27th Septebmer 2015

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 2,013

SUNDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER, 2015 www.tribuneonlineng.com

Saraki’s CCB trial:

Why PDP may take over Senate

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Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

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Hajj tragedy: Emir, his wives, Jega’s

brother, judge, 9 others die

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•Death tolls rises to 769 •934 wounded •CJN mourns Appeal Court judges

Senators plot against Buhari’s ministerial list pg6

To hold crucial meeting Monday Intrigues behind list; the Danjuma, Tinubu connection

Professor Wole Soyinka signing the condolence register in Ikenne on Saturday.

Nigerian Tribune

Gunmen attack pg6 DSS office, 4 dead pg51 Buhari celebrates Nigeria’s polio-free status

From left, Bursar, Mrs Ronke Akeredolu; HOD, Political Science, Professor Sat Obiyan; Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu; Vice Chancellor, Professor Bamitale Omole; Rev’d (Mrs) Omotola Oyediran; Professor A. B.O Oyediran; Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Professsor Ayobami Salawu and Registrar, Mr Dotun Awoyemi, during the visit of Obafemi Awolowo University delegation to the Awolowo residence, Ikenne, Ogun State on Saturday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

Soyinka, Utomi extol HID’s virtues •Burial committee list released

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27 September, 2015

CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915 - 2015)

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1. From left, Professor Pat Utomi; Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu; Chief John Odeyemi, Professor Anya O. Anya; Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran and Oba Kole Ojutalayo, Laroka of Wanikin-Ife. 2. Bishop Olusina Fape (left), presenting letter of condolence to Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran.

3. From left, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu; former Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan; his wife and Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran.

4. Professor Bamitale Omole (left) and Professor A.B.O.O. Oyediran.

5. Chief (Mrs) Funke Amosun (fifth left); Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran (second right) with members of Odu’a Board of Directors at Ikenne.

Sunday Tribune

PHOTOS: TOMMY ADEGBITE

6. Professor Utomi (left) with Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu.

7. From left, Comrade Abiodun Fawode; Chief (Mrs) Kofoworola Odeyemi; Mrs Anya O. Anya; Ambassador Folorunso Otukoya; Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu; Chief John Odeyemi; Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran; Professor Anya O. Anya and Dr Babajide Coker.

8. From left, Mrs Yejide Badmus; Mrs Aina Dosumu and Mrs Iyabo Omisore.

9. From left, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu; Otunba Yinka and Olori Ojora LawalSolarin.

10. From left, Chief (Mrs) Olufunke Wilde, presenting letter of condolence to Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran.

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HID AWOLOWO (1915-2015)

27 September, 2015

HID Awolowo’s burial committee announced

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HE Yeye Oodua, Chief Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo’s burial committee has been announced.

The Central Coordinating Committee for the burial is to be chaired by Dr Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu. The members of the coordinating committee are; Rev. Mrs Omotola Oyediran; Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa, SSG, Ogun State and a representative of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The subcommittees include; media, entertainment, venues & infrastructure, accommodation, transport & logistics, programme, protocols, security, finance, emergency & health.

C E N T R A L C O O R D I N A T I N G COMMITTEE Chairman: Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu Mrs. Members: Rev. Omotola Oyediran

Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, SSG, Ogun State Representative of the Federal Government of Nigeria SUB-COMMITTEES MEDIA Aremo Taiwo Alimi Mr. Remi Adetayo Mr. Akin Osuntokun Mr. Edward Dickson Mrs. Ayotola Ayodeji Alhaji Teju Kareem Mr. Yanju Adegbite Mr. Folajimi Ayodeji Pastor Segun Olatunji ENTERTAINMENT Mrs. Yemisi Subair Mrs. Yewande Amusan Mrs. Yejide Badmus Mrs. Folake Marcus-Bello Mrs. Joko Tokunbo Odebunmi Mrs. Denrele Fayose Mrs. Aina Dosunmu Miss Funke Awolowo Mrs. Bola Awolowo Mrs. Sade Odebiyi

Mr. Ola Ayodeji Mr. Ayo Subair Mrs. Adeola Azeez Mrs. Bukola Majekodunmi

VENUES INFRASTRUCTURE AlhajiTeju Kareem Mr. Kenny Osude Mr. Sola Odumosu Rev. Sina Adeniyi Mr. Bayo Onanuga Tubosun Kola Daisi Alhaji Tunde Badmus Mr.Olumide Oyediran Arc. Lekan Adegbite Mr. Kenny Osude

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ACCOMMODATION Mr. Sola Odumosu Mr. Bayo Adeyemi Mr. Bukky Awolowo Mr. Sina Adeniyi Barrister Sanya Solaja TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS Mr. Saheed Ogundare

Commander Sangofadeji Mr. Gbenga Awolowo Mr. Babajide Awolowo Mr.Obafemi Awolowo Rev.Sina Adeniyi PROGRAMMES Mrs. Kemi Aderemi Mr.Akin Bandele Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo Mrs. Wemimo Anifowose Mr. Segun Awolowo Mr. Kunle Awolowo Ven. S. O. Enike Ven. F.O.Babatunji Ven. Remi Onajole Engr. Sesan Adebajo PROTOCOLS Chief Tolu Odebiyi Otunba Bimbo Ashiru Mr. Dapo Abiodun Mr. Segun Awolowo Mr. Ayo Subair Mr. Saheed Ogundare Mrs. Yewande Amusan Mr. Ladi Soyode

Sunday Tribune

Mr. Olumide Oyediran SECURITY CP Olayinka Balogun Mr Wale Odubela Gen. SeniSoboiki Head, Civil Defence SSG, Ogun State Mr. Sola Sodiyan Head, TRACE FINANCE Mrs.Yewande Amusan Mrs. Yemisi Subair Mrs. Funmi Adeyemi Mr. Segun Awolowo Mr. Ayo Subair Mr. Damola Aderemi EMERGENCY & HEALTH Dr. Rotimi Ogungbe Dr. Adeyemi Dr. NnamdiOkoro Ikenne Local Government Chairman Ikenne Health Centre.

More encomiums for HID Awolowo

As Soyinka, Onagoruwa, Utomi, others paid tributes

By Olayinka Olukoya and Tunde Ogunesan

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HE Bishop of Remo Diocese (Anglican Communion), The Right Reverend (Dr) Olusina Fape, on Saturday, reiterated that Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo, indeed, lived a fulfilled and rewarding life.

He said this during a daily prayer session organised by the Diocese since the departure of Mama Awolowo, who is the Diocesan Mother, last Saturday, held at the family chapel, Efunyela Hall, Ikenne.

Fape, who led other priests in the Diocese to the Awolowo home, maintained that God granted Mama’s request of not witnessing any tribulation or trial before her death, noting that Mama’s position in the Diocese would be difficult to fill, considering her generosity and wise counsel.

“Honestly, Mama HID lived a fulfilled life from my point of view, as evident in her home call. Though we were looking forward to celebrating her centenary birthday, yet dying close to the all-important day makes me to be confident that her life was a fulfilled one.

Mama has a church built in her name, not a memorial one.

“Her exit was just like reliving the old testament triumphant exit of the saints of the yesteryear. That you have your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren around you and you prayed for them and thereafter transited is, indeed, a great thing. It couldn’t have been better

than this.

“Some people don’t have the grace, they bark, curse and do all sorts of things before they die, wishing they die even before death came calling. But Mama went home peacefully the way God took away those who faithfully served him.”

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, was the first caller at the No. 6 HID Awolowo way, Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State, to condole with the family of Mama Awolowo, who passed on last Saturday.

Soyinka arrived at the Awolowo home around 8.50 a.m. and was received by the Mama’s surviving children, Reverend (Mrs) Omotola Oyediran and her sister, Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu.

In a message signed in one of the condolence registers, Soyinka wrote that the Yeye Oodua and Asiwaju Obirin Onigbagbo of Remoland lived an enviable life.

He wrote: “An enviable life! A memorable existence.”

Also, the Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Professor Bamitale Omole and other management staff of the institution were among other guests who paid glowing tributes to the deceased.

He noted that the passage of Mama Awolowo was an end to the glorious years of a woman she described as a “great national leader.”

Omole, in his condolence message, said: “She was a quintessential biblical woman, who not only supported her husband, but [also] held

the home front in time of peace and in time of crisis.

OAU will sorely miss her counsel and her indomitable spirit.”

The founder of Lagos Business School, Professor Pat Utomi, in his tribute, said the deceased sacrificed her life for the service of others.

“We come here to recognise passionate commitment; to recognise a great mother, a remarkable woman who sacrificially gave her life for the service of others.

It must be a pride to show example of oneself to the next generation that life is about sacrificial giving, that if one does it, one would be immortalised right here on earth, because immortality is living in the hearts of others long after you have become dust,” Utomi said.

Also, former AttorneyGeneral and Minister of Justice under the military regime of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Dr. Olukoya Onagoruwa, equally described Mama as a great woman.

Onagoruwa, in his condolence message, said: “It was Papa Awolowo himself who stated that he owed his success in life to three things; God, a spartan and disciplined life and his wife.

There is no doubt Mama was a great woman.”

Former Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Abdul-Jelili Adesiyan, likened Mama to Khadijat, one of the wives of Prophet Muhammed.

He said: “Just like Khadijat is to Prophet Muhammed, so also is Mama HID to Papa Awolowo. Papa Awolowo was sent to Yoruba race just as Prophet Mu-

hammed was sent to mankind. He sent Papa Awolowo and gave him a wife, Khadijat- Mama HID. There can never be another Khadijat and there can never be another HID Awolowo. She is the mother of the nation for the next 100 years.”

Also, the Sadeke descendants from Ikenne also came to condole with the family while the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) was led by its national president Tijani Usman Shehu, to commiserate with the Awolowo family over the demise of its Matriarch.

Shehu said Mama HID had been a long-time mother to the student association and inspired them to learn and achieve greatness in life.

NANS also presented a plaque in honour of Mama HID to one of her granddaughters, Mrs Kemi Aderemi, who thanked the students for their love for the family.

In their condolence message signed by the secretary, the Yooba Omo Oodua Forum, described Mama as “a centenarian, staunch Christian, matriarch and cofounder of the prestigious Awolowo dynasty”.

“You were a prized possession, a prodigy, a colossus and exemplary wife.

You remained until death a mother in a million and an agent of cultural heritage.

“You were a business mogul and chairperson of many boards, but it was your inestimable contribution to the struggles for independence and active participation in post-independence political development of Nigeria that announced you to the end of the world, earned you the

greatest accolade, decorated you with the most medals.

The former Executive Director, Publication of African Newspapers of Nigeria, Mr Folu Olamiti, said Mama HID mentored him to be what he is today.

Olamiti, who currently works with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) wrote in his tribute to Chief HID Awolowo, saying: “You came, saw and conquered.

You mentored me to what I am today. I will eternally

be grateful for the love and care you showered on me.

Mama sun re o. Definitely, you are now in the bossom of our Lord. May your soul rest in peace.”

Similarly, the Women’s Organisation of the Diocese of Remo, led by the Bishop’s wife, Mrs Oluwatoyin Fape, also paid visit to the family.

Fape eulogised the virtues of Mama and described her as a mother in a million.

Mrs Fape said the Mama’s contribution towards women’s programme in the Diocese could not be quantified.

HID Awolowo fought a good fight —Abiala

By Oluwatoyin Malik

THE standard-bearer of the Pacesetter Advance Movement (PAM) and Oyo State gubernatorial aspirant of Labour Party in the 2015 elections, Comrade Olu Abiala, has described Mama HID Awolowo as a Motherin-Israel and a great grandmother and mother of the progressive camp of the Nigerian politics.

According to Abiala, “one cannot but remember Mama as being an exemplar in all theatres of life she ventured into– a jewel of inestimable value of the best president Nigeria never had – Chief Obafemi Awolowo, an astute business personality, a unionist of note, a politician par excellence and a patriotic and foremost Yoruba leader – who held the forte on the principle and political philosophy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo until she

breathed her last.”

Abiala, who is also the President of Ibadan Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), said it was also on record that Mama HID Awolowo lived a life that was entirely devoted to the service of Almighty God without wavering, even in the face of the tempest of life against the family.

NUT mourns HID’s passage The president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr Alogba Olukoya, has said that the entire teachers in Nigeria have lost the wife of the progenitor of free and functional public education, with the demise of Mama HID Awolowo.

According to the NUT president, “it is a great vacuum to us in the education sector. We commiserate with the entire Awolowo on Mama’s death and pray for the repose of her soul.”

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27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

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27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

HID Awolowo (1915-2015)

HID, a leveller even in transition She was mother to us all—Jonathan The fear of Mama was enough to discipline us —Student She always protected us—Okada riders

Since the passing of the Yeye Oodua, the Ikenne, Ogun State country home of the sage has become a meeting point for all categories of Nigerians. ABIODUN AWOLAJA and RITA OKONOBOH, who visited the town last Wednesday, gauged the pulse of the town and its visitors.

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erhaps it is natural that the Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State residence of the Awolowos should remain a Mecca of activities almost three decades since the passing of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. For one thing, it is the headquarters of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), a non-partisan association of Yoruba sons and daughters geared towards fostering the unity and progress of the Yoruba nation. For another, until September 19 this

year, it featured the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Chief Mrs HID Awolowo, attending to visitors from far and beyond, including members of the political class, the religious community, participants in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among countless others.

On Wednesday, visitors naturally trooped into the compound in willing numbers, and participants in the proceedings at the Efunyela Hall located within the Awolowo

compound were legion. They included former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience; former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and former governor of Ogun State, Chief Gbenga Daniel. Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun, led a high-powered delegation including the party’s Deputy National Chairman, SouthWest, Chief Segun Oni , Dr George Moghalu and Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, among others, while the Afenifere delegation included Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Seinde Arogbofa, Comrade Yinka Odumakin and others. The Ondo State deputy governor, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo was also present, as was his Ogun State counterpart, Chief (Mrs)Yetunde Onanuga.

There were also foremost business mogul, Chief Subomi Balogun and his wife; head of the Aladura worldwide, His Holiness, Primate R.O Ositelu; foremost juju musician and evangelist, Chief Ebenezer Obey –Fabiyi; former chairman of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA); the Ondo State Commissioner for Environment, Chief Sola Ebisemi; Chief Supo Sonibare; the Alakenne of Ikenne, Oba Adeyinka Onakade and his olori; members of the Sagamu branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), with Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu;.

Ogun State Chief Judge, Justice Tokunbo Olopade, and members of Agbekoyas; Mrs Tayo Adeyemi , Dr Jayne Shoboiki, among others.

Tributes galore...

In his tribute on the occasion, the APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, described the transition of the Yeye Oodua as the passing of a great light. According to Oyegun, HID Awolowo had disappointed the many Nigerians who thought that, with the passing of the sage in 1987, she would become less active on the national scene, as she took up the job of propagating the ideals of the sage with relentless vigour. Hear him: “We are here to condole with you and at the same time celebrate with you; that God in His infinite mercy loaned you such a wonderful human being to be your mother, not only to be your mother but also to be the wife of an illustrious father of this nation. When he passed away over 20 years ago, we thought that was it, but mama, given the strength of character that she had, after her period of mourning, knew that there was a job to be done. She knew that what the good old chief stood for must be propagated, must be continued; that the torch that he handed over must not be allowed to be extinguished. And so with courage, with forthrightness, she continued what, today, we can only refer to as the legend of the Awolowo family. You have gone into history---there’s no question about that.”

While praying that God would continue to raise illustrious children and grand children who would continue the great legend of the Awolowo family, Oyegun stated that Nigeria rejoiced because, for nearly 100 years, it had that lighthouse of a wife, a mother and matriarch of a family that had become an indelible part of the nation. Oyegun would not say any more because he and his team had an urgent meeting in Abuja, but was hijacked by the press at continues on pg 8

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news

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Senators plot against Buhari’s ministerial list Taiwo Adisa and Kunle Oderemi

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ENATORS are expectant that the much awaited ministerial list from President Muhammadu Buhari will find its way to the chamber on Tuesday, with indications emerging that the lawmakers are making fresh plots aimed at derailing the screening.

A big decision is set to be made on Monday when a majority of the senators meet at a location in Abuja to decide the way forward.

Sources in the National Assembly told Sunday Tribune that a number of senators are calling for a quick retaliation against the Federal Government over the trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Sources in the Senate said that a debate had been on for sometime, with a number of lawmakers going in favour of a hard stance against what they called the excesses of the Federal Government.

A source said that some loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Like Minds, the group loyal to Saraki are responsible for the slow response to the Federal Government so far.

It was gathered that while a good number of the senators are calling for a serious screening process and a firm decision to screen out all appointees of the president who assumed office before Senate clearance, another set of Saraki’s men were said to be calling for a little more time to enable some interested leaders to resolve the issues.

Some senators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were actually said to have expressed disgust that the Senate had been unable to assert itself under Saraki.

A senator in the know said: “The senators are angry that the president is fast turning the chamber into a rubber stamp. They believe that so far, the president has been doing things as if the Senate does not matter. Many key appointments have been made in acting capacity, which rubbishes the intent of the Constitution, as the Senate is only being called

to approve the appointment instead of determining if the persons are right for the offices of not.

“We have made them realize that the Senate needs to assert itself and now it has dawned on all that the executive is bent on determining the leaders of the Senate.”

It was gathered that the meeting slated for tomorrow will enable the senators to decide how to treat the ministerial list when eventually submitted.

It was also gathered that many senators who are not really opposed to the anti-corruption stance of the incumbent government

are, however, shocked that Saraki was being singled out in a bid to remove him from office.

Another Senator said: “Senators have keyed into the anti-corruption drive of the government but the way things are going with the Code of Conduct Tribunal trial of Saraki easily gives the government away as plotting to actualize an APC agenda.

That is why senators are angry that external forces are behind Saraki’s trial.”

Ministers: Between Danjuma and Tinubu Meanwhile, as Nigerians eagerly await the list of min-

isterial nominees, signals have indicated four major power blocs within and outside the APC which may play a key role.

Findings by Sunday Tribune that the power blocs are reportedly constituted by the Emir of Borgu, Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, Mallam Mamman Daura, a former Minister of Defence, General TY Danjuma and a former Lagos State governor, Chief Bola Tinubu.

The influence of the trio of Alhaji Dantoro, Daura and Danjuma concerning the issue of ministerial nomination is reportedly anchored on their individual long

years of affinity, association and friendship with the president.

Buhari is believed to have consulted with them severally in the process of drawing up the much-awaited list to ensure that “only competent and credible individuals make the list.”

They were said to have suggested most of the nominees to Buhari, having met him at different times after which the president forwarded them to appropriate quarters for security screening.

The Emir of Borgu, who is said to have had a close link with Buhari from his days in the military, reportedly

Hajj tragedy: Jega’s brother, another judge, Emir, wives, 9 others killed •Casualty figure rises to 769 •934 injured Lanre Adewole and Sylvanus Viashima THE people of Taraba State are in deep shock following the demise of one of the First Class chiefs in the state, the Kpanti Zing His Royal Highness, Muhammad Samba Abbas who died with two of his wives in the hajj tragedy in Mina, Saudi Arabia, which claimed hundreds of pilgrims from different nations.

Two Appeal Court justices, one of whom was the brother of former INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, Justice Abubakar Abdulkadir Jega, were confirmed dead by Nigerian judicial authorities at the weekend.

Jega was the presiding justice of Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

His remains had been reportedly identified at the mortuary in Saudi Arabia as one the five missing pilgrims from Kebbi State.

By hierarchy, he was third in seniority but widely tipped to succeed the incumbent President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.

Justice Dalhatu Adamu, the most senior serving justice of the Court of Appeal, was by-passed for Bulkachuwa to emerge the PCA. The development meant

Adamu was out of reckoning and Jega was unofficially considered the most senior to succeed Bulkachuwa, hence his appointment as the presiding justice of the Abuja Division of the court.

The late judge was also a brother to the deputy Editor-in-Chief of Trust newspapers.

His wife died of cancer last year.

When Sunday Tribune contacted the management of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Head, Media and Publicity, Hajia Sadatu, confirmed Justice Jega’s death, adding that a statement might be issued later.

Meanwhile, Saudi Health ministry also confirmed a spike in the casualty figures, rising from 717 to 769.

The figures of the injured has also risen to 934 from 863, at the weekend.

•CJN, PDP mourn

Sokoto State has also confirmed nine of their members dead in the tragedy.

Saudi authorities also reportedly refused to give a break-down of nationalities of victims, thereby making it difficult for each nation to account for its exact loss.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Mahmud Mohammed, GCON, in a statement, mourned the death of the justices of the Court of Appeal.

Hon Justice Mahmud Mohammed, in a condolence message to their families, the Court of Appeal the Judiciary and, indeed, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, noted that the death of the revered jurists is not just a huge loss to the judiciary but Nigeria in entirety, adding that both men of the Bench had contributed immensely to the development of Nige-

rian jurisprudence.

The CJN prayed the Almighty Allah to grant the soul of departed Justices eternal rest and their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Also, Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, in a statement, joined others to condone with the Muslim community worldwide over the tragic stampede.

According to the statement, “the PDP mourns, our thoughts and prayers go to the Muslim community worldwide and particularly, the families of Nigerian worshippers who were affected in the sad occurrence. Indeed, we share in their pains and pray that the Almighty God, in His mercies, comfort and give them the fortitude to bear the loss.”

Buhari salutes Fasanmi at 90 PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with Pa Ayo Fasanmi on the occasion of his 90th birthday, today.

The president joined Pa Fasanmi’s family, friends and kinsmen in celebrating the elder statesman’s longevity in the service of his community, region and

country, applauding his uncommon and exemplary life of steadfast commitment to progressive ideals.

The president commended Pa Fasanmi’s most admirable fidelity to the noble ideals of justice, equity, honesty, patriotism and selflessness as worthy of emulation by younger

Nigerians.

He prayed that God Almighty will grant many more years of good health and happiness to Pa Fasanmi who was first elected into the House of Representatives between 1964 and 1966 and served as a two-term Senator between 1979 and 1983.

49. The PDP only needs 11 Senators to regain majority in the chamber.

Another PDP Senator said: “The calculation is that if APC used the court or other means to remove Saraki, the PDP should reach out to the Senate President’s core supporters in APC who will become endangered and aggrieved. They will then try to get the number to make the balance and go ahead one PDP Senator as Senate

President.”

Though Former Senate President David Mark had rejected the bid to vie for the seat ahead of the June 9 inauguration, sources said that the angry Senators might persuade him in case of Saraki’s ouster to take the Senate top post again.

A simple majority is needed to elect a Senate President, while he can only be removed by a two thirds majority.

Saraki’s CCB Trial: Why PDP may take over Senate Taiwo Adisa -Abuja THE trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal appears to have thrown up another plot which could see the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) taking over the Senate.

Besides the trial of the Senate President at the CCT, there is another plot aimed at getting him removed from office.

But Senators of the PDP

are said to have resolved that the removal of Saraki would only yield the Senate to the party.

The opposition party is not willing to lose the Senate number two position now occupied by Ike Ekweremadu and senators are aware that the removal of Saraki would eventually lead to Ekweremadu’s ouster.

PDP senators are therefore said to have concluded plans to take over the chamber if

the APC is able to remove Saraki through the CCT. “The major reason for his trial at the CCT is because of the powers of the tribunal to cause any indicted public officer to lose his seat. If they rely on that to orchestrate his removal, then the PDP has to defend itself by ensuring a PDP Senate President emerges,” a senator said.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) currently has 59 Senators with PDP parading

stood by the former head of state throughout the period he was in detention after the 1994 counter-coup.

In the same vein, Daura is said to wield a strong influence in the Presidential Villa, with reports that he has been part of most official decisions so far on a lot issues.

For instance, Daura reportedly played a crucial role in the major appointments the President has so far made, some of which triggered controversy, because of perceived lopsidedness.

The former Editor of New Nigeria newspaper and chairman African International Bank is believed to have deployed his strong influence during the consideration of the likely ministerial nominees to be sent for screening by the Senate.

Similarly, the relationship between President Buhari and General Danjuma, which dates back to the military era, is basically altruistic, as the duo are said to be working closely on how to assemble what an insider described as a result-oriented and progressive team.

4 killed as gunmen attack DSS office in Kogi Yinka Oladoyinbo -Lokoja FOUR people were killed on Firiday night as unidentified gunmen invaded the headquarters of Department of State Security Services (DSS) in Lokoja, Kogi State capital.

The dead include three members of the suspects and a mobile policeman drafted to the scene of the incident, while two of the suspects were arrested.

Sunday Tribune gathered that the gunmen invaded the DSS office located after the Lokoja Confluence Stadium at about 10.00 p.m, armed with dangerous weapons, including with IEDs and AK47 rifles The gunmen were said to have immediately attacked the DSS office.

Following the intensity of the attack, a Deputy Director in the agency was said to have quickly put a distress call to the police at about 10.

40 pm for reinforcement to fortify defense against the attack.

The state police command was said to have immediately mobilised its patrol teams to the scene to the attack, where the invaderswere engaged in gun duel.

It was further learnt that the police team along with a combined efforts of the Army that were later drafted in engaged the attackers for over seven hours before they were finally overpowered.

After the battle, some of the suspects were said to have fled into the bush while three of them were killed.

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crimereports

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

SARS arrests two robbery suspects in Oyo Stories by Oluwatoyin Malik

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HE Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Leye Oyebade has said that his command arrested two robbery suspects whose gang had been disturbing residents of Ibadan and other parts of the state by dispossessing them of their hard-earned money and other valuables at gun point.

He gave the names of the suspects as Popoola Damilare (23) and Oyeleke Abass (24).

Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, September 23, 2015, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Leye Oyebade, said that nemesis caught up with a member of the robbery gang, Damilare, when he was arrested on September 16 by the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ibadan in collaboration good-spirited members of the public along IjokodoApete Road.

Oyebade revealed that Damilare’s gang members had invaded the residence of one Alhaja (names with-

held) on Tuesday, September 15, and had robbed her of valuables including laptop, gold jewelry, handset and cash totaling about N270,000.

Crime Reports’ investigation revealed that those who went with Damilare for the robbery included one Samson a.k.a. Samora, Tunde a.k.a. Tuna and Bode a.k.a. Agba Yahoo.

Though the robbers escaped that night after their victims raised the alarm, some members of the neighbourhood got hold of Damilare but released him when they saw that he was

a known face.

He was however rearrested the following morning after those who released him when he was caught went to report what transpired the night before to union leaders at Ijokodo park where the suspect worked as a member of okada arm of the NURTW. The Oyo police boss stated further that the confession of the suspect led to arrest of the second suspect, Oyeleke Abass, from whom two guns were recovered. Abass was said to have hid the guns, kept in

a military camouflage bag, inside the ceiling in his father’s house at ijokodo area of Ibadan.

Restating his command’s readiness to maintain law and order in the state, Oyebade said that efforts were on to arrest other members of the gang who were at large.

Confessing to the crime he was accused of while speaking with Crime Reports, Damilare said: “It is true I went to rob with three other members of my gang. Their names are Samson a.k.a. Samora, Tunde a.k.a. Tuna and

Police recover snatched vehicles in different parts of Nigeria DIFFERENT brands of vehicles snatched at different parts of Oyo State have been recovered by the Oyo State Police Command, the state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade has revealed.

The recovered vehicles include a Honda Accord, a Toyota Corolla car and a Murano Sport Utility Vehicle.

Speaking during a press briefing at the command headquarters at Eleiyele, Ibadan, on Wednesday, September 23, the Oyebade said that the Honda Accord car was snatched at gunpoint from a lady at Ashi area of Ibadan on July 28, 2015.

He added that Murano SUV was forcefully taken taken from its owner at gunpoint in Oyo town while the Toyota Corolla was also snatched at gunpoint at Alakia area of Ibadan.

“Our investigators went as far as Katsina State to recover the Honda, the police commissioner stated,” adding that a particular suspect that had been on the wanted list of the police was apprehended based on intelligence-led policing.

“It is a signal we are sending to those who might want to perpetrate crime to steer clear. We have our men on the ground. Our dragnets are far-reaching.

Patrols and safer highways are on ground,” Oyebade further stated.

He thereafter handed over the key of the recovered vehicles to their owners.

The owner of the Honda car told Crime Reports that she was robbed at gun point at Ashi in Ibadan at

Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade (second right) handing over the key of one of the recovered vehicles to the owner. about 8.30p.m.. Also, the owner of the Murano SUV, one Fanomi Olatubosun said he was also robbed at gun point at Roundabout,

Odo Eran area of Oyo town as he wanted to open the gate of his residence when he got home from work.

“They bundled me into the

car and drove away with me. I was later dropped along Oyo-Ibadan expressway,” he stated.

All the vehicle owners

expressed their appreciation towards the police command for helping in the recovery of their snatched vehicles.

Kwara police parade suspected admission racketeer, cultists Biola Azeez-Ilorin

THE Kwara State Police Command has arrested a man, one Ibrahim Oladele, suspected to be a member of a syndicate which specialised in university admission racketeering.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin while parading the suspect with 16 others for various offences, the state commissioner of police, Esosa Amadasun, said the suspect claimed to be a lecturer at the University of Ilorin and obtained N450, 000 and above from unsuspecting members of the public seeking admission into universities and

The suspect other tertiary institutions in the state.

“The news of his arrest has attracted some of his victims among whom was

one Olawuyi Olufemi of Offa Garage area, Ilorin.

The suspect had allegedly fleeced him of the sum of N450,000 with the prom-

ise of securing an admission for him at the University of Ilorin where he claimed to be a lecturer”, the police commissioner said.

Amadasun, who further disclosed that the suspect had confessed to the crime, added that he would be charged to court as soon as investigation was concluded.

Also paraded were four suspected cult members of Eiye Confraternity, who were said to have been arrested while initiating three students of Government Day Secondary School, Oloje, Ilorin at an abandoned poultry farm behind the school.

Bode a.k.a. Agba Yahoo.

I am a member of okada arm of National Union of Road Transport Workers at Ijokodo, Ibadan.

“On Tuesday, September 16, Samson and Tunde came to meet me. They said there was a job for us to do. They stated further that we would go and rob a woman living along Apete road, Ibadan, assuring me that she would bring money home because she was selling jewelry.

“We went to the woman’s residence at about 8p.m.

Her husband had already gone to the mosque to pray and she was the only one at home. Samson, Tunde and Bode went in while I stayed outside to be on the watch.

They came out of the woman’s house and handed a bag over to me. As we run down the stairs, since the house was a storey building, the woman started shouting thief! thief!! I dropped the bag and we ran in different directions.

“People pursued us and caught up with me. Those who apprehended me happened to know me so they allowed me to go after expressing surprise that I was the one. The following morning, I was re-arrested at Ijokodo junction where I used to issue tickets to okada riders.

“The police were called to arrest me and during interrogation, the demanded to know where we got the guns we used for the robbery operation and I replied that the gang used to keep the guns with Abass.

The police went for Abass and he took them to his house where the guns were recovered.

“This is my second robbery operation. We carried out the first operation at the city centre. We collected laptop and two phones.”

Abass, also opened up thus: “It was my friends who went to rob while I was at work. One of them was arrested while others ran away. I was arrested and guns were recovered from my house but the guns belong to my friends - Samson, Tunde and Bode who are cultists.

“I am also a cultist. I belong to Aye Confraternity and we hold our meetings at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, though I am not a student. I was selling books at Dugbe. I have followed the gang to robbery operation before at Beere area of Ibadan. We collected laptop and handsets and one of us took the items to Sabo where they were sold.”

8

HID Awolowo (1915-2015)

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

‘Mama stabilised marriages’ continued from pg5

the entrance to the hall. Gbenga Daniel, who had escorted him and Oni from the hall throwing banters, quipped, laughing: “At the point of interview, you will excuse me now. Ha ha!”

On what Nigerians could do to sustain the legacy, Oyegun told Sunday Tribune that Nigerians must return to the virtues of the past. “This is a family of high moral principles. So, it pays to be virtuous; it pays to know the difference between right and wrong. This family did all their lives, particularly papa and mama. The lesson papa combined with mama is that it pays to be principled; to have strength of character and keep the family together, all the virtues that make for proper nation building. Once you are passionate about what you believe in and you can keep your family together, then you can keep a nation,” he said.

Afenifere, speaking through Sir Olanihun Ajayi, observed that at the birth of the Second Republic in 1979, the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo had no car of his own, and relied on his wife’s car, which he used to travel throughout the length and breadth of the country. “How can we forget mama?

It is impossible. She was kind and good. We pray for her two surviving children ( Revd Tola Oyediran and Dr Tokunbo AwolowoDosumu) and their children to be granted the grace of God to live very happy lives with unalloyed joy and peace of mind in all undertakings,” he said, before yielding the floor to the Assistant Corps Marshall zone 2 (Lagos and Ogun), Mr Akpabio, who led an advance party of the Corps Marshall, Boboye Oyeyemi, who noted that when the agency received the news of mama’s journey, it felt we should come and celebrate with the family given mama’s immense contributions to the development of the nation. “Those who did not see her physically have learnt a lot from her and those who were privileged to see her before she departed also gave testimonies of her contribution. We are beneficiaries,” Akpabio noted.

Chief (Dr) Abayomi Jiboku representing HRM Adedapo Tejuoso, the Osile of OkeOna Egba who was said to be holidaying in London, described Yeye Oodua as a woman of so many parts, a committed religionist, a sagacious politician and a rare gem.

“We are today celebrating her for the good works she had done in Ikenne, in Remo, Ogun State and indeed the entirety of Nigerian nation. Kabiyesi has asked me to emphasise that his mother, Abisoye Tejuoso and mama were very close friends while they were alive,” he said.

For his part, Otunba Subomi Balogun, who said he did not expect a public testimony, noted that he had written some of the tributes originally meant for mama’s 100th birthday, but took solace in the fact that she died the way a Christian should go. In his view, Mama was a legend in her own right, a carryover from what her revered husband was. “She had a very special relationship with me, my wife and our children. There was hardly any event of my life that mama did not play an active part in, even when in 1997 I was being installed as the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians, mama was sitting just in the second row. Poignantly enough, she had so much concern for me that at one of the most tumultuous occasions of my life, mama sent a delegation to me and also made herself the number one customer of that institution known as FCMB in Remo.”

Noting that the late Yeye Oodua was so affectionate that he kept on wondering what further love she would bestow on her blood children, Subomi averred: “ I can’t

The Jonathans signing the condolence register in Ikenne last Wednesday.

APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun with APC Deputy National Chairman (South-West), Chief Segun Oni. say everything that I would have loved to say today but in our hearts, we’ve lost a mother, an angelic mother and a mother in Israel.

We’ve lost someone who has left indelible footprints in our hearts. I know the whole nation is mourning her, but I have come to express the joy of my family and I as to what mama had been to us specially.”

Like Subomi, Chief Anyaoku said he did not expect to be called upon to make a speech.

He noted, however, that even though he did not have the privilege of knowing mama, he had the great privilege of being a very keen student and fan of the sage. As he recalled: “When I was in Ibadan at the then University College, Ibadan, this country had very handful of people that you would describe as the founding fathers of our country. To me, Chief Obafemi Awolowo stood out and

that was how I came to become a fan of his. I have followed very closely, all the comments made since her passing, but even before her passing in recent years. I came to recognise some of the noble qualities that she possessed through some of her children, particularly Dr Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu as chairman of the Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Award Selection Committee.”

Noting that in Nigerian obituaries, words get often misused, Anyaoku noted that Nigerians were in Ikenne to celebrate a true and rare matriarch of the nation, a truly noble lady who cont .elebration, celebration of nobility, celebration of a great exemplar in terms of the qualities of leadership and Christian worshipping.”

Indeed, we believe that it is a rare privilege to add extra 29 years to the Biblical three scores and ten.

And Gbenga Daniel, who led a delegation of Remo Christians to the occasion, revealed his special connections. “I am the last and youngest husband of mama, because mama is—it’s difficult to say was—the Asiwaju Onigbagbo (obinrin) of Remoland while I was also made the Asiwaju Onigbagbo (okunrin) in Remoland, which means that mama is my wife in the Lord. But more than anything else, we are all children of mama.

We knew mama would go one day but when it happened it was something completely unbelievable for all of us. But God knows best.”

It was at this point that Dr Jonathan and Patience came in, to roaring applause and shouts of: “Ebele! Ebele! Ebele!” by the entire hall. Beaming with smiles, the former president saluted the gathering, and the master of ceremonies could not help remarking on the people’s love for him. “ Just like Gbenga Daniel noted, and as a philosopher also said, death is a necessary end which will come when it will come, and we know it will come for all of us one day.

My wife and I are not mourning because mama has passed on. Indeed we believe that it is a rare privilege to add extra 29 years to the Biblical three scores and ten,” he said.

Jonathan described the Yeye Oodua as a rare mother, a noble woman and a woman of virtue, as described by the Bible. “She was a mother to all of us, a mother whose milk of kindness we still need. Her milk of encouragement, we still need; her milk of advice we still need and today she is no more with us.

I and my delegation have come to pay our last respects. We said we would be hiding from public view for 12 months, but in this particular case we cannot hide. We come to tell our brothers and sisters that we are together. God brought her for all of us; she just had to be the biological mother of a few,” he noted.

Responding on behalf of the family, Reverend Tola Oyediran, who first led the hall to sing the popular hymn, “Awa ju asegun lo,” told the gathering: Many times my brother (Jonathan) came to see mama and mama referred to him as her son, and he also in so many ways appreciated her. The memory will live with us for so many years. I really want to appreciate our former president and his wife for coming all the way, wherever you have been be it Abuja or Bayelsa, to see us in Ikenne. I think it is a show of deep love for the Awolowos,” while Dr Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu also narrated how the Yeye Oodua went home after spending quality time with the family. She noted that even though members of the family might not be very active on the political scene, they would do their best to continue to project the ideals of the sage.

Speaking with Sunday Tribune, Dr Jide Adeniji, former FERMA chairman who accompanied Jonathan to Ikenne, narrated his personal encounters with the Yeye Oodua: “Whenever I came here as a son or grandson, mama would say: “Jide, sit down here. Do the best in any position you find yourself. She advised you not out of what she would gain. She was very close to God and any time she advised you, she would top it up with prayers.”

He added: “This is the headquarters of the Yoruba Unity Forum of which I am a member and we will remember mama as a virtuous woman which the Bible describes in Proverbs 31. She was a mother to all of us.

We thank God for her and we want younger continues on pg 9

9

HID Awolowo (1915-2015)

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

‘Her presence brought devt to Ikenne and beyond’ continued from pg 8

In fact, the elephant has fallen. She told us that a woman who bows to her husband will last in her marriage. She also drew young children to herself without discrimination.

ones to emulate her.”

To Adeniji, the only way Nigerians can sustain the Awolowo legacy is to do exactly what he was doing while he was alive.

And the town testifies....

In order to gauge the pulse of the town proper, Sunday Tribune interacted with market women, okada riders and students, all of whom had fond memories of the Yeye Oodua. Sunday Godwin, an okada rider, revealed that business was always good for okada riders while she was alive, expressing hope that the residence would not be deserted on her demise.

“When Mama was alive and people held functions,business was always good for us okada riders. Secondly, mama was very nice to us. Some of us are from the East and I am from Akwa Ibom. Mama has always protected us. Now that mama is no more, I believe that people will still be coming here and business will be good,” he said in an emotion-laden voice.

Akinsanya Babatunde, another okada rider, revealed that it was Mama’s son, Chief Wole Awolowo who had, in 1996, facilitated his employment at a brewery in Ibadan, Oyo State. “Since I returned to Ikenne as an okada rider, Mama has done wonderfully well. There is nobody from Ikenne who couldn’t go to her. But we would have been happier if Wole Awolowo were alive today. Many times when we did something wrong in town, Mama would invite our head called Alhaji Cigar, who was also working with her, and ask him to talk to us. Mama built a shed for us where we could hide under the sun.”

Yet another okada rider, Mr Fasasi Ilori, a native of Ikenne who is in his fifties, said he had known Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo all his life, and took Sunday Tribune to some historic buildings which were related to Mama’s years in Ikenne, including the church her mother founded – The Apostolic Church, Ikenne. Speaking on how the Yeye Oodua related with the community, Ilori stated that “I was a bricklayer in 1987 when this house was built. Mama was a good person and was well respected within the community. She was an easygoing person and it would be hard for anyone to say he/she was offended by Mama.”

In the same vein, Mrs Margaret Omobowale Ariyo, a trader who noted she had known the Yeye Oodua for over 60 years, said she would always treasure her memories of the matriarch, whom she said taught her how to be a good wife. She said: “In fact, the elephant has fallen. There is no time we will fail to remember her because in the neighbourhood, she was spotless. If there was no water---if there was no light to pump water---almost the entire town came to her compound to fetch water. We were never afraid to enter the compound to fetch water; we did as we pleased. I attend the fellowship in the house; it started about 10 years ago.

“It was mama who stabilised the marriages of people like me. She would always teach us how to behave in our matrimonial homes; how to be submissive to our husbands. She told us that a woman who bows to her husband will last in her marriage. She also drew young children to herself without discrimination, whether from a poor or rich background. When papa was alive too, young children used to play football

The house where Mama grew up in Ikenne.

Mrs Margaret Ariyo

Sunday Godwin in the compound.”

The trader revealed that functions at the Awolowo residence always had a huge impact on her business. “There is no time the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF) members or churches come here to have programmes

that there is no big difference in sales. Now that mama is no more, we will have to beseech God to choose a good person like mama for us. Mama was a very good person; may God grant her heavenly reward,” she said.

Even Sagamu people mourn...

Even in Sagamu, where Sunday Tribune visited, many were full of praises for Mama and expressed regrets that she did not live longer. A trader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted that “Mama’s presence brought about development, not just within Ikenne community but beyond. She opened up Ikenne to the international scene and made us proud to be from the community. People came from far and near and, in fact, it brought in certain amount of big business for the community. Even in death, her presence is still pulling crowd and ensuring development as the Ikenne-Sagamu road, via local government secretariat, was recently reopened and work is going on there in earnest because of the dignitaries who have been plying the road to pay their respects to Mama. She was really an epitome of respect, development and continuous progress. She will be sorely missed.”

A secondary school student, Maria, who was on her way from school with her friends, also spoke with Sunday Tribune on how HID’s death affected her as a student.

While her friends would rather not speak with the press as they were not sure what their parents’ reactions would be, Maria, who agreed to speak on the condition that her school’s name and surname would not appear in print, noted that Mama was really caring and was an epitome of discipline.

She said: “You won’t believe that, sometimes, our parents threatened to report us to her and just that was enough to scare us because she was really strict, from what we heard about her. Even in church, you could tell she was a no-nonsense woman and a mentor for many of us young girls, especially when it came to maintaining family discipline. Have you ever heard any bad thing about the family, especially all these public scandals usually associated with big men’s children?

Never. It was just natural that the family was admirable, and my mum could not drum the Awolowo example hard enough into my head.

“Her house was usually admired by my friends and I, and it was a thing of pride which we never failed to show off to our other friends in school, especially those who were not from around here and who had never met her. We were like champions in school because we had not only heard about her and Baba Awolowo in school during lessons, we had the opportunity of meeting her, and we have relatives who had related with Baba Awolowo first hand when he was still alive. In fact, even today, we are still told stories about the great exploits of Mama and Papa when they were alive. I wish she lived much longer as some of my friends really admired her and were looking forward to meeting her someday.”

Indeed, the matriarch lives on in the hearts of the people.

10

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

interview Confession of an Oba:

‘I have tamed OBJ, my Balogun’ Assistant Editor, OLAYINKA OLUKOYA, was one of the journalists that spoke with the Olowu of Owu, Abeokuta, Oba (Dr) Adeboyega Dosunmu, on the various issues relating to his reign as the traditional ruler of the Owu people since ascending the throne of his forebears 10 years ago. Excerpts:

Y

OUR Majesty, it’s been 10 years since you’ve been on the throne. How have you fared in these past 10 years?

Well, the past 10 years have been eventful. The Lord has been good to us and we have had a great and wonderful decade of reign on the Owu people and we thank God that we can relate more on successes than failures. In 10 years, we can actually look back and say thank you God. We have no regret at all. Hard situations, difficult times have been experienced but they have been subdued. All in all, to God be the glory, we have had 10 years of peaceful experience.

Only that we have had a little bit of thunderstorms and all the rest.

You fought many battles on your way to the throne; how did you overcome these battles?

We are not talking about any particular battle but battles and battles. How does one overcome? The grace of God, that’s my belief. I have no dexterity of my own; I’m not a very clever person but with God on our side, we have survived some hard times; we have scaled some very difficult situations; quarrels have been settled and disagreements have been ironed out peacefully. I must say that the question you asked is really pertinent because we, Owus, are very probably hardy, as you probably must have read in some of your history books.

An Owu man takes his relationship very seriously and anything that happens to or threatens that relationship is taken with all might and all energy; he takes whatever it takes to resolve it but, happily, things are changing and we are not as people claim that we are. We thank God for that because what we are now, is very soothing and very peaceful. It’s only under the atmosphere of peace that you can make progress.

Have you reconciled with the five others who contested the throne with you 10 years ago?

I think except one, maybe. I believe that one came from abroad to contest and he was in and out. He’s still in and out. When he’s in, he has not made any trouble with anybody. He has been living his own quiet life and I believe we can say that is reconciliation.

Now talking about religion, which one do you belong to and how many shrines do you have in the palace here and what is your level of involvement in their worship?

Well, I am a Christian. I claim to be, according to Christian tenets, a child of God, and that’s what I’ve been for many years.

Things have not changed because I’ve ascended the throne.

I’ve remained a child of God and I’ve enjoyed a peaceful reign under the guidance

Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu of the holy spirit of God. As I speak, there is no need me for me to tell you I am a Christian. Not just a Christian, I am a preacher, I am a pastor of a church. God has been good to us; God has shown himself faithful in this Oke Ago-Owu, which is the mainland of the Owu people. Since 1834 when we settled in this place, there had never been a church established. Our spiritual life, situation and religion had not allowed that to happen since 1834. But three years ago, the first church was established in this mainland of the Owu people, at the back of the palace, which I believe is a wonderful thing.

It’s most unexpected but it has come because God has brought it and established it. It’s called Mainland Independent Baptist Church and it’s the first in Oke Ago-Owu. We have churches in other parts of Owu. Of course, you know it spreads between Abeokuta and Lagos. So, we have several churches but where the church is located, no church has been allowed to rise around it until about three years ago.

How did you go about achieving that?

I have not achieved this. I believe it’s God Himself who has achieved this. He ministered to me to evangelise, to talk to people about Christ, to persuade them to accept Christ as their saviour and that’s precisely what I’ve done. Of course, when you do that, you’ll gather a lot of people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their

saviour and because they gather together to pray together, wheere they gather to pray becomes what we call a church, physical church building, and then of course the fact that they are gathered— two of them, 10 of them, 50 of them, thousands of them—it’s called the church.

What’s the name of your own ministry, your majesty?

My ministry is Open Door Ministry. It has been established over a long time. That ministry has planted many churches beyond Lagos and Ogun states. We have at least four churches in Ogun State, including the ones I’ve just mentioned. We have churches in Ibadan, Ekiti. I’d been visiting all these places and preaching Christ before I became an Oba. But now as a monarch, do you still preach in the churches?

Of course, I have my private time. The throne has not taken that away from me.

Every minute that I have is devoted to the service of God. How then do you relate with your subjects who profess traditional religion?

Traditional religion; even the constitution of Nigeria permits that and if I as an individual begin to go against other religions, that would be unconstitutional and it’s punishable

under the laws of Nigeria. So, I believe people have the option to serve whichever god they want to serve. Even the Bible states it clearly; Joshua said “Listen you people (he was speaking to the Jews, his countrymen), you can serve whatever god you like, but as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.” That is the position that I also share.

I have nothing against any other religions. I was brought up here at Oke AgoOwu, the mainland of the Owu people where the palace is located. In fact, I lived in the palace, I had my childhood here in this palace. So, there is nothing that is going on in the palace that I don’t know something about. So, I’m not a stranger to all the gods that Owu people worship but I believe that mainly, Owu people believe in the Almighty God, the creator of the universe and they serve him.

So, 10 years on, I’ve not driven anybody who has come to the palace away. I have a reputation for welcoming them and even dance with them. My attitude is if I dance with you and I welcome you, I have the right to also tell you about my own religion.

I think it’s a free country and our people have been great in accepting this theology of freedom which Nigeria holds. People come here with their whatever. All the orisas that the Owu people worship have the right to come to their palace because this is their palace. I also have the right to stay Continues pg 11

11 interview

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

‘Orisas have a right to the palace’ Continued from

where he’s informed about the system even if he already knows it. This is the place where they would tell him the dos and the don’ts of his people. This is a place where they would seek for his commitment to rule fairly and justly amongst his people. They don’t do anything more than that.

pg 10

with my God and to worship the way I feel.

Owu people are very democratic and we have lived together in peace.

Now, would you say you have been able to cope with ancestral obligations as a royal father?

Ileya festival is coming within the next one or two weeks; the people will come here after leaving the yidi (eid) praying ground and I will entertain them. I have to entertain them because they are my people.

You know Joshua in Bible told his people if you choose to worship the gods on the other side of the river, that’s the river that they have crossed, go ahead and worship them but as for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord. I think the whole world should come to terms with that kind of situation. A situation where the adherents of one religion would want to force it down the throat of the others is not acceptable, even to me.

Egungun masquerade people come here every year, I sit amongst them but when they dance and talk to me and I congratulate them for achieving a new year, I ask their permission, “can I talk to you about my own God?” And they would say, “Kabiyesi go ahead and talk to us” and I would talk to them. I’ve seen many of them becoming converted. It’s their choice; if they are not converted, I can’t stop them from coming to the palace and if they are not converted they can’t deny me as their oba. So, where is the problem?

During the process of your coronation, you must have one or two unforgettable experiences or moments.

Can you recall any of such experience or moments?

Well, there were many. The first night that I arrived inside this palace and they came—those who have the job or claim to have the job of assessing me and advising me on how to become an Olowu— and we had about four hours of discussion and it was a very good and healthy discussion. All of us were blessed with understanding and they quite appreciated the stand that I was taking and I quite understood what they set out to achieve and let me tell you, with all initiation and what they call Ipebi experience everywhere in Nigeria, the idea is to produce a useful, progressive Oba, touching his heart and mind and making him committed to the realisation of their ambition, their target, what their nation, their kingdom, should be.

It is amazing for me to find that all that they set out to achieve was progress for the people and cordiality amongst the people; friendship and progress. Within four hours, they made me to understand that this was their target. I asked them questions, could there be another way apart from your way of achieving this same progress, peace, cordiality, fear of God, because incidentally, they also mentioned fear of God and for me, it was a great opportunity to convince them that there are other ways. The other ways are not necessarily better than their ways but the methodology, the style of achieving this same target is different.

You know there cannot be progress even in Nigeria without the love of the people you are called upon to serve and that’s what they were insisting on. I cannot condemn that because I wish all Nigerians could be looking out for the same thing. Now, their own method of achieving this in Abeokuta may be different from the method of achieving this set goals in Oyo or in Ife or in Osogbo. They can be different. But if our people are made to understand what they really want, then they can go for it and

Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu that’s what Owu people agreed to go for.

They agreed that they should go for it.

Anything that would give us progress, that would make us to move ahead, that would not separate us from the love of God. The way I’m expressing it as a Christian may be different from the way they are expressing it in their own religious rites. But if it is the same thing, it is my duty as their oba to make it explicit to them, to let them know precisely what my thinking or my own ideas are.

You’ll be surprised to hear this, but we persuaded each other and they said “go ahead and be yourself but we warn you: the way we know is what we have told you.

If you don’t accept it, as you claimed, you have already been conferred with the title of Olowu but by the way, you know the meaning of that.”

To choose an oba, all interested candidates within the households of the next ruling house must choose. They must allow as many people who want to contest to do that. In our own house, Amororo, we sent out six candidates. In fact, some members of the family were banging tables and ready to fight it out and slug it out. And they asked each of us what do you think and I said if they are princes, they have the right to contest for this post.

What we all need to understand is that there cannot be two of us on the throne and I don’t think anybody will disagree with that. It is only one that is possible and they asked if you are not picked what would you do? I said I would go to my house. I have a house in Lagos and I have a job that I’m doing. I would go back to my job and, of course, maybe because they asked me first and I answered that way, the others, out of their own free will, said the same thing.

So, six of us were sent to the kingmakers to choose and then the process was completed and I finally emerged as the representative of the Amororo House.

As a Christian Oba, I don’t know whether you actually took part in the rituals usually believed to take place in Ipebi where the oba is said to be made to eat the heart of his predecessor and is then initiated into some cult...

(Cuts in) Usually believed? Thank God

you asked that. It’s a matter of choice anywhere. I have told you the process of choosing an oba anywhere in Yorubaland. First, you have to be a male or female descendant of a royal house. That’s number one. The preference is for the male descendant. In all Yoruba country, it’s the same thing. A lot of confusion and quarrel are coming out of our system because we fail to understand what the system is all about. So, the house is given all the opportunity to ask all its members “how many of you want to become oba? It is our turn to choose an oba for our people.

How many of you are interested?”

If they are literate or learned in the family, they ought to explain the conditions of the law for any person to become an oba and we did in our family. The second thing is, will you accept the verdict of the kingmakers? Of course, you have no choice.

The kingmakers are not people from your family. They are kingmakers that have been chosen. We have seven in Owu here in Abeokuta and the compounds that produce these individuals know themselves.

You cannot produce a kingmaker from a compound that is not designated for that purpose. So, the ruling house would send all the candidates to the kingmakers. That’s the end of the activities for the royal family.

The kingmakers would now go to work and ask questions from the candidates.

“What is your religion? If you become Oba what will you do?” and so on and so forth.

Then there can be barrage of demands.

When they have interviewed everybody, those kingmakers would pick one or two or three but would state their preferences.

Most of the time, they choose one and when they have chosen one, the representative of the government who is always the chairman of the local government or secretary would then write his report and send to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs who would then send the report to the governor who will then call a meeting of his cabinet which will now say let’s approve because we have nothing against this candidate.

Don’t forget, there are traditional things that your people will want you to perform and we know that the first one is Ipebi.

What is Ipebi? Ipebi is a place where an incoming Oba is trained on how to rule,

No traditional rites?

(Cuts in) Wait a minute. That’s the target. That’s what they are looking for. That’s what they want you to accept and embrace but to be sure that you would accept, embrace and practise it, they may demand that you give certain things. They want your commitment. Now as I’ve told you, there must be a discussion on your third day or fifth or sixth day. In our case, you have to be in Ipebi for 30 days.

They would give you a day to arrive at Ipebi, see your people and talk to your people and then they will come and visit you at the dead of the night. I mean by that, when it’s quiet, serene; the atmosphere is quiet, peaceful and cordial, they would come to you. In my own case, they came at about 11:00pm. All the people who came with me, from my wife down to my children and the rest, had been told to go home at 8:00pm.

And they went home. Incidentally, the governor asked me “Now, knowing your Christian and spiritual background, are you going to go into Ipebi?” I said “by the grace of God I would go in to Ipebi.” He asked again, “you would spend 30 days there?” I said “by the grace of God I would spend 30 days there.”

They were probably afraid for me. But I told the governor and the people that I was born, raised, nurtured in the palace. I’m not a stranger at all to anything I was going to meet at Ipebi. If you spent 12 to 15 years of your teenage life in the palace, you are no more afraid of what’s going on in the palace. In the day time, I’ve seen it, in the night time, I’ve seen it, in the midnight I’ve seen it. In the rainy season, I’ve seen it. I’ve known the travails, the problems of obas, not one, not two, not three. I wasn’t here to see my grandfather but I saw my father act for about three years as a regent.

I had seen my uncle, my brother, my brother-in-law, my cousin on this very throne. So, nobody knows everything. I never claim to know everything. As I’ve said, the second day they came and told me everything and said “when would you like to start your training?” I said “I have started my training about two days ago.” That was the third day that I had been there spending the night from 8 p.m to 8 a.m alone in the palace. And they said “who taught you?”

And I said “have you all forgotten that I was a prince and my grandfather was here? My father was here, my cousin was here, my brother-in-law was here. You, I know your senior brother, you I know your former head of the family, I’m quite familiar with your compound.”

Of course, these were facts that nobody could deny. What happened was that we ended up after four hours of discussion and they tried to make me understand. They didn’t threaten, but they said you know if you don’t do these things you would not be properly installed as oba and that’s a very important phrase, properly installed as oba. And I said, please, explain to me what it means by being properly installed. But I will not discuss that with you.

Are you saying that the Ipebi is not a place where scary things and rituals take place?

I’m not saying that. I can’t tell you that.

What is ritual? Something that you do regularly as a practice and has become your Continues on pg 12

12 interview

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

‘The law frowns on eating anyone’s heart’ for another man to eat before he can know your heart and what is good and right for you. Now, it was straightforward, frank and lovely and we all came out of the place happy.

Kabiyesi, 10 years on, what has been your happiest, and saddest, moment?

I have had happy moments all along.

My happiest moment, I know where it is and I know how to get there. I spent three months in this palace alone every night getting to that source. I know that source and as for me, I have followed it. That was my initiation, that’s what I did for three months here and that’s what has sustained me up till today.

Could you be explicit about this?

No, I don’t want to.

Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu Continues from pg 11

practise, your way of life. That’s ritual. The way they set my table for breakfast with spoon and knife on my right and fork on my left, the plate in the centre, a glass of water in the front. That’s ritual. The point I’m trying to bring across to you which took us four hours to get straightened out between me and the kingmakers 10 years ago is the same thing about perfect understanding of what is involved.

When you are employed, they would give you what in civil service they call G.O. and the F.I, Financial Instruction. You cannot claim your transport allowance unless you go this way to this man and he approves and he passes it to the next man. That is all what ritual is all about. It’s not more than that. But if you are thinking of, did they give you the heart of the former king to eat, well in this day and age—and I’m not saying to you that it is impossible for someone to take a dead body to the theatre and get the heart out. I have seen people butchered like you go to the butchery and they cut the cow, as a reporter.

Maybe you didn’t know I was a reporter.

As a reporter, I was sent to the scene of murder to cover the report. So, I know, I’m sorry, but you know that I cannot do that (eat the heart of a former king). You know even the law does not allow it. It’s a question of peaceful expression and understanding and I dare to say this, not in condemnation of the traditional system, but what I believe is that the system today may not work tomorrow. Culture and tradition is dynamic, even with the people that are die-hard and say it has to be this way, it’s dynamic. It is not static. It changes, things change; even leadership amongst the traditional practitioners, and you’ve got to let people know that things change and that’s what I was determined to say to people and also to learn from them.

There are things that everybody has to learn and I made that very clear to them.

I’m willing but I beg yo to please also consider my stand. Let me quickly tell you this, don’t forget that I was already the Olowu.

All the legal steps had been taken; I had contested like everybody else; I had been interviewed by those who were supposed to interview me. The government had already examined and accepted the verdict of the house and the kingmakers and all the rest of that. So, as far as the law was concerned, I was already Olowu. It’s the same process everywhere in Yorubaland. I don’t know that of the Igbos and the Hausas but I know it’s the same thing across the board.

Of course, traditionally, you may not be accepted as the Olowu or as oba by the traditionalists. They may not accept you.

But you are by law. I also made it known to them that I was quite aware of what they were gunning for. I told them write down what I’m saying and write down what you are saying so that one day you’ll know that we understand each other. They asked me “are you not afraid that you are going to be here alone with us for the next 30 days?” and I said “I’m not. I’m sorry I’m not afraid and you cannot threaten me because I know you, I know everyone of you by name.

I know your compound, I know if I had accepted without question what you were going to do, I know what you are going to do to me.”

I’m sharing this without any fear and without any reservation because, honestly, people should know what they are going into and when you are getting into something, you have to understand what it is before you get into it. And they asked me to assure them that I understood what it meant to be an Olowu and at the end of four hours, I was persuaded and they were persuaded that what was important was my heart working for the Owu people.

I explained to them that you do not need to cut the heart of a man and fry it or roast it

Now, what has been your embarrassing moment on the throne?

I have to think hard about that because, honestly, there has not been any sad moment. I know that people in your profession will persist. My saddest moment, I can say there had been many of that. So, to find out the saddest is a problem. I have been disappointed and let down by people and there are numerous occasions when I’ve been disappointed. I also must have disappointed some people. I know that I must have let down some people. Some people might have been frustrated by my actions. But some people’s actions have frustrated me. If you have time for that, I will promise if you come back next week I would have written them down. But of what interest would that be for those reading your paper?

Any embarrassing moment?

Embarrassing moment? There are times when, it’s an embarrassment, somebody you don’t expect at all has brought you a car. I’ve had such an embarrassment. People I never expected brought me valuable gifts. People that I even suspect to be not in my favour when I was struggling to become an oba had suddenly appeared with a big garment and said I brought this for you. It’s embarrassing. “I know you; I know you didn’t support me. I know that in fact you went out of your way to stop me from becoming an oba, what are you doing with this big garment as a gift for me?” It can be very embarrassing.

If you notice my style of answering your questions, you will not be surprised that I successfully persuaded the kingmakers to let me go my own way; to let me serve my own God; to let me not touch the things that I don’t want to touch. I had not been embarrassed to that point even by the kingmakers. They didn’t embarrass me.

Till tomorrow, they come to me and I go to them. We live together in peace. You better believe what I’m saying because I’ m telling you the truth.

What positive changes have you brought to the Owu Kingdom?

Well, apart from the church, I have upset the system of governance here in Owu. I think within two years, I promoted baales to obas, 18 of them. They are now about 20 or 24 in the district. That is a positive change but it’s also an embarrassment to some people. I think I embarrassed some people and if they are not assuaged or persuaded, I still apologize. I have given up absolutism—that is Olowu is speaking! I have removed that. I have set up a cabinet of 18 people representing every shade of opinion in Owu and every conflicting interest.

They are in the cabinet and what I said to them is “let us come together and fight

it out. If this Oba is doing something that you don’t like, come and say it here openly and if you need to punch him in the nose, go ahead and punch him and he’ll punch you back.” It looks like a casual approach to a serious position--kingship. But I have had peace for 10 years.

Do I mean that people have never spoken against my stand? Of course not. They have spoken against my stand. I have as my Balogun, the longest reigning president of Nigeria. My Balogun is not an easy going person. Everybody knows Obasanjo.

Obasanjo, I mean you can’t just take him for a ride. But permit me to use the word, I have also tamed Obasanjo. What I mean by tame is, here is a man who would say “go to anybody in this country” and they must go. This is a man who would sit over the most turbulent cabinet meeting that I don’t think I can cope with as Sanya Dosumu. He has coped with all that at the national level and at the international realm, if Obasanjo sneezes, the whole world will catch cold.

And that is Obasanjo who has volunteered and condescended to be just Balogun to the Olowu in a lowly place like Owu or Abeokuta. Do you understand what I mean by he has been tamed?

But he’s a man with a large heart, a very large heart. A man who has ruled shall we say, the world and now he’s listening to one Olowu in one tiny part of—well we are not tiny. We are all over the place in this country and here is that man saying “okay Kabiyesi, we hear you but this is my own opinion,” and then we’ll all look and someone else would say I don’t agree with you all, this is what I think. And then another would say I don’t agree with you, this is what I mean.

You can call that democratic if you like. But that’s how we have done it for 10 years.

So, there had not been any twisting, any punching.

We’ve had it at the cabinet office and when we have resolved it, there is nothing more to fight about. If Obasanjo had been ‘tamed’, I have also been tamed and we have all been tamed. You know we the Owu people are known for our hardiness and stubbornness and all the rest of that. You’ll probably have seen it in all of us. So, what are you going to do about it? There’s nothing you can do about it.

We have tamed one another and I believe that’s what is also happening under democracy. Under any democratic system, everybody has got his say, but you cannot all have your way. We all decide what to do and since Obasanjo who has been a chief promoter of that form of democracy has been tamed; he tamed himself and then tamed all of us. So, we are all tamed and we work together happily.

But Kabiyesi, your achievement regarding the upgrading of baales to the status of obas is causing crises in several communities in Egbaland. A good example is Ijoko in Ota where two people are claiming to be the oba of the town. What efforts are you making to ensure that such problems are resolved in communities where they exist?

(Cuts in) I will start by saying it’s not my doing. So, I may not be able to adequately tell you precisely what I’ve done. It’s God’s doing; it’s marvelous in my eyes. First is prayer and second is creating an atmosphere of understanding. I have told you about my encounter with the kingmakers.

Now, it has ended up in a peaceful manner.

I believe that you’ll understand that I didn’t make two people oba.

In Ijoko which is still under Ota, I got to Continues on pg 49

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27 September, 2015

A

S a politician, the object of my daily vocational pursuit is politics. But the forum on which I speak this afternoon is that of an institution of higher learning, sponsored by one of the famous Christian organisations in the world. 1 thought, therefore, that it might be appropriate, from the points of view of myself and yourself, for me to address you on ‘Politics and Religion’.

There are many popular misconceptions about politics. I will relate only some of those of them that have come to my knowledge, and will also endeavour to show that they are nothing but misconceptions. We all have heard it said times without number that ‘politics is a dirty game’. The description of politics as a game is felicitous one, and it looks as if it is a contradiction in terms to daub a game as dirty. Speaking generally, any game at all, other than a game of chance, is good. But the manner of playing it may be clean or dirty, all depending on whether or not the players observe the rules for playing the game which mankind has laid down in conformity with universally accepted standards of decency and ethics. In other words, whether the game of politics is clean or dirty will depend wholly and solely on the manner in which a particular set of politicians play it.

Those who hold that politics is a dirty game have reason for their contention. But we will presently see from these reasons that it is the manner of playing it that they have in mind and not the game itself.

First among the reasons is that politicians are in the habit of criticising—indeed attacking, abusing and vilifying—one another both in private and in public. A proper understanding of the nature of politics will show that criticism is indispensable to the game of politics and that abuse, attack and vilification are its inescapable incidentals.

Politics is the science or the art of the management of public affairs. It is now a far cry from the primeval days when the entire members of a society tried to take part in the management of their affairs. In modem times, a breed of people called politicians have emerged who claim to have the necessary qualifications for the efficient management of public affairs. Except in a totalitarian community where sectarian views and ideas were regimented or forcibly suppressed, these politicians naturally form themselves into groups called parties each with different ideas of its own and divergent methods of realising those ideas. In a democratic society, it is

Awo’s thoughts VOICE OF REASON

Politics and religion A lecture given to students at the Adventist College of West African, Ilishan-Remo, on 27th July, 1961. open to the people to entrust the management of their affairs to one or more of the parties for a stipulated period of time. The party or parties thus chosen become the government, and more properly the trustees of the people, enjoined for their term of office to administer the trust with absolute prudence, probity and publicspiritedness.

It will be seen from what I have said that the final arbiters of whether the ideas and methods or policy and programme of a political party are relatively superior to, and likely to be more beneficial than, those of others are the electorate, the voters. In order to enable them to reach a verdict which is fair to the contenders and most likely to be in the people’s own best interests, they must have all the facts placed before them. The qualifications of each political party and of the individual candidates canvassing for votes on the platform of such a party must be established to the satisfaction of the voters. It is natural and legitimate for political parties to say the best they ever can about themselves and about the candidates they are sponsoring and to criticise one another most vehemently. The aim of healthy criticism is to spotlight defects and to prescribe means for removing

Sunday Tribune

them if that is possible. When the contending political parties do this honestly and conscientiously, the electorate are best placed to make a choice which will rebound to the benefit of all.

In private life, before we entrust our personal or business affairs to anyone, we take step to inquire into his qualifications both as to competence and character.

Such an inquiry as this is done in private, because what is at issue is a private concern. But the competence and character of politicians must of a necessity be examined in the full glare of public limelight. Because what is at issue is the welfare of the community or nation. In the management of private affairs, a gross mistake would only affect the fortunes of one man or a family or a small group of persons. A serious error of judgement in the management of public affairs might adversely affect the lives and fortunes of millions of people. For this reason, there is need for the competence and character of public men to be subjected to severer and stricter scrutiny - and that mainly in public - than those of persons engaged in private concerns.

Abuse or vilification in private or public life is to be deplored, because it stems from a mind which is depraved and warped. But the community which a politician seeks to serve is an amalgam of saints and sinners, with a sprinkling of the former as against an over-abundance of the latter. The gentle rebuke and occasional eulogy of the one may be fascinating, but the constant taunting of the other must be accommodated. Politicians are born not made; and anyone who has not the stomach for the railings of the masses and is only interested in their occasional hosannas, has no right to enter into public life. Another reason given in support of the charge that politics is a bad game is that good politicians are few and far between. The general run of them are irredeemably mundane: materialistic, atheistic, immoral, ruthless and unscrupulous. All the great religions as well as the lesser ones recognise the absolute need for a government among men. We all do. Furthermore, we realise that only a small number of people should be entrusted at any given time with the apparatus of such a government. If the persons thus chosen are bad, it is not because politics is bad. The fault is in the politicians, in the members of government, rather than in politics or government per se.

To be continued

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14

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

feature How Itsekiris welcomed new Olu of Warri EBENEZER ADUROKIYA highlights the unveiling of a new Olu of Warri after the public announcement of the death of Ogiame Atuwatse II who joined his ancestors September 4.

T

HE atmosphere was charged, absolutely electrifying. It was laced with a mixture of sorrow and joy. Sorrow, that the 19th Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II, has joined his ancestors after 28 years on the throne and joy, because a new era has begun with the unveiling of a new Itsekiri monarch, Prince Godfrey Abiloye Ikenwoli Emiko.

The assemblage of all Itsekiri sons and daughters was at their ancestral home of Ode Itsekiri (Big Itsekiri) September 19. There, it was the Itsekiri Traditional Council formally announced the passage of Atuwatse II. This was done through the symbolic breaking of an earthen pot three times by the Ojomo of Warri kingdom, Chief Yayah Pessu, who was surrounded

by Chiefs Isaac Jemide, the Oshodin of Warri and the Obazuaye of Warri, Sunday Rone.

Others were Chiefs Emmanuel Tetsola, Prest Udueyin and Johnson Atsemueleghe in acting capacity of the Ologbotsere, Uwangue and Iyatsere of Warri, respectively.

90 days of mourning declared Chief Pessu, during the formal announcement of the demise of the Olu, gave instruction to the effect that in the meantime, all festivities, burials, weddings and all carnival-like convivialities in Iwere kingdom spiced with drumming, blaring of music and the like, are to be put on hold until the funeral rites of the late Olu were completed.

This mourning period will last for 90 days starting from Saturday September 19. Besides the ban on all forms of festivities, men and women of Itsekiri extraction are expected to tie their traditional rappers upside down as a sign of mourning the late Ogiame Atuwatse II. Now Olu unveiled with 21 cannon shots salute After the formal announcement of the demise of Atuwatse II, sons and daughters of Iwereland were, thereafter, treated to some deafening noise from cannon shots.

Twenty one of these rented the air to draw the curtain of the era of the late Atuwatse II and the heralding of a new Olu. So, the 21 gun salute, as it were, was followed by the unveiling of the new Olu designate, Prince Godfrey Emiko. This was welcomed amid a thunderous ovation signifying a resounding endorsement from the general assembly of the Itsekiris.

Swiftly, the Olu-designate was whisked

Olu Designate, Prince Godfrey Emiko being unveiled at the event. away from the prying eyes of the press and enthusiastic crowd who wanted to catch a glimpse of his radiance.

Meanwhile, the new Olu of Warri designate, Prince Emiko, it was gathered, happened to be the younger brother of the late Ogiame Atuwatse II. Feelers had it that Prince Emiko was actually the preferred person the late Erejuwa II, their father, wanted to succeed him 28 years ago before some forces upturned the wish.

So, what the “anointed� prince was denied on May 2, 1987 when he was 27 years old has eventually returned to his stead 28 years after!

It was, however, gathered that before the Olu designate was eventually chosen, tra-

ditional chiefs of the kingdom, including Chief Yaya Pessu and Chief Isaac Jemide,

had painstakingly consulted with the Itsekiri Traditional Ancestry.

Role of the ancestors, intrigues in choice of new Olu The ancestors, it was gathered, chose and insisted on Prince Ikenwoli Emiko as the next Olu of Warri, saying his reign will usher in the peace, unity and development believed to have been truly eluding Iwereland in recent times.

The Itsekiri Council of Chiefs, as gathered, was said to have earlier disqualified the eldest son of late Atuwatse II, Prince Tsola Emiko during the selection process.

His maternal lineage is said not to be in line with the Itsekiri norms and values.

Sources said Itsekiri traditional demands that a prince who must ascend the throne of his ancestors must have a maternal link to either Itsekiri or Bini (Edo) where the progenitor of the Itsekiri, Prince Ginuwa, migrated from.

Olu Designate, Prince Godfrey Emiko

Continues on

pg 15

15

feature

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

‘The late Olu was a dynamic leader’ Continued from pg 14

It was also gathered that the rejected Prince Tsola Emiko has been under intense pressure from his well wishers to challenge the decision of the Itsekiri kingmakers in court.

An informant from the Itsekiri royal stead said: “His (Prince Tsola) mother is not from the two tribes that can be the mother of Olu; only princes born of Itsekiri or Edo mothers are qualified.

According to the informant, “The young prince is being inundated by people around him and those who are claiming to love him more than he loves himself. They want him to go to court to stop the process, because they feel that it is his right to succeed his father.

But from his body language and what he has said so far, he doesn’t seem to be interested, because he has been telling everybody that he is bounded by the decision of his elders and leaders of the land.”

Synopsis of Olu designate profile Meanwhile, the new Olu designate, Prince Emiko, who will also be undergoing a thorough royal tutelage during the 90 days, is a graduate of Business Administration from the University of Benin, Edo State. The 55-year-old prince, who will be the 20th Olu of Warri Kingdom when eventually crowned, is married and blessed with three children.

Dignitaries present at the ancestral home of the Itsekiris at Ode-Itsekiri (BigWarri) were Honourable Daniel Reyenieju of the House of Representatives, Itsekiri Women Leader, Chief Rita LoriOgbebor, Chief Ayirimi Emami, Chief Francis Omatseye, Chief Edwin Olley and Chief Thomas Ereyitomi.

Others were Chief Emma Jones, Chief Elemi Rewane, Chief (Mrs.) Patience Uku, Chief (Dr.) Richmond Macgrey, Chief Yalaju and Chief Fred Ogbe, among others.

Stakeholders speak on late Olu of Warri Meanwhile, some stakeholders in Warri spoke on the demise of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II. Head of the northern community otherwise known as Etsu Nupe of Warri, Alhaji Zuberu Tajudeen, described the late Itsekiri monarch as a dynamic leader with a knack for entrenching peace and development in his domain.

“The late Olu of Warri has been our father for many years. There were ethnic clashes during his own regime, but he kept it off the public. So, you see when he had problems like the one between the Ijaws and the Itsekiris, he called people from the top to come and solve the problem and that is the best achievement he has done for us. If he was to be a dull leader, the problem would have been existing up till now.

He also described the late monarch as one who did not discriminate along ethnic lines. According to him, “since we Arewas have been in Delta State, especially in Warri here, he has not discriminated against us. He loved us, even some of us married from here, because of the love he has for us. For instance, I have a daughter with them because of that we can say that the Olu of Warri is one of the greatest

Late Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II Crowd of Itsekiris on land and river at Ode Itsekiri during the Saturday Itsekiri General Assembly.

Chiefs and indigenes of Warri Kingdom celebrating the new Olu Designate, Prince Emiko. leaders we have ever had since I was born in Warri. He was a great leader; he tried a lot, he united all the Itsekiris and other

tribes in our locality, so we are happy for all what he has done, we are going to miss him.”

Since we Arewas have been in Delta State, especially in Warri here, he has not discriminated against us. He loved us, even some of us married from here An Itsekiri son, Professor J. Omatseye, during the general assembly meeting of all Itsekiris last Saturday, described the late Olu as an epitome of exemplary character cherished by all Itsekiris both at home and abroad.

Efe Samson, a trader, averred that “His reign has been quite vibrant over the years, there has been peace during his reign; he ensured that there was peace in every area of Warri. He assisted the government in ensuring that the security agenda was achieved in his territory; he also had a good relationship with other traditional rulers from other regions as head of the Delta State Traditional Council before his demise.”

16

27 September, 2015

I

’M still sulking over the passing of almost-Centurion and my employer, Mama H.I.D Awolowo; Mother of the Nation and Jewel of her world. Are words of eulogy still available for late-comers? I doubt. The early-risers had been to Ikenne and said everything. Those who couldn’t make physical appearances, had filled the air with deserving tributes. Presidents have paid homage.

Peasants are still mourning. It has been a while for the kind of nationwide simultaneous salutation, being witnessed. If memory serves me, it was only Mama’s Crown, Immortal Awo’s death, that ululated the entire nation this way, more than 28 years ago.

I had my well-kept plans for Mama’s centenary. When she was 99 last November, I only greeted the Super-Granny, postponing my celebration till this November. Somehow, I was confident she would make it. When you have someone almost eternally around, you can be excused for believing she would always be there. It is the same feeling I nurse about my Mum. It is illusional but...

I had planned a special interview session for Mama @ 100. Though I wasn’t a member of her running-planning committee, I was determined to gate-crash at the last-minute, and wangle my own plan through the programme. I had planned to inform my involved-bosses of my intention in October. I planned a stand-out interview, to appreciate everything she was to humanity in all spheres. It was to be totally different from all interviews she ever did. I planned questions never asked her in media interview. I was into quiet research. I listened to her legends, unobtrusively yet curiously. I didn’t want to give anything away. Anytime, I heard from credible sources that Mama’s intellect was still as sharp as they get, I rejoiced quietly. I was counting days but didn’t know her Maker was also counting.

Penultimate Saturday, I was in Ibadan for socials. The head office was one of my jaunts. My boss, Alhaji Sina Oladehinde, despite walking me to the exit gate, tried to hold me back though I was determined to be in Lagos that evening. He then put a call through to the M.D, Mr. Edward Dickson, playfully telling him I wanted to bolt without seeing the “Big Boss”. The conversation progressed and jollity gradually receded from his visage. From that point he could only hum responses. He finished with the call, turned to me, paused a moment and dropped the banger, “Mama is gone”.

My car-key dropped. Alhaji Oladehinde picked it up for me. My heart wandered. He saw through me and repeatedly advised careful and concentrated drive if I must leave for Lagos that evening. Before I got to the Toll Gate, it was more of who didn’t call.

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

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

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

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

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

Over a period of 30 years, the education sector in Nige-

Sunday Tribune

and unborn generation from premature death and terminal disease of fumes that exhaust from Ife Steel Rolling Company. Thanks and God bless you”. It came as a bulk message with “Koka Ife” as the sender. Need I say more?

READERS’ VERDICT

0811 695 4647

olanreade@yahoo.com

Oh, HID broke my heart!

Re-Saraki and Silly Season Congratulations on your last piece; Saraki and Silly Season. The thinking is profound, the presentation is logical and readability is easy. I have been reading and writing in the Tribune since 1958, the late Tai Solarin’s days. You are blessed.

—Barrister A.A. Akinyemi. 08034277863.

The hullabaloo against the senate president is a storm in a tea cup. The desperation to arrest Senator Saraki by the CCT likely to cause breach of peace. Edi kii mojo solokun, aki fi owo bo ogo orun ati osupa. The immunity clause protects him from prosecution until his tenure ends. The intrigue against him is a waste of time.

It is frivolous.

—09032084973.

Throughout my drive to Lagos, Mama’s passing, her life and my interview dominated my thoughts. That weekend, everywhere you turned and every radio station you tuned to, it was all about H.I.D. My special interview is gone with Mama’s eternally-sealed lips but who says I still can’t ask my special questions in my planned tribute on her birth/burial day, November 25. Maybe, someone would have answers to them. Sleep well, Super Grannie.

Ife (Steal) rolling?

I am finicky about brands. An answerable name isn’t easy to build. But preservation also matters. It appears Ife Steel Rolling Company isn’t preserving the brand too well right now. It’s being accused of “stealing” lives with modus operandi, in its operational habitation. Last Tuesday, I received an S.O.S. I reproduce with no editing; “Please Save Our Soul. On behalf of entire people of Fasina, Koka, Eleweran, Modomo, Ajebamidele and Ife environment, to use your good office (Column) to save our life, our children

With Sulaimon Olanrewaju 08055001708

lanresulaimon@yahoo.com

Rethinking Nigerian education system

ria experienced a lot of turbulence. There are some Nigerians in their 20s and 30s, who never went to school but have certificates.

When they were in primary school, teachers were always on strike. The same thing happened during their secondary school and university days. For almost 30 years, we had a very unstable school system. There were people, who, unfortunately, went through the system and they are the ones in various sectors now working.

I enjoyed the in-depth analysis and near prediction you made. Those are Nigerian politicians you are seeing, Saraki, Wamakko, Kwakwanso, Amaechi and Ahmed were clean and useful to help APC throw Jonathan out of power. Who does not have an ambition among them?

None. Just as you wrote, this is just political vendetta rather than fighting corruption. APC should have made Code of Conduct issue a requirement while vying for the senate presidency. Why now? APC should realize that when a stubborn grass is uprooted, it will stir the bush.

—Lanre Oseni. 08022066663.

Dear Lanre, while I won’t disagree with you that Senate President Bukola Saraki may not last this December in office, I humbly demur with you that APC won’t know political peace. I wish Bukola best of luck.

—Balogun Adeoluwa, Iwo. 08026190255.

No my brother, the sinner will be punished for his sins and it will send jitters down the veins of other co-travellers and we shall have our peace as a nation.

—Bisi. 08056667891.

They had no education, they just have certificates.

Hence unemployment is on the rise in the country because of the glaring knowledge gap.

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

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

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

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

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

If we had acted on time and made our education such that graduates can start off their own businesses, last year’s unfortunate incident where about 520,000 applicants vied for 4,000 vacancies at the Nigerian Immigration Service, which resulted in stampede that left about 21 applicants dead and many others injured would not have happened.

17

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Why I’m going

back to school

—Funke Adesiyan My journey from petroleum engineering to fashion —Queen Sekibo

Mama HID: We have lost a family member —TAMPAN

VI, PH welcome Glo Slide N Bounce, Laffta Fest

18

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Tade Makinde tademt2@yahoo.com 08055001753

Mama HID: We have lost a family member —Odule Advises IG on accidental discharges

T

HE national president of Theatre And Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPPAN), Prince Dele Odule, has commiserated with the Awolowo family over the death of Mama HID Awolowo. The matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty died at the age of 99 penultimate Saturday.

Odule, who just came back from United States, said it was a sad loss for the country and also the theatre industry. “Many probably don’t know that Baba Awolowo loved the Theatre industry and he did everything he could to help us during our teething stage. Baba was so close to the late Hubert Ogunde, so we see the Awolowo family as a friend and family of the theatre industry. The death of Mama

Awolowo is a loss also to our industry. But we are happy she died peacefully, which is the wish of every human being. It is rare to bow out the way she did in her sleep.

“We read that she even prayed for her grandchildren and held series of meetings until she retired to her bed, but her loss is still painful all the same. At TAMPPAN, we are happy that Mama lived a worthy, fruitful and successful life. God will grant the family the grace to bear the sad loss,” he prayed.

Meanwhile, Odule has reacted to the gruesome murder of a lady by an armed Police officer at a check point few days ago. He desribed as “insane” the lawlessness displayed by an armed public officer on an innocent woman that should actually be protected

by the Police. At this age when policing is now done with ease, officers need to be trained on

how to diligently perform their duties as security providers.

“As much as one understands

Naija @ 55 holds Classical Corporate Ball

By Tade Makinde

Selecta AFF releases ‘Shele Mo’ video

By Abiola Oyedeji

BRITISH Ghanaian singer, Selecta Aff, is back with a video for his new single entitled ‘Shele Mo’. The song features Afrobeat newcomer Adejosh.

Filmed on location in Ibiza, the video sees Selecta and Adejosh soak in the scenery of the city in the summer.

With two singles now to his name, Selecta asserts that he is having a breakthrough in the third quarter of 2015.

The Afrobeats crooner will support Davido on his upcoming UK tour, which he believes will solidify him as one to watch from the Afrobeat scene.

ALL is set for the second edition of Naija@ 55 Classical Corporate Ball event. The event is slated for Wednesday 30th September 2015 at the Muson Center, Onikan, Lagos with Red Carpet/ Cocktail starting by 5.00pm.

HRH Igwe Prof. Laz E.N Ekwueme (Nigeria’s first Professor of Music), Senator Bode Olajumoke, Dr. and Mrs Omorinsojo Desalu, Mr Moses Eze, Olushola Adekoya, have confirmed their attendance and support.

Eigh822 Limited, a member of T.Recall Group and Young Ambassadors Chorale, will host the corporate bodies, Chief Executive Officers/Managing Directors and lovers of Classical music in a programme tagged “Naija @ 55 Classical Corporate Ball”.

This year’s event will showcase the talent and prowess of the Young Ambassadors Chorale. Special attraction will be the Project 2016 Unveil, guest performance by Mountain Top Chorale, while The Art & Soul of music will be performed and

unveiled by Theatremania Africa Festival group.

The first edition of this event took place on September 30, 2010 under the Chairmanship of the l ate Prof. Dora Akunyili. It holds every five years and it celebrates the Nigerian spirit under one roof to unwind and network.

It is a gathering for the cremede-la-creme of the corporate world and lovers of classical/ jazz music to celebrate Nigeria, network and unwind under a convivial atmosphere.

the risks of the job, common sense dictates that human lives’ protection, not its taking, should be foremost in the heads of police officers, especially those who are armed. I suggest that the Inspector General should tutor his wards on the value of human life.

It can be understood if Highway Patrol officers are equipped with guns because of the special duties they carry out, but they should not be stationary. They are supposed to be driving the lenght and breath of Nigerian highways at all times. The sight of many patrol jeeps can prevent robbery, and even accidents because Nigerians are always cautious of road rules when they know that somebody is watching.

“In a country where the duties of police divisions have been lumped, it becomes difficult to have a seamless operation.

I don’t support giving rifles to check point officers. A small gun that they can holster, a phone in case they want to call for help, handcuff, computer to capture the data of any offender and hand them over to the proper office and tear gas.

“It is a shame on this country that police officers still kill people, blaming it on accidental discharge. This should not be. The life that has been accidentally taken cannot be given back. That is the truth. The lady that killed few days ago has gone forever because of the carelessness of an officer. I know the institution will do what is right, but what should be done is to teach these officers the etiqutte of their profession.

Most of them enjoy harassing road users because they carry guns. Oversea, they don’t carry guns and people still fear and respect the police. In Nigeria, the Police do not have any respect again and the fear the people have is because they carry guns.

“Many times I have been rudely stopped for search by officers who will point guns at me saying I should park. What if the gun goes off? What is wrong with using hands to do that? If the IG wants to make some changes in the institution as promised, he should begin to consider some drastic changes in the human relations his officers should have with the public and stop embarrassing the nation and her citizens,” the actor told R.

19

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

When musicians celebrated with Ruggedman Inspiro revives Labule AFTER a brief hiatus on the entertainment scene, Labule, the one stop creative community show, has been revived again at the Superfans Arena Ikeja last Sunday. The event was not just about music, but was a potpourri of sorts – spoken word, poetry, dance, musical performances and more. Labule was interactive and engaging as one performance flowed into the other moderated by Ayoola Sadare and assisted by comedian PhD. Acoustic guitarist and singer, Seun Stics, kicked off the show and was followed by Uche the priest of poetry. Former PMAN president Tee Mac Omatshola who came in impromptu, stole into the show with a solo performance. After this, the event went into full gear with performances from Rexx, Femi Ogunniyi, Jazz Trumpeter Etuk Ubong and his quartet, Ace guitarist Adeh, Ivori the spoken word proponent, new female singing sensation, Doyinsolami, who shone singing her current hit single titled ‘Bamidele’.

Jazz and Afrofunk Trombone player, Femislide, took over with funky retro style lyrics with Obadikah Brass Band the fast-rising indigenous brass band ensemble who are also now a staple at the African shrine and major live music performances and festivals in Lagos, completing their set on a high note. Solo performances were given by identical twins E2E and Efizzi Worldwide All Stars Rare Groove CD compilations artistes represented by a few of their stars including ace producer and performer Hero, neo highlife/hip-hop crooner B Sleek, Slick Joe hip-hop and soul singer amongst others.

RUGGEDMAN has unveiled new designs from his line at Troy Lounge VI, Lagos. The event saw models showcase new designs of shirts, vests and also Ruggedman bottled water.

September 20 was his birthday, which is also the name of his clothing line, Twentieth September Wears. “TSW is an urban line with t-shirts, varsity jackets, snapbacks, hoodies and vests,” he told R in Lagos.

Denrele was his exciting crazy self at the TSW red carpet, while Big Brother Africa’s IK Osaki-

oduwa, actress Uzor Osimkpa hosted the party.

Bman,Barkbone,comedian Monkals, Efe Warriboy and Slow Dog, worked the crowd up,. Same for Akpororo whose jokes could not stop fans from shedding tears from laughter.

Rugged Records act, Mbryo, Emmaohmagod and MI Mr Incredible, drove the crowd into a frenzy with their breathtaking performances, while Chocolate City’s Dice wrapped up the show.

Mr Rodi and the Troy lounge

family wheeled out a large birthday cake that was shared with the celebrant and guests after which the party started.

Other guests at the event were PMAN president, Pretty Okafor and some of his executives, Felix Duke, Asha Gangali and Ochonma. Solidstar, Tupengo, Mr Raw, actresses Ruth Kadiri, Bibi Blessing, Aisha Abimbola. Rapper Seriki,Rexx.

Ebubedike,Don Lulu,Chocolate city producers L3 and Reinhard.

Arab Money,Dj Kaywise,actor Dotun Taylor.

Gospel artiste launches 4th album

By Seyi Sokoya

Superstory out with Point & Kill

By Tosin Olarerin WALE Adenuga Productions (WAP) Ltd is set to mark the Independence Day celebrations with Nigerians as it starts showing a brand new story on its award-winning Superstory TV drama programme on October 1, 2015. The new story is entitled Point & Kill.

Wale Adenuga Jnr., Managing Director of WAP told R that because human nature is unpredictable, there are many things going on in the society which many people may not be

aware of.

“We take it as our duty to adapt these true stories in order to entertain the public, while also keeping them informed.”

Point & kill stars Charles Okafor, Doris Simeon, Hakeem Rahman, Rachael Oniga, Mc Kirikiri, Gloria Young, Dayo Davies, Moyo Lawal, Dele Fagboyo, Tessy Oragwa, Chidex Brown, Mary Gold Adams, Christian Paul, Simran Tolani and Many More.

Superstory, is on NTA AIT networks, STV network and WAPTV.

GOSPEL artiste, Evangelist Busayo Odutayo, a.k.a Bussy Crown, will launch his fourth album entitled “Celebrity” on October 1 at Sunny Sky hotel in Ondo State.

Busayo, the leader of Meritorious Gospel Band, disclosed that the seven track-album which has seven-track is packaged to give spiritual inspiration to Christians, irrespective of their denominations.

The gospel singer, who has been on the music scene for over 15, is sure that the album will meet the yearnings of people .

Dignitaries expected at the event are: Dr Olusegun Mimiko and his wife, Kemi; His Royal Majesty, Oba Dr Victor Kiladejo, Jilo 111, the Osemawe of Ondo kingdom; High-chief Semeon Oguntimehin, the Lisa of Ondo kingdom;High-chief Olu Adeduro, the Sasere of Ondo kingdom; Royal Highness, Oba Samuel Akinmusire, the Oludoko of Udoko land; Hon Ade Adeniyi and Hon.Dayo Akinsoyinu.

Swagger Papa takes dance-drama to SA

By Seyi Sokoya IN A bid to spread their ministry as well as increase their fan base beyond Nigeria, dance-drama group, Glorious Vision, popularly known as Swagger Papa, have concluded plans to explore their talents outside the shores of the country as they will soon embark on a tour of South Africa.

The group manger, Michael Olaolu, told R that the tour would create a platform to meet with the group’s fans abroad,

adding that “Swagger Papa will visit Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.”

The leader of the group, Mr Adeyemi Akanmu, said that the group is currently putting his best to take the industry with a storm with some new works in the pipeline.

“We are not in haste, because our main focus is to use our talents to win souls for Christ and preach His words through what we know how to do best. People should be on the look out for lots of our works,” he added.

20

27 September, 2015

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

I have been

humbled by politics

— Funke Adesiyan Five months after failing to win a seat in the Oyo State House of Assembly during the last general election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but did not win, actress-turned politician, Funke Adesiyan is back at what she loves to do best. In this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO, the busty actress speaks on her foray into politics and her new perception about life.

I

T has been five months after you lost your election to represent your people in Oyo State House of Assembly, how have you been able to settle down?

The election has come and gone and I am very happy to have been part of it actively, even though I did not win the election, I am very happy that I gained a lot and was able to understand politics better than before. Shortly after the election, I decided to go and observe a rest abroad, because I did not sleep well during the election and it was already telling on my health. So, my doctor advised that I should go and have a rest and that was exactly what I did and I really enjoyed my vacation. Talking about settling down, I have been settling down well, because my decision to go into politics was borne out of my passion to contribute my quota to the development of my state and I am happy that despite the loss, we have on our side good people who have vowed to keep supporting us no matter what the current situation looks like.

How difficult has it been for you to really to accept the defeat?

As much as I have decided to refrain from commenting on the outcome of the election, I will be forced to say this for the first time that the election was not fair. Prior to the day of the election, we heard that Continues on pg24

21 glitz

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

response has always been why not now. I am a lover of knowledge. I give myself out to seek understanding about life and people. I have always wanted to know why people behave the way they do. What would make a 12-yearold boy take to robbery when his mates are in school studying or doing one vocational training here and there? These things really baffle me. So, I am going back to school to be a better person.

One will find it hard to believe that you could be thinking in this direction…

That’s because many people don’t know me.

I am Funke Adesiyan, the introvert. Forget all the acting and paparazzi that come with it, I am an introvert and I love to study. I have been reading different books lately and I am beginning to see life from a different perspective. If you have a book that you know is good, please recommend it for me, I will go and buy it.

What about your acting life, what is happening to it?

I have always said that acting does not pay my bills. I have been involved in buying and selling for a long time and that’s what I have been doing after the election. Acting, to me, is just an hobby and I will act when I feel the need to do, not that I will be rushing to locations here and there because I want to feed myself.

You seem to have slowed down on certain excesses, is that true?

When I was young, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a woman, I put away childish things. I can’t continue to do things like a small girl. I have grown up now and I have to act like a seriousminded person. I have really cut down on social events that I attend. Apart from that, I can’t be everywhere at the same time. I will attend the little I could and let go others.

‘Why do people want

to know if my boobs are natural’ Continues from pg24

about twenty thousand ballot papers were missing. We raised the alarm but nothing was done to rectify the problem. We went ahead with the election and we eventually lost. It was painful that I lost, but I am not going to dwell on that now. We will speak out at the right time.

You knew the election was not free and fair, but you decided to keep quiet, why?

It was the decision of the party, so if the party says we should keep calm, there is nothing I could do. I can’t go against the wish of the party, because it is supreme.

Away from all that, I have moved on from the election to something else and that’s what I want to talk about now.

Before talking about the things you are up to currently, many people will want to know what that election cost you?

Looking back, I will say I gained more than I lost during the election. People always talk about money when it is election time but I wish to state here that that has never been my focus. I didn’t join politics because I knew I would make money from it. The fact still remains that when I lost, I tried to look back at where I was coming from and where I am today, I thank God for how far I have come.

Of course, I lost a lot of money and that’s the fact. I might have lost money but I am grateful to God that I didn’t lose a single soul to that election, because that would have been a painful one for me. No matter how much I lost, by the grace of God, I could make it back but I can’t revive or buy any soul that might have got lost in the course of the election. So, that, to me, is a major gain. That we didn’t win today does not mean we won’t win next time.

If we stick together and work our mistakes, we will come out a better person next time. Apart from the money, which is normal in politics, I am happy to have come out of the whole experience alive and even wiser.

Are you saying the election has made you wiser now?

Yes, I am more wiser and stronger. It taught me to never forsake my people. The essence of politics is to help better the lot of your people; move close to them, feel their pulse and never look down on them. There are many things that I would have loved to tell you, but the time is not right. But I can tell you that I have been humbled by politics and I have really learnt a lot that I would not have known if I had not participated actively in the last election.

People look at cars and houses as success, but I strongly believe now that the number of people you are able to touch positively is the real success I am talking about. At the end of the day, people will not remember you for the number of cars you bought or the houses you

built, the only thing they will never forget is how you touched them in a very special way.

That’s exactly what I want to be remembered for and that’s what I want to do if I have the opportunity to represent my people in any capacity.

What next for you now after this phase?

My next action is to go back to school. I have always said that no knowledge is waste, no matter how little. I want to go for my Masters programme now that I have the time. A lot of people have asked me why now, and my

I don’t want to talk about my love life again. It is not really about me this time but the person that is involved.

Not much has been heard about your love life since you broke up with a popular male colleague some years back, have you been single since then?

I don’t want to talk about my love life again. It is not really about me this time but the person that is involved. I have decided to keep that away from the public and I am not going to change that decision because of this interview.

Please ask me your next question.

Are you scared of anything?

No. It is just a personal decision. I am in a relationship and I want to keep it like that for now.

I heard you have found love again, is the person an actor?

Who told you that? Do you know who the lover is? Could you please stop asking me this question. I won’t tell you more than what I have said already.

Do you see yourself settling down with an actor again?

I don’t know. God is the master planner of my life. He knows what is good for me. Who am I? I have learnt never to say never again.

I am trusting God for the best.

Some people believe your boobs are not natural, is this true Let me also ask you, why do people want to know if they are natural? Unfortunately, you can’t tell if they are natural or not and there is no way the people who want to know could confirm if they are real. So, let’s leave it that way. People will soon know if they are real or not.

Are you going to contest again?

I will leave that to God. I am still a card carrying member of PDP and I am going to be actively involved for as long as God permits.

22 PEOPLE

27 September, 2015

places&parties

with Segun Adebayo tegbollistic@yahoo.com 08116954644

treated to an evening of merriment as he provided exotic drinks and foods for everyone in attendance. Prior to the celebration mood, the chubby wardrobe consultant had been busy delivering clothes to his rich clients that cut across all social strata.

Yinka Taiwo celebrates new age For Alhaji Yinka Taiwo, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, this year’s eid-el-Kabir came with a difference. Not only did it coincide with his birthday, which came a day earlier, 23 September, it is also his last eid-elKabir as the chairman of the party after three fruitful and successful years.

Expectedly, what was planned to be a small party by the politician cum businessman, who has interests in the oil sector, turned out to be a huge suc-

Ifa Council holds general meeting today The International Council for Ifa religion will today hold its general meeting. PPP gathered that the meeting will hold at the world Ifa temple in Oketase, Ile Ife, Osun State.

According to the Public Relation Officer of the council, Araba Olusoji Oyekale, the agenda of today’s meeting will centre on the progress reports from all states of the council as members are implored to attend.

cess, attracting who-is-who in the PDP as well as youthful elements from all walks of life, who had come to feast with the former chairman of Iseyin Local Government.

Taiwo’s PDP might have lost election at the state and federal levels, the birthday/ Sallah bash showed that he remains a force to reckon with among the upwardly mobile politicians that will lead the state in the nottoo-distant future, just as his party might yet pull a surprise comeback sooner than later.

Femi Akinruntan throws lavish birthday for wife

‘A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person’. These words of American Journalist, Mignon McLaughlin, aptly describe the blissful marriage of Prince Akinfemiwa Akinruntan, the Managing Director of OBAT Petroleum, to his beautiful wife, Princess Folakemi Akinruntan.

Days back, he exuded undying love, for the mother of his three sons,when she added a year.He threw her a christian louboutin inspired lavish party, at the Pool side of the prestigious Maison Fahr-

entartainment VI, PH welcome Glo Slide N Bounce, Laffta Fest

Bashy Kuti fetes friends at Sallah

FOR powerful dresser and clothier, Bashy Kuti, this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration was another time to host friends, family, especially Muslim faithful to a feast, which has become a yearly affair for the CEO of BKK Ultimo. Over the years, Bashy’s influence in the fashion designing circle has continued to grow and this is traceable to his apparent dominance in the trade, especially Ibadan where he’s based.

Trust the chubby socialite, at his hometown in Sagamu, Ogun State, Bashy ensured that guests were

Sunday Tribune

enheit, Adetokunboh Ademola, Victoria Island. Amidst a number of family members and friends,the adorable couple in cheerfulness, clung to each other like teenage lovers while they pamper the select guests who came to celebrate with them. Trust the sociable, ’Omoba Pataki’, as the trim and hardworking son of His Imperial, Oba Obateru Akinruntan,is fondly called,he displayed hospitality. From the step-in,the glamourous gaggle of guests were greeted with champagne and other exotic drinks,with slap up meals to please their palates.

GLOBACOM will this weekend continue to splash quality entertainment on its loyal customers as its twin mega shows, Slide & Bounce and Laffta Fest will rock Victoria Island, Lagos and Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27respectively.

Eko Hotel & Suites will accommodate the large audience expected at the special Sallah edition of the Glo Slide n Bounce musical concert in Victoria Island, while the Atrium Events Center, Port Harcourt is the venue for Glo Laffta Fest.

Both shows which began on August 29 and

30 respectively have had top Nigerian artistes and comedians perform live, to the delight of their fans. For instance, at the Laffta Fest show which was held at the Eagle Club, Surulere last Sunday, artistes such as I go Dye, Gordons, Osama and Julius Agwu performed creditably.

This weekend, the Slide & Bounce musical concert will parade highly rated artistes and Glo ambassadors including Flavour, M.I, Bez, Di’Ja, Wiz Kid and Rekaado Banks while Okey Bakassi will anchor the show.

Similarly, Laffta Fest will showcase comic talents such as Gordons, Dan D Humorous, Ju-

lius Agwu, 2 Can Talk, MC Casino and Basket Mouth who will anchor the show. Salvador, an Ugandan comedian, will make a special appearance while Wande Coal and Korede Bello will perform their hit tracks.

Laffta Fest will also feature top Nollywood stars, Chiwetalu Agu and Patience Ozokwor who will spice up the event with their special appearances.

Terry G, Reminisce set Zaria on fire NIGERIA’S weirdest singer, Terry G and rap sensation, Reminisce were in their elements as they thrilled the students and staff of Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria to breathtaking music performances at the just-ended Etisalat CliqFest campus tour of the school.

Even a heavy downpour could not deter the students, who thronged the polytechnic’s open field in large number and stood in the rain for hours, while the artistes in succession served up melodious beats and lyrics.

Terry G, whose real name is Gabriel Oche Amanyi, was an instant hit with the crowd

who applauded him as he mounted the stage following his introduction by MC Bash. As expected, he showed up with fingers

Middlemen Hits TV Screens LOVERS of edge-of-the seat soap operas are in for a blast with the premiere edition of Middlemen taking over TV screens across the nation. The TV series which is sponsored by IDL distillers makers of VELETA fruit wine features established thespians such as Femi Jacob’s (Arc), Hadiza Abubakar (Pamela), KC Ejelonu (Tap), Chucks Ogene (Tim) while the Executive Producer is no other than the delectable Joseph Oamen.

In his words, Bolaji Alalade, Head of Marketing, International Distillers

Chuddy K, Merenge thrill families on Sallah day Chuddy K and Ayinde Merenge ignored the shower of rain that fell in Ibadan on Friday as the hip hop and Fuji acts thrilled many to four hours of non-stop music and games to mark the Sallah holiday with Muslims.

The event was sponsored by the telecommunications company to bring families to-

clutched to his trademark bell and forming an eccentric appearance that has become characteristic of him.

gether on Sallah day The Ring Road Shoprite venue of the musical times was filled to capacity as parents took turns with their wards to participate in some of the games that were part of the activities Etisalat lined up to thrill families to a swell time. Many went home with prizes ranging from laptops, freezers, generators, LCDs among several other gift items.

Limited, who explained his company’s involvement in the project series said; “We have decided to support this project because we have come to discover that soap operas are seen as a mode of relaxation for scores of families. The soap reaches out to people of all walks of life and it also cuts across all age strata. That reach cannot be overlooked and it is a veritable opportunity to showcase our products while families are entertained”.

The suspense-filled soap opera sees Toju Aisha Peters (TAP) and Adeola Remilekun Coker decide to start their own advertising agency in a small apartment after both lost their jobs when they failed to land The Walnut Incorporated account.

They start the agency ARC & TAP right there in Adeola’s small apartment much to his girlfriend’s dismay and go through a series of clashing ideas, constant struggle to land accounts (big or small), making a mark in the industry and their never ending story of who actually is the boss.

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27 September, 2015

sundayzest

D

ESPITE the shroud of sadness over this year’s Islamic “Feast of Sacrifice”, with the death of at least 717 people and more than 863 injured in the worst disaster to strike the annual haji pilgrimage in Mecca in 25 years, Muslims in Europe have a lot to be thankful for and celebrate.

Not only is their presence in the continent growing, they now have one of Europe’s largest mosque in Moscow.

The new Mosque stands on the site of Moscow’s original mosque, which dated back to 1904. The restructuring of the Mosque was to create more space for worshippers; whom local media claim are forced to pray on the streets during celebrations due to lack of space. The mosque is now 20 times more than the original size with the capacity to accommodate 10,000 worshippers.

The reopening of the mosque on Wednesday was attended by thousands of Muslims and also in attendance were President Vladimir Putin, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking on the ceremony, President Erdogan, commended Russia for setting a very “vivid example of how to be good neigh-

Sunday Tribune

With Victory Oyeleke victoryoyeleke@yahoo.com

The face of Europe as Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha bours and how people of various religious and ethnic roots can coexist peacefully.”

“And today we see Moscow gathering the variety of nations, uniting their common spiritual values, creating a single living space and setting a wonderful example for the future,” the Turkish president added.

The words of president Erdogan echo the reality of what is happening outside Moscow as a peaceful coexistence is erupting all over Europe.

It is commonplace for your next-door neighbour to be Muslim. The hijabs, abayas,

and burqas are practically everywhere and during festivals, though there are no public holidays, there is an acknowledgement of the celebration and Eid al-Adha, which is the greater of the Eids, is respected as big Muslim celebration.

“Feast of the Sacrifice’ is not lost on Christians as it recalls Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah. His son, Isaac was willing for his father to sacrifice him, as he also believed it was God’s will. But just as Abraham was about killing Isaac, God intervened and gave him

a ram to sacrifice instead.

Hence Eid al-Adha is often celebrated with the sacrifice of a cow, goat, lamb or other animal.

The meat is then divided three ways; one-third eaten by the family in a feast, one third for friends and one third for the poor.

However, due to EU laws that prohibit the killing of animal by anyone except registered slaughter men, halal meat are purchased from the butcher to share and some people donate money to charity instead of sacrificing an animal.

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27 September, 2015

makeover

Sunday Tribune

Rita Okonoboh 08053789087 rosarumese@gmail.com

Tip

To hide under-eye bags, apply using a brush and concealer to mask the shadows of the bags.

What not to wear as a wedding guest M

By Tosin Olarerin

ANY weddings now have dress codes and they are there for a reason: to ensure that guests do not look odd.

Below are a few outfits to avoid, to maintain the status of perfect wedding guest: All black ensemble Unless you somehow expect someone to die at the event, you are not allow to wear all black ensemble, seeing it is usually associated with funerals. If you’ll wear black, choose lighter shades and accesories with brightr colours.

White dress Since the bride is expected in many instances to be in white, it is thus best avoided for weddings. There are many colours you can wear as a guest to wedding, e.g. the colour that is chosen by the family, or the couple, to make the wedding hall colourful.

Short, tight dresses When attending a wedding as a single who is ready to mingle,

short and tight dresses may seem the tempting alternative but should be resisted at all costs.

In a wedding hall, the attention is supposed to be on the bride/ couple because they are both the stars of the day.

Distracting headties Unless you’re Madam Kofo whose signature is big geles, headties should be designed with moderacy.

Revealing outfits Wearing a backless gown to a friend’s wedding, may show the type of clothes the bride wears too and will only boost negative points. Anything that reveals your belly button is a no-no for weddings, seeing as the part is not a parade. Unless the wedding is a pool party, crop tops are to be of normal size; it must cover the belly button.

Too much makeup Don’t try to be the event star, as it will only gross people out. Even bridesmaids are not to use heavy and colourful makeup, because it will attract the attention of the guests. Guests are also not ex-

pected to put on heavy makeup.

Super sparkly dresses Dresses that are sparkly, in terms of being too colourful or shinny dress should be avoided.

It diverts people’s attention, especially when the party is a blue -light wedding.

Short-sleeve dress shirt for guys Guys are not to wear shortsleeve shirts to weddings. Suits or well-buttoned shirts will be perfect; also native dresses too, which are always cute in traditional outfits P.S. To avoid making mistakes, the best bet is to go with the colour or outfit picked by the family. In styling aso ebi, avoid revealing designs or awkward styles as you will have succeeded in clinching the award for the worst guest of the day. The best lady, who is always close to the bride on the wedding day, must paint a clear picture of moderacy. The best lady too is not allowed to wear open, tight, short, dress, because she is also not the star of the day.

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27 September, 2015

relationships

Sunday Tribune

Rita Okonoboh 08053789087 rosarumese@gmail.com

. . . issues, family, sex

How to win over daddy’s

girl W

ALE was at his wit’s end. For the first time in his life, he had fallen in love and to his nearly utmost disappointment, it was with a lady who called her father, ‘Daddy Boo.’ It suddenly dawned on him; it would be easier to snatch meat out of a lion’s jaws than take Kemi from her dad’s unrelenting clutches and he was already tired of trying.

Men sometimes find themselves at loggerheads on how to move forward with a relationship, especially if the lady in question is a daddy’s girl. Daddy’s girls are ladies who share an unusual special bond with their fathers well into their older years. This can be for several reasons ranging from filling the gap of an absent mother to a simple bond forged since infancy.

However, it shouldn’t be a herculean task to win her over. What it really takes is true love, guts and patience. Below are a few tips to win over a daddy’s princess: Raise your positive standards If you love someone, you should be willing to put in the required effort to make it work and this is especially important if you’re dating a woman who thinks the world revolves around her father. A daddy’s girl fantasises about the perfect gentleman and may even expect you to be a similar version of her father but patience

Random Fact

Femi Otedola and daughter. Photo:www.genevieveng.com

is the key. Let the lines of communication remain open no matter how difficult she may become.

Spoil her within limits It doesn’t matter if you have no interest in the venture, you owe it to her as an obligation to spoil her rotten. However, to make the best of the relationship, keep a firm hand just as you spoil her. Daddy gives her nearly everything so be prepared to compromise many times. The important thing is to determine between being fashionable spoilt and gross indiscipline, which should not be excused with a pat on the back.

Be her prince Whether she lives in a castle or rented apartment with her family, daddy’s girl is always a princess, so you have no choice but to step up and become not just any prince, her prince. Forget about becoming king because her father already holds that fort. Be caring, charming and protective, and make her feel special. However, kings also teach discipline so that should come into play at certain intervals.

Know daddy well Many fathers want their daughters with a man who is absolutely worth it, so no matter how much of a meddler the father might seem, understand that he’s simply

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. —Mignon McLaughlin

looking out for his daughter. However, look out for men who are only interested in marrying their daughters. Yes, they exist!

If you’re dating a daddy’s girl, expect to be drilled constantly about every atom of your intentions and you should feel lucky if he drills you because that means he approves.

Make effort to be on daddy’s good side, and if you have negative criticism, work well on your presentation.

She’s always your baby No matter how old she is, because of the special place she holds in daddy’s heart, she feels like a child always. Be willing to forgive her tendency to pout, need for childlike protection and seeming fragility. And if you are willing to work well enough, in

Daddy likes a man who understands the line between loving discipline and outright condemnation.

Understand the basis for her attachment to daddy and treat her compulsions as you expect your daughter to be treated.

time, you may become her utmost physical treasure, sometimes before daddy (miracles are possible!). It’s like they say, if you treasure your spouse enough, you have the best relationship in the world.

Watch your criticism of daddy No matter what you do, what you have or who you are, daddy is still the best thing that ever happened to her, and she will stop at nothing to show you that. So, if you have some negative comments about daddy’s actions, be very careful with the words you use and keep outright condemnations to the barest minimum, else, she will not only report you to daddy, you have lost the chance to get a permanent piece of her heart. Patiently weighing your words, keep in mind that the information may somehow, if not always, get back to daddy, before you judge harshly. Use kind words, but nothing stops you from being firm. Daddy likes a man who understands the line between loving discipline and outright condemnation.

Understand the basis for her attachment to daddy and treat her compulsions as you expect your daughter to be treated.

Do what you can to impress daddy and be careful with the words you use when communicating with her, especially when you have fights. The ultimate gain is that in the end, you’ll take solace in the fact that she was worth the effort and more.

Next week will feature a piece on how to strike home with a mummy’s boy

26

27 September, 2015

With Akintayo Abodunrin akinjaa03@yahoo.co.uk 08111813058

‘Each book manifested incompetence in the use of language’ No winner has emerged for this year’s The Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited like it happened in 2004 and 2009

H

ISTORY repeated itself on Friday when no winner emerged for the 2015 Nigeria Prize for Literature. Initiated in 2004, the prize is sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited and rotates annually among the genres of prose, poetry, drama and children’s literature.

This year’s prize, which was not awarded, is for children’s literature.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision at a media briefing on Friday, September 25 at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, chair of the Advisory Board for the prize, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo, who read the report of the judges, said none of the 109 entries received met the levels of literary excellence worthy of the prize.

He said: “This year, 109 entries were received. Eighty-nine (89) entries did not meet the preliminary criteria for assessment. This number represents 81.6% of the total number of entries received for 2015. The percentage by any standard is worrying; especially as there is a paucity of literature for children. Creative writers are urged to pay particular attention to children’s literature because this is the fundamental stage for child growth and consequently national development.

“In this year’s competition, the following criteria were used for assessing the entries: language\ diction, theme(s)/content, social relevance, style, quality of production and originality.

“Language plays a major role in literary production. Creative writers are normally expected to pay special attention to the use of language, particularly so with regard to children’s literature. The Nigeria Prize for Literature demands stylistic excellence as manifested through an original and authoritative voice, narrative coherence, and technically accurate writing.

“Unfortunately, the entries this year fall short of this expectation as each book was found to manifest incompetence in the use of language. Generally, published works are expected to be attrac-

From left, Prof. Uwem Iwoketok; Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke and Prof. Ayo Banjo earlier in the year when the entries were handed over to the judges. tive, attention-catching and of good quality. The entries assessed for the 2015 The Nigeria Prize for Literature competition did not reflect the above qualities to an acceptable degree. Many of them showed very little or no evidence of good editing.

“In view of the above assessment, it is clear that no entry met

the standard expected of a good literary work of children’s literature. Therefore none of the entries is found suitable for the 2015 The Nigeria Prize for Literature Award.”

This is the third time the prize worth $100,000 will not be awarded because none of the entries was found suitable. The maiden edi-

tion for prose in 2004 was not awarded just like the 2009 edition that was given for poetry.

A professor of English Language at the University of Jos, Professor Uwemedimo Enobong Iwoketok, chaired this year’s jury also comprising Professor Charles Bodunde of the University of Ilorin and Dr. Razinat Mohammed of the Uni-

Dele Taiwo set for US tour POPULAR juju singer, Gentleman Dele Taiwo, is set to proceed on a six-month musical tour of states in the US and Canada.

The tour that would start in October and end in April 2016, is being packaged by an international promoter, Sammek Entertainment.

“I feel so happy that the musical tour will bring about new hope. It will signal a good beginning for the re-launch of my career. I must add that this is the sign of good things for my band boys and for my career too. According to my promoter, we are going to tour 22 states in the US and Canada,” the Funky Juju exponent said.

He added that there would be a great turning point in his career with the forthcoming tour as evident in the title of one of his chart-

bursting albums.

Fondly called Gentleman by his fans, Dele Taiwo took the music scene by storm in 1992 when he released the hit album,’ Magic Moment’.

He, however, experienced a downturn in fortunes with his career appearing to stagnate thereafter. He has since then been aiming to return to the top with a number of other albums.

Aside releasing albums, the singer disclosed that he has been performing in entertainment centres across the country to remain relevant. “My last album, ‘Gratitude’, was released in 2008. I have been playing across Nigeria. I participated in shows at Benin, Warri, Onitsha and many party venues,” he said.

The entertainer released ‘Funk-

Dele Taiwo adelia’ in 1994, ‘De-Master’; 1995, ‘C-Something’; 1996, ‘Gbedu Flavour’; 1998, ‘Adarce’; 2000, ‘Dance Through’; 2002 and ‘Turning Point’; 2005.

versity of Maiduguri. Professor of children’s literature at Newcastle University, United Kingdom, Kim Reynolds served as the international consultant.

Interestingly, the Nigerian judges and their international colleague were unanimous in denouncing the poor quality of the entries received this year. They were also unanimous in their decision not to award this year’s prize for literary criticism because only one scholar submitted three entries.

Speaking at Friday’s meeting, Professor Iwoketok said though a number of the entries were dropped at the initial stage of short-listing because of grave editing and publishing errors, there is still hope for the Nigerian child and literature in general. She disclosed that when she and her colleagues got the external judge’s report, they realised that they arrived at the same conclusion that Nigeria’s children literature is yet to be fully addressed and explored.

Iwoketok advised government, writers and educationists to think critically about issues that affect children within the context of Nigerian literature.

Also speaking, Professor Reynolds described the process and very interesting but disappointing.

She however praised the judges for being exacting and conforming to the standards of other international prizes she has been involved in. “They made my job easier; they got it right. I didn’t come here to correct experts,” she said.

General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, said the company will not waver or retreat in its commitment to continuous investment in the development of literature and the literary arts in Nigeria. He added that NLNG stands firmly behind the decision of the judges, advisory board and the international consultant not to award the prize. “This prize which we bequeath to Nigeria will be awarded for no other reason than excellence,” he stated.

Eresia-Eke disclosed that in continuation of the NLNG’s commitment to the development of literature in Nigeria, the company will organise a capacity building workshop to address identified gaps and improve the ability of writers in the genre of children’s literature. He said the proceedings of the workshop will be collated and published.

27

arts&culture

27 September, 2015

‘Why economists should not be trusted’ Tola Adeniyi, Henry Boyo, Odia Ofeimun, Tony Onyima and other public intellectuals put economists on the spot at the presentation of a book, ‘Economists as Assasins’

E

CONOMISTS and the enormous power they wield over the destinies of millions of lives was spotlighted on Thursday, September 17 when a book, ‘Economists as Assassins: The Nigerian Connection’ was presented in Lagos.

Written by Dr. Jimanze EgoAlowes, a columnist with The Sun Newspapers, it was an unusual book presentation. Not only was it devoid of the pomp associated with such occasions, the guests, mostly public intellectuals including Henry Boyo, Odia Ofeimun, Tony Onyima, Nick Gbulie, Dr. Boniface Chizea and Akogun Tola Adeniyi among others, turned it into a forum to discuss Nigeria’s development issues.

Adeniyi, renowned media manager and columnist, started it all in his remarks as the special guest.

“This book is about philosophy; about the philosophy of thinking.

It’s not just about economics, but the application of economics; it’s not just about politics, but about the application of politics,” he said while praising the author.

He, however, expressed displeasure with Ego-Alowes over his decision to have a low-key presentation, especially given the quality of the book. “You must launch this book; you have to market this book. Don’t be an apostle of arts for

Akogun Tola Adeniyi; Dr. Jimanze Ego-Alowes and Odia Ofeimun at the book presentation art’s sake with such a great book.

This book is too great to leave with a few of us here; it cost you money, a lot to produce so you must look for ways of bringing it to the wider public. The author does not have a farm or factory. His only factory is

his brain and he must make money from it,” Adeniyi said.

Henry Boyo also praised the author’s diligence, describing him as an original thinker. “He’s a courageous man, a creative Nigerian; his paths of thoughts are very novel;

they are not what you’re used to.

My opinion in a lot of things gets shaken each time I read his books.

I have never seen anyone regard Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu as a thug before until I read Ego-Alowes. The best are never celebrated

Yorùbá Lákotun debuts in Lagos THE maiden edition of Yorùbá Lákotun, an initiative of cultural and literary enthusiast, Olútáyo Ìrántíolá, held recently at Ethnic Heritage Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The centre is a language training hub for people interested in learning and gaining proficiency in the major three Nigerian languages, Yorùbá, Hausa and Igbo while French is the international language that people can learn there.

Olúsesan Ajewolé, the special guest whose book, ‘Igbeyin Lalayo Nta’ is currently being used by the West African Examinations Coun-

cil for Yoruba literature, was delighted to speak to an enthusiastic audience who want the language to survive despite the onslaught of westernization.

Ajewolé referenced the experiment done by Prof. Wande Abimbola decades ago in which children were equipped with their mother tongue and they excelled also in English language. He urged participants to keep the language alive with fervour.

The depth of Yoruba language was also brought to the fore by Akin Ogundokun Winrínwinrìn, the poet

From left, Olutayo Irantiola, Prince Sesan Ajewole and Dr. Toyin Alaofin at the maiden edition of Yoruba Lakotun

for the day. He sang the praises of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III and other Yoruba towns.

Interestingly, proceedings at the event were conducted purely in Yorùbá language and the ambience was quite rustic in nature.

Speaking in a chat after the event, Irantiola expressed happiness with the successful debut of the program aimed at popularising the use of Yoruba language in Lagos. He said, “It is exciting to be leading a cultural revival at a time when everyone is systematically ditching our mother tongue for foreign languag-

es. It has gotten so bad that many people cannot converse, write or read Yoruba language. That is why I decided to come up with this idea make people see that we are losing our heritage.”

Irantiola was also upbeat on the survival chances of the initiative, noting that “Many people believe that what I am doing is not going to reach a wider audience because of the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos but if I have a few people who can understand the vision; I am contented.

“I would encourage everyone to trace their roots most especially language-wise because we are few decades from our children being taught their mother-tongue by foreigners. The trend now is Africa is being re-explored and if we lose this latter part to foreigner, then, we have been totally colonized by the West.”

The initiator also disclosed some of his plans for Yoruba Lakotun, saying “we are going to explore generating attractive contents and document it for the coming generation. We want to tread the noble path of preservation of our language. Also, we hope that people would not let it go into extinction.”

Irantiola assured that many prominent Yoruba writers would be featured on the programme and that the next edition will happen at the end of the year.

in our clime. He is not an impostor; he does not borrow ideas. He supports his talk with evidence; his thoughts are grounded in history and universally applicable across the globe.” Boyo added that the book is no mere literary consumption but is targeted at changing attitude to economics Ex- commissioner for information in Anambra State and former Managing Director of The Sun Newspapers, Tony Onyima, who gave the author a column in the paper years ago, described him as “very profound public thinker though most of the time irreverent.

I wonder how he stays aloof of the controversies he generates.” Onyima recalled that he was once asked to yank off Ego-Alowes’ column in The Sun, but he refused because “we need plurality and diversity of views.”

Like Adeniyi, he advised against art for art’s sake, noting that writers are delusional about their writing if they expected a group of people somewhere to implement their ideas. “We must commoditise our ideas and market them like products. That is when writers might begin to be taken seriously.

Economists as Assassins is a good commodity from the title,” he concluded.

Speaking, Odia Ofeimun advised Nigerians not to be deceived by economists, saying that though he has not read the book, he knows that what some economists have done, if clearly understood, could prompt citizens to ‘cork guns’.

“Some ideas when mixed destroy lives more fundamentally than guns do.,” the poet said while narrating his personal experience of how a bad economic decision can affect the quality of lives of a people. He disclosed that his father was a rich man whose business crashed in the early 50s due to the antics of ‘mismanagers’ of the economy.

“My father was investing in banks. Since then, I never let economics rough handle my way of thinking. When I find a good economist, I love to read his book just like my brother here,’ He added that Nigeria is yet to have proper economic thinkers as managers of the society because even when the economic thinkers come to the political scene, they always end up in a group that has no interest in economic organisation.

“We have two political parties apparently pretending to be very different. The way they define their differences is such that if you go into it, you will never be able to know the meaning of the word progress. They are not discussing the Nigerian society. When people turn curses into analysis, they are no longer in a position to save the country. I want us to be frank with ourselves. In Nigeria, no political party has provided us with a clue to solve the nation’s problem.”

Speaking earlier, the author described his work as a little book he hopes will add to what we already know.

28

Sunday Tribune

Sunday Tribune

27 September, 2015

glamour I

Sojourn into the fashion business think it started from my early days as a teenager. My parents will get me cloth and I will cut it into the kind of style that I wanted and knit it.

By the time I come out, they will discover that the type of cloth I made is different from what they bought. The passion has been there all this while to create and innovate. But having paid a little due in my field, I realised that what you hold dear does not really go away, no matter how many years you want to leave it. So, for me, it was just like living and doing what is right and natural.

Background I am a Petroleum Engineer by profession. I graduated from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST). I am member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and I have worked in different parastatals. I worked in PriceWater Drilling; I worked in Intels for a while; I worked with the International Energy Insurance where I was in their oil and gas department. I basically was advising on possible risks while drilling and they provided the insurance cover. That was the last place I worked before I finally pulled out to start this.

Driving force I guess, over time and I have to really see it that it is the passion: the passion to create; the passion to be innovative; the passion to contribute something to the society.

About AFDW It is the African Fashion and Design Week (AFDW), a continental annual fashion showcase.

It holds every year in NewYork, Los Angeles and in Nigeria. AFDW opens a vast opportunities for designers to showcase their collections to fashion insiders, including buyers, retailers and local and international press. Our primary focus is to give designers more retail access to consumers locally; to create a platform for designers to network and celebrate each other in the African fashion industry.

Experience AFDW started in 2010. Since we started, yes, it is an African fashion and design and a continental runway week showcase, but we have been able to discover new talents; we have been able to nurture designers within the Niger Delta region of Nigeria; we have been able to support designers and others within the African countries to showcase their collections during the NewYork Fashion Week. More so, it is a platform to create an opportunity for economic empowerment. It has been holding annually since then. We have actually been holding it in Port Harcourt every year since then. You know, it is more like, ‘this is my city; this is my home’, I will rather not have it anywhere else.

My parents or husband’s take when I dumped my job for fashion I would love to use this medium to really appreciate my husband. Of course, you will get a little bit of resistance. First, I had my close sisters asking, ‘yes, they know I live this and that they have seen a bit of me doing this but is it worth it? And everybody is asking, ‘Have you thought about it? Are you going to make profit at the end of the day?’ And I said to them that there is actually no profit; that I have to put my all into it. It really does not make sense and after the first season, they told me that I need to let go. But I told them I really cannot let go; I just have to push on because it is what I love and wanted to do.

I think I got the best support from my husband. It may not be palatable because it requires so much.

But he has been so supportive; through it all, he will be there, every way possible to make sure that every AFDW is successful and goes well. The same sacrificed he made; I have children and when I am

With Tayo Gesinde temiligali03@yahoo.com 0805 472 7801

Mrs Queengold Sekibo, is the Managing Director, Bluepearl Services International and Founding Director of African Fashion and Design Week.

She speaks with Deputy Editor DAPO FALADE on her passion for the fashion industry and the African Fashion and Design Week (AFDW), scheduled to take place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in October.

My journey from petroleum engineering to fashion business —Queengold Sekibo supposed to be home, I am working late and most times I come home around 1:am because I was trying to get things done.

On how I have been able to impact into the up-and-coming talents.

They are countless. I think that, for me, is actually the reality and the passion of what I do. This is because, within the Niger Delta, we are bursting with talented designers; we have discovered over 20 of them and most of them have started their own businesses. Part of what we do when we discover you: we not only give you the platform of showcasing your talents, we also teach you the business aspect of fashion. It is one thing to have the talent; it is another thing to know the business aspect of it.

So, it becomes an empowerment for you and also create job opportunities for others.

So, when we discover a talent, we will want to know that you are not within one small room in your house. But that you are thinking of owning a store and you are thinking of growing big. We not only give you that platform, we teach you how the business grows. So, you don’t just get a store and, after a year, you run dry because you are just fashioning, but you are not able to give adequate pricing to what you are doing. We do all of those.

On weather I have any infringement of property Yes, we have. Last year, I think few days to an event, I got two calls actually with someone asking, ‘Why did you move the event to Lagos?. I know you said you want to touch some other cities in Nigeria’. I was like, ‘no, it has not held yet; it is holding in October’. But they said no, it is happening some few days away. I was so shocked. We just have to check the internet and we discovered that somebody was actually having another African Fashion Week in Lagos.

On weather I have a trademark on the property Yes, it is trademarked. If you see, for all our media publication and for any write up for the AFDW, you will see the TM always written on it. Well, the legal team is handling that.

My passion for creativity and innovation I think that speaks for itself. I mean if you look at the things we have strayed doing, AFDW as a whole. We said we intend to take African fashion

global: we have not only done it just within Nigeria.

We have partnerships in the US and in Europe. We are expanding the brand as much as possible. For me, that is creativity; that is innovation. Not just having the idea and sitting in a place but trying to see how well you can expand these ideas and see like minds and put your heads together to do something that is creative.

Challenges I think the main challenge is lack of support.

You hardly see people who will want to support the fashion industry. When you put up an event like this, it costs a whole lot of money. When you approach people for the support, they will ask you, ‘fashion, what does it have to do?’ This is to tell you how much people are not aware of the contribution of fashion to development and empowerment. This is an avenue that will create lots of jobs and opportunities but nobody wants to look at it; they just feel like it is not something they want to do.

So, I think our most critical challenge is lack of support. We do not have support to showcase as much as these designers for the world to see; designers are not given the platform. For instance, we want to hope that if the industry is well supported, we will have malls; we will have designers that are well-promoted for people to know and buy their outfits and for people to realise what they do. I can assure you that 70 per cent of Nigerians do not even understand the outfits they go and buy and called designers. Designers that other countries have made us to believe, we have them here; we have the likes. That is another thing that we innovated and talked about.

We also have the African Icon of Hope Award and basically what we are doing is to appreciate designers that have put Africa on the world fashion map.

It is a big deal; if I should ask you to name designers, you will give me several names but I am sure you will not mention one single African designer or Nigerian. Readily on the streets, people will know a Gucci, a Viendi, a Loui Vitton and even a Michael Cox but how many people are calling the names of Lanre Da Silva or Deola Sagoe? How many?

How I get right fabrics locally It will really amaze you. Like I said, we discovered new talents. Our platform has discovered people who make fabrics and, of course, in Nigeria, there are so many places where fabrics are made.

Yes, there are so many fabrics that are made here.

Last year, we discovered a designer who makes her own fabrics; she did not only make the fabrics, but also designs them and then, she showed it in the runway. It is amazing; I mean these are people who just want to garb and let them begin to produce things for us here.

My take on local designers I don’t at all; I do not share that view because I have seen designers and I have seen finishing to the very latter. I have seen designers that pay attention to detail; if I want to give name, I will name several of them.

The difference between a tailor and a designer...

There is a lot of differences a designer will master his craft; a designer would study about his craft; a designer would pay attention to the kind of fabrics that is used. That is the designer. A designer would sit down and create event styles. That is why in the fashion industry, you have season collections; the winter, summer etc. designers sit down; it is a whole process to select your fabrics, to be on your mood board, crape ate your sketches and begin to work. On the other hand, a tailor does not need to go through all that process.

On weather I have been intimidated Well, far from that! I don’t get intimidated. Actually, I feel inspired; I feel inspired when I meet African designers and that is why I hold the African Icon of Hope Award very dear to me. This is because, as an African, it is not really easy for you to stand tall; you hear so many big names. For you to be an African designer or to showcase your runway at international platforms, you are exceptionally good; there is no doubt about it and there is no way to deny you anymore.

So, for me, you know you meet all these people and I feel inspired. Most times, I just want to say, ‘thank you’. You know, as we put up our lineup for the AFDW this year, you will see most of the African big names that are coming to showcase their collections. Most times when I am on the phone with them, I just spent few minutes to say, ‘well done for what you have done. Because of you, we can stand tall’. When you talk of African designers, we too have people and that is because of the thorough work that they have done; Thai is because of the dedication that they have had; their crafts, showcasing Africa in the most positive lights.

My role models Oh my! That will be difficult because they are so many. Maybe I will need to talk about this year’s African Icon of Hope that we have pinpointed and nominated because of their incredible works. First, I will take Deola Sagoe; she has done fantastically well for the industry. She is one of those pioneers that have been in the industry and have put Nigeria out there. Another person I will like to talk about is the late Koffi Hassan and we are honouring him; he had done fantastically well for the industry. He came up with the African Fashion Federation in a bid to gathering African designers together and promoting our craft. Unfortunately, I spoke to him

29

few days before he passed on; it was a big blow for me. I was looking forward so much to see him. I am glad I was able to tell him how much he had done; how much he inspired people like us to do what we are doing.

Another person we are also looking at is Kiko Romeo. She has done so well; she is a Scottish woman but she has lived in Africa and so, legally, she is an African. In fact, she is so proud to be Kenyan; she has done everything to develop the Kenyan fashion industry. For me, it is amazing that people want to put down their time; put down their resource and do everything to help their industries come to limelight.

My expectation on my upcoming event Indeed, I will say Africa designers will converge on Port Harcourt; that is how I look at it. We would be showcasing 13 African countries this year-we have designers coming from Tanzania, Kenya, Cote D’Ivorie, Senegal, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe, Zambia, quite a number. Also, we would be showcasing over 45 designers, including over 25 Nigerian designers.

And we would be celebrating some designers from here, Port Harcourt. This is my state and I do feel that you need to give back somehow. For me, that is how I feel. I don’t feel that you have been blessed with this kind of ideas and something that will help your state and bring tourism to your state and all you want to do is just to take it elsewhere.

My big question when people ask me to take it elsewhere is, ‘Why not Port Harcourt?’

The African Fashion and Design Week™ 2015, under the theme “Our Heritage Our pride”, will feature collections from leading established and emerging African designers, annual African Icon of Hope Awards, which will acknowledge the continent’s top designers and trade exhibition which presents invaluable networking opportunities to buyers and consumers and seminar.

It is coming up between October 7 – 11, 2015 at Aztech Arcum Stadium Road, Port Harcourt.

To what extent has the Rivers State government involved you in its tourism and fashion map That will be so complicated and implicating. Last year, we came up with an idea involving CARNIRIV and we sold it to the state CARNIRIV Board and they bought the idea.

They bought it not like they sponsored it in full as it is a partnership; we had to bring in something and they also had to bring in something. But the whole thing ended so bad; people were not paid up till now and for us, it was a little bit of dent because most of those people came to the event because of us. It is not a good experience.

However, the present administration in the state has said it is going to support the entertainment industry. The governor is just into office and we feel most of us here are really hoping because he is a man that has passion for his people. With what he does, he wants more indigenous participation. We believe that he will look down and help the industry and bring it up and use it as fulcrum of development for young designers.

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aspire

27 September, 2015

Your Life Counts

BY OLAIDE SOKOYA 0807 449 7425 (sms only)

BB pin: 55CBFA49

8 simple steps to increase productivity

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UCCESSFUL, active people all have one thing in common: discipline. They have figured out how to harness their energy in the most productive way possible.

After years of packing in appointments with clients, running my NGR fit brand and taking care of my own fitness needs, I can tell you the secret to maximising your productivity and working at your peak is organisation.

Here are eight things you can start doing today that will make you more focused, active, and productive.

Wake up at the same time every day Sticking to a sleep schedule, even on your days off, creates structure that your body will thank you for. On highly productive days, waking up earlier keeps you on schedule and forces you to start your to-do list earlier. Tomorrow, wake up 45 minutes to an hour earlier than your normally wake up.

Visualize your day What do you want to happen today? What would put you in a good mood at the end of the day? Plan out your perfect day from morning, through lunch to the evening.

You’ll be amazed how much more you fit in to your day when you decide what you want to fit in to your day.

Write things down When you make a to-do list, you make your ideas into something you can hold on to and work with. When your plan is on paper, you can focus fully on each task as you work on it. Schedule out everything you visualised and as you complete each task, cross it out – it’ll give you a sense of finality when you complete your task.

Break up big projects into smaller phases Lao-tzu famously said “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Think of your projects the same way and divide your journey into smaller goals, and celebrate when you reach them.

Develop a routine Sticking to a routine of waking up and being active will help you continue to be productive throughout your life.

All your early mornings, visualising and writing will only work if you stick with it. It takes 4 weeks of consistency to develop a good habit – start today.

Just do it! Don’t overthink It In most cases, the more you think about doing something, the more time you’re eating up by not doing it. Be proactive, make decisions, and make progress.

Fit in a quick workout Even if it’s a quick 10 minutes, a workout will keep you mentally acute, raise your energy levels, and have you feeling stronger both mentally and physically. Wear a heart rate monitor (I love Polar) and stay between 75-85per cent of your target heart rate. This will make sure you’re as efficient as possible with your workout time and eliminates the guess work of what you have accomplished!

Accountability This is a huge one! Be accountable not only to yourself but to others. You’ve promised to wake up early tomorrow, but you’ll be more likely to wake up early if you tell your spouse or a friend tonight you goal. You’ll be more likely to exercise daily if you have a workout partner.

Friends and loved ones can help keep you on track.

Culled from forbes.com

When you make a to-do list, you make your ideas into something you can hold on to and work with. When your plan is on paper, you can focus fully on each task as you work on it.

Sunday Tribune

by Tunde Jaiyebo 0803 406 2013

Just valuable a thought (1) How are you? (I)

Many times, the things that really make a difference in life are small and seemingly insignificant but also free. Three of such things that come to mind are time, air and thoughts. All these three things are free and We live in the day and age where there is so much every person on earth has an equal portion of it. competition. There seems to be far more people than How we use these three things will determine how the few opportunities available. If we are going to have we will turn out in life. If we waste our time and do headway in lifeour weability must be who so valuable not maximize to people think we areare simply wastthatthe we air andwe what we offer beto dispensed ing breathe.

Forcannot our lives count wewith. must Thistowill demandthese that we mustToday be a people value. learn maximize things. we willofhave a We must ourselves to become extremely imbrief look develop at thoughts. portant.

Being a point peopleand of value with us valuing The beginning sourcestarts of our output in life is our thoughts.

Everything ourselves and what we do. we see in life is the product thought.myself, Every great invention in the “IfofI adespised it would be no started compensation realm of thoughts.

Every achievement if everyone saluted me, andoutstanding if I respect myself, it does started out as Great and institunot trouble meaifthought. others hold mebuildings lightly.” Max Nordau tions were birthed from thoughts.

When we have a wrong or inaccurate estimation of Thoughts are so important that they fashion how ourselves we will hinder ourselves from rendering our lives will be. Our lives are the result of the way we value. have related with our thoughts.

“Nothing been so achieved except by “As a mansplendid thinkethhas in ever his heart is he” Proverbs those who dared believe that something inside of them 23:7 was superiorare to potent circumstance.”

Barton Thoughts and theyBruce have the power to set is onlycertain a person who knows he isinvaluable that can in It motion course of actions our lives.

“Sow dothought things that are valuable.

A person thinks a and you reap an action; sowwho an act and he youis reap a habit; sow avalue habithis and youHis reap a character; no good will never work. wrong self persow a character andcolour you reap destiny.”his Ralph Waldo spective will badly andapolluted work.

Emerson “Have patience with all things but first with yourOurNever thoughts haveyour a way of shaping and self. confuse mistakes with our yourlives value as determining our emotions so we need to be careful a human being. You are perfectly valuable, creative, the kinds of thoughts we allow into our worthwhile person simply because youminds. exist. “Man's And no greatness lies in his power of thought.” Blaise Pascal amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change If we think defeated thoughts we open ourselves up that.” St Sales to defeat in life. Thoughts of impossibility, failure, To be a person of value we must not just weakness and depression will weaken our have lives.aIfright we self perspective but we must value the work that we think great positive thoughts we position ourselves do. success.

We mustCombining see our work as being valuable thinkcontrifor positive anda negative bution society.

We must shoot ing is a to way of polluting ournot ability forourselves greatness.in the foot by of undermining, underrating or trivializing the “One the new things people began to find out in thewelast that our thoughts—just work do. century We mustwas develop skills to themere level thoughts—are powerful as electric that it will be inasdemand at every season.batteries—as good onerecognizes as sunlight is, rewards or as badpeople for onebased as poiLifefor only and on son.

To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your how valuable they are. The more value you bring to mind is asthe dangerous as letting a scarlet feveron germ the table more demand people will place you get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has and the more demand placed on you will determine got in you may never get over it as long as you live... how much people are ready to pay. Reward in life is surprising things can happen to anyone who, when a the consequence of the exchange of value. disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his We must also develop special and specialized mind, just has the sense to remember in time skills and in what we do so we can be proficient.

Excellence push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedlyis a word that one. should describe us. We be must be not just courageous Two things cannot in one place.” be good Hugdson at what we do but we must also be morally Frances Burnett sound. competence must be accompanied with WhenOur we dwell too much on negative thoughts they become strongholds our say, mindcompetence that will hinder our good character.

Likeinthey will take success.

When that wecharacter see ourselves arguyou to the top of thehappens, ladder but is what will ing of impossibility failure more keepmore you in on favour top. People will value aand competent man than in favour of possibilities Weabandon will be without character for a whileand butsuccess. they will maneuvered to thinking we are disadvantaged and him as soon as they find a competent man with charcannot make headway in life. When we get to this acter. stage people will write us off as impossible. “If you Value does not just come. It has to be consciously realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would produced but the ironythought.” of life is Peace that many people do never think a negative Pilgrim not pay the price to acquire and sustain their value.

They fall into the temptation to just go through life as it comes. We must regularly check our lives to see if we are diminishing in value or increasing in value. Far too many people have become liabilities to themselves and to the people and institutions they have relationships with. They are more of a problem than they are solutions. Their input does not yield any serious or profitable output.

(TO BE CONTINUED) For enquiries/comments enquiries/comments please please send send email email For to charismokola@yahoo.com to charismokola@yahoo.com

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27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

thepolity Bayelsa 2015: Intrigues, calculations as battle for ‘Creek Haven’ heightens AUSTIN EBIPADE writes on the ongoing intrigues and deft calculations in Bayelsa State ahead of the December 5, 2015 governorship election, X-raying the chances of the governorship hopefuls in an election that will be keenly contested between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Governor Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa State

O

N December 5, 2015, the electorate in Bayelsa State will have a big decision on their hands; whether to choose continuity or embrace change will be a choice that they will make through the polls.

Ahead of that D-day, however, the state has begun to witness political intrigues, tension, horse-trading and deft calculations all targeted at nicking the plum position of governor of the oil-rich state. The battle, which will be mainly between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC), analysts maintain, began the day PDP lost the presidential election to the APC, in a storm that was made to look as largely against the former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

According to watchers of political development in the state, the battle for the governorship of Bayelsa State is beyond the oil-rich state; it is seen as a show of might between the PDP and the APC. While the PDP is trying to hold on to its political stronghold in the South-South, where it won the highest number of votes in the last general election and also ensure that its political death is not sealed by losing the former president’s home state to the bullying APC, the latter intends to consummate its political conquest by gaining a foothold in the Niger-Delta, which could serve as a launch pad to make inroads into the South-South geopolitical zone.

Sunday Tribune gathered that as the ruling party in the state, the PDP is doing everything possible to retain power and consolidate its influence and control of the state, which has been its ground since 1999; but the APC, it was gathered, will stop at nothing to wrestle the control of the state from the PDP as it did with the Federal Government on March 28, 2015.

Alaibe

Mr Timipre Sylva

Indeed, the stage is set for that battle royale between the two leading parties. Currently, however, Bayelsans appear to be largely divided between the camps of the APC and the PDP. As the tension grows, however, the biggest question in the politics of the state has been on whether the PDP, led by former President Jonathan and other bigwigs, can win the December 5, 2015 election or the APC will upset the apple cart and by thumping the PDP warlords who believe that Bayelsa is a ‘PDP state.’ Already, several political gladiators in both parties have begun, making cases for why they remain their parties’ best options to ensure victory in the forthcoming election. For these set of politicians, the route to victory must begin with their selection as the standard-bearer of their parties, articulating reasons wy the state would be the better for it if they emerge as its number one citizen.

Leading the pack of contenders for the number one job in the state is incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson, who is seeking re-election for another term in office. Dickson, whose supporters and indeed PDP bigwigs, such as former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and former President Jonathan, have noted will win the election, because he has the support of Bayelsans, is hinging his reelection bid on performance and the need for continuity, arguing that he has performed creditably. For Dickson’s lovers, the argument is that he has won the hearts of the people with his performance in his first term in office and should not have a problem winning the election. To affirm the belief that the PDP has in Dickson, its super delegates and key stakeholders had endorsed the governor as the party’s sole candidate ahead of the 24 September, 2015 governorship primary supervised by the Ekiti State

governor, Ayo Fayose.

However, a similar thing cannot be said of the APC, where what was expected to be a heated primary contest ended up with a reportedly controversial result that produced a former governor of the state, Mr Timipre Sylva, as winner after the 14 other aspirant including a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe, had reportedly walked out following alleged irregularities. Sylva had polled 726 to defeat Alaibe who got four votes. The primary result was, however, upturned by the national secretariat of the APC following submissions by the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, that the exercise was fraught with violence and brigandage, a development that has caused further tension in the party as the camps of Sylva and Alaibe continued to trade blames over the botched exercise.

Though the APC is yet to fix a new date for another primary, political watchers have noted that how it handles its primary and the fallout of that exercise might go a long way in determining its success in the forthcoming election, with the camps of the two leading gladiators arguing for what they have termed ‘continuity’ and ‘change.’ This time round, however, their calculations are predicated on the antecedents of Sylva, who has governed the state before and Alaibe, who is considered as pristine and capable of injecting a breath of fresh air.

Despite the fact that the APC is yet to determine who will fly its flag in the governorship election, watchers of political developments have maintained that the chances of all parties in the election are clear and might remain so for some time to come, depending on the maneuverings and consensus-building capacities of each party ahead of Continued from

pg 34

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interview

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Economy: Nigerians are too impatient —Banire, SAN Moments after he was sworn in as a Silk, National Legal Adviser of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Muiz Banire, spoke with a couple of journalists, LANRE ADEWOLE inclusive. Excerpts:

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EVERAL years after getting to the peak of your academic career, you finally made it to the top of your professional career with the Senior Advocate of Nigeria award. How do you feel?

To a certain extent, one feels fulfilled. I thank God for that privilege. It is not because of hard work that some things in life come our way, but because of divine intervention. So I am grateful to God for the attainment.

they get that right, the next thing is to look at the structure with a view to ascertaining which institution does what. The submission I made in the paper I wrote some seven years ago was that all the things we need to fight corruption are already in the EFCC Act. All the things the ICPC, the police do are just to follow up. So there is the need to clearly define the responsibilities of each of these agencies to see if they are still relevant.

So much attention is being paid to the issue of anti-corruption by the Buhari administration that it would appear that other things are not important, the economy for instance.

Should it be so?

There is the risk. But then, the effect of the negative impact of corruption is so devastating that without addressing it, no economic revival will succeed. So you must balance the two aspects of our national life. Any economic policy without addressing corruption will ultimately fail.

That is why the fight against corruption must go alongside our efforts to rejuvenate the economy.

This translates to bigger fees for clients wishing to patronise you, doesn’t it?

I don’t know. I have not done any billing for a client yet. Maybe when I want to do that, it will occur to me. There is one aspect that is more important than money.

This aspect is one that enables me to use the attainment to pursue the cause of justice. This is because a society where there is lack of justice and fairness cannot know peace.

Corruption is a big issue in the society and this cuts across all strata.

How do you think the menace can be collectively tackled?

It must be a general resolution on the part of all of us that we want to banish corruption, otherwise we are heading nowhere. One of the areas of reckoning is obedience to the rule of law by all individuals and institutions regardless of the position that you occupy. If all of us do this, to a certain extent, we will be able to tame this vice. Corruption is not peculiar to any sector. It is everywhere. We need general reorientation with a view to pointing out the follies inherent in corruption. This is because once you are ignorant of something, it becomes a vicious cycle. If you come to me for a service and I have cause to deny you of that service because you did not comply with certain corrupt practices, and it happens like that everywhere, then we are doomed. There must be a new orientation pointing out the negative impact of corruption on the society vis-a-vis each profession. Pertaining to my own profession, for instance, I know that if there is corruption in the judiciary, I am in trouble. It means that no matter the quality of the submissions I make in court, I will not get justice. The same thing will happen to litigants. If at the end of the day people lose confidence in the justice system, the resort will be to self-preservation, and that will lead to anarchy in the society.

And once there is anarchy in the society, there will be no development.

There is a renewed war on corruption going on in the country. Are we doing the right things to succeed?

Nothing much has been done now. It is the structures that are still being put in place. When the structures have been put

Dr Muiz Banire

in place, that is when the war itself will start. For instance, I am waiting for the report of the Professor Itse Sagay committee on the way forward in tackling corruption.

Fighting corruption is not all about picking up people and taking them to court.

It goes beyond that. The Sagay committee must look at the structure, the legal framework. That is the starting point. In fact, I wrote a paper on it about seven years ago, that we need to look at the legal framework because there are so many of them that are conflicting; some are unintelligible; some are obsolete. Then how many structures do we have fighting corruption all over the place? EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau, Nigeria Police; even the SSS, DMI are all fighting corruption. I believe this thing must be structured. We need a format. We may even need protocol so that somebody does not

suddenly wake up and say this is the way he wants to do his own (fight corruption).

The Sagay committee needs to give us the legal framework, look at all legislations targeted at fighting corruption in Nigeria, analyse them, I think there is a need for realignment. Let them do the realignment and give us proper calibration of the direction to go in terms of the law itself.

Even the procedural law, we need to look at it. This is because if the substantive law is okay, but the procedural law is weak, you will still run into systemic crisis. That is why there are undue delays in anti-corruption cases for four years, five years. The general impression is that, no high-profile anti-corruption case in Nigeria ever ends. That borders on the weakness of our procedural laws. So, there is the need for the Sagay committee to evaluate the legal framework properly. Once

Nigerians subscribed to the ‘change’ mantra on the grounds that it will translate into improved life for them. But three months after the administration led by your party, came into office things appear to be in slow motion. As a top member of the APC, are you not concerned?

The problem is that, by our nature, we are impatient. We are always in haste. To me, there are some areas we need to look at first and foremost in determining whether there is impact or not. For instance, the president said he does not want to make a mistake; he wants to do things meticulously. Everybody has been talking about cabinet. To a certain extent, I believe that is not particularly essential to the development of a nation. This is because there are people in the public service doing the job presently. The issue is that when the ministers are appointed, they essentially will deal with policies. And once the policies are in place, it is for the public service to implement. So, all these things, according to the president, he needs to look at the depth of what he met, so that he knows how to proceed. This tells me how politicians make electioneering promises without knowing the reality when they get into office. That appears to be the obstacle to the prompt realisation of the promises made by the president. But all the same, if we are able to set the right agenda by the end of the year, the people will smile by the beginning of next year. We need to give the president enough time to plan so that the expected dividends can come in the quantum that we desire.

Continues

pg 33

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interview

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Buhari not slow, Nigerians are impatient pg 32

read law. This was how I started my legal career.

Another thing staring us in the face is the unpaid salaries in the states. How do we get out of it?

Unfortunately, I am a layman. I have never been a governor.

Who is your role model?

Prof. Jelili Omotola. I learnt so many things from him. I was very close to him.

He was my teacher; he was my HoD; he was my Dean. He was my VC. In fact, when he was VC, some of us were his special assistants regardless of whether we were lecturers at the UNILAG Faculty of Law. He impacted greatly on us. UNILAG worked under him.

Continued from

But you have been in government.

When I was in government we were paying salaries. But it is like there is a disconnect somewhere and we must address it. I cannot imagine somebody working for 30 days and going home without pay. How does he feed the family and meet other family responsibilities? That in itself is a source of corruption, because he must find an alternative way to survive. So, I think the federal government and the states, in conjunction with the National Economic Council, must find a sustainable solution to the unpaid salaries issue.

We have been made to understand that some of the policies of the Buhari administration will be implemented from the loot recovered from those who allegedly looted the treasury. But it seems we still have a long way to go in the loot recovery.

How much hope do you have?

Beyond loot recovery, I have said the government has started well by setting up the Sagay committee. That is the foundation. Without it, you can’t do anything.

What we are doing at the moment is not fighting corruption. Fighting corruption is a lot more encompassing. You may even need to go to the schools to inculcate the basic values. I have been agitating, `return moral education to schools!’ I probably would have been something else but for the religious education I had while in school. If you have the fear of God, the tendency to be corrupt will be limited. So, we must go beyond the issue of loot recovery into all aspects of what corruption is doing to us and what even constitutes corruption. Do you know that if you mess up somebody in terms of time-keeping; that is corruption? So, we need to address corruption holistically.

So we may need to bring back the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) that we had under President Buhari as military Head of State.

It may not be in that form. But we need complete orientation against corruption.

I envisage the MAMSER type of orientation, as spearheaded by Prof. Gana, that, `If you are a sweeper, sweep well’. That is the type of orientation that must come back. There must be dignity in whatever we do.

Kidnapping is getting worse.

Within one week, we have had at least two high profile kidnappings, the latest victim being Chief Olu Falae. How do we stem criminality?

I heard the Inspector-General of Police recently talking about community policing. That is the way out. Policing is not all about carrying guns around. Security is better carried out through intelligence.

You must spend more on intelligence, people must be incorporated. We see the (American) FBI, CIA acting like magicians when they resolve puzzles. It is because

One would think Senator Bola Tinubu would be your role model?

There is something people don’t know about me. I am not a professional politician. I am a professional in politics. I am in politics simply to ensure good governance. You can’t fight outside the ring.

You have to be inside to make the required impact. That brought me into politics, but people misconstrue my posturing. I have never been out to contest election all my life. Even common political office now, I have said I am not interested. The reason we have problems in politics today is that we have huge deficit of good people in politics.

Muiz Banire

they have agents everywhere who gather intelligence. If I am in charge of any security agency, I will have my people in every sector assembling intelligence capable of bursting crime. And once you have intelligence, you are on top of the situation.

Even among kidnappers, you must have your agent – undercover agent. We need to improve the capacity of intelligence officers.

There are certain things that government does that many people, especially the opposition, take as being against them, even if it is clear that government is sincere. In putting in place the kind of orientation against corruption you spoke about, what guarantee do we have that the opposition will not read meaning into it and say it is targeted at them?

Nigeria is unfortunately one of the countries where we do not distinguish electioneering period from when government has taken office. In other climes, once elections are over, everybody rallies round the government while government treats everybody the same way regardless of political affiliation. That is the oath of government swore to. In putting in place national rebirth, government needs everybody’s cooperation for it to succeed irrespective of party affiliation.

But the PDP-led federal government did not get similar cooperation from the APC. They did not ask for it. If they did, certainly we would have obliged them. In

some instances, we even did. On Boko Haram, we suggested the way out. I read a book authored by the prime minister of Dubai, `Flashes of Thought’, throughout the book, the underpinning thing you see in the book is `faith’. He says in the book that every single policy of government is motivated by the happiness of his people.

Happiness of the people should be our basic preoccupation, particularly after campaign. Rebirth is important, fundamental.

The 109 senators, the 360 House of Reps members, all the Houses of Assembly, put together, cannot effect the change that we envisage if the generality of the people do not buy into it, regardless of party affiliation.

What motivated you into reading law, and how was it at the beginning?

When I was in primary school, I used to prefix my name in my notebooks with chief justice. I think it was Fatai Williams that was the Chief Justice of Nigeria then.

At that time, I did not know my destination. After leaving secondary school, I wanted to read law but I got admission to read Economics at Louisiana State University, US. My uncle immediately paid the fees. But I had a brother here then who was paying part of my school fees. I went to him and told me about the development. The status quo then was that as you exit secondary school, you do JAMB. I had done JAMB and, when the result came out, I got admission to read law at UNILORIN. My brother convinced me to

So, how was it serving in Lagos State government, especially under Tinubu?

We struggled towards providing good governance. I will give our efforts a comfortable pass mark. Many eggheads were in the Tinubu administration – VicePresident Osinbajo, Cardoso, Teju Phillips, Dele Alake, Aregbesola. These were authorities in the various fields. As Commissioner for Special Duties, I cleared the courts of exhibit congestion.

We have a new regime in which senior lawyers can be appointed into Supreme Court. If you are approached, will you consider the offer?

I am not cut out to be a judge for several reasons. One of such is that the welfare of judges, to me, is not sufficient. It’s not tempting, not inviting.

Is this possibly responsible for the alleged corruption in the judiciary?

It is not impossible. You must run away from temptation. Let me give you a scenario. If I were to be appointed a minister today, maybe the highest pay I would get is N25 million per annum. That cannot solve my problem. Any other thing will come from stealing or bribery. So, if you are not ready to steal or ask for bribe, restrict yourself to a place where you can make good money legitimately. We have to pay our judges well; we need to possibly adopt the Singapore regime or the one in place in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, their police are paid huge allowances such that they didn’t have to spend their salaries. So, why would the Saudi police be tempted to take bribe?

If you did not become a lawyer, what would you have been?

I would have possibly been a civil engineer, because it is lucrative, ever sought after. I like things that will make me comfortable.

34

opinion

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Who wins the Bayelsa gov election?

Continued from

pg 31

the election.

The chances of the PDP With the success of Governor Dickson in deploying his goodwill and exerting his influence among the party’s bigwigs, the National Working Committee (NWC) had graciously danced to his rhythm by paving the way for him as the sole candidate of the party. This development, it was noted, has a double-edged implication for the party. While it was said to have demonstrated the cohesion and unity in the PDP as opposed to the APC, showing that the leaders of the party in the state could still convince the people to speak with one voice in support of what they have succeeded in labeling as ‘a mandate of the Ijaw nation,’ the disqualification of two other governorship aspirants, namely; Senator Emmanuel Paulker and Chief Ebikitin Diongoli, is said to be a time bomb that might blow in the face of the PDP sooner than later.

The two aspirants were disqualified on the grounds that they did not include their tax declaration receipts in the documents presented before the screening committee in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. But Sunday Tribune gathered that the disqualification has created a frosty relation between them and the party, with insiders noting that it could spell doom for the party if their teeming supporters decide to avenge the development by working against the party.

Paulker, through his campaign director, Ayakeme Whisky, had stated that the PDP should have allowed a healthy contest at the primary, noting that that is the beauty of democracy; rather that disrespecting the rights of all eminently qualified aspirants.

But Paulker and Diongoli, it is said, can still be made to work for their party, if the party leadership is able to pacify them. In this instance, some members, especially those in the camp of Governor Dickson, believe President Jonathan is in the best position to do this. According to them, Senator Paulker, especially, is someone who respects and believes in the former president, and will, therefore, accept any peace offering by Jonathan.

As for Chief Diongoli, he is said to be a commited party member, who has consistently put the interest of his party above his personnal issue and or ambition. Besides, Chief Dongoli is said to be a strong believer in the cause of Izon people and will not do anything to jeopardise the freedom of the Ijaw nation.

In spite of all this, political watchers also believe that Dickson will call the tune on how these aggrieved politicians and their supporters react subsequently. Should he fail to effectively harmonise the camps of these asprants into his campaign machinery, he might lose the support of their members, who may work against him in the December 5 election.

However, the governor has to his credit several achievements, which have been applauded by Jonathan and other stakeholders in the Bayelsa project. The governor is being commended in the areas of security and infrastructural development. In the same vein, the up to date salary payment of salaries to the workforce and the prudent management of the resources of the state, which has seen to its being the least indebted state are described as worthy enough grounds that can convince the electorate in favour of the PDP. The chances of the APC The APC in the state is is, undoubtedly, simply riding on the fact that it is now the ruling party in the country.

Subsequent upon the defeat suffered by PDP, which led to the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the control of over 25 states by the APC, the party has enjoyed the mass defection of top PDP bigwigs, such as Chief Timi Alaibe, former acting governors, Nestor Binabo and Werinipre Seibarugu and Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, among others too, with the complaint that the party lacked internal democracy.

Aside these facts, the APC has promised the people of Bayelsa a change for the better, against the backdrop of hardship reportedly inflicted on them by the PDP. The national chairman of the party, Chief John OdigieOyegun told the party’s teeming supporters at the defection rally in Yenagoa recently, that the PDP would be defeated “as they no longer have the security operatives

Former President Goodluck Jonathan

John Odigie-Oyegun, APC Chairman

to their advantage, a tool that they have deployed to rig election for 16 years.” He noted that despite the APC now being the ruling party, there would be level playing field.

But the APC’s chances in the election have been directly linked to whoever it chooses as its candidate, with the camps of Sylva and Alaibe struggling to outdo each other.

As things stand, insiders in the APC have alleged that the Bayelsa State’s chapter of the party is tilting towards Sylva, who is said to be in control of the party structure in the state, with the late entrance of Alaibe into the APC folds said to be capable of doing him in. According to one of the sources, the result of the party’s primary last week, which ended in favour of Sylva with a landslide margin, is enough indication of where the party wants things to go.

Though that result has been cancelled, with another exercise said to be on the way to choose the candidate of the APC, one of the insiders who spoke on a condition of anonymity said Sylva would still win because he has the structure and support of the party.

While there are other aspirants in the APC fold, political observers have stated that the battle for the APC ticket remains largely ‘a battle of the two Timis’; between Timi Sylva and Timi Alaibe, with some of them noting that if the latter gets the ticket, the post-primary crisis could be contained. They, however, noted that should the delegates be coerced to vote Sylva, the post-primary crisis might tear the party apart, because the bandwagon of the PDP defectors that swells the APC camp could leave to another political party, which would weaken the APC in the state.

Last Tuesday’s APC primary had been trailed by all manner of complaints, with original delegates from the

local government areas of the state loyal to Alaibe were reportedly barred from the exercise, as they alleged that both Tiwei and Sylva arranged and accredited moles to take their place when their names were called on the register of cleared delegates for the primaries.

While Sylva has continued to maintain his innocence despite the allegations by pro-Alaibe members and Oshiomhole, political observers noted that there would be a clash between Sylva and Alaibe’s delegates, which would diminish the chances of the APC. However, the state’s chairman of the APC, Tiwei Orunimighe, dismissed the insinuation that he is showing favouritism to his former boss, Sylva, noting that there was no iota of truth in the clam.

He explained that the reason the party is conducting its governorship primary election is to allow all aspirants to test their popularity, just as he denied working for Sylva’s emergence as the standard bearer of the party.

He stressed that it was for that reason that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party assigned Governor Oshiomole to preside over the governorship primaries in the state.

Speaking on the possibility of a post-primary crisis, Tiwei said that the APC is fully aware that the outcome would produce some skirmishes, particularly if Sylva clinched the party’s ticket ahead of Alaibe. He, however, noted that the party has put up mechanism to resolve, harmonise and retain members, as against speculations that the PDP defectors disposed to Alaibe’s candidacy would dump the party in their numbers.

Anywhere the pendulum swings in the APC, there is no doubt that the party faces an uphill task ahead of the election which the PDP has been primed by observers to win based on the large followership it enjoys in the state and the presence of political juggernauts whose interest and intent are clear. These elements, it was noted, will fight hard to keep Bayelsa away from the new ruling party.

But does the the APC has the capacity to actually pull off what will be seen as the biggest coup since the presidential election, defeating an immediate past president in his home zone and beginning the incursion into the strongest forte of the PDP. How will the APC go about prosecuting that war? Will they stick to their change mantra by fielding a new face or take a leaf from PDP’s book by putting forward ‘continuity’, which Sylva stands for, having been in office before, though he reckoned that he was frustrated out of office and not allowed to achieve his plans for a better Bayelsa.

Will PDP lose Bayelsa State as it did states in the NorthCentral, which was also another stronghold of the party until the last general election or retain the control of the oil-rich state? Will the former ruling party come out of the December 5 election with bloodied face and another loss, which will automatically confirm its decline? These are the questions that can only be left for time to answer.

But before that time comes, Bayelsans must begin to answer these questions in their minds while the rest of the country looks on.

As the tension grows, however, the biggest question in the politics of the state has been on whether the PDP, led by former President Jonathan and other bigwigs, can win the December 5, 2015 election or the APC will upset the apple cart and by thumping the PDP warlords who believe that Bayelsa is a ‘PDP state.

35

interview

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

How Buhari can solve education problem in Nigeria —Adeyeye Prince Gbadebo Adeyeye is the proprietor of Crown Heights College, Ibadan. The US-based educationist speaks with OLAKUNLE TAIWO on what prompted his decision to own a school, challenges of education in Nigeria and solutions. Excerpts:

Y

OU are a proprietor of a secondary schoo; how did you begin?

Let me begin by saying that the heroes of the military regime in Nigeria are not only those who died in the great inhumanity. They include those in their selflessness have articulated against the cancer that was dictatorship and championed what is good in humankind; especially during the time when that enemy of school children, General Sani Abacha, was willing to overthrow the nation’s education sector if necessary as the head of state. That was the time I decided to join the Nigerians of goodwill to offer hope for our children through Crown Heights College.

What achievement has the school recorded over the years?

First of all, private school achievements are measured in different ways, depending on the mission of individual school proprietors. For example, some school owners measure their achievements with the bank statements and their student multitudes. And for those of us who have no anointing to throw integrity and etiquettes of education into the winds, our primary concern, particularly at Crown Heights College has been and will continue to be the undiluted spiritual and academic success of our pupils. To God be the glory, today, this mission is being fulfilled with many of Crown Heights graduates doing excellently well in both Nigeria and abroad. During the November 2014 convocation at the University of Ibadan, for example, one of our former students, Olufemi Babatunde, was the only first class graduate in his entire department.

To me personally, this is what I consider as a great achievement for a private school run with integrity; no matter what others are doing!

How would you assess the education sector?

Many people will agree with me today that tragedy looms larger than life in Nigerian education sector. There are enough reasons to believe that the problem is going to be worse in the country, because every bit of evidence we have at hand presently suggests that Nigerians will see an increase in the number of illiterate citizens within the next decade; and there are several factors which support this likelihood. In order to understand these factors, we might stop to take a look at some of the changes that have taken place in our education system during the last three decades.

Sincerely speaking, illiteracy is not a new phenomenon in Nigerian society. By any standard, there were many more illiterate citizens in the country over 50 years ago, particularly before the introduction of free primary education in Western region by late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. But in the past 20 years, the number of those, who cannot read at all in Nigeria either di-

minished slightly or remain unchanged.

The sad thing is that Nigeria’s education glory days are rapidly fading, because of the dramatic increase in functional illiteracy among the citizens; simply because of the kinds of schools we run, the cities that starve them, the demagogues that control them and the shameless political leaders that escape them altogether to enroll their own children in up-to-date and more proficient schools in South Africa.

How can the current administration solve this education problem in the country?

Before any meaningful solution can be recorded in Nigerian education system, we must first of all remember the Albert Einstein observation that “we cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that we used to create it” For example in the last 30 years, Nigerian government has proved that more money, more bureaucracy and more regulations are the solutions to our education crisis; thus, they continue throwing more money at our problems. But in a country that spend billions Naira every year on education without good result, and where the fed-

eral ministry of education alone has more bureaucrats (mostly corrupt) on their payroll than the entire population of Togo, can more money be the problem? This is why the original wisdom of our founders is urgently needed. And anyone willing to think about the present perilous state of Nigerian education system will immediately be struck by the negative and farreaching effects of its centralisation. This centralisation of the education bureaucracies has coincided remarkably with the failure in the entire system for many years. We must remember that schools used to be relatively free to respond to community priorities, parents demand and the need of their students under the missions. But now, an ever growing agglomeration of federal regulation governs the way schools are run. The web of government regulations affects almost everything that goes on in our academic institutions- textbook prescription, curriculum teaching methodology,admissions,voters registration, election campaigns and other extracurricular activities; all these federal government interference in our education system are ludicrous and of course, they take more time away from what schoolsshould be doing: educating the Nigerian children! And to curb this problem, the encroachment of the federal government led by General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1979 into what had been successfully handled by the mission and local government must be removed; all corrupt political appointees in the federal education ministry be expelled without creating further damages in our education system; and the weak-kneed education officials in the overcrowded ministry be sent home in the interest of the future generation. After all, education system was running perfectly well under Chief ObafemiAwolowo in the Western region with the help of few school inspectors popularly known as ‘olubewo’.

The sad thing is that Nigeria’s education glory days are rapidly fading, because of the dramatic increase in functional illiteracy among the citizens; simply because of the kinds of schools we run, the cities that starve them, the demagogues that control them and the shameless political leaders…

What were the challenges you face by running a school in Nigeria?

Of course, in a system rule by the principle of ‘gangsterism’ such as ours, one cannot do without a tale of harassment by government agents. Let’s face the truth, the number one contributing factor of graduate unemployment in our country today is the unnecessary assault on business investors by government agents such as the customs, police and other despicable civil servants. For example, the private business tax law in Nigeria is ridiculously diluted that public interest under internal revenue collection is almost anything a group of corrupt government officials from the secretariat decide it should be. In fact it doesn’t require expropriation or confiscation of business in Nigeria to impose socialism on innocent business investors. After all, what does it mean whether you hold a title to your business if government holds the power of life and death over that business through corrupt machinery?

36

opinion

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

The melodrama called APC guber primary

By Jack Kalio

I

T was an ugly spectacle last Tuesday in Bayelsa State. What was planned and expected to be a beautiful event turned out to be something unpredictable. Blood flowed, bones cracked.

People were maimed. Tears rolled down many faces. It was a sad experience. A few months after the All Progressives Congress (APC) won an unprecedented election both at the states, the National Assembly and the Presidency, people have started asking: is the party incapable of conducting an ordinary governorship primary in a state as small as Bayelsa?

Events of the day started smoothly as delegates started arriving from all over the states. All of a sudden, it was observed that names of illegal delegates had been smuggled into the list of authentic delegates with cloned identity cards. The identity cards were said to bear the names of the authentic delegates but had the pictures of the fake delegates. When arrested and questioned, the illegal delegates were said to have confessed that they were hired by one of the aspirants who is a front runner to the office.

Other aspirants, on noticing what happened quickly protested to the committee saddled with the conduct of the primary. This attracted an ugly response from thugs who had assembled somewhere within the premises apparently waiting for an opportunity to strike. Immediately, they started chanting war songs in support of the former state governor, Timipre Sylva, who is also a governorship aspirant. In a few minutes, the hoodlums, in absolute defiance of the security personnel at the gate of the main entrance to the venue of the event, invaded the podium.

Their protest was that the primary election was likely to be postponed as a result of ‎complaints by three of the aspirants: Timi Alaibe, Ebitimi Amgbare and Preye Aganaba that there were cloned voter cards carriers impersonating delegates to the election. It didn’t matter to the thugs whether the protest by the three aspirants was genuine or not.

Media reports indicated that before the thugs invaded the podium, Sylva had walked up to Governor Adams Oshiomhole who chaired the election committee, accusing him and the national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, of bias and compromising the process to deny him of advantages. “This is wrong and I must protest this brazen bias and compromise of the process that is designed to deny me advantages, I am saying that Governor Oshiomhole and Oyegun have all compromised themselves, I won›t accept this,” he was quoted as saying.

As the former governor continued to protest, the state chairman of the APC, Tiwei Orunimigha, arrived at the spot and tried to calm him down; but the former governor›s protests and accusations against Oshiomhole and Oyegun attracted further attention as the ex-officio NEC member from Bayelsa state, Honourable Yekini Nabena Jimoh, beckoned on some of Sylva›s supporters to come inside the main bowl. As the thugs invaded the main entrance and headed to the podium, Oshiomhole kept his calm even as most of the governorship aspirants, observers and journalists fled the venue.

The state party chairman himself announced that whether or not the electoral committee wanted it, the primary must hold. ‹›Whether or not Oshiomhole want

it, we must hold our primary, there is a party on ground and no one can chose for us who will be candidate. Alaibe just joined the party two weeks ago and cannot claim to know who is a delegate or not, we are forging ahead with the primary,›› Orunimigha said through the public address system.

Earlier in the day, Alaibe, alongside three other aspirants had complained of intimidation and irregularities. Alaibe said: «You have seen the rancourous process leading to the primaries. The process is being marred by irregularities, violence, intimidation and complete disrespect for aspirants, agents and party officials. This is an enactment of negative history for a party that stands on the mantra of change. I think something is missing somewhere and we need to get it right. We have had delegates perceived to be loyal to us, threatened, beaten wounded since morning “Quite a lot of people you see here are not delegates. Most of the authentic delegates are outside. We need to put a stop to this process. We will meet with the chairman of the committee and ask for the cancellation of the process. Some other times we can get thesecurity dynamics rights so that we can get the methodology of the primaries right.

We cannot continue with this process” Also, Aganaba described the process as shameful and that it failed to represent the values and principles of the party.

He said: “I am ashamed of this process. I was a member of the Presidential APC in Lagos. It was a successful convention and when the winner emerged, all other aspirants supported the winner. But the process today is flawed. Most of the delegates here are fake. I toiled for this party and sweated for it to be established in Bayelsa and if l am asking for the cancellation of this exercise, they should know how serious l am. I believe we should even move the primary to another state.”

After receiving the protest from some of the aspirants, Oshiomhole and other members of the committee went into a long meeting to decide the way forward.

It was clear from all indications that the process of electing a candidate to fly the

APC flag in the gubernatorial election in the state would be postponed to a further date. However, everybody had to wait for the official position from the committee.

What bothered a lot of people was how Oshiomhole and his team would safely leave the stadium without getting hurt. At the end, it took the swift intervention of the Joint Task Force operating in the area to clear the thugs and ensure a safe exit of the committee members after the primary was rescheduled to Monday September 28.

In an interview in an online newspaper, Oshiomhole told the story of what happened in Bayelsa State. “I was appointed with six other members from the APC to conduct the primary election of governorship election in Bayelsa state. The exercise took place yesterday (Tuesday) but somehow, thugs took over the sports complex where the exercise was to take place. They practically prevented the actual delegates from participating and as a result, we could not proceed with the exercise. The committee was virtually held hostage in-

I am ashamed of this process. I was a member of the Presidential APC in Lagos. It was a successful convention and when the winner emerged, all other aspirants supported the winner. But the process today is flawed. Most of the delegates here are fake.

cluding my humble self and this time, they were supervised unfortunately by one of the aspirants, the former governor of the state, Timiprey Silva, who said to my face and to the committee that we cannot leave the venue of the conference unless we conduct the exercise without accreditation as prescribed by the National Secretariat of the (APC).

“It is important that we state clearly that the National Secretariat has adopted a standard guideline for the conduct of gubernatorial primaries and this guideline was used effectively in Kogi State and it produced a candidate in which all the aspirants were quite happy with. The key issues in this guideline as handed down by the party is that delegates as contained in the list have to be identified either though the Permanent Voters Card, or the National Identity Card or International Passport. This was to ensure that proper accreditation was done because the integrity of an election rests primary on the integrity of the accreditation process, once the accreditation suffers any defect, it affects the entire exercise, as they, you cannot build something on nothing.

“Whereas all the aspirants agreed with this guideline, it is only Silva that did not agree with it, he rejected this mode of accreditation and chose to accuse the National Secretariat of formulating the guideline to frustrate his ambition. Every effort made to reassure him and direct his attention to the fact that same guidelines have been used and that they are standard guidelines that will be used in future elections, fell on deaf ears. He insisted that we cannot leave the place unless we are ready to conduct the election without recourse to accreditation as stipulated by the party and of-course I was not in a position to amend the guideline nor was I ready to submit to his intimidation.

“When it became clear that he has mobilised thugs in connivance with the police, these thugs without accreditation found their way into the stadium and insisted that we must conduct the election based on their own rules, Silva insisted that it is the state executive that must conduct the election and not the national body and that it was wrong for the national body to conduct election without the state secretariat.

“When it became clear that our lives were under threat, I had to call Abuja to prevail on the army, the JTF to provide me with security to enable me leave the venue because the thugs had effectively blocked the gate under the instructions of Silva.”

Oshiomhole said he had since forwarded the report to the National Secretariat and believed that the party would fix a new date for proper accreditation and fresh conduct of the primaries.

“Several people were apprehended with cloned cards, they were handed over to the police but were curiously released by the police and allowed to harass and intimidate members of the committee and other aspirants.

“Unfortunately, by the way Sylva conducted himself, he showed that he has no faith in democratic process because he continued to insist that he founded APC in Bayelsa State and therefore cannot understand why those who didn’t found the party have the right to contest election on the platform of the party.”

•Kalio, a journalist, writes from Bayelsa State

37

opinion

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Bayelsa: A tale of two primaries

By Daniel Iworiso-Markson

T

HE recent governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State was akin to a state of war and offers an object lesson on how not to go about this business of democracy.

The election which was postponed from the initial date of Saturday, September 19 2015, eventually held last Tuesday at the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa, the state capital with 19 governorship aspirants, including the former governor, Timipre Sylva and former NNDC boss, Ndutimi Alaibe as major contestants. Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and six others were constituted by the APC national leadership to conduct the election at which one of the aspirants would emerge as the candidate of the party for the December 5 election in the state.

However, that election famously ended in nearly unbridled violence as clashes, controversies and all manner of recriminations from different stakeholders, particularly the contestants, the umpire and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) became the dominant story with the hapless people of Bayelsa left to ponder: what manner of men are these? And are the gladiators motivated by the urge to serve the people or are they propelled by the urge and the prospect of yet another opportunity to set upon the public treasury with accustomed rapacity? And what did all this portend for peace, stability and democracy in the state?

The APC leadership in Abuja has since canceled the ill-fated primary election, citing irregularities, especially that the party guidelines were not followed as the process was claimed to have been hijacked by one of the contestants.

Media reports however, indicate a semblance of an election but it was null.

A result was purportedly released which claimed that Timipre Sylva had won by 726 votes to defeat his arch-rival, Ndutimi Alaibe, who scored 4 votes. Yet a total of 1,502 delegates were expected to have participated in the election.

Giving a vivid account of what transpired on that fateful day, Edo State Governor and Chairman of the Election Committee, Edo state governor Adams Oshiomhole, accused Timipre Sylva of scuttling the election by inviting thugs to the Samson Siasia Stadium venue and thereby unleashing mayhem.

In a statement last Wednesday, Oshiomhole said Sylva actually threatened his life and those of the committee members. To dispel reports that an election was held as disseminated by Sylva and his supporters, the governor challenged Sylva to produce his Certificate of Return which should have been given to him as validity of his claim. Oshiomhole went further to state that Sylva threatened he would not allow the committee members leave the venue unless the primary election was conducted but which Oshiomhole realised was inappropriate, because that would mean conducting an illegality since it will be without due accreditation as required by the party’s guidelines.

He stated: “I was appointed along with six others to conduct the Primary election in Bayelsa State. The exercise took place on Tuesday, but somehow, thugs took over the venue of the exercise. They prevented the actual delegates from participating and accessing the venue of the exercise. As a result, we could not proceed

with the exercise.

“The committee was virtually held hostage, including myself and this exercise was supervised, unfortunately, by one of the aspirants and unfortunately, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylvia who said to my face and the committee that we could not leave the venue of the conference unless we carry out the exercise without accreditation as prescribed by the National Secretariat.

“The integrity of an election rests primarily on the integrity of the electoral process. Once the accreditation process suffers any defect, as they say, you cannot build something on nothing. Whereas all the aspirants agreed with this guideline, it is only former Governor Timipre Sylva who rejected this guideline.»

Oshiomhole said many people were apprehended with fake cloned Permanent Voter Cards which they wanted to use to replace the actual delegates and they were handed over to the Police.

But he said the Police released those who were so arrested and allowed them to continue to harass and intimidate, not only the committee members but other aspirants.

The tale of woe was amplified by one of the governorship aspirants, Chief Diekvie Ikiogha, whose account corroborated that of Oshiomhole to the effect that no election was held and that the venue was filled with thugs and cultists.

According to him, youths said to be loyal to Timipre Sylva invaded the venue when they heard that the election committee was planning to postpone the primary.

Following the development on Wednesday, the APC national Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, nullified the election and rescheduled it till further notice.

Alaibe had led 14 of the 19 aspirants on a walk out at the venue and took their case to Abuja alleging irregularities in the process.

Also reacting, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Timi Frank, denounced the election, stating that one of the aspirants, Sylva, held members of the committee under duress to declare him the party’s candidate.

“I am speaking as a concerned citizen of the state that this primary is not acceptable. In a situation where all the other aspirants walked out of the venue and a particular aspirant put a member

of the primary election committee under duress to declare him a winner with the chairman of the committee, Oshiomhole, not present is a fraud”, he said.

But in his 7-point defence, Timipre Sylva has accused Oshiomhole of bad faith in his behavior at the primary, claiming that the committee chairman was on a mission to stop him from emerging the candidate of the APC in Bayelsa State. In an advertorial signed on his behalf by his Media Adviser, Doifie Buokoribo, on Thursday which cast aspersions on the person of Oshiomhole and indeed his integrity, Sylva insisted that an election was held.

The recriminations have been astounding and the language employed distinctly unparliamentary to say the least given the calibre of the personalities involved. The nature of the APC botched primaries has predictably drawn the attention of the Bayelsa State chapter of the PDP given its possible implications for the general election on December 5.

In a statement by the acting State Chairman, Mr David Dokubo-Spiff, the party condemned the conduct of the APC leaders at the botched election and expressed fears of a recurrence of violence at the election proper. He, therefore, called on the Federal Government and allied institutions to wake up.

He said: “The Peoples Democratic Party, Bayelsa State Chapter, notes with utter dismay and disappointment, the disgraceful political outing of the APC yesterday, in the name of State Party Primaries. From all credible accounts, hoodlums, cultists and extreme criminal elements, engaged by contending APC chieftains, turned the event into an orgy of unspeakable political bloodletting. In the event, scores of innocent persons were severely traumatized physically and psychologically.

“What the world saw in yesterday’s mayhem, represents only a hint of what the PDP-led government of Bayelsa has always known -- many of the APC big wigs in the state are the real merchants of violence, venom and villainy. They are the same ones who, within recent memory, elevated criminality and lawlessness even from out of our swamps, to the precincts of government house. They are the same ones, who, without compunction, shamelessly aspire to reign again, albeit in an atmosphere of anarchy. What the world saw yesterday is only a tiny bit of what

the PDP government in Bayelsa has been grappling with year-in-year-out.

Our great party, therefore, warns all desperate politicians and potential trouble makers to desist from heating up the polity in our beloved state. Any person or persons, no matter how highly placed or connected, who persists in fomenting trouble, must be visited with the full wrath of the law.

He added: “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct all relevant security agencies to ensure that Bayelsans are spared the anguish of political violence and wanton destruction of lives and property. Mr. President must not be seen to encourage or tacitly support electoral violence and brigandage, and must therefore take appropriate steps to dispel the wide-spread notion that the APC is bent on rigging the elections and taking Bayelsa State by force.”

The peace loving people of Bayelsa are left to wonder whether the conduct of the botched APC primary is but a dress rehearsal of what the APC plans to do on December 5, 2015. The contrast between the APC fiasco and the PDP’s showing was underlined by the Chairman of the PDP governorship primary panel in Bayelsa State, Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose.

“As chairman of this primary, I will not conduct a primary that will be canceled and rejected by the national leadership of our party. I am here by the authority and mandate of our great party to conduct a free, fair and transparent primary. And I can assure you that I will not be whisked away from this venue like some people,’ Fayose said.

He proceeded to conduct a peaceful primary which the incumbent governor Seriake Dickson won and who also used the occasion to announce that he will be running with his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd) in the December 5 election to further consolidate on his Restoration Agenda.

Whether the APC is able to pick its pieces together or not, the people of Bayelsa could not have been presented with a clearer choice: between the politics of progress and peaceful development and that of confusion, of a return to cultism, murders, mayhem and unbridled brigandage which had the misnomer of militancy.

• Iworiso-Markson writes from Yenagoa.

38

T

HERE was good news on Thursday as Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF) and a chieftain of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, was released by his abductors, who had seized him from his farm in Akure, Ondo State and placed on him a ransom of N100 million.

News of his release filtered in just hours after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, arrived the state to coordinate the search for the elderstatesman.

Expectedly, the police would beat their chests upon Falae’s release, especially as it was affected just hours after the IGP took direct charge of the search. Certainly, the Police would want us to see this as evidence of the magic it can perform.

While we congratulate Pa Falae and the Yoruba nation over his release from the hoodlums and the Ondo State government for averting a huge confusion and ethnic tension that could occasion if he was not promptly released, it will also be on point to salute IGP Arase for the record achievement.

The whole saga should not end there. The kidnap of Chief Falae should afford the IGP and the police some introspection. He should ask: How far have his men kept faith with their commission? Do the citizens feel safe in the hands of the police? Why is it difficult for the people to truly see the police as their friends?

The IGP should also ask why we are having increased incidents of kidnapping and dare devil armed robbery in recent times. Before now, you hear of incidents of armed robbery taking place mostly in the dead of the night. But these days, why are we having the robbers seizing highways in broad daylight? Just recently, robbers seized Ikorodu town in Lagos, robbing banks at will. There have been reports of daylight bank robberies in Akure, Ondo state and some other cities across the country.

This opportunity for stock taking should also see the IGP ask questions from his DIGs, Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and Divisional Crime Officers and the rank and file.

The question he should be asking them is clear: why are we having an upscale in incidents of kidnapping? We have seen that of Donu Kogbara, Toyin Nwosu grab the headlines recently, but hundreds of others have largely gone

THAT Chief Olu Falae is home with his family is cause for joy. Yet I wonder if he is really safe. For a man of his age, pedigree, status and stature to be so brutally abducted from his farm by a group of Fulani mercenaries is cause for concern. Who then is safe in this country? His abduction is a clear indication that all is no longer well especially where security is concerned. And to think that the men did not operate under the cover of night but in broad daylight just to teach him and his workers that nobody messes with them and gets away with it? The issue is not that he has returned home (ransom paid or not) but that he could be abducted and brazenly dragged on the floor by these gun-toting, criminals who obviously came to settle a cattle grazing score with him.

The police confirmed it and so did his badly brutalised workers. If a man with so much contact and connections could be so dealt with then there is real trouble in the land. Here is a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, a chieftain of the pan Yoruba group, Afenifere, a traditional ruler, and a one-time presidential candidate being so shabbily treated by Fulani herdsmen – on his land and in his domain! So what hope do his subjects have? What hope do other law abiding Nigerians have? Can’t a man retire to his village and manage his life in retirement peacefully?

I think it was about time that we addressed the issue of these herdsmen, and the aggression they bring to their perceived right to graze their cattle wherever they wished.

They are obviously determined to import to the south the vicious circle of violence and mutual vendetta which has ravaged large areas of the country’s north and which have led to deaths of thousands as a result of clashes between these herdsmen and local farmers. The mindset of the herdsmen is “Everything belongs to God. Every piece of land belongs to God and not to any individual,” so they go about fully armed to defend their rights to the vast expanse of land including all arable land, which God has so mercifully provided for all of us. What Dr Nafissatu Mohammed, former Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE), and now a

27 September, 2015

the lynxeye with Taiwo adisa

08072000046 taiadisbabatj@gmail.com

IGP Arase and notes from Falae’s ordeal

unreported. Many families have paid the ransom quietly.

The answer to that question is simple; the police is beginning to see kidnapping as “our way of life” just as it has practically classified armed robbery.

If you have ever reported a case of armed robbery to the

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

Baba Falae’s travails

lecturer at the NDA Kaduna, said may perhaps shed more light on this behaviour? Hear her, ‘The cows are a store of wealth. All the earnings of the nomad are stored in the animal, and it gives them their status, their prestige, and everything that helps us to define ourselves.”

However, she and her people seem to forget that to the farmer land is also his/her store of wealth and that he/ she has as much right as the Fulani does, to the largesse

Sunday Tribune

police in recent times, you will get the drift. The way policemen take armed robbery incidents can be quite nauseating. It is as if robberies are normal in this clime.

That is the same way they have started treating incidents of kidnapping. When a big fish is kidnapped, you hear the whole noise and at the end of the day, ransom is paid and no one hears of the culprits.

We have to take the police to task. If they have taken the job of haunting criminals as their profession, nothing should stop them from getting to the roots of every crime.

Why should the police go to sleep after securing the release of a kidnap victim. And if that is allowed to be the norm, how do we hope to get rid of the scourge, which has practically become an economic crime rather than an ideological weapon.

Those who are knowledgeable about crime have said that no organised crime takes place without the collaboration of security agents, especially policemen. That being the case, the IGP would need to adopt drastic measures if he hopes to kick out the scourge of armed robbery and the emerging kidnap trade in the country. It should not be out of place for the IGP to invent punitive measures including transfers and demotions on DIGs, CPs, DPOs and DCOs whose areas continue to record incidents of kidnapping and unrelenting robbery.

It should be a crime for a senior police officer to continuously record robbery or kidnap cases in his domain and it should not be out of place to transfer any such senior officer to the hotspots of insurgency war.

While we do that, there should also be rewards for gallant officers who confront these scourges professionally.

There should be instant rewards for the families of those we lost in the line of duty.

Apart from equipping the police with all necessary modern equipment, there should be a way to look at their welfare in its entirety. I am surprised that IGPs, DIGs and CPs appear comfortable with a situation where Policemen have no organised transport system; go to duty posts on commercial okada and where many have no roof at all over their heads. Nothing should stop a comprehensive insurance package for policemen.

When all these are done, we should not fail to use the sledge hammer to kill an ant, when infractions are committed in the line of duty.

provided by the Almighty. What educated Fulani, like Dr Mohammed should have done was to have sensitised their people to the fact that all over the world, grazing extensively is outdated. They should have told them that what obtains now is to ranch their cattle and get food for their valued animals as either fresh fodder or dry hay for a fee.

And that reminds me, whatever happened to the endless talk about the Federal Government’s plan to set up mini ranches in different states, and the plan to ban the movement of cattle all over the country by the close to 30 million nomads or the talk of establishing a Ministry of Livestock as occurs in many West African countries?

Some pro-pastoralists may argue that such laws and plans may violate the constitution, and may put the government in breach of a number of international treaties and obligations regarding the free movement of persons and cattle; but is this not better than the scores of lives that have been lost due to these clashes over access to land and the attendant crimes that have become recurring features of these nomadic Fulani?

What happened to Chief Falae is nothing new among the Fulani. There are recorded cases of situations where the nomads pounce on wealthy Fulani, and kidnap them for a ransom, which often runs into millions of Naira. In my short research for this article, there were accounts by people of what they went through in the hands of cattle rustlers who were part of an international syndicate in West Africa. The well armed group come from Niger, Benin Republic and Cameroon who use the country’s neglected but vast forests as corridors to hide and evacuate cattle.

This probably answers the question I asked when the ransom of N100m was demanded, that is, when did Fulani nomads start asking for ransom? The criminals probably cashed in on the lingering face-off between Chief Falae and the regular herdsmen or these criminals were used as mercenaries by them. This is a sign that those of us in the south should not sit on our oars, as the battle is no longer in our backyard but right in our bedrooms.

39

27 September, 2015

ON THE

lord’sday

Sunday Tribune

With Bolanle Bolawole turnpot@gmail.com 07052631058

At Adeboye’s Mount Carmel prayer village...

“S

EE Paris and die!” they say. This must be an attestation to the beauty of Paris in those days of yore but with the arrival of wonder cities such as Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc., it is doubtful if Paris still retains its allure as the most beautiful capital city in the world. Not all folks will see Paris or the latest fad, Dubai; but what is lost here can be made up for in large measure with a visit to Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye’s Mount Carmel Prayer Village.

As we all know, Pastor Adeboye aka Daddy G.O. is the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (TRCCG). Mount Carmel Prayer Village is ensconced in the belly of rustic and sleepy Ifewara, a town or village, depending on your take, about 25 minutes’ drive from the palace of the Ooni of Ife in Ile-Ife. Had the road from Ife to Ifewara been well-paved, the trip would have taken far less time.

Adeboye is a bona fide son of Ifewara, arguably its most illustrious. A Ph. D. in Applied Mathematics, bagged 40 or so years ago, was enough to etch his name in gold in the annals of Ifewara; but as God would have it, he also became the General Overseer of TRCCG in 1981. TRCCG is not just a mill-of-the-run Pentecostal church, it is one of the fastest-growing in the world; the frenetic pace of expansion has taken the Mission from the back of the wood to the world’s centre-stage. It has grown from a Mission with 40 parishes and a few thousands of members to a behemoth found in virtually all the nations of the world. TRCCG membership today is counted in millions of faithful.

Important as this enlargement of coast is, it is, interestingly, not the only attribute of the man of God called Adeboye; what is are his innate qualities as a man deeply imbued with a sense of humility and whose lifestyle is holy living. And not just that he professes these but also that he lives out his convictions. Everyone knows that Pastor Adeboye practises what he preaches! Not long ago, the highly respectable international newsmagazine, “Newsweek” listed Adeboye in its cover story as one of the world’s most influential 50 personalities. His virtues of humility and holy living were some of the attributes that thrilled the newsmagazine. For this, Adeboye’s admirers are not limited to his congregation alone but are to be found in the entire Christendom as well as outside of it.

Christians, Muslims, Traditionalists, even Atheists vouch for Adeboye’s integrity. The story is told of how warring political leaders trusted no one but Adeboye to broker or witness the brokerage of peace between them. Of course, it is a well-known fact that his counsel and prayers are sought after locally and abroad by the mighty as well as the holloi polloi.

Ifewara’s Mount Carmel Prayer Village is the brainchild of Pastor Adeboye. Mount Carmel, as we all know, was the “mountain of decision” where the God of Prophet Elijah, aka “the Living God”, and the gods of Ahab and Jezebel i.e. Baal traded tackles (1 Kings 18: 17 - 40). In the end, Baal lost the contest woefully, having failed to answer by fire when his adherents cried unto him to do so whereas the God of Elijah wasted no time to answer by fire from heaven. The name given to Ifewara’s prayer village therefore has deep spiritual meaning and content which cannot be ignored or glossed over. It also points in the direction of its nature and character. It must be a prayer mountain where the God of Elijah – also the God of Adeboye – will answer the prayers of His people by fire without fail and without wasting time.

When, on Thursday, September 17, I made inquiries at the Lagere area of Ile-Ife on how to get to “Pastor Adeboye’s mountain at Ifewara”, the response I got indicated that folks were already aware of the presence of the facility. In the evening of the next day, after the commissioning of Prof. Eyitope Ogungbenro Ogunbodede’s Dental Museum at Ife earlier in the day, I set out for Ifewara together with my wife. Mount Carmel Prayer Village was a beauty to behold! It has class! The architectural layout

and the aesthetics of both the interior and exterior were breath-taking! The inside was like seeing Paris and the whole edifice, in such a rural setting, a “little London”!

The mountain was set on a gradually-undulating hill; I saw no rocks as is wont to be the case with the traditional prayer mountains but “climbing” the hill was laborious enough.

The first point of contact was the Gate manned by uniformed security men; from here, you are directed to the reception a stone-throw away. There is a parking lot directly in front of the reception building. We had merely planned to pray for about an hour or two there before returning to Ife but were told that the prayer mountain was available to visitors between 9am and 5pm. We got there some minutes after 5pm. The other option was to become residents, which would allow us access to all available facilities round-the-clock. We went for that. A self-contained room, which was comfortable for my wife and I, cost N3, 500 per night. It had a two-seater, 4x6 bed, television, fridge, air-conditioner, and rest room\ bath. Opposite the rest room was a door, which we were told was the kitchen, but it was locked. I would suggest it be opened to lodgers subsequently. My only complaint about the room was that the toilet and bath were put together. There are other categories of lodgings for families as well as dormitory-like spaces for large contingents of up to 64 persons costing just N20,000 per night. A tworoom apartment costs N7,500 per night.

When you pay for a room, you automatically receive a key to one of the prayer huts, which is able to accommodate six to eight persons, in which you can lock yourself in and pray all day and night. Two toilet-size windows for cross-ventilation, a bulb to provide electricity, and a socket, possibly to charge your phone, are the only facilities provided in the prayer huts. Pastor Adeboye is said to have borrowed the prayer hut idea from what he saw and experienced in one of his many evangelical travels. There are 70 prayer huts at the Mount Carmel Prayer Village divided into two equal sections and separated by a staircase of steps that takes you from the first set of huts to the pinnacle. Thirty-five of the huts are coloured peach while the other set wore green. Climbing from the bottom of the prayer huts to the pinnacle of it, where there is a hall for

joint prayers\services, I counted 110 steps. Services are held twice in a day; 10-11am in the morning and 6-7pm in the evening. There are resident pastors on the mountain.

The tallest point on the mountain, we were told, was a no-go area. You could only admire the buildings sitting pretty on it from a safe distance. Perhaps they were reserved for VIPs or, as some speculated, could be Daddy G.O’s well-deserved country home or, better still, prayer hut. If there had been confusion as to whether TRCCG supports its members’ thronging of prayer mountains; the coming of Mount Carmel Prayer Village has laid any such controversy to rest. Going to prayer mountains to pray, meditate, and seek the face of God is biblical. A caveat, though: true believers must be wary of frolicking from one mountain to another; for in this end-time, there is no denying the fact that the workers of iniquity are leaving no stones unturned to mislead the flock of Christ. It is not all mountains that are prayer mountains; besides, pollution and corruption occur from time to time which change the spiritual status of many a prayer mountain. With the pedigree of the founder of Mount Carmel, we can have assurance that here is one place to feel safe to pray.

Penultimate Friday\Saturday when I was at the Mount Carmel Prayer Village, torrents of faithful were streaming into the village to commune with God. At the evening prayer program that Friday, many of us had to stand as the hall was filled to the brim. Although construction work was on-going, my guess is that the village will need massive expansion very soon. As more people get to know of its existence, it promises to be a Jerusalem\Mecca of sorts in the not-too-distant future. First and foremost, the village is a prayer mountain as its name suggests and the serene atmosphere promotes that; but it is more than that. I understand there are or will be halls and facilities for seminars and such other events. It is also a tourist attraction and soon could become a major revenue spinner for the Osun State government. Governor Rauf Aregbesola should be proactive and waste no time in constructing the Ife-Ifewara road. GSM service providers also have a huge market beckoning on them in Ifewara. I learned that some of them have poor network connection in the area. Stand-by generators fill PHCN gaps to ensure power supply round the clock.

To conclude, Mount Carmel Prayer Village is the determined effort by a village boy to give something good back to the place of his birth. Pastor Adeboye is not like many big men who not only forget their very humble beginnings but hate to identify with or be reminded of them.

The pastor often makes reference to his roots and to the abundant grace of God – and, I dare to add, dint of hard work – by which he rose to become an uncommon star.

Mount Carmel is Adeboye going back to his roots. It is the manifestation of a heart that would not be severed from the old homestead. Even if it is not in his plan, there is no way Adeboye’s prayer mountain will not expose Ifewara to the outside world. I suspect that this is one project capable of putting the village on the world map when presidents, dignitaries, and ordinary folks begin to flock there to commune with the God of Adeboye – the God that turns waste land into bristling cities. First, it was the Redemption Campground along the Lagos\Ibadan expressway, notorious as the forest of demons, but today is not just a city but the fore-runner of other worship centres\ cities on that stretch of land. And now Mount Carmel!

Opposite the prayer mountain is a vast stretch of thick forest. One of the workers told this writer: “This place used to be like that – until God brought Daddy (Pastor Adeboye) here”. Mount Carmel Prayer Village was commissioned on May 18, 2015.

WELCOME BACK! Should I welcome back readers of this column – or should it be the other way round? Sorry for the break and thanks for your love.

40

27 September, 2015

language&style

by Samson Dare 0805 500 1770 samsonadare@yahoo.co.uk

Property, properties

W

E return to the second excerpt of last week for the continuation of the discussion of some of the salient issues it throws up. That excerpt becomes the first sample today.

Sample 1:“Already, the agency has seized 24 property and several cars from three civil servants with one of them having 18 property...revealed that the commission seized the property from three officials of the Ministry of Niger Delta. It stated that the property was seized because they were excessive of the emoluments of the affected officers...The ICPC boss said the decision to seize the property would be served on the appropriate Land Registries and Departments in all the states where the property are situated... Other plots of land said to belong to Obah are located in Umuodili Odubo Community in Rivers that is worth #16.5m...

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on July 30 that the Federal Government’s anti-corruption operatives had been sent after ‘super rich’ public officers who had multiple property and other assets suspected to have been the reward of graft. According to the report, the searchlight of the anti-corruption agents was on civil servants that possess questionable property in the Federal Capital Territory...He explained that the funds for the furniture supply was certified paid whereas the inspection carried out by the Auditor-General’s office revealed that no single chair was distributed during the period under review.”(Anti-corruption War Begins: ICPC Seizes 24 Property from Three Civil Servants, The Punch, Sunday, 16 August, 2015) First, we note the relationship between the verb are and the subject, other plots of land, both of which occur in the following structure: “Other plots of land said to belong to Obah are located in Umuodili Odubo Community in Rivers that is worth N16.5m...” It is obvious that the verb (are) is in its plural form, and given the plural form of the word plots, heading the nominal phrase (subject), identified above, the structure seems to satisfy the requirement for the existence of grammatical concord.

However, later in the structure we have another verb-form: is.

This is the part of the structure in which the verb occurs: “that is worth N16.5m”. What is the nominal item to which this verb (is) is meant to be in concord? Is it not the same nominal phrase (other plots of land) that has attracted, quite appropriately, the plural form of the verb (are)? What does the pronoun (that) in the phrase, “that is worth N16.5m,” refer to? Is it not to the same nominal phrase that induces the choice of the plural verb form---are? At any rate, the reporter has selected an inappropriate verb-form (is). That singular form should be replaced with a plural form: are.

Next, we examine the way the word property is used in the text. That word (property) occurs ten times in the excerpt, and in each appearance, it is presented in its singular form. Although the word occurs consistently in its singular form, sometimes it is treated as a singular noun and at other times as a plural noun.

The following are the contexts in which the word occurs: “ICPC Seizes 24 Property from Three Civil Servants” (headline); “the agency has seized 24 property and several cars from three servants with one of them having 18 property”; “the commission seized the property from three officials”; “the property was seized because they were excessive of the emoluments”; “the decision to seize the property would be served on the appropriate Land Registries and Departments in all the states where the property are situated”; “certain movable and immovable property owned by the said staff”; “who had multiple property and other assets”; “possess questionable property in the Federal Capital Territory”.

As we have noted, the reporter manifests uncertainty as to the status of the noun property. Take the way it is used in the following context: “It stated that the property was seized because they were excessive of the emoluments of the affected officers.” In first part of the sentence we have: “the property was seized.” Here the word property is treated as a singular noun.

Two points are worth noting here. The noun property is not changed morphologically to reflect the plural form; it is singular.

Secondly, the verb selected, was, is in its singular form as well.

This is clearly a singular treatment of the noun property.

In the second part of the same sentence we have: “because they were excessive of the emoluments”. Three points need to be noted here. One, the noun property retains its singular form.

Two, the pronoun, they, is introduced. The pronoun, obviously plural, refers to the noun property. Third, the verb-form, were, is brought in. The verb is in its plural form. There is clearly a grammatical and stylistic crisis here. Or how else can one explain a situation in which in a single sentence one and the same word is treated both as a singular noun and as a plural noun?

The observation is unflattering to this or any other writer for that matter.

Here is another sentence in which the noun property is treated as a plural item: “The ICPC boss said the decision to seize the property would be served on the appropriate Land Registries and Departments in all the states where the property are situated.” Readers are to note the verb-form, are, obviously plural, coming immediately after the word property. Again, the noun property remains in its singular. The intention of the reporter seems to be to present that word as a collective noun which requires the plural form of the verb. Hence his choice of the form: are.

What is, however, evident is that the reporter seems confused as to the grammatical characteristics of the noun property.

There are two basic ways of regarding the word.

Whenever we use the word property to refer personal effects or movable items such as shoes, clothes, furniture, television sets, fridges, generators, and even motor cars, we should use it in its singular form. No matter the volume or quantity of such items, the word property should remain in its singular form and the choice of verb should be singular. Please read the following sentences: 1) The landlord has seized the tenant’s property kept in two rooms, saying he won’t release it until and unless he pays all his debt. 2) No matter how long you stay in the UK, your property will remain in this room and it will be intact. 3) Before I woke up, he had gathered all his property and travelled back to our home town. 4) Since he owns little property, he doesn’t need more than one room. 5) Fire destroyed the entire house including his sister’s property kept in one of the rooms. 6) His property consists of a few items all of which are kept in one huge bag. 7) After working for two years, his property is so much that he needs to rent a second room. 8) Thieves broke into the room and made away with almost all his property. 9) He has found a new house and his children are helping to carry her property to the new place.

10) Two trucks carried his property to his newly built house.

11) In those days, slaves were considered part of the personal property of rich men. 12) Shoes and shirts are the most prominent elements of my property.

The word property has been used in its singular form in each of those sentences because it is about personal effects, household items, movable belongings. However, when the word is employed in reference to land and houses, it can be used in the singular sense if the reference is to a singular item or in the plural if the reference is to two or more items. Indeed, whenever the word property is used in the plural by knowledgeable people, the assumption is that the reference is to land/houses. It should not be used in the plural sense if the reference is to personal effects as discussed and illustrated earlier.

Now read the following sentences: 1) The government has decided to sell all its properties in the choicest parts of the country. 2) Properties are more expensive in Lagos than in any other part of Nigeria. 3) I have three uncles who are into the business of buying and selling of properties. 4) There is an uncompleted property which the owner wants to sell at a moderate price. 5) I have refused to buy that property because it is too close to a stream. 6) The prosecution has alleged that the politically exposed persons have acquired the said properties with the proceeds of corruption. 7) Only teachers are allowed to buy and own properties in the estate. 8) I want to acquire a property in an exclusive area. 9) He rejected the property because it was too close to the police barracks. 10) Being in a marshy and undeveloped area, the property should not be expensive.

Sunday Tribune

line

life with

Niyi Osundare

Random Blues All eyes like a sieve And yet they cannot see Yes, all eyes like a sieve Yet they cannot see They wash their hands with spittle Though they live in a seamless sea

They gave us books We couldn’t read Yes, they gave us books We could not read Lying letters, fleeing figures And images far beyond our need

Gracious as guilt Sweet as sin Hun, gracious as guilt Sweet as sin Pastor looks the other way While we live our lives to the hilt

They came to conquer Black souls for their Prophet Yes, they came to conquer Black souls for their Prophet One eye on the Book, the other on our land God and gold, prize and profit

Native souls Black with sin Alas, native souls Black as sin One brief dip in the Sea of Prayers Their evil colour now a forgotten thing

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Sunday Tribune

With Rita Okonoboh rosarumese@gmail.com 08053789087

The Christian community without Mama HID Awolowo She was a repository of Christian ideals –Bishop Fape Her punctuality at church services was legendary —Ven. Enike

That the Christian community in Ogun State and Nigeria at large will miss Mama HID’s contributions to Christianity, many of which were monumental, would be stating the obvious. HAKEEM GBADAMOSI and RITA OKONOBOH spoke to clerics who interacted with Mama personally, and report testimonies of Mama’s exemplary spiritual endeavours, what she was known for as a Christian, and what churches will miss most about her.

Isaiah 57:2 – “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.”

EATH, for many Christians, even with the promise of eternity, is rarely a celebration, but for those who have lived exemplary lives, attested to by the many left to cherish their memories, it is a celebration of the promise of salvation, a goal which many Christians hope to achieve at the end of their lives on earth.

This was the mood at the Awolowo’s residence throughout last week. Since the news of the passing of the matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty, Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo, broke, music has not ceased from the premises. It has been the celebration of a life well spent, not just to

D

the service of mankind but towards setting a representative model of what Christianity stands for.

Mama was fully committed to church activities –Bishop Fape Bishop of Remo Anglican Diocese, The Right Reverend Olusina Fape, in an interview with TribuneChurch, remembered his first meeting with her on 19th November, 2003, which was the eve of his enthronement as the second Bishop of Remo Diocese.

According to him, “Of course, anybody who heard about the Awolowo’s family would want to visit or wish Continues on pg42

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Sunday Tribune

‘She had great reverence for men of God’

Right Reverend Olusina Fape, Bishop of Remo Diocese.

Continued from pg41

to meet them in person but I thank God that for the very first time that I met Mama in 2003, it was a great opportunity for me. What I knew about Mama was little compared with what I found out eventually about her when I got to the diocese of Remo. In a way, my first impression of Mama when I met her in November 2003 remains with me today as a positive one, because of the way Mama received us; she was about to celebrate her birthday when I came and of course, she had written to me before then that I would preach at her next birthday celebration. It was a great opportunity for me to meet Mama that particular day and since then, until Mama was called home, it had been a wonderful and cordial relationship.”

Recalling what Mama was popular for in church, Fape noted that “Mama was a complete church woman. In her younger days, she was deeply involved in church activities. When Mama and Papa are in Ibadan, they were members of the Methodist Cathedral, Agbeni, but in Remo, they were both Bonaire members of Anglican Church and in actual fact, Mama Awolowo was the chairman of the implementation committee, the committee that saw to the birth of the creation of Diocese of Remo in 1984, and Mama had the singular honour of being the person who appended – one of the three who appended – their signature to the deed of relinquishment when Remo diocese was created.

“98 per cent of the church ornaments and the furniture at Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne, were donated

by Papa Awolowo as a way of appreciating Mama, the person he called his jewel of inestimable value. Mama was a lay reader in the diocese of Lagos then, and the diocese of Remo; she was also a diocesan lay reader. She was involved in evangelism in Lagos and diocese of Remo eventually. Mama was fully and totally committed to church activities.”

‘She was a repository of Christian ideals’ Speaking on some of Mama’s peculiarities with regards to church development, Fape stated that “as a single individual, Mama was the first to host the diocesan synod in 2011 and we raised about N45million which was used to build a church in memory of Mama, now called HID Awolowo Anglican Church, located in Ewuga, Sagamu.

There is no way we can mention the development of diocese of Remo without mentioning Mama’s name and apart from that, for the women organisation building in Oliwo Estate, Sagamu, Mama played a role that will be forever remembered. She contributed almost about N1.5million by way of assistance and considering all that Mama did, she was the mother of the diocese of Remo.

She was legendary.”

Emphasising Mama’s involvement during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the diocese of Remo in 2004, Fape stated that the deed of a landed property donated to by Papa Awolowo at Ligali Ayorinde in Victoria

Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo, Iya Ijo of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne.

Island in Lagos, was gifted to the diocese. Mama and that occasion remains one of the memorable days in his life as Bishop of Remo, because “what was impossible for some years suddenly became possible because Mama believed in us.”

Continuing, Fape expresses that Remo diocese will miss Mama greatly, especially “her motherly role, her contribution to issues and for being a rallying point. She was a repository of Christian ideals, especially relevant when we visited her for consultations. One would miss Mama as she meant a lot to the Diocese of Remo and she has created a vacuum that only God would supply adequate replacement in every ramification. Mama would be greatly missed and we believe the Lord will raise another woman of valour and substance; a woman who will see the diocese as HID’s property that must be nurtured and sustained for the fulfillment of the gospel that the church of God is meant for.”

She had great reverence for men of God –Enike Many with whom she interacted with have testified to her rare example of godliness. Venerable Samuel Oladele Enike, the Archdeacon of Ikenne Archdeaconry and Vicar of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne, in an interview with TribuneChurch, recalls his first impression of Mama HID. According to him, “My first meeting with Mama was when I resumed as the Vicar of the church, precisely on December 15, 2014. My first impression of Mama was a woman who had passion for the church and she was so delighted to meet me as the new Vicar. She had great reverence for men of God. I remember one time I visited her and while I was there, some youths came to visit her as well. She told them they were very lucky to have met the Vicar and she asked them to greet me before she even listened to what they had to say. Such was the respect Mama had for men of God. She was also very passionate about church activities, especially Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne.

“She was Iya Ijo of the church and as such, she contributed significantly to the growth of the church. Ever before she became Iya Ijo, she was very vital to church growth. For instance, the church’s stained glass was donated by her about 40 years ago, when she clocked 60; marble seats were donated and air condition system, among others. Apart from the physical development, Mama contributed significantly to spiritual development.

‘Her punctuality to church events was legendary’ Speaking on what Mama was popular for in church, Venerable Enike noted that “By virtue of being the wife of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, she was already popular. However, she didn’t allow that to make her neglect the church. One thing she was known for was her punctuality to church services. Due to her advanced age, she could not attend Sunday services regularly but on the

Venerable S.O. Enike, Archdeacon of Ikenne Archdeaconry and Vicar of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne.

The church will miss her love, words of encouragement and contributions. In terms of many things, we will really miss her.

Mama was a perfect example of how to live a worthy life; a life of prayer and selfless service.

Sundays when she came, she arrived before even younger members of the congregation, seated in her position as the Iya Ijo. One thing that struck me was that even at her age, she was among the first and even sometimes the first, to arrive in church and that was testament to her attitude to Christianity. If she is not there before the service commences, then she would not be able to make it to church that day. She wasn’t late to any church event.

“What stands her out in church memory was that some years back, she single-handedly hosted the synod of Remo Anglican Diocese, becoming the first individual to host the synod. The practice is that a church hosts but Mama was given the role by the Bishop to host the synod and she used her influence and was so passionate about the event.

There have been individuals after her who hosted synods but hers is the most remarkable.

“The church will miss her in every aspect, in terms of her contribution to the growth of the church. We will miss her personality and a lot of things about her.”

She was a devout and committed Christian – Ayankoya The People’s Warden/Treasurer of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne, Mr Adedoyin Ayankoya, who is also a native of Ikenne, in his sixties, and has known Mama for as long as he can remember, shared with TribuneChurch Mama’s significance with regards to church activities.

Ayankoya observed that “Our dear Iya Ijo of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne-Remo, Yeye Oodua (Dr) Mrs H.I.D. Awolowo, was a devout and committed Christian. She abhorred lateness to church and would be on her seat before the commencement of service. She was a very prayerful person. Prior to becoming the Iya Ijo, she was a licensed lay reader and the Iyalode of the church.

She was the female president of Men and Women Auxiliary Society of the church till her death and a member of Continues on pg44

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Sunday Tribune

With Olaide Sokoya ollydesanmi@yahoo.com 08074497425

churchnews

Halt destruction of God’s creation, Pope tells UN

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ope Francis declared during the weekend that there is a “right of the environment” and that mankind has no authority to abuse it, telling more than 100 world leaders and diplomats at the United Nations that urgent action is needed to halt the destruction of God’s creation, Associated Press has reported.

Hoping to spur concrete commitments at upcoming climate change negotiations in Paris, Francis accused the world’s powerful countries of indulging a “selfish and boundless thirst” for money by ravaging the planet’s natural resources and impoverishing the weak and disadvantaged in the process.

Francis’ speech, the fifth by a pope to the U.N., was a distillation of his recent teaching document on the environment, “Praise Be,” which has delighted liberals and environmentalists and drawn scorn from big business interests.

By bringing the document to life before the U.N., Francis made clear his priorities.

“Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity,” he said.

Francis’ speech kicked off what was expected to be a whirlwind day in New York that blended the powerful and the poor, from the solemnity of ground zero and to the struggles of East Harlem.

Francis was greeted on his arrival at the U.N. by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a key supporter of Francis’ agenda.

In his opening remarks, Ban praised Francis for his priorities.

“You are at home not in palaces, but among the poor; not with the famous, but with the forgotten; not in official portraits, but in ‘selfies’ with young people,” he said.

Among those in the audience for Francis’ speech was Nobel peace laureate, Malala Yousefzai, the

young Pakistani education campaigner who was shot and gravely wounded by the Taliban.

While his visit marks the fifth time a pope has been to the United Nations, the Vatican flag was raised for

the first time just before his arrival. The General Assembly recently agreed to allow the U.N.’s two observer

states, the Holy See and Palestine, to fly their flags alongside those of the 193 member states.

From left, Deacon J.K.A. Adewale; Pastor Segun Ayankoso; Revd J.A. Babalola; Revd (Dr) Olumide Kehinde, Chairman, Nigerian Baptist Cocnvention; Pastor Adeniji Adesoji; Deaconess M.E. Adeshipe and Revd Jeffrey Salako, at the 70the anniversary celebration of Union Baptist Church, Ekotedo, Ibadan, last Sunday.

SECAM gets observer status at African Union

By Rita Okonoboh THE African Union (AU) has granted the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) observer status at its headquarters in Addis Ababa. This comes following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that has been signed by the two bodies recently.

The President of SECAM, Most Rev. Gabriel Mbilingi, initialed for SECAM while the Commissioner for Political Affairs of the AU, Dr Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, signed for the AU. The MoU was also signed in line with Article 5 and 22 of the AU’s Constitutive Act as well as the AU’s Assembly decision to engage Civil Society Orgainsations (CSO) and the establishment of the Economic and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) for the AU. On the part of SECAM, it was based on the fact that SECAM promotes human dignity, integral human and social development, capacity building, dialogue and fraternal relations among people of different creeds, the common good through

good governance, social justice, peace and human security and integrity.

According to the MoU, the two parties (AU & SECAM) will among other objectives consult one another and prepare programmes for cooperation; invite each other to attend and send observers to meetings of their respective organs on matters of mutual interest in line with their respective rules and procedures; cooperate in order to attain their specific objectives, at national, continental and international levels, and promote, social and economic aspirations of their members; cooperate in the field of training, capacity building, seminars, and the dissemination of reports.

It must be put on record that the signing of the MoU was expedited after a courtesy visit of His Eminence Berhaneyesus Cardinal Souraphiel (Archbishop of Addis Ababa and Chairman of AMECEA) to AUC Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Dlamini Nkozasana Zuma.

Past and present presidents and staff of SECAM have also played a great role in the process leading to its signing.

Prophet Josuha Ajifowowe (fifth right); Assembly Pastor, Pastor Gabriel Adepoju (middle) with the newly ordained deacons and deaconess during the ordination ceremony, held at Christ Apostolic Church, Chapel of Blessing, Iyana Bodija, Ibadan, recently.

Cleric sues for peace and unity amongst Nigerians

By Olaide Sokoya ONE of the authorities of the Eternal Sacred of the Cherubim and Seraphim church of Nigeria, the deputy Baba Aladura of the church, Dr Harold Demuren has charged Nigerians on the need to embrace peace and unity among themselves, so as to foster harmony and progress in the nation, just as he prayed that God will touch the heart of the leaders.

Demuren, who is the for-

mer Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), made this admonition recently at a music concert tagged: “Songs Unto Zion” as part of the activities marking the 90th anniversary of the church.

He added that, “Nigeria is on a good footing with the leadership that we are in now. We believe that God will touch our leaders and make our people do what is right. It isn’t easy to be a leader, so I support the

presidency and believe that Nigeria will be better as good reforms and policies that will deal with the problems on ground are put in place. We didn’t get here overnight and won’t get our problems solved just like that. The C&S Church prays for peace and unity amongst all Nigerians.”

In the same vein, the National Youth Coordinator of the church, Elder Isaac Bello, also noted that he believes in the leadership

of Nigeria and that the nation will forge ahead in due time.

Bello stated: “With the leadership in the country, I have faith in the current administration; the political office holders and Nigerians at large. I am convinced that our country will forge ahead.

Let us believe and pray for one Nigeria. We have come a long way and we believe our problems will soon be over. Corruption and all vices will be reduced to the barest minimum soonest.”

Victory Society holds anniversary THE first anniversary of the Victory Society group of Christ Apostolic Church (C.A.C.), Mountain Top Prayer Ministries will hold today, September 27, 2015.

The events will take place at the church auditorium at Cedar hall, N.T.C compound, Leaf road, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The president of the as-

sociation, Bola Adewale; secretary, Omolara Akinseli and the matrons of the association, Deaconess Wemimo Toriseju and Lady Evangelist Opeyemi Madu will be

present at the event.

The chief host, Pastor Olufemi Oni and the assembly pastor, Pastor Adewale Jimoh, will also grace the event.

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As Bonnke, Kolenda take gospel to Zambia

By Olaide Sokoya with Agency Reports

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VANGELIST Reinhard Bonnke and Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, both of the Christian organization, Christ for All Nations, recently brought their popular crusade to Lusaka, Zambia and drew hundreds of thousands of believers from across the country.

Kolenda, who reported the event, noted with excitement the crowd that turned up at the event, observing that “This can only happen when Jesus is touching people in dramatic ways. They are talking about it everywhere and the nation is buzzing! Not only did the hundreds of thousands on the field hear the gospel through the week, but Radio Christian Voice broadcasted the meetings live all across the country.

The gospel was heard in Kitwe, Livingstone, Ndola, Solwezi and beyond!”

Speaking on the miracles recorded at the event, Kolenda noted that “Testimonies have been flooding in of people’s lives touched in so many different ways…like this one from a man named James, ‘I have never felt closer to God than this. After attending the crusade for three days and when Evangelist Daniel Kolenda taught about people and the gift of the Holy Spirit being for them and their children as prophesied by Joel, the following happened to me, I spoke in strange tongues.

I’ve never experienced this before because I spoke a foreign language fluently.’”

“We heard wonderful testimonies of healing. A woman with an issue of blood for 10 years was healed. A crippled man

got out of his wheelchair. Many people with different kinds of pain were healed. A man with HIV AIDS received prayer ear-

This can only happen when Jesus is touching people in dramatic ways. They are talking about it everywhere and the nation is buzzing!

lier in the week and went to the doctor for another test. Tonight he brought two test results – one from earlier that said, “HIV POSITIVE” and one from after prayer that said, “HIV NEGATIVE. “The Lord has surely heard and answered our prayers. Zambia will never be the same again. I’m heading back to Orlando where we are holding our School of Evangelism all week. We are already looking forward to being back in Africa in a few weeks – this time in Blantyre, Malawi,” Kolenda reported together with Reinhard Bonnke, Peter van den Berg and the whole CfaN team Reinhard Bonnke, who clocked 75 in April has been unrelenting in his efforts at preaching the gospel. According to a spokeswoman for CFAN, “he has totally dedicated himself to soul-winning for 50 years now. He has a laser-sharp focus on winning souls. Through his ministry, Christ for All Nations, over 73 million people have made registered decisions to follow Jesus Christ. To be recognised and honored by the Christian community for this service is an honour for which we give the glory to God,” a Christ for All Nations spokeswoman said.

Bonnke founded Christ for All Nations, which has offices in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and Germany.

Since its founding 35 years ago, the organization has documented over 55 million people who’ve chosen to give their lives to Jesus Christ as of 2000.

‘She was the perfect example of Christian selflessness’ Continued from pg42

the Parish Council for several decades.

“She and her spouse, the late sage, played pivotal roles in the creation of the Anglican Diocese of Remo. They both were huge assets, not only to Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne but also to the diocese. Mama used her resources to honour the Lord. She was a cheerful giver and the church benefitted from her philanthropic gestures. She was also instrumental to the building of Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Anglican Church, IkenneRemo, in memory of her late husband.”

She was the perfect example of Christian selflessness –Olusoji TribuneChurch also visited HID Awolowo Anglican Church, Ewuga, Sagamu, built in honour of Mama with the proceeds of the diocesan synod she single-handedly hosted. In an interview with Reverend Odewole Michael Olusoji, the pioneer priest-in-charge, it was learnt that Mama’s selflessness was exemplary.

In Reverend Olusoji’s words, “We thank God for her life. She really loved God she contributed in no small measure to the development of the church. When I met her, I deduced that she was a loving and caring mother who loved men of God and this was evident in her disposition towards them. It was a thing of joy to work with her. I met her in 2012 when the church was dedicated.

The church’s foundation was laid on December 12, 2011 and was dedicated on July 29, 2012 by Right Reverend Olusina Fape, the Bishop of Remo Diocese.

“Mama was a woman of faith. She was so dedicated and committed to the things of God. One thing about Mama was her knack for punctuality. Even the day we had our anniversary, she was here by 9a.m. and went round to see the compound. She was a woman of prayer. Sometimes when I visited her, she would ask me to pray not just for her and her family members, even for those who were not members of the family. Whatever the discussion one had with her, we must pray; it was compulsory. Even as she became older, and she wasn’t really strong enough to say so much, whenever I visited her, she would still say, “Reverend, pray.”

Reverend O.M. Olusoji, Priest in Charge of HID Awolowo Anglican Church, Ewuga, Sagamu.

Mr Adedoyin Ayankoya, People’s Warden/Treasurer of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne.

‘Who can replace Mama?’

Speaking on what the congregation would miss about Mama, Olusoji noted that “There is nothing we did here which she was not fully involved in. If she would not be around personally, she would send worthy representatives and her contribution to the development of the church cannot be quantified. Based on that, the entire congregation will greatly miss her. I was discussing with the People’s warden yesterday and she said, “Who is that person that will replace Mama?” she was always concerned about the development of the church. She especially loved the choir and she would always ask about the choristers.

“The church will miss her love, words of encouragement and contributions. In terms of many things, we will really miss her. Mama was a perfect example of how to

live a worthy life; a life of prayer and selfless service. Her selflessness cannot be overemphasised. Her commitment to the things of God was enviable and she always wanted to be involved in the things of God. Christians should emulate that because we don’t know when we will depart from this world. The privilege she had, she used well and she spent her life well to impact people in the society, in the church of God and in the nation at large. She will be missed by all.”

Mama’s Christian example is enviable, and many admire her for her sterling qualities, especially as they testify to the fact that she lived a fulfilled life. After all, it is usually said that those who have lived well have no fear of death. Popular author, Mark Twain, captures this in his words – “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”

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with Most Revd J.O. Akinfenwa Bishop of Ibadan Diocese (Anglican Communion)

with Bishop Emmanuel Badejo, fradebadejo@yahoo.com

Unity and commitment

Thus spoke the bishops

Respect creation and humanity After its second plenary meeting at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, Igwuruta, Port Harcourt, the CBCN called attention to the recent monumental encyclical of Pope Francis “Laudato Si”, on the care for our common home, the earth and God’s creation. It also recalled the announcement by the Pope of a “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” starting on September 1, 2015. CBCN called on all Nigerians to embrace respect and care for God’s creation as a corollary for all life which is God’s alone to give. The Bishops quoted the pope’s encyclical: “The ecological crisis that we experience today summons nations, international communities, Christians, Muslims, people of other religions, local communities, families, individuals, all persons of goodwill not only to the responsibility of justice but also to a profound spiritual and ecological conversion; from consumerism to sacrifice; from greed to generosity; and from wastefulness to sharing”. These words command attention. Yet other exhortations of the Bishops’ are as follows: Reject the culture of death “We observe with deep concern the rise of the orientation towards homosexuality and lesbianism as well as bisexual and transgender activism in many parts of the world (perhaps not excluding our own). We re-iterate our unreserved condemnation of all acts of homosexuality as sinful and opposed to the natural law of creation. We call on our government to continue to resist the attempt by some external governments and agencies to impose an acceptance of samesex unions. Nevertheless, we maintain that persons with these orientations should be assisted pastorally, spiritually and psychologically, with respect for their dignity as human persons created in the image and likeness of God. Ponder the state of the nation The elections have come and gone. It is time now for real governance and we call on our leaders to work for the common

Sunday Tribune

dawnofanewera

firmfaith:rightreason

Be free but controlled CONTEMPORARY democratisation of information, for all its positive aspects challenges the concept of objective truth. With the advent of the information super highway and the social media, multitudes of people who waited and depended on leaders and authority figures for instruction and information have been led to simply choose from a variety of sources or simply auto-instruct or self-inform. Today everyone is audience and author/producer all at once. Still in the free, market place of data and information society needs voices of reason. The sanity of society can simply not be built on the unbridled subjectivism. Freedom fulfills its true function only when it is refined by integrity, formation and experience. Concerned for the present and the future, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, seeks to focus the mind of the public on truth and values which must never be jettisoned.

Truly, the future will be impoverished and inauthentic if the past is not factored into it. In order to know the road ahead, say the Chinese, ask those coming back.

27 September, 2015

good of all our citizens. We congratulate the Nigerian government and all the security agencies on the achievements recorded so far in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency. The refugees and internally displaced persons are gradually returning to their homes. As we pledge our willingness to collaborate with the government on the modalities of their movement and resettlement, we enjoin the government and other humanitarian agencies to start putting in place practical measures necessary for immediate rehabilitation, reconstruction and the reconciliation of the victims and their families.

Cast away corruption and injustice Since it came into existence, this Conference of Bishops has constantly condemned corruption, violence and injustice and has consistently urged all Nigerians, especially those who hold public offices, to embrace a life of transparency and service. For many years, the Catholic Church has offered public prayers against bribery and corruption in Nigeria. It is therefore a welcome development that the present government has made the fight against corruption and insurgency central to its program. We affirm that the war against corruption is not just a battle for virtue and righteousness in our land but a fight for the soul and substance of our nation. This is a collective responsibility that requires our collective efforts. All Nigerians should be part of this struggle, which ought to be carried out at all levels, in order that we may recover our wasted opportunities. To guarantee sustainable success in fighting corruption, Nigerians must transcend ethnic, religious and regional affiliations and sentiments. Those who are genuinely identified to have either stolen or recklessly used the national wealth must be compelled to make comprehensive restitution. In this process, we strongly urge all to eschew personal interest, political vendetta, and bitterness. Those with the mandate to facilitate this process should be guided by a true sense of justice and act in accordance with the rule of law.

Invigorate Nigeria’s economy At the moment, the Nigerian economy is in distress. More and more Nigerians are now struggling or are unable to provide the basic needs for their families. Unemployment is growing beyond control, leaving many of our citizens, especially the younger ones, to migrate, both locally and to other countries.

This exposes them to inhuman conditions, including different forms of immorality and criminality. In many cases, young promising lives are wasted on our streets, in the deserts of some African countries and on the shores of Europe. We therefore appreciate the desire of the government to re-invest in the agricultural sector and to seek other alternatives to oil and gas, which have fared very badly in the recent past. We encourage the federal and state governments, the private sector and individual Nigerians to intensify their efforts in exploring the means of diversifying the sources of national income, while initiating genuine policies that would protect the citizens, create wealth and engage our teeming unemployed youth”. May these words find root in the hearts of all.

Continued from last week COULD it be that God is saying to you today that there remains yet very much land to be possessed? Could God be saying to you that your work is not completed? Could it be that God is saying to you that you cannot retire from His work yet?

What it then means is that, whatever our age, we need to renew our commitment to the work of God. And when we do, God will use us to do exploits, like he used Nehemiah and his people. Can we imagine that a project which had intimidated a whole generation for many years could be completed in 52 days! That is the kind of strength that committed action brings out of God’s people. When we commit ourselves fully to God’s work: He uses us to do exploits; no obstacle can stand in our way; impossibilities become possibilities; the name of the Lord is glorified; the enemies of the Lord are put to shame.

We know that the journey from Nehemiah 2:18 to Nehemiah 6:15 was not a smooth one. The leader (Nehemiah) and the people had to put with a great deal of adversity, yet they did not give up. The enemy might slow them down, but they were simply unstoppable. Even when they had to carry arms in self-defense, they did not

allow that to stop the work. They worked with one hand and held their weapons with the other (Neh. 4:17 - 18).

This is a great lesson for us. If there are several things we have set our hearts upon to do for the Lord, those goals demand our total commitment, and refusal to be swayed by any form of adversity or distraction. We know that we do not labour here for earthly, perishable good, but for eternal profit as enjoined by our Lord in John 6:27. Therefore, the submission of Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:1 should be our testimony: “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.”

People of God, this is no time to faint!

This is the time to re-commit ourselves to the work of the Lord. We are well able.

The Lord has placed talents in our hands, and He expects us to bring Him profit.

He has put us together in this “Gospel¬team” because He knows we are capable of complementing one another to multiply our effectiveness and reach our desired goals faster. Scripture says in Leviticus 26:8: “And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.”

To be continued next week

livingword

By Bishop David Oyedepo Call 7747546-8; or e-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Encounter with Destiny from His Book! (4) SINCE this month began, we have been examining our spiritual pictures as shown to us from scriptures. Last week, we explore our eagle nature and how to operate in that realm. This week, we will conclude this series by looking at another picture of who we are in redemption as described in scriptures.

From scriptures, we discovered that every child of God is redeemed a ‘Sun’ of Righteousness: We understand from scriptures that Jesus is the Sun of righteousness and as the Father has sent Him, so has He sent us. It, therefore, means that we are redeemed as ‘suns’ of righteousness. However, we must understand that though redemption has made us suns, it is revelation that helps us to see and actualize it (Malachi 4:1-2, Psalm 84:11, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 60).

What is the Sun worth?

• Scientifically, the sun is an entity of global phenomenon: The sun is worth all that engenders life on the earth. For instance, plants are absolutely dependent on sunlight; otherwise, they will die. We also know that animals are absolutely dependent on plants, because they, including humans, survive by the oxygen that plants supply.

Therefore, the sun is the fountain of life!

Likewise, every child of God is redeemed a global phenomenon and a fountain of life (Matthew 5:13-16).

• There is enormous heat in the sun: Naturally, no chaff can survive the heat of the sun and we understand that whatever is not

planted by God in our lives is chaff. Thus, when the sun in us comes fully alive, nothing can survive except what is planted by God (Matthew 3:11-12).

In scriptures, Jesus, the Sun of righteousness, is described as the burning and shining light. When He appeared, the demons couldn’t stand His presence and they cried out, Have You come to destroy us before the time? (John 5:35; Matthew 8:29) Likewise, redemption has made us ‘suns’ of righteousness and the overriding Sun (Jesus) dwells in us. Therefore, we are indeed shining and burning lights that cannot be molested by demonic forces because of that unquenchable heat from the Sun in us (Colossians 1:27).

How is this heat generated?

The Holy Ghost is the fire from heaven, the Word is the wood and inside that wood is also fire. When the fire within the wood and the fire of the Holy Ghost come together, then we generate the heat of the sun.

Also, we understand from scriptures that where there is no wood, the fire goes out.

Therefore, we generate and maintain the heat of the sun by our encounters with the heated Word of God (Jeremiah 20:9; Proverbs 26:20).

This means that we cannot emerge as eagles and manifest as ‘suns’ of righteousness without the Word, because it contains all we need to actualizing our destinies in God. Therefore, it is not enough to access God’s plan, we must know what it takes to actualize it and commit to press our way into it.

46

feature

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose, Chief Afe Babalola and the Chairman of the Summit, Oba Justice Ademola Ajakaye.

When Ekiti charted new course for education E The Ekiti State government recently held a summit to chart a course for foundational education in the state. SAM NWAOKO reports the well-attended event.

KITI State could be said to be on the march again in its education sector, especially the primary and secondary sections of the all-important industry. The march could be said to have even been quickened by a recent summit organised by the state government under Governor Ayodele Fayose. The summit tagged “Ekiti State Education Summit” was targeted at the state’s primary and secondary schools, which the government and other relevant stakeholders generally agreed needed awakening and reactivation. Thus, on Tuesday, September 8, 2015, various dignitaries from across the country, including the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola and the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Reverend Felix Femi Ajakaye, both of whom are proprietors of

notable primary and secondary institutions in the state, gathered with others to discuss the future of primary and secondary education in Ekiti State.

Apart from these eminent personalities, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Professor Adebiyi Daramola; Provost, College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Professor Francisca Aladejana; Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, Dr Theresa Akande and the immediate past Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti (EKSU), Professor Dipo Kolawole, were all part of the summit. Also, Professor Bamitale Omole, Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (OAU); Professor Patrick Aina, Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University (EKSU) and Professor Abdul-Ganiyu Ambali, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, were

all represented. Also in attendance were Chairman of the Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Senator Bode Ola; elder statesman, Chief Deji Fasuan, among many others.

The dignitaries that graced the summit, aimed at putting right the wrongs in foundational education in Ekiti State, underscored the importance they attached to the event. They had various pungent contributions for the organisers and the state government to consider in their quest to make primary and secondary education better in the state.

But before the September 8 event, there was a pre-summit meeting held at the assembly hall of Olaoluwa Muslim Grammar School in Ado Ekiti. There, numerous stakeholders, including teachers, education-related organisations and even Gov-

Ekiti State Head of service Dr. Olugbenga Faseluka, Chief of Staff, Chief Dipo Anisulowo and The Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese Bishop Felix Ajalaye discussing during the year 2015 Ekiti state Education summit in Ado Ekiti.

ernor Fayose, among others, stressed the need for the summit. At the pre-summit meeting too, chairman of the summit, Oba Ademola Ajakaye, the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti, announced that it would focus on primary and secondary schools. Oba Ajakaye explained that “this is the foundation of education and we know that if the foundation is faulty, the building will not be strong.”

He added that the summit was intended “to take Ekiti back to its status of ‘fountain of knowledge’ which makes ever one to look at Ekiti from the point of view of the education prowess of the people.”

Governor Fayose had reiterated that the state of primary and secondary education was not pleasing and that there was a need for the education summit “that will look into the primary and secondary education in the state.” He had said: “The foundation is important and I show affection to teachers because the active life of every pupil is in their hands. They are the engine room of laying the educational foundation of our children and foundation is very important.

We as parents must also play our part to give our children a better future.”The governor drew an inference from the experience of his first tenure. In 2003, he had organised a similar summit, chaired by Chief Afe Babalola, and “after that summit, Ekiti’s results in external examinations improved so much that we rose to number seven among the states in the country, from number 35. This summit would look into why we haven’t been doing well.”

And on the day of the event, traditional rulers in the state led by the Chairman of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Samuel Oyebade, the Ologotun of Ogotun-Ekiti turned out in their numbers.

The Alara of Aramoko, Oba Olu Adeyemi, the Oloye of Oye-Ekiti, Oba Michael Ademolaju were present. Top government functionaries who also played pivotal roles in bringing the event about were led by the continues pg47

47

feature

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

When Ekiti charted new course for education continued from pg46

Deputy Governor, Dr Kolapo Olubunmi Olusola, with the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Mrs Modupe Alade; Chief of Staff, Chief Dipo Anisulowo; Head of Service, Dr Gbenga Faseluka; Education Commissioner, Mr Jide Egunjobi in tow.

There were also top civil servants, teachers, students, among many other stakeholders.

Governor Fayose, in his address on the occasion, said: “I want an education sector that will be disciplined, qualitative and resultoriented. The policy direction of my administration is to put teachers first among several other challenges, to achieve all of these; it is my determination that the drivers of the education project, top of who are the teachers, will be given the required attention. As part of the arrangement, I will make sure that beginning from the next teacher’s day celebration, I will revert to what I did during my first tenure by rewarding the best teacher in both primary and secondary schools, with a brand new car each.”

Thus, while the conference discussed the problems, the governor had identified motivation of teachers as being among the solutions and has taken a stand to do the needful. Various presentations and suggestions were made by some of the university dons and other guests. For instance, Professor Ambali of Unilorin suggested a return of teacher training colleges; Professor Aladejana said modern technology and mobile phones that distract students and pupils should be devised as teaching tools used in the classroom; and Professor Dar-

amola of FUTA charged the summit focus on elementary education, “which is the very foundation” and to research into why education in the state went into the parlous state “so that we will focus on the majors and not the minors.”

Apart from the university dons, others like Chief Babalola, who recalled the experience of 12 years ago, lauded Fayose and described him as “a man of action, realistic and fearless.” President of the League of Imams and Alfas in the South-West, Alhaji Jamiu Kewulere Bello, through his representative, suggested a joint effort by all stakeholders while the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) submitted that “everyone has something to offer good education and motivation and supervision of teachers should be strengthened because teachers believe in supervision and not in inspection.”

Bishop Ajakaiye of the Catholic Diocese of Ekiti in a presentation entitled: “Quality Education with Morality” said PACE, meaning “Planning, Action, Creativity and Evaluation” must be observed and charged the summit to study the outcome of the 2011 education summit by the immediate

last administration in the state. He noted: “The submissions of 2011 Ekiti State Education Summit which are useful and relevant in relation to primary and secondary education should be upheld.”

With the tone set, the deliberations at the summit centred on primary and secondary education in Ekiti State. In the end, it was resolved, among other things, that “it is an incontrovertible fact that academic performance of students in Ekiti State institutions generally, primary and secondary schools in particular has been on the downward trend.” The communique at the end of the summit submitted that “the nose-diving performance could be attributed to many factors of which lack of moral and adequate financial commitment on the part of some major payers in the sector takes a prominent position.”

In the communique signed by 13 persons, the summit resolved that “considering the economic realities in the nation as a whole, funding of education should be jointly addressed by all the stakeholders in the education industry,” saying “that is, there should be cost-sharing arrangement

The foundation is important and I show affection to teachers because the active life of every pupil is in their hands.

among educational stakeholders.” The summit also resolved that “in the spirit of public-private-partnership (PPP), parents, old students associations, parents’/teachers association (PTA) and philanthropists should collaborate with the state government to arrest the infrastructural decay in our schools.” Another stand out decision in the communique is that “serious attention should be paid to capacity building and retraining programmes to improve teachers’ productivity.”

The summit also charged the state government through its agencies to “intensify regular, constant, efficient and effective monitoring and supervision of schools to attain the benchmark of quality assurance.”

The gathering also had the parents’ arm in a call for their involvement in the overall training of the child with their inculcation of morals and regular attendance to schools.

The parents were also charged to inculcate in their wards the spirit of hard work, focus, and the abhorrence of social vices such as cultism, examination malpractice, drug abuse, sexual immorality and sundry antisocial behaviours. In addition, the summit also thinks that the society at large should imbibe attitudinal change “by recognising the invaluable worth of education and education service providers.”

The summit has come and gone, and the people of the state have set their sight on seeing the outcome of the summit. They are hopeful that things would not just improve in the all-important sector, but be sustained for the overall development of Ekiti.

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27 September, 2015

children’sarena

Sunday Tribune

Olaide Sokoya ollydesanmi@yahoo.com 0807 449 7425

Words from the kids

I was taught how Ojo Ronke, Gra

How did you spend your last holiday? ay other during the holid I visited my grandm ctoria, Grade 2, 6 yrs.

to relate with peo ple

de 4, 8 yrs.

Oyekunle Tumininu Vi

MY last holiday wa s fun. During the ho liday, I went to different places lik e; Shoprite, Ventur a, Funvatri. I also travelled to La gos to see my aunt y who just gave birth to a new baby . She was happy to see me after a very long time.

During my staying there, I made new friends. She als o taught me how to sweep,wash plates, clothes and to relate with others.

I celebrated my b irthday during th Nur udeenRoqee e holiday bat, Grade 2, 7 yr s.

DURING my last ho liday, I went to my auntie’s house for her daug hter’s birthday party and I had a lot of fun. I also m ade new friends at the party. It was a party I can ne ver forget. I also ce lebrated my 7th birthday which many of my friends attended ; I was given lots of gif ts. Towards the end of the holiday, I visited my gr andmother.

of C th hil ew d ee k

•Sharks do not have a single bone in their bodies.

•Some sharks remain on the move for their entire lives.

•If the shark stops moving then it will suffocate and die.

•Sharks have outstanding hearing. They can hear a fish thrashing in

Mercy Olateju clocked

6

recently.

the water from as far as 500 metres away!

•If a shark was put into a large swimming pool, it would be able to smell a single drop of blood in the water.

•Not all species of shark give birth to live pups. Some species lay the egg case on the ocean floor and the pup hatches later on its own.

•Unlike other species of shark, the great white is warm-blooded.

•Shark needs to eat a lot of meat in order to be able to regulate its temperature.

•A shark always has a row of smaller teeth developing behind its front teeth.

Proverb We will water the thorn for the sake of the rose.

- African Proverb Interpreted meaning:

You can’t have a beautiful flower like the rose without dealing with some thorns along the way.

Long life and prosperity

to buy ay, I visited Shoprite DURING my last holid ndgra my books. I travelled to s wa ice-cream and story r the mo nd gra mummy. My d ha mother’s place with my I es. lat oco ch me . She gave happy when she saw me I came mother’s place. When nd gra my at a lot of fun Abuto led ther’s place, I travel ent back from my grandmo em us Am s an ck,I went to Tr ja and when I came ba . ed joy en I ich thday wh pack to celebrate my bir

atch movies I went to SilverbirdGrtoadw e 2, 7 yrs.

Hammed Emmanuel,

uncle’s endid; I travelled to my MY last holiday was spl back e cam t jus my cousins who house in Abuja to see nWo to nt we all holiday. We the from Canada for their in e us ho co dis a to o and als s derland to play games nk dri ht ug rite to shop. We bo park. We went to Shop ry sto w ne ht My cousins boug and toys, Cedi Plaza . d to watch also went to Silver bir we e; ycl books and bic a movies .

All students are from Fortune Height Elementary School, Ibadan.

Famous invention

Microscopeof the pioneers of mi-

A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye.

Microscopic means invisible to the eye unless aided by a microscope.

There are many types of microscopes. The most common (and the first to be invented) is the optical microscope, which uses light to image the sample. Other major types of microscopes are the electron microscope (both the transmission electron microscope and the scanning electron microscope), the ultramicroscope, and the various types of scanning probe microscope.

croscopy who in the late 17th century became the first man to make and use a real microscope.

He made his own simple microscopes, which had a single lens and were hand-held.

Who made the first compound microscope?

When was the first microscope used?

The first microscope was used by Antony Van Leeuwenhoek (16321723), a Dutch draper and scientist, and one

Compiled by Ilari Victoria

Evidence points to the first compound microscope appearing in the Netherlands in the late 1500s, probably an invention of eyeglass makers there: Hans Lippershey (who developed an early telescope) and Zacharias Janssen (also claimed as the inventor of the telescope).

The first microscope to be developed was the optical microscope, although the original inventor is not easy to identify.

49 interview

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

What Owu kingdom missed for 178 years Continued from

the ticket for you and your wife. He gave me a ticket to Dubai and said you must spend two weeks. Of course, we went to Dubai but I left the place after five days. Because I really love my work. I will challenge everyone around me to love what they are doing; love it, be committed to it. When you love and are committed to a cause, you’ll certainly succeed. I can guarantee that. But I’ve not travelled out to my favourite country for two years now and I’m looking forward. As soon as we finish this Owu Festival, I would travel by the grace of God to America. That’s where most of my children live. So, I would like to go and see them.

pg 12

the throne not even knowing that there was a Matanmi who had been made the oba in Ijoko. I think his choice was still controversial. That’s why I probably didn’t know about it. But there is a more serious issue in Ijoko which has to be resolved. Ijoko is an Egba settlement; it’s not an Ota settlement.

It’s not Awori settlement. It’s not Aworiland; it is Egbaland and there are Owus, Egba Alakes, Oke-Onas, Gbaguras in Ijoko.

Well, it is the Olowu who has taken up the gauntlet and said no, this is Egbaland and over my own, it is under my jurisdiction.

So, I made an oba there in Ijoko and my oba is there and recognised by government. Matanmi is still in court with his challengers who had been challenging him even before I became the Olowu. Do you understand? That is Ijoko. Well, how do you resolve it? Government can resolve it by either reognising the two of them in places where this duplication has occurred or we all wait for nature. One of them will die one day and it would remain one. It may be funny; it may be inhuman to answer this way, but honestly I believe that you should consider that option too.

Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu

That brings us to the issue of your relationship with the other first class obas in Abeokuta....

Thank you for that question. It is strange because Abeokuta is the only place where you have four obas and it has been like that since the 19th Century. So, I’m not the architect of that. That’s what I met and that’s what I’m following. But the beautiful thing about Abeokuta is that it is the most peaceful place. There are two major people in Abeokuta, the Egbas and the Owus. There are four sub-groups in Abeokuta. The Egba, the first group is divided into three. There is the Egba Alake, Egba Oke-Ona, Egba Agura. Owu is the only one that is not Egba. If I have to explain that to you, we’ll go back to the 18th century. That’s the 1820s and 1825 during the Owu wars, which was a war amongst the four leading people in Yorubaland--the Owus, the Ijebus, the Oyos and the Ifes. That’s history.

I’m also publishing a book that is coming out soon. These four groups, I won’t say people because there are only two people, the Egbas and the Owus, don’t forget I’m stressing that. But because the Egbas which in those days up to the 18th century were settled in the south western part around Oyo who are subject to the Alaafins, they came in different groups to Abeokuta. You know the place I describe to you spreads from the border of Dahomey up to Ijebu.

The Okos for example, were settled and we still have the Oloko in Ijebu. We have the Osile in Abeokuta. So, these three groups of Egbas settled in different areas and they came to Abeokuta to claim their old former settlements.

They were all known as the Egbas. Each of them came and claimed their old settlements. So, we have the Gbaguras ruled by the Agura who was their ruler in their place.

We have the Okos Oke-Ona ruled by the Osile. He’s still their ruler here; there is nothing wrong with that. There is the Egba Alake. Well, they became Egba Alake here.

Ake was the smallest of that group and they chose that they would also have one king in Abeokuta. They chose Ake as their centre and Alake became their king.

The Owus came around the same time with the Egbas; that’s between the 1828 and 1834. The bulk of Owu finally arrived here in 1834. But they are not Egbas. They never settled together with them. Even the Egbas refused to help Owu to fight the war with

Ijebu and Ife but when we were looking for our new place of settlement, they heard of us. We arrived at Oke-Ata and Sodeke, the most peaceful Egba man in history up till tomorrow, sent his emissaries to go and speak to the Owu people. Why don’t you settle with us together here? And our people said we can’t settle with you because you didn’t fight on our side and didn’t come to our aid when the Ijebus attacked us. Where were you? And they said let’s leave that to the past. Now, we want you to settle with us; we’ll give you a comfortable place and finally our forefathers decided they would stay here with the Egbas and they set us up here on this hill and said from this place up to the sea which is the place you have in mind to go and settle, is yours. Sodeke was a very astute and clever war leader. He knew that this area was the point from which the enemies came from Dahomey, Ijebu and everywhere else to attack the Egbas. So, he said let’s leave these war-faring Owu people there. So, they put us where we are. And many years and decades have passed, wars have ceased and now the Egbas are saying we own the place; not the Owus. That is the innuendo, that is the undercurent challenges facing us in Abeokuta. A lot of people don’t know that. But we have been together for so long, we have inter-married; we have gone to the same school, we have joined together in formulating or starting businesses and the rest of that.

So, if anybody is expecting that we in Abeokuta will take up guns and fight one another, that person is dreaming. It’s not possible. And as the years rolled by, the four obas who never saw eye to eye are now sitting together and working together in peace and tranquility. In the early days, Alake never visited Owu palace and Olowu would never go to his. He would say we would fight it out. But all that spirit is fading off and we are working together in unity. So, four obas in a town working together. We sit around together and everybody talking about his own interest. Each and everyone of the four has the same prescribed authority from the government.

As Olowu, you have the prescribed authority to rule over the people who are your people settling in your area; wherever they settle, Olowu is the oba. Wherever they settle, Alake is the oba over Egba Alake people. Wherever they settle, Agura is the oba, authority over where the Gbaguras

are.

Kabiyesi, what would you like to be remembered for?

That question can be answered in so many ways. Among journalists, what do I want to be remembered for? My contributions to the journalistic world and the world of entertainment. I did the Village Headmaster. I brought youth forum to television and Artiste Showcase. There are so many of them that became very popular and lasted for many years. I want to be remembered for that. With my family, I want to be remembered as a person who never failed to put down food money, who bought clothes for my wife and my children and sent my daughters to America and my children to schools, to the universities. I want to be remembered like that.

To the societies I belong to, I want to be remembered as a man who had cordial relationship and love. I want to be remembered in the church as a church planter, as an evangelist. Members of my church don’t call me Olowu. They call me pastor. I want to be remembered as a pastor. To my employees, I want to be remembered as a man who paid them regularly and cared for their welfare. I want to be remembered as an Olowu who has brought peace to Owu people; a peace-lover, a lover of humanity and a Christian. I want to be remembered as such. What do I want to be remembered for? My extended family. I’m a rallying point. I want to be remembered by them as a rallying point.

What has your becoming a monarch deprived you of?

I used to travel a lot. I love travelling. I really love travelling to visit people. I’m a very keen observer of people’s habits and behaviour. As I’ve watched you, I’ve learnt few things. You know it’s amazing, one of my chiefs looked at me, that was in April, and said Kabiyesi I never see you travel.

Why? I said I used to travel a lot but now that I’m Oba, I’m restricted, I can’t move.

He said but why and I said as you see me, I’m very tired.

One day, I attended a board meeting and the meeting went on for about two and a half hours and I slept throughout. It’s because I was tired. So, this chief of mine heard that that happened and said kabiyesi don’t overdo it, you must travel. He said here is

What efforts are you making to bring together the Owu people?

We have six settlements in Ijebu. We have 48 Owu groups in the association and we hold annual conference every year all over Nigeria, even from Osun State, Kwara State, Niger State, Sokoto State. We are almost everywhere. From Dahomey in Benin Republic. The association is called Royal Union of Owu People. Our present headquarters is in Kuta, Osun State. We rotate the headquarters. And we have a dynamic Oba there now who is the chairman. We rotate it every year. We started it. I was one of those who started it. That was in 1978/79.

We are in every state of this country. I think I heard you say why can’t we all be in one place. Well, if our friends in Egba and if you can help me to persuade Alake, Osile and Agura to vacate and go back to their original places leaving this place for Owu, then I will call them to all come back (laughs). We’ll call them from Ijebu, Osun State and from everywhere to come and settle in Abeokuta.

We have six crown heads in Ijebu. We are all over the place. Next year, we are going to be 25 years and we are coming to the foundation in Abeokuta here to celebrate it.

But Orile-Owu claims to be the original homestead of the Owu people...

(Cuts in) That is very interesting. It’s interesting because Owu has had more than five oriles. The last orile is near Ife in Osun State. But it’s just the last and we hope it shall be final. But before there, we know that the modern Ibadan is actually Owu land. We were there and we left the place to go and found what we now call the present Orile-Owu in Ife area. You know the place they call Agodi Gate was the gate of Owu walls. Owu people have a reputation.

Wherever we settled, we used to have a wall around ourselves.

Even in Abeokuta when we first came, we had a wall around ourselves and the gate was situated at ita Iyalode. When we were at Ibadan, when we came all the way from Enpe and we were on escapade, you know warfaring is our major occupation, when we fought to get land, we don’t leave the place. We never leave the place and we just settle there. Go to Kwara, you’ll find massive land area that is called Igbo Olowu. In Kwara, we have settled in four places and there is no oba in Kwara State that doesn’t have either an Owu father or mother. When we left Enpe and we were going to the sea, the idea was that we would crush any town that dared to raise its head and then we got to Ibadan and the leader of Ibadan persuaded us to stay because he didn’t want to be crushed. They had been told that the Owu were coming and so he sent his lieutenants to go and meet the Owu before they arrived in Ibadan to say, please, we don’t want war.

But if you want land, we can give you a vast area to settle. But here are gifts and also he gave his daughter in marriage to seal the agreement. So, we settled in Ibadan. From Agodi area to Akanran used to be occupied by the Owu.

50

opinion

27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

Ambode and his dream team

By Niyi Anibaba

A

T the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, many Americans did not know how President John Kennedy would handle the challenge until they saw the composition of his war cabinet. The names gave them hope that the US would emerge from the crisis with some measure of success and hope for a world without a global conflagration. And indeed President Kennedy steered America and the world from a destructive Third World War which would have been fought with nuclear weapons.

That is the way I see the nominees for the cabinet of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State. They offer hope that truly Lagos State and its citizens are in for refreshing times when there would be a revolutionary trend in the delivery of democratic dividends and the provision of good things of life. This is what the future of Lagos State holds in store under the unfolding cabinet.

For sure, the anxiety which trailed the release of the cabinet list for Lagos state has been replaced with excitement prompted by the names on the list. While their portfolios are not yet known, the resumes of the proposed cabinet have been receiving strong and positive reviews in many quarters.

At a glance, the list is made up of one Professor, three Medical Doctors, two Engineers, six Lawyers, a journalist and one teacher.

There is a healthy mix of technocrats, strategists and politicians on the list. The list is made up of fresh faces and a few returning coming Commissioners. The cabinet has five women. There are three former Commissioners on the list and there are five politicians on the list.

Professor Ademola Abass is a Professor of Law with specialty in International Law, International Criminal Law, Equity and Trusts, Peace and Security. He has served on United Nations projects in Belgium and Ethiopia. Until his appointment, he was the Head of African Centre for Peace and Security Training, Institute for Security Training in Addis Ababa. Dr. Abass has received several academic awards, prizes and scholarships in his career.

The other lawyers in the cabinet are Dr. Benson Oke Akintola, Dr. Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, Adeniji Kazeem and Prince Rotimi Ogunleye.

Dr. Akintola and Adeniji Kazeem are both Political Scientists and Lawyers. Adeniji Kazeem started out as a Tax and Regulatory Consultant with Arthur Andersen (now KPMG) before veering off to start his own Legal practice.

Mrs. Yetunde Onabule obtained her LL.B at the University of Buckingham and her LL.M at the University of London, Kings College and has over 15years experience gained working for reputable firms in Nigerian and the UK. The name of the former Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olajide Idris, stands out amongst the Medical Doctors on the Cabinet. He was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health from 1999 to 2007 when he was appointed the Commissioner for Health in the second term of the Fashola administration. He is best remembered for his role in the battle to suppress the Ebola Virus in 2014. Another doctor on the list is Dr. Samuel Babatunde Adejare, a former Federal and State Legislator. A highly respected medical doctor and specialist in Public Health, Dr. Adejare has received many honours locally and abroad for his commitment to the practice.

He was a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly from 2003 till 2011 and was in the Federal House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015.

Dr. Femi Onanuga, is a vastly experienced Medical Doctor with specialty in General medicine and Community Health. He has diverse and rich experience in medical management and administration in the health sector of Lagos State. A former Permanent Secretary, Special Services in the Governor’s Office, he has been at various times the Medical Director of Randle General Hospital, Surulere, Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Ifako Ijaiye , Agege and consultant to the Lagos State Health Service Commission.

Lagosians who are bothered by the state of the roads in the state now have reasons to smile going by the profiles of the two engineers on the cabinet list. Engineer Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson is an accomplished Civil and Structural Engineer with over 30years experience. Engr. Johnson holds a B. Sc. and M. Sc in Civil and Structural Engineering from the University of Southern California. He is said to have a strong record of conceiving, initiating and executing road, bridge and building projects.

He was a former Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure in the State and during his time initiated and completed projects like the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge, reconstruction of Lagos-Badagry Expressway Lot 1, infrastructural improvement of Yaba to Iddo and environs as well as the construction of jetties and terminals at Badore, IpakodoIkorodu and Osborne. He served on the boards of LAMATA, Lagos State Roads, Bridges and Highway Infrastructure (PSP).

Engr. Ade Akinsanya, like Engr. Johnson was educated in America. He has a B. Sc. in Mining Engineering and an M. Sc. in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Missouri-Rolia. He specializes in transportation infrastructures particularly bridge design and construction, transportation planning and construction of various types of transportation facilities. He was before this appointment, Supervising Bridge Engineer with California Department of Transportation.

Being a financial technocrat himself, Governor Ambode has selected a crop of bright, young and finance professionals for his cabinet. Dr. Mustapha Abiodun Akinkunmi is a Financial Economist and Technology Strategist. He holds degrees from the New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury and Fordham University, Bronx, New York.

Dr. Akinkunmi has held high profile positions as a Consultant, Financial Advisor and Business Strategist with AT & T, Goldman Sachs, Phibro Energy, First Boston (Credit Suisse), World Bank and central Bank of Nigeria.

Akinyemi Ashade is an Audit Partner with KPMG Professional Services(formerly Arthur Andersen) and is responsible for the Audit of banking, insurance and assets management companies. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), he joined

The governor also spoke of the rule of ideas that will characterise his era. My take is that he has picked kindred spirts who have been identified as men of ideas in their respective endeavours.

Arthur Andersen in 1999 and was admitted as a Partner in 2013. He has gained valuable experience in international audit, risk management, public finance and private partnerships.

Babatunde Fuad Durosinmi-Etti is an Investment Banker turned Finance and Public Policy Consultant. His experience includes a banking career where he rose to the position of Deputy General Manager. He was Managing Director of Ibile Holdings Limited, the investment company of Lagos State and later Vice Chairman of the Association of African Financial Institutions, an affiliate of the African Development bank. He has been on the boards of Volkswagen of Nigeria, LASACO Insurance Plc and University Press Plc. Olufemi Adeboye Odubiyi is an Information Technology expert. He is presently the IT Director of Dangote Group.

Before then he worked for Airtel holding many key positions such as Systems Support Manager, Head IT and Director Billing and Value Added Services. He holds an M. Sc. in Information Management from Southbank University.

The new Lagos State cabinet also has the names of Dr. Dayo Mobereola and Wasiu Anifowoshe. Mobereola is a Transport expert and holds a Doctorate degree in Transport Economics from the University of Wales. He is the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and was previously Special Adviser, Transportation. Wasiu Anifowoshe is an Architect and Town Planner. He holds a Bachelors and Masters degrees in Architecture from the Howard University as well as a Masters in City and Regional Planning. He is the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners and has worked in the Lagos State Ministries of Works and Housing and Physical Planning and Urban Development.

Other professionals on the list are senior and celebrated journalist, Steve Ayorinde, Fela Bank-Olemoh and sport analyst, Ayodeji Tinubu.

It is a team capable of installing the governance of compassion which Ambode spoke of in his inaugural address on May 29. The governor also spoke of the rule of ideas that will characterise his era. My take is that he has picked kindred spirits who have been identified as men of ideas in their respective endeavours. Together, I see them-Ambode and these illustrious personalities-working out an agenda to lift up Lagos to the stratosphere of excellent performance the way John Kennedy’s war cabinet gave the US and the world victory over the war mongers during the Cuban Missile blockade.

•Anibaba, a policy analyst wrote in from Surulere, Lagos

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Sallah Day attack: Ahmed denies rift with Saraki Offence against God —Emir APC dictators behind his travails —Group From Biola Azeez And Adetola Bademosi

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o v e r no r Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has described as false, malicious and unfounded, the story published by an online media (saharareporters.com) on Friday, that Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, blamed him for miscreants’ attack on dignitaries at the Ilorin Eid prayer ground last Thursday.

A statement issued on Saturday by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the governor, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, said that at no time did the

Senate President accuse the governor of leaving him vulnerable to attack by miscreants at the prayer ground, adding that neither did Governor Ahmed blame Dr. Saraki for the miscreants’ attack on the dignitaries.

Describing the report’s claim that Senator Saraki got N1billion out of the N4.3billion bail-out loan received by the state government from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as preposterous and provocative, Akorede said the Senate President neither received any kobo out of the money which, he said, was fully used to pay the two-months salary arrears owed state civil servants in August, 2015, nor any other money from the state

government.

Reacting to the attack, the Emir of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, has condemned the attack, describing it as an offence against God. The Emir, made this remark when he paid the yearly Eid Kabir visit to the governor at the Government House in Ilorin.

Dr. Sulu Gambari noted that the efforts of the miscreants to defile the sanctity of the place of worship and thereby denied Muslims their right of worship, were condemnable and a possible invitation of the wrath of Allah, whose abode the miscreants invaded, describing the development as despicable and unfortunate.

He advised parents to

train their children not to taint the good image of Ilorin Emirate and Kwara state as a peace loving and united entities.

Meanwhile, civil society organisation, Youth Stand Up for Nigeria (YSN) has stated that political dictators in the All Progress Congress (APC) were behind the Senate president’s current travail, warning that the true test of the party’s ability to manage the gains of their electoral successes would be tested in the case of Senator Saraki.

The group warned that the unlawful removal of the senate president could put the red chamber in crisis that would drag the nation backward.

Sunday Tribune

Kano loses N18.1m monthly to 1,830 ‘ghost’ street cleaners

As Jema LG uncovers 130 ghost teachers Muhammad Sabiu-Kaduna The Kano State Government has uncovered 1,830 ghost workers out of the 2,490 casual workers engaged as street cleaners by the state Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB). making government to lose N18.1 million monthly.

The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Garba Mohammed, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Saturday.

He said the figure was presented to the State Executive Council during its meeting on Wednesday by the committee recently set up to verify the actual number of the workers.

Also, the Interim Management Committee (IMC) chairman of Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State,Mr Bege Katuka has said he had discovered 130 primary school ghost workers in the recent verification carried out by his council.

In a statement available to the Sunday Tribune in Kaduna, he dispelled the rumour making the round that the proposed verification of Local Government staff was meant to retrench the workers.

AYE inaugurates economic development team

By Victor Ogunyinka

AS part of the efforts to improve the economy of African countries, Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E) on Saturday, inaugurated an economic development team to champion the course of the organisation.

The team was inaugurated in order to effectively harness the window of opportunities created by the group so as to add economic value to African nations, by facilitating investment opportunity for global entrepreneurs and investors.

In his remark, Summy Francis, President of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs.

Francis explained that the economic development team was one of the earliest visions of the organisation when it started in 2012 and it is being realised three years after.

He noted that the organisation does not only identify brilliant minds in Africa, it also empowers these individuals in order to have significant impacts on the economy of the continent.

Govts must create more awareness on sanitation —Speaker Member Osun State House of Assembly representing Odo-Otin State Constituency, Mr Oyeniran Olaolu; Speaker Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Najeem Salaam; former Governor of Osun State Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Honourable Olatunbosun Oyintiloye representing Obokun State Constituency at State House of Assembly, during the visit of Prince Oyinlola to Mr Salaam on the occasion of Ileya festival in Osogbo, on Saturday.

Why APC is opposed to Ekiti airport project —PDP The Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has given reasons the All Progressives Congress (APC) is opposed to the execution of the airport project in the state, saying the APC is only ashamed that a PDP government is showing the political will to bring the project conceived by the Federal Government since 2009 to reality.

The PDP said the Ekiti Airport project was initiated in 2009 by the Yar’Adua government, but frustrated by the APC government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi even though fund was budgeted for it in 2011 by the Federal Government.

The party, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday by the State Publicity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo, said the people of Ekiti State had seen through the deceit of the APC and would not fall

victims again.

The PDP spokesperson pointed out that as at 2010, terrain flight check for site selection had been done, site approval obtained from the Ministry of Aviation, perimeter land survey completed, meteorological data (i.e. Wind-Rose) already

obtained from the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Form AC-001 had been collected for completion and submission to Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), guidance materials on the procedures to be followed for development and certification of

airport and related technical and regulatory requirements to be met had been collected for necessary assessment; and materials needed for runway orientation and establishment of Obstacle Limitation Surfaces had virtually been concluded.

Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Kola Oluwawole, has stressed the need to increase awareness campaigns by governments over the rules and regulations governing sanitation at the federal state and local government levels.

Oluwawole stressed this need while monitoring the monthly sanitation exercise in the state on Saturday.

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant (Media), Stephen Gbadamosi, Pastor Oluwawole was reacting to the Herculean task involved in getting residents and other citizens to comply with the sanitation directive.

He noted that drivers of heavy duty trucks particularly had no regard for the exercise, just as he said youths that were expected to lead in the duty of maintaining clean environment often looked away from the monthly

Buhari applaud removal of Nigeria from polio-endemic list Clement Idoko-Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has applauded announcement by the World Health Organisation that polio is no longer endemic in Nigeria.

This is the first time that Nigeria has interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus, bringing the country and the African region closer than ever to being certified polio-free.

Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr Femi Adesina, on Saturday said Buhari welcomed the removal of Nigeria from list of countries with polio-endemic.

The president expressed delight over the announcement, which followed the absence of any case of the wild polio virus in Nigeria since July 24, 2014 and all laboratory data have confirmed a full 12 months

have passed without any new cases.

He applauded the concerted efforts of government officials, health workers, volunteer groups, civil society, religious leaders, traditional rulers and international partners, which resulted in this historic achievement.

Buhari, who joined other Nigerians and the global community in celebrating Nigeria’s removal from the list of polio-endemic coun-

tries, urged continued vigilance to ensure that “Nigeria maintains this new status.”

The President directed all government ministries, departments and agencies involved in the polio eradication effort, to remain proactively engaged and on guard against the re-emergence of the polio virus in Nigeria.

He assured the WHO and the global community that the Federal Government

would ensure that immunisation and surveillance activities continued across Nigeria, to keep the country polio-free.

WHO made the announcement at a meeting of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in New York, disclosing that only two countries remain which have never stopped endemic transmission of polio: Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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Sunday Tribune

Sustain the lessson of Sallah, Muslims urged Muslims have been urged to sustain the lessons that learnt during the Sallah celebration so as to ensure peace and harmony in the country.

A former Secretary to Oyo State government, Alhaji Akin Olajide, who gave the advice on Saturday stressed the need for all Nigerians, irrespective of religion or tribe, to embrace peace and transparency.

Alhaji Olajide also called on all Nigerians to support the federal government in its resolve to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the country.

While noting that Islam is a religion of peace and unity the former SSG urged Nigerians to pray and support the Buhari-led administration in its fight against corruption saying that with prayers, the current administration would deliver dividends of democracy to them.

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole presenting a sourvenir to the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyelade, during the latter’s courtesy visit to the Vice Chancellor’s office. PHOTO: OLUWATOYIN MALIK

Tragedy averted as truck falls on electric pole in Oshodi Chima Okoji-Lagos

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arely two weeks after Lagos truck owners ended a protest against the state government for restricting truck movement in the city during the day, another 40-foot containerladen trailer fell in the middle of the Oshodi-Gbagada expressway on Friday (Sallah day) in Lagos State.

When Sunday Tribune visited the scene, the truck

was seen lying on top of the road pavement with a knocked down electric pole blocking the opposite lane.

Eyewitnesses said a passing vehicle narrowly escaped been knocked down by the fallen electric pole and that no life was lost in this latest incident. The saving grace according to them was that being a holiday, few vehicles were on the road and there was no traffic congestion.

It occurred near Bar-

racks Bus Stop, located between Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) office and Barracks bus stop by Ilupeju Industrial Estate.

A few LATSMA officials who took photographs of the fallen truck said it was loaded with timber and fell due to heavy weight that did not allow for proper maneuvering of the long vehicle.

It will be recalled that the strike followed the state government’s warning that

it would get tough on any trailer and long vehicle contravening Section 2 of the Lagos State Road Traffic Law 2012, which forbids trailers to travel within the city of Lagos between 6am and 9.00p.m.

The catalyst for the changing attitude towards the enforcement of this law was a fatal accident involving a container-laden trailer which killed three people on September 2, 2015.

Oyo CP seeks partnership with UI to build policemen’s capacity

By Oluwatoyin Malik The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr Leye Oyebade, has assured that his administration would extend its community policing to the academic world by partnering with it to bridge the gap between the police and members of the public.

The police commissioner stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole in his office.

Stating that the new police of today, under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, were ready to practise the community policing being preached, Mr Oyebade said that his visit to the Vice Chancellor was to establish the partnership and improve on it.

He spoke on the building the capacity of policemen, because without their having the prerequisites needed for mental alertness that policing demands, they would not get to the

level expected of them by the society.

Further in his remarks, the police commissioner told the Vice Chancellor that the road map he drew on assumption of duty in Oyo state on September 1, 2015 was centred on fighting heinous crime, robbery, cultism, car-snatching.

“We are also building new police that would respond promptly to distress calls when we receive such with a lot of commitment

and dedication.

“We are building a police that is intolerant of corruption. The police are vital to the development of democracy in Nigeria so we are going out to educate our men to make sure that the do their jobs with the commitment it deserves,” the police commissioner said.

He also spoke against cultism which he said had become the bane of the modern society, with a high number of youths, es-

pecially students, involved, advising that students should shun the unprofitable venture they engage themselves in.

Responding, Prof. Adewole appreciated the Commissioner of Police and his entourage comprising senior officers in the state command, referring to them as a formidable team.

He described the crop of officers in the Nigeria Police of today as a new face of policing, advising Nigerians to adjust and reflect.

NSCDC arrests 5 vandals with 66,000 litres of crude oil in Edo The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) on Saturday arrested five suspected vandals with two tankers containing 66, 000 litres of crude oil in Benin.

State Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Chuka Akubuiroh, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the suspects (names withheld) were arrested around bypass area of Benin/Warri highway, following a tip-off.

He said the suspects now in custody, would be

charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded on the matter.

Akubuiroh said the investigation was to determine how and where the suspects got their products.

The commandant said that the two tankers, with registration number ABH 264 XA and ABS 186 XA respectively, had been impounded by the NSCDC. “When we got wind of their movement sometime last week, we mounted 36 hours surveillance and it yielded result; only this

morning, our men were able to trap them.

“They are in our custody now and further investigation is ongoing to ascertain where and how they got the product, before they will face prosecution in the court.

“We have before now arrested vandals conveying different quantities of adulterated products in the last two months; we have arrested vandals with tankers of 33, 000 liters of crude and also arrested mini vehicles and buses with same products.”

Environmentalists task FG on insecurity, funding Environmental professionals across the country met at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, at the weekend and called on the Federal Government to urgently establish a National Environmental Advisory Commission.

This, according to them, would help in addressing the increasing dynamics of environmental and security issues in the country.

Rising from the 5th National Conference on Environment with the theme ; Environment and Insecurity : Issues and Challenges, the professionals recommended that the impact relief fund should be properly funded to take adequate care of environmental disasters and their victims.

In the communique signed at the end of the conference, by the conference chairman, Surveyor O P Okafor and five others, they recommended greater use of modern information technology such as Geographical Information System (GIS) in the location, design and monitoring of security and environmental infrastructure.

While noting that global warming and climate change will continue to soar, participants urged government at all levels to evolve policies, programmes and regulations on flood prevention, bulk water control, diversions and inter basin transfers.

They equally advised the federal government to ensure effective utilisation of environmental resources towards reducing the rate of unemployment as well as improving power supply.

Ogun deputy gov leads business women to Dubai Ogun State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Onanuga, has disclosed her willingness to lead Nigerian Business Women Group to United Arab Emirates, (UAE), next month, to a trade fair where the women would exhibit and showcase their business skills and products to the world.

She made this known in Abeokuta, while playing host to Naccima Business Women Group, (NAWORG), led by their President, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, where she (Onanuga) was decorated as the Group Grand Patron.

While declaring her support for the promotion of women initiated trades and projects, Onanuga said she was readily available to lead the women to the Arab country for the event, stressing that state government would continue to support women group and traders in ensuring that their welfare was properly taken care off.

Onanuga in the same vein promised to attend the proposed 6th edition of the Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs Exhibition, billed to hold at MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, between 7th and 16th of December, 2015.

Iyalode Alaba Lawson earlier in her speech, appreciated the gesture of the deputy governor in supporting women programmes across the state, just as she requested for her assistance for the successful hosting of the event, noting that members of the group have a lot to contribute economic development of the state.

The membership of the group according to her is open to all women within the chamber movement in Nigeria, stating that the group has the mandate to coordinate the activities of women within Nigeria and across WEST Africa Region.

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Danjuma, Awujale laud Adenuga at Ojude Oba

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HE paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, has showered words of endearment on the Chairman of Nigeria’s total telecoms solutions provider, Globacom, Chief Mike Adenuga, for not only sponsoring the Ojude Oba Festival for the 10th year running, but for being an agent of positive change who has affected all facets of life in Nigeria.

Oba Adetona gave this commendation at this year’s Ojude Oba festival tagged: ‘‘Harnessing our Cultural Heritage for Economic Development,’’ in Ijebu Ode, on Saturday.

Also, the Vice Chairman, South Atlantic Petroleum, Senator (Mrs) Daisy Danjuma, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the celebrations, praised Globacom for its support for culture and tradition exhibited through its partnership with organisers of cultural events across the nation.

Oba Adetona described Adenuga as a Nigerian who has put the nation on the world map as a result of his doggedness, industry and business integrity.

He said: ‘‘Through Adenuga, thousands of jobless people now have means of sustenance. He has greatly enhanced the economy of the nation through his business ventures which have grown and extended to other

parts of the world. Globacom has, through its innovative technological edge, become the leader in the telecoms market in Nigeria and since Globacom undertook to be the main sponsor of the festival four years ago, we have been going up and up, better and better.’’ ‘‘The company’s sponsorship of the event has raised it to an enviable tourists’ delight which attracts people from all walks of life and from other parts of the country,’’ the traditional ruler added.

In his goodwill message to the festival, Dr Mike Adenuga said his company had shown interest in the festival because its socio-cultural value complemented Globacom’s vision to celebrate the unique accomplishments of Nigeria as a nation.

He described Ojude Oba

OJUDE OBA IN PIX

as a social melting pot where all divergent issues affecting the lives of the people were congealed and where the sons and daughters of Ijebuland, both home and abroad, regarded themselves as active players in the socioeconomic project of developing Ijebuland.

According to him, Globacom was mindful of the importance of the festival to the cultural and religious wellbeing of the people of Ijebuland, hence, its commitment to the sponsorship. ‘‘This kind of commitment to diligence, excellence and avowed determination to contribute to the furtherance of social development, which the Ijebu are noted for is the very essence of Globacom’s continued relevance as a frontliner in laudable initiatives of Nigeria’s telecommunications industry,” he said.

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Osinbajo celebrates Banire, urges selfless service Lanre Adewole - Lagos VICE President Yemi Osinbajo, at the weekend, asked Nigerian politicians to demonstrate more selflessness in their service to their motherland.

He spoke in Lagos, at a reception to celebrate the elevation to Silk, of the National Legal Adviser of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Muiz Banire

Fresh primary for Bayelsa APC, a cruel hoax —Sylva THE Timipre Sylva Campaign for the Bayelsa State 2015 gubernatorial election, on Saturday, dismissed media reports that two additional governors would be joining their Edo State counterpart, Adams Oshiomhole, to organise a fresh All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Primary in Yenagoa, on Tuesday.

The campaign organisation said this while reacting to media reports that the Sokoto State governor, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal and his Ogun counterpart, Ibikunle Amosun had been drafted to join Oshiomhole for a new primary.

The organisation, in a statement made available

by Mr Doifie Buokoribo, described the report as a “cruel hoax,” stressing that there was no way a fresh primary could be organised on Tuesday, as it would amount to an act of “illegality.”

Sunday Tribune

The organisation maintained that an APC standard-bearer for the December 5, 2015 governorship election in Bayelsa State had since emerged, stating that the candidate was no other person than Chief Sylva.

It further insisted that, “No amount of media manipulation can change that.

This is a society of law and order.”

The organisation declared that there was no way a hopelessly compromised Oshiomhole, who it said, had also openly displayed his bias, could be asked again to go and conduct an election in Bayelsa State, adding that even his masters knew that would be unacceptable to Nigerians.

“Let us restate here that an APC candidate for the December 5, 2015 governorship election in Bayelsa State has emerged and that candidate is Chief Timipre Sylva.”

(SAN).

He was, last Monday, decorated along with others as Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).

While describing Banire as a selfless politician, Osinbajo said he was a serious minded student, consummate intellectual, a politician and a great scholar who deserves this great honour” Dignitaries at the event included the Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, Inspector General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase, Former Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, his deputy, Adejoke Orelope, current governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode, represented by his deputy, Oluranti Adebule, Kaduna State governor , Mallam Nasir el-Rufai represented

by Senator Sulaimon Marafa Garba, former deputy governor of Delta, Professor Amos Otuama, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, Chief Femi Okunu, Chief Julius Adelusi, Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, GOS, several Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, State and Federal High Court Judges, among many others.

In his goodwill message at the event, Governor Aregbesola described Banire as a man of integrity and asked him to stay focused in his selfless service to the country and humanity.

Former Lagos governor, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu said Banire’s elevation as SAN “is long in coming.’’

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4 1. The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona (second left); the deputy governor of Ogun State, Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Onanuga (left), the Special Guest of Honour at this year’s Ojude Oba festival, Senator (Mrs) Daisy Danjuma (second right) and Globacom Business Director, Ogun State, Mr Ayo Ogunranti, at the celebration of the festival,, in Ijebu Ode, on Saturday.

2. The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Adetona (second left); the deputy governor of Ogun State, Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Onanuga (left) and the Special Guest of Honour, Senator (Mrs) Daisy Danjuma (third right), Globacom Business Director, Ogun State, Mr Ayo Ogunranti (second right) and Bayelsa State governor, Mr Seriake Dickson (right).

3. Globacom Business Director, Ogun State, Mr Ayo Ogunranti, presenting the best age grade prize to EgbeBobakeye Double T. 4. Special Guest at the Ojude Oba Festival 2015, Senator (Mrs) Daisy Danjuma, and Globacom Business Director, Ogun State, Mr Ayo Ogunranti, presenting a prize to Egbe Obafuwaji, the best age grade9 (male category).

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27 September, 2015

Sunday Tribune

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27 September, 2015

CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915 - 2015)

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1. From left, Odumade Alli Sogade family from Liyangu Akarigbo ruling house, Sagamu with Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran.

2. A cross-section of Ido-Ibadan Cooperative Farming and Produce Marketing Society with Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran.

3. A cross-section of Odu’a Board of Directors at Ikenne.

4. A cross-section of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) members at Ikenne.

5. A cross-section of clergy men at Ikenne.

Sunday Tribune

PHOTOS: TOMMY ADEGBITE

6. A cross-section of Sadeke Descendant Family with Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran.

7. A cross-section of Development Agenda Western Nigeria Dawn members with Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran.

8. A cross-section of Yooba Omo Oodu’a Forum.

9. From left, Mrs Kemi Aderemi; Mr Folu Olamiti and Mrs Bunmi Busari.

10. A cross-section of Buhari Youths Organisation members with Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran.

SIDELINES NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has threatened to sell any refinery that fails to meet its 90-day ultimatum to work. We urge the NNPC management to fast and pray fervently, because those who caused these refineries to fail will be the first to quickly table bids for them!

Some memories of Nigeria’s greatest woman of our time

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HESE excerpts are from my notes of the era of the great crisis in the Western Region, 1962-66.

Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo was, of course, interested in the politics of those of us young people who came into Chief Awolowo’s political life. But she was far much more interested in us ourselves, in us as young persons about the age of her own children. She was to us all a loving mother, and, absolutely deservedly, we all called her Mama. Even when Chief Awolowo was not in Ibadan, Mama was more than enough reason to attract us to visit the Awolowo home. In time, some of us became like Mama’s own biological children, the persons she would surely call for when there was some important intimate thing going on in the family, like a wedding or a birthday party.Or whenever she felt that she was not seeing enough of us, and she sent to tell us that she was preparing some special food for us.

And, at all times, Mama never failed to show her loving interest in our schoolwork. Countless times, she would call me aside and ask, “Banji, how are your studies going?”. And then, usually, she would add, “You know you must score the highest marks”. I knew she did the same to my closest friends - like David Oke (Professsor Oke), my fiancé, and others in our crowd of Awolowo sons and daughters.

When UCI announced the results of my final examination in June 1961, I was already teaching far from Ibadan.

Mama called me and said jubilantly, “Good boy. You scored those highest marks. When you come to Ibadan, we will celebrate it”. A few weeks later, my fiancé and I came to Ibadan and Mama feasted us with a great dinner.

A couple of months later, my fiancé and I got married, and both of us, fresh from our UCI Action Group Students Association activism, plunged headlong into efforts to strengthen the local Action Group Youth Association. Mama was, of course, excited about our political stories, and she would say that our father (Chief Awolowo) was excited about them too. But she always wanted us to know that her concern for our safety superseded all other things. Again and again, she would say, “You children, please be careful. In particular, don’t go out politicking in the nights”. Because both of us were teachers, most of our politicking had to be in the night, and we were often on the road in the night. But we knew we dared not tell her that.

Then, the University of Ibadan announced my admission to postgraduate school and I returned to Ibadan.

Whenever my wife came to see me in Ibadan (and that was often), we never failed to visit Mama. Papa was most often away in Lagos, serving as Leader of Opposition in the Federal Parliament.

And then the Western Region exploded into its historic crisis, 1962-6. As the clouds got darker and darker, we became very close to Mama. On many days, we just sat around with her, running small errands for her, and trying to squeeze out some happiness or even some laughter.Papa went from detention in Lekki, to house arrest in Ikoyi, to Broad Street Prison as an accused on trial for treasonable felony, and finally to prison in Calabar.

In these months, we learned a big thing about Mama – namely, that she was a woman of exceptional courage and strength.If the objective of the people running the federal government and their advisers was to intimidate and subdue Chief Awolowo, then they had chosen the wrong family.

When we thought that things could not possibly get worse, they suddenly got much worse. One morning, two men flagged me down on a street, and when they came astride my car, they asked, “Have you heard the news?”

Before I could say anything, one of them added, “Segun

tation. Huge crowds received her everywhere, as if they were welcoming Chief Awolowo himself. And she rose mightily to the challenge.She was indeed our nation’s number one woman and mother.

In particular, during her three days in Ekiti, she demonstrated the heart of a leader very powerfully. She went out from Ado-Ekiti every morning to visit scheduled parts of Ekiti, followed by motorcades stretching out for many miles, and returned to Ado-Ekiti for the night. My wife and I led the team responsible for attending to her personal comfort.

On the last of the three days, a totally unexpected challenge arose. Apparently because Mrs. Awolowo’s tour was achieving so massive a success, Mrs. Akintola too decided to come on a tour of Ekiti. Mrs. Awolowo’s entourage was returning to Ado-Ekiti, where she would address her last public rally in the afternoon. A few miles to Ado-Ekiti, however, police officers stopped us and asked us to wait for an hour or two because, according to them, an unusual development had arisen in the city. What had happened was that Mrs. Akintola had arrived suddenly – without any prior notice or schedule – and insisted on addressing a gathering of members of her husband’s party. When the police answered that their rules of procedure made it impossible for them to grant her request, she angrily told them that she, as the Premier’s wife, should have precedence over any other woman in the Region. A heated argumentensued, and the police reluctantly yielded.

For nearly two hours, our long motorcade froze where we had stopped. The political leaders were all furious at what they considered an outrage, but Mama’s dignified composure quickly calmed everybody.

When at last she entered the city, virtually its entire population poured out to receive her, diranapata@yahoo.com amidst indescribable excitement and show of love. Mrs. Akintola’s sudden appearance in the city, and the very hostile things she had said to her small crowd about Mrs. Awolowo, had only heightened the outpouring of affection for Mrs. Awolowo.

The rest of the story is well known – the blatant rigging of the 1965 Western Regional Election, the long and stubborn revolt by the Region’s youths, the consequent military coup, the refusal of the Ironsi military government Awolowo, Chief Awolowo’s oldest son. They’ve just announced that he died. Motor accident.” Segun’s car had to release Chief Awolowo, the July 1966 counter-coup, crashed that morning while he was on his way from Ibadan and Gowon’s release of Chief Awolowo only days later.

Through it all, Mama simply grew stronger and stronger, to see his father in prison in Lagos.

Without uttering a word, I made a U-turn and drove uncannily confident that her husband would soon return in the darkness slowly back home. In the next days, we home.

The largest crowd in Nigeria’s history welcomed Chief couldnot muster the strength to go and see Mama’s face.

We were going through excruciating pain. Finally, we Awolowo back to Ibadan. Early next morning, my wife and went. It was too much for us to see Mama in pieces. But I hurried to Ikenne. Thousands of cars jam-packed the litone thing was clear immediately – though crushed, she tle town. We had to abandon our car and walk about half a was unbowed. After a few minutes, she turned to my wife mile. Mama saw us coming, hurried to meet us at the door, and asked, “How is Demola? Why didn’t you bring him?”. and grabbed us both in one triumphant hug. When we said She was asking about our baby son!Her heart as a mother congratulations, she answered that it was we young ones that deserved all the congratulations. Then she said, “Your was far too big, far too strong, to be forced to shrink.

In the next weeks, as the world awaited the outcome of father just stepped to the backyard. Go and find him there”. the treasonable felony trial, most people in my circle were We ran and burst into the backyard. Papa was there thanksure that Chief Awolowo would be set free. What else, ing the crowd of women who were helping Mama with the they would ask, could Balewa do after Chief Awolowo had cooking and hospitality. As we ran towards him, he opened suffered this terrible loss? They were wrong.The people his arms wide and gathered us tightly to himself. He had controlling our federal government since independence emaciated incredibly, but it didn’t matter. Our father was never waver from their one objective. Their hand never back home. The leader of our nation was back. Mama had shakes. By the time of the verdict, however, Mama and we won her richly deserved victory.

When we walked back inside with Papa, Mama came her children had become far too strong, far too defiant, to up to my wife and asked her, “Is someone taking good even think of bowing.

Two years later, at the height of our campaign for the care of the children while you are here?” She was asking October 1965 Western Regional Election, we considered about our little son and two little daughters. No matter asking Mama to do a tour of the Region, because the the situation, she was always, first and foremost,a great masses were asking for that everywhere. After hesitating mother. for some time, we took it to her. She agreed without hesi-

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