denied that there have been any such cases in their schools. However, a parent told Sunday Tribune on Friday that he had attempted to enrol his child at a public school at Egbe (Ikotun), but was asked to provide “evidence of tax payment.”

When contacted about this matter, however, the spokesman of the state Ministry of Education, Mr Segun Ogundeji, said he was not aware of any such policy.

Continues pg 3

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specialreport

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘With my irregular salary I can’t cope again’

A roadside banner ‘enticing parents with slash in fees Continued from pg 2 Cheaper alternatives From all indications, economic recession is currently taking its toll on parents across the nation. In Plateau State, for instance, Sunday Tribune investigations revealed that quite a number of parents have withdrawn their children from schools that jacked up their fees and re-enrolled them into schools with affordable fees.

Though there are those who have not increase their fees, cost of books and other educational materials needed have gone up. The situation is worse for parents who have children in boarding schools.

A school administrator, who did not want his name in print, told Sunday Tribune that some schools can afford to retain their old fees but cannot compromise on the cost of feeding, among others, that are needed for boarding students; hence the reason for the increase in the fees paid by boarding students of private schools.

“The cost of food items has gone up, so to feed the students in line with the standard of the school, the fees for those in boarding houses have to be adjusted to meet the economic reality in the country,” he said.

Recently, Parents Teachers Association of Federal Government College Jos, had to embark on a protest over astronomical increase of school fees. Though the management of the school did not succumb to the wish of the parents, Sunday Tribune findings at the school revealed that quite a number of the students have not returned a week after resumption.

A parent, who identified himself as Dauda Baliri, said the school was initially conceived to cater for the children of the poor and underprivileged, adding that with the increase he has no choice than to withdraw his two children and enroll them in school owned by the Plateau State government.

“I am a civil servant. My salary which is not regular remains the same; so where would I get money to meet up. The only choice I have is to withdraw them and take them to school I can afford, to avoid future embarrassment,” he said.

It is the same pathetic story with parents who have children in private schools.

Two weeks after resumption, many children are her to resume due to inability of their parents to pay their school fees.

A visit to some of the private primary and secondary schools in Jos revealed that there is a massive withdrawal of pupils to government schools not minding the condition of such government schools, which are in a parlous state.

A single parent and a civil servant, Rhoda Gyang, who has three children in private schools, said the economic situation in the country and Plateau State in particular, has affected her income and that she could no longer afford to keep her children in private schools.

She appealed to the government to consider the plight of Nigerians and arrest the economic recession in the country saying things are no longer what they used to be.

A teacher in one of the public schools in Jos, who would not want to be named, said the number of enrollments into public schools have increased, urging the government to improve on the standard to be more attractive.

Adding value to retain students In Kwara State, most private school owners have increased their fees and many parents are not finding it a pleasant experience. Parents who spoke with Sunday Tribune expressed disappointment and helplessness with the increase.

Sunday Tribune gathered further that many parents had changed their children’s schools for cheaper ones, while some parents were yet to make up their minds after the long holiday due to the hike in school fees, saying they are yet to come to terms with how to cope or manage the situation.

Mr. Solomon Adebara, who said he has three children in different private schools in Ilorin, said he had engaged private teachers to teach one of the children in SS3 class to aleviate his financial burden.

“As it is now, for someone like me, it’s just like returning to the era of using private teachers. At least the one in SS3 can take

fees by private schools, Mr. Dele Lawal said, “For where? Not in Nigeria! For private school owners to reduce tuition fee?

One will have to wait for Godot.”

Some private school proprietors spoken with under condition of anonymity, however, explained that the decision to increase fees was due to economic reality.

They also said that the decision was made known to parents at PTA meeting prior to implementation, adding that the current economic reality had given them no other alternative.

“You can imagine what’s happening in the country. Prices of almost every item has gone up even beyond reach of many people. You can’t imagine cost of books, instructional materials, and cost of staying in business. It’s so exorbitant now,” one of them said.

In Ibadan, its not only public schools that are benefiting from the recession. Some private schools are also benefiting. These are the schools that have chosen to retain their last tution fees compared to those who have increased theirs this new session.

A parent, Mrs his exam from Kehinde Wahab, home and told Sunday pass,” he said. that Tribune Also speakshe has taken her ing, Mr. Amdaughter from a bali Yusuf, said school in Lagos to he has withIlorin, Kwara State drawn one of his because of the high children from his school fees she has to school to a nearby pay this year. “Without private school which Adamu Adamu, prior notice, the school charges less fees, conMinister of Education sent a letter that the mansidering the increase in agement had increased fees and the fees charged by the former stated no reason. That was what got me school, coupled with cost of transangry. We know that things are tough, but portation.

“Come to think of it, there’s grade this school has been charging huge fees for among these private schools. However, ages and expectedly, should have saved for parents will no longer have any option times like this. What I mean by this is that but to overlook the issue of grade now. So it is too soon for the school to have rushed many parents have taken their children to to increase fees without reason. Many of those ones charging lower fees like I have us know it must have been because of the done. I have taken them to one near our recession, but we have not been told that,” she said. home with lower fees,” he said.

In Ilorin where her 6-year-old daughter It was also gathered at the private schools visited that none of them had any is now, she has been registered in another plan to attract any parent with reduction private school. “I liked the atmosphere when I went there. My twin sister lives of their fees.

Though, some faith-based private there. She recommended the school for schools neither reduced nor increased me and I’m okay with it. The fee is affordtheir fees but it was gathered that they able for me compared to that of Lagos. I added value to attract and encourage par- pay N420,000 per session in Lagos coments to retain their wards in school. An pared to Ilorin’s N188,000.”

A new school at Molete area of the city example is one in Gbagba area of Ilorin, where free extra coaching had been organ- (name withheld) is mopping up free students as fast as it can and its classes are ised for both junior and senior classes.

Reacting to issue of reduction in school already full because of its low tuition.

Most neighbouring schools in its vicinity, about six of them, are losing students at a rate they say is becoming unbearable. The school charges N9,000 per session compared to others in the area. One school in the area charges almost N40,000 per session. This high prices has informed the decisions of many parents to withdraw their children from the school.

A parent, Mrs Yemi Adeleke, told Sunday Tribune that the owner of the school her daughter attends, a former “teacher,” assured parents sometime last year; that she was not going to increase fee this session and she has kept her promise.”

I am a civil servant.

My salary which is not regular remains the same; so where would I get money to meet up

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news

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Nigeria may lose $8.64m daily due to fresh attack by Avengers •Niger Delta leaders sends US to Buhari From Olatunde Dodondawa, and Ebenezer Adurokiya

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HERE are indications that Nigeria may be losing up to $8.64 million daily due to fresh attacks on the Bonny 48inch pipeline, which connects the major 180,000 barrel per day Trans Niger Pipeline.

The militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), said in a statement on its website on Saturday that it had attacked the Bonny crude export line on Friday night.

Previous attacks in past months have cut Nigeria’s daily crude oil output to less than one million barrels per day from the targeted 2.1 million barrels per day in the 2016 budget.

Crude oil is selling at an average of $45 per barrel recently and by implications, Nigeria may be losing $8.64 million due to the latest attack should the Trans Niger Pipeline be closed down.

Shell spokesman in Nigeria, Mr. Precious Okolobo, responding through a text message to Sunday Tribune, said that “we cannot comment on the reported incident; we will communicate relevant operational updates as necessary.”

The attack came barely 24 hours after members of the Pan-Niger Delta Coastal States Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum expressed worries over possible resumption of hostilities by militants because of perceived lack of commitment by the Federal Government towards the proposed dialogue.

“On the 23rd September 2016, our strike team at 20:40 p.m. brought down oil production activities at the Bonny 48 inches crude oil Export Line as a wake-up call to the Nigerian government.

“This action is a signature to the overdramatisation of the so-called dialogue and negotiation process on the side of President Muhammadu Buhari and his government,” ‘Brigadier General’

Mudoch Agbinibo, spokesman of the group stated.

The militant group chided the Nigerian government for playing to the gallery with the proposed dialogue in spite of the commitment of elders and stakeholders from the region to bring peace.

“Since, the cessation of hostilities and the commitment of the Pan Niger Delta Elders and Stakeholders team, the Nigerian government and her agents are turning the expectations of the Niger Delta to shameful scenes obtainable in Nollywood acts, including intimidations, blackmails and continuous profiling of Niger Delta sons and daughters.

“This is only a wake-up call; we may not have other way to say it better,” the group warned.

While expressing faith in the long-awaited proposed dialogue and negotiations, NDA said “we are warning against ‘the peace of our term’! We want the peace with honour.”

It vowed to “resist all actions undermining the ceasefire, from side of the

government and its security agents/ agencies.”

According to the militant group, “the world is watching, time is running against the Nigerian state; while we were promised that the concerns of Niger Delta will be addressed once a truce is declared, the activities of the government and its agents are not assuring enough, there has been no progress and no breakthrough.

“We cannot be continuously fooled, the government cannot justify the indiscriminate targeting of Niger Delta youths while glorifying on the victimisation of law abiding citizens of the region.”

Sunday Tribune recall that some notable leaders in the Niger Delta led by Chief Edwin Clark, on Friday in a statement issued in Abuja, had rejected the planned Niger Delta Stakeholders’ Summit slated for the 26th – 27th September, being organised by the Federal Government.

Clark and his colleagues said that a proposed parallel summit would be meaningless since the

Federal Government had allegedly failed to initiate dialogue to negotiate with the region despite the cessation of hostilities by militants.

They noted that the summit, which is rumoured to have been postponed indefinitely, was contrary to the expectations of people around the world on the Niger Delta question.

Meanwhile, leaders in the region have called on the United States to prevail on President Buhari to initiate a genuine dialogue in order to halt the renewed militant hostilities in the region.

Chief Clark, on Saturday, told a three-man delegation of US officials to soften the heart of President Buhari on the proposed dialogue.

The officials had paid visit to Clark and his Pan Niger Delta team in Warri, Delta State.

The US officials including a Political Officer from its embassy in Abuja, an official from Washington and one security detail had a closed-door session with the stakeholders, avoiding the pry-

ing eyes of journalists.

But a former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, who represented Chief Clark, told the press at the end of the meeting that, “It is timely that the United States has come again on a fact-finding mission.

We just told them that we want a dialogue and not the summit that Federal Government had intended to convene.

“It is equally a wise decision of government to have suspended that inappropriate summit going by reports we have received. We believe that the answer is not summit. The answer is dialogue. The way forward is not these jamborees or endless summits, the re-

Police arrest 17 in Enugu for robbery, cultism Jude Ossai - Enugu

THE Police in Enugu State have arrested 17 persons for allegedly being involved in cultism/armed robbery.

Police source said that the hoodlums had been terrorising residents of

Militants kill 6 soldiers during 3-hour battle in Cross River •One soldier died —Army Anthony Ubong - Calabar

MILITANTS under the aegis of Bakasi Strike Force, on Saturday morning, reportedly killed six soldiers at Esighi, Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State.

However, the Nigerian Army, on Saturday, said contrary to the claim that six soldiers were killed, one of its soldiers actually died during the clash.

The attack, Sunday Tribune gathered, was led by the leader of the militant group, ‘General’ Simply Benjamin.

Sunday Tribune gathered that the militants struck around 1.00 a.m. when the soldiers were allegedly asleep. Five soldiers were said to have died instantly, while one died at about 7.00 a.m.

It will be recalled that troops from the 13 Brigade

in Calabar had recently sealed off the residence of one of the militants identified as G1, after the arrest of ‘G2’ and ‘G3’ who are currently reportedly providing useful information to security operatives.

A resident of the area, who did not want his name in print, told the Sunday Tribune that the militants came in from the creeks around the Esighi community and engaged the soldiers in gun battle before retreating.

He said, ‘The militants went to the home of their leader, which has been taken over by the military. We heard heavy gunshots for more than three hours and at the end of it, I can tell you that five soldiers were killed, while another one died later in the morning.

The attack started around 1.00 a.m. and lasted for

over two hours.

“The place is actually in the bush that leads to the creeks of the Bakassi waterway. The militants have also been occupying most of the houses around the area for a while now, but fled when security operatives arrested some of their leaders, including G2 and G3. The leader, G1, whose house has been taken over by soldiers, is on the run,” he said.

But the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, who confirmed the incident, said one soldier was killed.

He said, “today, at the early hours, suspected militants led by the wanted kingpin, Benjamin Simply (a.k.a. G1), leader of the Bakassi Strike Force, in several speed boats, attacked troops deployed at Efut Esighi waterfront in Bakassi Local Govern-

ports of which we have a thousand and one in the shelves over past ones that have been held.

“So we have faith in the US fact-finding team.

They have come to see things for themselves.

And we take them for their word to take the feedback to their home government who will then be in position to advise the Federal Government in the overall goal of resolving the current situation.”

However, one of the US officials, while fielding questions from journalists, said: “We can’t talk to you on this visit. It is the Consul General or the Ambassador that could have spoken to you if they were here. We are sorry, don’t feel offended.”

ment Area of Cross River State.

“During the attack, a soldier was killed in action while two soldiers were missing in action. They also burnt a Buffalo pickup vehicle. The troops also killed two of the attackers, while the rest escaped with gunshot wounds.

“However, the reinforcement sent has found the missing soldiers. In addition, the troop’s locations have been reinforced with more gunboats and air component.

“The clearance and pursuit operation is ongoing.

We would like to assure the public that this singular act would not deter us from the discharge of our duties. Therefore, the perpetrators of this dastardly act will be found and brought to justice,” he said.

Nkanu Local Government Area of the state for quite sometime.

Confirming the story, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amarizu, said the suspects were: Nnamani Chinonso, 18 years, of Obeagu Agbani, Nnamani Ekene, Ani Chidera, Ogbu Chinenye, Friday Anih, Nnamani Daberechi, Nweke Frank, Nwoye Chigozie, Eze Chidera, Ede Ifeanyi, Chukwu Chukwuebuka, Ejim Monday, Nwatu Samuel.

Amarizu said that items recovered from the suspects included two short double barrel locallymade guns, 2 short single locally made guns,one long locally made single barrel gun, 22 live cartridges and cartridge host.

Also reacting to the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu, commended the efforts of the security operatives and the partnership existing between the state police command,the public and other sister security agencies which led to the arrest of the suspects.

Ojukwu also frowned on the situation of youth involvement in cultism and other vices, advising youth to watch the kind of friends they keep.

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news

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘4.4 million of 6.3 million starving West Africans are Nigerians’

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group of 15 International NonGovernmental Organisations (INGOs), on Saturday, said no fewer than six million people in West Africa are facing threat of severe hunger arising from insurgency.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), INGOs stated that the threat was as a result of the ongoing fight against Boko Haram activities in the sub-region.

The organisations responding to the humanitarian crisis in the sub-region, in a statement, appealed to donors to dig deep to stop the crisis from turning into a catastrophe.

The group said it urgently needed $143 million until the end of the year to provide life-saving support such as food, water, shelter and safety to people affected by the crisis.

“Over 65, 000 people are already living in famine, in pockets of North-East Nigeria, and over one million people are one step away from famine.

“In the countries of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, there are 6.3 million people severely food insecure: Of these, 4.4 million people are in Nigeria,’’ the group said.

The organisations said that with 2.6 million people on the move, the Lake Chad Basin was Africa’s fastest growing displacement crisis and should be high on the agenda.

It said that in some areas of Borno State, the rate of acute malnutrition in children under five was similar to what was seen during the 2011 crisis in Somalia, as it was over 50 per cent.

The statement noted that the conflict and military operations to counter it had made farmland, rivers and lakes that people relied on for growing food and fishing off limits.

It said markets had also been closed and the people’s means of transportation such as motorbikes banned, cutting them from their means of living.

“What we are seeing is families teetering on the edge of famine.

“If organisations can’t reach communities in areas trapped by the conflict,

we will be looking at a far greater disaster than we are currently facing.

“Many of those arriving in camps are already severely malnourished. We see fami-

lies who have not eaten for days, many are begging for food.

“If the situation continues to deteriorate, many more people may die,” said Action

Against Hunger Country Director, Yannick Pouchalan.

Also, Oxfam’s Lake Chad Basin’s Operational Lead, Lisa Bay, said: “Civilians have paid a high price for

From left, Senator Daisy Danjuma; the couple, Osagie and Halima Omenai and Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, at the wedding reception of the Omenai’s in Lagos, on Saturday.

Lamentations as Lagos govt demolishes shanties in VI, Ikoyi, Lekki Bola Badmus - Lagos LAGOS State government, on Saturday, finally moved its bulldozers to Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki to commence “Operation Clear Illegal Structures and Shanties” around the area, in line with the promise made before last Sallah celebration.

Operatives of the Lagos State Task Force on the Environment and other agencies of government, including the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), participated in the exercise which commenced around 8.00 a.m.

In areas such as AkinAdesola Street, Victoria Island, among others, illegal structures and shanties demolished, as owners of such structures counted their losses.

The operation, Sunday Tribune learnt, was led by the chairman of the Task Force, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, with expecta-

tion that the day’s exercise would continue into the night.

Spokesperson of the Task Force, Mr Adebayo Taofiq, while speaking with the Sunday Tribune on telephone, said the exercise was ongoing in line with the directive of the state government, recalling that the gov-

ernment had earlier slated the demolition exercise to commence after the Sallah holidays.

It will be recalled that the Special Committee on Clean-Up of Ikoyi, Lekki, and Victoria Island had, in a statement made available shortly after its inauguration by the state governor,

Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, said it had concluded plans to commence enforcement of the Environmental Sanitation and Town Planning Laws in the affected areas after the holidays.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and Chairman of the committee, Mr Tunji Bello, disclosed this

THE national president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend (Dr) Samson Ayokunle, has said it will take concerted effort from every Nigerian to take the country out of its present economic recession.

This is just as he called on government to expedite ac-

tion to ensure that Nigeria is pulled out from its doldrums.

Speaking at the thanksgiving service in his honour at the CAN headquarters in Abuja, Reverend Ayokunle, who tasked government to buckle up, regretted that many Nigerians are suffering.

According to him, “we will continue to tell our leaders to do what is right and let

in an interview with newsmen, saying this followed the expiration of the 14day ultimatum issued to all owners of illegal structures, abandoned buildings, inhabitants of shanties, street hawkers who converted walkways into trading points and food courts in the affected areas.

Edo residents may lose millions of naira to election holiday Banji Aluko - Benin City RESIDENTS of Edo State are already thinking of what could be their losses as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to conduct governorship election in the state on Wednesday, September 28, a working day.

The state government, on Saturday, announced a twoday public holiday, inclusive of the election day and the previous day, in order to ensure a hitch-free exercise.

The two-day holiday

might have been anticipated, but concerns had been raised by many in the state even before the announcement, as to the possible commercial loss that would accompany the holiday.

Banks, market women, shop owners, filling stations, commercial transporters, operators of eateries, artisans and some other categories of workers will be affected most by the twoday holiday as commercial activities, both in the formal and informal sectors, will be

closed down, leading to loss of productive hours and revenue.

Specifically, the state government could lose as much as N113.32 million as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in two days going by the current state’s monthly IGR of N1.7 billion.

Traders at the Oba Market in Benin City, the state capital, expressed dismay at the holiday, pointing out that two days were too much to be denied their means of livelihood.

Many of them noted that

Recession: Concerted effort needed to pull Nigeria out —CAN president Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

policies of cutting off Boko Haram’s food and supplies.

“People should be able to fish, farm and sell their goods at markets.

“We have seen hugely generous communities welcome people who have fled their homes; but now they have nothing to give, they too are hungry and need access to aid.’’

Nigeria Country Director, International Rescue Committee, Sarah Ndikumana, said, “We have received little over $53 million, but there is a funding gap of nearly $90 million.` “Without money, we simply can’t reach the people who need it the most with aid. The situation is critical with many lives hanging in the balance.

“We urge donors to dig deep to stop this crisis turning into a huge catastrophe.

“We cannot stand-by and watch thousands of people suffer and die when we can do something about it,” Ndikumana added.

them know, because we are very close to the grassroots.

We see church members everyday. We understand their pains; we understand that many of them haven’t received salaries for the past seven months, and have wives, husbands and relatives to take care of.

“Government should buckle up. It is not the time of complaining.

“Government is the last resort for the people and they are the ones managing the national purse. So, they should not chicken out. They should face it courageously.

We know tough times don’t last, but tough people do.

“I will encourage all Nigerians to be hopeful. The solution is not by committing suicide, depression or anger. The economic prob-

lem is not in Nigeria alone; it is also in some other parts of the world. But we want to kick it out of Nigeria and with concerted effort, we will all get there.

“Let us change our attitude to work as well. People don’t want to work, but want to, while away time. You cannot earn salary when you are not adding value,” he said.

Edo residents could have been saved of this impending economic loss if the election was conducted on a Saturday, instead of Wednesday, which they described as one of the busiest days in a week.

A banker, Mr Michael Adekunle, said the two-day holiday was unfortunate going by the state of the country’s economy.

“The rescheduling of the election is ill-timed if we factor in the current economic condition of the country. The recession is such that government, which is the major driver of the economy ,is supposed to allow full time economic activities.

With the two days, the already depressed economy, will be depressed the more in Edo State, especially as the state’s economy is dominated by the informal sector. The holiday will slow down the economic activities in Edo State and cause a drop in the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said.

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25 September, 2016

crimereports

Sunday Tribune

edited by Oluwatoyin Malik 0807 889 1950, 0811 695 4633 praiseboy01@gmail.com

We paid N41,000 for sacrifice to make police forget about my brother’s kidnap case —Suspect ‘My other brother was also into illegal oil bunkering’ Stories by Oluwatoyin Malik

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19-year-old driver, Michael Loco, has told operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos State Police Command how his two elder brothers, Loco John and Loco Amos, engaged in illegal oil bunkering and kidnapping, before one of them died in a shootout with anti-vandalism task force and the other landed in prison for kidnapping his boss.

Though Michael, an Ijaw man from Ondo State, tried to exonerate himself from his brother’s activities, the police informed Crime Reports that he was part of the plan executed to kidnap a Chinese who was Amos’s boss in May this year.

Crime Reports learnt that Amos carried Michael, who is currently a guest at SARS in Ikeja, Lagos, along in his plan to kidnap his boss. Michael was recently arrested by SARS operatives after months of being on its wanted list.

The Chinese, Han Kumi, of Golden Mutual Construction Company, Lagos State, was reportedly kidnapped on May 29 at about 5:00am when Amos’s gang members invaded the company and shot into the air many times to scare people away. After the kidnapping, the victim was taken to the creek before his release on June 2 after the gang collected N2.2 million as ransom.

The night before the kidnap, information gathered by Crime Reports indicated that Michael was in his brother’s apartment at the quarters inside the company and was present when the Chinese was taken away.

Though investigation into the kidnap led to the arrest of Amos who is cur-

rently in prison, his gang reportedly sent N280,000 to him and Michael as their share of the loot. The gang leader, popularly known as Tradition, who reportedly collected the ransom, had also been arrested and charged to court. He is said to be in prison custody also.

Another of Michael’s elder brother, John Loco, who was a suspected vandal, reportedly collected the money from Michael and gave him N41,000 out of it to go and consult a native doctor who would do charms that would make the police forget about the kidnap case. Unfortunately, John reportedly died in a shootout with task force officials who invaded the place he was carrying out his business, according to a police source.

The source stated further that when SARS operatives trailed Michael to Ita Oluwo in Ikorodu to arrest him, he came on

Michael Loco okada with one Towe who was arrested while Michael ran into the creek. He was however arrested at Epe during another raid on other suspects and the police discovered that it was the same Michael on its wanted list.

Michael, who said he

stopped schooling at JSS3, disclosed that he was an Ijaw from Agadagba Arogboh-Ijaw in Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

“It was my brother, Amos Loco, who introduced me to kidnapping.

He called me to come and

meet him at the construction company at Igando Oloja, Ibeju-Lekki, where he was working.

“He asked me to join him and others in making arrangement to kidnap his boss, a Chinese. He said the salary he was being paid was small. But I discouraged him, saying I didn’t want to be part of it. I went back to my driving business.

“He called me again and I went to him. I was at the company’s quarters when his gang members came to kidnap the man. Early in the morning, I heard gunshots and my brother told me that his people had come. I repeated my earlier disapproval of his action but he said it was none of my business.

“At daybreak, he asked me to go. The gang later brought N280,000, saying I should give it to Amos. The money was later handed over to my eldest brother, John. He

gave me N41,000 to send to one James’s account to do sacrifice that would aid Amos’s release from prison. He said he would use the remaining cash to get a lawyer.

“John was into illegal oil bunkering and was living inside the creek but I lived in Ikorodu. I heard that police were arresting militants and Ijaw people, so I ran to my stepmother’s place at Epe. My mother is in Ore, Ondo State and is divorced from my father.”

When asked why he did not inform the police about his brothers’ criminal activities if he was not involved, Micahel replied: “I could not tell the police because of blood ties. I could not expose them; it would be a betrayal.”

The police image maker in Lagos State, Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the arrest, saying that the suspect was at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, for further investigation.

Dismissed policeman in vehicle with police colour, logo snatches truck with 33,000-litre diesel OPERATIVES of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested two suspects who allegedly snatched a Mack truck with its 33,000-litre content and took it to an unknown destination before it was aborted.

The two suspects were identified as Nobel Saint Nwokorie (37), a dismissed SPY police and Ndubuisi Dickson (34). They were reported to have ridden in a Volkswagen Transporter bus painted in police colour with police logo at about 12:05a.m to perpetrate the act at Mile 2 area of the state when the driver was headed towards Igbesa, Ogun State.

Crime Reports gath-

ered that the suspects flagged down the driver of the truck, one Ramoni Salami, waving a torch, and Nwokorie accused him of brushing his bus earlier, in the evening of the previous day. This was however refuted by the driver who said he was at Ibeto Depot where he was waiting to load his truck with diesel at the time specified by his accuser.

Telling the driver and his assistant that he was taking them to a police station, Nwokorie was said to have moved them into his Volkswagen bus and driven off. But before the bus moved, the two victims told RRS officials that The suspects Continues on

pg7

7

crimereports

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Robbery suspects pretend to help woman repair her car headlamps only to steal it

By Oluwatoyin Malik

E

FFORTS of the Oyo State Police Command towards dislodging criminals from the state yielded fruits recently when an armed robbery gang said to be responsible for robbery incidents in Oyo, Osun and Kwara states as well as others was busted by the command’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Arrested were seven suspects including Yusuf Quadri a.k.a Boss (41), Babatunde Ayobami (47), Abdulahi Yusuf (21), Bamidele Femi a.k.a Obesere (31), Azeez Abiodun (25), Ismaila Babatunde (25) and Arogundade Abayomi (26). Items recovered from the suspects included an English-made revolver pistol, two live 9mm cartridges, a Nissan Quest saloon car with registration number Lagos KJA 737 EB, among others.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Sam Adegbuyi, disclosed to Crime Repoerts recently that the suspects were apprehended after the SARS operatives, led by their commander, SP Olusola Aremu, acted on intelligence report received on the gang’s activities.

The police commissioner said the SARS operatives stormed the gang’s hideout where Quadri was arrested, adding that the suspect led the police to six other members of his gang in Ibadan, Oyo State and Osogbo, Osun State. One of the gang members, Saheed, is currently at large.

Adegbuyi also said that police investigations revealed that Obesere and Ayobami met in Ilesa prison in Osun State where they came up with the plan to form another gang while Femi used to lead the gang to snatch vehicles.

Crime Reports’ findings also revealed that the gang attacked the owner of a Toyota Highlander at Dagbolu community along Ikirun Road, Osun State, as he made to enter his residence and snatched the vehicle and other valuables from him. The vehicle was said to have been sold to a buyer in Ilorin, Kwara State, for N600,000, out of which Femi reportedly got N100,000.

Another car, a Toyota

Corolla, was also reportedly snatched from a woman in Osogbo when Femi pretended to be helping to repair her headlamps. The two vehicles were yet to be recovered, it was disclosed.

A gang member, Yusuf,

was said to be the one who used motorcycle to carry Femi and Saheed to robbery operations while he also formed another gang with Abiodun, Ismaila and Abayomi to carry out house breaking and burglary.

Abayomi reportedly acted as the gang’s armourer.

In an interview with one of the suspects, Quadri, he confessed to being a member of the robbery gang.

According to Quadri, “I knew one Abiodun during

Ramadan where I used to relax after close of work.

He introduced one Ayobami to me as his friend.

Ayobami said he was selling vehicles in Osogbo. It was after Ramadan that Ayobami brought a Toyo-

The suspects with exhibits recovered from them

Dismissed policeman in vehicle with police colour, logo snatches truck with 33,000-litre diesel Continues on

pg6

they saw two men in Navy uniform get down from the bus before they were forced into it.

Terrified with the thought that his captors were whisking him and his assistant to an unknown place over unknown offence, the driver raised the alarm which caught the attention of RRS operatives who were on vigil at the deserted loop at Mile 2.

Crime Reports learnt that the operatives brought the bus to a stop and started interrogating the self-acclaimed policeman, leading to the discovery that he was a dismissed SPY police who was allegedly attempting to hijack diesel-loaded truck. A sword and a dagger were recovered by the RRS operatives from his vehicle.

Also, a SPY certificate found in his vehicle

showed that he was enlisted as a SPY in 2012 with number 5122. But he added to figures to the number to make him look like a regular policeman.

A source at the RRS office told Crime Reports that Nwokorie said that he was dismissed from the Force in 2013 for travelling without permission.

He further disclosed that he had an accident during the journey. Preliminary investigations revealed

that the suspect used to put on police shirt with the rank of a Corporal after 10:p.m before his arrest while he wore the trousers with police belt at daytime.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the arrest, saying that the suspects had been transferred to the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, for further investigations.

ta Highlander to sell for him.

“It was Abiodun that sold it but I was the one who went to collect the money. On the Toyota Corolla, Abbey called me that someone was bringing money for it and I should collect it, because he has disability. It was in the process of doing that that I was arrested by the police.

I was working as a manager in a filling station but I became ill in 2012.”

The gang leader, Femi (34), opened up to Crime Reports during interview.

He said: “I am a driver.

I knew Ayobami in the prison. I was remanded in prison after my arrest and arraignment in court when I took armed robbers to robbery scene and police found guns in our car. I spent six years in the prison.

“We snatched the Toyota Highlander in Osogbo at gunpoint. On the Toyota Corolla that led to my arrest, we took it from a woman in Osogbo, Osun State. She parked by the roadside and her headlamps were not good.

I went to her and pretended that I wanted to assist her. I asked her to open the bonnet and I took over at the driver’s seat. As she closed the bonnet, I kicked the vehicle to a start and zoomed off.”

Based on the suspect’s confession, CP Adegbuyi enjoined people to be careful when people offer them help by the roadside.

Crime Reports learnt that four of the suspects were charged to court in Oyo town on Monday, September 20 on a threecount charge of conspiracy, armed robbery of i-Phone and armed robbery of Toyota Highlander. The suspects were remanded in Agolongo prison in Oyo town while the case was adjourned till November 28.

For allegedly issuing face receipts, 2 transporters land in trouble in Kwara Biola Azeez - Ilorin

TWO transporters, Fatai Oladimeji (41) and Abdulrauf Sakele (40), were on Thursday arraigned before an Ilorin Chief Magistrate’s Court over forgery.

The First Information Report (FIR) said that the accused were arrested for allegedly issuing fake receipts to members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) instead of the ones authorised by

the union.

According to FIR, the offences allegedly committed contravened sections 97 and 366 of the Penal Code Law. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the

charges of criminal conspiracy and forgery.

The prosecutor, Inspector Nasiru Yusuf, told the court that investigation on the matter had not been concluded.

In his ruling, Chief Mag-

istrate Ibrahim Mohammed granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 and two sureties in like sum each.

Het adjourned the case till October 4 for further mention.

8

specialtreat

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Save money, improve your health with backyard farming

By Segun Adebayo

T

HESE are hard times for most families, especially as the country’s economic condition continues to nosedive, a situation that has forced many homes to cut down on their expenses, while others struggle daily to meet up with financial obligations.

However, Nigeria is not an exception to the global economic meltdown, as even the biggest economies in the world have been at the receiving end of economic recession. However, hard as things might seem, one of the most effective means for families to survive the onslaught that is threatening their existence and togetherness is to invest in backyard farming.

It has been said that nothing tastes better than vegetables and fruits from your own backyard.

There’s nothing wrong with buying food from a grocery store. However, if one really craves the freshest, nothing beats locally grown. The farmer’s market is a great choice, but there are also benefits to growing your own.

Growing one’s food to feed the family does not cost much. It comes with the plus of improved health conditions. Apart from the health benefits, one is assured of the source of what is being consumed.

A former governor in Oyo State buttressed this when he said in a recent interview that he had not been buying vegetables from the market, but had been cultivating it from his backyard farm.

Experts have also said that instead of opting for packaged alternatives, consuming foods fresh as they are harvested can help kids — and adults — stay healthy.

Starting backyard farming Doing a little research on the size of the garden and when to start growing is the first step. It is essential to get rid of the sod covering the area one plans to use for farming. For quick results, it is better to dig it out, but it’s easier to smother it with newspaper. A layer of five sheets

is usually thick enough but it could be doubled if the lawn is Bermuda grass or St. Augustine grass. Growing food can often save one money.

There are, of course, initial startup costs. Depending on the space, one may need to buy pots, compost, soil, seeds, and materials. However, when one starts to reap the rewards of the work, it can significantly cut down on grocery store costs.

Benefits of backyard gardening According to Dr (Mrs) Bukola Fato, an agriculture extensionist, at the Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan, Oyo State, the big difference between a backyard garden tomato and that got from the grocery store through back or market is the taste. Tomatoes gain most of their flavour as they ripen on the vine. “When you consider the distance these tomatoes have travelled and how they have managed to preserve them to make them look fresh, you would know that growing your own food, especially vegetables, are very important to one’s health.”

Farmers that provide tomatoes for grocery stores usually pick tomatoes while they are still green, which means the tomatoes ripen off the vine. It’s true for most produce that the closer to the source, the better it’s going to taste.

There are also physical benefits when it comes to gardening. For example, appropriate exposure to sunlight has health benefits. Shoveling, weeding, digging, planting, harvesting are also a good workout for whoever wants to start. With a big enough garden, it may even be able to replace the entire workout routine — at least in the spring.

According to Dr Fato “This idea started many years ago and it has never stopped, except for some people who feel they are too busy to have a little backyard garden that can provide them what they could have gone out of their ways to get. In those days, when we were growing up, our fathers

in the villages fed us with fresh tomatoes and vegetables and even fowls that they got from their farms. But now, things have changed. People are losing a lot of benefits that come with these things. They feel it would cost them a lot of money to have a backyard garden, but I can tell you that you don’t need more than a N100 vegetable seeds to start.

If you are the type that likes fresh tomatoes, you can buy the seed, weed the ground and start planting. In less than no time, you will begin to enjoy the benefit.

“For me, I am very careful about what I eat. Having a vegetable garden at the back of the house comes with a very low cost. With a seed of N100, the family can begin to plant and harvest anytime of the year. “If you want tomatoes or vegetable garden. You don’t have to go the market to waste money on what you can harvest at the back of your house. It also saves you money and stress.

Even when you keep livestock at home, it is very cheap to keep these things at home, but many people don’t know.

But let me also shock you with this fact: many people are beginning to think about farming. It may not necessarily be mechanised farming. You could choose organic farming that would not cost you much and you would get health benefits as well.

“In my own case as an agriculture expert, I can wake up at 8:00 p.m. and go to my garden to harvest fresh vegetables.

I love to eat fresh vegetables and I don’t have to have to visit the market before eating what I feel like eating.

“Nobody will tell you that they now have backyard gardens in their houses. In fact, in my church, our pastor has said that he would visit different homes to monitor those who have backyard gardens. The truth is that with the way things are going in this country, nobody will teach us what to do. Everybody is wiser now. If you see anything that will reduce your cost, you will quickly grab it. You don’t need to preach it. If you are the type that looks after your health, you won’t joke with having a backyard garden in your house,” she said.

9

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

10

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

life&living

Ibadan’s children of ‘the dead’ In this piece, BAYO ALADE and TADE MAKINDE report on street urchins popularly known as Omo oku, loosely translated as orphans, though not all of them are, but have chosen the street life due to situations peculiar to each of them.

I

WO road area of Ibadan, Oyo State, is very known to most residents of the city. It is the Oshodi (Lagos) of Ibadan. It is made more popular by its motor parks and more importantly, its touts, thugs and street urchings.

Sunday Tribune went in search of a group of street boys called Omo oku, loosely translated as ‘children of the dead’ or better still, orphans. We were trying to ask

around when we came in contact with a young man, himself a former Omo oku. His name is Sina Akinfenwa. He was 12 years old when he left home after his father, Wahidi Akinfenwa, had a misunderstanding with his mother, Fatimo.

“My father is from Oranyan area of Ibadan and my mother is from Odo-Oba. I was a bus conductor until I was able to drive. In 2002, when I wasn’t making enough

money, I left for Lagos where I was a bus conductor to a man who plied Orile-Oshodi-Ijora and Idumota. I lived in Ketu then and I still have my own people there till now,” he said of his early days of struggle.

After making some money in Lagos, he came back to Ibadan. At 30, he felt he needed to get married and doContinues pg 11

11

life&living

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘We pay N50 daily to senior omo okus’

Shina

Timilehin

Continued from pg 10 ing that in Lagos would not be a smart move, financially-speaking. Now with three kids, and the money not coming as it once used to, Shina, speaking on behalf of his mates, Tunde Adebisi, Adekunle Adewole and Yusuf Fatai, awaits the arrival of God-sends in the mould of a popular Ibadan politician, Seyi Makinde, who is reportedly empowering the underprivileged by giving them Micra cars which they often pay for instalmentally with little interest.

“I have seen it all and I can tell you that there is no dignity in servitude. We serve others and yet, we are never free,” Shina said, referring to those in the car hire business who exploit would-be car owners.

“We are never able to complete payment for cars bought from them on hire purchase. To buy a Micra car is N1 million. We are to pay back N15,000 every week. Any week you fail to make the payment, the car will be repossessed. Even if you have paid N999,000 and you are in your last week, they won’t pity you. For how long could one continue to do this?

“Go to the car park over there. You will see many teenagers who are struggling to survive. I was once like them.

I had no home to sleep in, no food to eat, until I found my way to Iwo Road garage. Now, I have become a senior Omo oku and can’t be pushing wheelbarrows again. We have left that for the young ones,” he said.

At the Iwo Road, garage where the omo oku are domiciled, it is a jungle where only the fittest survive. As Sunday Tribune entered the motor park, many of them were seen fighting over customers. It is often a fight to survive, to keep hunger at bay. Surprisingly, even within the park, the young boys have bills to pay — bills to “higher authorities.’’ The higher authorities in this sense are the bigger boys whom the omo oku dare not challenge. There is One Mopol, Alaga and Ope whom they must pay N50 each per day in order to keep working in the park. Any form of contravention of the laws of the “powers-that-be” may see the young boys thrown out.

“That is our lot every day. We fight to get customers; we fight because we have bills to pay,” Abiodun Rasaki, an Omo oku, told Sunday Tribune.

Looking at Biodun, one would assume he is also a teenager like the others. It was a surprise when he declared that he was 35. He has been pushing wheelbarrow at the park for the past five years.

He trained to be an auto electrician. When it was a few months away from being on his own, his master travelled.

Since there was no one to formally send him off, he had to complete the remaining six months at another master’s workshop. After six weeks with his new boss, he was told he would not be set free until after another year.

“I couldn’t wait that long again. That would mean I would have spent two and a half years for what shouldn’t have taken me more than a year,” he said in frustration.

Thereafter, Biodun left for Lagos. He was in his 20s then.

In Lagos, he washed cars for a living at Ile Epo Oba, Ikorodu.

Shina

Iyanu

“The water bleached my legs. I couldn’t risk losing my legs, so I quit the job and came back to Ibadan,” he said.

On return to Ibadan, the park was the only place he could find immediate succour, working as a porter.

“All I needed was N300 to rent a wheelbarrow each day and the rest of the money made with it is mine,” he said noting that sometimes, he makes as much as N1,000 and sometimes, more than that. But he has to fight to make the money anyway, which he often spends on food. This wasn’t the life Biodun wanted; he preferred a better life.

“I get called to wash clothes, cut grasses, wash cars and lay bricks most weekends by those who know and trust me. If I had a better option today, I would leave this job.

It is demeaning, but there may not be an escape route because most of us lack education, a basic credential as far as the society is concerned. Jobs like this are only fit for the uneducated ones,” he told Sunday Tribune.

Iyanu Bankole is also an Omo oku. He is the hip-hop artiste, the Dagrin of the motor park. Initially he was shy about owning up to his raw talent, but when he was spurred on by his mates and Sunday Tribune to sing, it was a surprise. Amazingly, he went on and on with his captivating lyrics which he must have written in his head, singing of inequality and lack of justice in the system.

He was in Primary Six at a private school in Iwo Baale area of the city, then his father stopped paying for his education and took him to a welder. He didn’t like this, but he had no choice than to take up the only offer his father had for him.

“He made it clear that he couldn’t fund my education again. After two months of being an apprentice welder, I left Iwo Baale for this park. I can sing, even better than most of those making it out there through music,” he said.

There are two categories of omo oku working in the park: those who use wheelbarrows and those who carry goods on their heads. Iyanu prefers to use his head.

That only costs him N150 each day instead of N300. He doesn’t have to queue for customers. All he needs is to verbally woo his potential customers, but as in a jungle it is survival of the fittest.

“It is turn-by-turn. But most want to jump queue by running after prospective customers once they alight from a bus. It was not like that before. But now that the number of displaced teenagers has grown in leaps, it is survival of the fittest.

“If you are not street wise, someone will take your cus-

If you are not street wise, someone will take your customer and you will have to go back behind the line

Emmanuel tomer and you will have to go back behind the line if the next guy won’t allow you pick the next customer.

“All I need is N150 to begin work daily. The money will be shared equally among Aunty Ope, One Mopol and Alaga. Once I settle with them, (they control this garage), then I can go to my business. I don’t hire wheelbarrows. I can do with the N150 that I will be saving for myself for using my head to carry goods. Besides, I hate pushing barrows because I am not that strong,” he stated.

Iyanu wants to return to school. He believes he can still cope with the academic rigours despite having left the school system for almost a decade. “Better still, let someone help me with a real vocation that I can be trained on,” he pleaded The Omo oku story is a long one. Another one, Emmanuel Ezekiel, lost his mother a few years ago and his father remarried. Unfortunately for him, his father shuttles between Akure and Ibadan on business trips, but at the home front, his father’s new wife has made life unbearable for him. Surprisingly Emmanuel attends a private school but finds himself among the omo oku of the motor park. Going home does not appeal to him, he prefers the company of his friends but he still goes home, once in a while.

“My stepmother treats me harshly. I prefer staying under the bridge to going home because my father stays more in Akure. I only go home when he is around. He doesn’t look for me and I don’t bother much about him.

“Initially, my father was worried about me for not coming home. He eventually heard that I now work as a wheelbarrow pusher at this garage and came to see me one day. Since he was convinced I was doing good, he stopped checking,” Emmanuel said.

Though he is also eager to go back to school, he knows too well that he can’t do so on his own. After all, what he makes at the park on a daily basis could only feed him.

Unlike many others, Emmanuel is lucky to have found favour with soldiers who keep watch at a shopping plaza opposite the garage.

“They (the soldiers) allow us to sleep close to them.

When it is around 5.00 a.m every day, they wake us to sweep the entire area. It is better than the condition of some of us who sleep in the open and are beaten by rain or pay somebody for a space to sleep,” he told Sunday Tribune.

The story of Timilehin is equally pathetic. He was a JSS 1 student of a private school at Abodo, Olodo area of Ibadan. His father was Igbo, a driver. During one of his trips to the northern part of the country, he had an accident and died. Home was not what it should be, so he joined fellow Omo okus two months ago.

Like his peers, he continues to struggle, hoping that one day things would get better. But meanwhile, like others he keeps himself happy playing football and craving for fame and hoping to become another football star.

As Sunday Tribune began to leave, it noticed some boys at the far end of the park smoking. The boys belong to the group of Omo oku but would only join the others when they had had enough of the smoking.

12

feature

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Aso ebi: Adding colour to social events

ASO ebi, the ceremonial uniform often adorned by friends, families and well-wishers of celebrants, has come to stay as part and parcel of the frills and colours associated with social events in this part of the world. OLAIDE SOKOYA reports that despite the recession, the love for it has not diminished.

E

VERY weekend, there is so much fun and excitement on the streets of major towns and cities in the country; a sign which, some may argue, means that Nigerians still manage to be happy, in spite of the economic recession in the land.

Along major roads and in taxis and buses, would-be guests are often seen making their way to venues of various social events, decked in their ceremonial uniform or better still aso ebi specially chosen for the special occasion.

In spite of the recession, caterers, those in rentals business and musicians still make some money, though it may be far between. However the biggest earners from the business of organising ceremonial events are the producers of Aso ebi fabric.

Aso Ebi is a very common sight at social events across the nation, most especially in the South West part of the country where wedding, burial, birthday and other ceremonies are not complete without the uniform.

Aso Ebi is mostly made of the Ankara fabric. Sometimes it could be aso oke and lace fabrics, including gele for the women. Loosely translated as ‘family uniform’, aso ebi is not only meant for family members, but also everyone related to the celebrants. When adorned it sets the wearers apart as “one big family” which is actually the reason for the uniform. The cost of Aso ebi ranges from as low as N1,200 to as much as N100,000 depending on the fabric and the quality.

However, despite the economic situation in the country, the love for the aso ebi has not waned in any way and though people may complain of not having liquid cash, they still go for it for different reasons.

At a recent wedding ceremony, though the bride’s mother is a teacher in one of the primary school in Oyo State and the groom’s parents are both civil servants in Osogbo, Osun State—states where workers are crying over unpaid salaries—that did not stop the celebrants from making the day their happiest as their friends and relations turned out in their hundreds adorning their

aso ebi.

The big hall used for the reception, which was 2,000 capacity was full with guests wearing green lace fabric and orange gele aso ebi for both the traditional wedding on Friday and the wedding on Saturday by both families.

Those in aso ebi were asked to sit at the left side of the hall and were served food first, and given the several souvenirs ranging from pressing iron to bread toasters, power banks, cute jewellery boxes and beautiful towels. On the other side of the hall, those not in aso ebi watched in awe.

According to Madam Atolagbe, who did not want to reveal her full identity, she turned out in the aso ebi because the groom’s mother was her colleague at her place of work.

“I did my son’s wedding last year and she was there for me; she bought my own aso ebi then; so, it is a must that I should buy her own too,” she said.

When Sunday Tribune asked Mrs Patricia Alawusa how much the clothes cost and how she was able to afford them despite not being paid her salary for months, she said: “We cannot say because the government did not pay our salary then we should deny ourselves our responsibilities to one another. The aso ebi was given to us in a way that it won’t affect us financially; we know how we do this among ourselves.”

Another guest at the wedding ceremony, Miss Oluwatoyin Adesanmi, also a civil servant, said: “Aso ebi is us, it is our culture and we’ve got to sustain it. As for me, it helps us to have more clothes and update our wardrobes with the latest fabric in town. Most, if not all, of my native wears are aso ebi, such that if I decide not to buy aso ebi again, I already have more than enough.”

Nigerians in the diaspora have also exported the aso ebi culture to other countries where they live. A Londonbased Nigerian, Miss Samson Kenume, in an interview with Sunday Tribune, said: “the situation is even worse abroad. Those who belong to one village meeting

or the other spend a lot of money acquiring new wrappers for their various associations.

“We pay as much as £200 or more to buy aso ebi just to belong and to show off to others that one is doing well.

I buy when I can afford it but I don’t like being under any pressure to do so.”

For Mrs Kikelomo Adeleke, identifying with celebrants with the adornment of Aso ebi is a good idea and should not be condemned because of its financial commitment which some people may argue drills a hole in their pockets.

“As for me, aso ebi gives me a sense of belonging at the occasion where it is used. I’ve had souvenirs that are more than the extra charge on the original cost of the fabric. For me that is getting more value than what I paid for. For occasions where the cost of aso ebi is outrageous, I’m sure they would have other variations that are affordable. If one can’t afford the lace material, one can go for the brocade, or ankara or just the aso oke for the cap or headgear (gele). One does not have to incur a debt to get the aso ebi. For me, I only buy the affordable ones,” she said.

If Nigeria is in recession, Mrs Adewumi Adeoye, a teacher, believes an economic system has already been built around aso ebi as celebrants or people around them have chosen to make a business which they must profit from.

“In the past, one could join any party without an invitation card as a complete stranger and expect to be served food and drinks and given gift items. That trick may not work these days because celebrants now look out for their own guests. Unrecognised guests looking for free food are politely asked to leave by fierce-looking guards.

“For many, a party these days is even a fund-raising event, carefully designed to generate profit. A special economy has developed around the aso ebi tradition.

For example, sometimes, the celebrant shamelessly inflates the cost of the material, and you are expected to oblige,” she said.

13 Continued from

P

25 September, 2016 last week

EOPLE in the NPN will be making a most costly mistake if they imagine that they can improve upon the techniques of their forebearers of the NPC/NNDP/NNA, and then provoke a crisis and get away with it. In this connection, it must be pointed out that one of the stark realities of Nigeria’s political situation today is that the existing circumstances are not only very different from those which prevailed in the first half of the sixties, but are also very averse and inimical to the kind of political brigandage this country had the misfortune to witness during that period. One does not have to give the details of the now prevailing circumstances.

Only the mentally blind and the self-deluded elements will fail to see them.

The NPN’S Trojan Offer Reexamined As this is the first Congress after the UPN received an invitation from the NPN to send names of UPN members for appointment as Ministers, it is, I think, right and proper that I should say a few words on the issue of a National Government which, quite plainly in my view, is antithetic to the healthy practice of democracy. There is no doubt that there are advantages and disadvantages in a National Government or in the UPN joining the NPN in running the Federal Government and it is incumbent on us to have a good look at them.

The advantages are said to be as follows: 1. Some of our members - we don’t know how many because we have not been told how many - will have the honour of becoming Ministers.

2. By having members in the Government we will know all that goes on in the Cabinet and the inner circles of Government.

3. The resultant friendship between the UPN and NPN will obviate any diabolical design on the part of the NPN against leading members of the UPN, including especially myself.

4. If there were an· abortive coup in the future, the NPN would not, because of our subsisting friendship, make leaders of the UPN, again especially myself, scapegoats of such an abortive coup.

5. From the resultant vantage position of Federal power which we share, we will be able to influence the Federal Government to make available to UPN-controlled States the funds necessary for executing their laudable programmes.

Awo’s thoughts PATH TO NIGERIAN GREATNESS

On the campaign trail Charter of stability and progress* The disadvantages are as follows: 1. Our members in the National Assembly will become completely incapacitated in their role as champions of what is right and good for the people.

2. When all political parties have joined the Government, the voices of dissent will be silenced. When this happens those in Government will be prone to commit enormous errors knowing fuIIy weII that no influential or weighty voice will denounce or even call into question their criminal acts.

3. It is more likely than not that those who are nominated as Ministers will within a short time, succumb to the dictates of Alhaji Shehu Shagari rather than watch the interests of the UPN-controlled States. None (“If them” would like to risk a sack to be replaced by another UPN nominee.

4. If there were a successful coup, which God forbid, all of us would be victims because we would be regarded as coperpetrators in all the dark deeds that might have provoked the coup.

5. Within two or three years, the image of the UPN would be badly dented, its independence and self-reliance would be greatly corroded, and its stand as a Party of the common people would be totally compromised.

6. At the next elections, we would have an uphill task to distinguish ourselves from the mass-repellent character

Sunday Tribune

of the NPN, and to dissociate the UPN from the evil doings of the NPN. I could elaborate on the comparative assessment of these advantages and disadvantages. But time and space will not permit.

In any case, we are not without salutary experience in this matter of National Government. In the First Republic a millennium for Nigeria, for its Regions and people, was claimed for such a Government by its ardent protagonists. But the Government turned out to be a haven for abuse and misuse of power and for unabashed corruption on the part of the Ministers; it turned out to be a veritable inhibitor of stability and progress, a hell on earth for our people and the death-blow of our first experiment in democratic rule. Quite frankly, the thing that I dread most about Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s style of government is the way and manner he fashions himself, almost in every respect, after late Balewa’s style of government in 1964.

The second inseparable characteristic of democracy is the Rule of Law. We all know what this imports. It imports freedom from arrest except on charge of recognized crime; fair trial before an impartial tribunal; freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, Charter of Stability and Progress and from unwarranted interference by the powers-that-be, etc. The Rule of Law was not fully observed in the First Republic. The Judiciary was subverted, and some sections of it in the old Western Region, in Lagos, and at the Federal level danced gleefully and unashamedly to the tune of the Executive. The facts of history which I have no time to relate in this address are to the effect that some members of the Judiciary in those days contributed as much as, if not more than, any other factor in precipitating the crisis which erupted in 1962, escalated in 1963, 1964 and 1965, and plagued this country poignantly up to the end of September this year. If recent events are anything to go by the auguries for the immediate future of the Judiciary are dismal.

The third characteristic feature is ideological direction. What is required here is that every Government of the day must recognize the ultimate purpose of the State - which is the welfare of the entire people without discrimination - and, having recognized that purpose, to set about making plans for its attainment. But no plan for the welfare of the people will ever succeed unless the very first principle in the pursuit of this ultimate purpose is fully recognized.

To be continued

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25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

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25 September, 2016

children’sarena Countries we wish to visit 3

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1. Oni Ayojesu, 12 years old The country I wish to visit is the United States of America (USA).

I would love to be there to see the beautiful “Statue of Liberty” which is located at Liberty Island, New York.

I know one day, somehow, I would be there. That is my dream.

Sunday Tribune

Olaide Sokoya ollydesanmi@yahoo.com 0807 449 7425

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4. Timilehin Olugbode, 13 years old The country I wish to visit is Iceland. Iceland is a European country and the capital is Reykjavik.

I would like to visit Iceland because it is the most peaceful country in the world, it has the world’s largest waterfalls and glaciers, and because it has a lot of tourist centres and beaches.

5. Ayodele Precious, 11 years I wish to visit Japan because of its environment and the high standard of living.

It is very organised and its security system cannot be compared with ours, I like the way classrooms in the country are arranged, in fact, if what I watched in the film enitled: “Back to Japan” is real, I wish to study there.

3. Akingbade Oluwafemi, 14 years old As part of my ambition to become an agriculturist, I would love to visit the United States of America (USA) to ask farmers in California, a few questions so that I can apply it in my country when I grow up and because in the US, there are a lot of beautiful sites to see.

6. Adeleye Aina Mary, 14 years old The country I wish to visit is South Korea. This is because of its rich culture as shown in some of their movies.

I would love to see Jee Jome, one of my best Korean actors.

Famousinvention Skateboarding

Los Angeles, United States surf shop, meant to be used by surfers in their downtime. The shop owner, Bill Richard, made a deal with the Chicago Roller Skate Company to produce sets of skate wheels, which they attached to square wooden boards.

Accordingly, skateboarding was originally denoted "sidewalk surfing" and early skaters emulated surfing style and maneuvers, and performed barefoot.

The sport is being molded and we believe that doing the right thing now will lead to a bright future for the sport. Already, there are storm clouds on the horizon with opponents of the sport talking about ban and restriction.

Quote

2. Jesulola Toluwanimi, 11 years The country I wish to visit is the United States of America (USA). I have read a lot about that country.

It is a beautiful and nice country. I will like to go there for vacation because of the beautiful social amenities.

Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do.”

– John Wooden

k ild ee h C ew th f o

Sparrows can live for 5 years

SKATEBOARDING is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. Skateboarding can also be considered a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years.

The first skateboards started with wooden boxes, or boards, with roller skate wheels attached to the bottom around 1940s–1960s.

Skateboarding, as we know it, was probably born sometime in the late 1940s, or early 1950s, when surfers in California wanted something to do when the waves were flat. No one knows who made the first board; it seems that several people came up with similar ideas at around the same time.

The first manufactured skateboards were ordered by a

• They can swim to escape from predators, although they are not considered to be water birds.

• Sparrows are chirpy, with grey and brown colour.

They have the ability to fly at the speed of 38.5 kilometres per hour and can even reach a speed of 50 kilometre per hour.

• The population of sparrows has been declining, as there is less food for them, because of fewer gardens.

• Sparrows have often been eaten as food. Sparrow pie was common in Britain in the First World War. They were illegally imported from China.

• Sparrows have life span of about 4-5 years. Sparrows are generally not territorial, but they are quite a g gressive when it comes to protecting their nest.

Hurry!

Boluwatife Abraham clocked

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25 September, 2016

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N another 96 hours, Edo will have a new helmsmanelect. That the D-day is gonna be as Yankees will say, speaks to the truism of Yoruba ear-tilting adage of “bope titi ogun odun yio ku ola” (delay isn’t denial).

The popular belief, even within the confines of the ruling APC, is that the PDP would have been the governmentin-waiting if the contentious postponement had not been.

Outgoing Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his party had denied being the Esau’s make-belief hand behind the Jacob’s voice which forced the postponement on suspected spurious insecurity claims. The verdict of recent history could make the insecurity excuse a fatal mistake for Oshio Baba and his party, because the last time such excuse was offered for another contentious postponement, the ruling party which was accused of stage-managing the shift, lost.

Maybe, a different excuse would provide a different aura and outcome. And to think this was an election that would not be shifted for academic progress of the younger generation whose future the politicians claim they want to secure! Contentious election shifts have a way of retching up voters. The reported revved anger in the state may now hurt more. The consequences of another shift would be better imagined. Even INEC scored with its initial braggadocio sparring with the security agencies. While the latter deserve the cross of shame for the suspicious shift, the electoral body will only speak the minds of the electorate by allowing the votes to count appropriately.

But Goodluck Jonathan and PDP almost fixed their mess within the six weeks of postponement of the presidential election, losing by the slimmest margin in history.

It remains to be seen if history will repeat itself for Oshiomhole.

I have not seen Oshiomhole’s Edo for years and with the media deliberately getting more inaccurate, I will stay within the realm of “he has tried.” It would not be right to say elections aren’t about performance. Was it not why Jonathan and PDP were thrown out of Abuja?

Isn’t the perceived high performance index the sustaining strength of Bola Tinubu’s political clan’s hold on Alausa?

So, it could be personal or transferred. If Oshiomhole is thought to have “tried” and his candidate, Godwin Obaseki is thought to be the brain-box of the passing administration, why the widespread belief of an impending defeat?

THINGS are on a seemingly inexorable decline in the country because of our penchant for failing to nip potential crisis in the bud, forgetting that whatever ill we fail to deal with promptly will eventually turn round to deal with us.

Boko Haram insurgency, which has been responsible for the killing of about 10,000 Nigerians, would have been perfectly curtailed had the government gone all out against the insurgents at the outset of their campaign.

If the government had acted in good time, they would not have been emboldened to continue the needless onslaught which has left multiplied thousands homeless and the economy of the affected states in shambles.

In the same vein, it is said that the civil war would have ended shortly after it started if not for the reluctance of the federal side to do what was required immediately. By dithering, the other side was given ample time to organise and a military exercise that shouldn’t have lasted a month dragged on for over 30 months with about three million people killed.

For long, the nation’s education system has been on the downslide. Primary education has nearly collapsed; secondary education is in comatose while tertiary education is epileptic. In Nigeria, education has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. The Nigerian education system which produced world-acclaimed scholars and professionals like Professor Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate; Professor Chinua Achebe, Professor Ayodele Awojobi and others in that category has been reduced to one whose products are mere minions. Unlike what obtains in other countries where achievements of the founding fathers in sciences, arts and other endeavours are surpassed by the succeeding generations, in Nigeria, references are always made to the feats of the past without any attempt to repeat or re-enact same. The glory of our education sector seems to be in the past.

Over a period of 30 years, the education sector in Nigeria experienced a lot of turbulence. There are some Nigerians in their 20s and 30s, who never went to school but have certificates. When they were in primary school,

0811 695 4647

olanreade@yahoo.com

Random thoughts on Edo

Sunday Tribune

political developer and a challenged humanity worrier.

One of his messages likely to hurt him badly is the antigodfatherism polemics. It was his roller-coaster to power.

Today, he is representing the worst form of godfatherism. Apart from single-handedly choosing Obaseki and his running-mate Philip Shuaibu, who is facing alleged corruption trial by ICPC, he conducts their campaign as if it is a three-man ticket, with him atop. Hypocrisy churns.

Voters are likely to punish his Janus style, considering his rude campaign against godfathers before him in the state.

But I personally hold that Oshiomhole’s greatest undoing so far in life is the twin issue of pride and verbal diarrhoea. With a tinge of over-assumption of his capacity, he defines loquaciousness in its unrefined form. From unprovoked railing against senior political actors in the state to “widow go and die” statement, the needless bombastic demonisation of “men of yesterday” to making himself look like the best graduating student among APC governors, Oshiomhole’s tongue is the fire destroying him and the death knell if eventually unplugged on Wednesday. Unfortunately, his best known media minder, Kazeem Afegbua shares his “limitless” DNA. So, who is going to help comrade-governor? What about committing Proverbs 17:27-28 unto him?

Fayose’s NECO result Clannish dynamics and demographic specifics may differ from state to state, but something must have gone wrong in the last four years for a governor with a scaletipping re-election victory in 2012, to now be engaging in underhand tactics to defeat a political grouping he once vanquished even as a Khaki-donning labour leader.

I know the governor from a distance, but I have heard “close” stories about him. If I add the two perspectives, my perception of his person, politics and persona could be reliable. Regardless of the outcome of the Wednesday contest, which I strongly feel will go APC’s way hook or crook, Oshio won’t be the same people’s comrade again.

His foray into governance has completed his metamorphosis. The unveiling has been total. Unlike when he would pop into Nigerians’ consciousness to pump their aluta adrenaline against governments and retreat until another day, the Oshiomhole being daily seen, is a quasiintellectual, uncrowned philosopher-king, pretentious

With Sulaimon Olanrewaju 08055001708

lanresulaimon@yahoo.com

Another look at Nigerian education system

teachers were always on strike. The same thing happened during their secondary school and university days. For almost 30 years, we had a very unstable school system.

There were people, who, unfortunately, went through the system and they are the ones in various sectors now working. They had no education, they just have certifi-

WHEN you think the Ajantala (the strange one)-he calls himself Irunmole-- in Ekiti, is down and out, he bounces back like the popular unbreke (unbreakable) ball of the halcyon days. Ayodele Peter Fayose is a riddle and it seems God has surplus grace reserved for him. There may be contentions, but his recent NECO result is glittering.

Fayose’s Ekiti came first. He got the state genuinely earning her sobriquet of “Fountain of knowledge.” APC’s argument that the seed for the exploit was sown by its own, Minister Kayode Fayemi as governor, isn’t without merit.

You can’t truly build something on nothing and about 90 per cent of the outstanding students must have come into secondary education when Fayemi stepped into government house about six years ago. But “something” not built on, is also useless. In a Nigeria of evil politicking, Fayose could, in the time he has been in government, dismantle everything Fayemi could claim as legacies, including innocent students’ future. cates. Hence, unemployment is on the rise in the country because of the glaring knowledge gap.

I think we are in this pass because we have yet to answer the question; what is the purpose of education in Nigeria? While we are groping in the dark concerning what we want to achieve with our education system, our forebears had no such problem; they were clear headed on the purpose they wanted education to serve at the time. In the 1960s, education was seen not just as the key to economic, technological and intellectual development of the young country, but also as an avenue to secure employment with government or industry thereby improving the life of the individual. Hence, the mantra was, “Show the light, and the people will find the way.”

Those who embraced education at that time were not disappointed because their aspirations were fully met.

So, in the 21st century, are we educating to make the beneficiaries job seekers or job creators? If we want products of our education system to be job creators do the curricula we employ support such? If the curricula currently in use in our schools will not make entrepreneurs out of the recipients how are we addressing that?

Education holds the key to the problems plaguing this country. But those in charge need to know that since every society is dynamic, its need per time will be different.

Therefore to ensure that education continues to be of relevance to a people, it has to rise to the level of the society’s dynamism. If that is not done, education will fail the people and subsequently lose its relevance in that society.

If we had acted on time and made our education such that graduates can start off their own businesses, the unfortunate incident of 2014 where about 520,000 applicants vied for 4,000 vacancies at the Nigerian Immigration Service, which resulted in stampede that left about 21 applicants dead and many others injured, would not have happened. Neither would over 700,000 have applied for 10,000 vacancies in the police.

Now is the time to tweak our education system with a view to making it meet the needs of today and tomorrow, not those of yesterday.

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25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

An actress once left film location ’cos she needed sex — Bakky Adeoye, Ireti Osayemi’s husband

Adeoye Bakare is one of the production managers and movie directors in the Yoruba and English speaking movies. With over three decades on the job, Adeoye, who is referred to as Bakky Adeoye has made his mark in the industry. In this interview with TAYO GESINDE and SEGUN ADEBAYO, the husband of actress, Ireti Osayemi, speaks on his career and how he copes with being married to an actress.

Why do people call you Bakky Osha?

My name is Adeoye Bakare but many people know me as Bakky in the movie industry. In fact, a lot of people call me Bakky Adeoye while some call me Bakky Osha.

Bakky is an alias coined out of Bakare and Osha was added to it.

Do you feel comfortable when people call you Osha?

Even if I wasn’t comfortable with it at the beginning, I don’t think I can change that now. I never felt bad about the name because from the beginning, I know what Osha stands for in Yoruba land. Osha might sound like a deity but it is not a bad thing.

I am a Nigerian and an African deity is part of us; it is part of our culture.

Do you believe in deities?

I am an African man, so I know what deity means and I believe it exists. It is part of

us even if we do not believe in it. Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, it does not change the African belief. You can’t separate an African man from his deities. They are part of the African experience, they are part of the African man, but that has nothing to do with why they call me Osha. The Osha that people call me is not about deity, it is basically about work.

You have been on this job for decades and you don’t seem to get tired or give up. How has the journey been so far?

I studied Dramatic Arts in the University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University. As a student, you had various special areas that you could go into. There were acting; directing, management, costume and makeup, lighting, set and design, dance and chorography but some of us felt that we should go for directing. We knew that the person’s

voice you are going to hear on a film set or on a theatre set is the voice of the director.

He is the one that says action! So, basically, I wanted directing and I read directing but I have flair for management and as such, I attended a lot of management classes even up to part four. Though I did not do my project on management but a lot of people thought I combined management and directing.

When we left school, which was before Nollywood or before the serious emergence of Nigerian film and movies, Niji Akanni and I started looking for jobs that were related to what we studied in school.

So you and Niji Akanni have come a long way?

Yes we have been friends since 1984.

Those days, when we were looking for jobs, it was quite difficult for the two of us to work on a job as directors. So, in order to save ourselves the stress, we decided that I

should take the management job because of my flair for it while he focused on directing.

If the owners of the job wanted me to direct or there were more jobs to handle, that is when I would direct. That was how my journey into stage management started. Niji has always been known with directing from day one.

For somebody who hardly appears on TV like some of your colleagues, how do you make money from being a production person?

If it is about the money, I would not be in production again because there is no money in the job.

How come you have remained on a job that does not give you money?

It is not that it does not bring money to your pocket but how much is the money Continues on pg21

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25 September, 2016

Segun Adebayo tegbollistic@yahoo.com 08116954644

Sunday Tribune Seyi Sokoya seyi_sky@yahoo.com 08075166585

PEFTI inducted into LESA hall of honour

I’m not moved by negative comments

PENCILS Film and Television Institute (PEFTI) was celebrated at the 2016 edition of the Lagos Entrepreneurship Students Awards (LESA), which took place at University of Lagos on September 15, as it was inducted into LESA’s esteemed Hall of Honour.

The event, where awards were given to enterprising students in the state, also inducted other selected institutions and persons who have been instrumental in developing the entrepreneurial drive of the youth; including Dr Idiat Adebule, Deputy Governor of Lagos State; Hon. Kehinde Odeneye, Member House of

—Halima Abubakar Stories By Segun Adebayo

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OLLYWOOD actress, Halima Abubakar, is in the news again. This time, she is hitting out at her critics who would not back down on leaving negative comments on her posts, especially her pictures.

Weeks after stunning her fans when she said she was a virgin and that she could not wait to start having children, Abubakar has insisted that she did not care about what her critics say anymore when she shared a sexy photo of herself and captioned it “Always wanted to wear a shirt ps no sermons. It is not Friday or Sunday Namaste.”

Abubakar said people always comment on most of her posts, saying that she does not get bothered about the negative comments that usually trail her posts.

She addded that “People always comment on most of my posts. You know Nigerians like to criticise whether they understand the language or not.

“I just want to believe that they want to talk. I don’t want to talk about my post where I said that I was a virgin and couldn’t wait to have children. I posted what I wanted and that was it. I have been getting negative comments from people for over 13 years; I think my body is used to it by now.

“Negative comments do not move me at all and I do not even have emotional feelings towards such.”

Representatives and Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye, also a number of the House of Representatives Abuja.

The Managing Director of PEFTI, Abiola Adenuga, said that: “Since we launched in 2004, we have trained over 6,000 young people from across Nigeria and other parts of Africa; and we are excited at the great things they have accomplished within and outside the entertainment industry. This recognition

by LESA means a lot to us, and we continue to play our role in strengthening the nation’s economy by training future employers of labour.”

Airboy joins Aquila records, promises to fulfill dreams AQUILA records have moved fast to replace the departure of one of its acts, Tillaman, who was dropped by the label last week with the announcement of another act, Airboy.

Tillaman, who spent almost two years with Aquila, left the label with mutual consent to float his record label and take his music career to another deimension.

At the unveiling of Ayomide Oluwasegun Odebunmi, otherwise known as Airboy to the media in

Lagos State on Wednesday, the record label maintained that it was ready to unleash another multitalented music star on the music scene to keep their fans entertained and thrilled as the year rolls to an end.

Speaking at the event, held at Aquila’s office at Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Victoria Island, the record label’s PR manager, Ibrahim Babatunde, otherwise known as Skillz, stated that the move to bring in Airboy to Aquila had been

in the offing for weeks, adding that Airboy’s talent coupled with his dexterity contributed largely to their decision to bring him on board.

“We are excited that Airboy is joining us. We know what he has to offer and we are ready to take his career to a whole new level that would change the game in the in-

dustry. We have set the ball rolling for him and you all will begin to see this embodiment of talent when we start to release his works for people to hear.”

Supremacy Concert will cut across all audience, music preference —Organiser THE organiser of Supremacy Concert has said the selection of KSA, Dbanj, Wizkid, 2face and Asa to perform at the concert is based on the need to provide entertainment that cuts across age, gender and preference.

“We are catering for people from two generation and different taste and preference when it comes to entertainment. Our focus is not just on youths or upwardly mobile, we are catering for the corporate guys and the elderly.

“If you don’t like KSA, you will like Wizkid, and if your preference is soul music, Asa wil be on hand to provide that and as always 2face will be dishing out his classics from hip hop to contemporary Afro pop.

And the pure entertaining energy of Dbanj will cut across as well.

“So it is not a concert restricted to a particular audience,” Jide Oya-

lowo who works in the media part of the concert, said.

Made-in-Nigeria (MaIN) Festival have lined up list of performers for the maiden edition of the Supremacy Concert to hold on October 1 at the Eko Atlantic, Lagos.

The Supremacy Concert will be the climax of a seven-day event which it claimed would attract dignitaries such as the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola; Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Ronald Chagoury, Mr Ben Akabueze, Director General Budget Office, among others.

The Made-in-Nigeria Festival is being organized by MaIN Group, a collaboration of private sector organisations. Board of Advisors

of the initiative is said to include: Prince Adesegun Oniru, Mr. Aliko Dangote, Dr. (Mrs.) Stella Okoli, Mr. Ronald Chagoury, and Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

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Sunday Tribune

For 12 hours, Ondo stood still for Sunny Ade

By Seyi Sokoya

I

T was King Sunny Ade’s 70th birthday. The venue was the Civic Centre in Ondo State and the dignitaries who thronged the venue to celebrate with the man many people refer to as King of juju music would not forget in a hurry the dance steps, music and excitement that the event represented.

The event had dominated public discourse for months and when the drums were finally rolled out in honour of KSA, the excitement that rent the air once again illustrated what makes KSA the man after the hearts of many people.

Just like the Oleku Concert which rocked the entertainment

firmament four years ago when KSA and Evangelist Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi performed together on stage for the first time, KSA’s 70th birthday brought back same memories but this time it was Obey who was singing while KSA joined with dancing steps that left dignitaries in awe.

Obey, who was the last artiste to perform at the event, stirred the joy of the celebrant who could not resist the vibes, lyrics and melodies of Obey’s music.

It was only a matter time before KSA was joined on stage by dignitaries who danced with the celebrant.

The event, which was organised by the gospel music indus-

try, witnessed a large turnout of music lovers, most of whom were youths, who chorused the songs with Obey as he dished them out.

Representative of the Ondo State governor, Dr Kola Ademujimi, led other top government functionaries to the event. Assistant General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Johnson Odesola, represented the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Obas and clerics were also in attendance.

The event was anchored by ace broadcaster, Ambrose Somide and Taiwo Akinsola and it featured performances of legends and current artistes.

Glo’s Professor Johnbull dissects beauty in 10th episode

By Rotimi Ige THE age-long controversy over what constitutes and defines beauty in women was unraveled in Episode 10 of Professor Johnbull, the popular TV satire sponsored by Globacom.

In the episode entitled “Beautiful Girls,” the guest artiste, Bovi Ugboma, was briefed by Professor Johnbull to source lady ushers who would assist with protocol duties at a proposed seminar on domestic violence.

He brought girls whose online pictures presented as light skinned but who, in reality, were dark skinned.

This deceit incurred the wrath of Professor Johnbull who expressed contempt on the act and dubbed the girls as “liars, impostors, prevaricators and spinners of yarn.”

An incensed Professor Johnbull migrated to Olaniyi’s bar to cool down the nerves with a mortar of nkwobi, a local delicacy. He was joined by his daughter, Eliza, who asked him why he ran away from the house. Professor Johnbull expatiated his beauty thesis by submitting that preference for light complexion was the genesis of the problem being faced by some women.

Unknown to Professor Johnbull, Bovi and Samson misconstrued his rejection of the first set of girls to mean a love for light-skinned girls

and they struggled to bring three light skinned girls to Professor Johnbull’s house. This led to fisticuffs between Bovi and Samson which necessitated Caro (Mercy Johnson) running to fetch Professor Johnbull from Olaniyi’s bar.

Whilst trekking home, Elizabeth queried her father over his

love for Olaniyi’s bar, adding that with culinary upgrade she could prepare better nkwobi than Olaniyi, prompting Professor Johnbull to defend his preference by saying he frequents the joint for camaraderie and cross fertilization of communal accord and unity.

Pastor Joseph Adelakun, popularly known as Ayewa, Ojo Ade, Akin Adebayo, otherwise known as Imole Ayo; GOMAN president, Funmi Aragbaye, Yinka Ayefele, Dunni Olarewaju, popularly known as Opeleope Anointing, Tope Alabi, Esther Igbekele, Bukola Akinade, Bisi AlawiyeAluko, Kehinde Ologoara and delegates of Ondo State Gospel Musician Association of Nigeria (GOMAN) led by the its governor, Reverend David Akinadewo, among others, also thrilled fans.

The RCCG mass choir ushered the celebrant into the presence of God with the popular Hallelujah Chorus, just as KSA knelt down thanking God after eating from his birthday cake. He would later receive an award of excellence from the executives of the Nigerian Society of Physiotherapy.

The side attraction Another snippet at the event was the discovery of one of the children of KSA, Solomon Adegeye, who seems to be following in his father’s steps through the gift of dance. Young Solomon, who also keeps same hair cut like that of his father, was cynosure of all eyes at the event.

‘RepYourHood 9th edition will be special’ THE 9th edition of RepYourHood (RYPHD), a show put together to provide platform for budding entertainers in Ibadan,

Oyo State, would come with a special treat this time, the organisers have assured.

The leader of GTS gang and founder or RepYourHood, Akeeb Lawal, disclosed this during an intereactive session with newsmen at Agodi Gardens, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday.

The show, which many youths in Ibadan and its envrons always look forward to, is in its ninth season and will hold at the Options24/Seven, Ikolaba GRA, Ibadan, next wek Friday with top Ibadan popular acts already lined up to headline the gig.

The show has become one of the favourite events that unite the youths in the city and provide them the needed platform to showcase their talents and take their career to a new level through the platform.

According to Lawal, RepYourHood was created to serve as a

support platform for budding entertainers.

“As an artiste management outfit, we know how difficult it is for artistes to get opportunity to perform at major events. This show gives these acts an opportunity to perform for an audience made up of mainly industry playmakers, thereby allowing them direct access and interact during and after the show.”

Lawal, whose GTS acts headed by Tundey Fa Tundey, Big Carter, who was discovered at the first edition of RYHD1, while Slim Feez, who came to reckoning at RYHD 5 would be opening the show, added further that “this time round, we will be visiting a district that the show has never been held.

We have partnered with radio stations and DJ association to provide qulaity disc jockeys for the event.”

The event attracted ‘area boys’ and local drummers who attempted to force their way into the venue but were resisted by the security agencies. Some of them managed to get to the VIP section where dignitaries and music stars were seated.

In his remarks, KSA thanked everyone, saying, “I am delighted and grateful for this honour.

I thank everyone that celebrated me. On behalf of my family, band and fans worldwide, I say thank you all especially to my fathers and mothers in the Lord.

This is an event that makes a great difference in the history of my life.”

SMW signs rapper, Dnot

By Seyi Sokoya SALOME Music Worldwide has unveiled its first artiste Adekunle Toheeb Omadara, otherwise known as Dnot.

Dnot, who is also gifted in delivering poet lyrics in free-flowing indigenous Yoruba language, is also a music teacher in one of the secondary schools in Lagos State.

He added that, “music is my call and I enjoy teaching it. My students and I have won a couple of awards to show for this.”

The lyricist, who has also worked with artistes such as 9ice and Dj Jimmy Jatt, among others, has shot a music video which will begin promotion on major urbane music channels and satellite stations within and outside Nigeria.

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25 September, 2016

PEOPLE

places&parties with Segun Adebayo

Powered by:

| tegbollistic@yahoo.com | 08116954644

Aliko Dangote’s desire I

Steeve Babaeko celebrates with wife

T is no more news that Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has an undying love for English Premier League club, Arsenal Football Club.

The Chairman of Dangote Group is not new to taking big steps that have earned the position he currently occupies as Africa’s richest man. He is reportedly worth around £8.3billion.

Months back, news emerged that the business mogul lost £3.4billion due to the depreciation in the country’s currency, but trust the billionaire business man, he has since moved on to even bigger things.

PPP scooped that the billionaire businessman has not given up his dream of buying the English club, even if he has to wait for three or four years to achieve his dream. He has expressed his interest to take over Arsenal on a number of occasions but nothing concrete has come out of the deal. According to him, “Maybe three to four years. The issue is that what we have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out of the way first and start having tailwinds. Then I’ll focus on this.”

ADVERTSING guru and owner X3M music company, Steeve Babaeko is savouring every moment he has shared with her wife, Yetunde. Their union clocked 1o years during the week and the sweet words they both exchanged on that day suggested that they would wish to spend more decades of their lives together. Apart from being a successful advertising expert, Babaeko delved into music some years back and established X3M music, a record label which is home to MTN Project Fame winner, Praize Adaejo and Nigerian songstress, Simi.

The hardworking lover of music has never hidden his love for his wife Yetunde and on their special day, it was expected that he would spare no words to appreciate the woman in his life. Yetunde was the first to profess her love for her husband when she wrote “Yesterday we looked at our wedding video again. We laughed so hard. About funny faces, hilarious speeches...But mostly out of happiness that all of the people who were there with us are still in our lives and because the amount of love we felt that day is still the same today.”

RMD still runs the show

Temitayo Ologburo shines with Asabi BeautyInline image AT a time her peers were stuck to their parents’ aprons, expecting the usual token for their upkeeps, Temitayo Ologburo, daughter of Ibadan businessman, Alhaji Tunde Ologburo, is already carving a niche as one of the best beauticians and the only Nigerian that holds the magic brush in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The final year Business Administration student of the

Sunday Tribune

University of Wollongong, Dubai, has a reputation as the makeup artiste you consult whenever you have an occasion in that part of the world.

She has on her profile some high octane parties like the wedding ceremony of popular OAP, Toolz, the wedding of singer, Davido’s sister and other prominent events in recent times where she was contracted to beautify the brides and their train.

The makeup artiste, who has also found herself on the list of Young Influential People in Asia, is not resting on her oars as she seeks to do more in her field and also encourage many other people all over the world with her knowledge and experience in the beauty business.

Her temitayo_beauty brand is an inspiring tale the world is waiting to hear, a story laced on a strong theme of perseverance.

FOR Nollywood actor, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD) there is no saying goodbye to acting.

Even despite being away for more than eight years on a political assignment in Delta State with former governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, the tall and handsome actor appears to have picked up from where he stopped as he would reveal that the scripts would not stop trickling in.

Though, age does not seem to be on his side again, one thing that has kept RMD on top of his game is his relevance in the movie industry and the fatherly role he now plays among his colleagues, especially the younger ones who see him as a rallying point.

Days back in Toronto, Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), RMD did not only steal the show rocking a white Agbada that conferred on him an elderly status he has assumed, he was also the cynosure of all eyes. Shola Shobowale, Kemi Adetiba, RMD Ireti Doyle, Adesua Etomi, Somkele Idhalama, Zainab Balogun, Beverly Naya and more made appearances at the festival.

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25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune With Segun Adebayo &Seyi Sokoya tegbollistic@yahoo.com seyi_sky@yahoo.com 08116954644 08132577840

Continues from pg17

we are talking about?

You don’t get the kind of money you would have wished to have but my passion and love for what I do has kept me on this job till today. I remember in 2007, a friend of mine who was my junior in the university earned almost a million naira. By that time, I don’t think I make up to N100, 000 in a month. If I had quit my job then to go into banking job, by now, I am sure my salary can’t be less than N5million. I love what I am doing and I thank God for the level I have attained on the job. In fact, these days, a lot of people find it difficult to employ me as a production manager, they now employ me as a line producer where I oversee the artistic budget.

I now do what the director does and even more because I do the casting of the actors, directors and other important roles in any movie. They know that the value I can add to their job is more than what they will get if I was hired as a production manager alone.

Some people say a production manager has nothing much to do on set, but I tell them that what we do on set is bigger than what any other member of the crew does. You don’t want to be on set when there is crisis, you will know that we don’t joke on set.

‘I met my actress-wife during a fight’

What kind of crisis are you referring to?

Crisis comes almost every day on location. Take for example, you have been using a site where you want to shoot 50 scenes and you have paid. You have agreed with the owner of that facility that you are going to stay for five days. On the third day, the owner of the building comes around to tell you that you should vacate his premises.

You can’t just leave like that because there is what we call continuity. That is one of the problems we face as production managers.

Another problem is keeping the actors on set for the number of days you have agreed to spend. You can imagine a situation when your lead actor walks up to you and says he or she wants to go home to attend to some family issues. You can’t stop the person from going, especially when they tell you that he or she has just lost his or her father or mother. In most cases, these people may not be telling you the truth. Then you begin to wonder why they want to leave the set in the middle of the shooting.

Have you had such experiences before?

I have experienced this several times. It happens at every location, especially when you have more than one location. Sometimes, we spend about seven, 10 days when you are shooting a big project or a cinema job. We spend about six months or more when you are shooting television series. I

have been on a set before when a lady came to me and said she could not sleep in the camp that night. When I asked her why, she said she wanted to be with her boyfriend that night. She told me in plain language that she must have sex that night. This is somebody you could not afford to lose because you needed her to take her role that night. She said she must leave the location by six or seven o’ clock because she would not be able to get there if she was late. She promised to be back the next day to complete her role. I pleaded with her to wait and even promised to drive her to her boyfriend’s place. Two days before she came to, I noticed she was acting strange. She was giving everybody serious problem on set. I never knew that what she needed was to have sex. These things happen on the job every day.

Don’t you think you could have been more famous and richer if you had concentrated on acting rather than being behind the scene?

No, I don’t feel bad. In fact, sometimes I feel embarrassed that I am too popular.

That is why I don’t even want to appear in movies again. I have appeared in a couple of movies but I don’t want to appear in movies again because I don’t want to be known.

Are you tired of the job?

I don’t want to act in movies. I don’t want to be seen. I don’t want to be in the face of people. I have a wife who is known in the movie industry. When people meet me on the road and ask If I was Bakky Adeoye, I feel bad. In fact, sometimes I feel that it was my wife that made people to know me more. I don’t want our viewers to know me. I want them to know my job and say that was Bakky Adeoye’s work.

How do you handle being married to a popular actress and how does it feel when you have to be on the same set

with her?

We have been on set many times, so there can’t be any problem being on the same set with her. Even before we got married, we knew that when we get on set, it is a different Bakky Adeoye. What we have on set is an actor – director relationship or an actor –manager relationship. I had been on the panel to audition my wife. I told her that the moment she stepped into that venue, she ceased to be my wife. I told her that if she does not impress the panel at the auditioning, I would be the first person to say no.

So your emotions don’t let you calm down with her?

I get a bit harsh on her than normal artiste when we are on set.

How did the journey start with you and your wife and what was the attraction?

I saw a young lady on the set of a movie.

Though, I wasn’t part of the set but I had a small hotel in Ikorodu. Suddenly, problem started in the hotel and people were fighting. People started saying go and call Bakky, when he comes, he would settle it.

When I got there, people were expecting me to condemn the person who caused the problem, but they were shocked to see that instead of apportioning blames, I deiced to hug the person. While I was do-

I don’t want to act in movies. I don’t want to be seen. I don’t want to be in the face of people. I have a wife who is known in the movie industry.

ing that, I noticed a young lady standing by the side fuming. She expected me to join them to condemn the person in the middle of the crisis but I acted otherwise. After the dust had settled, I approached her and we started talking. We later became friends and the rest is history today.

Was it difficult to ask her out?

I don’t ask girls out.

What do you do?

I make friends with you and you will be able to read between the lines. We played a lot and I always gave her pieces of advice.

Along the line, the coast was getting clearer for me and I seized the opportunity. Today, I am proud to be her husband. I am very proud of her.

She was that young lady then but she has become a big actress today, how are you coping with that?

She is still a young girl to me. There was a time people were saying she was getting fatter. She would ask me if it was true and I would throw the question back at her because I have not noticed any changes on her body. She still looks young.

What is the secret of your marriage in an industry where marriages crumble almost every day?

The marriage is still young and the first major secret is God. If God does not build a house, the labourers are working in vain.

No matter how intelligent or rich you are, I think the first thing one should acknowledge is the God factor. We put God first in everything we want to do. The second that I think has kept us together is maturity. I am more matured than her, I try to counsel her regularly on the things she needs to do. I appreciate the gap between us and she also shows equal respect. This is my second marriage and I wouldn’t want this one to crash, so I try to take things easy and treat her with respect and dignity.

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25 September, 2016

makeover

Sunday Tribune

Rita Okonoboh 08053789087 tribunemakeover@gmail.com

Recession: Affordable things you can do for flawless skin

T

Moisturise Moisturising the skin may not necessarily be by using artificial products. Instead, choose natural ways to moisturise the skin, such as using olive oil, natural shea butter and even coconut oil. Most of these natural products are available at local markets and are very affordable.

Determine your skin type Skin types range between oily, dry, normal and a combination of all three skin types. For normal skin, it should feel supple and smooth, especially in varying weather conditions. For oily skin, the texture feels greasy and usually requires that you dry off often. For dry skin, it feels flaky and can even look scaly in various portions, especially if exposed to cold water. Combination skin exhibits features of oily, normal and dry skin. Determining your skin type is the most important factor for getting flawless skin.

Remove makeup before bed As tired as you may be from the day’s job, always remember it as a rule to get rid of makeup before bedtime. There are various kinds of makeup, so some may require more than just washing off the face. For these products, you can use a makeup remover. And for those who find themselves so tired that they sometimes forget to wash off makeup, keep some face wipes handy, so that all you need to do is just wipe off your makeup before bed.

Eat right Food is also a major determinant in achieving flawless skin. The food we eat plays various roles in preventing or speeding up wrinkles and determines the health of the skin. For flawless skin, eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Also opt for natural protein alternatives such as fish and white meat. Also, do not forget to hydrate the skin by drinking enough water.

Rest The economic situation may make you feel stressed and push you over the edge in the effort to make more money. Getting enough rest, especially in the form of sleep, is very important. If you want the skin to retain its flawless state, you need to find time to rest. It will not only help to keep your skin in top shape, but will also prevent the frequent occurrence of dark circles.

Photo: www.prettyimpression.blogspot.com

HE skin is one of the most important organs of the body, and as such, it is necessary to take good care of it. However, with the financial challenges the current state of the nation’s economy presents, below are a few tips to ensure that your skin stays as flawless as ever without breaking the bank:

‘I always warn ladies against toning creams’ Mrs Regina Poopola, an Ibadan, Oyo State-based skincare therapist, in this interview, reveals beauty tips for flawless skin.

WHAT does your job as a skin therapist entail?

I attend to clients with skin infections and pigmentations. I also lecture people on how to take care of their skin.

Some people wrongly assume that the solution to their skin problems is the application of a recommended cream.

Skin blemishes may be due to change in hormones. In situations like that, I ask them to determine the probable cause, which most times could be as a result of changing cream. I also advise clients on the dangers of skin toning.

These days, most ladies want to have fair skin and when they come to me to recommend creams that would make them fairer overnight, I always advise them against it. It is advisable to have a brighter skin while maintaining your natural skin tone. Most times, I would advise them to take more water and consume lots of fruits.

What causes acute acne?

Sometimes, it may be a result of changing hormones. As we advance in age, our hormones change as well. For such complaints, I usually ask my clients to massage their faces with fresh tomatoes mixed with honey every morning.

It deeply cleanses the skin. When clients come to me for acne-free cream, sometimes I encourage them to just go home and drink a lot of water and take vitamins; it is not everything that using creams can cure.

How would you differentiate between using organic skincare products and chemically-produced skin care products?

Although, organic skincare products take time before showing results compared to the chemically-produced options, the truth of the matter is that the former is safer than the latter. I usually recommend herbal skincare products mixed with cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut oil and lemon oil. For ladies that want to brighten up their skin, it’s safer to use lemon oil than chemical serum. Although, serum oil brightens the body faster, natural lemon oil is safer.

What is your take on the craze for bleaching among women?

I don’t encourage people to bleach; it is like peeling off the first layer of the skin. When you bleach off the first layer of the skin, it would become prone to all sorts of diseases. It also results to dark knuckles and wrinkles.

Is your line of business financially rewarding?

It is not very lucrative because organic product ingredients such as fruits are not easy to preserve due to poor electricity supply.

23

foreignfeature

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Some of the girls.

Nigerian girls as young as 16 in Spain forced to pay €1,000 a day for sex slavery

Money recovered from them by the Spanish police

P

ROSTITUTES as young as 16 who were taken to Ibiza, Spain, for the tourist sex trade then beaten with brooms and sticks if they didn’t bring in €1,000 a day have been rescued by police.

The victims, who were lured to the Spanish mainland with fake promises of jobs, according to Daily Mail of UK, were forced to work 14 hours a day.

One of the women, police have revealed, was just 16 years of age. All 21 are Nigerian and were working in the exclusive districts of Ibiza.

A major operation carried out by the Spanish police in association with the Office of Criminal Investigation in Germany and Europol has led to the arrest of 24 sus-

pects.

“The network captured very young victims among the lower classes of the major Nigerian cities, deceiving them with false job offers in Spain.

“Once in our country, they were forced into prostitution in marathon days, being beaten if they did not earn the money demanded by the gang,” said a police spokesman.

Investigators said Ibiza was chosen for the summer because of the high influx of tourists, with the gang totalling controlling the streets of the exclusive areas.

They were kept in one apartment and only allowed out occasionally to buy food or to keep an appointment with a client.

“If they didn’t earn 1,000 euros a day,

they would be forced to kneel for hours and beaten with sticks and brooms,” said the spokesman.

Police found that 17 women were forced to share one apartment of just 30 square metres, with three to four girls sleeping in one single bed.

The vulnerable women were given employment offers ‘too good to refuse’ in view of their poor circumstances but once captured, were unable to escape.

They were subjected to voodoo rituals and sworn to loyalty contracts under the threat of family members being killed.

The women were smuggled into Europe on boats and planes and were only told their job offer was false when they arrived in Spain.

They were then told they would have to pay up to 50,000 pounds to be freed and could do so through prostitution.

Those arrested included two women said to be the ringleaders who had ‘years of experience’ in recruiting vulnerable girls.

Police said they took elaborate steps to avoid detection, often moving the women from house to house.

One of the gang was arrested in Germany where he had tried to hide and five others were found to be members of the 1960s cult called ‘Supreme Eiye Confraternity’.

The money earned from prostitution was sent to Nigeria via Madrid where a bar was used as the front.

Seven properties were raided in Spain and Germany and 20 bank accounts blocked.

24

Sunday Tribune

Sunday Tribune

25 September, 2016

glamour —Anne Ibrahim

Foray into acting I got into acting in 2010. Then, I went for an Emem Isong audition in Surulere, Lagos State and I was selected to play a sub-lead role in the Series CATWALQ. That was how I started my journey into acting. Apart from that, I have featured in Tinsel, Family Ties, Two Sides of a Coin, Lagos Cougars, Jenifa’s Diary and so on.

Anne Emmanuel Ibrahim is an award-winning gospel musician known in the entertainment industry as Anny. She speaks with TAYO GESINDE on her journey in the gospel music and how she has been coping with competition. Excerpts:

Challenges faced as an up-and-coming actress The major challenge I faced was people not believing that one has talent and also finding it difficult to get jobs. However, through consistency and hard work, I have been able to come this far. Now, people refer me to producers and directors and I thank God for that.

G

ROWING UP I am Uhrobo by tribe from Jesse town in Delta State. I am the fourth of six children. I was born in Delta State but grew up in Kano State. I had all my primary, secondary and tertiary education in Kano State.

Journey into music Music is my passion. As a child, I joined the children’s church choir, where I developed my talent by the help of God. I later moved to the adult choir. It was from there that I started music professionally in 2009.

How I got the role of Pelumi in Jenifa’s Diary I used to work with a media company as a presenter and producer. It was one of my colleagues in the company; Obinna, who introduced me to the producer, Funke Akindele, who asked me to come for audition, I did and the rest is now history.

Coping with competition I am really not here to impress anyone. I celebrate everybody and appreciate their God-given talents but I never failed to get better every day with my craft and also focus on why I am doing music; which is to show forth God’s love and mercy for humanity.

My music also focuses on the one and only God, who is always worthy of praise.

Life as a producer I used to present a programme called E-Drive on Silverbird Television (STV) but I am currently working with R2TV, where I co-host a show called Red Carpet Couture.

Philosophy of life Put God first in all you do and He will lead you. Also, to be called successful, you have to be part of another person’s success.

Description of self I am your girl next door. I love God, my family and my good friends.

Coping with competition Well, I am not in competition with anyone .I am just doing what I love, so I take it one step at a time.

Definition of style Style is an expression of who you are, people can identify who you are with your sense of style. I don’t follow trends, I just wear what I am comfortable in. My mode of dressing is usually determined by where I am going to, whether it is a social event, seminar or just to hang out with friends. However, I love casual outfits a lot because they are really comfortable. I love to be simple and comfortable while also looking good at the same time.

Role model My role model is not any specific person; it is whoever I am able to learn how to live and do things better from. I love sincere people.

Nothing wrong with cosmetic surgery...

—Pelumi of Jenifa’s Diary

Joy Nice, popularly known as Pelumi in Funke Akindele’s Jenifa’s Diary, is an actress, television presenter and an indigene of Akwa Ibom State. In this interview with TAYO GESINDE, she speaks on her career and fashion preferences.

Excerpts: My beauty regimen I drink a lot of water, I try not to go under the sun, eat fruits daily and of course, eat good food.

Favourite designers My sister, Lapax fashion, CLAN and Lanre Da Silva.

I want a man who genuinely loves God, is hardworking and kind to others.

With Tayo Gesinde temiligali03@yahoo.com 08054727801

I’m gospel musician, fashion designer, stylist

Growing up It was really fun. I am the last child in my family. My parents were very protective of me and I was a happy child. Though I was pampered, I wasn’t spoilt. If I did anything wrong they would discipline me. I went to Prime Montessori School for my nursery and primary school and Darman Model College for my secondary education. I am a 300 level Business Administration student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State.

Role models Funke Akindele and Joke Silva because of their hard work and dedication to their craft which has made them continue to be relevant in the industry.

25

Accessories I can’t do without when going out My handbag and shoes.

What I can’t be caught dead wearing I can’t be caught wearing a very short and skimpy dress.

Opinion on toning Well, if you must tone, use the right prod-

ucts so you don’t damage your skin My take on provocative dressing I believe in the saying that dress the way you would want to be addressed. I also believe that one should always dress appropriately.

What I will like to change about myself To improve myself and be better in what I do.

My opinion on cosmetic surgery If you must do it, get a good doctor so you don’t end up damaging your body but I feel God made all of us to be beautiful. I don’t think we should tamper with what He has already done.

Special treat I love going to the spa, shopping and eating good food. That’s how I pamper myself

How I handle advances from male fans Friendly, politely and strictly in a formal way.

Inspiration for music My inspiration comes from God a lot of the time and also my mood. I draw inspiration from things happening around me as well.

Most defining moment of my career so far That was when I got clarity in what and who God has made me to be and not what people thought I was or should be. It was when I started appreciating my own music without attempting to really please anybody but God. It was that moment when all I wanted to sing about was the true story of how good God is.

Assessment of the industry The industry has improved tremendously. There are more professionals and less mediocre.

Pains and gains of celebrity I am not one of those who get carried away by the fact that one is seen on TV, although it feels good when people recognise you and it makes your life a bit easier. Over all, I am coping well.

On people singing gospel music for financial gains alone Well that is relative and for personal reasons. Everything boils down to the reasons they are doing ‘gospel’ music in the first place. I cannot really judge. But I will also leave anyone doing that to their conscience.

Philosophy of life My philosophy of life is to always tell yourself the truth. Never be deceived. Also, be happy no matter what; the choice is yours. Stay focused and stay with God.

Qualities I want in a man I want a man who genuinely loves God, is hardworking and kind to others.

Combining the home front with my career I priortise my time. I am not everywhere at the same time. I put first things first. My family knows all my activities. I also have domestic help to balance up.

Pains and gains of being a celebrity The pain is that you lose your privacy, while the gain is being appreciated for what you do.

Other things I do aside music I am an entrepreneur. I run a fashion house for both adults and children. It is called Purple Wardrobe. I am also a stylist.

To my fans I say God bless you all for all the love and support.

My awards I have a couple of awards like; Best Gospel Musician put together by the women in Art and Entertainment in the United Kingdom. I also got the Cristal

Award for Best Collaboration and two other awards. I have many nominations, including the Best Gospel Art for the Nigerian Music Awards which is not a Gospel award.

Handling advances from male admirers That is not an issue. I mind the level of my involvement with the opposite sex. I also don’t give anyone the room to make advances. I know when to draw the line.

Definition of style Wear what you are most comfortable in. Don’t try too hard to kill. Keep it as simple and easy as possible. Smell and look good without breaking the bank.

Special treat I read in my bedroom or when I am on a trip whether locally or internationally.

Secret of good looks Should I say God? Sincerely, it is God but I also do look after myself well. I do the needful when necessary.

Favourite holiday spot United Kingdom. It is very quiet and always good for fresh thoughts.

What I will like to change about myself Nothing. In all honesty, Nothing!

Advice to young people Know yourself, believe in yourself, be positive about who you are. Accept yourself. Then and only then will you feel so confident about your life and the decision.

Never stay away from God, no matter what happens.

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25 September , 2016

With Akintayo Abodunrin akinjaa03@yahoo.co.uk 08111813058

Unfettering fetters through innocent interventions A review of Jude Idada’s Didi Kanu and the Singing Dwarfs of the North

by ADENIYI TAIWO KUNNU

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IDI Kanu and the Singing Dwarfs of the North is the latest book of the Canadianborn Nigerian, Jude Idada, who writes across genres; having won a number of awards within the creative industry, both home and abroad. He thrusts his latest work, not just on the laps of those who read, but on the shelves of those who must realize that reading children’s literature, particularly this new piece from him, would better their understanding of the world where children love to be and how they would appreciate their navigation to be achieved.

In 250 pages and 16 chapters, Idada embarks on a chronological story, infusing the needed fictive techniques and spattering splashes of spicy details to whet every reader’s appetite. It is not wrong to say rightly, that children are the primary beneficiaries from this delicious read, but if J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series could have so much patronage, even from adults with penchant for magical fantasies, then this work is shoulders’ equal because its content are effortlessly relatable, characteristically fun and guarantees the ultimate satisfaction derived from a well-cooked meal.

The Village of Not Too Happy Beginnings opens the reader up to the background of Didi Kanu, where she is presented as having four siblings besides her parents.

Notably, the poverty that rocks their home does not prevent the parents from the love their children enjoy. Kene – their eldest child and son got educated, so as to support the family when he rounds off. This paid off when he taught Didi Kanu literacy and by the age of six, she could read and write.

Ede, the elderly man known in Didi’s home town of Obosi helps to birth her dreams when he tells stories about the singing dwarfs of the North. Dreams from stories one could say and Didi sure dreamt, but hers went a step ahead, as her waking days and sleeping nights got her acquainted with fantastical realities as presented in the work. The City of Strange Smells and

Book cover Crowded Streets marks another turn in Didi’s life; change enveloped her from Obosi to Lagos where she felt the brief bitter pill of dislike spill on her tongue.

The Big Aunty Who Does Not Like Small Children shows how cruelty towards children could damage a child, however Uncle Ikenna and his wife - Aunty Nonye are Didi’s best gifts, but Aunty Nonye’s step-mother known as Big Aunty almost de-

stroyed the little heroine, but she failed. One could draw lessons of physical limitations of a child and the need for immeasurable love and protection for the same little one time and again.

To Sing or Not To Sing is the fourth chapter that leads to revealing the purpose of Didi’s personality and journey to Lagos.

Always resorting to the songs taught her by Ede and the companionship of Kaliko – the dwarf she sees each time her eyes are closed, the heroine leads the pack in this voyage of intrigues; from the familiar to the strange and further into the better-imagined unbelievable. The fifth chapter corroborates the sixth because When Love is Shared and Pain is Spared, then one will have The Sacrifice that Must be Made. From sending Big Aunty away from their home because of her cruelty, to the accident that sends Uncle Ikenna intoa coma; the sudden swings of fate as well as the manipulation of fortune could not be better crafted. How many times one finds strength in the companionship of un-equals may be asked, but the answer is quickly supplied in the closeknit support that Aunty Nonye gets from little Didi-Kanu. A problem shared may be half-solved, but when the one with whom it is shared is also a witness, then the feelings become cyclical.

The near-death situation results in Didi’s unplanned return to the village and as one chosen to explore the depths of the unseen, strengthening the sweetness of seeming realistic fantasies, she is made to ride on the horseback of time, spiraling into the world where there is the unseen eye at the middle of creation. Life has hurdles and Didi en-

Buhari hails Nollywood, wants filmmakers to promote unity

FOR all it has done and continues to do for the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari has hailed the Nigerian film industry, otherwise known as Nollywood.

In a foreword he personally signed in a brochure on the film industry entitled ‘Nollywood: Nigerian Film Industry at a Glance’ published by the Africa Film Academy (AFA) and presented at the recently concluded Toronto International Film Fes-

tival (TIFF) in Canada, President Buhari acknowledged Nollywood’s growth from humble beginnings.

He also noted how it has “metamorphosed into a big industry employing thousands of people, contributing to the national Gross Domestic Product and empowering a new generation of creative entrepreneurs.”

The President who also hailed legend-

Majid Michel, Muyiwa Ademola, I.K Ogbonna, others nominated for AIFF Awards AHEAD of the 2016 Abuja International Film Festival (AIFF) taking place from October 4 to 7, organizers have released the list of nominees for the festival awards.

The list released by the Olumide Akindeleled College of Screeners pits some interesting films and actors against themselves in the available 15 categories.

Contending for the Best Male Actor prize are the likes of Daniel K. Daniel, Gene Beret, Majid Michel, Muyiwa Ademola, I.K Ogbonna, Jiang Hu and Prince David Osei.

In the frame for Best Female Actress are Bukky Wright, Ann Njemanze, Linda Ejiofor, Juliet Ibrahim, Joke Muyiwa, Judith Audu and Noorttje Heerlar.

Four films, Love Is a Prank, Amakye and Dede, Go Slow, and ATM are in contention for Outstanding Comedy while seven films will aim to win the Outstanding Feature

counters hers, because her introduction into another realm in a bid to learn a song needed for the resuscitation of her dear uncle, she faces every kind of test a seeker encounters. The instructive un-raveling in Didi’s cosmic sojourn is her repeated references to what she had seen as well as have been rightly taught by her parents, sibling and her hosts in Lagos.

It is this juncture that connotes the realistic experiences of children, demonstrating what has been imbibed overtime when they are alone. From The Keeper’s Searchers Gates to The Oarsmen of The Bottomless Lake; The forever Arguing Fairies of The Perfumed Gardens and The Mountains of The North, she keeps her sanity, expressing her fears and Sticking to the Truth.

She seeks to learn the song that awakens from the Never-Ending Sleep, but the book has only to be read to appreciate the maze of life’s packages for this eight year old. Jude Idada has simply, yet dexterously given to literary enthusiasts and book lovers the world where children live, combining the reality of their fantasies in a situation where innocence can never be corrupted by the near-truths of adulterated adulthood.

The pages will unfold in bright colourations, your heart will melt in addictive empathy, the discovery of your childhood will be perfectly entrenched and ultimately, you will be delivered by creative effervescence of this real writer of a fictive piece, in which there is a fictive female character who makes all things real.

Kunnu is with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Lagos

Muyiwa Ademola

Bukky Wright

Film (Indigenous). They are: A Soldier’s Story, Love is a Prank, Adie Balokun, Eni Owo, The Boss is Mine, Conscripted and Gidi Blues.

Organizers disclosed that 721 entries were received from 47 countries and that 273 of these came from Nigeria.

On the quality of African entries, Akindele said the screeners observed a major improvement and that several of the themes addressed topical societal issues.

Winners of the various categories will be announced at the festival’s award ceremony on October 7.

ary filmmakers including the late Hubert Ogunde, Duro Ladipo and Adeyemi Afolayan, charged the current crop of filmmakers to continue to use their works to promote values that unite Nigeria.

He pledged his administration’s support for the industry, noting that “our government will continue to support the creative sectors of its economy so as to encourage our teeming youths while we enjoin our filmmakers to continue to project the image of Nigeria and the continent of Africa in a positive way through their story lines. Filmmakers should not make films for art sake. Films should be functional and socially relevant.

“I want to see more films that celebrate our diversity, films that celebrate the achievements of our people, films that promote social causes of right to education, films that tells us the evil of domestic violence against men and women, films that inspire hope and faith in our country and humanity in general.”

In the brochure’s introduction, AFA founder, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, described it as a reference material on the Nigerian film industry. She said, “This is a compendium on the motion picture industry in Nigeria that emerged post 1990 and that is popularly called Nollywood. It was conceived by the Africa Film Academy (AFA) to be a quick guide and reference material to help anyone understand the story of Nollywood, how it evolved, the staying power and the roles that stakeholders across the value chain play.”

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25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

thepolity National assets: Going, going, going…

For three days last week, the Senate debated the current economic recession, with no fewer than 60 Senators offering possible ways out of the economic quagmire. Group Politics Editor, TAIWO ADISA highlights the key components of Senate’s anti-recession pill.

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number of opinions called on the National Assembly to suspend its annual recess when Nigeria eventually plunged into recession in accordance with statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Some had expected that the lawmakers would call an emergency session to address the situation and take bold steps to support Federal Government’s economic policies.

But as a result of what was called legislative realities, the lawmakers kept to their holiday schedule and were even forced to add a week due to the public holidays declared by the government.

Thus, on resumption on September 20, there was no pretense as to the urgency of the matter at hand. The Senate, which sat on Tuesday, launched out at the problem, beginning with a long speech by its President, Dr Bukola Saraki. The next legislative day, a full-scale debate unfolded. The debate on the floor on Wednesday and Thursday can only be likened to what is usually witnessed on two other critical occasions in the legislature. One is when the lawmakers debate the annual budget speech and the other is when a debate on constitution amendment is afoot.

Almost all the Senators that attended the sittings spoke on the matter at hand, proffering solutions they believed could help Nigeria out of the doldrums.

Saraki, who kicked off the debate on Tuesday, made some 14 recommendations which he said the government could adopt to shore up its finances. He said that the National Assembly was ready to take every legislative measure that would facilitate Nigeria’s quick recovery from recession.

Saraki told the nation that he interacted with members of his constituency during the break and discovered that Nigerians were finding things increasingly difficult.

He said while he attempted to explain to his constituents that the economic hardship must have been caused by the past administrations which refused to do what was necessary, the consensus among the people was that they were not interested in how we got to where we are but in government’s plans to get the country out of the predicament.

“To them, the only explanation that makes sense at the moment is that which puts food on the table, reduces price of rice, garri, salt, sugar, meat and saves jobs,” he said.

Saraki Saraki then reeled off his recommendations one of which advised the executive to put in place a pro-business leadershiplevel engagement platform in link with the private sector to show its readiness to partner with the business community towards economic revival.

He also advised the executive to raise funds from asset sales and other sources to shore up foreign reserves. According to him, this will calm investors, discourage currency speculation and stabilise the economy. One of the measures, according to him, should include part sale of NLNG Holdings; reduction of government share in upstream oil joint venture operations; sale of government stake in financial institutions like Africa Finance Corporation; and the privatisation and concession of major/regional airports and refineries. Saraki also asked the executive arm of government to consider tweaking the pension funds policy and ensuring its usage for investment in infrastructure and mortgages.

Other measures highlighted by Saraki include easing and harmonisation of monetary and fiscal policies to stimulate the economy while ensuring the local bor-

Ekweremadu rowing does not crowd out credit for the private sector; re-tooling of export promotion policy scheme and resumption of incentives such as Export Expansion Grant (EEG); engagement of the restive youths of Niger Delta to shore up oil production; immediate release of funds to ensure short-term injection of money into the economy; directly support for the agricultural and the agro-allied sector; evolution of immediate strategies to ease the suffering of the ordinary people; passage of priority bills such as the Petroleum Industry bill by the National Assembly, among others.

According to the Senate President, those bills can ginger economic reforms, free up capital and provide the opportunities to get the nation out of recession. He also mentioned the need to explore the possibility of backing certain key government policies with legislations to give confidence to investors He concluded: “It is clear to me that when people are desperately hungry, what they need is leadership with a clear vision; leadership whose daily actions reflect the very urgency of the people’s condition.

Therefore, our response to the current

challenge must be dictated by the urgency of the hardship that the people suffer on a daily basis.”

There is no doubt that the most contentious suggestion by Saraki is the call for sale of critical assets to shore up foreign reserves. On the same day, business mogul and Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and former Central Bank Governor and the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi were quoted in the media as expressing similar sentiments to help the nation come out of economic recession. A number of commentators also joined the fray on either side of the argument. While some expressed support, others disagreed and some others stayed in the middle.

But within the National Assembly itself, there is a divided view on this matter.

On Wednesday, when some 24 Senators took the floor, opinion expressed was divergent. Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu led those opposed to the sale of national assets, insisting that there were other ways the government could raise capital. Ekweremadu opined Continues pg 32

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interview

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

We will win by 75% —Obaseki

With just three days to the conduct of the Edo State governorship election, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Obaseki, answered questions about the chances of his party in the election, security arrangement ahead of the election, amongst other issues. BANJI ALUKO brings excerpts.

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T’S a few days to an election you are contesting in. How do feel now?

From the feelers we are getting from across the state, the indication is that we will win by 75 per cent. That is what the last exit poll I monitored last night indicated. Particularly in Edo South, things have improved quite significantly from the last poll that we received. Edo Central has been very interesting. The amount of defection from the PDP has essentially crumbled the opposition party in the area.

It means that in their strongholds, we are beginning to see them becoming jittery. In Edo North, apart from few units in AkokoEdo and one unit in Owan East, the area is essentially for us.

So, from what we can see today, barring any unforeseen circumstances, barring violence that will scare people from the poll and any attempt by the opposition party to cause disruptions in some highly populated voting units so that the results from those units will be inconclusive, we believe that we are very comfortable.

Are you worried that the election could be compromised?

We were worried but we are no longer worried because if you were in Benin yesterday, you saw the demonstration of force by the combined team of military and police essentially trying to re-assure people that the security situation in the state is intact. We also are very encouraged by the arrests that have been made across the state. You will recall that two nights ago, some disguised militants, who were lodged in some hotels, were arrested.

I hope the investigation will lead to more arrests. I know that based on reports and petitions, there is high security alert in riverine areas, particularly along the River Niger. In places like Agenebode, they are planning to import militants from Idah across the water. That is being financed by one of the well-known PDP leaders from the area. Ilushi axis too is another area where they expect to arm militants.

I think that area is now being well policed. We are confident of the measure being taken around the Ovia River as well.

I am sure security agencies will be able to monitor and substantially reduce the number of the militants that will come in. Our concern is on election day because we understand that some people, who will disguise as journalists and agents with accreditation badges, are going to be moving around with arms. I think it is important that those who have been accredited, efforts should be made to ensure that they are disarmed.

How satisfied are you of the mobilisation within your party?

The level of mobilisation has been quite high. We have practically met every group: youths, community leaders, associations, development associations. In fact, there is no group in any local government area that we have not reached and touched.

Students have come out, though many of the university students are on holidays.

Godwin Obaseki They have rallied with us; they’ve been very supportive. Farmers came in their thousands; artisans, tailors, salon operators have all endorsed us. The spate of endorsements across the state has been very humbling to say the least.

There is concern of internal sabotage within your party. Are you bothered about that?

It is part of the opposition’s propaganda strategy to try and cause dissension with the rank of the party. The party is very cohesive. You saw the statement that was made by the deputy governor and several other party leaders just to debunk this opposition’s strategy to create dissension and division within our party. We are much smarter and wiser than that; we know all the tricks in the books and this time around, they are not working.

Some of your members are believed to be working against you. Do you think so?

I hear this sort of generalisation. I have met with the leadership and executives of our party separately across the 18 local governments and they are not foolish people. Those who were touted to be working against us, they know they will not benefit. What will they gain from doing that? So, it is all propaganda. Do you know how many texts I get every day?

The areas that need attention within our party, we know. The interesting thing is

that even those areas, it is not because the individuals have any issue with the party; they are intra-party quarrels. The good thing about those situations is that each one of them is working for the same purpose just that they do not agree. It is like a quarrel within a family, but the family is still a family.

So, what is your message to INEC, security agencies and the Edo people?

I believe in the integrity of INEC as an institution. They have conducted elections and have been the bastion of our democracy over the last 17 years. You have to give kudos to them and like any umpire,

In places like Agenebode, they are planning to import militants from Idah across the water.

That is being financed by one of the well-known PDP leaders from the area

they will get bashing from the people, who have lost. I believe they have largely lived up to their responsibilities. I know that they have done a lot of work and I am impressed with the arrangements that have been made. That however, is not to say that they have been superhuman since this is a human institution. There is still bound to be a few loose ends that still need to be tidied up. So far so good, you still have a lot of information flying around. There are stories and innuendos flying around and people trying to insinuate that there are corrupt practices within the institution. I just feel they know their responsibilities.

So far, from what they have done, I am satisfied.

We have sent petitions to them about information we have about opposition members being accredited as observers.

These are some of the issues we expect them to look into. Our allegation that opposition has access to some result sheets, we have asked INEC to investigate. I don’t believe that the INEC is as porous as being alleged. For the security, we are quite impressed and pleased. The intelligence services have been quite responsive as is evidenced by the arrests which have been recorded. We have no reason to doubt that the security will continue to be stepped up because there is enough intelligence as to what is being planned and what is going on. The interesting thing about the opposition party is that whatever they plan is usually leaked from their own camp. It is like as they are planning, they are coming to tell us what they are planning. Last week, they had a meeting and part of the strategy was to attack my convoy.

For Edo people, I have traversed the entire state and I have met with people over the last one year. I am aware of the successes we have attained but more importantly, the amount of work that still needs to be done. In all my campaigns and travels, what I see is the amount of work and the challenges ahead of us, but more importantly the opportunities. That has made me re-dedicate myself to this cause, that as a people even though we are facing severe challenges at this point in time, the opportunities ahead of us are enormous and mind boggling. There is hope for Edo and Nigeria. To realise this hope, we have to hug and hold democracy tight and ensure that we do not, no matter the provocation, do things or take steps that will threaten our democracy. So, despite the anti-democratic tendencies we see today paraded particularly by the opposition party, that should not deter us. We should not meet violence with violence; violence will only derail our democracy.

Let us be confident; let us be prayerful.

Let us be hopeful that God in His infinite mercy has given us the resources and the opportunities to overcome our challenges.

God never gives challenges that you cannot overcome. I am convinced that if we continue with the quality of leadership which we have been fortunate to have in the last eight years, in a matter of time, Edo will be the envy of the nation and our continent.

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interview

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Defeat is staring Obaseki, APC in the face —Urhoghide Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South) is the Director-General of the Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organisation. Ahead of the Edo State governorship election slated for Wednesday, he speaks on the reasons his party will win the election, allegation that the PDP imported thugs to the state, amongst other issues.

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OVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole said that the PDP planned to import militants to Edo State from neigbhouring SouthSouth states. How correct is this?

It is a baseless accusation that has no foundation at all.

Oshiomhole is known for this kind of false accusations.

Such allegations are often what he is planning. He does it to distract people while he perpetrates evil. I want to say that the governors of Rivers or Delta states are not involved in movement of militants into Edo to come and help the PDP. The fear of Oshiomhole and his party is the fact that defeat is staring them in the face ahead of the governorship election on Wednesday. The people are set to pay them back for their misrule in the last eight years. They think that they could continue to deceive Edo people with their singsong of 10 years of PDP and all that.

The people were expecting that after crying for so many years, their own eight years would bring succour to them.

But they have found out that they are in a worse condition. So, Oshiomhole is just crying wolf for where there is none.

He brought 10 APC governors to their rally of disgrace where he was jumping all over the stage like a celebrated Christmas goat, but does not want PDP governors in the other South-South states to visit Edo State. Has Oshiomhole declared the form of support the APC governors are giving him? We are aware that one of the reasons he ensured the election was postponed was to bring in Muslims, who were celebrating Sallah as of the time of the earlier date, to come and vote in Edo. Edo people are the ultimate deciders of who wins the election and Oshiomhole’s noise cannot save him and his party. The other day, one of Oshiomhole’s Special Adviser said PDP recruited some fake palace chiefs to spread falsehood in the villages. The truth is that such is their stock in trade; that is what they do. No matter the accusation they level against the PDP, defeat will be their lot on Wednesday.

What has changed between now and 2012? Why are you so certain of victory on Wednesday?

Edo people have discovered many of the lies and deceit of Oshiomhole and the APC. For instance, they have discovered that the Federal Government under the PDP contributed 60 per cent of so-called red roof in the public schools. Do you know that Edo public schools are nowhere among the 50 best ranked schools in terms of WAEC examinations? So, what are they flaunting about education? There are no teachers in the schools and no science laboratories. Edo people know that what matters is not the colour of the roofs of the classrooms but the quality of the education. In all, the worthlessness of this government has come to the fore such that the elite and the downtrodden have discovered their lies. That is Oshiomhole’s headache.

Look at a critical area such as agriculture. Edo is nowhere. It is zero for the state in that sector. Edo is not even comparable to riverine states such as Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa. No industry has been established by Oshiomhole’s government in the last eight years. So, there is nothing the APC people can pride themselves on. The funny thing is that the PDP does not even need to inform Edo people about these things anymore, because they could see them with their eyes and feel them. The truth is that, if anyone is on the side of the Edo people, it is natural for such person to support the PDP and its governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to become the next governor of the state.

What are some of his qualities that you rate him so highly?

He has great experience in governance and under-

Senator Matthew Urhoghide

stands the terrain and challenges of Edo State very well.

He is also a politician and party man. He knows who-iswho across the political parties. There is no other person that fits the position of the governor of Edo more than this man. Whatever Charles Idahosa or Adams Oshiomhole has to say is immaterial at this point in time.

What do you make of the reasons adduced for the postponement of the election?

There is no one in Edo who does not know the real people who postponed the election and why they did it. They disregarded many things in choosing the date they fixed for the election because of their selfish agenda. Imagine the money that was wasted the last time by the INEC,

The people were expecting that after crying for so many years, their own eight years would bring succour to them. But they have found out that they are in a worse condition. So, Oshiomhole is just crying wolf for where there is none

the political parties, the Edo people, the media and other stakeholders involved in the election. It was, no doubt, a wicked act. This is a state owing local government workers and they have been making denials all over the place.

They are wasting taxpayers’ money by bending the rules of engagement so as to win an election in a foul way. It beats me hollow that people who enjoyed the goodwill of the people and came to power by mistake could do all this. As for INEC, its inconsistencies simply show that it is a supposedly independent body that is being manipulated by the Federal Government. It did not happen during Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. If the PDP had manipulated INEC, APC would not have been in power today. The INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, was arm-twisted to fall in line. They used the security agencies against him.

What could the INEC chairman have done at that point in time?

There was nothing he could have done since they had already informed him that they were not going to provide security. The APC in Edo and in Abuja colluded with security agencies to arm-twist INEC into changing the date.

They are like a bull in the China shop; they don’t care about anything. You can imagine a governorship election on a Wednesday. The midweek is supposed to be one of the busiest days in the week. This simply tells you how unmindful and anti-people they are. The APC in Edo and their collaborators should hide their heads in shame. At the end of the day, they will see that God is mightier than them.

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25 September,2016

Sunday Tribune

flying governor and they know the outcome.

The key issue in this election is that our people want continuity of the Ogbemudia, Oyegun, Oshiomhole and then Obaseki legacies, which have brought light to our people and not that of Ize-Iyamu and his band of home- based and Abuja- based godfathers, including but not limited to Gabriel Igbinedion, Lucky Igbinedion and then their boy Ize-Iyamu who will bring darkness. And the reasons are quite clear.

Security was the key reason the INEC gave and, therefore, decided to shift the election to 28th September.

Do you think those concerns have been taken care of?

Though governors are the chief security officers, we don’t control the army, police or the SSS. But I think the point made by security agencies call for the postponement, which many people did not listen to due to their fixation, was that they had committed themselves to deploying as many as 24,000 policemen to Edo state for the election. To do that, they had to mop them from other parts of the country and if you have a Sallah holiday, you will have to secure those areas Muslims do their prayers and if you do that, you may not have the numbers to secure Edo for the election. Secondly, there is nobody who does not know that over the past four years, during such holidays, Boko Haram wants to destroy to make a point.

But the issue of militants....

Now, there are two issues here. Why do they have to import militants?

Gov Oshiomhole

Edo people will reject PDP, Ize-Iyamu, godfathers —Oshiomhole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state, in this interview, declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win Wednesday’s governorship election, asserting that the recession will not affect the result of the election, as Nigerians, particularly the people of the state, are aware that the PDP squandered the nation’s riches which led the country into recession. Excerpts:

H

OW prepared is your party for Wednesday’s governorship election?

We have been prepared long ago. Actually, we had what we call our final mega rally on the 6th of September because for us, we were ready for the 10th. Even the postponement was more of additional challenge for us. I believe people have already formed opinion as to what they will do. I have gone round the state and everywhere we have gone to, what has made our campaign easy, which is the burden that the PDP has, is that there is no ward in this state, the 192 wards, where we are not able to list the projects that we have done. Before we tell the people what the next APC government will do, we have a duty to account for the support, the mandate they have given us these past eight years. Then we tell them, when the PDP come to ask them what they have built in this ward or local government.

The truth is the PDP leaders are not able

to point at any existing project that they have in any ward, local government or senatorial district. They may have been able to escape defeat, assuming they have fielded a candidate who is not known to the people.

You remember in 2012 when General Airiavbere was their candidate, they were able to say it was a new PDP because their candidate then was new. So, the people may just have said “let’s give their candidate a benefit of the doubt.” Even at that as you know, Edo people said from our father, the Oba of Benin, the Enigies, the Ohens, to the ordinary man on the street, they said the General may be good but the man we already know is better. So, if PDP had brought a new face, they might have had the basis to interrogate whether this new face will change the face of the PDP. Happily for us and very sadly for them, they brought a candidate who was at the centre of PDP misrule throughout the tenure of the PDP in this state. He was Secretary to the State Government, Chief of

staff, and anybody who was up to the age of 14 at that time would have very good memories about the disaster that PDP and IzeIyamu represent in Edo State.

But you’ve said all these about the PDP. What makes you any different from the Nigerian politician?

On our side, they can see what we have done and also the fact that our own candidate is not a stranger in government and we are not just picking him from the road to go and lead us. He has been at the heart of the basis of progress in any government. Our candidate was the head of our economic team. So, from day one till today, he has been the brain box. So you will, on one hand, look at APC and our track record and PDP and their disastrous record; look at the fact that Ize-Iyamu was central to the PDP administration under Lucky Igbinedion. Everybody in this state knows that Ize-Iyamu was the resident governor while Igbinedion was the

They’ve denied that they did not import militants?

That is what they will say. They went for the militants’ option because all the youths they had used over the years for thuggery, through the opportunities we created for these youths to get engaged, all of them have left the PDP. The PDP infantry division which they have over the years used to cause destruction, has left them. Because the boys know those who used them in the past and do not want to see them again. They now had to go outside the state to import militants to come and fight for them and undermine security. And for those who have doubt, recent events have confirmed this.

Under the former Commissioner of Police, Ezike, some militants who came from Delta and Rivers, were arrested. They came to register for the purpose of violence in Orhiomwon, IkpbaOkhai, Ovia South- West and they were apprehended.

Secondly, we raised concern about the collaboration between some electoral officers and PDP leadership. Again as we speak, during the registration some EOs were found at the residence of some PDP leaders with data capturing machines, coercing youth corps members to carry out illegal registration not only of militants, but to distort the voters register. Again as we speak, some of them were arrested and as we speak one has been remanded in prison with the EO because the youth corps members confessed that he was kidnapped by this PDP leader and forced to his residence in collaboration with the EO. So, these are no longer speculations; they are facts. Last week, at Ologbo about four militants came in, again security agencies apprehended some of them and as we speak, they are in prison awaiting trial. Three days ago, the DSS got intelligence and they picked up a number of militants from different parts of the country who came in two buses, all tinted buses. And one of the buses was registered in Delta State which confirms my point that militants are coming-in from there. Very significantly, one of them has been confirmed to be one of those on the wanted list of the Nigerian Army. And they found with him a military ID card which is

continues on pg 31

31 interview

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘Why effects of recession won’t affect our chances’ continued from pg30 expired and other ID cards. He is not from Edo State; none of them is from here. They came into the state at about 1:00 a.m. and quartered in a hotel. PDP leaders are making phone calls explaining to security agencies to insist that these people be released, that they are journalists. But my worry is that are these politicians NUJ members to ask for the release of journalists according to them? By the special Grace of God, they will be neutralised and one man one vote will prevail and we will defeat them.

You have been fighting the Edo political godfathers, now you say they are after you in this election. How successful is your war against godfatherism so far; because some are now saying you are attempting to become the new godfather.

I believe my war against godfatherism has been won and lost. The fact that today the opprobrium and angst against Igbinedion on the street of Benin, on the streets of Esan land, in Edo North is proof that they have been defeated. The Igbiendion family which, according to the former governor, boasted that they will produce the next governor sounds funny because Nigerians know that Igbinedion had to do plea bargain and because he has been caught. So, if he says that his family wants to bring another potential convict to come and govern the state because for me, they have made our job much easier and that is the point I have always made. For me, there is nothing personal against anybody. I do not have anything personal. But I am committed even by training and my background, to fighting those who think that it is their birth right to feast of the blood of others to privatise the people’s common patrimony.

But I think Edo people are now aware of the real reason why they are campaigning. Igbinedion said a member of his family will be the next governor in the person of Ize-Iyamu and they also have this plan of making Igbinedion’s birthday a state event if they come into government. And I think they have for once exposed their inner intensions and that is what this struggle is all about. We will ensure that the resources of the Edo government will never again be used for the comfort of one family. It must be used not for the pleasure of the godfathers, but for the development of Edo State.

The other godfather from Esanland went to the Enogiefor support, that they should not allow me to cause them shame as an Esanelder. The Enogie reminded the chief that when Ekpoma produced Ambrose Ali he collaborated with others to remove Ali as governor. He also asked Onolemenme that as Minister of Works, you have never visited any Enigie in Esanland and the only small job you did was only in Uromi. That you did not see Ekpoma as part of Esanland. You did not see Opoji as part of Esanland, you did not see Irrua or Ewohimi as part of Esanland, but the comrade you said marginalised us, constructed a major road in Ekpoma. We have built several primary schools in Ekpoma; he has built secondary schools there, constructed road linking Irrua to Usigbenue, to Ugbegun, UgbegunUjuoba, Igueben to Ewohimi, Ewihinmi to Ohordua, Ohordua to Emu. We have provided water in Ekpoma, Iruekpen even in Anenih’s village Uzenema.

Then you go to the other man, Chief Tom Ikimi. We thank God that he has returned to where he belongs. He said he was cheated and frustrated out of PDP and he joined APC. And when he wanted to be national

Gov Oshiomhole

The only person you cannot discredit as a leader is Dr Samuel Ogbemudia. He is an outstanding elder you must respect on account of his own record of having laid the foundation for the old Bendel State. chairman of APC, everybody in APC said ‘no.’When he was the leader of our party in Esanland, our party was never able to win Igueben where he comes from. We have always lost there because of his one-man show. The moment he left for PDP, we have continued to win election in Igueben. Today, he is being represented in the House of Assembly by APC lawmaker. Today, we have connected Igueben to several communities.

The reason these people are after us is that we refused to make governance a personal property of these politicians because that is what they have always done and that is why the state was never developed.

Chief Ogbemudia recently endorsed Obaseki but...?

The only person you cannot discredit as a leader is Dr Samuel Ogbemudia. He is an outstanding elder you must respect on account of his own record of having laid the foundation for the old Bendel State. That is the only person who can speak with his pedigree. And for me, it is not a coincidence when Ogbemudia said he is withdrawing from politics. He knows the qualities of a governor that can make a difference in the life of a state and he has openly endorsed Obaseki because of what he knows about him. For me, this is the easiest election we are going to have and I have no doubt that Edo will punish them for their crime against Edo people. We have heard they are planning to rig by using fake result sheets and thugs, but we are waiting. This is going to be the final burial of PDP and our sons and daughters will participate in this burial with

their PVCs. I am in the best of shape I am ready. They even lied that I was fighting with my deputy, but my deputy and I have been campaigning together. But in PDP,IzeIyamu and Iduoriyekemwen cannot see eye to eye and even most of their leaders are not with him. We are not even sure even as we speak who is the actual candidate of the PDP. But the court will decide that.

But there is this fear among APC members that the current recession may affect your party in this election.

Don’t you have such fears?

It will not affect us because Nigerians understand the root cause of the present economic recession. The PDP in the state is using that against us, but it will not work. If you look at the argument, I have listened to most people and commentators about the economy. One of the things they blame the Federal Government for, including the Emir of Kano, is that the Federal Government delayed the devaluation of the naira; that they should have allowed the naira to start floating immediately they came in because they knew that the economic fundamentals could not sustain the official exchange rate that President Muhammadu Buhari inherited.

But President Buhari was reluctant to oblige these proponents of devaluation because he knew what the immediate consequences will be, namely that when an economy is so hopelessly dependent on imported food and you devalue the currency, the price of imported items including rice will go up and that is what has happened. Now, after pressure from these economists, the CBN caved

in and the naira was floated and it suffered heavy devaluation. And once that has happened, the price of anything that is imported goes up correspondingly.

So, you cannot blame this government for the high cost of product because it is the result of the devaluation, which across the divide, the establishment economists have argued that the naira should be devalued.

Because they argued and I believe correctly that because of the huge gap between our in-flow of forex and our out flow, our in-flow has dropped considerably not only courtesy of the drop in oil price, but compounded by the sabotage of our pipelines which affects not just the price but also your volume. When your foreign earning is far less than your import, there is a lot of pressure on the exchange rate and if you refuse to devalue and you allocate dollars to bankers, the banker simply sells the dollar at the black market rate. So, the government earns revenue at the official rate and transfer wealth to bankers and others who have access to official allocation to collect rent. They also argued that, by not devaluing, those who get forex for the purpose of importing raw materials found that it is better to divert the forex to black market and earn money without effort, rather than importing the raw materials which was the primary purpose for bidding for the exchange rate. So, in bowing to this public pressure from various economists of both side of the divide, the naira went into a fluctuating regime which has led to huge devaluation and of course the consequence is that anything you import the price goes up to the extent of the devaluation.

Devaluation is not PDP’s problem but that of this....

So, you cannot but locate the foundation of this problem from the looting which even these same people had pointed out that Sanusi raised the alarm about billions of dollars that were never accounted for under the PDP. And you know for raising that alarm, he was punished and removed as CBN governor. What Sanusi did not know then was that money was taken from CBN directly to the NSA’s office and shared to PDP leaders and they are all confessing today. So, we are explaining to the people - and this is the truth - that the PDP created this problem with their looting. What is more interesting for us in Edo is that among those who participated in the sharing of the money from the CBN you had the PDP candidate and the godfathers who are behind the candidate. So, they cannot delete themselves from the crisis. These people are refunding money as I speak to you.

Also importantly, we reminded them that this is a state election not a federal election and the price of food in Edo is not higher than the price of food in Asaba or Rivers, Bayelsa or AkwaIbom. The issue in this election in terms of the recession is that the poverty in our subregion is worst in PDPcontrolled states. But in Edo, we are up to date in the payment of salaries and pensions. We even increased our minimum wage to N25,000 and we are paying. And what makes the difference; we receive the least allocation from the federation account in the South-South zone. Secondly, we also receive the least IGR because the oil companies are based in other states. Today, you see teachers, workers endorsing Obaseki because they recalled that during the PDP government, they sacked over seven thousand workers, closed down Ambrose Ali University for one year. So, they know the difference and they will reject PDP any day any time. I am very proud to say that Edo is working and Edo will continue to work with Obasekias governor after my tenure.

32

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Senate, National Assets and the recession controversy

Dangote

Sanusi

Ayuba Wadda

Continued from pg 27

count (TSA).

Senate Chief Whip, Adeyeye, who strongly canvassed restructuring, said: “Many have asked that we must restructure and I agree that we must restructure.

Let us to look at this current constitutional review, check the exclusive list and the concurrent list. Let us look at where we have overburdened the Federal Government. Everybody wants something from the Federal Government.

“To save Nigeria, we must reduce the cost of governance. Nigeria’s estacode is the highest in the world.

We must slash it to 50 per cent. Obafemi Awolowo campaigned in 1978 that he was going to slash it and it has now grown five times from what it was in those days.

We must slash. When you go to our airports and you park your car you pay N300 that is 75 cents in all modern economies you pay per hour. If we are going to find money we must become creative. All of you with houses in Asokoro, Maitama and Apo don’t pay tenement rate.

All of us must pay.”

After listening to some 60 Senators in a space of three days, the Senate resolved to set up a six-member ad hoc committee to compile all suggested points for onward transmission to the president for implementation.

As the nation awaits the final recommendations of the Senate, the controversy already ignited by some of their submissions are already shaking the polity. On Friday, rival claimant to the Presidency of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero insisted that Nigerian workers would fight the planned sale of national assets, saying such assets sold in the past never really benefitted the people.

He mentioned the case of Nigerian Airways, the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) and a number of other corporations sold in the past years. According to him, workers will be badly affected if the assets are sold as it was bound to lead to loss of jobs.

President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, also rejected the call for sale of national assets and part of the nation’s shareholdings in the LNLG. Wabba, in a statement during the week, cautioned against the planned sale. He said: “For example, it was the accrued dividend payments from LNLG shares that provided the resources for the first bail-out to states when many states could not pay salaries under this present government. It is on record that dividends, in excess of one billion dollars, have accrued annually to the national coffers from the gas company over the past twelve years.”

NLC president further said: “these calls are more worrisome when one considers the history of sovereign assets divestiture in the past. Where are the proceeds from sales of the assets in the power sector for instance? With the benefit of hindsight, it is obvious that these assets were

distributed to favoured individuals and surrogates of the ruling elite without any appreciable benefits to Nigerians.

“There are lessons to be learnt from some other OPEC countries which invested their oil revenues heavily in the acquisition of sovereign assets, both domestically and internationally. Such countries today are deriving a steady stream of earnings from those assets and are, therefore, less vulnerable to the fiscal crisis occasioned by failing oil revenues.”

The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries have also raised issues about some of the anti-recession recommendations. The civil rights body easily sees a conspiracy theory through the lens of those calling for the sale of national assets. CLO’s Executive Director Ibuchukwu Ohabuenyi Ezike, had said last week that that the National Assembly and the Federal Government should reject the call for sale of national assets.

The Rights Group said: “The call for the sale of public utilities is absolutely uncalled for and worrisome. We warn the politicians not to take the patience of agonising, wailing and impoverished Nigerians for granted.

“Huge cut in the cost of running government, including reduction of aides, wages/salaries and allowance packages for both politicians and workers in the executive and legislative arms of government and across all the tiers of government.

“Begin immediate debate and implementation of the Report of the 2014 National Conference that points the positive way forward for Nigeria in all sectors and directions.”

That controversy notwithstanding, the National Economic Council(NEC) a body headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and comprises the 36 state governors and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory(FCT) rose from its meeting on Thursday to endorse the call for sale of assets to shore up government revenue.

Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu, said in Abuja on Thursday that the governors agreed to plans by the economic management team to sell some national assets. According to him, the economic management team briefed the body of its plan to generate funds through such means as including asset sales; advance payment of license renewals; infrastructure concessioning and use of recovered funds to reduce funding gaps.”

With that message coming through the NEC, it is apparent the highest bodies in the land are getting adapted to the call for sale of assets. That could create immediate confrontation with the Labour, which frustrated that sale of refineries to Dangote in 2007. But like some senators submitted, sale of some non-performing infrastructure could be contemplated if the target is to revive them and create employment.

that selling national assets would further impose economic woes on the people, adding that the idea must be viewed with caution.

“I have heard about the issue of selling our assets. I need to caution that other countries are not doing the same.

The United Arab Emirate does not even allow people to have access to their oil wells, let alone selling them. And of course, in a country like Saudi Arabia, their budget each year is run by investments from their oil revenue not even the earnings from other sources. So, if we must sell we have to sell the non-performing assets so that people can turn them around and create employment.”

Former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, also spoke in similar vein insisting that those calling for the sale of assets might be those with “deep pockets.” He said: “I am worried because people who are telling us to sell these assets are people who have huge pockets. Our assets must remain for us: even Saudi Arabia didn’t sell part of their national assets as alleged.

There are other areas that we can tackle.”

Another round of controversy was, however, ignited when Ekweremadu called on President Muhammadu Buhari to redeploy his Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma. Ekweremadu also suggested: “I think the best thing to do at this point is for the government to consciously release as much money as possible into the economy. Yes we are saying that there is no money; the oil price has dropped but we were also told that through the TSA we have about N3 trillion somewhere. We were also told that the former minister of petroleum returned $20 million. We were also told that politicians have returned several billions of naira, dollars and pounds.

“It is either that this is not true or that the money is somewhere and if it is not true, someone needs to apologise to us and state the correct thing. And if it is true, this money has to be released to contractors so that contractors can be able to go to work and those in the construction industries will be paid and then they will pay the school fees of their children and money will circulate. If we have money in the economy, I am sure that shortly we will also find some relief.”

On Thursday, more senators took the floor and brought forward their take on the recession. While Senator Sola Adeyeye called for restructuring of the polity to pave the way for development, Senator Ben Murray Bruce and a number of others advised the president against strong arm tactics in the anti-graft war. A number of senators also insisted that the government must release the funds locked up in the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria through the implementation of the Treasury Single Ac-

33

S

ENATE President BukolaSaraki stirred the hornet’s nest on Tuesday when he made a case for sale of national assets while reeling out a 14-point agenda for economic revival. The Senate President had said: “The Executive must raise capital from asset sales and other sources to shore up foreign reserves. This will calm investors, discourage currency speculation and stabilize the economy.

“The measures should include part sale of NLNG Holdings; reduction of government share in upstream oil joint venture operations; sale of government stake in financial institutions e.g. Africa Finance Corporation; and the privatization and concession of major/regional airports and refineries.”

The suggestion immediately raised the adrenalin among stakeholders, especially as it coincided with similar postulation by business mogul, Alhaji AlikoDangote.

The Organised Labour and the Civil Society immediately gained their voice and hit at the idea. And that is also understandable.

Labour, in this clime will feel threatened by anything that gives a hint of privatisation or outright sale of public assets.

The easiest point of blackmail for government has always been that the common patrimony was being sublet to allies of those in power.

Right now, we are almost thrown into a ‘we’ versus ‘them’ environment over the suggestion but that will surely detract from the essence of the debate.

Those opposed to the idea of sale of government assets are already pointing accusing fingers at someone like Dangote, who had stuck out his neck to canvass the idea. While some have opined that those calling for the sale of national assets are persons with deep pockets who could partake in the purchase, there is the need to avoid throwing away the baby and the bathwater in this case.

There is always the debate about whether government has business in business or whether the business of government is only to provide enabling environment for businesses to thrive. The two views are right in my estimation. Government should set up businesses but must not directly run them. Its bureaucracy will kill the business and we saw that in the Nigerian Airways, Nigerian Shipping Line and Nigeria Telecommunications(NITEL) among others.

True, the organised Labour would say that the nation gained virtually nothing in the sale of Nigerian Airways and many other corporations privatised or sold in the past. But

WHEN I embarked on this journey of writing a column for the Tribune titles many years ago, I had no inkling that I would be writing this column for this long. The column FRONTROW was started in the Sunday Tribune on September 16, 2001, making it 15 consecutive years that I have had the privilege of interacting with the readers some of whom have stayed with the column for that long, while some of course, have moved on to other things.

Looking back, I find it amazing that those readers who stayed could be that faithful. They contributed their opinions every week and by their actions urged me to go keep on writing. The relationships established and nurtured over the years have grown so close that during festivities, I feel overwhelmed by their good wishes for me and my family even though we never had the opportunity of meeting physically.

Whatever has a beginning must surely have an end. And it is with a very heavy heart, that I announce that this is the last time I will write this column through this medium.

FRONTROW is not dead it is only exiting the pages of the Tribune titles. It has been a very long journey, sometimes smooth, sometimes rough. I admit that in the course of writing this column, I have stepped on some toes (some powerful ones at that) with threats following; but the joy of it all is that I have made more friends than foes along the way. Those friends have stuck like a leech (not in the negative sense) over the years and I am happy to have made their acquaintances. Indeed, the past 15 years have been very adventurous, especially with feedback from readers and calls from much unexpected quarters – calls that opened doors for greater and better things.

Of course, there were times when I felt like stopping writing completely; but such times were minimal compared to those times when the adrenalin was upped, and one could write pages upon pages without stopping.

The most frightening period is when there is an onset of those debilitating writer’s block especially when there is a deadline to be met. However, the thought of those readers who would spend their money to call, or send an SMS to find out what was wrong, kept me going. And, there were those who would call and brusquely demand an explanation for why I thought I could miss our weekly appointments on Sundays.

25 September, 2016

the lynxeye with Taiwo adisa

08072000046

National assets for sale

the same Labour had always stood aside when wrong transactions were being consummated. For instance, the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) stood by as the nation sold its electricity assets to GENCOS and DISCOS. The workers were more interested in collecting their entitlements than in checking the integrity of the buyers. They were less concerned as clear developmental road maps were missing in the agreement handing over Electricity companies and today, Nigerians are suffering from the shylock regime foisted by the Electricity Distribution Companies which failed to make any

frontrow with Toyin Willoughby Muyi 0805 500 1769 toyeenz@yahoo.com

There is a time for everything

Sunday Tribune

further investment after the purchase but are violently seeking profit.

Going by the Nigerian situation, government should be the largest investor on ground. Much of the petro dollars earned over the years should have been invested locally and offshore.

Rather than seek to muscle the call for sale of national assets, I believe what is needed is a clear view of what we want as a nation. If we want prosperity, the money we make today should be invested for the sake of tomorrow, while we consume just a fraction or less.

In the instant case, I will support the sale of moribund national assets and the refineries would top my list. I will insist the NLNG model be left as it is. This is the company that provided President Muhammadu Buhari the first $2.1 billion he shared to states as bailouts in June 2015. With adjustments here and there, the company can do more.

If we are sincere, whether the Labour approves it or not, nothing should stop the sale of the four refineries right away.

It is true that oil workers stalled its sale in 2007, where President Umaru Yar’Adua reversed the sale to Dangote.

I am sure if the sale had been perfected, Dangote would have revived the moribund refineries by now and he won’t need to source another $17 billion to build the Lagos refinery set to commence operation in 2018.

That we have refineries have become a curse rather than blessing in recent years. The refineries were there from 2012 when Nigeria spent trillions annually in the name of fuel subsidy. The refineries are in place in 2015 when the nation spent over N500 billion on subsidy. Even now, nobody has told us how much the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has expended on the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the refineries, yet, we are condemned to fuel importation. Should anything stop the sale of these refineries which I am sure since General Sani Abacha’s years have gulped hundreds of billions of dollars in Turn-Around Maintenance?

The critical question though is this: where do you put the money raised from sale of government assets? Put the money in Foreign Reserves or Federation Account and you are doomed. Such monies should be invested in the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) or invested in lucrative offshore businesses that would yield fast. Saudi Arabia, which is contemplating the sale of five percent of its oil assets is thinking of SWF and blue chip investments rather than slamming the money on the table for sharing.

These interactions kept the column going and I am surely going to miss them, yet, they have moved the column from an impersonal one-way communication into a robust and interactive one. I thank you all. Some of the contacts I made, some in academia, some in other spheres of life, but mostly simple every day Nigerians have become like family and although some have moved on, we still interact on other platforms. Can I thank you readers enough! You have been most wonderful - keeping me on my toes, commending me when you think I have done well, and giving me real ticking off when you think I have gone off the mark. I must confess that in my slightly over four decades in print journalism, these fifteen years have been the most fulfilling for me as we been able to discuss current affairs, politics, sports, lifestyle – name it, we have touched all subjects as the fancy took us.

Yet, none of these would have been possible without the encouragement of the Tribune management, which made available to me, the platform where I could express myself without unnecessary censorship. Sometimes, I wonder how they tolerated me so for so long. Looking back, I have worked with five wonderful gentlemen who edited the Sunday Tribune at different times and four different Editors - in - chief/Managing Directors during this fifteen year period. I thank also those staff who took their time to plan the column and made it camera ready every grueling week, even though I may annoyingly be far behind schedule or call in late Friday afternoon in the thick of production to inform them that my article wasn’t coming in after all; yet they took it all in their strides. My profound gratitude and appreciation go to them all.

I wish I could continue writing the column but as King Solomon said, “There is a time for everything, a time to be born and a time to die.” September 16, 2001 was the time for this column to be born. Today, September 25, 2016 is the time for it to, not die, but be rested. It is now time to move on to other things and as I do so, I wish you all, my esteemed readers and those I have had the privilege to work with at the Tribune the best in whatever your hands find to do. Those interacting with me on other platforms should please keep it alive. Thank you all for taking me the way I am – warts and all - it’s been a wonderful experience.

opinion PDP: Road to next convention

34

By Olumide Johnson

A

lot has been said about the botched national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which was caused by the power struggle between the sacked National Working Committee headed by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and the National Caretaker Committee led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi which replaced it.

It is quite obvious that the party cannot really move forward until the crisis is resolved either decisively by law or amicably through apolitical settlement. However, the judicial option may not offer much hope of quick resolution if the current experience of seemingly interminable litigation involving the party is anything to go by.

This means that the National Caretaker Committee must work very hard to unite the party before the 12 months set for the resolution of all issues of discord and the convening of another convention runs out. However, it is important to note that, apart from the issue of reconciliation among leaders and members, there are other issues that must be resolved ahead of the next convention.

Fortunately, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party has started to do something in this regard. Its meeting on August 29 yielded some commendable resolutions. Among others, the board resolved that the next convention be held in Abuja, that a new National Convention Planning Committee be constituted and that the Reconciliation Committee should continue all efforts for reconciliation among members. It is hoped that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party will meet soon to ratify these resolutions.

The BoT and the caretaker ommittee should have been aware by now that there are many issues arising from the Port Harcourt convention to be addressed and the earlier they are addressed, the better for all party stakeholders. First is the allegation that the process of that convention, particularly the preparation for the election of national officers, was not transparent. This observation raised fears that the election would not have been free, fair and credible if it was held.

It is no longer news that majority of the contestants for the post of national chairman raised alarm over the alleged manipulation that attended the preparations for that election in an alleged bid by some people to impose a candidate favoured by them. In fact, three out of the five contenders for the post namely, Chief Olabode George, Dr Raymond Dokpesi and Professor Tunde Adeniran, had resolved to boycott the election in reaction to the imminent imposition, before the elec-

tion was stepped down. These eminent Nigerians are leaders whose views and feelings cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand.

Therefore, the issue of imposition must be revisited and there must be assurance that internal democracy and rule of law as enshrined in the constitution of the party will henceforth be upheld in all its activities, including the next convention. The party must always guarantee a level-playing field. It must ensure that both players and officials abide by the established rules of the game. It must read the Riot Act to all members, leaders and officials seen to be inclined to disrespecting established order. Let it be known that their undue interventions will no longer be accepted nor tolerated, no matter who they are or the power and influence they wield.

This is the only way to restore sanity and discipline in the party and discourage lawlessness and impunity. The warlord syndrome that characterised the party, particularly during the immediate past administration whereby anybody that could lay hold on power and money wanted to create a fiefdom for himself to control the party structure and dictate to others should be discouraged. They should be reminded that if the leaders before them had behaved in same manner, they

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

would never have had the opportunity of coming near power.

As for the planning of the next convention, the National Caretaker Committee and the BoT as the conscience of the party must look closely this time around. Whether it was by a coincidence or design, the organisation of the botched Port Harcourt convention, particularly the distribution of responsibilities for the election of national officers, was questionable. Everything appeared to be in the hands of Governor Nyesom Wike and his kinsmen from Rivers State.

For instance, apart from Rivers State hosting the convention, Governor Wike was the chairman of the Convention Planning Committee. Austin Opara, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, was the chairman of the Electoral Subcommittee for the election of national officers. The current Attorney-General of Rivers was the secretary of the subcommittee hat screened the candidates for the election. And Governor Wike’s Chief of Staff was the chairman of the accreditation subcommittee.

While the personal integrity of these men is not in doubt, the party would do well, in its preparations for the next convention, to avoid over-concentration of power in the hands of a particular set of people. This will elicit more confidence in the convention process.

It is also important for the party to conclude all inconclusive congresses in the states and zones before the next convention. This will ensure that the authentic list of the respective categories of delegates are known and cannot be manipulated or discarded during the election.

The next national convention of the PDP can only be deemed successful if the election of national officers billed into it is successful. From experience, such an election is usually a very sensitive issue as things played out in Port Harcourt. The Nigerian factor is that every interest group in the party thinks its interest would only be protected if its own people are at the helm. That is a selfish motive based on a wrong assumption. It was this perception that goaded the people who allegedly attempted to manipulate the convention in Port Harcourt.

The PDP would truly be reborn if it could break this barrier of selfishness and personal aggrandisement by electing its national officers from the very best of the best candidates with the requisite knowledge, understanding, experience and wisdom to uphold, protect, defend, enforce and promote the values of the party. These values are inclusive and have already provided for the interests of all members and the electorate.

•Johnson wrote via midejohnson990@gmail. com

Who is afraid of Ekungba?

By Tunde Akanni SUDDENLY, the media deemed Chief Jamiu Ekungba as deserving the most robust visibility among all the recent All Progressives Congress (APC) contenders for the office of the governor in Ondo State. Ironical and most stunning is the fact that the mischief makers refused to engage with sound issues raised by Ekungba during his campaigns prior to the primary election.

The winner of the election, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, had hardly been announced when Ekungba’s character assassins went to town to hack him. He was alleged to have gone bananas, hauling unprintable epithets against his fellow citizens. He was particularly alleged to have been peeved by the fact that people collected N300 million from him but refused to give him the expected support.

In this urban century laden with information of varying grades, everyone has multiple sources of information. My first source of the allegation against Ekungba was an online news platform, an24.net run by a GboyegaAkosile, a wellknown former student of mine. Though an online platform, I don’t get to see reports from this website regularly.

But Gboyega not only published this, he took the extra trouble of promoting it through his personal Facebook page.

“What?” I exclaimed within myself. Ekungba lost this much and volunteered this comment? “Not the same Ekungba I have known for more than 20 years,” I muttered. Immediately, shame gushed up within me. A flurry of questions followed: Is this how Nigerians play politics? So,Ekungba can suffer this fate from anyone’s hands? Is this a design to terminate Ekungba’s timeously rising profile in politics?

What, in my own estimation, stood out Ekungba among his fellow contenders is what the entire Nigerian nation should reckon with - his robust knowledge of the economy as a successful banking career of more than four decades.

Not known for smooth-talking and frivolities, he had announced during his campaign that he would fix the economy of Ondo in 45 days. So, if Ondo never had oil, what would have happened?

The reality therefore is that Ekungba that I know, given the same media attention that Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,

his contemporary in banking practice has, he is in a position to offer similarly deep solutionist comments on the ailing Nigerian economy. And SLS, knowing him so well, can attest to this. Perhaps soon, as President Muhammadu Buhari appears to have a renewed interest in attracting as many experts as possible to work on the economy. Ekungba, for sure, will make anyone’s grade “A” list. And I’m saying this as an academic of integrity.

But I also know Ekungba. Indeed, my entire knowledge of his person runs acutely contrary to the false colouration of his adversaries. My first opportunity to interact intimately with this banker was during the Muslim holy pilgrimage of 1993 which we performed together. I was a full time journalist on the Features Desk of Concord Press of Nigeria and Ekungba was already a senior banker with the defunct Trade Bank. Two things registered with me about Ekungba immediately. He could be frank to a fault. Ekungba’s contemporaries at Trade Bank would attest to this. Not for

nothing than his performance as chief inspector of the bank remained one to beat till the bank ceased to exist.

So, when a serious minded person like that made a categorical statement on what he planned to achieve in office, you want to believe. And for those of us in development practice, when you have a plan of action, a goal but without timeline attached to it, there is a serious vacuum. You then begin to wonder on how the fantasising adversaries managed to come up with their attribution to Ekungba.

Indeed, the authors of the evil machinations against Ekungba picked on a wrong victim. Ekungba is one person who, in spite of being enviably credentialed, is unimaginably humble. Why won’t I believe that Ekungba’s projection on the economy of Ondo? Since he exited the banking sector, he’s been on the move to higher levels. His tenure at Bi-Courtney began and completed the construction of the edifice at Murtala Muhammed Airport II otherwise called MMA2. It remains the most outstanding radical modernisation in the nation’s airport system till date.

He’s also successful farmer and a grassroots conscious citizen. Though the greater part of Ekungba’s professional practice had been in cosy environments typical of white collar jobs, he musters the inspiring energy routinely to supervise his farms to the point of harvests. This, no doubt, had scared his rivals especially some of them who naively presume they have the monopoly of grassroots connecting.

Ondo voters have since found out some of these characters are sheer pretenders. But Ekungba’s profile through his tertiary education days is filled with selfless service and this is known among his peers and subsequent generations.

It is gratifying that Ekungba has done a rebuttal. As a journalist and a trainer of journalists, it will be more fulfilling in future if more of Nigerian journalists endeavour to undertake thorough fact-checking on all declarative and reactive statements. None, for instance, ever bothered to avail the public of the details of Ekungba’s seemingly magical promise of fixing Ondo’s economy in 45 days.

•Dr Akanni, a development consultant and journalism teacher, wrote from the Lagos State University, Lagos.

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tribunechurch

Sunday Tribune With Rita Okonoboh tribunechurch@gmail.com tribunechurch@yahoo.com 08053789087 Catholic bishops and laity.

Photo: www.abiapost.blogspot.com

What hope for Nigeria in Catholic sainthood?

In spite of the fact that Africa boasts of millions of Catholic faithful, Nigeria, arguably Africa’s most religious nation, has no Catholic saint. RITA OKONOBOH explores the place of Nigeria in the journey to sainthood.

“S

INCE the advent of Catholic Christianity in Nigeria over 400 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Nigerian saints are ‘sleeping’ in their graves all over the country; their souls wait for the second coming of Christ to be united with God for the beatific vision. This is to underscore the fact that the number of canonised saints is only a tip of the iceberg, because they constitute a very small percentage of the saints in heaven.”

The above statement is an excerpt from the book, How Saints are Made: Beatification, Canonisation and Sainthood, written by Reverend Monsignor (Dr) Sylvester Aderinkola Adekoya.

Saints are an important part of the Roman Catholic faith and have biblical definitions. Scriptural references to saints abound in the book of Psalm 16:3; Psalm 30:4; Psalm 31:23; Psalm 116:15; Daniel 7:8, among others.

According to Adekoya, the word ‘saint’ finds its root in the Greek word ‘hagios,’ which means “consecrated to God, holy sacred, pious.”

While tracing the scriptural background of saints, he goes on to state that “scripturally speaking, the ‘saints’ are the body of Christ, Christians and the church.” For the Roman Catholic Church, a saint is regarded as someone “who is sacred, holy, pure, blameless, dedicated.”

Steps to canonisation The steps to canonisation in earlier times were noted to have sometimes encouraged much exaggerated accounts of miracles, until in 1983 when Pope John Paul II made the process more precise.

Adekoya describes the process as follows: to become a proclaimed venerable, “the whole process starts locally after a Catholic, who after many years of his/her death, the writings and life of such person is investigated by the local bishop, either for heroic virtuousness or/and martyrdom. If the local bishop is satisfied, it goes on for further evaluation to the Vatican, by a panel of theologians. After they give approval, along with the cardinals of the congregation for the causes of saints, the person is proclaimed venerable by the Pope.

“Beatification is the next step, wherein, unless the person is a martyr, there has to be evidence of at least one miracle. This is considered as proof that the deceased person now in heaven, has the ability of

CAC urges FG to promote freedom of worship Pg36

interceding for people on earth. Hence, it is necessary for this miracle to occur after the death of the person and due to a specific petition made to this person.

Once a miracle attributed to the person is verified, he/she is proclaimed beatified, or one of the blessed and thus worthy or veneration by the Pope.

“The final step takes place only after there is evidence of one more miracle. If there is enough proof of that, the person is canonised a Roman Catholic saint.”

Nigeria and the long journey to sainthood Devotion to saints and angels forms part of the Catholic doctrine. As such, for a faith that has transcended centuries on Nigerian soil, it is a matter of concern that not a single Nigerian has been canonised.

The closest to this feat is the example of Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi who was beatified by the late Pope John Paul II, after a visit to Nigeria in 1998.

Speaking on the expectations of Nigeri-

No marriage is irredeemable in God’s workshop —Adewale Pg37

ans on the canonisation of its first saint, Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo stated that “the proclamation of a saint follows certain procedures which cannot be programmed. It is the church’s process helping people to focus on what we believe is God’s will. Fr Tansi is already pronounced ‘Blessed,’ which is already the final stage to sainthood. That is already evidence of major approval. The next stage is not negotiable but in God’s hands. We are grateful that he was fished out by Saint John Paul II for this great honour. So let us pray that it will come when it should.”

‘The Nigerian Catholic community must chart the course for saints’ Catholic minister and educator, Reverend Father Richard Omolade, speaking with TribuneChurch, stated that “Nigeria is still quite a young church. The churches where saints have been produced have been around for 500 years Continues on pg38

Primate charges Nigerians on honesty

Pg36

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With Olaide Sokoya ollydesanmi@yahoo.com 08074497425

churchnews

CAC urges govt to promote freedom of worship

By Hakeem Gbadamosi

P

RESIDENT of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun, has called on governments at various levels to encourage religious institutions in promoting moral values by guaranteeing independence of religious worship in every part of country.

Akinosun, who stated this during the annual Pastors’ Conference at Ibeji Arakeji, Osun State, said people should be encouraged to worship God in their chosen method without discrimination and coercion.

He also called on Christian politicians across the country to be beacons of light to the masses and support the anti-corruption campaign “Let people know us for what we are. Christ Jesus called us to be the light of the world. Let our light therefore shine so well that people will see the good work we are sent here to do,” he said.

Speaking on the state of the nation, he said: “the economic outlook for the nation presented a sombre picture since the beginning of the year. Many state governments are owing workers several months salaries, a situation which was compounded by the downturn.”

Akinosun, who noted that the current fight against corruption by the Federal Government was being criticised as one-sided by politicians, lamented the unfulfilled ‘change’ promises.

He, however, stated that “in all these situations, we owe God a load of gratitude for keeping the nation to-

gether.”

“I urge all Nigerians to bear with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari; the present hard-

ship is temporary. There is light at the end of the tunnel. The fight against corruption should be pursued with vigour and the

institutions engaged in this fight such as EFCC, Code of Conduct Bureau and others should be further empowered.

Primate charges Nigerians on prayers THE founder and Primate of Jerusalem Church of The Lord International, Dr (Mrs) Eunice Olufunke Babayemi, has been full of thanksgiving for 30 years of her ministry at its headquarters in Ajilosun, Ado Ekiti and charged Nigerians not to relent in their prayers for the country in its trying times.

Most Reverend Babayemi, who addressed newsmen as part of the celebration of 30 years of her commission, said she had rededicated herself to the service of God. She also charged Christians and especially members of Jerusalem Church of the Lord to renew their

prayers and always prepare for the coming of Christ.

While announcing that she had been in the Christian ministry for 45 years, she said the church was established at its headquarters 30 years ago and expressed “gratitude to God for His goodness over the years and His sustenance of the ministry.”

According to her, the current economic travails bedeviling Nigeria were as a result of poor leadership over the years, saying: “when you travel out of Nigeria to some countries, you will know that indeed, Nigerians are suffering.”

She, however, expressed optimism that Nigeria would come out of the present economic situation stronger, if only Nigerians

could embrace honesty.

Babayemi hinged the economic hardship experienced in the country on pervasive corruption in the system and outright loss of social values, saying God was ready to return the nation to the path of sufficiency if leaders could be truthful.

On the 20th anniversary of the creation of Ekiti State, slated for October 1, the cleric tasked the Ekiti State government to provide jobs for unemployed youths, describing this as the best way to promote education, the only thriving industry in the state.

Babayemi advised Nigerian leaders to shun materialism and superintend over the people with the fear of God.

Pastor Emmanuel counsels on family values PRESIDING Pastor of Living Spring Chapel International, Pastor Femi Emmanuel, has counselled Christians on family values, stating that first children of he family, in particular, had the duty to ensure that they set good examples.

He stated this in an interaction with newsmen ahead of a special service for first-born children to be held at the Adeniyi Jones,

“They should be objective and ensure that corrupt members of the ruling party are brought to face the law,” he stated.

From left, Reverend Father Emiri Boniface; Revd Fr Vitalis Ezeigbe; Emeritus Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okojie; Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Archdiocese, Most Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins, and Revd Fr Christopher Atoyebi, with other priests during the priestly ordination of Reverend Fathers Emiri, Vitalis and Atoyebi, held at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos State. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti

Ikeja headquarters of the church in Lagos State.

Pastor Emmanuel, who also noted that many first children in families ended up struggling in life, as a result of being born out of wedlock, a situation which attracted curses and pains.

According to the cleric, “first born children are supposed to be the stars of their families; they’re supposed to be the pacesetters; the ones the younger

ones look up to.

“They are expected to take care of their parents in their old age but in many families, the reverse is the case. You see first born children assisted by younger ones.”

Speaking on the forthcoming programme scheduled for September 29 till October 2, he quoted scriptural and contemporary examples, stating that by virtue of the position of

such children in the family, it was necessary for them to embark on intensive prayers for breakthrough.

Referring to his experiences in this area of ministry over the years, the cleric said: “I have seen a lot of turnaround as we share and teach people with impartation and the prophetic. The anointing breaks the yoke and God is always willing what he wants to do over and over again.”

Sunday Tribune

While citing some achievements of the ministry to include the establishment of a nursery and primary school and a maternity home, as a way of diversifying into other sectors to help the poor in the society, she expressed confidence in Nigeria’s all-round development.

“I am very confident that things will change for the better but nobody knows the time. We have oil in Nigeria, but our leaders are so corrupt it makes it difficult for our people to get fuel at affordable price. It is only God that can help.

On the unity of the Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN), the cleric urged the members to operate in line with the commandment of God and stop meddling in politics in a manner that can taint Christendom.

“CAN is a religious organisation. I find it worrisome that we can be involving in politics or promote sectionalism and get involved in corrupt practices. Our conduct must align with the Holy Bible.

A man of God should not behave like those in the world, CAN leadership must be conscious of this and look for how to reform the association because God is coming to reward us according to our deeds,” she warned.

Ibadan Anglican Diocese honours 22 THE authorities of the Ibadan Diocese (Anglican Communion), last Sunday, honoured 22 members of the diocese, who had been found worthy in the service of God and humanity through the use of their God-given talents.

The 2016 honours and awards, which was held at All Souls’ Church, Bodija, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, was presided over by the bishop of the diocese, Most Reverend Joseph Akinfenwa, who charged the awardees to continue to contribute to the spiritual growth of the church through radical evangelism.

Among those that were honoured on the occasion were Chief Jolasanmi Falore; Mrs Fafowora Ogunsola; Amos Ogunyemi; Professor Adenike Oyinlola Osofisan; Miss Modupe Omisakin; Professor Olufunso Famuyiwa, Evangelist Michael Daramola; Mr Samuel Odiaka; Professor Ebenezer Babatunde Otesile; Evangelist Mobolaji Daramola and Mr Daniel Uvo. It will be recalled that a total of 230 people had received the award since the inauguration of the honours and award by Bishop Akinfenwa in 2000, including the 2016 awardees.

The awards cut across all professions such as teaching; medicine; law; business as well as the industrial sector.

Delivering a sermon tagged “Service, prerequisite for honour” on the occasion, the Provost of St James Cathedral, OkeBola, Ibadan, Oyo State, Very Reverend (Dr) David Olagbaju, said that honours were not automatic for people who had not made any significant impact in the lives of others and the society.

He added that it was vain to reward such people, noting that this was why the nation was where it is today.

“For us to be honoured, we must serve God, society and the nation. When you serve God, you must serve Him with faithfulness,” he said.

He, therefore, admonished Nigerians to have direct contact with God so that they would be able to serve Him faithfully and be rewarded.

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Sunday Tribune

No marriage is irredeemable in God’s workshop —Adewale

Pastor Bisi Adewale is a family minister, consultant and author of over 70 books on family life, marriage, parenting, relationship. The president of Family Booster Ministries, Lagos State and College of Marital Success, Africa’s premier marriage institution, in an interaction with RITA OKONOBOH, speaks on religious, marital and national issues. Excerpts:

B

ACKGROUND I’m from Osun State and I studied accounting but I was called

by God to go into family life and training. The ministry started on the 9th of September, 1999. In fact, I started in my final year on campus when it was clear that was the direction the Lord wanted me to take.

What was the turning point?

That was in my final year in school. I was to write two papers the next day – management accounting and financial accounting and any accounting student would know that those two core courses were not to be taken for granted. However, I heard a voice that said: ‘meet me on the field.’ I was reading on the campus then and there was this field close to the hall. I went there and began to pray. My friends were wondering why I was on the field when I had exams the next day. Then the Lord began to talk to me, telling me He wasn’t calling me to balance accounts but family life.

Are you affiliated to any church?

I attend a local church as a member but our ministry is open to all Christians. We go to schools and corporate organisations.

Whosoever expresses interest in learning about marriage, we will be there but that is as long as they agree that the teaching is based strictly on Christian principles.

As a pastor, do you think it is right for pastors to divorce and in what situation would you recommend divorce?

As a Christian, I always stand with the Bible and the Bible does not support divorce. You know, sometimes, you can read the Bible to suit your purpose but that doesn’t mean the Bible has changed. However, I’m not God.

It’s between them and their God. On what case will one recommend divorce, it’s like asking at what stage will a doctor recommend death. We do everything to prevent divorce. If the couple then decides to go ahead and divorce, it will be at their discretion. In our ministry, we believe so strongly that there is no marriage that is irredeemable or irreparable in God’s workshop. There was a case of a couple who were separated for about seven months. In fact, extended family members, pastors and counsellors had given up on them. All of a sudden, we received a text message from the woman, thanking us for not giving up on them, and for our support and to tell us that she and her husband had reconciled. We were shocked.

That is why we are always careful when counselling couples, because anything is possible.

How would you advise clerics on creating a balance between the family and the church?

Not just clerics but also celebrities, everybody. To create a balance involves understanding what marriage is all about. The number one reason for marriage is for companionship, that is, your spouse is your teammate. The only person that can influence you as a team is the coach and the coach in this case is God. The second thing is to set your priorities right. Your priority should be your spouse.

God should be number one; your spouse, number two; children, third place, then career, extended family can come in. If you want the best in family life, you must set your priorities right.

What would you say are the three most important things that make marriages work?

Many things make marriage work. In order of importance, three important things are the fear of God, training, time. The fear of

God will never let a man commit adultery or beat his wife. Even when emotion wants to overcome reason, the fear of the Lord will keep you. We have so many quack husbands and wives. The average spouse is not trained about family life, showing examples to children, sex, in-laws and even money management in marriage. Imagine not disclosing your salary to your spouse? You can let the person see you naked but you don’t want the person to know what is in your bank account; that is foolishness.

It is lack of training. It is sad that there is no training at government level on family life. Someone once asked me what I would do if I could be president of Nigeria for one day and I said I would order that marriage teaching be added to the education curriculum from primary school to university level, and even at the NYSC. With that, we can reduce divorce rates by 80 per cent. It can sometimes be baffling that two good people will come together and have a bad marriage. It is lack of training. Your marriage can never work if you’re never at home. And even for those at home, they still find ways to engage themselves, without actually spending time together. Some people only find themselves at home on weekends

and instead, attend weddings, social gatherings, play golf, without really spending time together.

Couples should deliberately spend time together, no matter how busy they are.

How long do you think courtship should last?

Courtship has no stipulated time in the Bible. We have courtship that lasted for two to three hours in the case of Isaac and Rebecca, and we have the courtship that lasted for 14 years in the case of Jacob and Rachel. However, based on counselling experience, we suggest it should be at least six months, and not more than 18 months.

There seems to be a rise in reports of men raping their daughters and underage girls. Even pastors have not been spared this shame. As a pastor and father, what do you think is wrong?

Pornography is major cause.

It is a multimillion-dollar industry now and when you’re given to pornography, you lose your sense of decency. Your moral values will fall and you will begin to see women from the navel to the thigh. To make matters worse, there are online sites that promote child por-

Pastors are not different as far as marriage is concerned. If they break the principles of marriage, such marriages will crash

nography. If you’re given to pornography, you’ll misbehave.

Clerics’ families are expected to be shining examples of family life but over the years, there is the notion that many do not live up to expectation.

What do you think is going on?

That assertion is not correct.

Sometimes, people pick an example out of 1,000 and blow it out of proportion and it would seem that all pastors are like that. I’ve seen countless numbers of pastors with very fantastic marriages. I teach about family values within and outside Nigeria and there are so many pastors in wonderful marriages.

You know in every profession, we have people who have problems, one way or the other. One thing I usually tell people is that anointing doesn’t make a marriage work.

One main reason many pastors have marital problems is that they become married to the church and ignore their wives. Even the Bible frowns on staying away from the marriage. The main reason for marriage is companionship. That is why the Bible states that it is not good for man to be alone. In marriage counselling, we encourage couples not to stay apart for more than 21 days at a stretch, because after three weeks, you become strangers. It takes 21 days to start a new habit so anyone you haven’t seen for 21 days, it may be hard to trust such a person. That is why we discourage staying apart for such a long time. Pastors are not different as far as marriage is concerned. If they break the principles of marriage, such marriages will crash.

New Anglican Church for conservative Christians launched in UK A new Anglican mission to rival the Church of England is being set up in the United Kingdom.

Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most

Reverend Nicholas Okoh, is backing a plan to plant hundreds of new evangelical Anglican churches, Christian Today has reported.

The new mission is already reaching out to evangelical Christians in dioceses that are “closed to conservative evangelicals.”

The plan is to plant hundreds of new evangelical Anglican churches and it involves new Anglican churches being independent from the country’s “official” established church.

The Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) sets out its plan to plant 25 new churches by 2025 and 250 by 2050.

Okoh, who leads the conservative Anglican fellowship, GAFCON, in his reaction to the move, was quoted as stating that: “We are so thrilled that the Anglican Mission in England exists and we are delighted that it is keen to start many new churches in the years to come. AMiE has the full support of the GAFCON movement.”

AMiE is seeking “pioneers” to plant the new churches. The mission is also seeking assistant ministers and “partners” where local Anglican churches can link with AMiE churches and support them financially.

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Sunday Tribune

‘The Nigerian Catholic community must chart the course for saints’ Continued from pg35

and sometimes, more than a thousand years. Declaration of sainthood in the church takes a process. So, even if we have good people among us and nobody begins the process, then the church cannot declare them saints.

“The local church here has to identify people who have lived exemplary lives and recommend them to the church.

There is a laid-down process. We have unique Nigerians who have lived exemplary lives that we can project as models for the rest of the world and that process must begin with us. Outsiders will not do it for us. Someone, who is referred to as a postulator will take up the case, make recommendations to the bishop and then take it up from there. These things take time. However, with time, I’m sure we will have more people declared as saints.

One must also note the process of moving to and from Rome, getting people to conduct investigation, especially if the local church hasn’t paid attention to that person.

We have good people and good Catholics who have lived extraordinary lives and so we should prepare their course for sainthood.”

‘The church is making efforts’ Reverend Father Vincent Alabi, in his reaction, noted that “making of a saint in the Catholic Church takes a long process and there are things that the church looks for before the church can recognise someone as a saint. For instance, from the very beginning, that person must have lived a life of holiness. Miracles must also be ascribed to that person. It’s in stages. In the case of Mother Teresa, there were accounts of different miracles ascribed to her before the church officially recognised her as a saint. The Nigerian church has Blessed Tansi as a saint in the making. The Catholic Church conducts a lot of investigation and verification before a person is declared saint.

“There are a lot of holy people in the church in Nigeria and the church is trying in its efforts. November 1st of every year is set aside as the feast of all saints and that day recognises not only those who have been officially declared saints but also unofficially recognised saints. The hierarchy of the church in Nigeria is making serious effort in this regard. There are some individuals the church is currently working on the process of their canonisation as saints. It is a long process.”

That is not to say that Africa has not produced saints.

Hundreds of saints find their orogins from various parts of Africa. Below is a list of some African saints as pub-

lished on www.catholicnewsherald.com: The Scillitan Martyrs The Scillitan Martyrs were the first documented African martyrs. The 12 Christians, seven men and five women, were martyred in 180 AD in Scillium (in what is presentday Algeria and Tunisia) for refusing to call the Roman emperor their god. Unlike other Christians, they were not tortured but put on trial and offered 30 days to change their minds. When they still refused to recant their faith, they were put to death by the sword.

We have unique Nigerians who have lived exemplary lives that we can project as models for the rest of the world and that process must begin with us.

Outsiders will not do it for us.

St. Perpetua and St. Felicity St. Perpetua was a young, well-educated noblewoman and mother living in Carthage in North Africa. Her mother was a Christian and her father was a pagan. Perpetua followed the faith of her mother. Despite the pleas of her father to deny her faith, Perpetua fearlessly proclaimed it. At the age of 22, she was jailed for her faith. While in prison, she continued to care for her infant child and put up with tortures designed to make her renounce her faith.

Perpetua remained steadfast until the end. St. Perpetua was sacrificed at the games as a public spectacle.

St. Felicity was a pregnant slave girl who was imprisoned with her. Little is known about her life because, unlike Perpetua, she did not keep a diary. After imprisonment and torture, Felicity was also condemned to die at the games. Only a few days before her execution, Felicity gave birth to a daughter, who was secretly taken away to be cared for by some of the faithful.

service. In order to do so, volunteers, who out of love of Jesus serve the poor and the needy, do not expect any thanks or recompense; rather they renounce all this because they have discovered true love. And each one of us can say: “Just as the Lord has come to meet me and has stooped down to my level in my hour of need, so too do I go to meet him, bending low before those who have lost faith or who live as though God did not exist, before young people without values or ideals, before families in crisis, before the ill and the imprisoned, before refugees and immigrants, before the weak and defenceless in body and spirit, before abandoned children, before the elderly who are on their own.”

The above are excerpts from the homily by Pope Francis delivered on September 4, 2016, at the canonisation of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Bishop Badejo, in his comments on the lesson of sainthood for the Nigerian community, stated that “Mother Teresa’s canonisation is one that you can call ‘canonisation of the people by the people and for the people,’ borrowing from the old definition of democracy. The church only endorsed what majority of the people, Christians and non-Christians have said from the very day she died.

“Santo subito,” many Italians shouted at the news of her funeral, meaning: “saint, immediately.” Note that I said, “majority”. There will always be a few naysayers. There were also about our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The lesson is not only for Nigerians but also for all humanity. That holiness is God’s call to all humanity. ‘Be holy as I your God am holy’ resounds from the Old Testament Bible. ‘Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,’ echoes from the New Testament. Moral perfection, especially, may not be humanly attainable here on earth but only by aiming for it can we achieve excellence which is both attainable and desirable.”

St. Cyprian St. Cyprian of Carthage is second in importance only to St. Augustine as a figure and Father of the African Church. He was born to wealthy pagans around the year 190, and was educated in the classics. Like St. Augustine after him, he questioned what truth was and searched for it in practicing law and rhetoric. He was curious about Christianity, and after much study he converted at the age of 56. He sold all of his property and was ordained a priest a year later, and bishop two years after that. He was martyred on September 14, 258.

Lessons from Mother Teresa’s canonisation “Following Jesus is a serious task, and, at the same time, one filled with joy; it takes a certain daring and courage to recognise the divine Master in the poorest of the poor and those who are cast aside, and to give oneself in their

opinion

Beware of false prophets

By Pastor Jejelola Theophilus Olatunji THE instructions of the Lord must not be uttered, adjusted or amended in any form. The word of God has warned us sternly in Rev. 22:18-19 therefore: “ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this look: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy; God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Of course, it is always a problem when we try to slow down the instruction because the message of the King requires haste and it has to be treated as such. Going by the call of Moses and the several instructions given to him by the Almighty God of Israel, he carried them out accordingly without any iota of selfishness and disobedience.

Nowadays, there are a lot of prophets and prophetesses that have lost relevance in the scheme of God. They go extra miles in search of strange powers to deceive many unrooted believers, and even rooted believers at most times. through miracles, signs and wonders whose origin are completely not from God. These people who fall into their hands are desperately in search for breakthrough and do not mind how it will come and where it will come from.

However, believers and the Bible scholars are not put in the dark. Jesus Christ our Lord did not fail to explain to us in His teachings to the disciples in Math 24:11 2 that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray” He also went further to add therefore in verse 24: “for false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs

and wonders, so as to lead astray if possible even the deal.

Lo, I have told you before hand.”

Some characteristics of the false and fake prophets are as follows: They are more interested in their own agenda than that of the Lord’s. They organise programmes to suit their purposes and interest; tagging them with suitable and convincing themes of reference. They go extra miles to carry out adverts on radio and television with frequent announcements loaded with words of encomium for the prophets rather than Christ the Lord.

They are interested in the offerings and tithes of the people rather than their salvation. They usually come up with sweet words of prayers to tie down their fellow members, through their tricky words of prayers. They sell sachet water, bottled water, oils of different colours and of different sizes, dried herbs as perfumes to their members at exhorbitant prices. No wonder! Paul Apostle said to the Romans “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.”

Beloved, examine your faith and think about your present fellowship centre. Are you not given to a debased mind to do what you ought not to do?

Fellow believers, it is good you check yourselves to know whether you are worshipping under a fake and false prophet. Take time to examine your faith, activities, participations in worship services you attend weekly and stop for a while to think about the quoted scriptures above. Do not be deceived, each of us will give account of all we do in the flesh one day. Please be aware of that fact. Stop wasting your limited resources in an unfruitful arena.

Let me ask you these questions: Are you one of the perishing souls? Do you seek for signs and wonders by all means? Do you belong to the group, whom strong delusions were sent to? Examine your life; faith and thoughts; in order not to fall prey to the hands of the fake and false prophets of these end times.

The fake and false prophets are all over the place, taking their seats in the temple of God, choking people up with flattery and false doctrines by way of extorting them.

They are more interested in the membership than discipleship. Most of them conjure the power of discerning spirits to easily get to know the future lives of their members telling them the mysteries at stake. No one would hear about his future occurrences either good or bad who would not be thrilled and excited to take the next available step. Such an individual would be happy indeed to share and propagate the prophet to some quarters that are friendly to him/her. This, in no time, will promote the increase of the membership. There are many other forms of evil drawing powers to overpopulate the church of such ministers. They do not care about discipleship but are deeply interested in members because of the gains they wish to make.

Be careful not to fall prey to “false prophets.” You must not allow any form of distractions from any quarter to knock you down. Run with the vision. In this present age, we need to be spiritually sensitive in order to know and to recognise the wiles of the devil any time, any day. Beware of false prophets; they are all over the place.

Pastor Jejeola Theophilus Olatunji is a cleric with Immanuel Baptist Church, Saki, Oyo State.

39

tribunechurch

25 September, 2016

livingword

dawnofanewera with Most Revd J.O. Akinfenwa

By Bishop David Oyedepo Call 7747546-8; or e-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Bishop of Ibadan Anglican Diocese

What is in the Name of Jesus that Heals? (4) AS we conclude this teaching series, it is important to recognise that the anointing for healing is resident in the name of Jesus Christ. This is because the name ‘Christ’ means the ‘Anointed One’. Speaking of Jesus in prophecy, king Solomon said: Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee (Song of Solomon 1:3).

Last week, we began to examine the power of the anointing in the name of Jesus. In this concluding edition, we shall be looking at other benefits of the anointing in the name of Jesus.

• Demons are cast out in the name of Jesus: The Bible records: And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name (Luke 10:17).

Also, Jesus said: And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17; see also Matthew 8:28-29).

• Our prayers are answered through the name of Jesus: The name of Jesus is the access code that guarantees answers in prayers. As it is written: And in that day ye shall ask me nothing.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will

The importance of wisdom (2) LAST time we began looking at the importance of wisdom. We saw that wisdom is an acquisition we cannot do without if we are to have our lives count. Times have changed and we must understand how to respond well to make the best out of life.

“At one time we had wisdom, but little knowledge. Now we have a great deal of knowledge, but do we have enough wisdom to deal with that knowledge?” Jonas Salk We live in the information age where you can get virtually any information at the click of a button. The issue is no longer access to information but how to use the information we have access to. We must devote quality time to not just access information but take time to asses, analyze and translate information into meaningful action. Wisdom demands time and effort – it doesn’t just drop on people without a conscious pursuit.

“The words wisdom is defined as “The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.” A leader who want to gain wisdom must know that time is a factor. It requires years and decades to grow and become a wise leader. Albert Einstein said, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” This is why many times people who are older or seasoned leaders have wisdom. However, this does not mean a younger person or leader can’t gain or have wisdom.” Dan Black Wisdom will make people admire us due to its workings in our life. Wisdom attracts favour and open doors. Every enduring promotion is traceable to wisdom. If you want progress and outstanding achievements then, wisdom is indispensable.

Wisdom promotes – it raises people to a higher position or rank. Wisdom is a nonnegotiable leadership tool. Wisdom gives the essential mindset and ability to be effective leaders.

Sunday Tribune

give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24; see also John 14:12-14).

• The name of Jesus is our shield and buckler in battle: It is written, The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe (Proverbs 18:10).

The Bible also says: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (Psalms 91:1-4; see also Psalms 18:2).

In other words, when we invoke the name of Jesus, we abide under His Mighty shadow where the snare of the fowler and the noisome pestilence cannot reach us.

We are also protected and shielded from every attack of the enemy by His everlasting wings. Therefore, in the name of Jesus Christ, enough is enough concerning the oppression of the devil in any aspect of your life today! The last assault you suffered is the last you will ever see in the name of Jesus Christ!

Your Life Counts

by Tunde Jaiyebo 0803 406 2013

“Leaders see the bigger picture and provide the vision for people, directing them towards the bigger cause. To put it simply, leaders are innovative, intuitive, imaginative and future-oriented. Without wisdom, it would probably be inconceivable that a leader would be able to envision where an organization is headed, much less make informed decisions for the staff and the community at large.” Jared Lim Honor, high respect (influence) is the appendages of wisdom. A man who exhibits wisdom is a man who will be respected and consequently influential To earn respect in your career, business, ministry, academics, just go for wisdom. Make wisdom your highest and deepest desire and you are on your way to the top. Wisdom is the principal thing.

Wisdom is a great management tool. Ecclesiastes 7:11 says “Wisdom is good with an inheritance and by it there is a profit to them that see the sun”. Whatever you have whether it be a business, marriage, ministry, money, resources etc will only be managed, multiplied and maximized by wisdom. Not to acquire and walk in wisdom in dealing with resources is bound to lead to depreciation, disappointment, depression and failure. A man without wisdom is a vulnerable person, he is vulnerable to attacks of various forms and is liable to defeat, disgrace, loss and shame.

Wisdom is so important that we must make it our most predominant acquisition.

Concluded For enquiries/comments please send email to charismokola@yahoo.com

The mercy of God IN Romans chapter 9, he showed us how it was mercy that catapulted Abraham, Isaac and Jacob into the place of covenant blessings. God just showed compassion on them, not that they did anything special to deserve the special blessings of God. In fact, he reminded us of Jacob, of whom it was written: Romans 9:12-13 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Had Jacob done any good deed at this time, or had Esau committed any sin? No. God just decided to have mercy on Jacob.

One of the mysteries of God is the mystery of divine mercy or election.

Apostle Paul then asks a question, and he answers it by himself: Romans 9:14-16 What shall we say then?

Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For hesaith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

My dear reader, you are not here by your power or by your might. You have not seen the ninth month of Year 2016 because you know how to protect yourself. It is the mercy of God. If that is the case, then, on a day like this, we should approach our God with a great sense of appreciation for His goodness and His mercies.

The Psalmist says,

Psalms 118:1-4 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endurethfor ever. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endurethfor ever. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endurethfor ever. Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endurethfor ever.

Will you approach God today to offer Him thanksgiving, for His mercy endures in your life? While you are at it, I like to remind you that your entire life is lived at the mercy of God. If the grammarian says you are “at the mercy” of somebody or something, it means you are completely unprotected against whatever that somebody or something decides to do to you. My friend, you are at the mercy of God; he can do anything he likes with you. You are completely powerless against God. If that is so, why then are you struggling with God? Why are you disobeying him?

Why will you not submit totally to him? Are you reading this today, and you have not totally surrendered to Jesus Christ? Today is another opportunity. Do not delay. God can take away your breath any moment he chooses to – he has the power to do so without seeking your permission.

Some people, it is their money, their status, and things like that, that are preventing them from accepting Jesus as lord and savior. If you realize that God can take away your money, your status, your position, without asking for your permission, you will submit to God.

theapostolicmessage

By Pastor (Dr) G.O. Olutola JP.

Remember not the former troubles “THAT he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hid from mine eyes.” (Isaiah 65:16) I have good news for you; God is asking you to forget your former troubles because they are hidden (removed) from his eyes. What are these former troubles?

Sin: As you confess your sin and forsake them and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, those iniquities that have separated you from God and the sin that has hidden His face from you should be forgotten, because they have been blotted out by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 44:22 says: “I have blotted out as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.”

Misery: The Bible promises that you will forget your misery and remember it as waters that passed away (Job 11:16).

Job suffered untold hardship in the hands of Satan but God later restored his fortunes. “So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12). Like Job, your fortunes shall be restored and you will forget your misery.

Reproach: Another trouble that God

will make you to forget is your reproach.

Is it reproach of barrenness, joblessness, captivity, indebtedness etc. you will not remember it again. Elizabeth testified to the goodness of God in her old age that; “thus hath the LORD dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men” (Luke 1:25). She became the proud mother of John the Baptist, the fore-runner of Jesus Christ.

In the case of Israelites, he rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them (Joshua 5:9). I can see every reproach in your life being rolled away in Jesus name.

Afflictions: Are you eating the bread of afflictions and drinking water of afflictions, the Almighty God is putting an end to that. Remember, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

The Omnipotent God who delivered the Israelites from their afflictions in Egypt and made them to sing a new song is ready to deliver you. Weep no more.

I would like you to take this song: “Jesus knows all about our struggles He will guide till the day is done There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus No, not one! No not one!”

Remember not your former troubles; God will do a new thing for you.

40

language&style

by Samson Dare 0805 500 1770 samsonadare@yahoo.co.uk

Of rent, other, and order

S

AMPLE 1: “That same morning reports also rented the internet of his attempted suicide on the Lekki/Ikoyi link bridge and it took the duo of Peter Okoye and Banky W to get him off the suicide act.”(Tiwa Savage and Teebillz: A Matter of Ego, The Nation, May 8, 2016) We are interested in the form and use of the word rented which occurs in the following context: “reports also rented the internt”. This word, its appropriate usage and its misapplication have engaged our attention several times in this place before. It would seem that reporters have not benefited sufficiently from such efforts. What is the problem with this word as used in this context? How do we use the word correctly?

In answering these questions we would not shrink from rehashing some of our earlier presentations on the subject.

The verb from which the form rented is supposed to derive is rend, meaning to break through violently, to tear apart, to make a loud, deafening noise. The form rented has been presented by the reporter as the past form rend.

However, there can be no mistake about the fact that the writer’s head is racked by confusion regarding the forms rend, rent and rented. There is the verb rent, meaning to take and use for some time, say an apartment, a facility, a vehicle, etc, for a fee.

The forms of that verb are: rent, rents, renting and rented.

Usage examples: 1) She rents a car every week for that purpose.

2) He has been renting out his father’s houses for the past five years. 3) The facility was rented for five hundred thousand naira. 4) I have not rented any house since I secured this job; the company has been providing accommodation. 5) The university has been renting facilities from the company.

The noun form of that verb remains rent: 1) She always takes a loan to pay her rent. 2) When is your rent due? 3) Rents have gone up astronomically since the increase in the prices of petroleum products. 4) Is the house for rent? 5) We pay an annual rent of one million naira.

We need, however, to distinguish the various forms of the verb rent from the various forms of the verb rend. The verb rend has the following forms: rend, rends, rent, rending. As we have noted, this verb means to tear violently apart, break into pieces with violence, to utter loud, deafening noise. Usage examples: 1) Every night, the noise of carousing men rends the air.

2) When the president arrived, shouts of ‘APC’ rent the air. 3) A hefty branch of the huge tree was rent by the storm. 4) Heartrending stories of death and destruction were told by the hapless returnees. 5) Her loving and innocent heart was rent by a bitter disappointment. 6) It was the tradition of the ancient Hebrews to rend their clothes as a sign of penitence. 7) The rocky hill was rent by an earthquake. 8) It was a terrible crash in which the vehicle was rent into two.

It is important to note that the past tense of rend is not rented but rent; the past participle is not rented but rent.

It is also important to note the difference between rend and render. The following sentences are defective: 1) We are *rending an account before the end of the financial year. 2) She narrated a soul-*rendering story of how her husband and children were brutally murdered. 3) He collapsed while he was *rending a song. 4) That sad development *rendered her heart. 5) Increased technology seems to be *rending many workers redundant.

Those sentences are re-presented as follows with the appropriate word replacing the wrong one in each case: 1a) We are rendering an account before the end of the year. 2a) She narrated a soul-rending story of how her husband and children were brutally murdered. 3a) He collapsed while he was rendering a song. 4a) That sad development rent her heart. 5a) Increased technology seems to be rendering many workers redundant.

At any rate, let the form rent replace rented in the context under review.

Sample 2: “One of the discussants, a popular blogger, Noble Igwe, however maintained that the giant brewery still has a lot to do in the area of awareness so that consumers will restrict themselves to moderate drinking in other to benefit from the nutritional contents of the alcoholic beverage.”(Experts Link Healthy Lifestyle to Beer Consumption, The Nation, July 10, 2016)

Sunday Tribune

25 September, 2016

The expression that attracts our attention is in other to which occurs in the context, “restrict themselves to moderate drinking in other to benefit from the nutritional contents.” This expression is clearly confused with in order to which is the appropriate one for the context. Again, this issue has engaged our attention repeatedly on this page and it would amount to reinventing the wheel if we do not exercise the freedom to appropriate the fruits of our earlier efforts. That freedom is hereby exercised.

Some Nigerian users of English find it difficult to differentiate in pronunciation between the words order and other, thus carrying the phonological confusion into the idiomatic and syntactic usage.

Now read the following sentences: 1) The Treasury Single Account (TSA) was introduced in order to prevent public officers from exceeding their spending limits. 2) Nigerian languages and cultures are being taught in public schools in order to wean our citizens from unhealthy attachment to foreign languages and culture. 3) Regular parents-teachers meetings are held in order to foster a sustained dialogue between parents and teachers. 4) Politicians hold their meetings at night in order to prevent other people from having access to their information. 5) The pregnant woman was immediately subjected to surgery in order to prevent her from laboring too much. 6) The coach subjected his team to regular rigorous training in order to guarantee a brilliant international outing. 7) A lot of stones and cement were used in order to give the building a strong foundation. 8) He told so many lies in order to present himself as a man of integrity. 9) Many advertisements were placed in newspapers in order to generate goodwill for the organization. 10) Many more hands were employed in order to cope with the volume of production this season requires.

The word order can be used in a variety of other ways that should help highlight the difference between it and the word other. Now read the following sentences: 1) It is the constitutional duty of the police to maintain law and order. 2) People will be attended to in the order in which they arrived. 3) The order of service is contained in the pamphlets distributed to the worshippers. 4) No particular order is followed in the way doctors attended to their patients. 5) The chief executive has given an order which cannot be countermanded. 6) The restriction order in that part of the country has been lifted. 7) Since his assumption of office, the president has been trying to put things in order. 8) The machine is out of order and it will require a huge sum of money to fix it. 9) It may interest you to note that I don’t take orders from just anybody. 10) The company has placed an order for a new generator. 11) The army General ordered his men to leave the city. 12) Students were ordered to stay away from the venue of the meeting.

Next we illustrate the usage of the word other. The word can be used in a number of different senses. Read the following sentences: 1) Apart from excessive cash in circulation, there are other factors responsible for inflation. 2) Apart from Christianity and Islam, there are other important religions in the world.

3) The first gentleman seems to be more responsible than the other two. 4) His father had other children by another wife. 5) There are many other things we need to discuss. 6) The other day he was saying something I didn’t quite understand. 7) I see no reason why the two friends should be quarrelling with each other. 8) There are many other books on the same subject. 9) There are situations other than this in which we can encounter similar challenges. 10) We live on the other side of the street.

11) The other false assumption is that life will go on forever. 12) My uncle’s other properties are in Abuja. 13) Some men discriminate against women. In other words, they feel they are superior to women. 14) Soldiers need to understand that this is a democracy and not military dictatorship. In other words, they should learn to submit themselves to civil authority. 15) Parents have a vital role to play in the moral upbringing of their children.

In other words, parents should never leave the spiritual and moral destiny of their children entirely in the hands of teachers.

At any rate, the expression in order to should replace in other to in the context under consideration.

line

life with

Niyi Osundare

Random Blues Head on the ground In the air a pair of feet Yes, head on the ground In the air a pair of feet The Magic Man walks the street A man of odd and strangest feat

He wrote God an urgent letter But knew not the right address Say, he wrote God an urgent letter But knew not the postal address He tossed the envelope into the clouds And said bye-bye to all his stress

The truest bird flies On the wings of Rumour Hun, the truest bird flies On the wings of Rumour The stoop-side whisper, the wagging tongue Laced every lane with a layer of humour

Light at the top Black at the bottom Hear? Light at the top Black at the bottom Spectroscopicaldeligt Like the hue-fest of autumn

The songs which visit our lips Are always of the darkest blue Hun, the songs which visit our lips Are always of the darkest blue Laughing through our tears we hit The threshold of the joyfully true

41 interview

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

I left no debt, but Oshiomhole has thrown Edo into debt —Igbinedion

Chief Lucky Igbinedion is a two-time former governor of Edo State. In this interview with some journalists, he disclosed that he left office in 2007 without owing any bank or workers salary even as he expressed regret at the state current debt profile. He also speaks on the postponement Edo governorship election, his performance as governor as well as the attack of his government by the incumbent Governor Adams Oshiomhole. BANJI ALUKO brings excerpts.

W

HAT do you make of the postponement of the Edo State governorship election originally scheduled for September 10 to September 28?

I take them by their words. They have promised a free, fair and credible election and I don’t’ have any reason to doubt them. I believe they will be ready for the poll just as they were before the postponement.

There have been comments that you have not been campaigning for your party’s candidate, Paator Osagie Ize-Iyamu I wonder why people would be reading meanings to my silence. I think I am a very dignified person in the sense that I have served the state as a local government chairman and as a two-term governor and our own candidate is mature enough. He does not need to be baby-seated. He doesn’t need a feeding bottle. As far as I am concerned, our party is well grounded and our party chairman is very versatile and capable. He has been doing very well. He has my full backing. He has my endorsement and support.

Are you still in PDP? I have never left the PDP. That is one thing for sure. I have remained a staunch member of the PDP since inception.

We were the founding members and I have never denied being a PDP member. It is true that I have not been active the way people expect me to be because I believe that, after serving the state, it is better to take the back seat and I am not a political jobber. I have other things to do. I have my Igbinedion business to run. I have my family life to live as well. I believe that once you have served the public, there will come a time return the state to sound footing because the debt they have when you will have to take the back seat and allow new put the state is alarming, very frightening. hands to come on board.

Your comment that the next governor of the state You don’t need to be at the centrestage all the time. You don’t start pampering people as if they are not mature. will come from your political family seemed to When I was governor, I was not even 50. I was just 42. It have generated so much reaction, especially from was when I finished my two term that I turned fifty. The Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

I don’t have the same background with the incumbent person, who is running under the PDP, is over 50 already. governor.

We came from different background. I have my He is not a small person. He is not a baby and does not need me to carry him on my back or does he need me to start ways of approaching various issues. I don’t believe in calling talking? He doesn’t need a babysitter. He is mature. He is people names. I have never criticised his government and that is not my style. I have given him enough room to run his well grounded and I don’t entertain any fear. government, but it is now time for the people of Edo State to really look inwards and search their souls and ask under Are you giving support to the party?

I am doing that. Rest assured that I am doing that. I don’t which administration have they lived a more comfortable, need to make a noise about it. I am playing my role as a PDP prosperous, people-oriented and secured life. I leave the chieftain and as a two-term governor of the state. You know people to make that judgement. He (Oshiomhole) believes that experience counts. From time to time, I volunteer my in listening to himself. I believe in watching and listening to wealth of experience. I speak with the party chairman and other people rather than making unnecessary vile and rude other party members. It is not about making noise. Just statements about other people.

I was not brought up that way. I was brought up under a because I am not in the public glare does not mean I am very strict disciplinary family lifestyle. Both my father and not in full support of our party, neither I am not making mother brought me up well. I was not raised in the culture the statutory contributions or obligations expected of me. I just decided not to be in active politics because as I told you of abusing people, even people of equal status. The seat of a governor is so highly revered that you must watch what you earlier on, I am not a political jobber. say because people are listening to what you say and associate Your administration was accused of laying off what you say with that seat of authority. So, when you are talking, you have to be very diplomatic and you have to be workers prematurely. How correct is that?

In any work environment, when you get to the retirement very dignified in your words and carriage. It is not a position age, you retire. When we came on board, we discovered that or seat where you just talk because you feel like talking. Like our wage bill was over-bloated and for one reason or the they always say, if you don’t have anything meaningful to other we had to do some restructuring. But we also employed say, let silence be maintained. Wiithout mincing words, the many teachers. Like any organisation, companies retire and condemnation of the Igbinedion administration seems to be employ. The Federal Government retires and employs, so the greatest focus of the present government. it is a continuous exercise But we were not owing anybody.

So, you are of the opinion that the governor talks Backlog of salaries that were up to 18 months from the selfsustenance policy were paid; pensioners were paid up to too much?

He replies to everything. You don’t reply to every comment date. I paid up to date.

Today, the state is owing over $200 million and I do not made, otherwise you will be seen to be talking too much. know how many billions of naira inclusive. When I left office He over-talks and overreacts and that is what everybody in 2007, I was not owing any bank, not even an overdraft, no has known him for. He exaggerates the truth and overblows salary arrears and no pension arrears, even though they are his own trumpet. He should let the people decide; let the lying left and right now. These facts are well documented. people create that opinion, but he is trying to force it into the I believe in human capital development and I did that people’s throat and people are saying enough is enough. I satisfactorily. But what is the situation today? I earnestly once told him to look back at his inaugural photographs, the feel sorry for the next PDP government coming in because first time he was sworn in, and find out how many people they are going to meet an empty treasury, a big hole. I just that were in those pictures are still with him now. If he finds pray that by God’s grace he has the wisdom and ingenuity to that most of them are still there, then, he is doing well. But if he does not find those people who were there in 2008, then

he has failed woefully.

You mean the governor does not conduct himself in a manner befitting his office?

Definitely. When people started discovering your characteristics, your mannerism, these go a long way in determining someone’s character. Of course what comes out of the mouth is like an egg, once it is broken, you cannot put it together again. You might think, oh, I can go behind and apologise just like he told a woman to go and die. How can he tell a widow that was struggling to make ends meet to go and die? The worst part is that the people he is now abusing are the people that he knelt down for before and praised them. (They were like) this is a good man and this is a fantastic person, this man helped me, but today, he has abused all of them. When one talks too much, he talks nonsense.

What were some of your achievements as governor?

Oh, several, and that is why when I listen to some people ask what did the PDP achieve in the past 10 years, I just laugh because it is either the people that are talking conveniently forget the facts of where we were before 1999 when we took over. It could also be that they are just deliberately propagating falsehood. This was a state that was purely known as a civil service state. This is a state that we brought about industrialisation and revived the education sector. This is a state we turned into a centre of sporting activities. This is a state where we inherited a wicked selfsustenance policy handed down to agencies and parastatals and we moved away from it. This is a state that workers and pensioners were being paid as at when due. This is state I left in 2007 without owing a single debt, whether local or foreign. This was a state that people were happy to wake up and go to work.

When I came, there were no banks sin the state except Union Bank and First Bank. With the enabling environment that I created and the security level that I created, various companies started coming in, Because of the wickedness of some people and the the propaganda they decided to employ, they say no, PDP has not done anything. I challenge them that the PDP government did far better than many administrations before us and better than this administration by far in terms of kobo to kobo, project to project.

There was nowhere in any of the charges that they said Lucky Igbinedion embezzled money; there was nowhere in the charges that Lucky Igbinedion mismanaged the resources of the state. A lot of people just talk because of lack of knowledge or sheer wickedness. PDP did fantastically well. The foundation they are talking about today, we laid the foundation since 1999. Everything was done. Today, there is nothing like Sports in Edo State.

The Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, I turned it around and renamed it Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. It used to be called Ogbe Stadium. The Ogbe Hard Court, I revived it. Bendel Insurance was well known and indomitable. Edo hosted and won the National Sports Festival under my administration.

As a deliberate effort to engage our youth, I set up various industries in the three senatorial districts. Go there today, all those things have been bastardised. Government should be a continuum, but when you don’t continue but think you can come and rubbish what your predecessors had done, it doesn’t work that way.

How do you feel knowing that the PDP candidate Pastor Ize-Iyamu left your party for the then ACN and now APC and back to PDP? Like I said, he is above 50 and everybody has the right to associate with any political party and you know that our politics is very fluid. Our politics is not really based on ideologies as of today. People dump one party for the other for different reasons, but for whatever decision someone takes there must be a reason.

Are you in support of his candidacy?

Hundred per cent, I am hundred per cent in support of Pastor Ize-Iyamu who is the candidate of my Party, the PDP.

42

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

43 news 4 die in boat accident while going to Tompolo dad’s burial •11 rescued by Marine Police Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri

N

O fewer than four lives were, on Friday, lost during the funeral rites of late Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo, father of former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a. Tompolo.

The four people, it was gathered, died in a boat accident while on their way to Kurutie in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State for the funeral.

The victims were said to have hardly taken off from the Miller Waterside, Warri, on their way to the venue, when the speedboat they boarded reportedly capsized.

A source from a Gbaramatu community, while disclosing the incident to journalists, said: “We were already at the funeral celebrating Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo when we got news of the accident.

“Initially, we were told two persons died. Further details later revealed that about four persons, three

females, including one Faith from Ogulagha, another female from Kurutie and a man from the Northern part of the country, lost their lives in the mishap.

“The Northern man, I gathered, was actually not an invited dignitary, but someone who was conveying some wares to sell at the funeral ground.”

It will be recalled that the funeral rites for late Chief Ekpemupolo began on Friday with the internment holding today.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta State

Police Command, Celestina Kalu, a Superintendent of Police, disclosed to Sunday Tribune on Saturday that operatives of the Marine Police, however, rescued 11 of the passengers.

According to Kalu, in a text message forwarded to Sunday Tribune, “no manifest to know the number of passengers in the boat, number of death not certain yet, bodies will float tomorrow.”

She added that further search and investigations were ongoing in the Warri river.

Why Lagos is experiencing influx of investors, tourists daily —Ambode

...Govt urges residents of flood-prone areas to relocate LAGOS State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has offered reasons Lagos was witnessing influx of investors and visitors in recent times, saying it was largely due to the aggressive upgrade of infrastructure, especially road construction and rehabilitation.

Governor Ambode said this on Saturday in Somolu Local Government Area of the state at the climax of the inauguration of 114 roads constructed across the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of the state.

According to him, each infrastructure provided had further improved the status of Lagos, both locally and internationally.

The governor, represented at the inauguration of two of the 114 roads – Okesuna and Anifowoshe roads – in Somolu by the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Folarin Coker, said the provision of security apparatus, roads, ‘Light Up Lagos’ project and other infrastructure had further improved the confidence of tourists and

Sunday Tribune

Man arrested for allegedly raping 15-year-old daughter POLICE in Lagos State have arrested a man who claimed to be a trader for allegedly raping his 15 year old daughter and administering drugs on her to prevent pregnancy.

The spokesperson of the state Police Command, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.

Badmos said that the Gender Unit of the command was investigating the suspect, Uchena Elumadu, for a case of defilement.

“The victim said that her father, on countless occasions wakes her up in the middle of the night to rape her, mostly when her mother is on night duty. The mother is a casual worker in one of the outfits attached to airport.

“On the night of September 19, the mother discovered the suspect having intercourse with the victim and raised the alarm and one of their neighbours reported the case to the police,” Badmos said.

Badmos said the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, had directed that the father, who allegedly admitted raping his daughter on three occasions, be charged to court.

Suspected madman stabs man to death, injures 3

From left, Central Bank governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele; Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai; his deputy, Barnabas Bantex and Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar, during the ground-breaking for Vicampro Potato Farm and Processing Facility, in Manchok, Kaduna State, on Saturday. PHOTO: NAN

Bola Badmus-Lagos

25 September, 2016

investors in the state.

“Construction of 114 roads not only gives access, but further boosts the state’s economy, social welfare, creates employment and provides other benefits within the state,” the governor said.

In another development, the Lagos State government has charged residents living

in flood-prone areas in the state to urgently relocate to avert flooding likely to hit the metropolis as heavier rainfall was anticipated in the next few days.

Commissioner for Environment, Dr Samuel Adejare, gave the charge on Saturday during the September edition of the monthly sanitation exercise

monitored at Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the state, disclosing that heavier rainfall was being anticipated between Tuesday and Friday.

The commissioner, therefore, urged people living in lowlands and susceptible to flood to immediately relocate to avert disaster.

No going back on October 1 deadline on speed limiter —FRSC THE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Bayelsa State has insisted that there is no going back on the October 1 deadline for enforcement of speed limiting devices in the state.

Mr Wobin Gora, FRSC state sector commander, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Yenagoa that the deadline was sacrosanct.

He urged commercial drivers in the state to obey the directive and install the device in their vehicles, adding that the command was committed to enforcing the directive.

He said that any commercial driver who failed to comply with the directive

would be punished.

“The campaign for the installation of the speed limiting device has been going on for quite some time. Let me emphatically warn commercial drivers in the state that there is no going back on the October 1 deadline.

“My advice to them is to install the device in their vehicles as anybody who failed to do so is doing that at his own risk,’’ he warned.

Gora explained that installing the device would not only reduce crashes resulting from excessive speeding, but would also go a long way to reduce fuel consumption.

“When speed is reduced, it saves fuel consumption;

it saves cost of repairing vehicles and reduces fatality to the barest minimum,’’ he said.

NAN recalled that the Bayelsa State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) had urged the FRSC to extend the enforcement date of the device, citing the current harsh economic situation in the country.

Noting that the transportation business was no longer flourishing as a result of the downturn in the economy, the union stated that extending the deadline would enable its members save money to purchase the device.

A man suspected to be mentally ill has stabbed a man to death and injured three others in Taraya village of Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that a resident of the village, Adamu Sani, told newsmen that the suspect was armed with a knife which he used to perpetrate the act at about 1:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Sani said that the suspected killer attacked the victims in their homes located in different parts of the village and fled.

Secretary of the Local Government, Alhaji Mohammed Harbo, told newsmen that the assailant stabbed his first victim, Adamu Jibrin, on the nape which led to his death.

Harbo disclosed that the suspect stabbed his second victim, Sale Umar, in the stomach while the two others – Auwal Sani and Yusuf Suleman – were stabbed on the shoulder and ribs, respectively, stating that the three injured persons were on admission at the General Hospital in Jahun.

Spokesman of the Jigawa State Police Command, Abdul Jinjiri, confirmed the incident, stating that no arrest had been made and that police were on the trail of the suspect.

FUNAAB directs students to resume October 2 Olayinka Olukoya-Abeokuta AUTHORITIES of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Ogun State, have directed students to return to school on October 2nd, following the students’ peaceful protest on August 18.

According to a statement by the Head, Directorate of Public Relations, Mrs Emi Alawode, the Senate of the institution, at the end of its emergency meeting directed that normal academic activities should commence immediately.

The decision, according to Alawode, was a result of a report submitted by the committee that was set up to look into the students’ unrest, while the management approved the facilitation of the establishment of a police station in the communities opposite the university campus, among other directives.

The Senate approved the payment of N5,000, inclusive of REMITA charges per student, as reparation fee, and also approved the payment of claims arising from the damage suffered as a result of the students’ unrest.

Powering Africa holds Nigeria investment summit AN international power organisation, The Powering Africa, is set to hold its annual Nigeria investment summit.

The event will allow prospective investors, power stakeholders and government agencies to discuss the future of the energy sector in Nigeria and Africa at large.

The event, under the official patronage of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Electricity Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) and the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), will hold at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, between October 12 and 14, 2016.

The pre-meeting networking activities including the Powering Africa: Nigeria Golf Networking Day and the pre-meeting evening drinks reception to be hosted by Detail Solicitors will provide an exclusive relationshipbuilding space prior to the start of the conference.

44

edoelection

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Ize-Iyamu’s godfather, Igbinedion, can’t walk freely in Edo —Oshiomhole

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O V E R N O R A d a m s Oshiomhole of Edo State has said the former governor of the state, Mr Lucky Igbinedion, cannot walk freely in the state owing to the failure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government which he led.

According to Oshiomhole, Igbinedion is regarded as the sponsor and godfather of the PDP governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and had said the next governor of the state would come from his political family.

Speaking at the coincidence of the 22-kilometre Iguobazuwa-Umaza-Siluko Road in Ovia South West Local Government Area, Oshiomhole said: “by some coincidence, this location is just adjacent the market and I decided to walk round the market, and I felt good seeing the real Nigerians, the real Edo people, the real Edo women smiling, dancing, waving, showing joy and happiness.

“This, for me, is my testimonial of service because if almost eight years on the job, I can go to any local government and walk into a market that you find all kinds of persons and they are all clapping, expressing joy, showing gratitude, to God be the glory. There are those who have governed this state who could not come to this market, and they are there. The people’s verdict will reflect on their faces.

“I want to thank all of you for standing by us for close to eight years. You have voted for me and re-voted for me. You have supported our party. You have helped us to defeat the forces that underdeveloped this state and this local government.

It is the result of your power that enabled us to assume office, without which I would not have been able to do this job. As you can see, this is a typical example of our standard: well-built roads with concrete side drains, not blocks so that the water can flow out, so that we can have a place such as this even during raining season.

“So, whereas you appreciate what we have done, I am the first to say the gratitude goes to you for voting wisely and ensuring that those you have voted for used the money for the purpose. My heart is gladdened as I was driving through Oba market, through Siluko Road to Upper Siluko Road and I was looking for the mammy water and I couldn’t find her; in a matter of minutes,

I got here.”

He said, “And today, I am proud that we, the antimammy water forces as symbolised by our broom in unity, have brought hope, joy and the renewal of our confidence in our state as

the heartbeat of Nigeria.

I am sure the economy of this part of the state cannot be the same again because these women don’t need to pay. He will empower the youths, and together, we shall sustain the tradition of

service to our fatherland.”

Speaking on behalf of the Ovia communities on the Iguobazuwa-UmazaSiluko Road, Honourable Christopher Adesotu said, “We have 33 communities starting from Evbuoba,

Igueogun, Ikotakpa, Ukuzuwa, the Yoruba camp, Ogbobaifo, Umaza and many others and Siluko, the last community on this road. We want to thank you for what you have done for us because

there was a time when we were coming from Benin, it would take us four hours right from Textile Mill Road junction to Siluko, but today it is just one hour. So, we have to thank you for that.”

Edo govt declares 2-day holiday for election Banji Aluko -Benin City

From left, Director of Service Delivery, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems 2 (PATHS2), Dr Amina Aminu; the Divisional Vice President, ABT Associates USA, Dr Dina Slimperi; Medical Officer in charge of Ogudu Primary Health Centre, Dr Bamidele Ajala; Assistant Director HCPRS, Ministry of Health, Lagos State, Dr Abosede Wellington and the Portfolio Manager PATHS2, Mr Steve Cooper during, PATHS2 end of program facility tour of the Ogudu PHC in Lagos on Friday. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

Oshiomhole likes listening to himself —Lucky Igbinedion Banji Aluko -Benin City FORMER Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion, has disclosed that he declined to react to the accusations leveled against him by Governor Adams Oshiomhole because he did not believe in calling people names and that he had an upbringing that was different from that of the governor.

The ex-governor, who spoke with journalists in Benin, accused Governor Oshiomhole of using propaganda to spread falsehood and discredit his government, pointing out that his administration performed better that the Oshiomhole’s administration “in terms of kobo to kobo and project to project.”

He said despite efforts to cover up the achievements of his government, it was on record that the state government was not owing any bank when he left office in 2007, regretting that the state now owes over $200 million and unspecified billions of naira.

He said, “Today, the state is owing over $200 million and I do not know how many billions of naira inclusive.

When I left office in 2007, I was not owing any bank, not even an overdraft, no salary arrears and no pension arrears even though they are lying left and right now.

“These facts are well documented. I believe in human capital development and I did that satisfactorily.

today? I earnestly feel sorry for the next PDP government coming in because they are going to meet an empty treasury, a big hole.

“I just pray that by God’s grace, he has the wisdom and ingenuity to return the state to sound footing because the debt they have put the state is alarming, very frightening.”

On Oshiomhole, he said, “I don’t believe in calling people names. I have never criticised his (Oshiomhole) government and that is not my style.

“I have given him enough room to run his government but it’s now time for the people of Edo State to really look inwards and search their souls and ask under which administration have they lived a more comfortable, prosperous, people-oriented and secured life.

“I leave the people to make that judgment. He (Oshiomhole) believes in listening to himself. I believe in watching and listening to other people rather than making unnecessary vile and rude statements about other people.”

Igbinedion, who is a son of the Esama of Benin, also spoke for the first time on the reason he had not been seen in the open campaigning for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu, disclosing that the PDP candidate is an adult of over 50 years of age, hence he did not need to speak for him.

He said, “He (Ize-Iyamu)

did not need to be babyseated. He didn’t need a feeding bottle. As far as I am concerned, our party is well grounded and our party

chairman is very versatile and very capable. He had been doing very well. He has my full backing. He has my endorsement and support.”

AHEAD of governorship election in Edo State on Wednesday, the state government has declared a two-day holiday to allow for a hitch-free conduct of the election.

The holidays are to be observed on Tuesday, September 27, which is a day before the election, and the Wednesday, September 28, which is the election day .

Governor Adams Oshiomhole announced the holidays in Benin at an occasion where he was honoured by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Oshiomhole said that the purpose of the holidays was to enable workers travel to where they registered as voters to exercise their franchise.

NLC, TUC endorse Obaseki for gov

As Catholic body, stakeholders sue for peace Banji Aluko -Benin City, with Agency Report THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have thrown their weight behind the candidacy of Mr Godwin Obaseki, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

At a solidarity gathering to honour Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Benin City, Chairman of the NLC, Mr Emmanuel Ademokun said: “arising from the achievements of the governor’s administration and coupled with the fact that he has done us proud being a man from our constituency, we are pleased that as he prepares to end his second tenure as the governor of the state, we need to assist him and give him all the necessary support to enable his legacies to be sustained.

“I ask for the massive support of all the workers and working people in the state by voting en masse for Godwin Obaseki.

“I don’t want us to return to the years of regrets.

You know what we passed through then. It is on this

note that we in the labour movement have resolved not to stay aloof.

“To our governor, we are very grateful to you for making us proud and for your continuous support.

“We are here to appreciate his past performance in the governance of this state for almost eight years now.

Edo State is the first state being the heartbeat of Nigeria to produce a labour as a chief executive of any state in Nigeria. Before his ascension as governor, labour leaders were only referred to as workers and not as good managers.

“He has proved that labour leaders are the best managers in governance.

“A trip around the 18 local government areas of the state shows a wider spread of people-oriented projects, executed and being executed by his government.”

Governorship candidate of the APC, Mr Godwin Obaseki, who was elated with the labour movement’s support, said “I just want to assure you that today because I have been part and parcel of the Edo project from the beginning, I accept full responsibility for the decisions we have

made.

“My candidacy has offered me the opportunity to continue from where Comrade Oshiomhole will stop. I will continue to emphasise good and quality labour relations, and the payment of salaries. I will spend more time on human capacity development to build a stronger civil service, without which we won’t be able to accomplish our goals and developmental agenda.”

Meanwhile, a Catholic organisation, Justice Development and Peace Caritas Initiatives (JDPCI), has solicited the cooperation and collaboration of all stakeholders towards a proactive peace accord initiative for the Edo State governorship election.

Executive Director of the body, Reverend Father Fidelis Arhedo, in a statement said the peace accord would help a great deal to reshape people’s thinking and values for the state.

The cleric urged every citizen of the state, irrespective of political affiliations, to uphold the dignity of human sanctity and rights that promote peace.

45

news

25 September, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Rivers State gov appoints special assistant on traffic, street lights RIVERS State governor, Nyesom Wike, has appointed Daye Graham-Douglas as his Special Assistant on street/traffic lights.

A statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the governor on Electronic Media, noted that the appointment takes immediate effect.

Governor Wike has installed street lights on major streets in Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre local government areas, while traffic lights have been installed in Port Harcourt Local Government Area.

He is, therefore, expected to be in charge of these street and traffic lights.

The state capital and its environs were without street and traffic lights for over eight years.

El-Rufai, CBN gov launch $120 million potato processing plant in Kaduna Muhammad Sabiu - Kaduna Former Vice-President and chieftain of All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (right); Deputy Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Ketso (middle) and former Niger State governor, Dr Babangida Aliyu, at the wedding Fatiha of Ibrahim Aliyu Babangida, son of former Niger State governor, at Alfuqan mosque, Kano, on Saturday.

No Nigerian territory under Boko Haram control, says Army boss Christian Okeke - Abuja

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HE Chief of Army Staff, LieutenantGeneral Tukur Buratai, has restated that no local government area in Borno State, or any territory in the North-East zone, was being occupied by the Boko Haram sect.

The army boss spoke at a congress organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja, where he said the military had routed the insurgents and was currently securing the region.

Buratai called on journal-

ists to show understanding in reporting the insurgency for the sake of national interest.

He recalled that there was mistrust in the past between the media and the army and assured of seamless flow of information as long as it did not affect national security.

He used the opportunity to speak further on his ownership of assets in Dubai which were allegedly not declared to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Buratai disclosed that he declared the property as was

required by law and said that the issue as to whether it was a mansion or an estate did not even arise, describing it as a non issue.

The army chief wondered why the public believed some individuals, who he said, only wanted to see that the anti-corruption fight of government was rubbished.

According to him, there was need for the media to have such issues investigated before publication in view of the fact that there were individuals who wanted to tarnish his image as well as that

of the government.

“I want to appeal that when that kind of thing comes up, you dig deeper because of the image of individuals at stake. Just imagine the implication if I had not declared those two houses,” he said.

He said that inasmuch as it was the duty of public office holders to declare their assets, there were private issues attached to the declaration that it beat the imagination as to why anybody would be interested in the document being made public.

Ondo APC: Jegede flaunts job creation, economic growth’s blueprint THE governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), said he had perfected a blueprint for job creation and to elevate the state’s economy to the desired position if elected, even as he declared his decision to take steps in the drive towards making the state the preferred business destination.

Speaking with newsmen in Akure, the legal practitioner said the challenges of the time demanded that the best hand is engaged to address them.

The former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General promised to identify targets and drive such, adding that legacies of previous governments in the state would be protected and that he would use the experience to make some profound statements.

The PDP candidate said he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do as governor.

“There is a very clear idea of what I want to do, I have a clear policy of what

I want to do especially in the area of job creation and the economy.”

Challenging the womenfolk to be ready and be bold to take up responsibilities, he said no woman will be denied the opportunity of engagement because of the perception that she is a woman, insisting that they will be encouraged to take

up responsibilities.

According to him, women will be empowered under his government, disclosing that additional platform, to the current Micro Credit scheme operating in the state, will be created to give them opportunities to own businesses and be gainfully engaged in commerce.

Because women also need adequate protection being the weaker sex, Jegede said his government will take another look at the operating protective laws for the womenfolk as it affects what they go through in terms of inheritance, owing personal property and commerce.

GOVERNOR Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State and the Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, have kicked-off the construction of the $120 million Vicampro Potato Farm and Processing facility in Manchok, Kaura Local Government Area of the state.

The potato plant is expected to cover 10,000 hectares of land and generate 30,000 jobs.

El-Rufai said the plant would open Kaduna to business and investment world.

According to him, it is for this reason that the state government was working with the House of Assembly pass a bill that will lead to the establishment of the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), which will coordinate all business activities towards attracting and promoting investment in the state.

Also speaking at the event, Emefiele, lamented the drop in oil prices, which he said had drastically affected the country’s economy.

Emefiele assured the people that the bank would collaborate with the state government to translate the idea of economic diversification into reality for the benefit of all.

Flood takes over OtuokeOnuebum road in Bayelsa OTUOKE-Onuebum road in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has been taken over by flood as vehicles now pass through Elebele road, which is, rather too far for road users.

Mr Amos Agah, a staff member of the Federal University, Otuoke (FUO), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Otuoke on Saturday, that passengers now pay N800, instead of N400, from Otuoke to Onuebum.

Agah appealed to Bayelsa State government to come to the aid of the community.

“This was how it happened in October 2012 when flood took over the entire community, but up till now, there was no proper preventive measure put in place.

“We had been expecting the government to come up with measures to guard against future occurrence, but such measures are not in place.

“The students of FUO will resume soon after their holidays. Surely, they are going to find things difficult if urgent action is not taken to mitigate the effect of the flood.

Aggrieved aspirants have no justification for 4 arrested for diverting rice meant for IDPs dumping APC in Ondo —Abayomi THE Katsina State Police Command, on Saturday, said it Hakeem Gbadamosi Akure AS the primary election of All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to generate controversy, one of the aspirants for the election, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, on Saturday, stated that the aggrieved aspirants had no justification for planning to dump the party.

Abayomi, who stated this in Akure, called for the support of all the members of the party to win the November governorship election rather than creating unnecessary tension

within the party.

According to him, there is no proof that the allegedly doctored delegates’ list used for the primary election of the party favoured Rotimi Akeredolu, saying it would be difficult to determine whom ghost delegates voted for.

He advised the aggrieved members not to dump the party, saying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state was also enmeshed in crisis.

However, Abayomi said, “moving from APC to another party is like going from frying pan to fire. In

my view, is it the PDP that is in the state of comatose that is better or SDP or AA that are just parties in name?

“What is required now is to work together. We are controlling the power at the federal level and the party is big enough to accommodate all interests. I will appeal to them to forget the past and press forward.”

One of the aggrieved aspirants, Olusegun Abraham, said he was not leaving the party, but only interested in reclaiming his rightful mandate

had arrested four persons for allegedly diverting tonnes of rice meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-East Zone.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Salisu Agaisa, told newsmen in Katsina that the suspects claimed to be customs agents.

The police spokesman said the suspects were arrested after they offered to sell the commodity to one of the prominent persons in the state.

“One of the suspects had called the prominent person through a mobile phone that they had five trucks of the diverted rice for sale.

“Our investigation also shows that the suspects had concluded arrangement to sell a bag of rice to that person at N12, 500 per bag,’’ he said.

Agaisa said the suspects were later arrested at Liyafa Palace Hotel in Katsina where they lodged for 21 days.

He said the suspects would be prosecuted after investigations were completed.

46

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Sunday Tribune

Borno govt begins fumigation, clearing of Bama

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki (right); Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Lady Nwanneka (middle), with the Enugu State governor, Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (left), during activities to mark the 50th birthday of Lady Nwanneka, held at Ekweremadu’s home, Mpu, Aninri, Enugu State, on Saturday.

My participation at UN General Assembly successful —Buhari Leon Usigbe-Abuja

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has hailed his outing during the five-day 71st United Nations General Assembly that just ended in New York, United States, declaring his participation as successful.

He made the declaration while addressing the media to round off his visit.

The president reviewed all his major and side events during the visit and highlighted the issues on which he sent a clear and direct message to world leaders.

“I highlighted the need for the international community to work together to liberate humanity from poverty, save our planet from the devastation of climate change and rid the world of terrorism for a more peaceful and prosperous future,” he said.

President Buhari also stressed that, “I mentioned that the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) arising from Boko Haram terrorism is of particular concern to us. For this reason, we have taken concrete steps to address their humanitarian needs and to ensure that necessary con-

ditions are established to enable the voluntary return of the displaced persons to their homes in safety and dignity.”

While acknowledging that “Nigeria as a developing country has been adversely affected by the global economic downturn,” he, however, stressed that “we are undeterred and have embarked on a wide range of reforms in our efforts to diversify our economy and shift emphasis to mining, agriculture, industrialisation, infrastructure development and the creation of the enabling environment for Foreign Direct Investment.”

He also noted that “fighting corruption remains of prime importance to our administration,” adding that

the campaign was already yielding positive gains including significant stolen assets recoveries.

President Buhari listed his meetings with world leaders and the benefits from some of the side events such as the US-Africa Business Forum, during which discussions focused on how top American business executives “can collaborate with us to diversify our economy, which will, in turn, drive development, job creation and general business development in Nigeria.”

Buhari also mentioned his meeting with top Nigerian professionals in the United States and the urgent need to reclaim the shrinking Lake Chad, even as he expressed delight that “some

FG has no plan to sell all national assets —Minister THE Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, has stated that the fiscal stimulus strategy designed is not to sell all national assets.

Udoma gave the explanation in a statement issued by his media adviser, James Akpandem, on Saturday in Abuja.

Udoma said the primary

objective of government’s fiscal stimulus plan was not to sell off all major critical national assets but to source for immediate funds to get the economy out of recession.

He said the intention of government was just to get enough money to fund the 2016 budget and to put the economy back on the path of recovery.

Niger govt denies knowledge of gunrunning in communities invaded by army Adelowo Oladipo-Minna THE Niger State government has refuted claims by the Nigerian Army that it had prior knowledge of the military invasion of some four communities in Bosso Local Government Area of the state This assertion by the state government has formed parts of the revelations that have emerged at the ongoing sitting of the commission of inquiry set up by the Niger State government to investigate the immediate and remote causes

countries, notably the United Kingdom and United States pledged additional support in the tune of $391 million humanitarian aid for the Lake Chad region.”

While thanking relevant US authorities for efficient security and administrative arrangements and officials of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for demonstrating “that we still have capable officers in our foreign and civil services,” he also thanked the media for “going through elaborate security checks and clearance procedures to follow my activities and hectic schedule in order to keep all our people at home well informed of my meetings and engagements.”

of the recent bloody clash between some communities in Bosso Local Government Area of the state and the military, as more witnesses testified before the commission on Saturday.

Security Adviser to the governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, Brigadier General Nda-Gulu Abubakar Imam (retd), debunked the earlier claims by the Brigade Commander, 31 Field Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Minna, Brigadier General Moshood Olanrewaju Jimoh that the intelligence re-

ports that arms and ammunition were stockpiled by members of the communities was revealed during an enlarged security meeting at the Government House, Minna.

General Imam, in his testimony before the commission on Saturday, stated that as a retired intelligence officer in the Nigerian Army and as a security adviser to the state governor, he was not aware of any security report of arms dealings and gun running by the affected communities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the economic management team had been working on a plan to generate immediate large injection of funds into the economy.

The team had plans to generate and inject large amount of funds, estimated at between $10 billion and $15 billion into the economy.

“This unfortunate scenario has prompted the team to urgently work out a fiscal stimulus plan to generate immediate large injection of funds into the economy,’’ he said.

He said the plans were to generate funds through asset sales, advance payment for licence rounds, infrastructure concessioning, and use of recovered funds to reduce the funding gap.

He also said government was exploring several options in the asset sales proposal, including repurchase options, which would make provision for buy-back of those assets when the situation improved.

THE Borno State Government, on Saturday, began massive clearing and fumigation of Bama town recently liberated by the military to prepare ground for the return of the people.

Alhaji Nasiru Surundi, Sole Administrator of the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA), who launched the exercise in Bama, said it was to ensure the early return of the people back home.

“We are here with 1,000 personnel to clear the entire town of refuse and other rubbish ahead of the people’s return,” he said, adding that BOSEPA had earlier deployed 40 environment staff to commence the cleaning before the eventual launching.

“Already we have 40 environment staff that started the exercise before our arrival. We are also trying to reinforce our workers with additional manpower to fast-track the pace of work.

“We are also fumigating the town to take care of reptiles, especially snakes and rodents, that might be hiding inside people’s homes after being abandoned for several months,” he stated.

Kabba monarch buried amid eulogies LATE traditional ruler of Kabba town in Kogi State, Oba Michael Olabayo, was, on Saturday, laid to rest in a ceremony attended by Governor Yahaya Bello and other eminent personalities.

The burial climaxed a three-day programme of activities put together by the government and the people to honour the monarch, who died at the age of 71.

Dignitaries at the occasion included Speaker of the House of Assembly, Ahmed Umar; former Governor Ibrahim Idris; Major-General David Jemibewon (retd); former Minister of Industry, Chief Kola Jamodu and Senator Dino Melaye.

Others included Senator Smart Adeyemi, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, among others.

Bello, in a funeral oration, noted the late monarch as a peace-loving man whose virtues he urged the people of Kabba to uphold by continuing to live in peace.

According to him, the demise of the monarch would test the unity of the people in coming months.

Stop burning refuse along rail lines, NPC warns

THE Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), on Saturday, warned the public to desist from refuse and bush burning along rail lines.

The NRC Deputy Director, Research, Health, Safety and Environmental Services, Mr James Zang, gave the warning during the September environmental sanitation exercise.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos State, Zang noted that many residents burnt their refuse along rail lines instead of depositing them at designated refuse dumps.

“It is now a serious offence to burn refuse or bushes close to rail lines and anyone caught will face the full wrath of the law.

“We implore everyone to keep our rail lines clean by imbibing the act of proper disposal of their refuse rather than burning them, ’’ said the NRC boss.

He said that NRC officials would always be out to monitor offenders for appropriate action.

“We are going to have a very effective monitoring team to ensure compliance in order to promote cleanliness and safety of our facilities,’’ Zang said.

Buhari felicitates with ace photographer, Smart-Cole, at 75 PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with ace photographer, media entrepreneur and author, Sunmi Smart-Cole, who will celebrate his 75th birthday today.

The president’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.

Buhari, in the statement, commended the photographer for the beauty, glamour and depth he brought into the chronicling of Nigerian history through hard work and perseverance, starting out early as a photo-journalist.

According to the president, Smart-Cole’s place in Nigeria’s history was assured as early in his career.

“He was a storyteller but later, as he progressed, he became part of the story with his signature in creative and innovative style,” the statement read.

47

25 September, 2016

SUNDAY

Editor: Wale Emosu tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08111813054

Federation Cup:

Pogba scores at last as Man U beat Leicester 4-1

By Oluwabunmi Ajayi MANCHESTER United’s record signing, Paul Pogba, scored his first goal of the season on Saturday in a 4-1 drubbing of the reigning English Premier League champions, Leicester City at Old Trafford.

Pogba had been a subject of debate after his seemingly below-average performance in United’s past matches since his sensational £89m summer return to United from Juventus.

The Frenchman, however, regained his form scoring his side’s fourth goal in the 42nd minute with a header off Daley Blind’s corner kick and capped his outing with a Man of the Match award.

Chris Smalling had opened the scoring in the 22nd minute while Juan Mata increased the tally in the 37th minute. Marcus Rashford hit the target three minutes later.

The Foxes came back in the second half to score a consolatory goal in the 59th minute through Demarai Gray.

“Today we had intensity, movement and dynamism.

To be back home and beat the champions is good. Last season we couldn’t beat them and this season we have beaten them twice already,” an elated Mourinho said after the game.

Leicester City boss, Claudio Ranieri said loss of concentra-

Oyo SWAN charges Crown FC to make history THE Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Oyo State chapter has charged Crown FC of Ogbomoso to make history by qualifying for the final of this year’s Federation Cup. Crown FC, the only surviving Oyo State representative in the oldest competition in Nigeria, will face FC IfeanyiUbah on September 28 at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, while Enyimba tackles Nasarawa United on October 9 in the second semi-final billed for the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan.

In a press statement signed by the state chairman of SWAN, Mr Niyi Alebiosu and the association’s Secretary, Mr Adewale Tijani, the body urged Crown FC players to prove bookmakers wrong by qualifying for the final against all odds.

It called on the Ajilete Boys to emulate the defunct Leventis United which created an upset in the competition in 1984 when it defeated the defunct New Nigeria Bank FC and Abiola Babes to lift the coveted trophy.

“It will be a great honour if you can make history and play in the final of the Federation Cup by recording victory over FC IfeanyiUbah in Kaduna,” the statement

tion was partly responsible for his team’s defeat.

“It is not possible to concede three goals from corners. That means you are not concentrating. We are usually very solid at corners and free-kicks, it was very strange. Until now we have been very strong, we have made some mistakes. I can understand that they score with headers, that they are very tall, but to score a smart goal from a corner is not possible.

“It is important to clean our mind and get ready for the Champions League on Tuesday.”

Paul Pogba evades a slide challenge from the Leicester captain, Wes Morgan during Saturday’s EPL clash at Old Trafford.

Why I donated land for Keshi football and vocational centre —Prince Akenzua Abiodun Jimoh- Benin City

Rivers ready to host Eagles/Algeria W-Cup qualifier —Iyaye R IVERS State government has agreed to stage the 2018 World Cup qualifier between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Algeria in Port Harcourt in November, officials have disclosed.

The game is slated for the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt on November 7 after earlier reports suggested the game will be played in Uyo, which hosted a recent Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qual-

Sunday Tribune

ifier against Tanzania.

It will be the second 2018 World Cup qualifier involving both countries as Nigeria will face Zambia in Ndola on October 9, while Algeria and Cameroun clash the same day in Blida.

Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Boma Iyaye said the Garden City is ready to play the perfect host ahead of the big fixture.

“Rivers State is ready to play the perfect host to the Super Eagles and the international com-

munity ahead of this important game,” he said.

“The Super Eagles and Olympic football team have played competitive and friendly matches here in Port Harcourt in the past so this is not novelty in any way.

“It is the utmost desire of the Rivers State government to support the Super Eagles to ensure qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.”

ENOGIE of Obazuwa community in Edo State, His Royal Highness Prince Edun Akenzua has explained the reasons for donating 1,000ft by 1,000ft parcel of land for the late Stephen Keshi football and vocational training centre in his community.

Keshi, a former Nigeria captain and coach died in Benin in June this year at 54.

The foundation laying ceremony of the vocational centre which was held on Friday was performed by the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr Amaju Pinnick, represented by Dr Moses Aghedo, acting vice chairman of Edo State FA. Prince Akenzua, who was represented by Prince Enweansefe Iyi-Eweka, the Enogie of Ighada community, in his remarks stated that he granted the request of the National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers (NANPF) for four reasons.

“When NANPF approached me with a request to give them a parcel of land to establish a football and vocational training centre, four considerations ran through my mind. First, the request gave me an opportunity to do something good for our generation and

the generation yet unborn. Secondly, I was happy to hear that the centre will be named after our illustrious son, Stephen Keshi, who died early this year at the age of 54 years.

“Thirdly, it gladdens my mind that I was a goalkeeper during my elementary school in Benin City in 1947 and later Ibadan Grammar School in 1952. The fourth reason is because by establishing the centre in this community, it would one day transform Obazuwa into a Mecca of sorts for both local and international footballers.

“For these reasons, I and my people were delighted to donate the parcel of land measuring 1,000ft by 1,000ft, but except that we have to compensate owners of any cash crops that may be planted on the land,” Prince Akenzua said.

Keshi

SIDELINES NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER

NO 2,065

25 SEPTEMBER, 2016

www.tribuneonlineng.com

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A recent UNICEF report claimed 60 per cent of Nigerian children suffer sexual, physical violence. As the report was released, an 18-year-old housekeeper in Abakaliki was said to have defiled three sisters of the same family. Violence against young ones has been on the increase and many still say that the future belongs to the children. One can only imagine the type of future that awaits abused childen when they become adults.

Nigeria names squad for Women’s U-17 World Cup

The scorer of Arsenal’s third goal, Mesut Ozil (right).

Inset, Diego Costa rues the defeat. PHOTO: DAILYMAIL.

EPL:

Arsenal

guns down A

Chelsea

RSENAL on Saturday at the Emirates produced a devastating first-half display in a London English Premier League derby to dismantle Chelsea and secure a fourth successive EPL win.

The victory also turned out to be a perfect way to celebrate the imminent 20th anniversary of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

Alexis Sanchez took advantage of Gary Cahill’s error to race clear and lift a composed finish over Thibaut Courtois after 11 minutes, and Theo Walcott completed a brilliant move to steer in Hector Bellerin’s pass three minutes later.

Nigerian international, Alex Iwobi, assisted in the goal scored by Walcott before he was replaced by Kieran Gibbs in the 69th minute.

Iwobi in a superb move rolled the ball right to the onrushing Bellerin, who sent into a pinpoint first-time cross to the waiting Walcott for a perfect finish.

Mesut Ozil then left N’Golo Kante trailing to expose Chelsea on the counter-attack and steer home Arsenal’s third five minutes before the break, after an exchange with Sanchez.

It was little more than damage limitation for Chelsea after that as they fell to their second league loss in a row as rampant Gunners moved third on the table.

Arsenal, for all Chelsea’s obvious frailties, were simply untouchable from back

to front in a magnificent first 45 minutes that revived memories of their finest days.

The Gunners showed pace, skill, pressed Chelsea into submission and probed weaknesses ruthlessly in the manner of a team at the top of its game.

Nigeria’s Rio performance not abysmal —Dalung MINISTER of Youths and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung, on Saturday in Ilorin said he was disappointed with those who said Nigeria performed abysmally at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Dalung, while declaring open the second edition of the National Youth Games (NYG), said comments describing Team Nigeria’s performance at Rio 2016 Olympics as abysmal worried him.

He said he was in this state because Nigeria’s outing in Rio was better than that of the London 2012 Olympics where the country failed to win a single medal.

The News Agency of Nigeria

(NAN) recalls also that Team Nigeria to the Paralympics in Rio, about three weeks after the Olympics, won eight gold two silver and two bronze medals.

In 2012 at London about three weeks after the Olympics, Team Nigeria to the Paralympics won six gold, five silver two bronze medals.

Dalung, in his argument, pointed out that Nigeria set a unique record at the Rio Olympics with Aruna Quadri being the first African to reach the quarter-finals in male table tennis.

“Chierika Ukogu was also the first black athlete to reach the semi-finals of the rowing event,” he said.

HEAD coach of the Flamingoes, Bala Nikyu has selected his final list of 21 players to represent Nigeria at the fifth FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup scheduled to be held in Jordan from September 30 to October 21.

The delegation of players and official will depart Nigeria aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Abuja tomorrow night, according to thenff.com.

The Flamingoes who finished as quarter–finalists at the last three editions of the championship (Trinidad and Tobago 2010, Azerbaijan 2012 and Costa Rica 2014), pounded Namibia and South Africa home and away to qualify for the Jordan 2016.

Prolific captain, Rasheedat Ajibade, an attacking midfielder with so much flair and who is also the team’s leading scorer, tops the list of 21 players listed for the global championship.

Nikyu also named Cynthia Aku, Patience Dike, Peace Efih and Folashade Ijamilusi in the team to the World Cup. Nigeria will start its campaign against Brazil on October 1 before facing Korea DPR and England on October 4 and 8 respectively in the group phase.

RESULTS English Premier League Man United 4 Leicester Bournemouth 1 Everton Stoke City 1 West Brom M/brough 1 Tottenham Liverpool 5 Hull City Swansea 1 Man City Sunderland 2 C/Palace Arsenal 3 Chelsea

Las Palmas 2 Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao 3 Sevilla FC Sporting Gijon 0 Barcelona Eibar 2 Real Sociedad

La Liga

1 0 1 2 1 3 3 0

2 1 5 0

Pools: 5, 9, 15, 20, 21, 29, 30, 31, 34, 39. Today’s match: 08.

Today’s EPL fixtures West Ham Burnley

vs Southampton 4:00pm vs Watford 8:00pm

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. E mail: sundaytribuneeditor@yahoo.com Website: www.tribuneonlineng.com ABC Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 25/9/2016 MANAGING DIRECTOR/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR : SINA OLADEINDE. All Correspondence to P. O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712.