27th March 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 2,039

SUNDAY, 27 MARCH, 2016

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

Fuel crisis: Kachikwu

disappointed Nigerians — Tinubu

Nigerian Tribune

N200

pgs5&54

•Nigerians groan, buy fuel at outrageous prices Buhari, Saraki, govs preach unity, peace at Easter

Pg9

Petrol prices

150 Ibadan N 0/N150 14 N

s go La 150/N160 Abuja N 0 16 t N ur co P/Har litres N1,500/4 ket) Jos lack mar (b

150 Abeokuta N

My haters are

helping my career —Dayo Amusa

One year after presidential election:

Pgs 12&32

Kudos, knocks for Buhari, APC

Kano market fire:

We are finished!

•Traders who lost billion naira goods cry out •As fire razes another market Pg8 in Kebbi

Happy

r ste Ea celebrations to our esteemed readers

Long queue at Total petrol station, Onireke junction, in Ibadan, on Saturday. PHOTO: MOSES ALAO

Saraki’s trial: Rift among APC

leaders deepens

Pg5

•Dissenting voices cause stir at NEC meeting •Forces push afresh for Saraki’s resignation •Senate president rejects ‘soft landing’ option

CRIME

Father hands son over to police Pg6

•Says he is an armed robber

2

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

3

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

4

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

5

news

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Kachikwu has disappointed Nigerians, says Tinubu From Dapo Falade, Isaac Shobayo, Olalekan Olabulo, Moses Alao, Dare Adekamnbi, Adebanji Aluko and Collins Nnabuife

N

ATIONAL leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, has tongue-lashed the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, saying he has “strayed from the progressive calling” required of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu said this in a statement personally signed by him on Saturday, against the background of the anguish being experienced by Nigerians over the current fuel scarcity and the statement by Kachikwu that he could not perform any magic to resolve the crisis.

The Minister had also asked Nigerians to count themselves lucky that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) could bring in the current volume of petrol into the country.

Tinubu, who said Kachikwu spoke with “the imperious nature of a member of an elitist government the people voted out last year and not the progressive one they voted in”, reminded him that Nigerians were his ultimate bosses.

(Read full statement on page 54) Meanwhile, motorists and passengers in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Saturday rued the current fuel scarcity rocking the country, groaning under the weight of burdensome transport fare, high pump price and endless queues at filling stations.

Some of the motorists who spoke to Sunday Tribune at Eleyele, Dugbe and Oke Ado areas of the city, noted that they had no hope of celebrating the Easter festival with the way the fuel scarcity was going, with some of them saying they had abandoned their vehicles at filling stations.

Others noted that they had simply sought succour from independent marketers-filling stations, some of which now sell the product at black market prices.

A motorist at a major filling station around Onireke-Eleyele road axis, Mr Liadi Ayinla, was jubilant while speaking with Sunday Tribune after

he was able to buy fuel, noting that he had been on queue for over five hours.

Another motorist, who identified himself as Mr Lukman Yinusa, noted that in the last one week, he bought fuel from independent filling stations between N130 and N150 respectively, saying that black market price had become official in some filling stations.

Meanwhile, commuters in Ibadan lamented the ‘skyrocketing’ transport fares around the city in just three days, with a resident of Alakia area of Ibadan, who worked at Challenge, stating that he spent about N300 on transportation instead of the usual N150.

Lagos/Ogun states The scarcity of fuel is also biting harder in parts of Lagos and Ogun states as price of the product has risen with stations selling at different prices.

Buyers were forced to buy between N130 and N150 at the few stations where fuel was available.

Long queues were noticed at the few filling stations, with drivers ready to

buy at any price as a result of the scarcity .

A driver, Akin, who spoke with Sunday Tribune said that “I just bought petrol at N140 naira and I am happy that I even got to buy. The scarcity is getting harder.”

He added that “I had wanted to buy at a filling station where they were selling for N150, but the manager suddenly stopped selling.”

In Edo State, Sunday Tribune learnt that there is hardly any filling station where fuel is sold for anything less than N140 since the beginning of the year.

The only exception is the mega filling station of the NNPC located on Sapele Road in Benin and a few other NNPC outlets, where fuel is sold for approved pump price of N86.50k per litre.

Apart from the NNPC mega station, other NNPC outlets hardly had fuel to sell, leaving the NNPC mega station as the only station with regular supplying and selling at approved pump price Depending on the prevalent scarcity situation, fuel

had been sold for as much as N180 per litre, especially in late February when scarcity was acute.

Despite the high pump prices, queues in filling stations across the state were relatively light as it seemed people found it somehow hard to buy fuel.

The situation is, however, different at the NNPC filling station, where people sleep overnight to buy fuel and double lane queues are as long as 400 metres.

Rivers State The lingering fuel crisis in Rivers State has persisted as it sells for between N140 and N160 per litre in most stations and between N160 and N190 at the black markets within the Port Harcourt metropolis.

However, motorists were not experiencing long queues while buying fuel as they had the options of either patronising the filling stations where the product was available, or going to the black marketers.

While the most of the major marketers had closed shops, due to non-

availability of fuel, the independent marketers were having a field day, selling the product at their own discretion.

An attendant at one of the filling stations along Rufus Ada-George Road attributed the increasing cost of PMS to the statement by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, that fuel scarcity would persist till the end of May. Commuters groan in Abuja The lingering fuel scarcity across the nation has also thrown commuters and residents in the Federal Capital Territory into untold hardship.

This is just as the fuel queue in the FCT continued increasing in length, with many petrol stations locked while commuters queue with hope of getting fuel.

This current trend has made prices of food products and cost transportation to increase drastically in the FCT. Plateau State Operation Safe Haven

(OPSH) in charge of security in Plateau State has banned the sale of all forms of roadside and illegal sales of petroleum products in the state, forcing those behind the illegal activities to resort to hide and seek tactics to sell the product.

This is just as the pump price of petrol had jumped up to N150 per litre while road side black marketers were selling a gallon of four litres for N1, 500.

According to a statement issued by the OPSH Media Officer, Captain Iweha Ikedichi and made available to Sunday Tribune in Jos, it enjoined all persons who had in their stock or possession petroleum products to dispose of them within the next 24 hours or return them to petrol stations for custody.

It further directed all illegal marketers operating around the vicinity of the NNPC mega station, within the metropolis to leave such areas, warning that its men would confiscate the product and arrest any person found violating the directive.

Saraki’s trial: Gulf widens among APC leaders Dissenting voices cause stir at NEC meeting From Taiwo Adisa and Bola Badmus THE gulf appears to be widening among leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), following growing discontent with the management of the party’s affairs and the ongoing trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki.

Investigations by Sunday Tribune indicate that the centre may not be holding within the ranks of the APC, as reflected in the outcome of the two meetings held in Abuja last week.

The planks of division among party members, according to sources, include the near-complete takeover of the structures of government by loyalists of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change(CPC) and the ongoing trial of Senate President Saraki, which party members see as being orchestrated by the incumbent administration in a bid to get him out of the equation ahead of the battle for power in 2019.

Sources confirmed that some influential party men were unhappy that the par-

ty decided to harass Senator Saraki out of his seat, despite the fact that he was wooed to lead the exit of a good number of Senators and governors out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2013.

Insiders in the party confirmed the widening gulf, which had broken the party down into many camps, including the camp of President Muhammadu Buhari, largely made up of members of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), the camp of the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACNN) led by Senator Bola Tinubu and the PDP wing of the party, which has former VicePresident Atiku Abubakar, Senate President Bukola Saraki, some former governors of the PDP and Senators. Remnants of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP) appeared to have been largely subsumed in the CPC wing of the party.

Sources said that many party leaders were unhappy that the CPC wing of the party seemed to be lording it over the others, with most structures of the government coming under

the control of loyalists of the defunct party.

A move to arrest that development through the composition of the Board of Trustees (BoT) was, however, rebuffed at a meeting of the Board held at the Presidential Villa last week.

It was gathered that having realised that the CPC wing of the APC had muscled the other stakeholders from key areas of the government and the party, leaders, including former Vice-President Abubakar and Tinubu, started eyeing the BoT to balance things.

The party’s constitution gives some powers of control over the affairs of the party to the BoT, especially section 13.2(iv) of the Constitution which empowers the Board to convene national convention.

While Tinubu’s camp initially planned to push forward the former interim national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Atiku had indicated interest in what sources called a North/ South balancing act.

While Atiku’s camp had argued that the position of BoT Chairman should remain in the North since

the South already has the national chairman, Tinubu’s camp had insisted that the Board should be led by a thoroughbred party man.

Lately it was gathered that Tinubu had decided to pick the slot of BoT Chairman himself.

Sources said that the whole idea behind the push by either Atiku or Tinubu was to ensure a measure of control over the party and counterbalance CPC’s overt control as it were.

But sources further alerted that the Buhari camp has since read through the plot and is now pushing to whittle down the powers of the BoT, such that it would be renamed an Elders Advisory Council.

The Villa meeting which was held last week, had also resolved to push forward the inauguration of the Board till after the proposed constitution amendment which is certain to render the Board impotent.

Investigations further revealed that the frustrations being experienced

by APC chiefs came to the fore during the last Na-

tional Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday.

Sources at the meeting told the Sunday Tribune that some key members of the NEC spoke “truth to power” at the closed session, a development that was said to have jolted the president.

It was gathered that two of the top leaders who spoke at the NEC meeting stopped short of accusing the party of persecuting Senate President Bukola Saraki.

One of them was said to have told the party that for the anti-corruption war to be properly fought, it must start from the party.

A source quoted the party chief as saying: “we all know that the government is fighting corruption. But the fight must not be selective. Many of us are aware of the huge donations to the party during the election; we have to account for that for us to start a corruption fight. The party is the father of the government and any true fight should start from the party.”

Continues pg 53

6

27 March, 2016

crimereports

Sunday Tribune

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

My son is an armed robber, man tells police Hands him over for investigation Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

I

N a society where many parents cover the evil perpetrated by their children, one Mr Arogoy has handed over his son, David, who engaged in armed robbery, to the police at Ekpan Division in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

Arogoy explained to the police that his son had returned home in agony at the wee hours of March 14 with bullet wounds and he had to report the case to the police for his own safety.

Mr Arogoy also informed the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the division, Mr Chris Sorgbara, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), that his son had been in the armed robbery business for long and he did not want to be seen as aiding and abetting his chosen profession.

It was gathered that the suspect had confessed that he and his gang had gone on a robbery operation in Edo Guest House at Ekpan that fateful morning.

Crime Reports also gathered that on March 13, the 20-man gang had mounted a roadblock on the NPA expressway directly under the refinery fly-over where they had dispossessed unsuspecting road users of many valuables.

Members of the gang were said to have been terrorising the area, particularly Edo Guest House, for over a month and their latest operation was said to be their third in a row.

Confirming the incident, CSP Sorgbara disclosed that he had received a distress call between 5:00 a.m and 5:30 a.m of March 14 that there was a robbery operation going on in Edo Guest House at Refinery road.

He said he was also informed that the robbers were armed with machetes, broken bottles, and knives, among other weapons. Sorgbara said he had

to swiftly dispatch the anti-robbery patrol team under him to intercept and dislodge the criminals.

According to him, the robbers, on seeing the police team, opened fire and the police responded and a gun duel ensued. During the gun duel, he said the leader of the gang, simply identified as Oga Kenneth, was gunned down on the spot while other members of the gang escaped with bullet wounds.

Oga Kenneth was described by the police DPO as a notorious robber who was responsible for various armed robbery operations in the area.

However, Crime Re-

David Agoroy (sitting) with his dead colleague, Oga Kenneth

ports gathered that on March 11, one Ajukwu Chubuike, Odivwri Kobiro

and Prince Edafe, were arrested at the same Edo Guest House while dispos-

sessing guests of their belongings.

Victims of the March 14

armed robbery operation related their ordeals to Crime Reports.

One of them, Ebi Moses, who is still nursing the machete cut injuries from the robbers, told reporters that he lost N47, 000 and two android phones to the robbers.

The Director of Edo Guest House, Mr Anthony Ukwade described the robbers’ invasion as hellish, saying that they banged the doors of the hotel rooms and dealt badly with his guests.

Mr Ukwade thanked the good Nigerian who placed the distress call to the Ekpan police station, which eventually came to their rescue.

Mechanic in robbery gang says ‘I thought I was going for car repair’

By Oluwatoyin Malik

AS a follow up the case of a syndicate whose members engaged in robbery and receiving snatched vehicles, the Special AntiRobbery Squad in Oyo/ Ogbomoso axis of the Oyo State Police Command has made further arrests of two suspected members of the gang and a receiver of one of the cars snatched.

The robbery suspects included Oyekunle Azeez and Balogun Adamu, while Lateef Adeniyi was reported to have bought a Toyota Corolla car snatched from one Adegoke Thomas in Iseyin, Oyo State. Azeez and Adamu were mentioned by the suspects initially arrested by the police. Their story was published in the Sunday, March 6 edition of Sunday Tribune.

The Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, said that the SARS operatives intensified investigation following the confessions of the suspects earlier arrested. He said that the investigation was successful as three other suspects were arrested in Lagos State while three additional vehicles, including the

The suspects with the recovered vehicles one snatched from Thomas in Iseyin were recovered.

The vehicles were a Honda Accord (2006 model) with registration number APP 659 CQ, a Honda Crosstour with registration number BDG 248 DV and an unregistered Toyota Corolla car.

Speaking on how he got involved in crime, Azeez said: “A friend of mine called Sunday came to Lagos State and told me that I would join him to repair

a car in Iseyin, Oyo State.

I took my tools and followed him because I am a mechanic. It was when we got to Iseyin that I was told that we were going to rob.

“Yekini Kehinde a.k.a.

Kowe, Afaa and one other person planned that we should go and meet a guy called Thomas to collect money from him. We stayed at Kowe’s house and planned the operation. We laid ambush for Thomas around his house

at about 10p.m.

“We went for the operation with a gun, a cutlass and two toy guns. Unfortunately, when we got him, we didn’t find money with him. We snatched his car from him and put him in the booth. When we got to a spot, we opened the booth to bring our victim out but to our surprise, we could not find him in the booth.

I called those who brought the job and told them that there was no money with

our victim. They agreed that I should take the car to Lagos, after which I should send their share of the proceeds from the sale.

“When I got to Lagos, I went to one Mr Lateef that I had someone who needed to sell his car because of need for money. He asked me whether it was not a stolen car, saying that he did not want any trouble. I told him that it was not stolen. He Continues pg 7

7

crimereports

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

I was given 12 injections in treatment for infertility, fake doctor’s victim narrates ordeal Stories by Oluwatoyin Malik

O

NE of the victims of the fake medical doctor who was arrested by the Oyo State Police Command, Mrs Damilola Ojo popularly known as ‘Dr. Dammy’, has said that she was given 12 injections for what she believed as treatment for infertility, not knowing that she had fallen victim of a fake medical practitioner.

The victim, one Mrs Funke (surname withheld) said that the fake doctor also gave her husband six injections with the claim that she was also treating him. Another victim, Mr Caleb (surname withheld), also said that ‘Dr Dammy’ collected about N22 million from him for investment in oil and gas business, unknown to him that it was a fake business proposal.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, had told Crime Reports that the suspect was arrested in Ikorodu, Lagos State where she went to hide after she suspected that the police were on her trail.

Oyebade disclosed that ‘Dr Dammy’ had defrauded her victims of about 24million, but in an interview with Crime Reports, the suspect claimed that she did not know what made her to assume the identity of a doctor.

According to Mrs Funke, “I met ‘Dr Dammy’ through a church programme I was attending. She introduced herself as a doctor working in University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

She said she was a gynaecologist. Since I have been married for 12 years without having a child, she commenced treatment for me and my husband. She collected N172,700 from me and N86,200 from my husband. She was always giving me and my husband injections, yet there was no pregnancy.

“Later, she said she wanted to introduce me to oil and gas business.

She asked me to pay N1.25million for the form, saying that the company would help me to buy black oil, sell it and give me N500,000 profit monthly.

I gave her N1.35 million the third day. After this, she would not pick my phone any time I called her. After

a while, she started threatening me on the phone that she would expose the deal to my husband. This was because I did not tell my husband that I wanted to do oil business. I had to open up to my husband and asked for forgiveness.

It was my husband who reported to the police.”

In Mr Caleb’s own words, “I knew ‘Dr Dammy’ when she was running a hospital at Moniya area where I reside. She introduced herself as a doctor working in the UCH and many people were coming to her for treatment. One day, she introduced oil and gas to me, saying that she had invested in it and had been getting returns. I was initially reluctant but she told me that she made an initial payment on my behalf.

“I didn’t know how it happened, but anytime she asked me for money for the business, I would give it to her. Initially my wife

The suspect, ‘Dr Dammy’

did not know about the business deal I had with Dr Dammy but she got to know at the prayer ground

she attended. The money she collected from me is about N22 million.”

Narrating her side of

the story, the suspect said “I was popularly called Dr Dammy. I can’t even explain how I got into this mess. I went to Ondo State Polytechnic to read Laboratory Technician (sic) and I obtained a National Diploma. From there, I went to Baptist Medical Centre, Saki to study Nursing. But two months to the end of my programme, I developed an illness in the stomach that required surgery, so I could not sit for final exams with others. Since then, I have not been able to return to take the exams.

There was one lecturer at Baptist Medical Centre in Haematology(name withheld), who asked me to come and work in his hospital in Oyo town as a nurse. He knew I was not a qualified nurse. When I had to leave Oyo for Ibadan, he advised me to open a hospital which I did at Ologuneru area of Ibadan.

“I opened a hospital

and employed a doctor. I was paying him N25,000 but the hospital had been shut since three years ago when there were not many patients to attend to and money was not coming in.

That was why I was introduced to Aafa Asifu Ajinikirun so that he could help me offer prayers to resuscitate my hospital business.

“Ajinikirun later introduced me to oil and gas business. I, in turn, told two people to register since I already invested money in the business. I didn’t know that Ajinikirun was a con man. The money with Asifu is almost 48.5 million.

“I know that it was criminal to pretend to be a doctor but I was confident because I had a doctor I employed then.”

Ojo confessed that she was giving Genticin and Diflucan injections to her victim when she claimed to be treating her for infertility.

Oyo police recover 13 vehicles, arrest suspects SOME vehicle owners who lost their automobiles to the men of the underworld will have cause to rejoice, as seven suspected members of a criminal syndicate, whose specialisation was the removal of vehicles from where the owners parked them and selling them to waiting buyers,

have been arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Oyo State Police Command, while about 13 vehicles of different brands and a motorcycle were recovered from them.

Making the disclosure on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 during a press briefing on the achievements

of his command in crime busting, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr Leye Oyebade, said one of the gangs specialised in stealing vehicles from where they were parked within the state.

Many residents of Oyo and Lagos States had been victims of the syndicate as

the arrested suspects confessed that they carried out their operations mainly in the two states. The suspects included Oludele Patunola (44), Ojo Adegboyega (52), Adedeji Idowu (52), Taiwo Olofin Oluwaleke (42), Muftau Mustapha (50), Bright Nmecha (30) and Henry Dike (41).

The suspects from whom the 13 vehicles were recovered

SARS arrests more members of robbery syndicate Continued from pg 6 asked me to show him the owner’s house and I showed him a house of a non-existing owner. Convinced, he took me to his friend and he bought it for N850,000.

I was given N150,000. Four of us went for the operation but about seven or eight were involved.”

On his involvement, the second suspect, Adamu, said “I knew a.k.a. Aafa about three months ago.

He followed me as a motor boy to load goods. On our way back one day, we saw some Fulanis with a gun and cartridges and Aafa suggested that I should buy it, as it would be useful. I did as he advised.

“Few months after, he brought a Toyota Sienna that we should go and sell it. When we got to where we wanted to sell it, the intending buyer demanded for its documents, so I asked Aafa to leave the vehicle there; that we would come back for it.

When I gave him money to go and bring the vehicle

back to where we were, Aafa drove the vehicle towards Republic of Benin instead of returning to me.

He was however intercepted by Customs officials who seized it from him.”

The police commissioner said that the suspects would be arraigned in court at the completion of investigations.

Among the vehicles recovered from them were five Toyota Camry cars, two Toyota RAV4 SUVs, Honda CRV, Toyota Sienna, Land Rover, Hyundai Elantra, a Lexus SUV and Nissan Altima car, as well as a Suzuki motorcycle.

The Commissioner of Police, who said that arrest was made possible through intelligence report his command received on the activities of the suspects, revealed that some of the vehicles were recovered from Ogun and Rivers States from receivers, who, in turn, sold them at giveaway prices.

“The syndicate was involved in removing vehicles from where they were parked. The receivers are across the country and the vehicles are sold to them at give-away prices. They have confessed to the crime.”

Oyebade cautioned buyers on second-hand vehicles saying, “you must do a thorough check on any vehicle that is not from the original owner; any second hand vehicle in order to be double sure that it is clean. You can also suspect from the price at which such vehicles are sold. We have concluded investigation and pursuing other criminal receivers at large. We assure you that we will diligently prosecute those arrested.”

8

news

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Awori people urge Amosun to rename Sango/Ijoko LCDA Olayinka Olukoya -Abeokuta

A scene of the razed Abubakar Rimi market in Kano, as traders scampered to save some of their goods.

Market fire outbreak claims goods worth billions of naira in Kano •Trader who lost over N2m slumps •Where are we going to start from? —Traders •Birnin Kebbi central market also razed Kola Oyelere with Agency Report TRADERS at the popular Abubakar Rimi market in Kano, Kano State, woke up, on Saturday, to discover that most of their investments had gone up in flames.

Reports said goods worth millions of naira were lost to the inferno that ravaged many shops in the market, which recently experienced a similar tragedy.

According to an eyewitness account, the inferno, which lasted over 12 hours, originated from an electrical fault that occurred at the axis housing shoe sellers.

The fire was said to have started off around 12.00 midnight, razing over 2,000 shops within the market.

The blaze consumed all the stalls within Gidan Maggi, alongside a first generation bank located around the area. Products comprising drugs and associated medical equipment estimated at billions of naira were lost.

More goods were lost at the popular Abacha Line, as the fire spread to the centre of the market.

While speaking with Sunday Tribune, an eyewitness residing close to the market, who simply identified himself as Mr Israel, said the fire started at about 11:30 p.m on Friday.

“I live close to the market, I cannot say what really happened, there was no electricity, we only saw the smoke.

However, a 60-year-old shop owner, Isa Mamman, a shoe seller said: “I received a phone call this morning informing me that fire had destroyed our shops and goods, I rushed down to the market as early as 6 a.m. I heard that our transformer

exploded, causing the fire.

“When I got here, the situation was terrible, the fire brigade officials were stranded. They said they had no water; people had to fetch water from nearby gutter and got water from water vendors to fight the fire. I lost all my goods, I lost about N3 million,” he stated.

A middle-aged woman identified as Iya Ibeji slumped on arriving at her textile shop when she realised that it had been razed.

According to her: “I just returned from where I spent over N2 million to buy goods in preparation to sell for the Easter period. As you can see, all these have been consumed by fire.”

Ekkenar Gabriel, who owned two shops where he sold shoes said he lost everything he had, saying: “This fire has done irreparable damage to my life. In fact, I have lost close

to N3 million worth of property.

Alhaji Muhammed Ibrahim, who deals in drugs and cosmetics, simply said: “I have lost everything I have ever laboured for. I don’t know where to start again, this is where I earn my living to take care of my family.”

The Director, Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Balarabe Kabara, said the service was yet to ascertain the cause of the inferno.

He disclosed that efforts to hurriedly subdue the inferno was marred by lack of water, coupled with makeshift stalls, which prevented his men from getting to the spot where the inferno started.

Mr Chimezie Okafor, an electronics dealer within the market, also a victim of the incident, cited negligence on the part of the authorities overseeing the affairs of the market as one of the reasons

for the incident.

He disclosed that a firefighting vehicle situated close to the market’s police division malfunctioned, adding that officers and men of the service were equally handicapped as they did not have the requisite fire-fighting gears.

Meanwhile, the Birnin Kebbi Central Market has been gutted by fire in the early hours of Saturday, the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports.

A NAN correspondent, who visited the scene of the incident on Saturday, reported that property worth millions of naira was destroyed but no life was lost.

Alhaji Abubakar Bandam, the chairman of the central market management, who told newsmen in Birnin Kebbi that the fire was noticed at about 12:00 midnight, explained that the source of the inferno was yet to be determined.

PDP leaders begin fresh move for Ladoja As ex-gov begins thank-you tour

By Dare Adekanmbi IN line with the directive of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to bring back former leaders who have gone to other parties, leaders of the PDP in Oyo State have begun fresh move to woo the national leader of Accord, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, back to the party.

Ladoja, a foundation member of the PDP in 1998, was governor of the state between 2003 and 2007 on the platform of the party, before dumping it for Accord in the build up to the 2011 elections.

After several telephone

discussions with Ladoja and a series of meetings to have him return to the umbrella party, the PDP leaders used the opportunity of the ongoing thank-you tour of the state by Ladoja to openly declare support for his leadership of the opposition parties in the state.

PDP leaders and their representatives from all the factions of the party joined Ladoja at Oyo and Ogbomosho zones, which he visited on Tuesday and Ibadan and Ibarapa zones where he was on Thursday.

The national leaders of the party had also wooed Ladoja to return to the PDP through the PDP Governors

Forum chairman and Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

Some of the PDP leaders with Ladoja included the immediate past Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Olajumoke Akinjide; Senator Ayo Adeseun; a House of Representatives member from Ogbomosho zone, Honourable Segun Odebunmi; representatives of Honourable Mulikat Akande-Adeola; loyalists of Dr Saka Balogun; factional state PDP chairman, Honourable Kunmi Mustapha; Honourable Maroof Akinwande; and many others.

THE people of Aworiland of Ogun State have called on Governor Ibikunle Amosun to rename Sango/Ijoko Local Council Development Area as Ota -East LCDA in order to preserve the cultural and historical identity of the land.

In a statement made available to Sunday Tribune, the Awori people claimed that the creation of Sango/ Ijoko LCDA without the identity of the Aworis could cause a breach of peace in the area.

They alleged that the executive arm of government “is promoting injustice and illegality with the omission of Ota in the so-called Sango/Ijoko LCDA.” The Awori people submitted that various judgments received at all judicial levels conferred ownership rights of Sango-Ota and Ijoko-Ota on the Ota (Awori) people and wondered why government closed its eyes against the fact.

The statement read in part: “We want to bring the following points to the knowledge of the reading public that we are not opposing to the creation of the LCDA but should be named Ota East LCDA.”

Lawmaker’s mother kidnapped in Edo Banji Aluko -Benin City MOTHER of a member of the Edo State House of Assembly, Alhaja Abibat Adjoto, Honourable Kabiru Adjoto, has been abducted in Edo State.

The 68-year-old woman was reportedly kidnapped along with her adopted son at her house in Ikakumo village in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that some gunmen invaded the village in the early hours of Thursday, shooting sporadically into the air to scare people away before they took the woman and her adopted son.

The lawmaker refused to comment on the abduction but a family member who pleaded anonymity said the kidnappers beat their victims before they forcefully took them away.

“They came to our village and started shooting. They took Mama away and one of her sons,” the source said.

It was gathered that the abductors were yet to make any contact with the family.

Mark’s wife gives free medical services to displaced Agatu children Johnson Babajide -Makurdi THE wife of former Senate President, David Mark, Mrs Catherine Mark, in collaboration with Live Healthy Organisation (LHO), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has offered free medical services to over 4000 children of the Internally Displaced Persons of Agatu extraction.

Speaking on behalf of Mrs Mark, Honourable Ada Mark Ogbole, explained that the free medical services being provided by Senator Mark’s wife was part of her contributions to the needy, especially the displaced persons from the crisis-ridden Agatu area.

Mrs Mark said that the medical services were meant for women and children whom she described as the most vulnerable persons in crisis situation, stressing that the medical team treated children who had malaria, typhoid, cough and other related sickness.

According to Mrs Mark, “as a woman and a mother, I feel for those whose comfort have been disrupted by the invaders. In a situation like this, it is a well-known fact that children and women are most vulnerable people.

“My prayer is that these people go back to their places as soon as possible and with good health,” she said, adding that “we are here today contributing in a little way to the welfare of the people in the camps here, the medical team are here today particularly for the children.”

9

news

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Buhari at Easter: Wanton bloodshed embarrassing

Says promised change will come

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians to shun parochial attitudes and love themselves in accordance with the teaching of Jesus Christ, saying the wanton killings going on in the country had become embarrassing.

In his Easter message to the nation made available to Sunday Tribune in Abuja on Saturday, he rejoiced with Christians in particular as they commemorate the ultimate sacrifice which Jesus Christ made for the salvation of mankind.

The president observed that “the Gospels also tell us that during his earthly ministry, Jesus Christ repeatedly urged his disciples and followers to “love one another as I have loved you.”

He added: “As we celebrate Easter, I sincerely believe that it will serve our dear nation very well if we all imbibe this essential message of Jesus Christ and truly learn to love our countrymen and women as we love ourselves.”

Buhari condemned negative tendencies that have slowed down the progress of the country, adding; “indeed, we will surely make faster progress towards the achievement of the peaceful, united, strong, progressive and prosperous

country we all desire if, as a nation, we eschew all divisive, parochial, ethnic and religious sentiments and rivalries, and begin to live more harmoniously with our compatriots, as Jesus Christ and the founders of the world’s other great religions enjoined mankind.

“Our unfortunate notoriety in recent years as a country where the blood of men, women and children are wantonly and callously shed in frequent orgies of criminal, political, ethnic and religious violence had become very embarrassing and utterly unacceptable.

“My administration is determined to achieve greater peace and security across our nation by ending the avoidable conflicts and crises that hinder our national progress.”

He, therefore, asked for greater support from all Nigerians in this regard as he further noted: “We must put a stop to politically motivated killings.

“Our communities must

be made safe again for all inhabitants to live together in peace and harmony.”

The president said “the nation’s armed forces, police and other security agencies were being progressive-

ly reformed, repositioned and empowered to win the war against terrorism and make mass killings, abductions and other criminal atrocities things of the past in our beloved country.”

Ambode preaches unity, tolerance Bola Badmus - Lagos IN the spirit of the Easter celebrations, Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has called on Nigerians to collectively imbibe the spirit of unity, tolerance and peaceful coexistence as panacea for overcoming the nation’s current challenges.

Governor Ambode said this in his Easter message to Lagosians made available to Sunday Tribune

by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, saying such fundamental values would go a long way in promoting and strength-

ening the foundation of love, peace and harmony in the society.

The governor added that the season should serve as

THE Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has called on Nigerians to emulate the virtues of forgiveness and self-sacrifice as exhibited

by Jesus Christ in order to move the nation forward.

Ekweremadu, who stated this in his Easter message, said recrimination, unforgiveness, and selfishness

were major clogs in the nation’s wheel of progress.

According to him : “The Easter celebration is another reminder that for-

Biola Azeez - Ilorin GOVERNOR Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has urged Nigerians, irrespective of religious and ethnic backgrounds to do something different and meaningful to move Nigeria for-

ward.

Governor Ahmed in his Easter message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba, called on Nigerians to use the opportunity of being alive with the freedom to optimise God given po-

giveness and self-sacrifice remain indispensable factors in nation-building. I, therefore, call on the Christian faithful and all Nigeri-

ans to imbibe Christ’s sense of self-sacrifice by putting the nation’s interest above personal and other narrow interests.

IMMEDIATE past President of the Senate, Sena-

tor David Mark has again canvassed for a peaceful, harmonious and united Nigeria where brotherly love

By Moses Alao FORMER Deputy Senate Whip, Senator Hosea Agboola, has charged Christians across the country not

to allow the reason and essence of the Easter season to slip off with the celebrations, charging them to refresh their commitment to God and love for others.

Agboola, who represented Oyo North Senatorial District in the last National Assembly, said the fact that Christ’s death and resurrection were all about love and

reigns among the citizens.

In his goodwill message to Nigerians to mark this year’s Easter celebrations

in Abuja, he maintained that such virtues as religious tolerance and good neighbourliness are strate-

gic for peaceful coexistence and meaningful development.

To achieve the goals, Senator Mark urged Nigerians to respect the sanctity of the constitution which prescribes freedom of worship in which every citizen can uphold and practice his or her chosen faith anywhere without molestation.

Fayemi felicitates with Christians THE Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has felicitated with Christians in the country and Nigerians in general for witnessing another Easter season, urging them to always uphold the virtues of

love and sacrifice which are the hallmark of the Easter celebration.

He also congratulated them for the successful completion of the Lenten season, a period of 40 days of fasting and prayer which

Easter should remind Nigerians of need for rebirth —Aregbesola OSUN State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on Saturday said that only a total rebirth in national consciousness and values would deliver Nigeria from its many challenges.

According to him, renewal, which is a crucial theme in the celebration of Easter, should make Nigerians rediscover themselves for the purpose of their creation in the first place.

In an Easter message signed by his Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, Areg-

besola also called on Christians to use the period to supplicate to God on behalf of the country so that Nigeria will be able to come out of the present economic challenges.

Describing Easter as a period of sober reflection, he enjoined Nigerians to live in peace and harmony at all times despite the present economic hardship, stressing that religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among humans were necessary elements in the sustenance of development.

tentials to make life more meaningful for their under privileged neighbours.

Governor Ahmed, who urged Christians and other Nigerians to pray for peace and economic stability of the country in the face of dwindling allocation, called on Christians to imbibe the virtues of forgiveness, selflessness and perseverance learnt during the 40 days of fasting and prayers which marks the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that Easter celebration teaches.

Ex-Deputy Senate Whip charges Christians on love

Mark to Nigerians: Let brotherly love reign Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

a reminder to all of the selflessness, love, sacrifice and tolerance of Jesus Christ throughout his earthly sojourn.

Ahmed sues for peace

Ekweremadu preaches forgiveness, sacrifice Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

He urged Nigerians to play their parts as patriotic citizens and “do all that we can to ensure that we make Nigeria a safer, more peaceful and happier place for its people and others.”

climaxed in the Easter celebration.

The minister in his Easter goodwill message, signed by his Special Assistant on Me-

dia, Mr Yinka Oyebode, also called on Nigerians to make ample use of the opportunity of the season for sober reflection.

There’s hope for Nigeria —Catholic Bishop Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta THE Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta, The Most Reverend Peter Odetoyinbo, has assured Nigerians that there is hope for the country to survive, in spite of the current challenges.

The cleric, in his Easter message made available to Sunday Tribune in Abeokuta, Ogun State, stated that many Nigerians have lost hope in the government of the day, when things seem not to be working politically, economically, socially, religiously and morally.

Odetoyinbo noted that

suffering and frustration are boldly written on the faces of Nigerians because there were no good roads, electric-

ity, petrol, water, hunger, unemployment and kidnapping are the order of the day with less hope for the future.

Obasa tasks Nigerians on unity, love Chukwuma Okparaocha - Lagos

THE Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has urged Nigerians to see the Easter period as an opportunity to increase their efforts at showing love and promotion of peace among mankind.

The Speaker in his Easter message also urged Nige-

rians not to relent in cooperating and supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) governments at both state and federal levels in the party’s efforts at putting in place programmes and measures that would enhance and improve the standards of living of Nigerians, as well as ensuring that all Nigerians enjoyed dividends of democracy.

sacrifice meant that it is a period for sober reflection and another opportunity to rekindle brotherly love and harmonious coexistence.

“I felicitate with my Christian brethren as we celebrate the symbolic resurrection of Christ. We should all use the occasion to renew brotherly love and our commitment to God and the good of others as well as the progress of our great country,” he said.

Bamidele urges Nigerians not to despair Sam Nwaoko - Ado-Ekiti A member of the seventh House of Representatives, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged Nigerians, particularly Christians to remain prayerful and hope for the best in spite of the parlous economic situation being witnessed at present.

Bamidele, in an Easter message made available on Saturday by his media aide, Ahmed Salami, said Nigerians should not despair “or be disillusioned with President Muhammadu’s Buhari carefully and methodically prosecuted change agenda.”

According to him, “the situation will soon change for better with dedication and strong will by Nigerian citizens.”

10

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

life&living What happens to our investments now?

Agony of Lekki Gardens home owners Construction work continues despite govt orders Our corresponent, CHUKWUMA OKPARAOCHA visited Lekki Gardens where a building collapsed recently and discovered that despite government order for home owners to vacate buildings in the area work is still in progress while intending owners watch the unfolding development.

T

HE Tuesday, March 8 building collapse which occurred at Lekki Gardens in Lekki area of Lagos, according to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, was indeed “one collapse too many,” especially bearing in mind the huge causalty recorded in the incident.

Days after the incident which will, doubtless, go down as one of the worst of such incidents in the history of Lagos State, a furious Governor Ambode ordered an immediate cessation of all construction works in other buildings belonging to Lekki Wordwide Estates Ltd, owners of Lekki Gardens, to give room for investigations to be carried out on the suitability of

other buildings in the estate for human habitation.

Apart from the order for the immediate sealing off of the construction site and cessation of further construction exercise, the Lagos State government has also notably embarked on the swift prosecution of the management of the company, as well as the prompt dismissal of some government officials whose ‘negligence’ was partly fingered as one of the reasons the accident happened.

Sunday Tribune, midweek, paid a visit to the Lekki Gardens in Lagos where it was observed that just hours after the Lagos State government carried out material testing on some of the buildings there, construction-related works appeared to be still ongoing. The tests are

among other things, aimed at determining the structural integrity of the buildings in the estate.

No cessation of construction work At the Lekki Gardens located on plot 235, Kusenla, Chisco area of Lekki, loud sounds were heard coming from the buildings in the estate, many of which could be seen to have already reached advanced stages of completion but are yet to be occupied.

In the section of the estate consisting of multi-storey buildings of up to five floors, sounds of construction maContinues pg 11

11

life&living

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘Asking owners to vacate homes not the solution’

A victim of the building collapse

Continued from pg 10 chines were also heard by Sunday Tribune which had to rely on observations made basically from the perimeters of the estate, as access to the main estate could not be secured.

Sunday Tribune’s mission to the estate was to get the views and opinions of those who had coughed up their hard-earned money to purchase blocks of flat in the estate, which expectedly usually go for several millions of naira.

Sunday Tribune’s investigations showed that at the Lekki Gardens a-three bedroom flat could go for as much as N22,500,000 and above, while the starting point for most of the estate’s two-bedroom flats is N18,500,000.

However the fate and investment of those who have bought houses in the estate appears to now hang in the balance to following the order by the state government all occupants of the estate to vacate their apartments pending the time the results of the tests carried out on the estate would come out.

We recall that the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Wasiu Anifowose, while echoing the state government’s directive had said, “In the best interest of the occupiers of the other structures, their lives are very important to us as a government and we are appealing to them to vacate the buildings immediately until investigations are completed.

“The gentleman behind Lekki Gardens got approval for ground, first, second and third floors, but after doing the roofing, he removed it and added additional two floors which caused the building to collapse. So, we have to carry out integrity test on the other structures and the cost implication for present occupiers of the other structures to vacate the buildings would be borne by the developer,” Anifowose had also added.

Be considerate with us, occupants tell govt Tracking down owners of various flats in the estate by Sunday Tribune proved rather difficult as many apartments, as already stated, were still vacant. But to solve this problem, which was made even more difficult by the fact that access to the estate proved impossible, Sunday Tribune had to monitor those seen driving in and out of the estate in flashy cars, and it was some of them who

Rescue workers taking a victim to safety

eventually gave their stance on the whole development.

While speaking, one of those spotted driving out of the estate house and claimed to have purchased a house there, said that while it was okay for the government to seal buildings suspected to have violated the state’s building laws and regulations, especially in the wake of a tragedy such as the Lekki incident, it was wrong for the government to be so vindictive in its approach in such a way that the interest of those who had spent their hard-earned money to purchase houses in such an estate should be made to suffer.

“First, let me point out that what happened on March 8 was indeed very sad, and I commiserate with those who lost their loved ones in the sad incident. But asking other house owners to vacate their houses because of the ill that befell one of the houses may not be the best way to go about the whole thing,” he said.

Speaking further he said: “Houses have been collapsing in different locations in Lagos, long before the Lekki Gardens incident; but did this mean that occupants of other nearby houses had to vacate their houses, for solution to be found?”

The middle-aged man, who preferred to remain anonymous, further noted that it was wrong for an entire building project which he said cost the developer billions of naira to put in place and which had helped create readymade houses for would-be house owners who could afford them, to be utterly condemned and treated with disdain because of one misfortune.

Asking other house owners to vacate their houses because of the ill that befell one of the houses may not be the best way to go about the whole thing

“I have already paid for my house, but I have not moved in because of a few things which still need to be put in place. I hope to move in soon; my prayer is simply that all these problems will be solved quickly and everybody can move on,” he added.

Another person also seen driving out of the estate, expressed optimism that the results of the integrity test conducted by the state government, which are expected to come in days to come, will eventually indicate that other houses in the estate, particularly those already paid for, are safe for habitation, thus putting the minds of everyone concerned at rest.

“I will not want to say much so as not to say anything that could interfere in any way with the ongoing investigations into the whole issue. Also, let’s bear in mind that legal proceedings have already been instituted in the whole thing, so I will not make comments that could jeopardise the chances of anybody involved in the whole debacle. But if eventually, test results show that my house is not safe, it will be a big shame, but I’ll have no choice but to use all means necessary to have my money back from the company,” he said.

However, according to Sunday Tribune’s findings, it is also noteworthy to say that since the incident happened, some of those who have houses close to the Lekki Gardens may have also started nursing fears about the safety of their own houses, especially bearing in mind that in times past, observers had raised considerable alarm over the strength of some of the houses at Lekki.

A man who identified himself as Tunde Adeosun, a resident who claimed to have a house close to the Lekki Gardens house that collapsed said, “I have an apartment in the same area with Lekki Gardens and I am now scared to move in, but I am sure this is just temporary, and I will soon get over my fears.”

But when giving his opinion about the mishap that befell the neighbouring house, Adeosun said, “The question to ask here is why the relevant agency did not move in to stop work on the building and cause the owners of Lekki Gardens to be arrested and prosecuted, which could have averted the tragedy. There are more questions that deserve answers.”

Sunday Tribune also visited another Lekki Gardens site, which is situated along Chevron Drive, also at Lekki.

The situation was pretty much the same in this Lekki Gardens as well, as scores of vacant houses could be seen sprawling on a large expanse of land spanning several hectares. Also situated in the same large compound were several multi-storey buildings which are still very much under construction.

Despite a sign written in red paint by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Alahusa, construction works could still be seen to be ongoing. At a point, a commercial motorcycle was seen dropping a man who was seen carrying rolls of trunked pipes into the estate. Caterpillars which were perhaps used in clearing the site for construction could still be seen in different locations in the estate.

While tracking occupants here proved impossible, as none of them was willing to talk to the media, one of the construction workers seen coming out from the estate told Sunday Tribune that work was still very much ongoing in the estate, which entrance is equally furnished with a medium sized basket ball court.

Continues pg 12

12

life&living

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Agony of Lekki home owners Continued from pg 11 “Work here is still ongoing, but it has reached an advanced stage for many of the houses,” he said, while promptly adding that many of the flats were yet to be occupied.

“I have finished my work for the day, but many other workers are still there working in the estate, and there is nothing to suggest that anybody’s life is in danger. What happened in the other estate is just unfortunate,” he said.

But when re-echoing the state government’s stance on ridding the state of unapproved structures, the Chairman, Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. David Setonji, said sentiments should be set aside (over the Lekki incident, as well as other similar ones) and that efforts should not be held back in ridding the state of building collapse incidents.

Setonji who charged management and members of staff of the new-look Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) on effective monitoring of buildings in the state, including old and new ones, as well as those under construction, said the era of negligence of all stakeholders involved in the construction of buildings was over, and that the state government would not hesitate to wield its power to deal with anyone who puts peoples life in danger again.

“It is no longer business as usual. It is not enough to serve notice of illegal structures, rather all building regulations must be enforced,” he said.

A view of Lekki Gardens

voxpop

This is what we think of change At about this time last year, Nigerians went to the poll to vote for a new leadership. At the end of the day, the change mantra won. One year down the lane Nigerians are divided over what has been achieved so far. Excerpts: Dr Anderson Anuforo, medical doctor

Richard Arogundade This regime has only succeeded in messing up the future of this country. What can be said that Buhari has achieved in the last one year? To me, nothing. He has only been talking and threatening, but no action. This is how he acted even as a military ruler in the 80s. We are in for it.

I think the government made too many baseless promises based on insufficient knowledge, creating overwhelming expectations from the people. The administration inherited an enormous amount of problems which will take time to sort out. The anti-corruption crusade appears to be a farce though, albeit a significantly profitable one.

Sam Oluremi, civil servant Olivia Ubochi, business woman Well, many of us thought by now that we would have felt the wave of change promised but all we have heard are simply words without any significant thing being done. There has been too much talk and nothing much to show for it.

Nigerians expected miracles but we are all witnesses to the present state of things. I just pray that by some miracle, things get better soon.

Charly Boy My broda, all I can say is hummmmmmmn!

Solape Adigun, nurse For now, below expectations. That’s all.

Blessing Yahaya, entrepreneur

Ola Omisore, Computer Analyst

I can’t seem to place my hands on any obvious significant improvement yet. President Muhammadu Buhari promised six months. We are waiting, praying and hoping. What we need in this country is divine intervention.

It has been below expectations.

Crashed hope. The man has consistently put the nation’s future in jeopardy and the major thoughts of an average Nigerian now is only about survival, not living.

9ice So far, so tough. We can only hope that what he has planned will be fulfilled. But we must have it in mind that many factors have been mitigating for and against the fulfilment of his wish for Nigerians. Anyhow, let us all be hopeful and be patient.

This is a government with good intentions but it has been largely bugged down by the scale of mess it met on ground. The past year has been one of learning the ropes for a government new on the saddle. Hence, I believe whatever shortcomings noted now can still be excused on the altar of apprenticeship. The government for me may not enjoy such luxury next year. My overall performance score for the Buhari administration would be average.

Ayoola Abimbola, driver I was one of those in the forefront for change and although it doesn’t seem like much has been done but in the area of corruption, I will continue to support the change mantra. These things take time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, like they say, and for that reason, I believe that Nigeria is on the way to the Promised Land. I believe things are happening at the background and it is too early to judge this administration.

13 Continued from

I

27 March, 2016 last week

T will be seen that the execution, from year to year, of these four cardinal programmes, is bound to affect for good the life of every Nigerian in whichever part of the country he may live, such as no other programmes, hitherto undertaken, have ever done. Indeed, if these programmes are faithfully pursued, as we are determined do, every Nigerian citizen will, unlike in the past, be placed in a position where he can benefit from other development programmes either directly or indirectly.

We of the Unity Party of Nigeria will, therefore, unyieldingly treat these programmes as Nigeria’s national priorities which must be pursued simultaneously throughout the country. To this end, first and full consideration will be given to the implementation of these programmes in allocating revenue among the federal and state governments. It is only after the needs of these programme have been fully satisfied that other principles of revenue allocation will be considered.

There are many other matters of public importance which I am leaving out of this statement. They will be taken care of in the Party’s Policy Papers and Manifesto, which are now being considered in draft, and will be published in due course. And they will also be referred to and amplified in the course of electioneering.

This much, however, I would like to say at this stage.

To save it from collapse, Nigeria’s economy needs urgent, massive, and pervasive review and reactivation. Practically all our public utilities are in chaotic state of inefficiency, most of our public corporations and governmentowned companies are nothing but patent avenues for criminal waste, and corruption; and the private sector is now a debilitated and helpless pariah-type victim of unwarranted controls, restrictions, bans, and various other measures, the underlying reasons for some of which are not easy to understand or appreciate.

With particular reference to the private sector, it is agreed that there is need for firm governmental guidelines and directives to ensure, on the one hand, co-ordination and rationality within the sector, and, on the other, fruitful co-operation with the government on the part of the sector. But a sector that is incessantly beset with fear and sense of insecurity, as Nigeria’s private sector now is, can neither co-ordinate its efforts internally, nor behave rationally towards itself or towards the community for which it is intended to cater.

For the avoidance of doubt, socialism is decidedly the goal of the Unity Party of Nigeria. But no one, no nation, ever attains a worthwhile goal, designed for the benefit of the entire people, in one fell swoop, without courting ir-

Awo’s thoughts PATH TO NIGERIAN GREATNESS

On the campaign trail At last — the glorious dawn*

reparable or prolonged disaster for the people concerned.

Indeed, any attempt to attain the goal of socialism in one frantic leap is bound to generate widespread alarm, social upheaval and distress, and attendant violence.

Once, therefore, we rule out the method of attaining the socialist goal in one fell swoop; once we are set on a course of fully implementing our four cardinal programmes within the shortest possible time; then, in these

To save it from collapse, Nigeria’s economy needs urgent, massive, and pervasive review and reactivation. Practically all our public utilities are in chaotic state of inefficiency, most of our public corporations and governmentowned companies are nothing but patent avenues for criminal waste, and corruption…

Sunday Tribune

circumstances, we must order our public affairs in such a manner as to secure the active and enlightened co-operation of the private sector. There are many ways in which such co-operation can be achieved. But this is neither the place nor the occasion to spell them out.

For fuller understanding, however, it must be borne in mind that the so-called private sector includes the retail and petty traders, the market women, the small-scale transporters, all self-employed people including professionals and non-professionals, the road- side mechanic, and so on and so forth. All these deserve special encouragement and assistance by way of advice on organisation; they also deserve, where necessary, financial support, and technical guidance, not extinction or oppressive regimentation.

The four cardinal programmes adumbrated above, together with other far-reaching programmes which will be unfolded in the coming weeks, will, on implementation, represent a revolutionary leap forward in Nigeria’s relentless march to individual freedom, prosperity, and happiness for all her citizens.

We assure fellow-Nigerians that this revolutionary leap will be without bloodshed; but it will, of a necessity, entail rigorous planning, dedication, toil, sweat, resolution, discipline.

We of the Unity Party of Nigeria have counted the costs of our projected programmes, and we know that these costs are without doubt, colossal. But we are satisfied that the funds for them can be raised within our borders. Furthermore, since these programmes are crucial to our country’s rapid progress and development, we are determined to pursue and execute them with unbending and unyielding resolve.

On this the first day of THE DAWN, we all, I believe, can see the sun in the horizon peeping smilingly at us, and vibrating its quickening rays into all the cells in our being as individuals and as a corporate body. The sun will soon rise. It is within our power to ensure that this time it shall rise to set no more.

In all my political career, I am guided by a number of rules.

Two of them are relevant and will be stated here. Firstly, I never permit myself to speak of or promise anything which cannot be accomplished within the time stipulated. Secondly, in the face of any complex and titanic public problem, I always call to mind Churchill’s wise and true saying: “the difficult can be accomplished immediately; but the impossible takes a little longer.” I want the Nigerian electorate, in their entirety, therefore, to believe that the four cardinal programmes outlined above, and others which will be indicated later can, will, and must be accomplished.

Concluded

AFRICAN NEWSPAPERS OF NIGERIA PLC Founders: CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO GCFR, SAN (1909 - 1987)

Chief (Dr) H.I.D Awolowo CON (1915 - 2015)

Chairman Rev. (Mrs) Omotola Oyediran Co-Chairman Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Edward Dickson Controller (Business Development) Fola Oke

Ibadan Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08077227269; 08034135733 Lagos Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08055333067; 08033013177

Abuja Office: Suites G2. 05-07, PEB04 Plaza, Plot 2027, Dalaba Street, Beside NAPTIP Headquarters, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja Advert Hot Lines: 08033199716; 08078891797

South South Regional Office: No. 50 Ikwerre Rd., Mile 1, Diobu, P/Harcourt, Rivers State

Kaduna Office: AN 20, Lagos Street, by Keffi Rd., Kaduna.

Chief Accountant Oluremi Olufisayo, ACA

Ikeja Marketing Office.

Block C, First Floor, Motorways centre, Opp., 7up Alausa, Ikeja.

Snr. Manager (Advertisements) Kayode Titiloye Sales Manager Omotayo Lewis, Ph.D Consultant/Director Segun Olatunji, Ph.D

GOT NEWS?

Contact: sundaytribuneeditor@yahoo.com or call:08050498483

14

sundayinterview

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

We met an empty treasury, but we are not here to complain —Adamawa gov

Adamawa State governor, Senator Mohammed Umar Jibrilla, in this exclusive interview with MOSES ALAO and KABEER GWANGWARZO, speaks on his activities in office in the last nine months despite the dwindling resources, his plans for Adamawa people and the situation in his party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

N

IGERIA is at a critical period economically, which has affected governance across the states and at the federal level, with most of governors struggling to even pay workers’ salaries. Despite this, one sees ongoing construction and rehabilitation of roads with some already completed. How have you been able to achieve these within 10 months?

You said you were here in 2014 and you saw the level of development; if I may correct you, you only saw the state of things, because in Adamawa at that time, I don’t think there was any development. The entire infrastructure was down. But first of all, let me tell you that I have a private sector background; I was a business man and so managing resources cannot be a problem for me. Let me also tell you that I didn’t become a governor by accident; I had planned well for this office even before I went to the Senate. I was in the Senate and I worked hard and prayed to Almighty Allah to make me the Chief Executive of this state so that I can transform Adamawa State and make its people’s dreams come true. I really planned for all these things—to improve the infrastructure of the state, which was in comatose or, in most cases, non-existent and to better the lot of my people.

Unfortunately, Adamawa is not one of the most backward states; it is the most backward state and I have no apology for saying that. Everybody who knows the North knows we are very backward. If you see our neighbouring states, such as Taraba and Gombe, they have gone far ahead and they were nowhere when Adamawa State was created. I saw that there has been no development in the state, whether it is road, education, health or agriculture; anything you can think of. So, I said let me first start with the roads. We discovered that the road sector is very important, because it concerns all the masses. Everyone can say this is their own, the road through which they conduct businesses or move from one place to the other for virtually anything they do. Yes, someone might say the roads are not in the rural areas. But the decision we made was to first start with the roads in Yola and Jimeta, because this is the capital of Adamawa State. If you come to Adamawa, you have to be in Jimeta here and, of course, Yola. So, we said ‘look, we have seen how bad the roads are and we need to urgently fix them.’ Today, we have embarked on the rehabilitation and construction of 43 to 44 roads in the state capital and I can tell you that almost 70 per cent of the roads have been completed and by June 2016, according to our agreement with the contractors, we will finish all the roads. The president will be coming to Yola by May to commission some of these roads and other projects. These are basically what we have been doing.

But how have you been able to achieve these despite the decline in the allocations from the federal level?

Let me say that I have been very prudent in all I do. It is no longer business as usual in Adamawa State. I have no interest in accumulating any money or resources for

Governor Mohammed Jibrilla, Adamawa State

myself. All I want to see is that my people are happy; so the little resources we have, I have been able to manage to settle with the contractors and I am happy to inform you that at this point in time, there is no outstanding payment as far as these roads are concerned. We also have 14 roads that we are working on in Mubi and there are no outstanding payments on those projects too. That is why you see that work is ongoing everywhere and my people are happy. I always visit these projects on a daily basis.

From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., I leave the office to go and supervise these projects. Sometimes, I go to Mubi by helicopter

to go and see the projects and come back here. I can tell you that the people are happy; we are giving them visible dividends of democracy and we are delivering on the change mantra of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

We are bringing about positive change. As far as Adamawa State is concerned, we are doing our best to see that our people are happy and that they see the level of development they have never seen before by any government. I am embarking on people-oriented development Continues

pg 15

15

sundayinterview

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘We’re embarking on people-oriented development’ Continued from

ask the civil servants when they get their salaries. We pay them before 25th of every month and your correspondent here can testify to that. The only problem we have is with the local government salaries, where there are some arrears and even that one we are already working to see that their salaries are paid at the same time with state workers.

pg 14

so that they will touch the masses directly.

We have so many plans. By December, we must have finished the urban roads in Yola, Jimeta and Mubi and we will, by early next year God willing, move into Ganye and Numan. These are the five major cities we have in Adamawa State.

But what about roads to the rural communities, owing to the fact that agricultural produce need to be moved from those areas?

Already, we are collaborating with the World Bank and we are doing over 200 kilometres of rural roads; that project is ongoing as we speak. We are carrying out an all-inclusive development and by next year, we will be able to link up the rural and urban centres in terms of road network and that will help the farmers to bring their produce to the city centres.

Of course, we have also embarked on the imrpovement of the health sector. There are about four major general hospitals in Adamawa State; the Specialist Hospital in Jimeta, the Mubi General Hospital, the Numan General and the one in Ganye. We have just finished all the necessary assessments and I can guarantee that in the next three months, we will be through with the needed construction, rehabilitation and equipment of the hospitals, such that in the next six months, our health infrastructure would be at 10 times better than it is now.

Considering the dwindling resources and the fact that Adamawa State is currently at the centre of Boko Haram insurgency, which warrants taking care of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), how are you coping with this situation?

We are just managing. Though I would not have loved to say much, you have raised a question on an issue close to my heart: a topic I can say I understand perfectly—the issue of insurgency, because I had the opportunity of being in the seventh Senate. Apart from that, I was lucky to be the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence and Army for four years. I represented Adamawa North Senatorial District and that is where Boko Haram insurgency affected. They overran all the local governments I represented; they took over seven local governments, including Gombi. So I have been in the centre of the insurgency for a long time.

Apart from coming from an area that was affected, we went on oversight functions to Borno and Yobe and we know how bad things were. So, as far as the insurgency is concerned, I have to not only recognise, but also appreciate what President Muhammadu Buhari has done. He has done marvelously well in terms of attacking and fighting terrorism and I am in the best position to tell you this, not because I am a governor, but because I know that in Mubi and most of this place, you could not sleep with your two eyes closed before. But all that has changed because Mr President was decisive and committed to the fight against terrorism. I was in Mubi a couple of days ago and I stayed for three days.

Now, everyone is happy. Businesses have returned to that place.

Governor Jibrilla

On how we are coping with accommodating IDPs, it has not been easy. This week, I will be receiving about 56,000 IDPs from Cameroon [last week]; it is not easy. It is like moving a whole town. But as far as the IDPs are concerned, we are lucky that National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), especially its DirectorGeneral, is doing his best and we are partnering with NEMA and the Federal Government, as well as several international agencies, to take care of the IDPs. So, with the little resources we have, we are ensuring that they are well-accommodated and I can tell you boldly that out of all the IDPs in the three states, those in Adamawa are having the best of treatment. The children go to schools here. We are training the adults in entrepreneurship and small scale businesses, such as sewing and others. My team in Adamawa State has been fantastic, because all the development you see is not only about me as the governor; I have a strong team that is dedicated and committed to moving the state forward in all ramifications, despite the fact that the resources are not there. When we came in, we met an empty treasury. But we are not here to complain; the people that voted for me will not allow me to complain. So, it is a challenge that we have to face and surmount, because when I was voted by the people, my election was unanimous, because the people saw the need for change in Adamawa State. We are trying our best.

I cannot tell you that everyone is happy with what we are doing, but, at least, 80 per cent of Adamawa residents is happy with the development happening in the state.

One of the key challenges facing governors at this period is the issue of payment of salaries, with state governments owing workers’ salaries for months despite the bailout by the Federal Government. How have you been able to cope with this situation and how many months’ salaries do you owe as we speak?

I am happy you came from the SouthWest part of this country, because that is where the salary problems are much.

I know that some of my senior colleague governors have been battling with the salary issue and I think it is simply because they borrowed too much from the banks.

By the time I came into office, I was lucky that there was only one month salary arrear, though my predecessor in office didn’t help matters. We were inaugurated into office on 29 May 2015, so the salary of May should have been paid. I shouldn’t have had problem with the payment of May salary, but they left half of the salary unpaid. So I had to borrow to augment May salary and we came in early June. But now, we do not have salary arrears. However, the allocations we get are not enough to pay salaries; so I am being forced to do what I am not happy to do by borrowing to augment for the salary. We borrow around N700 million, which is not good economically. I am a businessman, I know it is not good to borrow to pay salaries, but we are happy that the banks are giving us the money and we are meeting the salary needs of our workers. I can guarantee that in Nigeria today, there is no governor that pays salaries before me; you can go and

With the present economic reality, the issue of economic diversification has become paramount. As someone with private sector background, has your government been able to do anything to diversify the economy of the state?

Yes. That is what we have doing, because in terms of diversification of the economy, Adamawa is the best place to do that. We have so many mineral resources and this government has been trying to look in this direction. We are partnering with a lot of companies from China. Four of my commissioners just came back from China. We are trying to sign MoU with these companies so that they can come into mining and other resources. Quite importantly, Adamawa is an agricultural state; anyone can tell you that. We are the largest rice producer in Nigeria. So, we are also trying to go into agriculture and explore mineral resources so that we can increase the revenues in the state and also make our people happy. I am sure you know that we have a sugar company here, owned by Alhaji Aliko Dangote. He is trying to expand the industry so that he can create a lot of jobs for our people. In fact, he told me that he is going to create about 12,000 jobs for our youths. So, we are diversifying and, of course, there is no alternative to the economic situation but to diversify, because oil is a thing of the past. In any case, oil did not do so much for us, honestly, especially in this part of the country. People had opportunities to use the resources to develop the state but they didn’t perform well.

This is why I have to do my best here, because this is an opportunity that God has given me and I cannot but do my best. So that at the end of the day, I will leave legacies that people can see. I want to raise the standard of being a governor here, such that if you are a governor, you cannot do less than what Bindow has done. You have to go above what I achieve. It is important; whosoever is coming after me must not perform below what I have done. You said you are going to Mubi, you will see what we are doing. You will see the largest cattle market in Africa. The turnover of that place was in billions on a weekly basis, but because of the insurgency that affected that town, which is the commercial nerve centre of this state and the North-East, there was a setback. But my government is concentrating on bringing back that glory; that place is coming up.

By the time we are through with all these, we will be able to depend less on money coming from Abuja.

When you came into office, you initiated what you called Bindow 4 Social Change, a programme through which you empower women and youths. What has become of that programme now?

Continues

pg 16

16

sundayinterview

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘Buhari has been decisive, committed in fight against terrorism’ Continued from

pg 15

You are right. Yes, we introduced Bindow 4 Social Change as a team; it is headed by my Secretary to the State Government. We have just started. Our focus is to empower our people; not by dashing money out to them or giving them fish but by teaching them how to fish and empowering them to succeed in their businesses. So, we decided to give N30,000 each to small scale business owners, because we have discovered that they are the real masses; the real people that voted for us. But the fund is in a revolving loan format; it is a one-year revolving loan.

You know that if someone is frying akara or doing some other small businesses and he/she gets even N10,000 to improve that business, you can imagine what he/she will be able do with such support. We have done this so that these people can take care of their children’s education and other needs. And we are doing this with the sole aim of empowering the rural people, lifting them above poverty. I am sure that if you come next year, you will see drastic change in the lives of rural people, because we are concentrating on the rural areas to help our people.

Good as that idea of revolving loan for small businesses sounded, it has been discovered that such scheme is often politicised and reserved only for party loyalists.

Not in this case. Empowering people should not be about political parties and that is why we are working with our traditional rulers. They are the ones to guarantee the loan facility and whoever is going to get the N30,000 must be endorsed by the village head, because the village head will be the one who knows if that person truly re-

MINISTER of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, last week, said the current fuel scarcity being witnessed in the country would linger longer than expected.

Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), had said it was even a “magic” that the fuel stations were still getting volume of products they dispensed to the public, judging from the prevailing circumstances at NNPC. The minister, who was fielding questions from State House correspondents, ended up confusing the people more than comforting them. On the one hand, he said that NNPC’s import rates had moved from 50 per cent to 100 per cent. On the other, he said when the refineries came on full stream, locally refined products would be left unsold in the reservoir to boost supply and availability of the products.

Kachikwu could not come out clearly on the strategy he intended to deploy to tackle the problem. He failed to state when the refineries would come on stream. He even forgot to tell the nation the state of the refineries. But without effecting any change in the process, the minister is expecting a changed result by May. Everyone knows that is a prognosis for failure.

Unfortunately, that is the Nigerian narrative; a narrative of expecting yesterday’s strategy to produce today’s deliverables; a narrative of expecting bounteous output from sparing input; a narrative of longing to become one of the world’s 20 biggest economies without growing local production; a narrative of wanting to win the World Cup without first building a formidable team with outstanding strikers; a narrative of desiring omelet without the willingness to crack an egg.

The reality is that such does not happen anywhere, not even in films. We need to come to terms with the fact that success in any endeavour nothing happens by happenstance, wish or luck. If it does happen that way, it can only be fleeting, never abiding. Success is a product of a number of factors including preparedness, sacrifice and foresightedness.

The current power generation capacity of about 5,000 megawatts was the target set in the 1960s and 1970s when the Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was established with a mandate to develop the hydropower potential of

sides in his locality and if, indeed, he or she is doing what he claims to be doing as business. It is a good scheme that we will roll out in the next couple of weeks.

Your Excellency, to people outside Adamawa State, it is not uncommon to read reports of rancour in the APC and conclude that there is internal struggle and a gang-up against you, which has led to the hijack of the party. How true are these insinuations?

I don’t think those insinuations are true. There is no rancour in Adamawa APC, neither has anyone hijacked the party. The state chairman of the party was just leaving my office when you came and I was not the one who

We are trying our best. I cannot tell you that everyone is happy with what we are doing, but at least, 80 per cent of Adamawa residents is happy with at the development happening in the state

With Sulaimon Olanrewaju 08055001708

lanresulaimon@yahoo.com

The Nigeria narrative: Omelet without eggs

the country at a time when the nation’s population was less than a half of the current figure. With the completion of the hydro-power projects, electricity supply in the country became quite good. That is why the 1970s and the early 1980s are regarded as the golden era in electricity supply in the country. But demand for electricity

installed him; it is the party that voted for its leadership.

My job here is not to handle the party. My job is to see to it that the masses are happy; that those who voted for me and our party are not let down. If I am doing what is right for my people, the party will come to me; I will not need to go to the party or worry about anyone hijacking the party. And, honestly, I have not seen anyone ganging up against me. I do not have problem with anyone.

If anyone has any issue against me, I do not know. But for me, I am happy doing what I was voted to do and I want you to go out there and find out; you will see that my people are happy with me. So, the discussion about internal struggle or party hijack and all that do not bother me.

Maybe because that is how my life has always been and I always triumph. When I was running for Senate, I didn’t have a single delegate but because of my goodwill and my background, all the delegates said I was the one they wanted and they voted for me. And when I was running to become governor, you know what happened. I was the only APC governor who had to go through two primary elections and I triumphed in the end and people voted for me. If you perform well in office, the masses will always support you. The party is just a platform. And, honestly, I do not have any problem with the party. As I said earlier, the chairman of the party and the chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Adamawa State just left this office. They are going round the state to tell our people what we have been doing and why they should continue to support us. So, I do not have any problem and the party is not even my headache right now; I just want to do what my people expect of me. If the people are happy, they will bring the party to me.

has been growing at the rate of 8.2 per cent per annum since 1984 without a corresponding growth in electricity supply. Until the recent efforts, there was no plan to match the demand for electricity with supply. Hence, power output has been on the decline for about 30 years.

Consequently, governments, households and businesses resorted to the use of generators. Those companies that could not cope with the high cost of providing their own electricity relocated to neighbouring countries. Now, how can we hope to become one of the world’s biggest economies when we are generator-dependent? A case of fighting today’s war with yesterday’s equipment.

The Lagos-Ibadan expressway was constructed in the 1970s when the vehicular traffic was much lighter than it is currently. Apart from occasional patching, no major rehabilitation work was done until the effort by the immediate past administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan to rebuild it. But there is a serious issue with that. Given the density of vehicular traffic on the road, I had expected that the government would seize the opportunity of rebuilding it to increase the lanes to four on both sides and dedicate one lane to trucks and other heavy duty vehicles.

But when I heard that the plan is to have three lanes on both sides of the road between Lagos and Sagamu intersection, and two from Sagamu to Ibadan, I came to the conclusion that the government is merely looking at a placebo, not a permanent solution to the problem given that a minimum of one million vehicles ply both sides of the road daily. My reading of this intervention is that we will just have respite on the road for a while before old problems start resurfacing. This is another case of preparing for the moment instead of the future.

The major force that frustrates the realisation of our country’s immense potentialities is the failure to make appropriate plans for our desired future. For as long as that remains the pattern, the Nigerian narrative will remain unaltered.

The hallmark of failure is the tendency to always prepare for today, forgetting that today is constantly in a haste to become yesterday. If all we do is restrict our planning to the moment, our challenges will always have the better of us and greatness will continually elude us.

17

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Why I need a wife —Praiz

Extension of equal rights, basic principle of progress —Joke Silva

My haters are the ones

helping my career —Dayo Amusa

18

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Acting won’t affect my music career —Falz

By Seyi Sokoya Entertainer, Folarin Falana, son of legal luminary, Femi Falana, has hinted that his music career would not suffer any setback because of his deep involvement in acting. His role at the recently premiered video “Solider” by Falz and Simi was lauded by many while others urged that he should concentrate on music alone.

But the lawyer turned musician has explained that his motive to venture into acting will not be injurious to his music career.

Falz, who insisted that his best is yet to come, told Hip TV during a short interview recently saying “Acting won’t be detrimental to my focus.”

Falz eventually received the blessing and support of his father to pursue a career in music last week.

Falana, who was a guest at the unveiling of Falz new video in Lagos recently, was thrilled by the performance of his son where he confessed that he had a change of mind after seeing the video of his son, saying that he would support his son’s love for music.

Extension of equal rights, basic principle of progress —Joke Silva

By Segun Adebayo

V

eteran actress, Joke Silva, has come out to speak on the controversial gender equality issue that has been generating a lot of reactions from different quaters, especially among the women fold.

The actress who has received several awards and nominations for her work as an actress released new photos on her Instagram page on Thursday and shared her thoughts, saying “I believe that every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man”.

Silva whose husband, Olu Jacobs is also a veteran actor said further that the extension of equal rights is the basic principle of progress, adding that every human should have equal rights.

“I believe we are equal and that every human should have equal

rights. I also believe that every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man.

The extension of equal rights is the basic principle of progress”.

“We will never have true civilization or growth until we have learned to recognise the importance of equal rights. Gender inequality affects us all, it’s like having

a head without a brain or having a body without functional organs. In Malala Yousafzai’s words “we cannot all succeed when half of us are held back,” she said.

WAP introduces Nnenna & Friends cartoon magazine Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP) is set to release the Nnenna & Friends Cartoon magazine, which will make its debut on April 5, 2016.

This family delight is an “all-work-and-allplay” creative mix which has colourful and interesting package with a wide range of contents specifically prepared for the whole family. Its content ranges from the Super Nnenna Adventures; where Nnenna’s eyes are wide open to the plight of children and she comes to their aid at the twinkle of an eye.

According to Wale Adenuga Jnr, the hilarious comedy group; Papa Ajasco & company

will add fun and laughter to the creative mix.

“Binta’s Dilemma Stories are didactic; full of lessons for children with particular reference to the girl-child as well as parents and guardians. For lovers of animal stories, the Nnenna & Friends Cartoon Magazine Tortoise and other animal stories will thrill them beyond their wildest imagination.

Interesting contents such as jokes, puzzles, interviews, tongue twisters, pocket cartoons, games, stunning facts, art&craft, proverbs, parenting tips, latest fashion designs, the magazine is a complete package for relaxation for every age group in the society”.

19

razzmatazz

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Uncertainty over Chidinma’s contract with Capital Hill

She has left Capital Hill music —Illbliss No, she has not informed me —Clarence Peters

JJC speaks on romance with Funke Akindele

Stories By Segun Adebayo

A

fresh controversy is brewing over the contract of Captial Hill singer, Chidinma as the two owners of the record label gave conflicting reactions to a report that Chidinma has parted ways with the company.

Reports had emerged days back that the diminutive singer who has been with Capital Hill music for more than three years has finally dumped the record label she joined after winning the third season of MTN project Fame.

Chidinma who is said to be in France has not come out to deny or confirm the reports but information gathered that by R revealed that she was no more a member of Capital Hill that also has Illbliss,

Phyno and Suspect on the label.

In a television interview monitored by R during the week, the duo of Illbliss and Clarence Peters could not agree on whether Chidinma is still their artiste.

Clarence Peters, who is rated as Nigeria’s number one music video director, disclosed that he Chidinma has not told her she has left his Capital Hill and would not want to believe she has gone based on the information he has. “I don’t know if Chidinma is gone or not. She has not told me she is no more with us and I don’t want to speak on what I don’t know. I have been hearing the gist about her leaving, but I am waiting for her to come back from France, so that we can trash things out. As far as paper is concerned, she has not left Capital Hill”, he said.

Singer, JJC, who is believed to be having a sizzling romance with actress, Funke Akindele, has said he would not comment on the alleged romance and marriage proposal that have been trailing him and the actress.

News came to town recently that Funke and JJC have been seeing each other secretly and that they may soon walk down the aisle.

It was also gathered that JJC, a father of three reportedly proposed to Funke at a private event in Lagos.

JJC who returned to Nigeria a

In his reaction, Illbliss, who is also an artiste on Capital Hill said Chidinma has left the record label. He said he had known way back that whatever has a beginning would come to an end one day. “We have been working for six years and I know she would leave one day. The truth is that she has left Capital Hill and that’s the truth. A time comes when everything comes to an end. We have a lot more artistes coming up. I remain her big brother, she can call me anytime she needs anything”.

Efforts to reach Chidinma on the phone when filing this report was unsuccessful as she could not be reached on phone.

I have forgiven Danku —Oritsefemi Self-acclaimed musical taliban, Oritsefemi has moved to end his feud with his former manager, Danku.

Oritsefemi who came back to reckoning with his hit single Double Wahala, severed his relationship with Danku last year after irreconciliable differences.

Danku and Oritsefemi had been involved in a messy fight for over a year with the duo vowing never to work with each other again. But recent reports emerging from the camp of Oritsefemi indicated that the singer has decided to end his rift with Danku and allow peace to reign.

Speaking with R during the week about his alleged move to reconcile

with his former manager, he said ‘Life is too short to abhor hatred with anybody. “We have to move on.

Danku is my homeboy. The truth is that I don’t want to have problem with anybody. I want my mind to be free so that I can progress with the projects I have lined up for the year.

I want to concentrate on music and not fight”.

He also talked about his new single, Mr Gomina, which featured Mavin Records act, Reekado Banks. “Let’s talk about my new song with Reekado Banks. Let’s talk about songs that I am about to release. I am done with having issues with Danku or anybody”, he said.

few years back after his long stay in the UK to push his music career in the Nigerian market said that he would not want to comment on his alleged marriage proposal to Funke, confirming that they have both been working together on different projects.

Asked if it was true that he proposed to Funke, JJC muttered and said “I can’t really talk about that. I am working hard on Jenifer’s Diary with Funke. We are actually working together on a couple of projects, so I won’t be able to tell you more than that”.

Chelsea Bobo unveils new video ‘Milengbe’ Juju singer, Sesan Akinpelu, popularly known as Chelsea Bobo, recently unveiled the video of his latest single, entitled ‘Milengbe’ in which he featured hip-hop artiste Jaywon.

The video, which starred the likes of YQ, Dr.Smile, Wale Dada, Kasnaty, Hi-Tech and others, was shot in the city of Abeokuta, Ogun State and directed

by MLAKE. The unveilling took place in the presence of top entertainers and fans at Open Gate Bar, Abeokuta, during the week.

According to Chelsea Bobo , the reason behind his collaboration with Jaywon was because of his unique presentation. “Milengbe is a pure Juju song and I chose Jaywon because of his unique presentation,” he said.

The special get together was compered by the talented Dr Smile and had in attendance Mr Latin, Mc Murphy, Taye Elemeta, Olori Khadijat Tailor, Tokunbo Akinremi, Akin Alabi, Bunmi Mustapha, Bola Solate, Bisi Oyedele and other special guests.

20

27 March, 2016

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

Praise Adejo, better known by his stage name Praiz, came into the limelight thrilling Nigerians with his unique soulful voice during a televised music competition. Praiz, who is also a graduate of Computer Science from Kaduna Polytechnic, has gone on to wow music critics and fans with his style – a blend of R&B and Soul. In this interview by SEGUN ADEBAYO, the ‘Sisi’ crooner shares the story of his rise to stardom.

F

I want a wife;

I don’t pray to have baby mama

ROM the look of things, the name Praiz appears to have come to stay in the music industry. What’s the reason for this?

I think not winning MTN Project Fame gave me the push to do more for myself musically. I have never been one who wanted to be a failure; I have always wanted to be one who is an agent of positivity and success. So, not winning Project Fame was the push that I needed to get me to this level, because my music career took a different dimension after that show and I am grateful for how far I have come since then.

If not winning gave you the push to take your career to this level, what would have happened if you had won?

To be honest with you, I don’t know. One thing I believe is that anything that happens is for a reason and the fact that I didn’t win is the reason I am here today.

It is normal for one to have come far on a job one is dedicated to, but it is another thing to remain on top of one’s game for years. How do you intend to sustain this momentum?

One thing that I am very sure of is that I have a team that always tells me the truth. Trust me, I am surrounded by people who will look at me in the eyes and tell me the truth. Sometimes, I would record songs that I think is good, but when I submit the song, they will say one has not done enough, they tell me I can do better. The fact that my team tells me the truth and coupled with the urge to put out good music will always sustain the momentum for me. I know it is not going to be easy, but with God on my side, I will continue to stay relevant and progress.

Getting to the top must have come with its high and low moments, as your journey to stardom didn’t just start yesterday. During your struggling days, did you ever believe something big as the fame and fortune you now enjoy could come your way?

I believed something big was coming but I never knew when.

For me, when I started pushing my music, the belief was that one day things will change. So, I kept pushing for years and one day, the story changed.

Let’s talk about your journey into Project Fame; how did you come about it in the first place?

I travelled from Kaduna to Abuja for auditions.

Were you living in Kaduna?

I was born in Lagos, but my dad was transferred to Kaduna State, so the whole family had to move to Kaduna. So, I lived in Kaduna and schooled there. When I heard about the Project

— Praiz

Fame auditioning in Abuja, I had to travel to Abuja from Kaduna for the auditioning. After that, I came to Lagos for the regional auditioning and I made it to the house. I was actually hoping to win, but I came third.

You didn’t win Project Fame, but you don’t seem to be struggling with life again…

I feel blessed not to be struggling again. But the fact is that the hustling continues. I always tell people that my hustling story is a lesson for me. It teaches me that you need to be humble, consistent, persistent and prayerful.

What has changed about the Kaduna boy who is now in Lagos?

Nothing has changed about me. I am still the Kaduna boy, who was known as the good football player, the drummer, but right now a superstar singer. It gives me joy. I feel very proud of what I have achieved and I can’t even tell you what it really feels like, because I didn’t know I am going to be this big in music. I try to concentrate on my music, work hard and pray to God. It is believed that it could be hard to keep one’s head straight when fame and fortune smile at one. Is it the same with you?

I won’t say it is the same with me, because you remember I told you that I surround myself with people who tell me the truth.

You are the celebrity in the team; they may tell you what you want to hear so that you don’t get offended, what do you think about that?

I don’t believe they tell me what I want to hear in order to keep me in the team. There are things I do that I feel are alright but they will come back and tell me they are not alright. The thing with me is that I know what is good and what is bad. Even if you want to be a bad guy, it still doesn’t rule out the fact that you know what is right, you may just choose to ignore it and I don’t allow Continues on pg21

21 glitz

27 March, 2016 Continued from pg20

that side of me take over. To be honest, I don’t have a lot of friends, but I am blessed with an amazing team. I think I have the best manager, regardless of the fact that he’s here with me now.

Some celebs have admitted that they find it hard to compose good songs again because of their busy time hence they engage songwriters. How do you manage to still write songs?

As you progress in life, you get busy by the day. You need to create time to critically analyse your game and know where your strength lies as you grow on the game.

For me, if I don’t have the time to write songs like I do, I believe in getting people who can write good songs for me. Writing songs for an artiste is very professional, it is only in Nigeria that the artiste wants to perform the job of the producer, songwriter, sound mixer and master and even shoot the video.

Your song with Wizkid was a hit and you have equally dropped other big songs, but none appears to be bigger than ‘Sisi,’ what’s the reason for this?

I don’t believe ‘Sisi’ is my biggest song. For me, my biggest song, remains ‘Rich and Famous’. ‘Sisi’ and ‘Rich and Famous’ are in different classes; you can’t put them on the same level. It will be wrong to judge them on the same level.

Sunday Tribune

‘I’m not surprised

I didn’t win any awards at Headies’

You are not the type that comes out every time to comment on issues like some of your colleagues do and one wonders why you keep to yourself a lot or are you scared your name could be dragged into the mud?

The truth is that I like to be different. I understand that scandal is good publicity for an artiste, but I will rather not have any scandal at all. I don’t want to drag my parents’ name into the mud or any scandal. My dad is a cleric and I respect his name a lot. One of the best things I can do is to keep is name the way it is.

What do you think about the bickering, song theft allegations and rift among your colleagues?

One thing I know is that ‘beef’ is not healthy for the industry. But for me, I am just minding my business. Those who know me will tell you that I like to mind my business; I don’t like to put my mouth where it is not wanted.

I just want to do my music. The truth is that I am not scared of anything. I think I have proven to people over the years that I am not scared of anyone in the music industry. Even if you help me, I don’t think I am afraid of you. I don’t know why people fail to realise that what is not your business is not yours. One of the problems we are having today is that people like to intrude in people’s business.

What do you think about awards in Nigeria?

Awards? Well, I don’t know what to say about awards.

You don’t want to comment or you don’t know what to say?

Right now, I expect our awards to get better, but I don’t know what is happening. I will say our music is getting better because they are beginning to appreciate alternative songs.

You were nominated in more than one category but you didn’t win; how did you feel?

I was not surprised that I didn’t win, because I always expect the worst. Everyone knew last year was my year.

I mean from the NEA to AFRIMA, it was just my year. I put out a lot of materials and my album was one of the best. It is an album that people still talk about many years to come, especially, The Rich album. The whole scenario reminded me of 2012 when my friend Bez had about six or seven nominations, and that year was undoubtedly, Bez’s year, but they didn’t give him the award. It was so bad that even in the United States that year, people didn’t know Bez’s song was a Nigerian song, but he didn’t win an award. I have got to a level where awards do not dictate how awesome I am; they don’t not dictate how talented I am. The best thing is just to work, do your shows, collect your money and walk away. Those who respect

you will still do.

Looking at where you were coming from and where you are now, how successful is Praize?

Looking at the two sides, I will say I am very success-

I was not surprised that I didn’t win, because I always expect the worse. Everyone knew last year was my year.

I mean from the NEA to AFRIMA, it was just my year.

ful. I am the first African artiste to have his own day in America and that’s a major one.

What do you mean by his own day?

You know you have Martin Luther King Day; you also have Praize Adejo’s Day in America. Every February 6 is my day in America. Even if I leave this world, they will still talk about the day. It is a lesson to a lot of people. Be good. Keep doing what you are good at, you never know who is observing.

When is Praiz settling down or are we going to hear a baby mama news anytime soon?

No! God forbid that. I beg. I reject it in Jesus name. I mean, I will like to settle down and I really look forward to settling down.

Are you scared your fan base could drop if you announce to the world that you are getting married?

I don’t think it is true. I used to think like that before, but not anymore. I know a lot of celebrities who are married and are still keeping their fan base stronger. I don’t think marriage will affect my fan base.

22

27 March, 2016

entartainment

with Segun Adebayo tegbollistic@yahoo.com 08116954644

Chief Lekan Alabi fetes women

Expect something new from D’banj and I

By Tunde Busari

The Aare Alaasa Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Lekan Alabi, recently played host to a group of women known as Royal Sisters Club of Ibadan.

The event, was held at the popular Omo Ajorosu Club House, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, with the executive members of the club led by their president, Mrs Toyin Oladapo in attendance.

Alabi, while welcoming the club, encouraged members not to compromise Yoruba culture and etiquette. He lamented the discouraging state of the culture among youths, holding parents and guardian liable.

The high chief insisted that Yoruba value system is one of the best in the world highlighting some elements of the value to include greetings, dressing, delicacies among others.

“Parents should not allow their children to derail by allowing foreign influence to take a better part of their life. It is very sad to see our children finding it difficult to speak good Yoruba. What is more worrisome is that they are not that proficient in foreign language they claim to speak.

“Their mannerism too is zero.

They don’t know the importance of prostrating and kneeling down for parents. I am saying this to you as mothers because of their natural bond with our children,” he said.

Grand Patron of the club, Professor Toriola Oyewo, also urged the members to be steadfast and exhibit integrity at all time, saying doing so would always earn them respect of well-meaning personalities.

The IyalodeLagunna of Ibadanland, Chief Mrs Olanrewaju Adedeji-Otti, expressed her happiness at the comportment of the members and encouraged them to remain focused.

Sunday Tribune

—Wande Coal

By Segun Adebayo

State of economy: Actress,

Fisayo Ajisola urges Nigerians to be prayerful

By Seyi Sokoya

F

ast-rising actress, Fisayo Ajisola, has urged Nigerians to be prayerful and be patient with the Buhari-led government in the face of the biting economic condition.

Freezon, as she is popularly called, told E in a brief chat last weekend that President Muhammadu Buhari and his eco-

nomic team should, as a matter urgency, rescue the dwindling Nigerian economy, saying that the sorry state of the economy is taking its toll on the masses on a daily basis.

“This is the time for the government to act fast and show its blueprint for the path it will toe to save Nigeria and Nigerians. I want to urge the president to give his best and let Nigerians feel that they could trust him to deliver the divi-

dends of democracy to them and make the country a better place to live in,” she said.

The actress, who clocked another year last week Tuesday, implored Nigerians to be prayerful, patient and hopeful for a better Nigeria.

Ajisola, who is also not getting tired of pushing her acting career forward, is currently at a location in one of the towns of Owerri in Imo State with some notable actors in the industry.

Baba Benzo Coupe returns with ‘Money’ Europe based-Hip-hop star, Josiah Solomon Akinbusuyi, popularly known as, Baba Benzo Coupe (BBC), is in the country following the release of his hit album entitled, ‘Money’, for a promotional tour of Nigeria. Baba Benzo, who breezed into the country last week, said he is in the country to promote the new album which has hit tracks including, ‘Aye’, ‘Got to have Money’, among others.

Baba Benzo, said he is happy to be back after some time off the scene, a time he described as trying, saying “I am refreshed and that his fans and others will have a rollicking time listening to tracks from his latest effort, particularly the hit track, Aye. Baba Benzo, who speaks German, French, Spanish, Greek and Arabic, disclosed that his visit gives him the opportunity to relaunch his record label, the Showbiz Mili Entertainment (SBME) incorpo-

rated. Apart from these, he said his label is in collaboration with Stan Media Group of California in the United States of America.

He told E during at weekend that part of the promotion of the new album will be a prelaunch for important dignitaries in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan as well as a tour of some African countries, just as he disclosed that the tour will also take him to the United States and parts of Europe. He said with the development, Nigerians can look forward to a reloaded and a new Benzo with more tracks apart from hits from his last album like Nagbalaja, Bakassi, among others.

He also used the medium to appreciate his fans for believing in him and staying by him during his trying times, adding that, “I thank my fans for their support. I also urge them to support my new work.”

Something fresh appears to be coming from Wande Coal anytime from now. The chubby musician has waded through some turbulent moments in the last few years but he has proved that he would not cave in.

In the midst of his low moments in the music industry, Coal dropped hit singles that have put him back to the limelight and positioned him as one of the leading music lights in the industry.

Last year, he dropped his album to the delight of his fans who have yearned from something new from their favourite singer. No sooner than he dropped the album that news about the dark-skinned singer faded away as it was reported that he now spends most of his time outside of the country.

Information reaching R suggested that the Bumper to Bumper crooner is now coming back with another bang. Coal, R learnt is cooking a new song that would feature his former label mate D’banj. Though, he would not reveal much about the new song, but it is believed that the new song will wow many music lovers who have waited for a long time to see Wande and D’banj’s new duet after their days together at Mo’Hits records. According to him “Expect something new from D’banj and I. It is going to be mind-blowing”, he said.

23

27 March, 2016

sundayzest

Sunday Tribune

With Victory Oyeleke victoryoyeleke@yahoo.com

Dramatic Easter celebrations from around the world O RDINARILY, the celebration of death would be considered morbid, but in the case of Easter; the celebration of the death of Jesus Christ is the core of Christianity as it redeems Christians from the curse of the Law, (Galatians 3:13) and ushers in the era of grace.

For true Christians, Easter is shrouded in mystery depending on the denomination you belong to. The different traditions and dates confusion; is it March or April?

All adds to the mystery of this festival.

Easter date is not fixed for now. The first council of Nicea, convened by Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325 made up of Christian Bishops decided that Easter day should fall on the first full moon after the Spring Equinox and it should fall on a Sunday to commemorate the day of Christ’s resurrection.

The spring Vernal Equinox is the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to north. So Easter will always fall between March 22 and April 25.

However, if campaigners have their way, Easter holiday will have a fixed date in the near future.

Easter celebration is more than Good Friday through Easter Monday.

It begins with Ash Wednesday, which starts the lent period- 40-day fasting. Then, Palm SundaySunday before Easter Day and celebrates the first day of the holy week and also Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Maundy Thursday comes before Good Friday and commemorates the Maundy and Last Supper of Jesus Christ

with his Apostle.

Since each Christian denomination is at liberty to celebrate Easter as it deems fit, the celebration differs from place to place from, normal to very strange. Last year, Filipino

Catholic Devotees marked Good Friday by being nailed to crosses and whipping their backs bloody, in extreme acts of devotion that attracted thousands of spectators.

As the flagellants made

an excruciatingly slow barefoot march to the hill in San Juan, a rural district of San Fernando north of Manila where the crucifixions were to take place, some of them stopped at times to lay face down on

the hot pavement and let children flog them with twigs. The graphic re-enactment of the crucifixion caused a worldwide controversy as nails were drilled into flagellant’s wrists and the sheer magnitude of

beating and blood was unsettling for many.

Though nothing can top the Filipinos extreme celebration, some countries put on a colourful and dramatic jamboree. Here are a few in pictures.

24

27 March, 2016

makeover T Makeup tips for hot weather

Sunday Tribune

Rita Okonoboh 08053789087 rosarumese@gmail.com

O say the heat in recent times has been beyond the ordinary would be stating the obvious. In spite of the recent rains, the heat has sustained its fiery tempo, causing discomfort of all sorts, and for many women, using makeup is a challenge. Below are makeup tips to ensure lasting radiance in this hot weather: Less is more Now would be a good time to save up on makeup products because hot weather requires using less makeup. While keeping the skin as hydrated as possible by investing in quality moisturiser, reduce the use of foundation and bronzer. Application should be as light as possible to give the faintest traces of glow and you’re ready for the day. Besides, too much foundation would be awful to manage when the heat sets in.

Go waterproof As welcome as waterproof products are, ensure that they are not used too regularly to avoid setting chemical products on the skin for too long, seeing as the products help to keep makeup in place. Get advice from a makeup expert before going for waterproof products, and test them for an appropriate amount of time before using them for outings. Look out for how long the products last as well as side effects.

Adopt priming Many women tend to skip using a primer before applying makeup but this season is a wonderful opportunity to invest in a good primer. Just like the name suggests, a primer not only helps to set the tone of

Photo: www.twmagazine.net

the face for applying makeup, it also helps makeup stay on and fresher for longer.

Lip gloss, not lipstick While this choice may seem strange to some, especially as lip gloss is the lip choice for cold weather, lip gloss actually works better for hot weather com-

pared to lipstick. Apart from the obvious reason that lip gloss ensures easy reapplication when the heat sets in and the glossiness begins to fade, lip gloss also gives the lips the feeling of being moist and look better in hot weather. For those who crave colour, go for colourful lip gloss options.

7 types of bras East west

Separated sisters

Bell of the ball

EAST west: Your ladies gravitate toward the outside of your torso, pointing outward and leaving some space in the direct centre of your chest.

A T-shirt bra will give you all the shaping you need.

Separated sisters: Breasts are fuller than East West but still fall out toward the sides of the body.

A plunge style, which will help pull the breasts up and together will be best.

Bell of the ball: Breasts are slightly thinner at the top before rounding out to a curve.

A full-coverage style perfectly shapes your ladies. Since many women with this breast type are also bustier, extra support can be good for lifting and cradling.

Globe-trotters: Breasts are very round and equally full on top and bottom.

Since your pair doesn't need to be moved much, consider a thin, unlined style that offers a light amount of coverage.

Skinny minnies: Most likely a small cup size, the breast is longer than wide.

A plunge is your best bet for helping to center and lift your breasts. Depending on your cup size and desired look, consider a bra with padding on the outer curve.

Sisters, not twins: Both ladies are not the same size and can be asymmetrical in shape.

If the size difference is enough to be noticeable, shop for a style with removable inserts, allowing you to remove the padding on the side with your larger breast.

Quintessentials: If there was such a thing as a normal breast, this would be it. The shape is teardrop, belling out slightly at the bottom.

Pretty much any style will work, so shop based on what you prefer, coverage- and lift-wise.

Source:www.glamour.com

Reduce highlights As tempting as it is to use highlights for the cheeks, especially regarding the fact that the sun’s glow on the highlights can be sensual and beautiful, the resultant heat effect will not feel good, especially if the highlight is heavy.

Globe-trotters

Skinny minnies

Sisters, not twins

Quintessentials

25

27 March, 2016

relationships

. . . issues, family, sex

Photo:www.bet.com

Sunday Tribune

Rita Okonoboh 08053789087 rosarumese@gmail.com

Photo:www.farrahgray.com

6 ways to end single life

F

OR reasons that vary from the compulsory to the downright absurd, individuals sometimes take certain decisions, deliberately or otherwise, that ensure that they stay single for as long as possible. Many people, who fall into this category, have no idea how much they’re jeopardising their love life. However, it is never too late to make things right. The important thing is to identify those habits that are discouraging romantic companionships and work towards becoming a better person.

Be emotionally available Whether obvious or otherwise, a major way one can ward off love is to exhibit traces of emotional unavailability. Sometimes, it could be the way you dress, how you respond to conversation-openers, and even attitude. Even if you are a victim of a bad breakup, taking offence at the friendliness of all persons of the opposite sex is not only going to make you resentful for a long time, it will haunt you in the future when you’re ready to open up again. Remember that there are far less people to blame for the failure of one relationship.

Besides, no man is an island. Considering the fact that relationships last better when you start off as friends, you may just be blowing your perfect chance for happiness when you dismiss all members of the opposite sex under the guise of being emo-

Random Fact

tionally available.

Improve yourself It is easy to dream of finding the perfect Mr or Mrs Right, but what many individuals fail to work on is to make themselves the right person for a prospective partner.

There are no shortcuts to finding lasting happiness. Many people set expectations for finding the perfect partner but fail woefully to set the tone for the prospective ‘perfection’ to find attractive. If as a lady, you expect a tall, dark, handsome, caring man to fall in love with you, do make sure you are equally presentable enough, not necessarily in looks, but in character and self development. For men, if you expect to marry a woman who you can trust and whom you expect to be faithful, the least you can do is become fidelity-personified.

It all starts with you.

Become unselfish When a person is single, there’s the tendency to adopt certain traits of selfishness, especially when you live alone or enjoy some sense of independence. However, if you expect to have a successful relationship, it is best to be ready to share. Being selfish, negatively independent and expecting a woman/man to give you all is simply unreasonable. However, sharing doesn’t mean a person doesn’t deserve to engage in selfish interests. Some people

Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backward. —E.E. Cummings

misunderstand sharing to mean that their lives should revolve around the significant other. That is another way to send the person running. Each partner deserves some me-alone time.

Be seen Many men and women complain about singlehood but avoid social gatherings, and even religious activities. Some people even make it worse by avoiding people, even in church, refuse to attend wedding receptions, discard invitations to meet up with friends and even prefer to stay alone morning, afternoon and night, if they don’t have to be at work. At work, they shut out all forms of friendly conversation.

These actions will only succeed in keeping a person single. It is obvious that you have to be present to be met. The Nigerian social setting provides a million and one avenues for meeting people such as church meetings, religious camp grounds, office parties, movies, decent social clubs, weddings, and even in buses. What is impor-

Have some self respect and you will be sure to attract a man/woman who would respect you, in public and in private

tant is to make yourself available. Who knows, your Mr or Mrs Right may even be a cousin to the friend of the sister of the bride.

Have self-respect You may think people don’t notice, but making yourself too available is a disadvantage as you only come off as too loose, and will discourage serious prospective partners. Age is just a number and there’s no rule that says a person who gets married early will have a more successful marriage than a person who marries even in his/her 40s or 50s. The important thing is happiness. Have some self respect and you will be sure to attract a man/woman who would respect you, in public and in private. A lot of marriages have crashed simply on the basis of a man/woman’s willingness to settle for the nearest seemingly comfortable option.

Live your life This singlehood period may just be what you need to make that lasting positive difference in your life. Focus on making the best of this time without a partner, rather than dwelling on all the bad things wrong with your life. All those postponed decisions, such as learning a skill, getting a degree or even working on your weight can be achieved during this period and it may just result in getting that partner you have been searching for for so long. Refusing to do anything productive with your life is another way to repel productive romantic relationships as you will simply come off as unserious. Get your life back on track.

26

27 March, 2016

With Akintayo Abodunrin akinjaa03@yahoo.co.uk 08111813058

Drama, emotion at grand finale of 3rd Etisalat Prize for Literature The 2015 edition of the pan-African prize that celebrates debut fiction books by African writers closed with a colourful ceremony last weekend in Lagos

A

magical night of drama, poetry and music was what Etisalat Nigeria offered guests on Saturday, March 19 at Intercontinental Lagos Hotel, Victoria Island during the award ceremony of the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature.

The prize, which debuted three years ago, is the first ever pan-African prize that celebrates debut fiction books by African authors with the grand finale always held with pomp and circumstance. The story was no different on Saturday night as Ifeoma Fafunwa’s iOpenEye Production staged excerpts from the three shortlisted works: ‘The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself’ by Penny Busetto (South Africa) ; ‘What Will People Say?’ by Rehana Rossouw (South Africa) and ‘Tram 83’ by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, the eventual winner from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fittingly, it was not only the audience that was moved by the fascinating excerpts that featured the likes of Toyin Oshinaike, Elvina Ibru and Keppy Ekpeyong among others.

Busetto, who like the others did not expect her novel to be dramatized right in her presence on stage, succumbed to emotion. She wept.

Celebrating diversity While welcoming guests earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Mathew Willsher, explained that the philosophy of the prize is evident in the theme, ‘Representing the Diversity of African Voices’.

He said, “We are delighted again to celebrate the richness and strength of African literature. Etisalat Prize for Literature bears out this year’s theme, ‘Representing the Diversity of African Voices’. Diversity is somehow wonderful in its own right, but its importance is not for its intangible beauty, it is that diversity is a huge source of innovation and innovation is something we truly believe in as a company. Africa’s diversity is increasingly recognized as it brings new approaches to world literature while innovation is very important in the literary world.”

Willsher added that the Etisalat Prize is not just about the cheque “but about the opportunity for scholarship; there’s a mentorship program at the University of East Anglia. It is also about publishers who produce the books; we buy 1000 copies of each book and distribute them to schools. We also give the three writers book tours to Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.

We don’t just invest money; there are other supports we provide. We invest a lot of time and organization on the prize.”

The deputy governor of Lagos State, Dr (Mrs) Idiat Ranti Adebule, who was repre-

From left, winner, 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature, Fiston Nwanza Mujila; patrons of the Etisalat Prize, Kole Omotoso and Margaret Busby; Etisalat Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Willsher and the chair of judges, Professor Ato Quayson. sented by Dr Yinka Ayandele, commended Etisalat for instituting the prize. She noted that the prize will go a long way in “enhancing the literary skills of our youth and also promote the spirit of healthy competition.” The award ceremony, she continued, provides young writers the opportunity of meeting celebrated writers who will in turn inspire them.

The Deputy Governor, who further highlighted benefits of the prize to publishers and the public, enjoined other corporate organizations to emulate Etisalat. She reiterated the commitment of the Lagos State Government to improving the learning environment and also promised a radical shift in the orientation of school managers.

History maker Listening to the chair of judges, Ato Quayson’s description of the three books, it

was evident that poet and novelist, Fiston Mwanza Mujila would win with his ‘Tram 83’. The Professor of English and inaugural Director of the Centre for Diaspora Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada, who had the two other judges; writer and editor, Molara Wood; and Zukiswa Wanner, author of ‘Men of the South’ and ‘London Cape Town Joburg’, with him on stage was fulsome in his praise of the shortlisted works and Etisalat for animating them.

He said, “For someone who grew up devouring novels, reading the books was like eating my cakes and having them at the same time. It was an exciting journey for me. We must praise Etisalat’s boldness in interpreting these texts in animation. It’s a unique prize in its own right, of books written by Africans and judged by Africans. It’s storytelling that expands our imagination; that gives us empathy for people we do not

From left, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Francesco Angelone; Etisalat Prize for Literature judge, Molara Wood; winner, 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature, Fiston Nwanza Mujila; another judge, Zukiswa Wanner; the chair of judges, Professor Ato Quayson and the Chief Execuitve Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher at the ceremony.

know. It’s storytelling that makes us lawabiding citizens. “‘The Story of Anna P, As Told by Herself’ is beautiful for many reasons. There’s isolation, loneliness and a lot of solitude; the lead character is very alone. There’s beautiful description of nature but we learn that her silence is due to a traumatic event. The novel reads like an onion that you peel before you get to the core.

“Rossouw’s ‘What Will People Say?’ focuses on a family of five in an uncertain period; there’s an urban decay, violence that seeps into the household in focus. Rossouw holds the family as in a prison; each of the characters is responding to the pressure outside in different ways.

“Mujila’s ‘Tram 83’ can be read in a variety of ways, but anyway you read it, it needs music. There’s much in the novel that gives cause for concern; totalitarian government; there’s decay of government and poor social services. Characters in ‘Tram 83’ are not despairing of their conditions like most African novels. They make do with what life has allotted them in exuberance. The novel can be set to jazz opera; it’s very operatic. It’s a magnificent novel that reaches back to some earlier texts in African literature like Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman and more.”

He and the other judges thereafter announced Mujila as the winner in unison.

Originally written in French, ‘Tram 83’ was translated into English by Roland Glasser and published by Deep Vellum. 35-year-old Mujila is the first Francophone writer to win the prize and was presented with a £15,000 cheque, an engraved MontblancMeisterstück and an Iphone 6S. He will also have the opportunity to attend the Etisalat Continues p27

27 arts&culture

27 March, 2016

Foundation hosts Adire exhibition, carnival THE Lady of Africa Empowerment and Advocacy Foundation has announced some events to promote Adire products in the country.

These, according to the president of the foundation, Princess Sandra Bukola Fasuyi include an exhibition and Adire Carnival.

The Lady of Africa Arts and Craft exhibition, she disclosed, will happen from March 25 to 28 at the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) inside the National Theatre complex in Iganmu, Lagos.

“The exhibition is open to exhibitors who will experience the beauty and richness of the African culture that will be on display. The foundation will also be taking the Adire promotion to Europe and America, to satisfy the craving of lovers of the Adire fabric in those parts of the world,” she said.

Fasuyi added that the Adire carnival will hold on October 1 at the National Council for Arts and Culture Hall, Iganmu.

Fasuyi, who called for support from both the private sector and governments, reiterated that her foundation is genuine and will not relent in empowering people.

She said, “Lady of Africa Empowerment and Advocacy Foundation hopes to empower millions of people directly or indirectly, through seminars, exhibitions, carnivals and cultural activities in the country. The mission of Lady of Africa Empowerment and Advocacy Foundation is to support the less-privileged people in the society by waking them up from their slumbers and creating employment opportunities for them and make the world a better place for all.”

Having been recognised and endorsed by the National Council of Arts and Culture, as well as the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, Fasuyi said that the foundation believes it is time for Nigerian fashion to become global and make the country a home for all fashion lovers.

A scene from one of the plays staged at the 2015 Jos Theatre

Citing poor finance, organisers cancel 2016 Jos Festival of Theatre

T

HE worsening economic crisis has claimed its first major casualty in the culture sector: the annual Jos Festival of Theatre.

While many had been looking forward to the festival and were expecting organisers to unfold the plays and participants for this year’s event, Patrick -Jude Oteh, founder of the Jos Repertory Theatre which stages the fiesta came out with a bombshell instead.

“Due to funding constraints, we announce the cancellation of the annual Jos Festival of Theatre 2016,” began the stark message from the artistic director.

He further explained: “We continued to witness a festival that started in 2004, take giant leaps in programming and attendance.

We had equally witnessed landmark participation from other theatre organizations and theatre enthusiasts from virtually all the states of Nigeria, the USA, UK and Scotland.

“These participants were drawn from diverse backgrounds but unfortunately,

this popularity and spread has not been matched by fundraising success. The funds have continued to shrink while participation has continued to expand.

“Unfortunately, 2015 / 2016 have been particularly difficult years. We have tried to raise the required funds and we have continued to run into a brick wall.

“We will continue the search for additional funds to be able to host a more robust festival in 2017. We thank you for your contin-

Drama, emotion at grand finale of 3rd Etisalat Prize for Literature continued from pg26

Fellowship, worth £13, 000, at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, under the mentorship of Professor Giles Foden, author of ‘The Last King of Scotland.’

Born in Lumumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1981, Mujila studied Litera-

The CEO: Kunle Afolayan dazzles top executives of Air France/KLM AS the countdown to its premiere continues, The CEO, Kunle Afolayan’s latest movie, has not stopped receiving corporate backing.

Afolayan recently met with 15 commercial directors of Air France/KLM led by the Senior Vice-President, Africa, Mr. Frank Legre, in Amsterdam where they discussed the movie and African cinema.

Disclosing what transpired during the meeting after he returned to Nigeria, the

multiple award-winning filmmaker said, “We discussed film and the possibilities of taking African cinema to the next level.

They wanted to know how I’ve been able to sustain ground-breaking projects and see the possibility of adopting this in other African countries.”

Afolayan, who was signed as brand ambassador of Air France in July 2015 added that he “also unveiled our plans for the

Kunle Afolayan with Air France KLM directors in Amsterdam

ued generosity, support and interest in the annual Jos Festival of Theatre.”

Since its debut in 2004, the annual Jos Festival of Theatre has become a nurturing ground for new playwrights, new directors as well as creating an insight into the Nigerian theatre repertory. It features plays from the international repertory, new plays as well as landmark Nigerian plays and is currently the only existing private independent theatre festival in Nigeria.

premiere of The CEO across Africa which they found laudable. I didn’t need to speak too much about the creative ingenuity in Africa. As part of my presentation at the meeting, I showed a preview of The CEO and they were quite impressed. In all, we had a two-hour talk about the many untapped potentials in the African market.”

Featuring top actors from Anglophone and Francophone African countries, it will be recalled that promotions for The CEO recently commenced with the release of its trailer online. The actual cinema release, which will be preceded by a series of private screenings, is slated for July.

Shot in different African countries and in Paris, France, The CEO features top actors including including Grammy Awardwinning singer and songwriter, Angélique Kidjo; Haitan actor and model, Jimmy Jean-Louis; former UK-based Wale Ojo; French-Ivorian actress and model, Aurelie Eliam; South African actor and presenter, Nicolaos Panagiotopoulos; Nigerian actressses, Kemi Lala Akindoju and Hilda Dokubo; Moroccan star, Fatim Layachi and Kenyan actor Peter King, amongst others.

ture and Human Sciences at Lumumbashi University. He now lives in Graz, Austria and is pursuing a PhD in Romance Languages. His novel is the first by a DR Congo writer to be translated into English in over two decades. Before he left the stage, Mujila read an excerpt from the French version of ‘Tram 83’ while another person read from the English version.

Flash fiction category winners But Mujila was not the only winner on the night. Kuti Ojuolape Modupe, winner of the flash fiction category also went home £1,000 richer. She also got a high end device while her story will be promoted online and via SMS. Her entry ‘Gone’ was adjudged the best by judges of the category chaired by writer and journalist, Toni Kan. Shortlisted alongside ‘Gone’ were ‘Invincible’ by John Chidi and ‘Madness in Degrees’ by Jacqueline Uche Agweh. The duo, who are Nigerians like Modupe, got £500 each for their efforts.

Aside being a night of theatre, the grand finale was also a night of music and spoken word poetry. Spoken word performer, Efe Paul Azino read a poem entitled ‘Let Our Voices Ring’ while Nigerian Idol season 5 winner, K-Peace did his popular fuji version of John Legend’s ‘All of me’. Sadly, because the ceremony started well behind the advertised commencement time, most guests didn’t stay to watch Darey and Asha who were also billed to perform.

Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; playwrights and scholars, Femi Osofisan and Ahmed Yerima; the poet Remi Raji; actresses Taiwo AjaiLycett, Genevieve Nnaji and Bimbo Akintola amongst others attended the ceremony.

28

Sunday Tribune

Sunday Tribune

27 March, 2016

glamour I

What I have been up to have been working and planning, trying to come up with another beautiful movie in order not to disappoint myself and my fans.

My staying power in the industry Originality. I try as much as possible to be myself. I try to be real, I don’t fake things. I am not into competition with anybody. Like my mum would say, being at the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing. I think that is basically it.

Most defining moment of my career For me, that would be anytime I get positive comments about my work, whether the ones I had done in the past or the ones I just did, they kind of keep me going.

The Mecca experience It has made me realise the fact that we have just one life to live. Also, it showed me that we all are the same before God irrespective of our religion, colour, and belief. I can’t explain the experience. It is a place where you see people from all over the world, people with different colours coming together to do the same thing at the same time, at a particular time, in a particular place. It makes me feel like we are all the same irrespective of your position or level of influence.

We are all just human beings.

Where I get inspiration for my stories I get inspired by what I see, what I read, what I hear and situations that I am privileged to be aware of. My environment generally inspires me.

Secret of my success Am I successful? As far as I am concerned I am yet to become successful.

Description of self I am very playful and naughty. I am very friendly but very blunt. I am a disciplinarian. I am too organised so, sometimes I pick on people around me when they are not doing what they ought to do. Really, I am just a normal, natural person and a realist.

Assessment of Nollywood We are improving. We are growing.

Definition of style For me, style is who you are. I take style as an expression of who you are. The only way you can make people understand who you are is by your dressing. For instance, if you are someone who goes about wearing jeans and Tee shirt, people will know that is your signature style. They will know that is who you are so, that to me is style.

Cost of looking good It is very cheap to look good if you are not the type that wants to rock designer labels by all means. Aside that, looking good is not expensive. It depends on how you put your fashion ensembles together. How you combine your clothes with your accessories.

Nollywood actress and producer, Dayo Amusa has, no doubt, carved a niche for herself in the Nigerian movie industry. In this interview with TAYO GESINDE, the producer of blockbuster movies like Dewunmi Iberu and Unforgiveable, speaks on her Hajj experience and why she is not bothered by negative publicities.

Excerpts:

With Tayo Gesinde temiligali03@yahoo.com 08054727801

My haters are the ones helping my career —Dayo Amusa

Like and dislike I love people being truthful no matter how bitter the truth might be. I respect people who have the courage to come out and say the truth not minding what saying the truth will cost them. I love humble people though people say that I am not humble. Am I not?

My philosophy of life My philosophy of life is: “Do your best and leave the rest.”

Coping with advances from male admirers That one? Wetin man go do now? Even if you chase them, dem go come. Jokes apart, I really don’t see it as a big deal. If I am not an actress, if I am just a regular girl out there, men will still chase me. Though I have a lot of male friends, I relate well with them. I feel they don’t have time to do the kind of rubbish that some ladies do. As friends, their loyalty is not always in doubt. Back to the question, you can’t date everybody you come across with in life so for me, I would rather be their friends. I guess I have a way of at least getting away with that.

Life as an actress cum businesswoman Well, the kind of business I do is not the one that I have to be at my desk everyday and it is not every time that I go to location. I have got to the point where I pick the scripts I do unlike in the past where I had to take every script that I was offered because I was trying to make a name for myself.

So, the time that I am not on set, I use it to attend to other

Pains and gains of being an actress Well, the gains I can talk about, but pains, I am yet to have any and I don’t pray to have it. The gains are that you meet a lot of people and you get a lot of preferential treatment. It makes things easier. If you can manage it well, it is fun.

things. So I have been able to do the two without one affecting the other.

Where I want to be in the next five years I don’t see myself being at where I want to be because I believe that what God has in stock for me is far beyond my imagination or dream. But I know by then, I will be thanking God.

How I handle negative publicity For me, I think it comes with the job. Anything you want to do, you must have proper understanding of it, know what it entails and learn from other people’s experiences.

Personally, I see scandals and negative stories as press bullying celebrities. I grew up with the understanding that it comes with show business so I don’t really pay too much attention to it. When I read certain stories about me I just laugh. Sometimes, if what they write about you has an element of truth, you can say they got me there but there is no iota of truth about it, why would I now start heating myself up that you wrote this and that about me? Why should I bother myself about it? It takes someone that knows me to say something about me perfectly. So, if you are saying that I did something and you don’t hit the nail on the head why do I have to get bothered?

Fashion obsessions Shoes.

Advice to young people I always tell people that you can’t be Dayo Amusa. There can only be one and that is me. Despite the fact that you feel encouraged or inspired by what Dayo Amusa does, that I can

Beauty regimen I don’t have a beauty regimen. The only thing I do is that I bath twice daily, in the morning and at night before I sleep.

Special treat First thing I do is to travel out of Nigeria because, even if I am not working and I am at home, I can’t rest. So when I want to pamper myself, I go out of the country and try to visit places I have not been to before, try to see family members I have not seen in a while and try to catch up with old friends.

What I will like to change about myself The fact that I don’t know how to hide my feelings. Maybe I will learn how to be diplomatic sometimes because I am not.

29

Personally, I see scandals and negative stories as press bullying celebrities. I grew up with the understanding that it comes with show business so I don’t really pay too much attention to it.

accept but if you tell me you want to be Dayo Amusa, then I will reply that you can’t be me. For upcoming artistes who aspire to become celebrities, consistency is very important.

You need to know what you want, you need to know where you are going, and you need to know your ability. There is

a difference between you thinking I can do this thing and you knowing that you are gifted in it because, you can’t force it. So, ask yourself, is this really what I want to do? If your answer is yes, then I can assure you that any step you take is a stepping stone to your success.

Parting word to my fans I love them, especially those ones that don’t like me, those are the ones I like most. And to those who come on my Instagram page to write different kinds of comments, I read all. They are the ones I like most because those that don’t like me are the ones that read about me the most. They are the ones who want to know what is happening to me and are the ones who will spread the news about me around. They will call their friends and say have you heard the latest about Dayo? Go and read what they said about her. They are the ones helping my career, I love them.

30

aspire

27 March, 2016

BY OLAIDE SOKOYA 0807 449 7425 (sms only)

BB pin: 290B9652

Your Life Counts

Sunday Tribune

by Tunde Jaiyebo 0803 406 2013

There is no overnight success —Oshikoya Leadership Omilola Oshikoya is the founder of Omilola Oshikoya International, a life and finance coaching company. She is also a co-host for a talk show which airs in 44 African countries, including the United Kingdom and is responsible for media and publications at a christian ministry, Guiding Light Assembly. The ordained youth minister, in this interview, reveals how she started her business and why more women are taking charge of their financial futures.

H

OW did it start for you? Have you always wanted to do finance and investment?

While growing up, we had financial challenges and I knew I didn’t want to go through the same challenges as an adult. There was an aunt of mine who was ‘rich’. She drove a nice sports car, had a nice flat in an expensive neighbourhood and worked in a bank. I wanted to be ‘rich’ like her so I decided I was going to work in a bank.

When I got to senior secondary school and we had to choose classes, I chose the commercial class and then in A-levels I did Business, Economics and Accounting and when I got to University I studied Accounting and Finance. A year after university, I moved back to Nigeria and got a job as an auditor in Deloitte. After about three years, I was bored and realised I didn’t want to spend my life as an auditor, auditing other people’s money. I wanted to do something challenging and interesting and then I resigned and got a job as an investment banker.

What would you advice regarding financial investment?

I teach five things primarily: what true wealth is (life coaching); how to create wealth (business/entrepreneurship); how to manage wealth (personal finance); how to grow wealth (investments), and how to use wealth. My goal is to inspire this generation to live the “richer” life and to help eradicate poverty by teaching youths how to make money (business/entrepreneurship); how to manage it (personal finance); how to grow it (investment), and the purpose of wealth.

What would you say are the requirements for young women who want to have careers like yours?

First of all, you have to be called. You have to have vision and be passionate about what you do. In terms of competence, I have a background in accounting, finance and investment banking. I am also a UK certified life coach. I also have circa 12 years’ work experience in some of the best companies in Nigeria. I am a stickler for personal development.

Debt seems to be a recurring issue with a lot of people; what are three major ways that people can stay out of debt?

Live within your means. It is important to live within your means. If you can’t pay cash for an item, then don’t buy it. Instead of buying an item on credit, save towards purchasing the item. It is better to earn interest than pay interest. A useful tool is to budget. Create a budget and live on a budget. Also, do not try to keep up with the Jones’s. “Cut your coat according to your material.” Also, get rid of all your credit cards. Credit cards have the highest interest rates. One way to avoid credit cards is to set-up an emergency fund; that way you have money to cover unexpected expenses and you won’t have to borrow. Finally, you should also know the difference between bad debt and good debt. Do not take on debt to purchase a liability such as car. You can take on debt to further your education or to finance your dream or business.

As Africa’s premier wealth coach and as a woman, what would you say are the factors that make women seemingly disinterested in matters

of finance and investment?

I believe culture plays a very big role. Our mothers grew up in families where the men made all the financial decisions. However, things have changed. Like I mentioned earlier, women are more interested in their finances. In the rural areas, it is a lack of education and lack of financial inclusion.

How do you juggle your time between being a wife, a mother and an entrepreneur?

This is one thing that I am still learning to do. For me, prioritising is very important. My first job is a wife to my husband and a mother to my children. My career comes after. I work my schedule around my kids and not the other way round. I go to the office when they are at school and leave the office to pick them up and go home with them. It is really hard not to cross lines especially since I am passionate about what I do and I love my job, so I find myself working even when I’m with my kids.

Advice for upcoming female entrepreneurs?

Do not despise the days of humble beginnings. There is no overnight success. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

There is a process that everyone has to go through.

There is a time to learn and sow and there is a time for harvest. Work hard, dream big and trust God. The sky is just the beginning.

Culled from www.tradenigeria.com.

ability

LEADERSHIP is a very critical issue especially in the times we are. The quality of any group, organisation or people is a direct reflection of the quality of leadership they are under. Leadership is a critical tool that harnesses and maximises individual potential for corporate good – so the individual is fulfilled and the corporate body benefits. Poor quality leadership will produce poor quality people and a high quality leadership will produce high quality people.

Qualitative leadership does not just happen. Qualitative leadership is the result of certain factors and a fundamental factor is the issue of ability. The ability of the leader will determine how effective he will be.

Ability is the power or capacity to do something. Ability will express itself in the application of know-how.

Ability will result in competence. Ability is the key to getting anything done properly. Ability is indispensible to translating ideas into reality.

“Well-matured and well-disciplined talent is always sure of a market, provided it exerts itself; but it must not cower at home and expect to be sought for. There is a good deal of cant, too, in the whining about the success of forward and impudent men, while men of retiring worth are passed over with neglect. But it happens often that those forward men have that valuable quality of promptness and activity, without which worth is a mere inoperative property. A barking dog is often more useful than a sleeping lion. Endeavor to make your talents convertible to ready use, prompt for the occasion, and adapted to the ordinary purposes of life; cultivate strength rather than gracefulness; in our country it is the useful, not the ornamental, that is in demand.” Washington Irving said.

We all have ability so there is no excuse for failure.

The problem is many people do not discover what their abilities are and even when some do discover it they do not make a demand on it or they use their ability in the wrong endeavours.

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” —Lou Holtz “Latent abilities are like clay. It can be mud on shoes, brick in a building or a statue that will inspire all who see it. The clay is the same. The result is dependent on how it is used.” — James Lincoln Ability can be in-born. In-born ability comes naturally with little effort but it still needs to be developed.

Ability also can be acquired. Where a leader lacks ability he can either acquire it or get someone else who has the requisite ability to carry out that part of his assignment for him. Ability powers leadership. A leader cannot function beyond his ability.

When ability is harnessed in the right direction and in the right way it will bring results.

“If you possess marked ability, it will show in your work. Capable people do not need to talk about themselves. Make your service so good that it will be your press agent.” —F.D. Van Amburgh We cannot over emphasise the importance of ability especially in leadership. The failure of leadership can usually be traceable to a problem with ability. If any organisation or group will move forward and accomplish her set goals and objectives then, the right people must be in the right place by placing them in positions of authority and offices based on their ability.

For enquiries/comments please send email to urlifecounts@yahoo.com

31

thepolity

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Niger gov has done worse things than his predecessors —PDP chieftain

Mr Tanko Beji, a former Acting National Youth Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now deputy chairman of the Niger State chapter of the party, speaks with ADELOWO OLADIPO, on governance in the state.

T

HE Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, on May 29, 2015, said he would not to operate the State and Local Government Joint Account like the immediate past administration of the PDP. However, it was gathered that the 25 local governments in the state got only N20million each. What is your take?

The first question is a constitutional matter; it is an issue that has to do with the law and those who are saying that they would not operate a joint account with the state and the local governments are not addressing their minds to the position of the law. They have become a laughing stock. In any state in Nigeria, if any governor wakes up to say I am not going to operate joint account with the local governments, it means that governor is ignorant of the law and he is saying what suits him for the purposes of gaining cheap political popularity, because the joint account operation between the state and the local governments is a constitutional creation.

And until the constitution is amended, no governor can say he is not going to operate the joint account.

If you look at the constitution, Section 162 Subsection 6 specifically talks about the states, local governments joint accounts; it states that the state shall maintain a special account to be called the states, joint local governments accounts into which shall be paid all allocations to the local government councils of the states from the federation account and from the state government.

Therefore, with this, no governor can wake up and say he is not going to operate state, joint local government account. It is the law, the ground norm of Nigeria that has mandated the states to operate the joint local government account. They get their allocations from the federation account, then the state government pays in the 10 per cent of the internally generated revenue of the state and they share it based on the formulas approved by the state House of Assembly, taking account into the Universal Basic Education fund, pension fund, emirate council, tariffs, primary school teachers and some other issues, because they are about six. So, it is not for any governor to say he will not operate the state and local government joint account. He must do it. But assuming that our governor said that he would not, what has he done? Let us rest this issue, but assuming but not conceding that the governor kept to his words that he cannot operate the state, joint local government account, what has he done in the last 10 months? Has he done anything to show Nigerlites that he meant what he said? What the governor has done is worse than what every other civilian governor in the state has done in the state.

What has he done that makes you say he has done worse than others?

What has he not done? Number one, it is only this present governor that does not have state and local government joint accounts committee. The state, local government joint accounts committee is a replica of the federation account committee. It is supposed to be a sitting of the 25 local governments and the issues are put on the ta-

Mr Tanko Beji, deputy chairman, Niger PDP

ble. Tell me whether this governor has done that. Number two and the worst, he goes without even saying how much money he has given to each local government since his assumption of office. It means that the governor must account for the seven months allocations meant for the 25 local government councils from the federation accounts, because Nigerlites are entitled to know how much money the local governments in Niger State received in seven months and how much has been disbursed, because it is public funds. And we are entitled to know what has happened to the money. If we are to take him by his words, he said he won’t do it. He has not done it; then what has he done? As you said, only N20 million has been disbursed to each local government.

I have newspapers where allocations were published on several occasions, because I knew that this day will come. So I can tell you what each local government gets. For instance, my local government, Bosso Local Government, has never gotten less than N18million per month; yes, it can be more.

So, if you do the statutory deduction, my local government would be left with about N12 millions to N13miilion every month . So, if you gave my local government N20million out of the seven months allocations from the federation account, then what has happened to the rest? So, the question is are we better off?

In the eight years of Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu in Niger State as the governor, the local government chairmen were meeting in the conference hall of the state’s Ministry of Finance and my local government chairman was the chairman of the local governments, state joint account committee. So, the governor has not been fulfilling the constitution and so the funds are not being disbursed to the local governments and he is not talking to the local governments’ chairmen. That is why they are complaining underground

among themselves.

The Niger State House of Assembly recently chided the governor for paying lip service to the probe of the immediate past administration and the governor responded by saying that he has recovered about N700millions from the past administration and that witnesses who could testify against some of those accused of corruption were in the habit of bailing.

Do you share this view?

The governor is entitled to his opinion.

But what makes him different from you and me is because he is the governor. So, whatever the governor says, everybody must show interest because it is assumed that the Chief Executive of the state has spoken. However, where he does not speak well, then we need to get clarifications from him. We, as opposition party members, are not satisfied; we need to get clarification from him. In fact, we are not satisfied with the explanation the governor gave on the issue of recovery of funds. If the governor says N700millions has been recovered, from whom did he recovered the money?

When did he recover the money and where is the money now, because these three questions must be answered.

If he does not answer these three questions, then it means that the governor has erred, because it is not enough for you to say I recovered money. We are not interested in the recovery; we are interested in are the funds. Let him tell us, because each Nigerlite is interested in knowing who and who refunded the money. And the most important thing, where is the money and what has he done with it?

But the governor has said that the State Police Command is still investigating the matter. Are you not aware

of any of your party members or officials of the former Governor Aliyuled government still in police custody with regards to the issue of the stolen funds?

You see, unfortunately I think that the governor is not too grounded on the issue and procedure. The police are being taken for granted in this matter, because recoveries of money is not a function of the police; the police are not a court and neither are they debt collectors. So, the police attempted to arrest some of our officers and we rushed to court and we said in the first place the state government’s committee on debt recovery was an illegality and that as a result of that, the police could not arrest or detain anyone. We said that if they have any case against the people, they should approach the court and we have our court orders in our hands. Since then, it has not happened. Even if they had gone to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency is also not a debt collector. The EFCC Act has spelt out what the EFCC should do. Anything outside that, the commission cannot do it. So, I cannot understand why the state government is afraid of taking the supposed treasury looters to court. They should do things right, because this is a democracy; it is not a military regime. Things must be done right and any attempt to waiver from doing the right thing, Nigerians are becoming more and more aware of their rights.

You will also recall that the governor, on assumption of office, said he would verify all the contracts awarded by his predecessor in office to ascertain those that were genuine and those that were inflated. But later, he told Nigerlites that government is a continuous process and that he would complete all ongoing projects from the last administration. How do you juxtapose this position with his decision to probe the last administration?

On a very serious note, I want to commend the governor for owning up to the fact that government is a continuous process and that he needs to complete whatever projects were left behind by the previous administration in the state. It is a commendable effort and the governor has done well. Then, from there, I would now say that the governor, from what we have seen in the last 10 months, has no choice but to do that, because he has not initiated any project since he was inaugurated. So, what is left for him to do is to go back to what he met on the ground. Or if you know any project that the governor has initiated since he came in, please tell me so that I can make correction. Even the ones that he is falling back on, he is not doing them well. As for the probe, which he has initiated against some perceived corrupt people in the last administration, it is his prerogative as a sitting governor to initiate probe on anything that he thinks needs to be probed. Somebody did it to others in the past. I also believe that somebody coming after him would do the same thing to his administration too at the end of his tenure.

32

thepolity

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

One year after Bu

Nigerians have become poorer u There are no gains without pain An old war horse in Nigeria’s politics, Dr Saka Balogun is an accomplished academic who taught History in Makerere University, Uganda, University of Ibadan and the University of Ilorin before retiring. He was the Presidential Liaison Officer (PLO) in the Shehu Shagari administration in the 80s. At different times, he was special adviser, commissioner and chief of staff in Oyo State.

The PDP leader speaks with DARE ADEKANMBI on the first anniversary of the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, the dangers in APC, PDP ahead of 2019, among other issues. Excerpts:

T

OMORROW, it will be one year since that election that some said changed Nigeria’s political trajectory. Retrospectively and in the light of the situation of the country now, would you say Nigerian were right to have voted Buhari in that election?

At that point in time [March 28, 2015], Nigerians had reasons to vote Buhari.

What were the reasons? The leadership in PDP shot itself in the foot. In fact, it was not Buhari that won the election; it was PDP that threw away its success. So, at that point in time, those of us who stood with the PDP did so not because the party was doing well, but because we felt there could be a change for the better.

In retrospect, many Nigerians today will be regretting that they voted Buhari. What do they have to write home about it? In terms of the solidarity for the party, there is none in APC now. To the best of my knowledge, the APC has refused to blend.

The various parties that came together to form the party came together for a purpose: to take over power. They succeeded in taking over power, but because there is no serious bonding ideology, no serious common position on how to be together and move forward together, they have a big problem. The founding parties can still be recognised in APC in their separate identities. CPC is for Buhari and Mr President has not made any pretension about that. A national leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu still has his ACN wing of the APC there. Then you find the ANPP, which, all along had been regarded as a junior partner in the merger. They also have the New PDP- the Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki and others. They still have their separate identities too. You don’t ned any special knowledge of the political situation in Nigeria to be able to know these things.

So, what have they really done to prove that the so much talked about change is a change for the better? Let me say one thing and I will be very sincere, I believe Buhari is a man of integrity. I have no doubt in my mind about this. Left alone, if he could have real like-minds in terms of pursuing change, Nigerians will smile.

But he is working in a group of lieutenants, colleagues and associates who are not on the same page with him. I am not a fortuneteller; I don’t see them on the same

they bought new weapons? Yes, they have new service chiefs, maybe with a different passion and commitment and so on.

But the effort to overrun the Boko Haram sect was already on and Jonathan was already making success before the end of his administration. So, it is a matter of degree and there has been no fundamental change. PMB came in and said within months, Boko Haram would be defeated.

Well, it is still within months and not a year yet, I can’t see any major thing he has done. He has even been modifying his position. There was a time he said Boko Haram would be eliminated by December.

Now, they say Boko Haram has been degraded. So, change of vocabulary and semantic application of language. Buhari’s diplomacy towards getting security is better because he got our neighbours—Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Benin Republic—to collaborate more. He also got the big world power—US, Germany, France, Britain—to assist. In that respect, we have some new light. The degree of success which started during Jonathan’s era has been enhanced under Buhari. But there is no fundamental change.

Saka Balogun page. In the areas of security, economy and anti-corruption, what do they have to put on the table for Nigerians?

The greatest undoing of the PDP, by my assessment, was impunity. It was there manifest. “If we do it, nobody can challenge us. We will get away with it. Leave those who are complaining alone. There is nothing they can do.” That was the greatest blunder that the PDP committed. That explains the appointment of some incompetent hands.

In what specific areas do you think Mr President has not done much?

It took him five months to constitute his cabinet. If anybody says the situation was bad, and, of course the situation was bad and which was why he was voted in for a change. Why did he need to stay that long to set up a cabinet and come up with a blueprint? I believe sincerely that he has not done much. Even in the area of security, what we see as a major improvement, he was just lucky to have come at the right time, because the achievements in the area of security, especially with reference to the North-East insurgency, were already there during the tail end of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Have

What about the economy?

That is worse from the APC government. It is worse because there is no template. I am not an economist; I am a historian. But I did a little of economic history.

So, I can say a bit about it. You can say that the damage which had been done to the economic fabric of Nigeria may take some time to repair. But what is the major thrust of Buhari’s government to bring about the change? The naira is falling.

I agree with Buhari that it doesn’t make economic sense to devalue the naira. You devalue your currency to attract more people to buy from you. But what is Nigeria selling? Our major foreign currency earner is crude oil and for that, we can’t determine the quantity to sell as well as the price. So, why should we lose money to the market which we can’t control? But there are other things Buhari can do to assess the general welfare of the populace.

To the best of my knowledge, many Nigerians have become poorer since the PDP was dealt a democratic blow. More people have been complaining. I am a pensioner.

I live within my means. The average Nigecontinues pg 34

33

thepolity

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

uhari’s election

under Buhari —Saka Balogun ns —Mamora

Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora is a veteran not just in the politics of Lagos State but that of the South-West and at the national level. He was Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly and two-term senator from Lagos East Senatorial district. In the 2015 elections, he was the Deputy Director-General of the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari. In this interview with DARE ADEKANMBI at his Lagos residence, he speaks on the first anniversary of Buhari’s election, the gains so far made and the benefits that will later follow, among other issues. Excerpts:

I

N a matter of days, it will be one year since that historic election that many commentators said changed the course of Nigeria’s political trajectory. Would you say Nigerians were right in voting for PMB, in view of the state the country is now?

Oh yes. I do not have any iota of doubt as to that decision that the generality of Nigerians took on that historic dateMarch 28, 2005-to vote APC and by so doing, elect the then General Muhammadu Buhari and now president. There could not have been a better decision at that time. So, Nigerians were right. That election was unique and historic in so many ways. That was the first time in the history of the country that an opposition party would displace, as it were, the ruling party in the presidential election and thereby changing the course of the country. It was the right decision and it was proper and expedient. I can imagine what the country would have been like now if the old order were to be in place. So, for me, it was the right decision. Nigerians who are progressive, who worry more about the future of the country, who truly believe in the common good, and who truly believe in the peace and progress of the country will readily agree that voting Buhari was the right decision to have taken.

The APC as a party and PMB as the symbol of that mandate believe very strongly too that the change promised was and is still not misplaced. I have always stressed the point that the APC promised change: we did not promise miracle. There is need to stress this. Neither APC as a party nor PMB is a miracle worker. No. Change is gradual and when you are looking at change, you must factor in what was on ground before, that is, the old order. It is a process. It is not a destination. And because it is a process, it has to be gradual.

This is what Nigerians need to appreciate.

Change, necessarily, will come with pains.

Without pains, we won’t have gains. These are realities of life. It is like a woman in labour. For the outcome to be what it ought to be, the woman in labour will go through pain. But at the end of the day, the joy of holding a new born baby far outweighs the labour pains she would have gone through.

It is within this context that I would want the generality of Nigerians to look at the gospel, if you like, being preached by the

realities. We have no business borrowing money ordinarily, when you look at the amount of money that has been squandered by the preceding administration.

So, the change promised is a gradual process. It is not a magical world. The process has to be gradual. I am quick to remind all and sundry that Nigerians did not vote for APC to be in power for one year. The minimum tenure is four years. So, since Nigerians had been patient for one year, I would still want to implore them to wait a little bit more. When these changes start to come, they will be obvious and some of them are already becoming obvious in terms of how things ought to be done, curbing the impunity and squandermania, curbing the lack of due process, all these are already showing. But we are talking about the fruits. So, we are already seeing the seeds of change. But the fruits of change will take a while to manifest.

Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora APC as a party and PMB as the symbol of that change.

For how long will Nigerians have to experience this ‘labour pain’ before benefiting from the change promised by your party? Do you think the patience of Nigerian is inelastic?

Let me say I commend the generality of Nigerians in terms of their capacity for patience.

Nigerians are known to be largely

resilient…

Well, if Nigerians were not resilient and patient, there was no way the PDP would have been in government for 16 years in the first place. Let’s look at it from that fundamental angle. PDP in government was a disaster. And you see this from the revelations and the various ‘gates’ that are being opened. It is not just Dasukigate; there are still so many ‘gates’ to be opened. PDP’s 16 years were years of the locust, years of impunity. The PDP left the stage with an Augean stable that needs to be cleared first. These are facts; these are

You seem to be saying PMB is on the right path as far as the change agenda is concerned. In what specific areas would you say this has manifested, when Nigerians are saying he is concentrating his energy on the anti-corruption without a resolute handling of the collapsing economy?

PMB is absolutely on the right path. I don’t agree with that opinion. PMB came on board with the change mantra which is predicated on three issues: the war against corruption, the war against insecurity and, of course the economy. You will see that these three aspects of the change mantra are interwoven. If you don’t, as soon as possible, reduce if not totally eliminate corruption and profligacy in the system, then you can’t even have enough money to prosecute the two other aspects. Once he is able to reduce the financial haemorrhage and plug the avenues of waste, and, of course, reduce bureaucracy to a manageable level, he will have money to plough into the economy. Happily, the National Economic Council had a retreat that just ended and the issue of economy was addressed and a lot of decisions were taken which will help the economy. Good a thing too, the budget was passed today (Wednesday), which is the first budget of this administration. It is all part of the due process. He can’t just be throwing money continues pg 35

34

thepolity

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘APC’s govt anti-graft crusade unjustifiable hunt for opponent’ continued from pg 32

rian now feels his condition has worsened since the previous government left the stage. Even if there was a lot of looting as alleged, those in the previous government were sharing the loot and it was going round. This time around, the situation is so bad because the leadership in government has become rigid, breaking electoral promises and therefore frustrating the masses. If I were Buhari, I would not go back on the N5, 000 promised the unemployed. I will rather find another means of doing it. It is a serious dent on his image.

He can’t deny he didn’t make such promise. The party and those who campaigned for him said it on his behalf and since he didn’t shut them up at that time, he can’t deny it now.

In the area of anti-corruption, most Nigerians would have been saying “hosanna, hosanna, hosanna” to him in this area. As I said earlier on, I believe he is sincere in his anti-corruption crusade. I am not in any way connected to APC. I was in APP before the party became ANPP. In fact, I left the party when Buhari joined. But he has a problem which is that no single man can ever run any government anywhere in the world. The problem started from how he got to power. He didn’t have all the money he spent to become president. He didn’t have all the votes either.

It was a coalition of at least four groups that worked for his success. Therefore, he can’t be independent now and this is why I told somebody that Buhari is operating a bubble that will burst. It is just a matter of time. Otherwise, if he is free to operate, most people would have been chorusing “hosanna, hosanna.” But we see his anticorruption campaign as being partisan, being one-sided. Can anybody tell me that it was only the PDP people, whether governors or ministers, that looted the treasury.

I won’t believe that. In fact, I make bold to say that some PDP stalwarts are running to APC to seek presidential cover. Some of them are confident that once they are in APC they will be given some soft-landing mechanism. That is obvious. Apart from his former associate, Gaffar, who returned N100million, has there been any other APC person quizzed? That sampling is not adequate to make for a balance. As of now, people see the anti-corruption as being lopsided and unjustifiable hunt for opponents. We know some people in APC (I don’t want to mention names) who can’t explain how they came about their wealth. We know some of them who financed the campaign project of Buhari, certainly outside their personal means.

Some of them are now even in his government. Buhari determines those the EFCC goes after. Those who financed his campaign are not in the EFCC because they are enjoying presidential cover. There are some of the leaders who are obviously in the worse shape than former PDP leaders.

The bulk of the people that make up the support base for Buhari were PDP leaders.

Now that they are in the APC, have they changed because they have changed party label? This bubble will burst soon.

Supposing there is a mid-term election in Nigerian and Buhari were to go before Nigerians for elec-

Balogun tion next year, will Nigerians still vote for him?

That is speculative because we don’t have that kind of system in our constitution. But assuming we have it, it depends on what happens between now and then.

Ten months ago, it was “sai Baba, sai Buhari.” But today, it is a different story. The next 10 months, depending on the results of some of the reform activities they are planning, we may not say. But if on the basis of what is happening at the moment, APC and Buhari will lose. This is because the impact of the change mantra is being felt negatively by Nigerians. A proverb says we can’t make omelet without breaking eggs. So, now APC will say they are breaking the eggs, but whether the omelet will cook well or not is for the future.

But will the PDP do better than APC in any election now?

Of course, yes and this is not on the basis of the fact that the PDP did well in the past but because the hopes and the aspirations which created the passion for Buhari have completely dwindled. The frustration that is everywhere will assist the PDP to do better than APC in any election.

From the rerun elections in some states, you saw that the PDP did far better than APC. The loss of APC in Rivers and other states is a reaction to frustrated hopes and aspirations. What will happen in 2019 will depend on what further happens to the economy, security and other things.

A number of PDP chieftains believe the party has been badly discredited and that a name change is imperative if the party must endear itself to Nigerians.

I don’t believe name-change is the answer to the problem with the PDP. The problem is with the leadership of the par-

ty. If we can effect meaningful change in the party, it will be very good for us. But if the current set of leaders succeeds in perpetuating themselves at the top echelon of the party, then PDP is as good as dead. The advantage of having a new party is that we all start together. But if we have to run for an office now and we need money, I don’t have money. I have no doubt in my mind that in terms of capacity, knowledge, experience, I can be part of the leadership at the top. But I don’t have the means to run for it. So, it is the people who contributed to the party being discredited that have the means.

I have the perception that APC can break any time the way it is going. What broke PDP may not be the same reason that will break APC, but APC can break because there is no mutual trust, no mutual confidence. Most of the leaders are already scheming for 2019 when we are in 2016. Some APC leaders are saying “Buhari wants to seek re-election in 2019? He is kidding. He doesn’t know that it is our turn.” So, there is serious scheming going on in APC at the moment. Buhari knows those who helped him to get to power and he can’t ignore them now. He may have to wear some glove to cushion the knock which he may have to give some of them.

During his trip to South Africa, Buhari said he wished he had been president at a younger age than now. Do you think he will seek reelection with this statement?

It is not age. I think it is the circumstance he found himself in that he feels is inhibiting him. He was once a military head of state when he did whatever he liked the way he wanted it. But now, he doesn’t feel free now that he is a product of a democratic dispensation. I agree age is part of it, But it does not explain every-

thing. As president, he does not need a hammer break things nor is he sent to the field to break stones. I know age can have impact. But Buhari’s innate propensity to get things done the way he wants it and promptly is an anathema to the democratic system that we are operating.

Certain PDP leaders are already in talks with some aggrieved APC leaders on the need for a coalition towards 2019. How viable is this?

We surely need a coalition to return to power in 2019. The fact that we failed in 2015 means that numerically we have become a minority. PDP people voted APC in the last election and at that time, they were no longer PDP. We need some coalition. And talking about coalition, we have the pulling factor and the pushing factor.

The PDP is the pulling factor and in APC they have the pushing factor. What some founding members of the APC are feeling the heat. CPC is in control of the government. It is among those who are feeling discontent that PDP will be poking. This was how the APC emerged. Those who founded the APC were not birds of a feather politically. They were birds of common interest.

But is PDP really serious? In the PDP, we recently had a contraption called Ali Modu Sheriff who emerged as the national chairman and given some time to organise the congresses and the convention that will lead to the emergence of a new set of leaders for the party. I have not been approached maybe because I am insignificant. But when they get to Oyo State, they will know I have some following in PDP, even though I don’t have money. Within two weeks, Sheriff is trying to change the basic terms of agreement. But now, he wants to remain as the national chairman.

It is not possible to zone the presidential slot to the North and at the same time the national chairmanship of the party.

They are being clever by half by saying that at a time, he will step down to allow a presidential candidate to emerge from the North. I think it is a good strategy for PDP to have zone the presidential slot to the North. This may be the breaking point for the PDP. Some APC leaders want to upstage Buhari for a younger candidate in 2019 so that the North can have 12 straight years instead of eight that will get if Buhari seeks a re-election.

The contradiction which the PDP suffered in 2015 will take place in the APC between now and 2019. They will fight to a breaking point. Why do you think Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, is being framed? It is because they felt he may scheme for the presidency in 2019. And so, they must bring him down straightaway. What about Atiku Abubakar? The problem that did the PDP a lot of harm in 2015 will be replicated in APC in 2019.

This is why Buhari is building his own structure with the CPC component of the APC government. He is not a fool. I don’t think he will expect Tinubu to give him the kind of assistance he gave in 2015. Tinubu is a human being. I am not sure he will be comfortable to have Buhari for a second term. So, Tinubu has to bid his time. So, it is a complex situation.

35

thepolity

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘APC promised change and not miracle’ terest but in the interest of Nigerians who look up to us. It doesn’t seem to me that what happened on March 28, 2015, will be easy to achieve again. It doesn’t happen often in the history of nation building.

continued from pg 33

away as it used to be in the country. This is a new order where things are being done the way they are supposed to be done.

Some of the decisions taken at the retreat were to reflate the economy by pushing some money into the system, assisting contractors to bring back some of the retrenched workers, increasing the level of PPP, reducing the cost of running government both at the federal and state levels and so other decisions that will help, including the social protection projects like the school meals for pupils. You will recall that this government also talks about conditional fund transfer to some very highly vulnerable groups of people. When these things roll out, we will definitely make people smile. And, of course, the focus of the non-oil sectors like agriculture and solid minerals and manufacturing and others.

So, it can’t be right for anyone to say that the fight against corruption has resulted in the neglect of the economy. All these things go together. Yes, because of the level which corruption has attained in the country, it has to headlong thing. We need to recover as much loot as possible to plough back into the system. This is what makes it imperative and a primary issue. I have had discussions with a lot of well-meaning Nigerians who give PMB kudos for his relentless war against looting of the treasury. No area has been neglected because of the prosecution of the war against corruption.

Some people have argued that the quickest means to gauge the inelasticity of the patience of Nigerians is if we have a system that makes it possible to call for another presidential election at the moment which they said PMB will not win. What is your comment on this?

I don’t believe that. One of the things that we quickly do in this country is that as much as I am not one who will take Nigerians for granted and no party should take Nigerians for granted, because when the PDP took Nigerians for granted that was the beginning of the downfall of the party, when they started boasting that they would rule Nigeria for 60 years. Nigerians have the right to air their concerns over issues in the polity, particularly concerning the government that they have elected. We as members of the party, whether in or out of office, have a duty to continue to appeal to the people of this country who elected our party. I can only appeal to Nigerians because they have every right to air their grievance because, irrespective of what is going on, irrespective of what was on ground before we came on board, we have not been elected to give excuses. We have been elected to solve problems. And those problems are already being solved by PMB and it is a gradual process. It is legitimate for people to express their discontent, but we also have a duty to appeal to them. We as party people hear these complaints too and we take the feedback and process it.

That was why the NEC retreat was held.

The people remain the driving force for the government at any given time. So, we have a duty as a government to listen to what the people are saying. I will say this over and over again that we must address the yearnings of Nigerians. It is a duty we owe the people.

Does it worry people like you who

How has life been for you since you left the Senate in 2011?

I should ask you. I thank Nigerians for the opportunity to serve as Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly and a Senator for two terms. Without being immodest, my records are there. It is not for me to blow my own trumpet. What I know is that, from what I have heard from people, I don’t think I have disappointed the people.

Again, I was privileged, courtesy of the then presidential candidate of our party, then General Muhammadu Buhari, to have been appointed the Deputy Director General of the APC campaign. I give him my best and I know I didn’t disappoint my people and Mr President. To that extent, I am a happy man. I know by the grace of God, if an opportunity comes, I will make myself available to serve in whatever capacity.

Senator Mamora are APC chieftains that almost three years after the unprecedented merger of hitherto opposition parties to form the APC, these parties still maintain their individual identities and have refused to blend together as one party? Some commentators have said APC has been stretched to breaking point and may break up soon when, and not if, the bubbles will burst.

I don’t see any bubble bursting. There is no way you will have a very vibrant and sophisticated organisation like the APC and because of the vibrant minds that make up the party that you won’t have disagreements. This is not unusual. What is important is that at the end of the day, issues will be resolved amicably. If at all there are disagreements, I can assure you that they will be resolved. It is just a matter of time. If you recall, when PDP came to power in 1999, it had issues as a party. But in spite of the issues that the PDP had, Nigerians were still able to tolerate PDP for 16 years. So, if APC that has come with a bang and the gospel of change, I would like to believe that, irrespective of what disagreements that might be inherent in the party, we will get over them and Nigerians will still be able to tolerate us longer that they tolerated PDP. There is no way you will have an vibrant body like the APC and under the circumstance that we came to power, that we will not have some rough edges to smoothen.

What is important is that the rough edges will be smoothened and then the party will remain a united entity because we can’t afford to disappoint Nigerians who invested their hope in us. We can’t afford to squander that investment of hope.

Fashola, who is fondly called a super minister, spoke eloquently about power generation before the election. Now that he is in charge, he is being tongue-lashed by Nigerians, especially on social media for his seeming failure to translate his rhetoric about power into action. Is

he overwhelmed?

Fashola never addressed himself as a super minister. It is the people who gave him that appellation. I know him to be a very modest person. Yes, people were just looking at his achievements in Lagos State and, of course, he did a lot. In the wisdom of Mr President, in trying to reduce the number of ministries, decided to merge what hitherto were three ministries into one. Expectedly, that will be a very big task. Fashola did not request the ministry he should be given. I know Fashola is doing his best as a minister. It is a herculean task, no doubt. But in spite of all that, he is doing his best. If it appears Nigerians are not yet seeing the fruits, but that is not to say that the seeds have not been planted.

It will take a while before the seeds germinate and sprout and grow to a point where the fruits will start to show. As far as I concerned, Fashola is competent, capable and up to the task. If he were not competent, Mr President would not have saddled him with that assignment. Nigerians should give him time. They should not forget that even though he is manning those ministries, he still needs to take directives in terms of decisions at the Federal Executive Council. So, a lot of factors come into play for certain things to manifest.

There are media reports of some aggrieved APC leaders being in talks with some PDP leaders on the need for a coalition towards 2019 elections. Does this bother you?

Some people will always be aggrieved, especially when they don’t have their way and that is not unusual in a political environment. But to seek to destroy what one contributed to building is not the right way to go. So, what I am saying in essence is that, if some PDP leaders have their issues, that is best of luck to them. And if we have our own issues, we will solve them from within because it will be a very big disappointment to Nigerians if we don’t solve our problems. So, we must protect what is ours, not necessarily in our own in-

It is said in some quarters that someone like you who served at that level during the campaign and election and given your political experience has not been appointed because you belong to Bola Tinubu camp.

I thank people who think of me so highly in that way. But then, my own attitude is that: first, everything happens at the fullness of time. Secondly, Mr President who is the appointing authority knows what he is doing. I believe that if and when he considers me fit and proper for a particular position he will appoint me. The third thing to say is that delay is not denial. On whether I have not been appointed to any position because of my closeness to Asiwaju Tinubu, I will say people have a way of just doing their permutations and pushing their fantasies. But that is not my own problem. I don’t want to be bogged down by the opinion of people. It is not people’s opinion that matters; it is God’s opinion and that of Mr President.

How cordial is the relationship between Senator Bola Tinubu and PMB? To the best of my knowledge, there has been cordiality between them. These are very highly revered and respected leaders in the party. Mr President as the number one man in the party and Asiwaju Tinubu as a national leader of no mean repute and who made a lot of contributions to getting APC to be formed and subsequently worked hard for its success. There is a high level of cordiality between.

If that were so, why didn’t he have a nominee at least from the SouthWest in the cabinet of PMB? I am not aware of what you are saying.

Even Fashola was said to have been picked against the wish of Tinubu I told you earlier that people are entitled to their fantasies. So, I can’t explain the fantasies of people. What you have said is not to my knowledge. So, I don’t know who has nominated who or who has not nominated who. All I know is that there is a high level of mutual respect and cordiality between Mr President and our leader, Asiwaju Tinubu.

36

P

ERHAPS due to the advertised profile of its erstwhile chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega and the gentleman disposition of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was seen as the best thing to have happened to Nigeria’s democracy in recent times. The commission, indeed, had a good time under Jega; whatever it asked for were laws. There were hardly any Due Process encumbrance in the way of INEC’s procurement processes and all was mostly smooth for the electoral body.

The commission made its inputs into the Electoral Act and Constitution amendment processes, which set the stage for what manifests today in elections. Save for the rejection of the Electronic Voting System, which the Nigerian lawmakers saw as premature, Jega had the way paved for him to deliver credible elections ahead of the 2015 election and he was granted the opportunity of enhancing the credibility of the vote by introducing the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and the Card Reader.

Notwithstanding the concerns in some quarters that the Card Reader has its challenges, Jega and INEC advertised it as one single dose to election manipulation. They told us it would guarantee the sanctity of the accredited voters and ensure that no one was able to change figures or write results that did not emanate from the polling units.

In the midst of all that, the opposition parties got excited.

They carved out the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) as one adept at electoral manipulation and they believed that with Jega’s Card Reader, the days of electoral fraud would be over. When some officials of the former government raised concerns about INEC, especially following hints that some pirated PVCs were in circulation, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC ) yelled “on Jega we stand.”

Despite any perceived flaws, Jega, however, conducted an election that was seen as acceptable in 2015. Before the general elections, he had conducted stop gap elections that were described as credible. The then president also gave credit to the process by promptly acknowledging the winners of those elections whether they were members of his party or not.

There were no do-or-die campaigns. You can say that unarguably was dictated by the attitude of former President Jonathan, who consistently insisted that his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian. Then came the

THE abduction of young girls by criminally-minded people has become a great menace and the situation demands that security agencies should approach the issue with all the seriousness it deserves. Proactive action must be taken so that this issue of security would not send investors out of the country and prevent prospective ones from coming in. The government must ensure that those behind the evil acts are apprehended and brought to book so as to serve as deterrents to others who may be tempted to engage in similar conduct in future. The three tiers of government should make security their priority by providing enough funds to fight insecurity and other social vices. Investors will shy away from the country when a feeling of insecurity permeates the country; let’s find a solution to this problem for the benefit and peace of mind of all of us and also to attract prospective investors.

—Gordon Chika Nnorom: Umukabia, Abia.

07084644222 This issue of conversion to Islam or Christianity is unbecoming of our nation and should be checked forthwith. It is because most leaders in government - at the executive, legislative as well as the judiciary levels are insincere in making and implementing the requisite laws that would appropriately match criminal acts. Abducting beings, forcing them to accept a faith are, in themselves, sinful! If both religions continue to embark on the same acts of abducting eminent persons and also forcing young people from different religious backgrounds to accept a faith that is different from their own, then we are courting chaos and rather than letting sleeping dogs lie, we would be stepping on the adder’s tail.

—Lanre Oseni: 08022066663 One wonders if the members of these Sharia commission(s) are human beings with blood flowing in their veins; otherwise how could they support the perpetration of illegality while hiding under the cloak of religion. What does the Quran say on ordinary theft? It seri-

27 March, 2016

the lynxeye with Taiwo adisa

08072000046

Watch this INEC!

administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who immediately deviated from the pattern set by Jonathan by naming his kinsman from the Northern part of the country, Professor Mahmood Yakubu to head the all-important commission.

For a president who automatically wears the dual cap of a politician and a statesman, that could be a source of suspicion and the test didn’t take long in coming. With 82 National and State Assembly elections voided by the courts after the general elections, the test cases for Buhari and Mahmood Yakubu were actually handful, with the first major test being the governorship election in Kogi State. Thus far, that election will comfortably wear the tag of the most litigious election in INEC’s history.

Besides the series of litigations and inconsistencies from INEC under Yakubu’s watch, the body also failed to assert itself as an independent body, which Jega portrayed it to

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

Re: It is tough

being a girl-child in Nigeria

Sunday Tribune

be. Instead of taking decision on its volition immediately the front-runner in the Kogi Governorship election, Alhaji Abuhbakar Audu died, the Commission waited to read the lips of the ruling party and even rejected the opinion of its own team of lawyers who had advised that the election be countermanded and a fresh process started. INEC then danced to the tune of the Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, whose opinion was to the effect that the ruling party could be allowed to produce another candidate to complete the election.

From the Kogi election, INEC replaced the most common word in its vocabulary, Card Reader, with the word “inconclusive.” Elections were inconclusive in Kogi and Bayelsa.

It was also inconclusive in the senatorial elections in Kogi and Imo and now in Rivers. From location to location, INEC seems to be disappointing its fans. Not a few are disgusted at the seeming incompetence being exhibited by INEC and the propensity to dance to some partisan tunes.

In Rivers, INEC put up the most bizarre of the shows. Everyone knew that the election was taking place in a charged atmosphere. The gladiators were spitting fire and it was obvious that what would sustain peace was an unbiased umpire, which strives to meet the expectation of all. While INEC in the past had a say as to the involvement of security men in elections, the show in Rivers was clearly out of the hands of the Commission, with party leaders on both sides parading the type of security they could muster; soldiers, policemen and militants. The stage was set for a showdown.

It was ridiculous that an INEC official, rather than the ballot, became the most-prized asset in that election. One story indicated that while some youths in an area raised the alarm about their suspicion of a planned vote switch by the said INEC official, police came to the scene. But while that official was in police custody, another party leader stormed the scene and ‘carted’ him away. And to further rub salt to the injury of the Rivers people, INEC put a stop to the announcement of results already collated. You will think that a system that is fair enough would allow the people know the winners of already verified results in a blood-soaked contest.

With the series of rerun elections still ahead, INEC has a duty to redeem itself of all the shenanigans we have seen so far. But what has happened so far should tell watchers of the nation’s democratic process to keep a close watch on this INEC.

sometimes members of the judiciary. My position is that whoever compromises his/her conferred authority to the detriment of others must be made to face the music no matter how highly placed. When we do this, we will avert possible jungle justice.

—Asaolu Rotimi: Ketu, Lagos. 08033796044 The only person to whom I can compare Baba Tijani, the Commissioner of Police in Bauchi State, is Judas Iscariot. Tijani betrayed Nigerians by hiding the truth about the issue from the whole country. An adage says, “it is not compulsory for the teeth of a man to be 32 in number, if they are only two and they are capable or strong enough for cutting meat, then those two are okay.” What this implies is that the numerical strength of our security agencies is not important, it is their ability and effectiveness that is important. If only a few are capable or strong enough to counter the activities of religious fanatics and religious bigots like these people forcing girls into faiths other than the ones they know, then it is okay. Finally, it is our collective responsibility to batter or clobber the despicable activities of satanic people in our society because they do not know what they are doing.

—Taiwo Sangotikun: Iseyin, Oyo State.

08056309372 If some cultures choose to give out their foetus in marriage to octogenarians, let them be. But we, as humans, should stop calling God a fool by rising against forcing our beliefs on others for it doesn’t cost him (God) a dime to make the whole world a mono-religious entity.

—Dayo Oladeji: Saki, Oke Ogun. 08027278748

ously frowns on it. Would a religion that frowns on theft then condone human abduction? It is time we sat down in this country to review the roles of those who compromise their office and constitutional authority to the detriment of others. Such people are found in the police force and other law enforcement agencies. Others who misuse their positions of authority may be traditional rulers and

Your piece on the kidnap of girls published in the Sunday Tribune is commendable. It shows that you are indeed a brave woman and a mother in the real sense of the word. Kudos!

—Engineer Sam: Akwa Ibom. 07082056828

37

27 March, 2016

on the

Sunday Tribune

With Bolanle Bolawole turnpot@gmail.com 07052631058

lord’sday

17 reasons for PDP’s resurgence (I)

L

AST week, we listed 11 out of 17 reasons why the opposition PDP is resurgent while the ruling APC, in contrast, appears on the retreat.

This reversal of fortunes is as dramatic as it is bewildering. Less than one year in office, the APC appears to have lost its shine while the PDP that many had left for dead is finding both its feet and voice. Chants of “Sai Baba” have panned out and groans of “no money”; “never had it so bad”; “never knew it would come to this” have taken over.

To recap, we listed some of the issues to include the cut-throat competition between the legacy parties that formed the APC and Buhari’s unfortunate political statements; the perceived lop-sidedness of his appointments in favour of the North/ Muslim against South/Christian and the CPC wing of the APC against the other legacy parties; the subterranean subterfuges of power-brokers and godfathers that is tearing apart a party on a rescue mission and that needs all the cohesion in the world to succeed; Buhari’s antecedents as a military autocrat and the resolve of powerful strata of the society to stand up to the early signs of dictatorial tendencies. Another antecedent already working against the president is his widely-perceived Islamic fundamentalist bent and the scantily-concealed efforts to drag Nigeria into the comity of Islamic nations under one ruse or another; fighting too many battles on too many fronts at one and same time and therefore, biting more than he can chew; his deafening silence on the atrocities of rampaging Fulani herdsmen, who are his kith and kin; and reneging on election promises, especially the N5,000 promised the unemployed, which the president went abroad to derogatively brand a “largesse.”

We said the APC government has not demonstrated a clear direction in about one year in office but has “wobbled and fumbled” like Fanny Amun’s Eagles, such that, today, it looks as “clueless and incompetent” as the Jonathan administration it swept out of office. What with unending fuel queues and worsening power supply? Was this not why Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, cried out that the government needed outside help to rescue the economy? Whether the “in-house” economic conference the government held last week, as opposed to a pan-Nigeria summit advocated by Nigerians, meets the bill remains to be seen.

The alarming free fall of the Naira is another reason why this government is no longer in the good books of many Nigerians. As the Naira falls in value, this government also falls in value. Devaluation of the Naira, whether officially or unofficially, means rising costs of goods and services and massive reduction in the purchasing power of the Naira. Because of the parlous state of the economy, many employers are retrenching workers in droves, further making worse an already bad unemployment situation. Employers who are not retrenching are finding other ingenious or bold-faced means of cutting workers’ salaries. Some workers have perpetually been on half salary. Foodstuffs’ prices and trans-

portation costs have gone up astronomically; house rents, school fees etc have also taken a jump. For those who have children schooling abroad; life is a nightmare. Of course, I am sure you know that when workers have not been paid, no one would think of pensioners. The self-employed are having terrible times – no jobs, no money.

Manufacturers can’t sell much of the goods produced because the purchasing power is not there on the side of the buyers. The economy, as it were, is in a tail spin. And a country is as good as its economy!

Many of the people around the president are not telling him the truth; it would appear as if the man still gallivants all over the place with the messianic candour of last year, possibly unknown to him that, in the eyes of many Nigerians, he has already been demystified. If elections are held today, I am sure Buhari will not be the hot potatoes that he was last year March/April. The perception out there also is that many of the people around the president are stingy and self-centred. Someone said it could be because of the frugal nature of Buhari himself; but care must be taken to note that politics is about generosity and not tightfistedness. You must spread the largesse – yes, largesse. There must be largesse in civilian governments; meaningful largesse, not “chop-and-clean-mouth”. As they say, chop alone, quench alone. The complaint is rising to a din that people in government are chopping alone while those who helped them there are suffering without a helping hand coming from anywhere. This is not a military government where you can silence everyone with guns and “koboko”. Political office-holders keep telling the people to be patient; that things will soon be alright; fine, but while we all wait – or work - for things to become alright, kindly bring out some of the largesse in your own pockets and share with the people. Political office-houses usually pretend as if they are not “eating”; but Nigerians can see through the charade.

Now to Boko Haram: Buhari keeps saying that the insurgents have been decapitated; that they have been degraded and can no longer hold territories; but they keep inflicting collateral damage on the country. They still attack towns and cities; they detonate bombs every week, killing in each attack more people than are killed abroad in one year by terrorists. While we overlook the loss of lives here, we rush to issue press statements over the trifles that occur abroad. Colonial mentality! And misplaced priorities!! Life is life; more so, for a Nigerian government, the lives of Nigerians should have a premium higher than those of foreigners. That is the standard behaviour in international relations. Each attack by Boko Haram is a reminder that we are not yet out of the woods. Of course, I am sure you know that the Chibok girls have not been found, least of all rescued.

One reason why Nigerians voted Buhari is that they thought he had the magic wand to crack the Boko Haram nut and bring back the girls. If it turns out he does not, many Nigerians shall be sorely disappointed.

Corruption and the fight against it is one issue that has, at one and same time; united as well as divided Nigerians. To be sure, everyone supports that we fight corruption; but Nigerians are sharply divided over whether Buhari is honest and sincere in the way he is fighting corruption and whether he is fair to all. The argument is that only the Jonathan/PDP government is being put under the searchlight. Clear cases of corruption against pre-Jonathan leaders as well as important members of the new ruling party and government have been ignored. Discerning members of the public are not comfortable with this.

Not that anyone is saying that those being pursued may not be guilty or that the guilty should not face the music; but if the crime was committed across board, then, the punishment should also go round.

As of now, the punishment is not going

round; hence the opaqueness surrounding the Buhari war against corruption. Since the looting was democratised, then, the punishment should also be democratised!

Only the president and vice-president were bold enough to declare their assets publicly; the other influential party men and government officials have chickened out. Cowards! More than that, this could be evidence that they have something to hide; there could be skeletons in their cupboards. When this is placed side-by-side the fact that allegations of corruption were pointedly levelled at some important members of the Buhari administration, but who have now been shielded from prosecution and have instead been rewarded with plum political offices, a big hole is thus punched into the Buhari anti-graft effort. Like the elephant, Nigerians have long memory.

We have been reminded that Buhari is the master of selective punishment. His first coming as military dictator attests to that, when ousted President Shehu Shagari was placed under the comfort of house arrest but Vice-President Alex Ekwueme was carted away into prison detention, among such other acts of partiality.

The above 15 reasons why PDP is resurgent are gifts from the APC. Buhari and the ruling party keep committing unforced errors, as tennis pundits would say. But the PDP has also helped itself. The party has, to the surprise of many, responded fast to its change in fortunes. Olisa Metuh, its spokesperson, must have surprised even himself the way he rose to the challenge of being the opposition spokesperson. He performed so admirably; making Lai Mohammed look ordinarily. That was before the ONSA merry-go-round knocked him off. Since he was arrested and specially marked out for humiliating treatment, Metuh has mellowed. Thank God for nature, which abhors vacuum; Gov. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has stepped in to fill the void created by Metuh’s demystification. “Fayose kan; APC/Buhari kan” as the Yoruba would say. The Ekiti enfant terrible is the proverbial “oko iya won.” He has been extremely effective. He does not pull punches; does not know “this is not decent for me to say,” he is the typical “roof-rofo” fighter. Unfortunately for Buhari/APC, they keep gifting Fayose ammunition with which he rubbishes them. Fayose has done marvellously well, even if malevolently, helping to keep Buhari/APC on their toes.

Finally, “ko ki n tan l’ara omo Oba k’o ma ku dansaki” is a Yoruba proverb that says no matter how weather-beaten royalty is; you still find evidence that here was royalty once upon a time. After 16 years in power, PDP has deep roots, massive tentacles, and branches. It has made furrows everywhere. You delude yourself to think such a behemoth can be felled with just one strike. PDP has very many experienced and tested masters of the garb. It takes more than winning just an election against such a party to permanently and irreversibly cripple it. To achieve that, APC will have to win election after election against PDP – but, I am afraid, not the way they are going at the moment.

38

voxpop

GRACE IWUJI:

The best age for any lady to go into marriage should be between 20 to 25 years because i believe that is the best for her.

People at weddings appreciate it the more when a lady gets married at a very young age, they always want to see with their own eyes to confirm that the young daughter of the woman next door is actually getting married.

DAMMY AREMU The best time for a lady to be married is when lady becomes mature. Marriage should be based on maturity and not on age, so I think I will stick with the fact that, there is no specific age to get married. A 20 year old might be more mature compared to a 30 yearold.

27 March, 2016

At what age should a lady get married?

The precise age at which a lady is ripe for marriage has been a long-debated issue. TEMITAYO ILIASU speaks with a cross section of people on what they think should be a lady’s ideal age for marriage.

BOLAJI AJIBADE The best time for a lady to go into marriage is between the age of 24 and 34. Why I do not expect it to be sooner is because, the lady needs to gain a sense maturity. And considering our society, I do not expect it to be sooner than 24. At least she needs to go to school, to possess her first degree and then think of what next to do. And on the other hand, care must be taken that she would not be too old before getting married.

DAMILOLA DEMILADE In reality, there is no right age to get married; age is just a number, it takes maturity and

DR SHOLA GAMRA It has to do with the psychology of the lady. Most at the age of 24 are ripe. At least they should have gone through school up to university. And are still innocent to some extent. Conception and difficulty/complications of pregnancy are reduced in ladies at that age. The tendency to give birth to children with congenital problems is greatly reduced.

And at that age they cope better with stress of labour and caring for their offsprings. They are more exciting and happier at the age.22-25. Most ideal age is 23.

And they could give birth to the numbers of children they so desire before long with good child spacing.

proper relationship to feel like you are ready to commit your life to someone else. You may feel like your age is the most important factor to getting married, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. When

you’re looking for a partner, its important to be mentally healthy and to check for signs within your relationship that help you identify when you might be ready for marriage.

KIKELOMO MORADEYO: A lady can go into marriage at any age as long as she has turned eighteen and has a clear view of how she wants her life to go. If she’s got her life figured out and thinks the best for her is to get married

DECSTER OLADAPOMOLA: FISAYO ABIODUN Well I think the right age for any lady to get married is between the age of twenty six and twenty nine, because at that age, a well brought up lady would have developed herself into someone that can handle the issues that come with managing a home, and at this age medically she is

To me I prefer a lady to get married between age 20 to 28, because at this age, they are done with at least first degree education and their reproductive mechanism is best functional coupled with social acceptability among eligible bachelors or suitors when it comes to selection for marriage.

fertile and fully developed.

OLUCHI EJIMADU: For me, I think the right time for any woman to go into marriage is 25 years because she is mature enough to embark on that journey. I believe at twenty five, every woman would have sorted herself out and have the vision of how she wants her life to be like.

Sunday Tribune

TEMITOPE OFFALEKE: Personally I will say the best age for a lady to get married is 23 years and the reason is that getting married at such age will give her the opportunity to have her children as early as she wants, so that that chapter of her life could be achieved early and she will be able to face other important aspects of her life and also do something worthwhile later on. Nowadays, life is too short to be wasted. When one marries early, there are lots of advantages therein.

MRS IDOWU:

In the olden days, parents always know the time to give their daughters’ hands out in marriage, unlike nowadays when our daughters are not predictable. They want to go to school and that is why they end up being promiscuous. I think the right time for a woman to get married is immediately she enters into maturity or finishes her first degree because that is how they do it in the olden days and life was good.

then she should go for it. She does not have to base her marriage on any age. When a female child reaches puberty, it’s a warning that the time is near, all she needs at that time is to figure her life out.

39

feature

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Crowned 1958, still on the throne 58 years later…

The story Oba Joel Bamgbose, Aboro of Ibeseland

By Bayo Alade

H

E is unarguably one of the longest reigning traditional rulers in the country. At 96, Oba Joel Bamgbose (Olukoye I), Otenbotemole, the Aboro of Ibeseland in Yewa North Local Government of Ogun State has seen it all.

Under his watch the country changed from colonial rule to an independent country in 1960. Then six years later (1966) the first coup took place and the country came under military rule. A civil war broke out a year and a half later (1967) while the country was only able to do away with military regime albeit temporarily in 1979. Several state governors and presidents later, Oba Bamgbose is still in the saddle.

When he became the Aboro of Ibeshe in March 1958, he never knew he would still be around 58 years later but he had the determination of lifting his domain from a backwater town to prominence. He believed so much in this dream and he pursued it with vigour until it was achieved, at least to a large extent.

Going down memory lane, Oba Bamgbose said at that time, “two windows of opportunity were open to me in 1958; the first was to become the Secretary of the Action Group (AG) for Egbado District or to be crowned as a king.”

“Honestly, my passion for politics made me to have interest in the first choice (becoming secretary of AG), but my people insisted that I should be their king. Hence my resolve to make myself available for the service,” he told Sunday Tribune noting that though there were huge obstacles on his path back then but “everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”

Community service as a veritable tool for social development was Oba Bamgbose’s priority. Hence his quest to serve his community by spearheading several fundraising programmes for community-based developmental projects. In 1963, Oba Bamgbose began to search for investors for a cement factory in his town having discovered the huge limestone deposit there.

Back then he spent a lot of money hosting and attending meetings with several would-be investors. It was a very long journey to the Promised Land but on February 9, 2012 the Ibese plant of Dangote Cement factory was officially declared opened by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. It was Oba Bamgbose’s happiest day as the town’s traditional ruler.

This singular effort no doubt earned Oba Bamgbose great respect within and outside Ogun State. A deeply religious man with a strong sense of human and family values, the coming into existence of Dangote cement factory, Ibese was a confirmation of his belief that with prayer, “all things are possible.”

“That’s why sometimes I felt too bad when after the

I will forever be grateful to God who made it possible for me to come this far. The position is not as rosy as some people believe, but a call to serve humanity, and the most difficult thing in life is to manage human beings. Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people

Oba Joel Bamgbose, Aboro of Ibeseland. Inset: Oba Bamgbose installing former President Olusegun Obasanjo as Apesin of Ibese some years back

success of my dream some people now stand in arms against me for protecting my baby (Dangote Cement, Ibese Plant). I’m not saying no one has any right to the gains of the project, but we should be united in our quest to get what belongs to our people through the Corporate Social Responsibility of the company,” Oba Bamgbose said.

Speaking on his role as a traditional ruler, Oba Bamgbose believes that people’s perception of the traditional stool is totally different from reality. “It is a hot seat where you fight all sorts of forces both spiritual and physical. It is indeed a situation of ‘uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

“I will forever be grateful to God who made it possible for me to come this far. The position is not as rosy as some people believe, but a call to serve humanity, and the most difficult thing in life is to manage human beings. Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people,” he said. Quoting Rev Martin Luther-King he added: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moment of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Before he was crowned as Aboro of Ibeseland, Oba Bamgbose had a stint as a Customary judge, Chairman of Egbado District Council and also represented Egbado

districts, both in UK and US at farmers’ summits.

As an ardent supporter of Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s style of politics, Oba Bamgbose disclosed that people in the whole of the old Egbado (now Yewa) area were good supporters of the late sage, a position they openly showed during elections.

Oba Bamgbose has great admiration for and thanks to a few people whom he said would never be forgotten. One of them, he said, is former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was conferred with the chieftaincy titles of Apesin and Otaoroju of Ibeseland for his relentless effort that made his (Oba Bamgbose’s) dream a success. He also expressed his gratitude and that of the people of IbeseYewa to Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the establishment of the cement plant in the town.

Today, Oba Bamgbose will be celebrating his 58th anniversary on the throne at the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Iye Olope Parish, Ibese-Yewa, Ogun State. The event which is expected to be attended by sons and daughters of Ibeseland and well-wishers will commence by 10 a.m and will be rounded off with an award presentation to some dignitaries and indigenes of the town who have contributed to the development of the ancient town.

40

27 March, 2016

language&style Bad breath!

S

AMPLE 1: “Generally, all food eaten begins to break down in the mouth. As they get digested and absorbed into the bloodstream, they are carried to the lungs and given off through your breath…Most patients do not know they have mouth odour because overtime their sense of smell have adapted to their bad breath…Mouth odour can also be caused from a factor known as extra oral-area outside the mouth…”(Coping With Bad Breath, The Sunday Sun, February 28, 2016) Let’s note the phrase, “all food eaten begins…” The word food, no doubt, is an uncountable noun, and it is used here as such.

How can we tell that it is used as an uncountable noun, which it is? The verb begins, carrying the letter s, has been appropriately inflected to reflect the singular form of the noun (food) with which it is in concord.

However, the reporter, seeming to act under curious inspiration, changes his mind regarding the status of the noun, food.

This is how the reporter begins the sentence that follows: “As they get digested….” The reader is advised to pay attention to the pronoun they, the second word in the new sentence. What does that pronoun refer to? What is its antecedent? What is said to ‘get digested’? It definitely refers to the noun food, a noun about which we have been categorical regarding its singular status. How can we explain the sudden transformation from the singular to the plural status? The reporter’s sentence continues: “they are carried to the lungs…” Please note the pronoun they, again. Note also the plural verb-form, are, a form that is clearly in conflict with the formbegins (what with its final s).It seems the reporter is unsure of the status of the noun food, or he is not paying attention to his own linguistic and stylistic choices.

There is yet another blemish: “their sense of smell have adapted to their bad breath.” Please note the reporter’s use of the form have and compare that verb-form with the noun sense, obviously singular. The form have, let us note, usually goes with a plural noun.

To have a clear understanding of this grammatical phenomenon we need to revisit the whole grammatical concept of concord.

The verb go, for example, may be used to demonstrate the principle of concord.

Consider the following sentences: 1) I go to school every day.

2) We go to school every day. 3) They go to school every day. 4) You go to school every day. 5) He/She goes to school every day.

In each of those five sentences, the verb to go is in its present simple form. There is a correlation between the form of the subject and the form of the verb. In the first sentence, the subject is in its first person singular form. The assumption here is that there is a speaker who uses the pronoun I. The speaker is regarded as the first person. Since the speaker is only one person, the pronoun I is said to be a singular one. A first person singular pronoun I takes the form go when the tense is present simple.

The subject in sentence (2) is a first person plural pronoun, we. Since it is assumed that two or more persons are speaking, we say that the pronoun is in the plural form. As it is with the pronoun I, the verb-form that goes with this pronoun is go when the verb is in its everyday form.

In sentence (3), the pronoun they, which is the subject, is in the plural form. Besides, it is the third person form. What do we mean by the third person? A first person---say I---speaks to a person directly about another person. That other person is a third person. In our case, the third person is plural---they. The verb-form that goes with the third person plural subject is go.

The subject of sentence (4) is you, a word that can either be singular or plural. In English, it is only the context that shows whether the pronoun you is intended as singular or plural as the following sentences illustrate: (6)(a) You are a fool. (6)(b) You are fools. In those two sentences, it is the complement that indicates the number. In (a), you is singular; in (b), it is plural.

Now we come back to sentence (4). Whenever the pronoun you occurs, whether as singular or plural, the verb-form it takes is go. You is a second person. A first person--I—speaks to a second person—you—about a third person.

Sentence (5) has he (or she) as its subject. This form is a singular one and it is a third person. A first person—I—speaks to a second person—you—about a third person—he. The third person singular number-- represented as he—invariably takes the verb-form goes. Of all the persons and numbers we have considered so far, it is only the third person singular number—he—that takes the verb-form that ends in s or es as the case may be. All

by Samson Dare 0805 500 1770 samsonadare@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday Tribune

line

life

with Niyi Osundare

Random Blues other persons and numbers take the verb go—without the s or es. This distinction is very crucial and a failure to understand it has resulted in many users writing ungrammatical sentences.

The distinction is a very clear one and you should make effort to grasp this elementary detail before you go on.

The other point we need to make is that the verb go has been used only as an illustration to avoid confusion. Any other verb in English behaves in exactly the same way as go, relative to the persons and numbers discussed so far.

The following sentences illustrate the point: 7) Hespeaks good English. 8) He writes a lot. 9) Sheloves the man. 10) He deceives most people. 11) It wags its tail. 12) He drives dangerously. 13) She possesses a balanced mind. 14) She sings beautifully. 15) She works round the clock. 16) It surprises me—this sudden change of mind. 17) Hecomes from a wealthy family.

Unlike the third person singular number (he, she, it), all other persons and numbers take the form of the verb without the s or es: 18) They speak good English. 19) We love each other. 20) Youwrite a lot. 21) I work round the clock. 22) They possess balanced minds. 23) You drive dangerously. 24) We sing beautifully. 25) Theysurprise us. 26) You come from a wealthy family. 27) They deceive their friends. 28) They wag their tails.

Before we make the next point about the subjects of these constructions and their relationship to their verbs, we want to introduce another verb-form, have. For the purpose of our discussion, we recognize three forms of the verb have. These are: have, has, and had. For the moment, we are interested in the distinction between have and has: 29) I have some books. 30) We have some books. 31) They have some books. 32) You have some books. 33) He has some books.

From sentences (29)-(33), we can see that all the persons and numbers except the third person singular number (he) take have.

The third person singular takes has. It is now obvious that the form goes and similar forms such as: speaks, reads, writes, etc are related in concord to the third person singular subjects.

Notice that in sentences (29)-(33), the verb-forms have and has have been used as main verbs and not as auxiliaries. When they are used as auxiliaries in perfect tenses, they behave in exactly the same way in relation to the persons and numbers of the subjects.

Consider the following sentences: 34) I have bought some books. 35) We have bought some books. 36) They have bought some books. 37) Youhave bought some books. 38) He has bought some books.

Again, notice that has is used only in sentence (38) in which the subject is a third person singular pronoun. It is also important to note that the distinction we have made between have and has disappears in the past form. The past form of both have and has is had. Similarly, the distinction between speak and speaks, write and writes, sing and sings, etc disappears in the past form.

For example, the past form of both go and goes is went; of both write and writes is wrote; of both sing and sings is sang.

Compare the following sentences: 39 (a) They had bought some books. (b) He had bought some books. 40 (a) We sang beautifully. (b) She sang beautifully. 41 (a) I worked round the clock. (b) He worked round the clock. 42 (a) You had some books. (b) She had some books.

The pairs of sentences in (39)-(42) demonstrate that the distinctions we have pointed out between the verb forms that go with the third person singular subjects and all others do not apply in the past form. The major point we have noted is the distinction between such forms as have and has; go and goes; write and writes; speak and speaks; work and works. Can you relate those verb-forms to their corresponding subject-forms?

Next, we draw attention to the fact that the pronouns we have used as illustrations can be replaced by nouns or noun phrases: 43) Olu goes to school every day. 44) Olu and Ayo go to school every day. 5) My friend and I go to school every day.

Sentence (43) has a singular subject (Olu) and therefore attracts the form of the verb with es. The word Olu can be replaced with the pronoun he---which we have described as the third person singular number. Each of the other two sentences has a plural subject and therefore takes the form of the verb without es.

We can use the verb have with each of the subjects in those three sentences: 46) Olu has a book. 47) Olu and Ayo have two books. 48) Myfriend and I have two books.

From the discussion so far, it shouldn’t be difficult to see why the form have should be changed to has in the context under review.

The Right went wrong The Left was left in the lurch Haba! The Right went wrong The Left was left in the lurch The Scriptures ate their letters And the Bishop forgot his church

Life’s water is so muddy I cannot see the fish Say, Life’s water is so muddy I cannot see the fish What is for some a hopeless wreck Is for others stupendous relish

Life has given me a ton of fish to fry See why I’m never far from the fireplace?

Yes, Life has given me a ton of fish to fry See why I’m never far from the fireplace?

What to some may look like a grave misfortune Is to others nothing less than a speedy ace

“We live in a microbial world”, Proclaims the Doctor of Public Health Hear? “We all live in a microbial world”, Proclaims the Doctor of Public Health The germs which wreak havoc in some places Are in others proud authors of abundant wealth

Some stories start from the beginning Others begin from the very end Yes, some stories start from the beginning While others begin from the very end Life’s journey never has a finishing point It is a flow, an endless trend

41

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

With Rita Okonoboh rosarumese@gmail.com 08053789087

tribunechurch

Easter: CAN, PFN, others call for sacrifice, patriotism, endurance

Oritsejafor

Omobude

Badejo

Amoo

Hajoh

By Rita Okonoboh and Olaide Sokoya

A

S Nigerians celebrate the Lord’s resurrection today, with many families adopting low key celebrations, clerics across the country have called on all to persevere in spite of the harsh realities the economy presents, urging all to embrace the spirit of sacrifice.

Let it be a season of reflection —Pastor Oritsejafor The President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, in his Easter message, called on Nigerians not to take the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross in vain. According to him, “Do not make Jesus’ sacrifice in vain in your life. Use this season to reflect on your life.

Have a blessed Easter celebration.”

Let us endure a little further —Most Revd Abidoye Chairman and Spiritual Father of Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church worldwide, Ayo Ni o, the Most Reverend (Dr) S.A. Abidoye, in a statement made available to TribuneChurch, based on Psalm 114: 1-2, stated that “We bless God for taking this nation thus far. Nobody can deny the fact that the Buhari administration came under very high expectations from the citizens. They came with high hope, but met a reality that was so staggering that it might have set forth paralysis on the administration. Yet, there is no excuse for failure.

“The social equation has become so lopsided that poverty is no more an anathema in our society. Poverty has become a way of life for many Nigerians who can barely feed in a day. However, this is not what they voted for.

They voted, hopefully, for a better alternative. They need assurance of systemic change for better social well-being. They want to see a future that recognises the rights of Nigerians to improved standards of living, one that removes the dichotomy between the rich and the poor.”

Also noting the increase in violence across the country, Most Revd Abidoye called for govern-

ment to become more sensitive to the plight of the masses, just as he appealed to Nigerians “to endure a little further.”

According to him, “I believe the present government is concerned about the condition of the country, and would like to improve on it. However, the condition of the country needs careful planning, more so, with our foreign reserve depleted, price of crude oil so ridiculously low and general downturn of the economy. At the same time, I want to advise the Buhari administration to hasten up on its reform agenda. The people are waiting. God bless Nigeria and her people.”

The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Southwest, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, in his message stated that “Easter is the good news that Christ died and resurrected to pay the price for our debts, so all believers in him can gain deliverance. For all who accept

If we imbibe the lessons in the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for all and Easter is a period for sober reflection. We have come a long way and we have a long way to go.

him as their Lord and Saviour, which qualifies all believers to gain eternal life, yes Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He is risen indeed, Halleluyah!”

We must ensure religious harmony —Primate Ayodele Founder and Spiritual Leader of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, with headquarters in Lagos, Primate Elijah Ayodele, called on faithful of various religions to strive towards harmony and the fostering of unity in their dealings.

This was the stand of the cleric in his Easter message to Christian faithful in Nigeria. The cleric, who predicted the current economic downturn in the country and the crash of oil price, including the death of the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, James Ocholi, stated that things would only improve “if we imbibe the lessons in the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for all and Easter is a period for sober reflection. We have come a long way and we have a long way to go.”

He admonished political, religious and traditional rulers to build policies that would help in improving the co-existence of the various segments of the Nigerian society, just as he called on the Kaduna State governor, Nasir elRufai, to be careful on the regulation of the practice of religion through a proposed bill.

“The Kaduna State governor has to be very careful so as not to cause any religious uprising. We are in a delicate period in our national life and we must be ready to ensure that our togetherness is prioritised.

“All religious leaders must see themselves as one. We should not preach against ourselves. We all are definitely reaching for one heaven.

“My message for the All Progressives Congress (APC) is that it should be careful not to fumble. The Peoples Democratic Party can get it right if it is ready to go back to its founding fathers,” he said.

Abidoye

Ayodele

Atilade

Popoola

There is light at the end of the tunnel —Bishop Popoola

Olaiya

Continues on pg44

Makinwa

42

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

With Olaide Sokoya ollydesanmi@yahoo.com 08074497425

churchnews

Easter: Pope Francis washes feet of Muslims

P

OPE Francis, last week, washed and kissed the feet of 12 immigrants, including Muslims, during the Holy Thursday celebrations, hoping to bring together different religions and cultures in a gesture that comes two days after the Brussels attacks stirred anti-Islam attitudes.

As published by USA Today, the pontiff stated

during a mass at a migrant reception centre that houses nearly 900 asylumseekers in Castelnuovo di Porto, north of Rome that “All of us together: Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Copts, Evangelicals [are] all brothers and children of the same God. We want to live together in peace.”

Francis called the assault on the Belgium capital an “act of war, of destruc-

tion... by people who do not want to live in peace.”

The highly symbolic Easter ritual of washing the feet commemorates the rite that Jesus practiced with his Apostles before his Crucifixion. Francis’ repeated inclusion of women — as well as non-Catholics — has prompted much debate.

This year, eight men and four women were involved

in the foot-washing. Three were Muslim, three were Coptic Christian women from Eritrea and one was Hindu.

“We have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace,” Francis said before washing and kissing the feet of the migrants, some of whom were moved to tears.

In a morning Mass at

St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis sought to highlight the need for mercy, the theme of the 2016 Jubilee Year he launched in December.

“Mercy restores everything; it restores dignity to each person,” he said.

Speaking directly to thousands of priests at the earlier Mass, Francis urged them to stay close to the poor and marginalised.

“As priests we identify

with people who are excluded,” he said. “We remind ourselves that there are countless masses of people who are poor, uneducated, prisoners, who find themselves in such situations because others oppress them.”

The papal foot-washing ritual not only sent a signal of openness to refugees despite the violence, but also to women in the church.

Abegunrin charges Christians on unity

By Olaide Sokoya THE Catholic Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of lbadan, His Grace, Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin, has stressed oneness, collaboration and love as the key components that can make people happy in the house of God, among themselves and within their communities.

He stated this at the commencement of 2016 Archdiocesan Laity Week celebration held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, lgboora, Oyo State recently, with the theme “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”

According to Abegunrin, who was the chief celebrant at the event, supported by Rev.Fr. Richard Omolade, Chaplain; Anthony Aguguo, the Parish Priest and Rev Cyprian Nnamidi, “all those who are gifted in one way or the other should use their talents to assist

the church in this year of Mercy,” he said, just as he thanked Pope Francis for his directive to all in assisting those in need, upgrade their neigbours’ statuses/ welfare, thereby building the unity of God’s family.

During the celebration, eight parishes received awards of excellence.

Also, individuals like the wife of late Sir Dele lge, Mrs Henrietta Dele lge; Mrs H. Anthonio; Prof.Joshua Okogie; Professor C.O. Udoh; Prof Emilolorun Ayelani; Vice Chancellor of University of lbadan, Prof. F. Ajewole and Mrs Anthonia W. Adeyemo from Eruwa also received awards for their contribution to the development of key activities in the archdiocese.

According to the Archdiocesan laity President,Mr. Steve Olasupo,the award symbolised a unique recognition of their efforts in propagation of faith.

Catholic Archbishop of Ibadan, His Grace, Most Reverend Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin , with other priests during the 2016 archdiocesan laity week celebration, held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Igboora, Oyo State.

Anglican UN delegation tasks women on transformation

THE Anglican Communion delegation at the 60th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, 2016 (UNCSW60), has restated commitment to the transformation of society.

According to a statement made available on the Anglican Communion News Service, the delegation, after the meeting held last week, reiterated the “previously stated unequivocal commitment to remaining always in “communion” with and for one another.”

According to the statement, “We have been challenged in our time together by the desperately urgent

issues of life and death faced by countless numbers of women and children in our communities.

As a diverse delegation, we prayerfully reflected on these needs. We thus reaffirm the conclusion of the statement presented by our delegation to this year’s Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.”

The statement also noted that “This sisterhood of suffering is at the heart of our theology and our commitment to transforming the whole world through peace with justice. Rebuilding and reconciling the world is central to our faith.”

Reverend (Mrs) Edith Okubanjo, holding a baby, during the visit to a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa, as part of activities during the nationwide prayer tour, recently.

Revd Okubanjo concludes prayer tour, visits IDP camps THE General Overseer of the Church of Evangelism, Awoyaya, Ajah, Lagos State, Reverend Edith Okubanjo, has concluded her two-week nationwide prayer tour.

The tour, which saw the seer visiting the thirty-six states of federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was successful as a result of the warm reception received from the states.

Reverend Okubanjo also visited the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states to pray with the IDPs and contribute towards the rehabilitation of the victims of the sect.

This move, according to Okubanjo, was a divine call from God to declare prayers and deep national reflection as a foundation for national peace, unity and sustainable

development.

The prayer session commenced on Sunday, February 28 and ended on March 10 and participants offered prayers for Nigeria regarding the present challenges and the new opportunities.

At one of the visits to the Niger Delta, Okubanjo, while addressing participants, called on all to do what it takes to “awaken our nation and our people to the critical need to for-

give, love and unite. Surely, governments will come and go, but we as people shall remain and our nation should remain. Let us all pray in our families, schools, workplaces and worship places and wherever we gather as a community. Let us continue to pray to God for peace, unity and development of our nation and let us reflect on our past, our present situation and our common future.”

43 tribunechurch

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

When police officers’ wives took the gospel to Oyo

By Oluwatoyin Malik THE Nigeria Police Force Chaplaincy recently reaffirmed its determination to make God first in the lives of their members and their wives as its National Women’s Fellowship arm converged on Ibadan, Oyo State for its fourth annual national women’s fellowship conference.

The conference, hosted by the Oyo State Police Command, was held between March 7 and 20, 2016, with the theme: “Grace and Mercy”, with participants from about 28 states, among which were Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Imo, Enugu, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger, Rivers, Osun, Lagos, Abia, Kano, Gombe, Adamawa, Jigawa, Katsina, Taraba, Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Bauchi, Cross River and Federal Capital Territory.

Different programmes scheduled for the conference included prayers, songs ministration, bible quiz, recitation of memory verses from the Bible, ministrations on the theme of the conference, as well as health talks.

In her welcome address, the wife of the Force Chaplain and president of All Saints Protestant Women Fellowship, Mrs Comfort Omoyele, expressed profound appreciation of all the women who attended the conference from about 28 states of Nigeria, saying that their presence was an encouragement to her and a sign of their devotion to the things of God. Mrs Omoyele also stated that she was proud of the women for their commitment, dedication and zeal to serve God. She admonished the women not to give in to laziness, backsliding, division, tribalism and any other carnal substitutes, quoting from Galatians 3:28 and saying “we are all children of God and one in Christ.”

The women leader prayed that God’s presence would fill and bless all attendees, while He would also reveal Himself for them to have an encounter with Him during the conference.

Mrs Omoyele listed some of the vision, mission and goals of the women’s fellowship as uniting Christian

Wife of the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mrs Bimpe Oyebade (middle); President of the All Saints Protestant Women’s fellowship, The Nigeria Police Chaplaincy, Mrs Comfort Omoyele (sixth right); Force Chaplain, Venerable (DSP) Joshua B. Omoyele (left), and other executive members of the fellowship, during the conference held in Oyo State, last week. women in all police formations to fellowship as a body of Christ under the umbrella of the Protestant Police Chaplaincy, upholding the teachings of Christ Jesus about marriage in order to have a peaceful and successful Christian homes and encouraging women to study the Word of God and meditate on it to attain spiritual maturity.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade who was at the programme, enjoined the women to continually pray for police officers and men, saying: “I believe that police job was ordained and approved by God because we are protecting the lives and property of His creatures.”

He also counseled policemen to work with the fear of God, adding that if the women and the police officers played their roles of praying and working respectively, “God will make us enjoy His grace and mercy.”

The wife of the police commissioner, Mrs Bimpe Oyebade, who was also one of the guest speakers, spoke on the topic: “A woman – Created to be a helpmate.” In her address to the

participants, Mrs Oyebade advised them, especially those who are police officers’ wives, to be good helpmates to their husbands because of the sensitive job they are doing.

She stated further that “you have to stand in the gap for your husband by praying for him and making sure the home is peaceful. You also have to ensure that your children are well brought up. As a good helpmate, you must have something doing to keep you busy and to support your husband financially. You should also be hardworking, humble, virtuous and God-fearing.”

The Force Chaplain, Venerable Joshua Omoyele also urged the women to live a holy life and be more committed to spiritual things.

In his remarks, the state command chaplain, ASP Alewa Ehony, expressed his appreciation towards the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade for allowing the hosting of the conference. Ehony prayed that the participants would be spiritually revived, edified and motivated after the conference.

The Bible is God’s supermarket —Abia Pastor Onyebuchi Abia, a pastor at The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in Lagos and the coordinator of the Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF), in this interaction with SEYI SOKOYA, speaks on how he combines coordinating an NGO with spiritual leadership, among other issues. Excerpts:

H

OW have you been able to manage a church and a non-governmental organisation (NGO)?

Although I read Mass Communication, only God knows why I am here and I give Him the glory for the journey so far and the fact that I have not been involved in any scandal. No one is perfect and we need to have it at the back of our minds that we will surely leave this world some day; I recently clocked 60. The greatest thing for a man to understand God’s calling is to know the purpose and his mission on earth and once you are able to identify that purpose and do His will, you will continue to do exploit. My whole life has been a testimony of God’s grace. We have heard many testimonies of how God has been affecting lives positively through this ministry.

How did you come about the idea of the NGO? It was not my idea, but Kanu Nwankwo’s. I see myself as a founding member of the NGO. He was operated after we won the Olympics for Nigeria in 1996 and later decided to set up a foundation in order to give back to society, especially with the fact that Nigerians were so good to him during that challenging period. He said he felt that was the only way he could show appreciation and the initiative, since its existence in year 2000, has affected many lives positively. It has carried out 504 successful open heart surgeries. Most of these surgeries are carried out in countries like

Israel, India, Sudan, London and in Nigeria.

How was life before the calling?

I am a person of opportunities; I have had offers from various places. I have worked as a Sports Council Public Relations Officer; I have played for Spartans, Julius Berger, Plateau United and later played for the national team. I also read journalism; I worked for Champion and I started a sports newspaper publication as well as launched Sports Play. I am also widely travelled. Honestly, with the little experience I have gained so far, I would say that I have seen it all. I have also come to a conclusion that this life is vanity. This has also poised me to always put smile on the faces of people. If you cannot affect lives irrespective of what you are or what you have, you have come to live an empty life on earth.

A lot of churches have been facing moral decadence, who should be blamed?

The Bible has already stated that perilous times shall come in the last days and I can say that we are in the time now. This is a clear sign that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near. Much as you see fake pastors, there are also fake accountants, engineers, among others. But we will not refuse to do the right thing because of the fact that fake pastors are rampant. It is sad and uncalled for that the church has witnessed ungodly things. Meanwhile, we should also not forget that the more the

society increases, the more the challenges increase. The increase in unemployment will lead to high rate of various kinds of crime because people will want to survive.

However, we should not because of this lower the standard; a lot of clerics now use shortcuts. I remember what I went through before I was ordained as a pastor.

My colleagues and I were consecrated for a week without food except water. We were camped somewhere and could not have access to our families. We passed through Bible colleges, schools of disciples and

other rudiments, even at my age. But a lot of clerics boycott the process.

What would you recommend as solution to the current economic challenges?

President Muhammadu Buhari may not be the ‘messiah,’ but he has done something. It will get to a point that people will run away when they were asked to come and contest in this country, because people are becoming more enlightened. I know we will overcome these problems. I just want to urge people to begin to look inwards and appreciate made-in-Nigeria products. I also want to use this medium to advise people to be conscious of what they eat and embrace moderation.

With your experience, why do you think clerics are now more concerned about getting members, rather than the quality of the message?

Many people tend to misinterpret the Bible. The Bible is God’s supermarket, because you will find anything you want in it. It is sad that people still fall victim to temptations and various problems despite the fact that they have access to the Bible. I have found that people are lazy to study the Bible or even fast. Now, some people tell their pastors to fast for them.

Personally, I can fast and pray for myself, the church and intercede for the nation, but no one can mandate me to do that on his or behalf. No one can manipulate you once you understand the scriptures.

44 tribunechurch

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

The Vicar, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Odo Ona, Ibadan, Oyo State; Venerable O.I. Ogunrinde, assisted by the sexton, Mr Femi Bola, during the washing of the feet ceremony, at the Maundy Thursday service, held at the church.

Continued from pg41

Bishop of Osun State diocese, Anglican Communion, The Right Reverend Afolabi Popoola, in his message stated that “Easter is a celebration of the victory of Jesus and is a symbol of what God is ready to do in a difficult situation. Jesus went through a difficult situation and it was like going from darkness to light and eventually, light prevailed. It is a period of darkness for Nigeria but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Nigerians should be positive in thinking and we also need a spirit of sacrifice. We should also be involved in self discipline. It will get better for Nigeria.”

We should remain thankful to God —Bishop Badejo Bishop Emmanuel A. Badejo of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, in his Easter message called “on all children of God to practice Jesus’ humility, forgiveness, generosity and love. It takes determination to do so. Let us be part of the solution to somebody’s challenge, to some bad situation rather than be the problem. We will be blessed in return. Positive change necessarily brings some discomfort but we must pay the price. We need more honesty and determination from our leaders, to do what is right.

Let them bring relief to millions who are suffering and desperate to see the fruits of the anti-corruption campaign in infrastructure improvement and economic relief. It is about time for Nigerians to have something tangible as evidence of a new, well-meaning government. Such newness is the core message of Easter.

“Let the people of Nigeria remain thankful to God for life and for where we are. Things could be worse. Challenges are part of life but they will be overcome as long as we resolve together to do so.

Let us take God and the things of the spirit more seriously. The true spirit of Easter and the forty days of fasting and repentance that led to it is that we all must constantly renew our lives to get better. Too much comfort, too much power, too much food and drink can all hurt you permanently. But you cannot be too good or too peaceful or too kind.

‘There is light at the end of the tunnel’ You will always be rewarded. You cannot have too much of God. Remember that even Jesus seemed to have lost his battle at death but in the end he became a name that is greater than any other name. It is for him we shout Alleluia, as based in Philippians 2: 5-11.”

It is a period of restoration – Makinwa Chairman, Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), Oyo State, Pastor Makinwa J. Olu, in his Easter message based on 1Corinthians 15:14, prayed for restoration for all.

According to him, “Remember, God created the entire universe and nothing is too difficult for Him. God created you.

He is alive today, and His love is bigger

We need more honesty and determination from our leaders, to do what is right.

Let them bring relief to millions who are suffering and desperate to see the fruits of the anti-corruption campaign in infrastructure improvement and economic relief.

than any problem you may face. There are different cases in the Bible of people whose hope of restoration seemed impossible, yet, they experienced divine restoration at the right time. Just believe that with God all things are possible.

“He who is Life can surely restore life.

Whoever believes in Him has a spiritual life that death cannot touch or diminish in any way. When we realise His power and how wonderful His offer to us really is, how can we help but commit our lives to Him. Jesus Christ alone possesses all power in heaven and on earth to forgive sins, heal all manners of sicknesses and disease give victories, protection and other blessings. He alone is able to resurrect every hope and above all, He alone gives eternal life, by which the believer escapes eternal hell fire. Therefore, let your hope be in Christ at all times; and all upon Him, you will be totally free from all the challenges and bondages of the powers of the kingdom of darkness facing you henceforth, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Our leaders should use the period to reflect, embrace service –Amoo The General Overseer of Laughter Foundation Ministries (LFM), Ibadan chapter, Bishop Olukunle Amoo, who noted the importance of Easter for Christians, stated that “The whole essence of Christianity is Easter, which is the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died and resurrected on the third day which makes it a very significant period for every Christians.

Christians should be very sober in this period; they should persevere. Our leaders should use this period to reflect on how the nation will move forward. They should be prayerful and ready to serve the people as Jesus served his people.”

Our patriotism must be held high at this time –Hajoh Senior Pastor of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Ilorin, Kwara State, Pastor Muyiwa Hajoh, in his message stated that “The resurrection of Christ implies that death has been conquered and has no dominion over us anymore. So, any pathway of death such as diseases, barrenness, discouragement, etc., has been conquered already. As we celebrate this season, we must realise that Christ took all our negativity and gave us life in all ramifications. This is so overwhelming! I hereby implore all

Easter brings us grace, mercy and favour —Olaiya The pastor in charge of Christ Apostolic Church, Gbaremu Center, Pastor Adebayo Olaiya described Easter as a special day that doesn’t change its day and that never change.

He stated that the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ always brings us grace, mercy and favour; He uses His blood as a ransom for our sins.

Olaiya urged Christians to use this period to ask for divine mercy from God for divine intervention concerning the state of the nation.

Nigerians to maintain this order of love, peace and tranquillity. Let us stay away from violence and religious conflicts.

Our patriotism must be held high at this time as we all join together to celebrate this great nation, Nigeria.

45 tribunechurch

Sunday Tribune

WayBacktoGod

dawnofanewera with Most Revd J.O. Akinfenwa

By Pastor Abraham O. Akinosun, 0803 345 6369, 0807 173 3072

Bishop of Ibadan Anglican Diocese

...But the labourers are few Continued from last week MAY the Lord deliver His church from lukewarmness and inertia.

Lukewarmnessrefers to our bad habit of not showing appreciable enthusiasm, excitement, seriousness or conviction about our faith and the preaching of it to others.

Inertia refers to our unwillingness to act or to move so that the Gospel message can advance with us. I pray again, may God deliver us from lukewarmness and inertia, in Jesus’ name.

It is that inertia that the Lord usually deals with when he creates circumstances that compels His servants to move. When the apostles and the early disciples developed inertia in Jerusalem (Acts chapters 6 to 8), something had to happen to scatter them into other places as our Lord had commanded in Acts 1: 8; Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

May we not wait for persecution before we do the will of the Lord. That is why we should always do the work of evangelism.

We must always be on the move as the Holy Spirit directs. In his time on earth, our Lord did not allow success to make him overstay his divine timing in any place. Once his work was done, he moved on.

Mark 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

27 March, 2016

In fact, there was a time that in a particular place, the people actually wanted to make Jesus king. He quickly escaped! John 6:1415: John 6:14-15 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Our Lord kept evangelizing; and we must too. We must keep fulfilling our divine mandate. We must not allow lukewarmness or inertia in our lives. Apostle Paul says: 2 Timothy 4:1-2 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

May the grace of God so overwhelm usthat we become preachers of the Gospel by instinct. Jeremiah said: Jeremiah 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any. More in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

May the word of God set us on fire for the Lord. May we become habitual and instinctive preachers of the Gospel. And may the Lord grant us plentiful harvest of souls as we go to reap for Him in His field that is ripe for harvest. Amen.

Living a life of light and salt in this sinful world TEXT: Matthew 5:13-16 - “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

My dear brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ, I greet you today with a cheerful heart because our Lord is risen. The sorrow of the past three days is over, now we are filled with joy. Because Satan and his host are put to shame by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we look beyond the cross and grave with hope. When Jesus died on that Friday and was buried, His followers felt that there was no more hope; the enemies rejoiced that the battle was won but Jesus Christ defeated the devil by His glorious resurrection.

Meanwhile the topic of my message is: Living a life of light and salt in this sinful world. Usually giving our life to Christ wholly isn’t easy because we prefer worldly pleasure to Christ life style. But as Christians, Jesus said we are the light of the world. Wherever light is, it will be conspicuously seen, distinguishing itself, bringing its radiance and transparency. Christ

means such for Christians, that was the more reason he made this good comparison of Christian life with that of Light. The second thing he compared Christians with is Salt. He said we are the salt of the earth.

If we consider this metaphor we will see that among other ingredients, salt excelled.

Without salt there would be no sweetening and whatever one cooked would be tasteless. Therefore, light and salt give a glimpse of what a Christian life should be. Hence, those things that will make Christian life to be light and salt are as follows: 1.

Obedience to the Lord: The call of Jesus comes before any call of this world.

Our obedience to Him must take priority over our obedience to any other obligations or duties we may feel we have. Jesus does not want us to neglect our families but our families are never to pull us away from following the Lord. When there is a conflict, Jesus must always come first. So much so that at another point in time Jesus indicated that our love for our families must look like hatred in comparison to our love for Him. Therefore, obeying the law and precepts of the Lord bring about being light and salt amongst others. Abraham obeyed God and he was later called “the father of faith.” He brought light to his generation and generation after him because through his seed would all the world be blessed.

This distinguished Abraham among others and the life of a Christian must be different from others (i.e. the unbelievers).

ANCEDRAM tasks Christian artistes on divine duty

By Rita Okonoboh THE All Nigeria Conference of Evangelical Drama Ministers (ANCEDRAM), has called on all Christians involved in the art of drama and film making to focus on their divine calling as artistes, which is to spread the gospel.

Speaking at a world conference to herald the 20th anniversary of the organisation, held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) campground, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, last week, officials of ANCEDRAM, who reiterated the importance of using drama for evangelisation, called on Christian drama artists to embrace the use of technology, in line with the dictates of the gospel.

According to the Chairman, Board of Trustees of ANCEDRAM, Evangelist Mike Bamiloye, “The association is the umbrella body of all Christian drama artists and is committed to preaching the gospel, represented in our active presence in the thirtysix states of the federation, including the FCT, as well as outside Nigeria. We preach the gospel in order to win souls for Christ.

The association provides training, mentorship, and divine direction for all that want to minister through drama. Works are readily made available to television stations to neutralise the effects of negative drama productions. 90 per cent of Christian movies available in Nigeria are productions of members of ANCEDRAM.” ‘Things would have been worse, but for the church’ The National President of ANCEDRAM,

From left, Evangelist Johnson Kamaja; Pastor Moses Makinde; National President, Professor Lekan Asikhia; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Evangelist Mike Bamiloye (middle); Chairman, planning committee, Reverend Yemi Adepoju; Evangelist Kolade Okeowo and Evangelist Biola Jesulowo, all of the All Nigeria Conference of Evangelical Drama Ministers (ANCEDRAM), at the conference.

Professor Lekan Asikhia, who reiterated the commitment of the organisation towards ensuring the growth of Christianity in Nigeria and worldwide, through the production of quality drama that will affect society positively, in his address, stated that “things could have been worse but for the church. More has been done but more still needs to be done and there is serious work in progress regarding training and subtitling. Drama artistes also need to understand the importance of spiritual preparation.”

Head of Management, Redemption

Television Ministry, Pastor Badmus Bamisile, who appreciated the efforts of ANCEDRAM, especially in the provision of quality content, called on members of the organisation to step up efforts. He also called on ANCEDRAM to do more on effects, packaging, media visibility and popularisation.

Chairman of the planning committee and past president of ANCEDRAM, Pastor Yemi Adepoju, in his comments called for support for the organisation and invited the general public to the activities for the 20th anniversary scheduled

to hold between 6th to 10th April at the House of Favour, Ogun Province 4, RCCG campground, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and will feature Pastor (Mrs) Folu Adeboye, Mr Segun Ariyo, Evangelist Mike Bamiloye, Evangelist Shola Mike-Agboola, among others.

In a courtesy visit by members of ANCEDRAM to World Dove Media, the Managing Director/CEO, Pastor Dele Oke, also appreciated the relationship between the RCCG and ANCEDRAM, and promised to give more support to the organisation.

46

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

feature

Cabs of fear Oyo residents’ tales for the Micra n the city of Ibadan, many commutters now dread boarding Micra cabs as a result of the increasing stories of kidnap for rituals allegedly linked to the now popular cab brand. OLUWATOYIN MALIK and TADE MAKINDE report series of events surrounding the Micra taxis.

S

UKANMI, a young man in his late teens, sullenfaced, joined a group of young men three Tuesdays ago at a location in Ibadan, Oyo State and immediately cut short their discussion when he said: “Brother Ope, won ma ti gbe Biola lo. (Brother Ope, Biola has been kidnapped).

Biola was his neighbour from Iseyin. He had sent Sukanmi a text message that the Micra car that he had taken to Alomaja on the outskirts of the city had veered off the route after the front seat occupier had pulled a gun on them, threatening to kill the three passengers at the back, if they did not do as instructed. He had sent the text message before the captives’ phones were forcibly taken from them by their captors.

One of the young men asked Sunkanmi to call Biola’s

number right before them to confirm if it was a crank text message or not. But he couldn’t reach his neighbour.

Confused Sukanmi did not know what to do, so he had come to Ope. He asked if they should inform the police, but Ope merely shrugged. “I am sure he will find his way home,” he replied.

They did not report the incident at any police station.

Somewhere at Amuloko also on the outskirts of Ibadan in January, another Micra cab driver was on the prowl in a neighbourhood. Outside of an apartment, he saw a playful little girl all alone and swiftly “kidnapped” the one and a half year old toddler. He was said to have driven off in a blinding speed. The dust he raised caught the attention of a man who called other neighbours. An investigation later revealed that the mother had been busy watching a

movie at home and had not noticed that her daughter had crawled out of the apartment. “No amount of wailing has brought the baby back,” Yinusa Adeojo, a neighbour told Sunday Tribune.

For a long time, Biola went mising until penultimate Sunday when he showed up alone at home. Nobody knew what happened to him and how he had got back home.

“It was obvious that something terrible had been done to him,. One minute, he would ask for food; another minute he would just be mumbling. He would ask for eba one minute and start singing, or telling those around that he was seeing blood in another minute,” narrated Sunkanmi.

From what the young man eventually told his relatives Continues pg 47

47

feature

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

‘…‘One chance’ happens in all parts of Nigeria’ John Erochukwu (46).

“When searched, charms, laptops, phones and the syndicate’s operational vehicle, a Nissan Primera with registration number CM 452 LSR were recovered from the suspects. Their confession revealed that they relocated from Lagos to Ibadan recently and had duped many people,” he narrated.

The union we end this menace —Fele In a recent report, Oyo State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde a.k.a Fele, said the problem with the Micra vehicles is that they are not only from Oyo State; but also from Ogun, Osun, Ondo and other states. “We need a backing from law enforcement agencies to tackle this menace,” he said.

He added that “the union is doing all it can to bring an end to this. We need agencies’ support in fighting this crime because we can’t do it alone.”

Leye Oyebade, Oyo State Commissioner of Police

Taofeek ‘Fele’ Oyerinde, Oyo State NURTW Chairman

Continued from pg 46

plaining that the negative impression that has been created among commuters is not helping matters, as they are not getting customers like they used to. Everybody is now wary of young boys behind Micra wheels. That is not good for this business.

But men are not the only ones desperate for money. I gave a woman a ride one day and she told me that most men who have ‘roaming’ eyes are getting punished by some girls who use juju to extract money from them.

Most ladies out there are into unworthy ventures of getting money. These are hard times, but I don’t believe one should resort to taking another’s life for quick wealth,” he said.

As Biola slid into what Sunkanmi said was “madness”, the family has decided to send him to the village where they believe he could be cured as his case needs spiritual attention. “We don’t believe that the young man can get cured, if we don’t take him home for treatment,” he said.

It’s not all gloomy though as the police have consistently done their best to curb the growing menace of kidnaps either for rituals or extortion. Some members of the criminal gangs operating as commercial cab operators have fallen into police net as they have been arrested by the Oyo State Police command.

In one of the cases, members of a robbery syndicate which relocated from Lagos State to Ibadan and specialised in robbing members of the public by pretending to be commercial cab operators were arrested by the antikidnapping squad of the command.

Disclosing this to Sunday Tribune during the parade of the suspects, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade, said that the arrest was based on information received from a strategic partner.

“The anti-kidnapping squad of the command went to the hotel where members of the syndicate lodged along Ijokodo/Apete road and arrested three of them namely Femi Mapo (47), a Ghanaian, Samuel Kofi Addo (55) and

before he finally became incoherent few hours later, he said that he had been taken to Delta State where the two other kidnapped fellows were killed right before his eyes.

He said that the ritualist had told his captors that he (Biola) was not suitable for the ritual they were set to carry out and should be let loose.

Biola also told his people that he was in another realm by that time as all he could smell around him was blood.

There were many headless bodies lumped together in a big ditch he was said to have revealed.

Lately, in the city of Ibadan kidnap stories woven around Micra cab drivers have become common place, creating fears in the hearts of those who still commute from one place to another in the small-sized Nissan product. Parents have not stopped to drum it in the ears of their children that they should not board Micra cars to school or market. The fear of young men driving Micra cabs is the beginning of wisdom for many.

Known for its fuel efficiency, demand for the car soared almost as it got to the shores of Nigeria. It has displaced VW Golf 3 car as a means of transport in the city. With five litres of fuel, a driver said he could get to Lagos before buying more fuel.

“For a transport man, that makes economic sense,” Bashir Adejo, a driver said.

The small size makes it easy to manoevre even in tight areas. The drivers’ brashness on the road, however, infuriates other road users while most passengers are now only concerned about their safety following reports and rumours that the brand of taxi is now used to kidnap innocent commuters.

An old man, Dejo Salami, who could not understand the incessant urge of young Nigerians to make quick money said: “Most of us the old drivers are now losing customers, as many have stopped riding in Micra. We have heard reports of kidnaps for ritual purposes, but it still doesn’t prove that drivers are ritualists,” he said.

Another taxi driver, Dola Adebanji, admitted to Sunday Tribune that he had not only heard about allegations that Micra cab drivers are now largely fingered, but had also been to both Iyaganku and Eleyele police stations several times where he found many Micra cabs parked there.

“It is not for me to say that young guys are responsible for the reported killings and kidnaps, but many old drivers like us are worried about the rate at which young boys, and even girls, are looking for money these days. I don’t know why patience has become scarce among our young ones. They want to make easy and quick money and are ready to do anything to make it.

“My colleagues who are driving Micra cars are com-

My colleagues who are driving Micra cars are complaining that the negative impression that has been created among commuters is not helping matters, as they are not getting customers like they used to

We are still mapping out other strategies for more arrests —Oyo CP Speaking on what the Oyo State Police Command had been doing to curb the activities of criminal syndicates using Micra taxis to commit atrocities, Mr Oyebade said that it had mostly depended on information from members of the public, while adding that a number of arrests made had been of ‘one chance’ suspects.

According to Oyebade, “since I came on board we have been trying to manage crime from the perspective of community partnership and it has been working well. Police cannot work without input from members of the public.

“With information processed into intelligence, we have been able to arrest members of this syndicate coded as ‘one chance’. The method is that an unsuspecting commuter would board a cab unknown to him or her that other occupants who would have come in at different points belong to the syndicate.

“They would start a story line and one thing would lead to the other. They would thereafter dupe the person. The most popular is the dollar story. As I said, we have arrested a number of them but we still need more information.”

He also pointed out that ‘one chance’ is not peculiar to Oyo State. “What is popularly called ‘one chance’ happens in all parts of Nigeria. But in Oyo State, we have mapped out a strategy to know where the incidents are prevalent.

“With the statements of victims, we use the information to go to areas mentioned. We are also going to start using a strategy that will help in arresting them, but I will not want to disclose it. Our records have shown that we have arrested suspects in connection with ‘one chance’.”

The police commissioner noted that Micra vehicles are being operated under the purview of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), saying that he had mapped out a programme to reduce the incessant reports of its use to commit crime.

He disclosed that motor parks would be made sectors, so that Micra taxis operating within the area where a motor park is would be registered, with the details of its owner and driver taken.

“We will ask them to have a leader who will interact with our policemen with sensitisation programmes arranged for them. If we have their records, we will be able to manage them and their operations effectively.

“Those that are not duly registered would be encouraged to do so. Through that, the aliens among them would be marked out and driven away. Also, those on record can be monitored. The same thing will be done for commercial motorcyclists.

“If we are able to put them in sectors, we will give them different colours of aprons which would be numbered.

For example, if anyone commits havoc and the victim is able to identify the driver or okada rider as wearing blue apron with number 5, and we know that blue apron is for Oluyole, then we would look for the name on Number 5.

That way, we would be able to identify those using Micra and motorcycles to perpetrate crime.”

In spite of this concerted effort by the police to arrest the criminals using Micra as their convenient getaway vehicle, the stories surrounding the cab persist and have continued to grow. This for the people of Oyo State, the fear of Micra… is a sound lesson on safety.

48

27 March, 2016

children’sarena

T

f o y r o t s i h Brief

HE name Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon name for April, Eostermunath. It means the month of beginnings. In the early years of Christianity, there was a dispute over the date of Easter. In 325, the Nicean Council decided it should be on the first Sunday after the full moon, after the Spring Equinox. That is why the date of Easter changes each year.

Friday is the day of the week when Jesus was crucified. It is called Good Friday because good means holy. On that day, people eat hot cross buns. The origins of hot cross buns are obscure but in pagan times, people baked buns and offered

What Easter means to us

Respondents are pupils of SANYAOLU Memorial Nursery

and Primary School, Anfani-Layout, Ibadan.

Enoch Olage, 8yrs, pry 3

Easter is the celebration of the death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is also a season of celebrations.

My mum always takes me out during Easter to play with my friends and family members.

Dele Ojo, 10 yrs, pry 4 Easter simply means the remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus. Christians all over the world do celebrate during this season. I usually go to my friend’s house during this period to celebrate with their family.

I always enjoy myself during this period.

Mercy Ogunkanmi, 10 yrs, pry 5 Easter means a lot to me because it signifies the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; I tend to learn from how Jesus was killed and how he rose up again on the third day. I always look forward to this period and I always go to church to celebrate because there is always service at church for the celebration of Easter.

people were keen to eat eggs when Easter arrived! Some people also said that the egg represented the tomb of Jesus (although long before Christianity, eggs were a pagan symbol of fertility).

In the Middle Ages, people painted Easter eggs red but by the 18th century people bought artificial eggs made of various materials to give as gifts at Easter. (Sometimes the artificial eggs contained gifts).

Chocolate Easter eggs were first made in the 19th century.

Easter Quiz

1.

Christians fast during Lent for 40 days to replicate which biblical event?

2. Easter Day in the year 2000 fell on 23rd April - the same day which European country celebrates its Nation Beer Day? 3. How long does Eastertide last?

4. How many alternating kisses are exchanged after the Paschal greeting at Easter?

5. In which country would you find the "Salubong" (wherein large statues of Jesus and Mary are brought together to meet) celebrated at dawn on Easter morning?

6. In which three languages was 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews' written on a notice at Jesus' cross?

7. Linen is the name for Easter in which language?

8. The Bible records two processions in the first Holy Week. The first was on Palm Sunday as Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem, but when did the second take place?

9. The Easter egg is a symbol of what burial chamber?

10. What is the name given to the street in Jerusalem where Jesus walked his path, carrying the cross, on his way to crucifixion?

11. What is the name given to the Thursday before Easter Day? 12. What liquid, other than water, was offered to Jesus on the cross?

13. What name is given to the Saturday that falls between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

14. What name was given to those who took Jesus' dead body, embalmed it with aloes and myrrh, wrapped it in clean linen, and placed it in a tomb?

15. What type of hunt traditionally takes place on Easter Day - Fox, Wild Grouse, Bear or Egg? ANSWER 1. Jesus’ spending 40 days in the wilderness 2. Germany 3. 50 days 4. Three (3) 5. Philippines 6. Aramaic, Latin, and Greek 7. Finnish 8. As Jesus carried the cross to Calvary 9. Jesus' empty tomb 10. The Via Dolorosa/Way of Grief/Way of Suffering 11. Maudy Thursday 12. Vinegar 13. Holy Saturday 14. Myrrhbearers 15. Egg Hunt

Kanyinsola Famulusi, 9 yrs, pry 3

Easter is always a period when I’m always grateful to Jesus for his love for me. I always celebrate it with joy and gladness in my heart. I’m also very happy during this period because my mother takes me out to enjoy myself and to have a nice time with her. This year, she will take me to a Shopping mall and eatery.

Olaide Sokoya ollydesanmi@yahoo.com 0807 449 7425

Easter

them to the gods. Cross buns with the cross representing the cross of Jesus were first mentioned in the 18th century. In the early 19th century people sold hot cross buns on the street from stalls and so they became known as 'hot' cross buns.

The Easter bunny was originally a hare because hares were fertility symbols in the pagan religion and they continued to be associated with Easter after people were converted to Christianity. Because people in the USA were unfamiliar with hares, the Easter hare became a rabbit.

In the Middle Ages, Christians were forbidden to eat eggs during Lent (the forty days before Easter). Not surprisingly,

Anjola Oluremi, 7 yrs, pry 3

Sunday Tribune

Easter means the celebration of the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection on the third day. It is a very important period for me and my family because we celebrate it in my house. We go for thanksgiving in the church on Sunday, we go for shopping and mummy cooks for everyone in the family. We use this period to unite with our families, friends and relatives to celebrate together.

49

opinion

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

New post master general: Open letter to Buhari, Shittu

By Ishola Okediran

Y

our labour over the past 10 months to clear the rot of several decades under successive administrations will not be in vain in the name of God. This letter would have been unnecessary but for the process initiated by your administration to fill the vacant office of the Post Master General of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST). The letter becomes more necessary because I am a stakeholder in the system. Besides the fact that I have relations working in NIPOST, the nature of my job as a pastor makes the institution one of the public concerns I patronise every now and then. To reach thousands of my flock across the country, I post letters to them, especially when phoning them would not serve my purpose.

Outside these two reasons for which I will do anything to protect NIPOST so that it does not come to harm, the institution has become a major revenue earner for Nigeria. The Stamp Duties dispensation that rakes billions into government coffers is coordinated by NIPOST. Following the new status of this public institution as a money spinner, the question of who occupies its topmost office should be a matter of concern to all and sundry. And in a situation where the office is vacant, many interests will jostle to fill it. Meanwhile, the interests will have different motives, ranging from the good to the bad, the ugly and the ridiculous. It is now left for the authorities to investigate the different motives with a view to distinguishing the genuine from the selfish and the fraudulent.

For instance, amid the moves to appoint the new Post Master General, the story making the rounds is that some people are scheming to alter the process with a view to arriving at some pre-determined ends. What do I mean by pre-determined ends? The schemers are said to have some unfinished assignment in NIPOST. Sometime last year, the

schemers, according to sources inside NIPOST, showed interest in some landed property of the institution.

The property was said to have been estimated to cost several billions of naira. The schemers wanted to acquire the property illegally but the management would not sell.

That should have been the end of it all, but the schemers were determined to have their way. The moves to appoint a substantive Post Master General appear to be the perfect opportunity they had been looking for to renew their property acquisition bid. Now they seem bent on install-

ing their candidate as the NIPOST boss. Dear President and Honourable Minister, imagine what the schemers can do the moment their candidate becomes the Post Master General.

I also have on good authority that some of these people are already attempting to hoodwink the honourable Minister of Communication, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, to be on their side just so those who know, and who can sustain the momentum of change in NIPOST would be sidelined in the recruitment process.

NIPOST may have to bid farewell to the valued property even when it is obvious that it has been acquired by the schemers through the back door. It does not seem right that this should happen under a government that seeks to clear the rot in the system, reverse the lack of transparency that had become a way of life in our nation, and remove for good the impunity that held sway under successive administrations in Nigeria. One is gratified that due process has fully returned to the country under your administration. Should the schemers have their way and their candidate becomes the Post Master General, it would be like returning the nation to its sordid and inglorious past. God forbid that we should have that scenario.

Rather than have a chief executive officer of NIPOST that emerges through a skewed process and be sure to dance to the tunes of those who facilitated his appointment, the Post Master General we need is the one that is most qualified for the office, and has demonstrated the capacity to do the job, especially at the point that NIPOST has become a major revenue earner for the country. Mr President and Honourable Minister, kindly insist that the right Post Master General is in place to sustain the momentum of performance in the sector because the most qualified people have been sidelined. •Okediran is an Ibadan-based pastor.

As Lasun Yusuff becomes Bashorun Obaagun Wole Oladimeji YESTERDAY, 26 March, 2016, all roads led to Ifelodun Local Government Area of Osun State, where His Royal Majesty, Oba Jimoh Adebisi Okunade Kayode II conferred the chieftaincy title of the Bashorun of Obaagun on the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, The Right Honourable Lasun Yusuff. The title of the Yeye Bashorun of Obaagun was confered on his amiable wife, Hajia Omowunmi Rasheedat Yusuff.

The occasion, which coincided with the 30th coronation anniversary of Oba Kayode II, was designed to honour illustrious sons and daughters of the town.

For Honourable Lasun, who was born on 4 October 1960 to the family of Alhaji Amuda Yusuff at the sleepy town of Ilobu in old Oyo State (now Osun State), it was another feather to his cap.

The story of Honourable Lasun remains a mystery because little did he know that destiny will one day place him in a position of authority that will afford him the opportunity to wine and dine among the high and mighty in the country. However, as Almighty Allah will have it through the mandate given to him by his people, he has been able to clinch the number six seat of the country.

Lasun, who combined brilliance with native intelligence after clinching the coveted number six position in the country, was quickly given a constitutional role of being the chairman of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution.

Having proved that he has the stuff in the country by showing the qualities in all the functions he attended outside the country, he was made the first Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.

His peers at the House were always quick to hail Lasun!!! anytime he proved himself at plenary or at any function.

Nobody ever thought he could do it but within a short time, the Deputy Speaker has proved that occupying the seat is no rocket science.

Born without silver spoon in his mouth, his growing up was very challenging, yet he weathered the storm and against all odds. Lasun, at the time many of his peers took to farming, decided to pursue Western Education and passed his Primary School Living Certificate in 1970.

His secondary education was remarkable, and because he

was a brilliant student, the then Oyo State government awarded him a scholarship between 1977 and 1979.

He later proceeded to the prestigious University of Ibadan where he studied Engineering. He graduated with a BSc. (Hons) (Mechanical Engineering).

Lasun, a devout Muslim, felt the urgent need to add value to the lives of his people in Osogbo/Olorunda /Irepodun /Orolu Federal Constituency of Osun State whom he thought were not being properly represented at the Federal Legislature.

Therefore, in 2011, he sought the mandate of his people and was elected into the House of Representatives. While in the House, he contributed his own quota to the legislative business of the green chamber. He was made the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Water Resources. It is on record that due to effective legislative oversight given to the Ministry of Water Resources by Lasun and his colleagues, that ministry was the most outstanding under the last administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Because his people felt his impacts as an able representative, it was not difficult for him to get a return ticket during the 2015 election.

However, on June 9, 2015, his story changed for good.

Allah’s destiny for him manifested. On that historic day,

he fought and won an electoral battle against all odds.

Signs that he would emerge as Deputy Speaker became obvious even before the votes were cast as his nomination and announcement by the clerk of the House were greeted with thunderous ovation to underscore the love that his colleagues has for him. He defeated his challenger, Honourable Tahir Monguno of Borno State by polling 203 votes as against Monguno’s 153. The exercise, which took place after Rt. Honourable Yakubu Dogara was declared Speaker, was not only a huge surprise to political pundits, but it was also divine.

Although his political family in the South West was eyeing the speakership position which the zone lost narrowly to Hon Dogara, his calculation and political sagacity saved the zone from total humiliation.

Lasun, a loyal party man, also believes in the independence of the legislature as an arm of government. Although his emergence ruffled some feather, his people quickly saw wisdom in his political calculation and embraced him. He is today seen by many as a hero of the Eighth Assembly.

Because of the role he played to emerge as Deputy Speaker, today, the South West zone can pride itself as a major stakeholder in the House. The zone now has both the Deputy Speaker and the Majority Leader.

As Deputy Speaker, Lasun has been an able lieutenant to Dogara. He has not only been loyal to him but has given him support to face the daunting task of piloting the affairs of the House.

He is well respected not only in Osun State but in the entire country. His humane disposition and his passion for the well-being of the people of the South west in general have endeared him to the people of the zone.

His people in Ilobu see him as the face of change that is reshaping the entire landscape of Nigeria. No wonder elated members of his town development union told him in clear terms that they are solidly behind him. They said that their community has never got to this enviable level in their political history. They described him as the true son of the soil.

The new chieftaincy title conferred on the Deputy Speaker is another feather to his cap and we can only wish him long life and more service to his fatherland.

Oladimeji is Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker.

50

opinion

27 March, 2015

Sunday Tribune

The ideal public schools: Lessons from Ondo’s mega schools

By Damilola Akinyele

I

N Nigeria, many children are at risk of never attending or completing formal education, especially those from low socio-economic backgrounds, in rural areas, those with illnesses and disabilities, or places marred by conflict, yet every human has a right to education as made clear in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Around the world, more than 70 million children are still out of school, but progress is being made towards ensuring that many who are excluded have the opportunity to attend.

Although there are discussions on the purpose of education, how education is being done, quality education, and the institution of schooling, it is important to have these institutions in place that ensure that all children can realise their potential, choose their aspirations, and achieve their aims.

Tesconi, in his book Good Schools reminds us of the primary purposes of public schooling-it was invented for the purpose of the public, not for a school that will cater to like-minded parents, wealthy parents, or parents who anticipate the future of their students, e.g., ‘If I send my children to school A, they have a chance of becoming president.’ Public school is the great equaliser. In the 19th century, Thomas Jefferson and others championed the cause of public schooling and described it as an opportunity for children, independent of their social or economic status.

In Nigeria, the growth of the population, the inadequate infrastructure,are among the challenges. According to UNICEF, 40% of children aged 6-11 do not attend primary school. Although Nigeria is implementing the mandatory free Universal Basic Education (UBE) law, the facilities, structures, curriculum, management, and outcomes of this education are deteriorating. The question then becomes; ‘Is public schooling providing a fairness of educational opportunity for Nigerians? A 2010 study on Nigeria shows that more than 26% of primary-age students are enrolled in private schools. This numbers are increasing due to the inefficiency of public schooling in Nigeria.

Ondo, a southwestern state in Nigeria, is reshaping how public education is being done in Nigeria. As of 2016, the state had built over 50 model primary schools.

The schools are categorised into type A & B. Type A can accommodate 1050 students, while type B can accommodate 525 students. Babatunde Fafunwa, a former minister of education in Nigeria in his book New Perspectives on African Educationm, called for a reappraisal of African education: the structures, the curriculum, the teacher quality - all issues that are being addressed in Ondo’s mega schools. The teachers in these schools have signed up to be lifelong learners, as teacher training is a priority of the education ministry in the state.

In a study released in 2014, researchers found that the lack of infrastructure can shape the outcome of students. Minor things such as air quality in buildings can profoundly.

Influence learning. The mega schools are structured so that students have access to playgrounds, rooms for art expressions, power generators for when electricity cuts off during the day, sick bays for when students are ill, good desk tables, chairs, and boards for students learning. For children around the world, a challenge to attending school is the distance to home factor.School buses have been provided fore very mega school in the 18 local governments, and students are being picked up before

and after school, increasing their chances of attending school, and keeping them off the streets after school.

The schools are also working with the mandate of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which means that poverty and lack of money are not a barrier to the students attending the schools: the schools are free of fees and the libraries are filled with learning materials that the government supplies to ensure that students or teachers are nothing short supply of lesson materials.

Although much has been achieved in recent years in the public education sector, and in Ondo State, there is still more that the nation needs to address: the why, how, and what of the education system in Nigeria.

Public schools in Nigeria must also address issues such as the lack of education funding, accountability for how the education budget is being distributed and spent, the lack of teachers, untrained teachers, the classroom structures- school infrastructure, adequate and relevant learning materials with provisions for students with disabilities.

In Ondo state, as with Nigeria, it is critical that there is a sustainability plan for these schools, even after the current governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko who has championed this cause leaves office. In the words of Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania “we must run while others walk.” In addition to educating for social capabilities, intrinsic reasons, education is an investment in the human capital. Educating every Nigerian is critical to our national development. Quality education for every child regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, geographic location, is a human right.

I look forward to a Nigeria where our public school systems are not only for children of a low socio economic status, but every Nigerian, because it is good educationan education that fosters development, social responsibility, critical and analytical skills, productivity, innovation, artistic expressions, and change.

• Akinyele, an education consultant, social researcher, can be reached on damiakinyele@gmail.com.

Danladi Umar: A judge and his many controversies

By Tope Ajayi THE on-going case against Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has continued to reveal more and more surprises. The recent one is Thursday’s admission by the tribunal chairman, Mr. Danladi Yakubu Umar, that the tribunal under his leadership erroneously delivered its 2011 verdict that discharged former Lagos State governor, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Umar made the surprising revelation while giving a ruling in a motion filed by Saraki’s lead counsel, Mr. Kanu Agabi, SAN, challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal on the basis that the condition precedent for filing the case was not fulfilled. Agabi had contended that on the basis that Saraki was not given the opportunity to either admit in writing or deny the alleged inconsistencies in the asset declaration form he filled in 2003 when he was Governor of Kwara State, the charges should be quashed as it was done in the Tinubu case.

The CCT Chairman, however, refused Agabi’s prayer on the grounds that the proviso in Section 3 (d) of the CCB and Tribunal Act has been negated by Paragraph 3 (e) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution. While noting that Tinubu was tried under the same constitution and law, which are still in operation till date, Umar admitted that the tribunal took an erroneous decision in the earlier case. He said: ”The judgment in the Tinubu case was delivered par in curiam. The tribunal has since realised that the decision it made on the case between FRN vs Tinubu was in error and has clearly departed from it”.

Umar’s reversal of himself on Thursday in the CCT’s verdict in the Tinubu case throws up a series of concerns with strong implications for the reputation of the CCT as a judicial institution of government and by extension, the integrity and credibility of the Nigerian judicial system in its entirety.

First, what kind of judge admits to giving a judgment in error? Was he influenced at the time he delivered this judgment?

Was he under duress? What has changed in our laws? Was it not the same 1999 constitution and the ode of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act that were used in the trial of Tinubu?

What should even be more worrying is the casual manner

with which Justice Danladi declared that his ruling five years ago was a mistake. Why, one would ask, did it take Justice Danladi Umar five years, and another case to realize that he made a mistake? What this unfortunate situation portrays is that Umar is either as an incompetent or an unreliable and an unstable dispenser of justice whose credibility and sense of judgment leave a lot to be desired. People like this should not be trusted with the fate of other human beings. Let us assume, for the purpose of argument that Umar’s ruling on the Tinubu case was truly a mistake as he claimed. Let us also assume that the ruling he gave then was a capital punishment that had been executed, is this the way he would so cynically dismiss it as an error just to fulfill a current political expediency? With this claim to error, Umar gives the impression that he was one judge that was willing to administer the law based on who the master is at a particular time.

With this claim to error, Justice Umar has unwittingly given credence to the allegations of corruption that has surrounded him. It will be recalled that Umar is presently on administrative bail from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an alleged corruption charge for which his personal assistant is still on trial. The PA was said to have received money from a defendant in a case before the Tribunal on behalf of his boss. The natural principle of justice stipulates that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. However, with the manner of his ruling last Thursday, Umar behaved like a man who was running from a demon he must appease if he must stay alive. It is one sad comment on the administration of justice in Nigeria that a man who himself is under trial for a criminal offence, is allowed to sit in judgment over another accused person.

Since the ignominious ruling last Thursday, several lawyers who were outraged by the ruling have roundly condemned it. One legal opinion is that the CCT is not competent to reverse itself on its earlier judgment as only a court of higher jurisdiction can reverse a ruling by the CCT. In this case, only the Appeal Court in the first instance can reverse or nullify a flawed judgment by the CCT, not the CCT itself.

It only the Supreme court that has power to reverse itself.

Umar held that the failure of the Code of Conduct Bu-

reau to meet certain conditions precedents before putting Saraki on trial was not weighty enough to discharge him and strike out the trial. He said section 3(d) of the Code of Conduct Tribunal Act, which made it a requirement for any defendant to be invited for confirmation or denial of discrepancies in the Assets form, had been overtaken by the provision of section 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution.

According to Umar, section 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution had rendered the condition precedent contained in the CCB Act unconstitutional because the provisions of the CCB Act were inconsistent with the constitution. Umar further said that the failure of the CCB to invite the defendant in the instant case had not ousted the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

Certainly, these are very contentious claims at best.

Subjecting Umar’s ruling on the Saraki trial to legal interpretation reveals that once again, Umar is threading a new path of error just as he did in the Tinubu trial. It has been pointed out that Umar’s recourse to Paragraph 3 (e) of the third paragraph of the 1999 Constitution, as the tribunal’s basis for not adhering to Section 3 (D) of the CCT Act smacks of mischief. It is argued that if the judge had gone further down to Section 3 (g), he would have found that there is nothing in the part of the constitution that he was citing that contradicts section 3(d) of the CCBT Act. Paragraph 3 (e) of the constitution’s Third Schedule states that the Bureau shall have power to “receive complaints about non-compliance with or breach of the provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law in relation thereto, investigate the complaint and, where appropriate, refer such matters to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.” Paragraph 3 (g) however states that the Bureau shall “carry out such other functions as may be conferred upon it by the National Assembly.”

Regardless of the legal arguments, what was clear from the ruling on Thursday was that Justice Umar was not his own man. There have been suspicions that he had been taking his instructions from outside the court. However, the manner he read the ruling on Thursday was the strongest confirmation so far that the hands that rule the judge were resident outside the courtroom.

• Ajayi writes from Lagos.

51

news

27 March, 2016

NLC crisis: NUBIFIE leaders arrested over alleged falsification of documents Chukwuma OkoparaochaLagos

T

HE crisis rocking the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has taken a new turn as the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Erase, is said to have ordered the arrest of leaders of the National Union of Banks, Insurance Companies, and Financial Institution Employees (NUBIFIE) on an alleged document falsification.

In a chat with the media, the National President of NUBIFIE, Comrade Dan-

juma Musa, said men of the Nigerian Police from Alagbon Division stormed the Yaba office of the union midweek and arrested some of its leaders, including the General Secretary, Comrade Mohammed Sheikh.

Other union members also arrested, according to the NUBIFIE president, included Comrade Etim E Okon, Comrade Abdulrasheed Lukman and Comrade Sola Aboderin, who were all taken to the Alagbon Police Station.

Musa while narrating the

union’s ordeal said: “before now, we were supposed to have held our delegate conference which would have produced a new set of executives, but these people ganged up and said if we hold it now, there is every possibility that myself, as a northerner, may return as president. They decided to tribalise the issue.

“They came up with a frivolous petition filed by one Barister Nna Chijoke, who used to be a union member of NUBIFIE, in conjunction with his wife, who happened to be an

Assistant Commissioner of Police, to harass our members, therefore destabilising the activities of the union. They came up with a petition last year alleging fraud by our union. Its purely an evil agenda,” he said.

When contacted, Barrister Nna Chijoke, said he was hired by Mr Godwin Izuwa and he was just doing his job, adding that he had had course to defend Comrade Danjuma Musa himself at a time. He further said it was wrong for anyone to have linked his wife with the matter.

Sunday Tribune

Group tasks govt, NGOs on eradication of TB

By Temitayo Iliasu THE Executive Director of the Movement Against Tuberculosis (TB), HIV\AIDS and Malaria in Nigeria (MATHAMAN) Mr Samuel Olawoye has called on the government, NGOs and private individuals to support the eradication of tuberculosis in the country.

He said this during a courtesy visit to the African Newspapers of Nigeria, Tribune House, Ibadan, Oyo State, as part of activities to promote tuberculosis awareness, in commemoration of the World Day for Tuberculosis.

According to Mr Olawoye, “TB is very much active in our society today. If it cannot be reduced to five patients out of 100,000 people, then, it is still rampant in the society”.

He also said that anyone could be affected and that was the reason MATHAMAN was creating awareness and community sensitisation in order to let people know that TB is curable and that treatment is readily available.

With him during the courtesy visit was the Medical Adviser, Damien Foundation, Belgium, Dr Adekola Adekunle, who called on Nigerians to look out for people with TB symptoms, which include coughing, chest pain, weight loss, and encourage them to seek treatment .

He also emphasised the need for everyone to come together in the fight against TB because it is an airborne disease which can affect anyone.

Sanitation: Landlords to pay for errant tenants’ sins —Ekiti speaker

The newly wedded couple, Mr Adedara Odugunwa and his wife, former Miss Oluwaseun Balogun, during their wedding ceremony held at Omo-Ilu Event Centre, Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, on Saturday. PHOTO: D’TOYIN

FG verifies ‘Chibok girl’ would-be suicide bomber Leon Usigbe-Abuja THE federal government is to send some members of the Chibok community to neighbouring Cameroon in order to verify whether the female suicide bomber arrested in Borno State on Friday is one of the missing schoolgirls abducted in Chibok almost two years ago.

According to a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by the president’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, the Minister of Women Affairs, Senator Aisha Alhassan and Nigerian high commissioner in Cameroon have already swung into action and are receiving a lot of cooperation from the Cameroonian authorities.

The statement said that it had confirmed that one of two girls claimed to be among the girls abducted from Chibok on April 14 last year, although there were doubts about the

claim following new information from Cameroon that the two girls are aged about 10 years.

“One of the two is also believed to be heavily drugged and therefore not in full control of her senses,” the statement added.

It said the Nigerian high commissioner in Cameroon, Ambassador Hadiza

Zakari Mustapha, had confirmed that the arrested girls may be brought to the capital, Younde, by Monday, at which point the High Commission will seek permission to meet with them.

The statement also revealed that the Murtala Mohammed Foundation has offered to cooperate

with Nigeriaan government in sponsoring two parents from Chibok who have been selected to embark on the trip to Cameroon.

The two are Yakubu Nkeki, Chairman of the Parents of the Abducted Girls from Chibok Association, and Yana Galang, the group’s women leader.

Pay your workers or else ... —CD THE Campaign for Democracy (CD) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgent public importance, address the problem of state governments not being able to pay their workers despite receiving a bailout to offset their debts.

In a press release signed

by Ifeanyi Odili and Adeusi Campbell, National Coordinator and Acting Secretary General respectively, the CD said: “it is appalling that state workers have

been subjected to servitude, mass hunger and poverty in the face of a government that promised to put smiles on people’s face.

“It is worthy to question the President on the rationale behind the policy of bailout he did for the state governors that were heavily owing their workers.

“It is sad that despite the bailout, most states, like Ondo, Niger, Osun, Delta, Ogun and among the states that have not paid their workers for four months,

thereby turning them to beggars and scavengers, yet the workers are expected to be punctual and those that get to work late due to lack of transport fares are punished. This act is ungodly.

“The state governments are called upon to live up to expectation by making the welfare of their workers paramount as contained in their campaign promises. Any government that fails to meet up with this obligation should get prepared to quit the stage.”

THE Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Honourable Kola Oluwawole, has warned that landlords whose tenants flout sanitation laws will, henceforth, be held responsible for such offences in the state.

Oluwawole gave this warning shortly after this month’s sanitation exercise which he monitored in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

According to a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Stephen Gbadamosi, on Saturday, Oluwawole, who monitored the exercise in company with the Commissioner for Environment, Chief Bisi Kolawole; Chairman of Ado Local Government, Mr Deji Ogunsakin; some Permanents Secretaries and other top government officials, however, commended the improved responsiveness to the exercise.

He said; “the commissioner for environment and his team did marvelously well. From Fajuyi area to Atikankan, there has been an improvement. I remember that the first time we came to Oja Bisi, it was an eyesore. But today, at least, the awareness is catching on.

“I want to warn our landlords that they are supposed to make sure that the occupants of shops clean their environments. If they don’t, they will be held responsible.

“What we did today was to go inside those houses to fish out owners to come and clean the front of the shops. Unfortunately, most people brought out their wares and littered the frontage. If the owners of the houses cannot supervise them, they are culpable.

“I appeal to our women that come to the market to be careful how they purchase meat, fish and so on.

“Our Iyalojas should educate their people that the three hours for the exercise should be adhered to.”

Kano state govt arrests 40 street beggars Kola Oyelere-Kano DETERMINED to eradicate street begging, the Kano State Hisbah Board has arrested 40 beggars in some locations within Kano metropolitan city.

Speaking at the board’s headquarters, the Head of AntiBeggar Operation of the command, Mallam Musa Ibrahim Tsangaya, said the arrested beggars were recently repatriated from Lagos state immediately after the government banned street begging.

He disclosed that the Kano State government would also not condone any form of street begging or any act capable of tarnishing the image of the state.

Tsangaya assured that the board would screen beggars to determine those to be empowered in order to make them self reliant rather than begging on the street to earn a living.

“Most of these beggars are not from the state. A proper screening would be conducted to ascertain those that are from the state, and those from other states would be relocated to their respective states,” he said.

52

southwestnews

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Kogi Assembly: I need legal advice —Arase

Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (right); wife of the governor, Dame (Mrs) Edith (second left); Senator Peter Nwobushi (left) and newly-wedded couple, Dr and Mrs Jude Igunbor, at their wedding ceremony.

DSS: Fayose rewards Ekiti Assembly member for ‘loyalty’ Sam Nwaoko - Ado-Ekiti

G

OVERNOR Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, on Saturday, hosted members of the state House of Assembly to a reception and handed the keys to a car to Mr Afolabi Akanni, the member representing Efon constituency, who was detained for 18 days by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Governor Fayose said: “the DSS only succeeded in tarnishing its own image by attempting to allegedly coerce members of the state Assembly to act the script of his detractors, which is to impeach him.”

Fayose, who received the lawmakers at the Jibowu Hall of the Government House, said “this House of Assembly is very unique and exemplary. You have refused to be bought over.

“My detractors have money and influence, but the power of God starts where that of men stops. I’m so proud of you. You have shown that you can see beyond today.”

According to him, “wealth is not the amount of money in your bank account, but your level of integrity. You represent and carry yourselves as responsible Nigerians. The old testament has to give way to the new testa-

ment. You are the ‘new testament’ House of Assembly.

“Betrayers will only contribute to the success of the person being betrayed.

Those that betrayed us in the first term are no longer relevant today. Many of them even suffered and regretted their actions.

“Together we stand and I know the House will never divide. I don’t regret standing for those incarcerated.

This is an opportunity for us to stand for our tomorrow.

“The DG of SSS, Daura only succeeded in tarnishing the image of the security out-

fit. We must be courageous and fearless like the book of Joshua admonishes us. Persecution and oppression will only make us better.

“My detention in Ikoyi prison made me a better man. It made me to reflect on so many things. It is my duty to reward loyalty and forthrightness and I’ll not stop doing it.”

Akanni, who expressed his gratitude to the governor, said: “I can authoritatively say that the governor is a great leader and great mentor. He remains a very honest man who also stands by

Why I am contesting as Ondo governor —Oke Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure THE governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2012 governorship election in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, has said he joined the race for the forthcoming governorship election in the state in order to take it back to the path of excellence.

Oke, who stated this in Akure, the Ondo State capital, during formal declaration of his governorship bid on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the state had been relegated to the background in all areas.

He stated that the present

administration in the state had failed to fulfill its electoral promises, saying there was no meaningful projects put in place by Governor Olusegun Mimiko-led administration.

The former PDP legal adviser said he was encouraged to contest on the platform of APC because of the assurance from the leadership of the party that there would be no imposition, no zoning arrangement and promised free and fair primary.

He said he remained the best man for the job in the state, with a pledge to reposition the state within his first six months in office if elected.

Oke said: “I need no introduction in Ondo politics and

Police Corporal shot dead by gunmen in Lagos THE Lagos State Police Command has said one of its men attached to Mopol 23 was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Satellite Town area of the state on Good Friday.

The spokesperson for the command, SP Dolapo

his followers. I was so sure that he will fight my cause while in detention and I was not disappointed.

“The DSS asked me so many questions about the governor and I stood my ground. Governor Fayose is one man that I can never betray because he is my helper and my mentor. He has done a lot for me.

“I advise all of us to stand solidly behind this man.

Any attempt to betray him will lead to your own downfall. I must say that the DSS is bent on destroying this democracy,” he said.

Badmos, who confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), gave the name of the deceased simply as Corporal Babatunde.

Badmos said that the anti-riot policeman was shot

dead by two gunmen on a motorcycle while walking along the road.

She said contrary to the news making the round, the policeman was not killed by suspected armed robbers during a bank robbery operation.

if I eventually win the APC ticket, I am very sure Mimiko will vote for me and I promise to resuscitate all the moribund industries in the state and create 3,000 jobs within my first six months.

“No new industry, unemployment everywhere, all projects initiated by previous administration have been abandoned but the only thing we see around are cosmetic projects.”

“Nothing has been added to the state in the last seven years, but what I see everywhere is poverty, penury, hunger and anger written on the faces of the people. This is the time to decide and vote for APC in the state.

He said the change phenomenon that started at the center and other SouthWest states would soon berth in the state, adding that “the battle is not won until PDP is chased out of government in the state.”

Oke noted that the large number of aspirants jostling for the APC ticket was an indication that the party was vibrant in the state.

THE Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, said he needed the advice of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice before enforcing the resolution of the National Assembly to seal Kogi House of Assembly complex.

Arase disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Saturday at the sidelines of an exercise tagged ‘Walk Against Crime,’ organised as part of activities to mark the police week.

The Senate had directed the Inspector-General of Police to seal the Kogi Assembly complex, pending the resolution of the political crisis in the house.

He said that the position of the Senate had been sent to the minister for his advice on the matter, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.

“What I have done is to send the papers to the Minister of Justice for his advice. I am a police officer; I also need the advice of a legal expert to actually know the way forward.

“Once I get the response of the minister, I will be able to take a decision,” he said.

On the exercise, he said it was part of the Police Week aimed at connecting with other Nigerians.

According to him, the mental and physical health of a police officer determines the level of work he or she can do.

UITH resident doctors suspend strike Biola Azeez - Ilorin THE Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) has called off its two-week-old strike, following an agreement between the union and the management of the teaching hospital.

In a press statement made available to journalists in Ilorin on Saturday, the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the UITH, Mrs Olufunmilayo Omojasola, said that the doctors resolved to defend their ‘Hippocratic Oath’ by saving lives rather than shunning duties just as the management has decided to review some of the issues that prompted the strike.

The management team led by the Chief Medical Director of the UITH, Professor Abdulwaheed Olatinwo and the president of the local chapter of the ARD, Dr Adegboyega Faponle, reached an agreement which led to the calling off of the strike.

Omajasola further assured the general public of getting the best care possible at the UITH in line with international best practices at all times, adding that the hospital would continually contribute its quota in the areas of research, health care management and delivery.

Sunday Tribune gathered during a visit to the hospital yesterday that normal operations had resumed in all the units and departments, while all categories of doctors and health workers were seen at their duty posts.

Ibadan Easter fiesta holds tomorrow

By Seyi Sokoya AS part of the season’s celebration to spice the city of Ibadan at Easter, orgnanisers of the much-aniticipated Ibadan Easter Fiesta, CLETOM Service, has confirmed that all is set in making it a top notch compared to all other events, as it will play host to dignitaries, notable clerics and religious leaders, gospel musicians as well as new talents.

Dr Josephine Igbeko of the Women of Grace, an organisation of Christian Apostolate Outreach also promised that the group would grace the event tomorrow, Easter Monday, at Mauve 21, Ring Road, Ibadan, by 12 noon, just as she described the event as a proper place not only to relax in God’s presence, but also be in the midst of fellow brethren.

CLETCOM Services told Sunday Tribune that the event was to give Christians and the people of Ibadan and Nigeria the opportunity to celebrate the season well.

news

53

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Saraki trial: Gulf widens among APC leaders Continued from pg 5

Timi Frank On Saraki’s trial One speaker was specifically quoted as accusing the government of trying to harass Saraki out of his seat, whereas the PDP wing which he belong to made serious contributions to the success of the APC in 2015.

A similar sentiment was expressed by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Comrade Timi Frank, who released a statement on Friday to that effect.

Saraki rejects Fresh Resignation plot

Senate President Bukola Saraki has, however, rejected a fresh bid to have him resign his position as Senate President for the actualisation of a possible “soft landing option.”

Sources in the polity told Sunday Tribune that the Senate President was recently met by some key men in the administration who proposed the option ahead of the March 24 ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Sunday Tribune was informed that Saraki was angry with the proposal and nearly got angry with the men who came to discuss the option with him.

“He was angered by the proposal and immediately turned it down,” a source said, adding that his rejection gave the traducers the feeling that he was ready to go through the trial.

Sources also said that it was the second time the Senate President would be presented the soft landing option as an elder statesman, who promised to intervene in the crisis at the initial stage was said to have come up with the same option late last year.

Buhari’s camp in fresh bid to woo Tinubu Sources also indicated

that the camp of President Muhammadu Buhari had been making fresh bid to woo Senator Bola Tinubu to the side of the government, even though his men were believed to be largely unhappy with the composition of the government so far.

The Tinubu camp was also said to have been jolted by the ruling of the CCT last Tuesday, which reversed the judgement it gave on the case involving the former governor of Lagos state at the CCT in 2011. But the camp of President Buhari is believed to be working on having Tinubu on their side, notwithstanding his

marginalisation in the running of the government.

Sources said that the government had reached out to Tinubu and proposed a birthday bash for him in Abuja on March 29.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is supposed to coordinate a birthday bash for Senator Tinubu in a bid to reunite the strongman of the defunct ACN with the administration, a source said.

But another source said that the Tinubu camp seeing the emerging scenario as a carrot and stick affair, whereby the ruling of the CCT on the Saraki case is made to look like a rope around his neck, while the government is wooing through other means.

No crack in APCChieftains But some chieftains of APC, including its spokesperson, Lagos State chapter, Mr Joe Igbokwe, Deputy Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olumuyiwa Jimoh, among others, were unanimous in their opinion that the party remains united and strong as ever, dismissing insinuations that the party is in crisis.

This was just as the APC spokesperson, Lagos State chapter, Mr Igbokwe, declared pointedly that Mr Frank, the party’s deputy national publicity secretary, was no longer an APC member, having been severally involved in antiparty activities.

Ize-Iyamu trains 33 youths in ICT Banji Aluko-Benin City

Mr Oluwarotimi Ogundare of the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC and his wife, Oluwafeyikemi, during their wedding ceremony, at House of Refuge Int’l, Molete, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday. PHOTO: JOHN BOLARINWA.

CCT: Kwara youths, women protest Saraki’s trial Biola Azeez - Ilorin

A

large crowd of youths and women in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, took to the streets on Saturday to protest how the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has been handling the trial of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.

The protesters, under the aegis of Concerned Youths On CCT, alleged that the tribunal’s last Thursday ruling was leaked on the social media, about six hours before it was read

by Justice Umar Danladi.

The state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Ishola BalogunFulani, while addressing the protesters, lamented that from what had transpired so far at the tribunal, there was no need guessing that Saraki’s trial was a political set-up.

The APC chairman told the protesters, most of who carried placards with various inscriptions denouncing the CCT, that his party found it difficult to believe

that the judgment read by the tribunal’s chairman on Thursday had actually been read by people on the social media as early as 4:00 a.m., while the real judgment was delivered at 10:30 a.m., about six hours later.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read, “The judgment of CCT on Saraki is already on the social media by 4:00 a.m. on the Day of Judgment by Umaru Danladi”, “Saraki’s case is political”, “CCT has two laws, one for Tinubu and one other Nigerians” and “Sahara Reporters based in United States is an agent of evil.”

Balogun-Fulani, who was flanked by other leaders of the party, said: “I sympathise with you; I sympathise with Kwarans and I sympathise with Senate President Bukola Saraki. It is a known fact that today in Nigeria, we have two laws.

One for the average, the well-to-do and those in politics and the other for those that have not; a law that has been used by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to exonerate 10 governors

and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Today, the CCT chairman said he is not going to use that law but another one in the constitution. You now realise that the travails of Senator Saraki amount to political prosecution.

“The last judgement on the CCT was already on the social media by 4 a.m. and he delivered his own judgment by 10:30 a.m. All what the social media reported was what the CCT chairman delivered verbatim as his judgment. One now asks: Was the judgment written for him? Or was he that wrote the judgment and passed it to his sponsors?

With this, we urge the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to investigate the judgment.

“Again, before the judgment, our lawyer said the composition of the members of the CCT should be three; that is, the chairman and two members. But during the last sitting, only two people were on hand. Our lawyer protested lack of quorum, but the chairman said that according to Act of

the CCT, two persons form quorum whereas three is what the constitution said.

Leader of the protesters, Mr Yinka Dalas asked the APC leaders to pass the message of the youths and women to the party’s hierarchy in Abuja, expressing disgust that Saraki was being persecuted after he had worked to help the party.

He added, “we as youths and women are concerned and that is why we have come here today. Senate President Bukola Saraki’s ongoing trial at the CCT is politically-motivated.

“This is a man that singlehandedly exposed the fuel subsidy scam. We are protesting in his support today and we want APC leadership in the state to take our case to the appropriate quarters.

They claimed he mismanaged our money when he was the governor of Kwara state, but every discerning mind knows that it was this same man that opened up Kwara to the whole world.

His achievements in office are there for all who care to see.”

THIRTY-THREE youths drawn from the 18 local government areas of Edo State have graduated with internationally-acclaimed certifications on Web Design Technology from the Complete Computers Technology Institute in Benin City, Edo State.

The youths, including eight females, were sponsored for the three-month training programme at the acclaimed computer institute by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Ize-Iyamu said the failure of the Edo State government to create employment opportunities or provide an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive was the major reason why he embarked on the project.

He expressed joy that of the 38 youths that started the programme, 33 completed it, adding that with the certificate which is recognised worldwide, the youths can now chose either to become employers or employees.

Earlier, Chief Executive of the Institute, Mrs Galiet Adeyosoye, said with the training, the graduating students have been separated from the multitude of teeming unemployed youths in the country, pointing out that the centre was affiliated with Microsoft, Oracle and Comptia, among others and accredited to award the National Innovation Diploma (NID) by the federal government.

Bayelsans groan under bread price scarcity/increase Austin Ebipade-Yenagoa SEQUEL to the man-made scarcity of bread, as well as increase in the price of the product in Yenagoa, the people of Bayelsa State have continued groan over the development, even as they seek government intervention to ensure adequate supply and the restoration of normalcy to the price of bread in the state.

There have been allegations that Bayelsa Master Bakers, operators of baking business in the state were responsible for the scarcity and increase in the price of bread, following an order stopping supply from Delta State. However, the group denied the allegation, describing it as untrue and intended to bring disrepute to the association.

Speaking with Sunday Tribune in Yenagoa, the Chairman of the Association, Mrs Kiyaramo Johnson, flanked by the Public Relations Officer of the group, Deacon Blessing Eghareuba, said the stoppage of supply from Delta State was a directive from the Taskforce of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYC).

Said she: “The Master Bakers never approached the IYC or any agencies of government to bar supply of bread to the state as claimed by suppliers from Delta State because the beauty of market is competition, where consumers are at liberty to purchase bread based on quality and price; we do not encourage monopoly.

Johnson, however, alluded that the IYC was of the view that rural dwellers and aged persons that consume bread supplied from Delta State are not knowledgeable to differentiate between standard and sub-standard products, and therefore must be protected.

54

fortherecord

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

Kachikwu needs to know that respect and good performance will do what magic cannot

Kachikwu

By Bola Tinubu

T

HE art of governance is difficult and complex, especially during trying times. The steep reduction in global oil prices from over 100 dollars per barrel to roughly 40 presents a hard challenge. We can no longer afford past practices. Nigeria now requires creative reform, materially changing the substance of national economic policy as well as the objectives of that policy and how the policy is presented to the people. Therein lies the essence of progressive democratic governance.

The Buhari administration represents the last best hope we have to install such governance in Nigeria and avert the catastrophe that would have befallen us had the prior government remained in place. Had the nation continued with the spendthrift corruption and vagabond economic policies of that administration, we would have soon experienced such a collision with the harsh consequences of that government’s malign ways that our very institutions of government may have been distorted beyond fixture and repair.

In this effort, there may be no economic matter more difficult to unravel and more sensitive to the purse of the average person than the current fuel scarcity. Even here I am confident of progress because I know the commitment of the president to resolving this matter. I make no attempt to hide it. I am an avid and partisan supporter of this government and of the progressive policies of the party, the APC, upon which this government is based.

4. With that I do reserve the right and

Buhari the duty as a Nigerian to voice my opinion when I believe a member of this government has strayed from the progressive calling required of this administration. I do this because my greater devotion and love are for this nation and its people.

Party and politics fall secondary.

5.Much public ire has been drawn to the statement made by minister of state Ibe kachikwu that he was not trained as a magician and that basically Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of petrol fuel it is currently doing.

Perhaps the statement by Kachikwu was made in a moment of unguarded frustration or was an awkward attempt at a joke. Whatever the motive, it was untimely and off-putting. The remark did not sit well with the Nigerian people; they were as right to feel insulted as the Minister was wrong to have said such a thing. The fuel shortage is severely biting for the average person. They are forced to remain in lines far too long, for too much time, to pay too much money for too little fuel. This is no joking matter. Livelihoods and people’s welfare are at stake. With so much on the line, Kachikwu’s flippancy was out-of-line. He was basically telling Nigerians that they should be lucky that they are getting the inadequate supply they now suffer and that they should just be quiet and endure the shortage for several weeks more.

Kachikwu’s intervention was unhelpful.

It panicked and disappointed the public as to the duration of the crisis. It insulted the people by its tonality. He spoke with the imperious nature of a member of the elitist government the people voted out last year

Tinubu and not the progressive one they voted in.

Kachikwu must be reminded that he was not coerced to take this job. He accepted the job and its responsibilities knowingly.

He also must remember that he does not own NNPC.This also is not a private company that owes nothing to the public except the duty of fair dealing. He is a public servant. The seat he sits upon is owned by Nigerians not by him. The company he runs is owned by Nigerians not by him.

They are his boss.He is not theirs. Power is vested in the people. He is a mere custodian or agent of their will. In talking to us in such a manner, he committed an act of insubordination. If he had talked so cavalierly to his boss in the private sector, he would have been reprimanded or worse. If wise, the man should refrain from such interjections in the future.

As his ultimate bosses, the people have a right to demand the requisite performance and respect from him. He should apologize for treating them so lightly in this instance.

His portfolio being a strategically important one, he needs to reestablish the correct relationship with the public. They no longer feel he is working for their optimal benefit as their servant. Instead, he seems to be standing above them, telling them to take it or leave it. For his policies and stint in office to be successful and a help to this government, he must have the support and belief of the people at this tough time. He must talk to them in a way that they believe he seeks their best interest and understands the hardship weighing upon them. He must ask them to work with him and perhaps to endure a bit longer but with the knowledge that he is working to resolve this matter as

fast as he can and as permanently as possible. That he is dedicated to the position that once these current lines are gone that never again shall they reappear as long as he has any influence in the matter. To do this, requires no magic nor training in that strange craft. It requires empathy, compassion and the willpower to forge a better Nigeria. These must be the common trademarks of those serving in a progressive government for these attributes are integral parts of the spirit and ideals upon which the APC was founded. Upon such notions was this administration voted into office by the Nigerian people in the operation of their sovereign will to seek a national leadership that would pursue their interests to the utmost and give them every fair chance to live in a better Nigeria.

Even though times are hard we must all realize that they would be even harder and much darker would be the immediate horizon had we allowed the venal, kleptocracy of the PDP to continue to lord over the land solely for their selfish benefit and not for the common good.

I am confident that President Buhari and this government can resolve the issues that press us. From establishing full security and safety to staking a claim to true economic prosperity and fairness, this government shall salvage our national pride and purpose.

Let all of us, in and out, of government never forget this. If we adhere to this remembrance, we shall see that magic will not be needed to bring the progress we seek.

Tinubu is a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

55 sport Nigeria/Egypt AFCON qualifiers: I wasn’t pressured to field Iwobi —Siasia

By Olawale Olaniyan -in Kaduna NIGERIA head coach, Samson Siasia has said he was not pressured by the FA in England, to field Alex Iwobi in Friday’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The Arsenal star came on to replace Simon Moses in the 82nd minute, while he assisted Victor Moses to an effort two minutes later which would have doubled the lead for the Eagles, but the ball was scooped off the goal line by Hamada Tolba.

Siasia while speaking at the postmatch conference said he introduced Iwobi because it was necessary and not a mere ploy to cap him in a full international game.

“There was no pressure from any quarters I introduced Iwobi because he deserved to play and will add value to the team,” said Bayelsa State-born tactician.

In his reaction, Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi, expressed delight that both Iwobi and Manchester City starlet, Kelechi Iheanacho came on board.

“It’s amazing to see these young players coming through – Iwobi and Iheanacho – they’re doing great for their clubs and I think they are the future of this Super Eagles.

“We have got a right blend now of older and younger players. I think it is always good to have this balance with young players so that they can learn and grow fast in the game.

“It’s quite different playing in the national team and playing in the clubs so it’s good for them to start early. In years to come I think we will see them do well,” said the Chelsea star.

Iwobi, it will be recalled, played for England at the age-group levels, before he opted to play for his fatherland at the senior level, amid pressure by the FA in England to also play for The Three Lions.

Egypt embassy yet to issue Nigerian supporters visas —Ladipo

By Olawale Olaniyan -in Kaduna The President General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr Rafiu Ladipo has cried out that the Egytian embassy is yet to issue visas to members of the club that would enable them to travel to Egypt for Tuesday’s return leg tie of the 2017 AFCON qualifiers against the Pharaohs of Egypt.

Flamingoes grab U-17 W/Cup ticket NIGERIA’S Flamingoes on Saturday at the Makhulong Stadium, Tembisa pipped hosts, the Bantawana of South Africa 1-0 to qualify for this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Skipper Rasheedat Ajibade scored the match winner for Nigeria in the 28th minute after the Flamingoes had won 6-0 in the first leg tie at the National Stadium, Abuja.

Nigeria thus qualified for Jordan 2016 7-0 on aggregate.

South Africa goalkeeper, Malogadi Maluleke made several saves to deny the Flamingoes coached by Bala Nikyu of more goals.

It will be recalled Ajibade netted a hat-trick in the first leg as her strike on Saturday made it four against South Africa.

Nigeria had eliminated Namibia 9-0 on aggregate before the fall of the Rainbow Nation.

Nigeria is billed to take on Egypt at the Borg El-Arab Stadium, Alexandria, after the Egyptians snatched a 1-1 draw on Friday night at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

Ladipo while speaking with Tribunesport in Kaduna said his men are ready to boost the Super Eagles in Egypt if they are able to make the trip, as he decried the uncompromising attitude of Egypt embassy.

“It is unfortunate that as I am speaking, our members are yet to be issued visas despite the fact that we played by the rules.

We submitted our international passports in time and it is over a week now, but the embassy is yet to grant any of us visa.

“We believe that fair play will be considered and our case will be treated on merit and given the utmost attention it deserves because the game is just a few hours away. We have to be in Egypt to boost the Super Eagles.

Some Egyptian fans were equally here today to cheer their team, so, why should we be prevented from going to Egypt? We hope this issue will be sorted out in a matter of hours now for our members to make the trip,” Ladipo said He stated that “I had to instruct my secretary and one other official to keep waiting in Abuja (Egypt embassy) for the feedback because if we are denied visas, it will not be in the interest of fair play.

“The Egyptians are here and we received them like brothers.

I don’t expect they will make it difficult for us to go to Egypt, but I do hope they will yield to our calls and give us a good response.”

27 March, 2016

Sunday Tribune

It was shameful Egypt survived —Moses

W

EST Ham United forward, Victor Moses has lamented it was a shame that Nigeria could not beat Egypt in an all-important AFCON 2017 qualifier in Kaduna on Friday.

Nigeria drew 1-1 with Egypt and now walk a tight rope in the race to pick an automatic qualification ticket to AFCON 2017 in Gabon.

“Shame we couldn’t get the win today (Friday) but the boys battled hard and we move on to Tuesday now,” a disappointed Moses tweeted.

Victor Moses was a second-half substitute on Friday, when he replaced Ahmed Musa, in what served as his first match for Nigeria since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Also, Simon Moses through his twitter handle says all hope is not lost yet.

“We will never give up till the end. See you guys in return leg,” the KAA Gent of Belgium player tweeted.

Meanwhile, Watford striker, Odion Ighalo, believes it was not a bad performance against the Pharaohs.

“We did not do badly, we gave

Moses

our best, and you can see that from the way we played the match, but we were very unlucky to have ended the match 1-1.

“Despite this result, I don’t want to believe that we are out yet. We are going to learn from this match and improve on that in the second leg in Alexandra.

The hope of qualifying is still very much alive,” said Ighalo who scored Nigeria’s second goal in a 2-0 win over Chad.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles are expected to depart the country’s shores on Monday for the return leg match scheduled for Tuesday in Alexandria.

Alexandria game remains our focus —Amuzie SUPER Eagles defender, Stanley Amuzie has apologised to Nigerian football fans after the 1-1 draw with Egypt in a 2017 Africa Cup

Iwobi thanks England ARSENAL forward, Alex Iwobi, has expressed appreciation to the FA, who offered him the chance to play for England also at the senior level, which he politely turned down.

Iwobi laid to rest the hope of playing for England at senior level as he featured for Nigeria in Friday’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, which ended in a 1-1 draw with the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The youngster in his twitter handle after the match in Kaduna where he came on to replace Moses Simon in the 82nd minute later wrote through @alexiwobi: “Would Also Like Thank You To England For Giving Me The Chance To Represent Them”.

Iwobi on the outcome of the match lamented saying “Unlucky Not To Win But Happy To Have Made My Competitive Debut For Nigeria #SuperEagles”

of Nations qualifier in Kaduna on Friday.

Nigeria conceded in added time of the second half to draw the game which was well within their sights to win.

Oghenekaro Etebo had given Nigeria the lead in the 62nd minute of the game for his first goal at full international level in his first start.

Mohammed Salah equalised for Egypt in added time to give the Pharaohs a share of the spoils which left Amuzie disappointed.

“I want to apologise to our fans for the draw. I appreciate that they came out in their thousands to support us but we couldn’t get the win we wanted,” the Olhanense FC player told supersport.com “The team is gutted I must tell

you. We wanted to win for ourselves and the fans but it wasn’t to be. It wasn’t what we wanted or expected.

The left back, stated that he has moved on from Friday’s draw and has his eyes firmly fixed on the second leg in Alexandria on Tuesday.

“I can’t afford to dwell on Friday’s game because our minds are now on the second leg because that is what is important now.

“We are already looking forward to the game because we have another chance to get the three points at stake.

“Egypt are a good side as they showed but we are also good. If they can get a draw here I see no reason why we can’t get points over there,” Amuzie said

Result shocks Kanu

By Olawale Olaniyan -in Kaduna FORMER Nigeria captain, Kanu Nwakwo, was shocked after the Super Eagles were forced to a 1-1 draw by the Pharaohs of Egypt in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

The former Arsenal star shocked by the result could not move away from his seat in the

stadium after the final whistle.

Attempt by Tribunesport to speak with the captain of the Atlanta ‘96 Olympics gold winning Dream Team was unsuccessful as he politely answered “no comments.”

Kanu, accompanied the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir ElRufai to the stadium, but could not see him off the stadium after the game as he was jolted by the outcome of the game.

SIDELINES NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER

NO 2,039

27 MARCH, 2016

www.tribuneonlineng.com

N200

Nollywood actress, Uche Jombo, has reprotedly said that she loves to wear high-heels shoes to look taller.

Looking taller gives one a ‘feel good’ air, no doubt. But truth is, no man ever looks down on a woman of virtue, no matter how short she is.

Yoruba history lesson for Yoruba leaders

S

INCE about the 10th century AD, we Yoruba have been enjoying a high level of civilization in our towns, cities and kingdoms. By 1750, one of our kingdoms, the Oyo-Ile kingdom, had conquered a large empire comprising most of western Yorubaland and many non-Yoruba neighbours – the largest empire ever in West Africa’s forestlands. In eastern and southern Yorubaland, our other kingdoms were, in the same era, also thriving gorgeously.

But, about 1750, according to available records, we began to have a recurrence of self-serving (and therefore disruptive) leaders in our political history. It started in our great city of Oyo-Ile, specifically with a high chief named Gaha. As soon as Gaha was sworn in as Basorun in 1754, he started a headstrong war against the established order. He seized powers that did not belong to his position, and forced Alafin after Alafin to bow to his will or to commit suicide – until, at last, one intelligent Alafin managed to stop him.

Gaha was probably insane. Nevertheless, he started a plague that we have never managed to remove from our land – a tradition whereby some leaders emerge now and again who are dedicated only to their own self-centred purposes and interests.

Soon after Gaha came one Alafin named Awole, a man clearly unfit for the Alafin’s throne. Awole’s self-centred crookednesscontinued the era of instability.

Soon after him came Afonja, the Are Ona Kakanfo of the OyoEmpire. Afonja had some blood relationship with the Oyo-Ile royal family and wanted the Alafin’s throne. But since the Oyo-Ile Council of Kingmakers did not select him, he embarked on a wholesale rebellion against his kingdom, and ended up turning the town of Ilorin into a center of his rebellion. Afonja perished in the rebellion, but his Ilorin continued to be a potent center of trouble for the empire. Attempts by the Alafins to destroy this danger steadily sapped the energies of the kingdom and ultimately ended in one of the worst disasters in Yoruba history – the decision of the citizens of the proud city of Oyo-Ile to abandon their city in 1835. Yoruba people often say today that Fulani jihadists destroyed Oyo-Ile, but that is not true. Ilorin

and its powerful leaders who troubled the Oyo Empire after Afonja were over 95% Yoruba.

The disintegration of the Oyo Empire spilled wars into the rest of Yorubaland, wars that continued until the Europeans seized control of Yorubaland in the 1890s.

Throughout the century, leading Yoruba men tried for peace again and again. At every crucial juncture, some leaders just would not give up their personal ambitions and interests for the national good.

When Europeans came conquering Africa in the1890s, the Yoruba, if united, could have easily preserved the independence of the Yoruba nation – in a way similar to Ethiopia in northeastern Africa, or Japan in Asia. The most important Eu-

cated breech-loading rifles. In short, if all these forces had been re-orientated and combined to defend their Yoruba homeland, there would have been over 500,000 troops poised to defend Yorubaland – a magnitude of forces never encountered

by European invaders anywhere in Africa, and that would have discouraged any European attack on any part of Yorubaland.

Moreover, the large class of Yoruba merchants based in Lagos, consisting of some of the most informed and richestindigenous merchants in tropical Africa, easily commanded the expertise and commercial connections to keep Yoruba forces well supplied with latest weapons. And the already strong Lagos literate elite of lawyers, doctors, engineers, pastors, ac-

diranapata@yahoo.com

ropean attack on Yorubaland was the British invasion of Ijebu in 1892. As at that date, because we Yoruba had been fighting wars for nearly a century, the Yoruba nation possessed enough military power to preserve it’s independence. Ibadan had well trained, well-armed, and seasoned forces numbering over 80,000 at Ikirun, about 25,000 at Oru in Remo, and about 30,000 near Abeokuta; the Ekitiparapo had more than 60, 000 at Imesi-Ile, and about 20,000 near Ile-Ife; Ilorin probably 40,000; Abeokuta probably 50,000.

Each of the powerful kingdoms of Owo, Ondo and Ketu had armies that numbered 30,000 or more. Small Ife armies of probably 20,000 each camped near IleIfe, and at Ifetedo and Okeigbo. An Ijebu army of about 20,000 camped near Ife; another of about 30,000 camped at Oru; and the main Ijebu army itself numbered over 50,000 and was armed with sophisti-

countants, journalists – and newspapers – could have whipped up propaganda campaigns in support of their nation’s military men, thereby discouraging European invasions of Yorubaland.

Unhappily, such Yoruba unity did not happen. The main Ijebu army singlehandedly fought a gallant battle of which the Ijebu people will forever be proud.

They almost won. They lost only because the British invaders, under pressure, rushed some totally new weapons to the battle. By and by, most of Yorubaland became British possession. France and Germany seized the rest.

However, in 1952, most of the Yoruba again had some control over their own affairs – in the Western Region of Nigeria.

Demonstrating great unity and ability, Yoruba leaders immediately gave their people the most progressive and most productive government in Africa. But then,

the old disease showed up again in 1962, allowing a hostile Federal Government of Nigeria to launch a war of destruction against the Western Region. The Yoruba people have not come out of that cloud till today.

Today, confusion, corruption, poverty, hopelessness, conflicts, and terrorism are wracking Nigeria. Many Nigerian peoples have reasons to fear. Admittedly, in socioeconomic development, the governments of the Yoruba states for the most partstill manage to perform above the Nigerian average. But that is not sufficient at all today for the Yoruba nation. We Yoruba need to advance faster and better to provide for our large population of 50 million and over. And to prepare, we desperately need a major surge of unity among the Yoruba elite, among leading Yoruba of all professions and political persuasions – resulting in a leadership structure able to speak confidently for the Yoruba nation in the fractious Nigerian situation. We should not be deceived: the way Nigeria has been moving, only those whoare strong will be able to avoid greater troubles and pains.

A strongly united and well-led Yoruba nation is needed today more than ever before.

Today’sinability of the Yoruba elite to unite for their nation’s well-being is horribly dangerous. There is really no conflict between participating in Nigerian politics and taking care of one’s own nation. Many leaders of other Nigerian nations combine the two, but many significant Yoruba leaders refuse to do so,and prefer to cling solelyto their Nigerian politics while ignoring the obviously pressing needs of their own nation. That is, they are betraying our nation and, unfortunately, committing political suicide thereby. It is today’s version of the old family disease – the diseaseof traitorous self-serving that has shown up from time to time since the era of Gaha, Awole and Afonja.

Happily, however, there is hope. Dedicated patriots, at home and abroad, responding to the growing danger in Nigeria, have already started the war for Yoruba national unity and strength – and they cannot possibly lose.Good Yoruba men, women and children willstand up and be counted.

AFCON qualifier: Egypt’s equaliser, a cheat —El-Rufai GOVERNOR Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, has said the Pharaohs of Egypt equaliser against the Super Eagles during the 2017 AFCON qualifier played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium on Friday was not in the spirit of fair play.

El-Rufai made the remark at a dinner he held in honour of the Super Eagles on Friday night at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.

According to him, the centre referee ought to have detected that the Egyptian goalscorer, Mohamed Salah was in the offside position.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the equaliser came in the stoppage time of the match through Mohammed Salah after Oghenekaro Etebo’s curtain raiser in the 60th minute.

The governor said that the Eagles played an excellent game and assured them that Kaduna fans would always support them in all their matches played in the state capital.

“You played excellent football. You were in control 65 per cent of the time; but perhaps the god of football was not on our side today.

“We have said to you that you will not

lose a match in Kaduna and you have not lost.” he said.

El-Rufai said he had no doubt that the Eagles would beat the Egyptians on March 29 at their own soil in the return leg of the match.

Also speaking, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Barrister Solomon Dalong said though the Eagles drew 1-1 with the Egyptians, the match was not a total loss.

“Even if it was a loss, it is good to lose once in a while as no human is an angel and a loss once in a while makes one stronger to work harder.”

He said that the Eagles did their best and should not worry of the last minute disappointment.

Results:

2017 AFCON qualifiers DR Congo 2 Angola Cape Verde 0 Morocco Mauritius 1 Rwanda Seychelles 2 Lesotho Cameroon 2 S/ Africa Burundi 1 Namibia POOLS: 2, 5, 9, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22, 24, 40, 47.

L.K.O — 01.

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. 27/3/2016 MANAGING DIRECTOR/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR : SINA OLADEINDE. All Correspondence to P. O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712.

1 1 0 0 2 3