29th March 2016 by Nigerian Tribune

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,467

TUESDAY, 29 MARCH, 2016

Tinubu created formidable opposition party in Nigeria —Buhari

•He's a pillar in —P12 Yorubaland —Fayose

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Chibok girl identity: Minister leads parents to Cameroon

Fuel scarcity

—P5

Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

Army offers N1m reward for information on abducted Colonel

Nigerian Tribune

Tunji Braithwaite dies at 82, few days after jogging on Third Mainland bridge —P41

—P5

Senate summons Kachikwu again •Says situation bad, unacceptable

Wife of the late Chief Tunji Braitwaite, Grace, being consoled by former Provost, Christ Church Cathredal, Marina, Lagos, Very Reverend Yinka Omololu (left) and the Vicar, St. Paul Anglican Church, Breadfruit, Venerable Godwin Akinwande, at his residence, 9, Beulah Street, off Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Monday. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

N150

—P6

Why I won't touch Amaechi's monorail project —Wike —P7

NDLEA discovers letter laden with heroine in Lagos —P9

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

5 news

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Chibok girl identity: Minister leads parents to Cameroon James Bwala - Maiduguri

CTING Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, has said a minister in the country is leading some parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls to Cameroon, to confirm the truth about the arrested suicide bomber alleged to

be one of the schoolgirls abducted by the Islamic militant, Boko Haram, about two years ago. Colonel Usman, in a text massage to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, did not, however, disclose the name of the minister or any of the parents of the abducted Chibok girls on the Federal Government team

to Cameroon. He insisted that the Cameroonian authority had already disclosed that the arrested suicide bomber was indeed one of the Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists group in April 14, 2014. When the Nigerian Tribune contacted the spokesman of 7 Division, Colonel

Mustapha Anka, he said only the media coordinator could speak on the issue for now. An elder of the Chibok community in Borno, Elder Bulus Ndirmpaya, said they were notified that two parents of the abducted Chibok girls were to join the committee set up by the Federal Government to go

to Cameroon, adding, however, that the identities of those contacted among the Chibok girls parents were yet to be known. “Parents of the abducted Chibok girls abducted are peasant farmers, they are mostly living in villages or in IDP camps across the country. “Those who always appear in television and speak to journalists both in print and

electronics are people living in the city. Their children would never come to places like Chibok to school,” Elder Bulus said. Several attempts to get a cross to Dr Allen Manasseh, an activist of Chibok origin, who, most of the time speak for the Chibok community, particularly on the abduction, failed as calls put through to his mobile lines were not answered.

Abducted colonel: Army offers N1m reward for useful information

Former vice-president and chieftain of All Progresives Congress (APC) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (left), with Governor Muhammad Jibirilla Bindo of Adamawa State, at the wedding fatiha of Umar Babalele, in Jimeta-Yola, Adamawa State, at the weekend.

Yushau Shuaib resigns from military-security platform Chris Agbambu - Abuja CHIEF Media Consultant to the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA), Mr Yushau Shuaib, on Monday, has resigned. In his notice of resignation served on the chairman of the forum and Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar, Shuaib said he could no longer continue to serve FOSSRA, which is under the auspices of Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) because of what he termed “misleading report by presidential committee under the same ONSA.” He alleged unjust accusation of almost all institutions and individuals that served the office without fair hearing. He revealed that the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan achieved a feat through adequate funding of Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). He also said the administration mobilised adequately the participating neighbouring countries in additional recruitments of ‘Special M Forces’ that

stormed Boko Harams’ camps from the air. The combined and collaborative security efforts, according to the consultant, weakened Boko Haram terrorists from disrupting 2015 general election which President Muhammadu Buhari eventually won. Shuaib clarified that at the twilight of Jonathan’s administration, more than 22 towns in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states were recovered and confirmed with video and pictorial evidences through military press releases. According to him, “some of the towns recovered before the coming of President Buhari were Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Bita, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Gamboru Ngala, Goniri, Gujba, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, as well as Mubi and many others. “A clear testimony to some of the accomplishments was the official DHQ release dated March 16, 2015 with reference No: DHQ/ABJ/901/32/DDI and entitled: “Troops finally rout terrorists from Bama and last stronghold in Yobe.”

Shuaib resigned his appointment after three years serving as media consultant to military, security, intelligence and response organisations under a unified platform. According to him, “it is mere mischief for the Jon Ode-led panel to indict an umbrella strategic communication outfit that was not involved in partisan politics but provided proofs of its assignment and paid the full taxes demanded by the panel, only for the same panel to turn around and claim nothing was done just few days after an article we published exposing the lies being orchestrated that no weapons were bought by the previous administration for the prosecution of war on terror. “The panel were even arguing with us on some contents of the published article, forgetting that while most of them were on retirement, we risked our lives by engaging top serving military officers on various security issues and on the field which we disseminate through the media to the public. “They seemed to be aggrieved with the disclosure in the article that the previ-

ous administration bought sophisticated weapons for the military, which included Alpha jets, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunition, highly sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 battle tanks and modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters. “I wonder if President Buhari was able to conduct comprehensive background checks on some members of the panel before their appointment. He continued: “While the Jon Ode led-panel deliberately refuses to acknowledge successes recorded by previous administration in the war on terror, the team has only succeeded in misleading the president with its biased reports that create unnecessary anxiety in the polity.” Shuaib then queried the rationale behind empowering a panel of procurement of arms that was composed of retired and serving military officers to also be saddled with probing contracts and services that had nothing to do with arms and ammunition. continues pg6

AUTHORITIES of the Nigerian Army have raised reward for anyone with useful information that could lead to the rescue of its abducted officer, Colonel Samaila Inusa, to N1 million. Spokesman of 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Colonel Abdul Usman told newsmen on Monday morning that the army was ready to give the said cash reward to any person with useful information that could lead to the rescue of the officer. The army had earlier promised N500,000 cash reward for the informant, but it raised the cash reward to N1 million on Monday. Usman also promised adequate protection to anyone who provided the required

information, just as he assured that the information would be treated with utmost confidentiality. Colonel Inusa was whisked away in his Mercedes-Benz car by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers around Kamazo, on Kaduna Refinery Road, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Colonel Usman had disclosed in a statement made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday that the senior officer was abducted on Saturday night. According to the statement, “the abductors dropped off Colonel Inusa’s wife and left with him in his car. The car headed towards Abuja.”

We’re not behind army colonel’s abduction —Shiite Muhammad Sabiu - Kaduna THE Islamic Movement in Nigeria has said it is not behind the recent kidnap of an army colonel as being alleged in some quarters. This was contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna, on Monday and signed by the spokesman of the sect, Ibrahim Musa. The statement noted that their concern followed report that the Nigerian Army was linking the sect to the kidnapping, as ransom for the release of the leader of the sect, Sheikh Ibrahim ElZakzaky. “We wish to state here categorically that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, under the leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky has never, is not and will never engage in any form of crime to meet any of its objectives. “The IMN is a peaceful movement, with enlightened and responsible people as members that has for close to four decades conducted its activities in the most civilised manner and cannot in any way derail from that track record and

engage in any form of crime or violence. “The Islamic Movement is aware that due to negligence of those in power, who are careless about the welfare of their citizens, a lot of crimes, including kidnapping, have become common in the country and the IMN condemns all forms of crimes and preaches against them as a religious body. “Hence, it is virtually illogical and unreasonable for anyone to presume that the IMN would engage in such acts of immorality, even as its rights have been violated and its sanctity molested by the government and its army by killing and burning its members alive, molesting and raping its women and abducting and illegally detaining its members including the leader of the movement. “We are forced to believe that the government and its army are desperate to justify the inhumanity they meted on the innocent unarmed members of the movement on the 12th to 14th of December 2015, where they killed over 1,000,” the statement read.

6 news

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Buhari determined to crush insurgency —OBJ

Jonathan called me 19 days after Chibok girls’ abduction –Shettima FORMER president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday, commended President Muhammadu Buhari on his efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East region. Obasanjo gave the commendation during a visit to Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, at the Government House, Maiduguri. “I know that he (Buhari) is very, very concerned about the insurgency. He has gotten it right that first of all, there must be military ascendency over the insurgents,” he said. Obasanjo expressed optimism that the insurgency would be over soon, going by the successes recorded by the military in recent time. “I do travel a lot in Africa and outside Africa. Where I have gone in recent times, what the people wanted to know is how Nigeria is coping with the situation of insurgency. “I think we are not out of the wood yet, but it appeared we can see the light beyond the tunnel,” he said. Obasanjo added that “there is no doubt that with the combined efforts at the local level, at the state level and at the federal level, even at the community level, our security forces are on the ascendency over the forces of destruction and the menace of insurgency that we have experienced for almost six years now.” He expressed joy that socio-economic activities had begun to pick up in Maiduguri after many years of the insurgency. “My experience from the airport to Government House is that what I experienced in 2011 is different from what I experienced today. “There is evidence that things are changing, the situation is improving. We pray that by the end of this year, no one will be in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp again,” Obasanjo said. He condoled with the state government over loss of lives and property to the insurgency. He appealed to political and opinion leaders in the country to educate Nigerians on the true situation in the North-East, by visiting the area frequently. This came as Shettima,

on Monday, said for 19 days after over 200 girls were abducted from their dormitory in Chibok, former president, Dr Good-

luck Jonathan, did not call him or any official of the state government to make enquiry or empathise with the state over the incident.

Shettima, during the visit of Obasanjo, said he was confident that the abduction of the Chibok girls would have been handled

differently were it be the former president (Obasanjo) was in power at the time of the incident. Shettima recalled how

From left, former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Al-Amin El-kanemi and the Borno State governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, during the visit of Obasanjo to the Shehu’s palace, in Maiduguri, on Monday.

Obasanjo, while in office, fought for peace, repeatedly telephoning governors, traditional rulers and other peacemakers in trouble spots across the country. “In our own case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency,” Shettima said. The former president’s visit to the state was at the instance of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), following his request to excuse himself from the forthcoming UNIMAID convocation billed to hold soon. Obasanjo, who arrived Maiduguri at about 11.00 a.m., immediately visited Governor Shettima at the Government House. The governor said Monday’s visit was the former president’s first call at the Borno Government House since 1976.

Fuel scarcity: Senate summons Kachikwu again Says situation very bad, unacceptable Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

HE Senate, on Monday, took exceptions to the seemingly endless fuel scarcity across the country, while also issuing summons to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to appear before it. The Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), which toured filling stations in Abuja and its environs, on Monday, asked the minister, who also doubles as the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to appear before it today, over the endless fuel scarcity. Acting chairman of the committee, Senator Jibrin Misau, who led his members on the tour of Abuja metropolis, said the committee was unhappy with the findings, adding that members would meet with the minister today, to analyse the situation. The senator said the situation was pathetic and bad, adding that the persistent fuel scarcity caught the attention of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, who, he said, mandated the committee to move round

and find a way of bailing Nigerians out of the crisis. “This situation is very bad and unacceptable, hence, the need for the minister to appear before us tomorrow (today) and unveil his way out to us. “Even if he doesn’t have any plan yet, the Senate president and the entire members of the committee are more than ready to rub minds with him for that needed purpose,” he said. Senate minority whip,

Senator Philip Aduda, who is also a member of the committee, asked the Federal Government to arrest the deteriorating situation fast, by making fuel available to Nigerians, adding that “what Nigerians needed is fuel and not blame game.” The senator further said “the government should look for petrol and ensure that it is given to the people. “It is unacceptable, we

are Nigerians and it will be bad for us to continue remaining in queues. If the APC leaders like, let them blame themselves, that is their problem, but the most important thing is for us to have fuel in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Managers of petrol stations visited by the senators lamented lack of supply and inadequate supply of petroleum products by the NNPC, resulting in what they called product

scarcity across the country. Manager of Forte Oil, opposite Transcorp Hilton in Maitama District, told the committee that his station had been receiving only three fuel tankers daily instead of five or six it used to get daily. Manager of Oando filling station in Zone 4, Isa Friday, also told the committee that his station had not received supply from the NNPC depot in Suleja for a long time now.

Yushau Shuaib resigns from military-security platform continued from pg5

“My position on incorruptibility and integrity of Buhari is an open secret through my writings over two decades, right from the university days. We stand for Buhari not out of fear as if every Nigerian is a criminal; we love and pray for his success as a national leader. “We, therefore, urge the president to be wary of vested interests who are clearly capitalising on his sincerity and trust for their own proxy wars. “We honoured the invitation to serve our nation out of patriotism and we dutifully provided our services as crisis communicators

diligently and professionally. “While acknowledging the moral supports and encouragement from critical stakeholders, we will continue to volunteer, support and render the servic-

es responsibly. We would never abandon our clients, partners and friends, especially those who are unduly victimised and vilified,” he said. He promised to institute legal action in court in order

to clear his name and that of the organisation he served from the media trial of indictment being used to unjustly rubbish reputations of institutions and individuals without following the rule of law or due process.

Troops clear terrorists from another hideout TROOPS of 155 Task Force Battalion, 21 Brigade, have conducted a clearance operation aimed at clearing remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hiding in Dipcheri, Jere and Chogolo towns. The troops cleared all the three camps successfully without any casualty on

their side. During the operations, the troops came in contact with elements of the terrorists group and arrested two suspected Boko Haram terrorists. The troops also recovered abandoned vehicles, motorcycles and a bicycle, as well as locally made

single and double barrel guns belonging to the terrorists. Clearance operations by various units and formations in Operation Lafiya Dole are ongoing. The intent is to ensure all remaining elements of the terrorists on Nigerian soil are eliminated.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Why I won’t touch Amaechi’s monorail project —Wike Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

O V E R N O R Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has made it categorically clear that he would not complete the controversial N40 billion monorail project started by his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi. The governor, while speaking during a special appearance on television programme on Easter Monday, said he would not waver in his commitment to the completion of the numerous projects left by Amaechi, but that the monorail project would not be one of them. Expatiating further, Wike said “Rivers people have told me not to touch the monorail left behind by the other government,” he said, adding that his interest was to create a peaceful state for sustained development. He also expressed regrets that his predecessor had allegedly taken the politics of the state personal, adding that Amaechi was creating crisis to further his anti-people interests. Meanwhile, the gover-

nor has also declared that he has no regret warning against any attempt to rig the legislative rerun election held across the state, penultimate Saturday. The governor had been under severe criticisms, especially from the main opposition party in the state for warning, in sev-

eral fora, that whoever that planned to rig the election should write his or her will. However, Wike said he had no regret warning those who plotted to rig the polls, adding that the evidence of the popularity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in its winning streak in the state since 1999.

Expert makes case for cassava bags in Nigeria Banji Aluko - Benin City

AS the nation takes issues relating to global warming seriously, a researcher has called for the use of cassava bags as a replacement for plastic bags in the country. Cassava bag, which is made of starch and is less than 0.05 millimetres, is already in use in Madagascar and some other countries. According to Donald Inwalomhe, a researcher in development economics, the cassava bags look like ordinary plastic bags, but they are made of cassava and do not contain polyethylene, adding that the Southern Africa nation of Madagascar has since October 2015, banned the use of

plastic bags. He said the bags need between three to six months to decompose, unlike plastic bags that need about 100 years to decompose, adding that Madagascar is presently leading in the production of cassava bags in Africa.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Lagos

Amid probes, AOCOED staff schools to resume next week after bloody protest Naza Okoli THE management of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), on Monday, said its Staff School (primary) and

International School (Secondary) may reopen next week. This was disclosed by the Public Affairs Officer of the College, Mr Odunayo Adebowale, who spoke with Lagos

Metro via telephone. Both schools have, for over two weeks now, remained shut, after a violent protest carried out by members of staff, which left a teacher, Mr Gbenga Agboola, injured

in the head. The Lagos State House of Assembly is presently probing the bloody protest. No report has been issued by any of the authorities investigating

the alleged stabbing of the teacher in the head. Police have also reportedly launched a probe into the allegation that Agboola was stabbed by the Head Teacher, Mr Sunday Ogunmade.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), with Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora (behind); former Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Adeyemi Ikuforiji (left) and Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Alhaji Muslim Folami, during the launching of Adewale Mogaji Bello Salau Agoro Mogaji Penu (AMBSAM) Memorial Foundation, at the Chalet, Epe, on Monday.

Black Easter Monday: Drunk driver

crushes 68-year-old, four others

Olalekan Olabulo

T was a sad Easter Monday for residents of Amukoko area of Lagos State as a drunk driver in the area crushed five people in a motor accident. One of the victims, 68-year-old Mariam Raji later died at the Ajegunle General Hospital, where she and other victims were rushed to. Other victims of the accident include 38-year-old Angel Amusiem, Mohid Sanni and Kafayat Lukmon. The identity of the fifth victim could not be ascertained as of press time. The driver, Eugene Nweke has been arrested by the police and is being detained at Amukoko police station from where he would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigations De-

partment. Lagos Metro gathered that Nweke was driving along Alafia Street in Amukoko, when he lost control and rammed into a crowd. The Mercedez Benz with the Registration No EPE 471 CD

crushed five people in the process, creating serious confusion among the residents of the area. The image maker in charge of the state police command, Dolapo Badmos confirmed the arrest of the driver to La-

gos Metro and added that he was under the influence of Action Bitters, when the accident happened. She added that a pet bottle of Action Bitter, which will serve as the exhibit was also recovered from the suspect’s

car. Badmos, while confirming the incident to Lagos Metro also stated that the body of the deceased 68-year-old woman had been deposited at Ajegunle General Hospital.

Petrol: Black market hawkers to be jailed —Task Force Bola Badmus FOLLOWING scarcity of fuel being experienced across the country, the newly-appointed Chairman, Lagos Task Force, Olayinka Egbeyemi, has warned hawkers of fuel inside kegs on highways and other roads across the state to desist from so doing, as henceforth anyone caught would be charge to court and also have his fuel confiscated. Egbeyemi equally warned

petrol attendants to stop dispensing fuel into jerrycans for their customers in other to discourage storage of fuel in homes which could cause fire outbreak. This was just as the Task Force boss also declared total war against any motorists caught disobeying the laws by either driving against traffic or causing obstructions on roads in whatever way. Egbeyemi gave this warning while addressing all Police and Paramilitary

officers working with the Agency as he charged his men to be more dedicated and proactive to duty. The Task Force boss, in a statement made available by the Agency’s Public Affairs Officer, Mr Adebayo Taofiq, warned motorists, especially Danfo drivers who usually park illegally, pick or drop passengers at unapproved locations would have their vehicle impounded, according to the law. He assured that the

Agency would not relent in enforcing the Traffic Laws of 2012, urging all road users across the state to always adhere strictly to regulations guiding conduct of drivers in Lagos. Speaking further, Egbeyemi disclosed that more than 57 Okada had been impounded by the Agency while 75 street traders had been apprehended and charged to court accordingly, since he resumed as the chairman of Task Force.

However, the spokesman of the college who spoke with Lagos Metro at the time, had described the reports as untrue, stressing that Agboola was merely injured in the head during the confusion. According to him, “What happened was that the primary school teachers in the morning had prevented the principal from entering the office. But the headmaster of the staff school was already around, because he normally comes early, ahead of all the teachers. They couldn’t prevent him from entering because he was already in his office.

Woman missing for 4 days found dead in deep well A 41-year-old woman, Atilola Adeyemi, declared missing for about four days by family members, has been found dead in a deep well, on Monday. The Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Fadipe Rasaq, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Rasaq said that the family had been looking for her for about four days before she was discovered on Monday. “The family had been looking for her. She was discovered in the well and we were informed at about 9:30 a.m.; when we got there, she was already swollen. It was only her back we were seeing. It was difficult to bring her out. When we eventually brought her out, the corpse was handed over to Isheri Police Division police officers. “The well is situated in front of the houses along the power lines where illegal buildings and other structures were demolished in Ikotun area not too long ago,” Rasaq said.

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

metro

Edited by

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

I joined fraud syndicate after being duped — Suspect Olalekan Olabulo OJO Dauda, a 30-year-old member of a fraud syndicate, has blamed his involvement in crime on the experience he had with fraudsters in the past. The suspect, who was arrested alongside a member of his gang, Segun Olatoye by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), after their last victim raised the alarm along Lekki Epe Expressway, claimed to have joined the gang, after he was duped. “I joined the gang after I was duped by members of the gang. The thing really affected me I was given the chance to join the gang that duped me,” the suspect said. A source at RRS described the arrest of the suspect as part of the efforts to curtail criminals of any act, capable of causing breakdown of law and order in Lagos State. Narrating how he was duped by the suspects, their last victim, Abayomi Ayoola explained that “on

Ojo and Olatoye

Thursday, March 26, 2016, while coming from the bank where I went to do some transactions, one of the suspects accosted me and asked if I know one man called Baba Ijebu and I told him no. Suddenly, another guy met us at the same spot, which I later got to know that they were working together. In fact, I don’t know how they took me to Alpha Beach, where my Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card was collected. They used credit card to withdraw N15, 000 from my accounts and also collected the sum of N30, 000, a Q10 Blackberry and a Nokia phone from me.” Abayomi noted that “Since then, I have kept a tab on them. When I saw them again at that same spot on Monday, March 27, 2016, I quickly called for the attention of the RRS operatives who are working within axis, to arrest them and they were eventually arrested.”

Alleged sexual assault: Queen’s College PTA wants parent of affected student to show up THE Queen’s College Parents/Teachers Association (PTA) has said it is expecting the visitation panel set up by the Federal Ministry of Education to investigate the molestation claim by a parent on Wednesday, March 30. Mrs Beatrice Akhetuame, Chairperson of the association, disclosed this at a news conference on Monday, in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the panel is on a fact finding mission over an alleged case of molestation by the parent of a daughter at the institution. NAN further reports that the claim that a male teacher of the institution had sexually harassed a Junior Secondary School (JSS) 2 student, had gone viral on the social media, but had since been refuted by key stakeholders of the institution. According to the chairperson, the panel has invited all concerned stakeholders on the matter to appear before it on the set

date. “We as an association have received our own invitation letter and so have all other concerned persons. The college management too have received theirs, as well as the accused and the blogger. “What we are now appealing for is for the woman who gave her daughter’s

name as Chinenye Okoye to come forward and collect her own letter of invitation,” she said. Akhetuame noted that the presence of the supposed victim would go a long way in ensuring speedy findings and recommendations on the issue. He, however, expressed surprise that in the midst of the allegation and

Funseekers during Easter celebration, on Monday.

confusion, the said mother of the girl, who is claiming assault on her daughter, is yet to disclose her identity. According to her, it will be to the interest of the college, the management and all concerned persons over the issue to get everyone present before the panel, so as to tackle the issue once and for all.

Ojo while recounting how he was conned before he joined the syndicate said, “In November 2015, while I was on my way home from work around Ikorodu area, a guy, later identified as Olaiya, accosted me to ask for direction to somewhere in the area; after giving him the description of the area he asked for, he went further to cajole me to walk some miles with him. Before I could gain my consciousness, I didn’t find my money on me any longer. I rushed back to the spot where we initially met and I found him. “Then he told me that he can’t refund me that the money had been shared immediately I left. He then gave me an option to join them to dupe people in such manner I was duped and told me I would realise N10,

000 per day, so I joined him in fraud business in order to support myself financially. I have made a lot of money but I can’t say exactly how much I made because I don’t keep my money in the bank.” The suspect revealed that he operated in Jakande Estate, Lekki-Ajah Road for other members of the syndicate as they spread across the state. On his part, Segun Olatoye, who also confessed to the crime, noted that he was just being introduced to the business about two months ago. The suspect said that he joined the syndicate after his dry cleaning business had challenges. The image maker in charge of the state police command, Dolapo Badmos confirmed the arrest of the suspects to Lagos Metro.

Drama as NDLEA discovers letter laden with heroin Shola Adekola Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have discovered a letter laden with heroin in Lagos. The letter, which was sent from Bengaluru, India, on Express Mail Service (EMS) was addressed to one Mr Yunusa Amusan, 33, in Mushin, Lagos. Upon interception by the NDLEA, about 480 grammes of powdery substance,

which tested positive for heroin, was found inside the letter. The thin parcels of heroin were carefully hidden in the letter in a manner that makes it difficult to detect. This is the first case of heroin letter discovered by the anti-narcotic agency this year. The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Colonel Muhammad Abdallah rtd said that the arrest was recorded following the diversification of the Agency’s operations. “The operations of the Agency have been diversified to cover mail services. Drug control is an intelligence-led operation and the NDLEA under my dispensation will spread its tentacles to all possible areas of narcotic smuggling,” Abdallah said. The NDLEA boss added that investigation report revealed that the suspect, who is in custody allegedly connived with his uncle who lives in India to import heroin disguised as letters to Nigeria. Their criminal plan did not materialise due to superior intelligence gathering capacity of the Agency.

businessnews

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Easter holiday: Oil prices down, as banks warn of $30 levels

RUDE futures fell on Monday as European markets observed the Easter break while U.S. data showed hedge funds and other big speculators still slow to build long positions after the oil price rebound of the past two months. Brent and United States crude’s West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures traded at under $40 a barrel as investment banks such

as Barclays and Macquarie warned that market fundamentals were weak enough that prices could possibly return to mid-, or even lower, $30 levels.

“There’s just been too much United States crude builds lately for the market to ignore,” said Tariq Zahir, who’s betting WTI for delivery in the near-term will

weaken further versus longterm contracts, expanding the market’s so-called contango structure. Brent LCOc1 was down 69 cents, or 1.7 percent,

at $39.75 a barrel by 11:15 a.m. EST (1515 GMT). Reuters data showed trading in the U.K.-based benchmark amounted to less than 55,000 lots, about a sixth of

Airlines deny increasing fares by 100% Shola Adekola - Lagos THERE is an ongoing allegation making the rounds that some foreign airlines operating in the country have increased fares between Nigeria and their various routes by almost 100 per cent. The foreign airlines prior to now had lamented how the Central Bank of Nigeri (CBN) forex policy has made it impossible for them to repatriate their earnings in Nigeria running to $500 million to their various home countries. The airlines have been accused of increasing fares and planning to sack many of their workers in Nigeria as a way of devising means to cushion the effect of the policy. While the news that the airlines have increased their fares filtered into the sector during the holiday, Nigerian Tribune, however, reached out to some of the foreign carriers who denied such act. When contacted to confirm the fare increase on behalf of Lufthansa, the Airlines’s media consultant, Hakeem Jimo declared: “Lufthansa German Airlines has not increased their prices but changed the booking classes.’’

From left, Mrs Sherifat Balogun, Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Education; Mr Abiodun Oladipupo, Business Executive, Sterling Bank Yaba Region and Dr Funmi Oboye, Educational Administrator, Caleb Group of Schools, at the Parenting Workshop, organised by Sterling Bank recently as part of its One Education Initiative.

Minister stops appointment of new stamp duty agents by NIPOST FCAH&PT By Sulaimon Olanrewaju MINISTER of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, on Monday, directed management of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) to back off any plan of appointing new stamp duty agents. According to a statement issued by Adeyanju Binuyo, Special Assistant to the minister, Shittu had directed the suspension of the process pending the appointment of a substantive Post-Master General by the Federal Government. The statement read in part, “The Honourable Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, has received information that a committee purportedly raised by the acting Post-Master General has

Group tasks Buhari on effective 2016 budget implementation Ebenezer Adurokiya, Warri

A Niger Delta-based Non -Governmental Organisation, the Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), has commended the National Assembly for passing the 2016 Appropriation Bill into Law. The group, through its national coordinator, Comrade Mulade, in a statement signed and made available to Nigerian Tribune on Monday in Warri, Delta State, tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure effective implementation of the budget. Besides, the Centre urged the National Assembly to set up a special budget implementation monitoring

regular volume, due to the Easter break. New York-based WTI CLc1 slipped 46 cents, or 1 percent, to $39. Despite the retreat, both benchmarks were still up about 50 percent from 12-year price lows seen in mid-February. Data from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission suggested that money managers, including hedge funds, hesitant to wager all the way on a WTI rally despite a continuous drop in short positions held by the group. Managed money’s gross long positions in WTI 3067651MLNG have barely risen since January and inched up by just 6,000 lots to around 300,000 lots in the week to March 22, the CFTC data showed. The number of short positions 3067651MSHT slipped to nearly 64,000 lots, or around 64 million barrels of oil.

committee to work in tandem with the various standing House Committees to ensure effective budget implementation of the budget by the executive.

commenced the process of appointing agents to collect Stamp Duty on behalf of the Nigeria Postal Service and, by implication, on behalf of the Federal Government. “The Minister hereby serves this warning that NIPOST has not been authorised to appoint new agents in respect of collection of Stamp Duty. “The Minister recalls that before this dispensation, a few corporate bodies and organizations were claiming to have an agreement with

NIPOST in respect of this matter. There are presently, in the public domain, many claims and counter-claims.” The statement added that “It is therefore expedient to tread with caution and ensure that all issues bordering on the administration of the Stamp Duty by NIPOST are done in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to due process, transparency and accountability. The Minister has therefore directed the suspension of any new

DCG Immigration wins N1m in Skye millionaires reward scheme Chima Nwokoji - Lagos THE Deputy Controller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr Malgwi Henry Yasika, is one of the lucky millionaires that emerged from the recent ‘Reach for Skye Millionaire’ reward scheme of Skye Bank Plc held in Sokoto. Yasika who maintains an account with the Ebitu Ukiwe Branch in Minna, Niger State, joins two others who won the star prize

of N1 million in addition to other customers who won N250,000 and N100,000 respectively. At the North West’s regional draw which took place in Sokoto, a total of N5 million was won by customers as the bank rewards loyal customers across the nation. Speaking about his win, the Immigration DCG said he was initially suspicious when the news was first broken to him but became excited afterwards, noting

Again, Nigeria excels in international audit Shola Adekola-Lagos

THE International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has once again authenticated the progress and development of aviation in Nigeria. This was made manifest during the presentation of preliminary audit result at the closing meeting of the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) which clearly indicated that Nigeria has done excellently well according to the audi-

process in this regard until a new Post-Master General is appointed by the Federal Government in due course.” The minister also noted that with the FG’s projection of raising over N2.5trillion from payment of Stamp Duty from the financial services in 2016, “It therefore needs no emphasis to state that the government places a big premium on earnings from the enforcement and diligent collection of fees on Stamp Duty.”

tors. The presentation was presided over by the Team leader of the Auditors; Mr Jean-Claude Waffo which was joined by three team members to present their assessment of the aviation industry in Nigeria. Each member gave an individual assessment of all the delineated areas which include: Legislation (LEG), Organisation (ORG), Accident and Incident Investigation (AIG), Air Navigational Ser-

vices (ANS) and Aerodrome and Ground Aids (AGA). During the presentation, the Team leader and the members articulated all their systemic findings in the course of the 11-day USOAP Audit conducted on Nigeria. While there were areas that were identified as open items that need to be closed, the Auditors were unanimously very satisfied with the level of improvement in the aviation industry in Nigeria.

that the money has greatly changed his life. “It has greatly changed my life because N1 million is not small money,” he said, adding that Skye Bank runs a genuine and transparent reward scheme for its customers. Yasika urged the bank to make the scheme a constant one as well as reach out to the grassroots to empower the youth. The Immigration top shot advised Nigerians to embrace the savings culture and bank with Skye Bank who has a pedigree of transparency and accountability. By saving, he said many more Nigerians would qualify for the bank’s reward scheme which makes them potential millionaires. Since the Reach for the Skye Millionaire reward scheme began last year, many customers of the bank have won cash prizes totaling over N45 million, with three millionaires being produced every month. The scheme is intended to encourage savings habit among Nigerians.

empowers 205 in catfish production, processing AS part of efforts to diversify the economy, reduce food import bills, create employment opportunities and lubricate the economy, the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology (FCAH&PT), Ibadan, with financial support from the Federal Government, has trained and empowered 205 youths, women and retirees in the business of catfish production, processing and marketing. The 205 participants were trained in a two-week intensive classroom and practical session with the modules covering catfish rearing, fingerling and juvenile catfish productions, table-size catfish production, processing into smoked fish using modern kilns and marketing of both fresh and smoked fish. Each of the participants was given transport allowance, 200 units of post-juvenile catfish and bags of fish feeds. Mr Femi Banjoko, Director of Vocational Training at the college, said, “205 participants were trained in fish production & processing. Participants include graduates, retirees, youths and women.” He added that the college was ready to train as many as possible with the support of the government and corporate institutions. Provost of the college, Dr Funmilayo Adejinmi, urged participants to utilize the knowledge, skill sets and inputs given to them to empower themselves and others.

businessinterview

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Why they want Godwin Emefiele out By Deepak Michael

HE political intrigues playing out as being orchestrated by the advocates of Mr Godwin Emefiele’s sack is nothing but sickening. You wonder what Emefiele’s sins are. The clamour is assuming a maddening crescendo without the advocates considering the implication of their endeavour on the economy. About two years ago, an unprecedented political action spearheaded by hawks around government made the government in power to suspend the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Though unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria, the suspension by fiat had its consequences on the economy. The governor then was Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, now Emir of Kano. At that time, the Nigerian economy was in good shape. But consequent upon that action, the economy began to have issues as the international community out of panic lost interest in the economy and they began to recall their investments. The case of Emefiele, the current CBN Governor is even more laughable and dangerous. It is obvious that some powerful hawks want him out. The same intrigues are now playing out. Emefiele and the bank he runs in the last few months have been under undue vilification by supposedly critics but who are obviously agents of the enemies of the people of Nigeria. A lot of ignorance is playing out, with underserved blames being heaped on Emefiele’s head. Godwin Emefiele may have been unlucky to be appointed as governor at a troubled time of the economy, but he came prepared. Rather than being supported, he is being bashed left right and center by those bent on seeing him leave the exalted position. Reasons as canvassed by these hawks in and around the corridors of power, both informed and uninformed, are that Emefiele is bereft of ideas and lack capacity to run the economy. What some of these enemies of Nigerians do not know or pretending not to know is that, the economy which is having some challenges is not caused by the governor. The global crude oil price which has witnessed its ever lowest point is majorly the cause of the bad shape of the economy. The nation’s revenue has dipped. Oil as we know is the only major source of financing the economy. Emefiele is not responsible for the dip, or volatility of crude oil price. Rather than lending all hands

Godwin Emefiele, Governor, CBN on the deck to fix it, we have embarked on blame games. Worrisome to patriotic Nigerians is these unabated attacks on the CBN and Emefiele. It is certain that the governor has stepped on some powerful toes in the society when he promised Nigeria and Nigerians that the Central Bank under his watch will spend its energies on building a resilient financial system that can serve growth and the development needs of the Nigerian people Keen watchers of the Nigerian economy will agree that, despite the current challenges which are not peculiar to Nigeria, the bank under Emefiele has been resolute in fulfilling its mandate. This is why they are calling for his sack. Those clamouring for Emefiele’s sack can be categorized into three groups – the FOREX speculators and looters who want their monies out at all cost, the BDC owners – some of who registered between 5 and 10 under different company names and the international currency sharks and their media. Though the bank, over the years has been a whipping child of all manner of political and economic pundits and the novice alike, the battle for the removal of the governor started immediately after he pronounced the suspension of 41 items from the FOREX window of the bank. A patriotic decision he took (as

if he foresaw the impending shortfall in the nation’s revenue) to encourage local production of the items, and rein-in the drain in the foreign reserves. Instead of Nigerians asking – why it took any government official this long to take this kind of policy decision? The local investors and their international cronies took up arms against the Bank. Nigeria’s economy is almost down and out, just because of the precarious situation we found ourselves as a mono-economy. Should we not note as a nation that instead of vilifying Emefiele, he should be encouraged further with his economic

If Emefiele is removed, what would the promoters and their agents achieve? What would be the consequences of their action on the economy and the already impoverished Nigerians?

diversification agenda of making the CBN a model central bank that is delivering price and financial stability, aimed at promoting sustainable economic development? Emefiele’s second sin was his battle against currency speculators and looters. He came out strong with reforms in the Bureau de Change sub-sector, and immediately after, both local and international conspirators took up battles with the CBN using their accomplices in the media – particularly the online outfits and some international magazines and broadcast media like the Financial Times of London, The Economist of London, Reuters, Bloomberg, to mention but few and the local media demanding for his removal. In an edition of the Financial Times of August 16, 2015 it derogatively tagged the decision by the bank to reform the BDC sector in its editorial as “Nigeria Adopts Unorthodox Measures to Defend the Naira” written by one Maggie Fick. So was the editorial of The Economist edition of July 15th, 2015 entitled “Toothpick Alert”. The local media has also been awashed with warped, uninformed stories and articles from emergency economic commentators and columnists, doing the bidding of their paymasters. The rating agencies were not excluded in their neocolonialism enterprise. Since Mr. Emefiele embarked on his radical reforms in the financial sector, Standards and Poors has never hid his aversion for some of the policies churned out by the CBN. So was JP Morgan’s delisting of Nigeria from its Government Bond Index. Was the decision taken by this commercial bank to delist Nigeria not an insult on our national integrity? Just because CBN refused to further devalue the Naira? What about the dire consequences of devaluation on some Nigerians who spend over 70 per cent of their expendable income on food items alone. And since the CBN refused to heed their satanic campaign, these neo-colonialists and their collaborators, veiled as intellectuals, businessmen, NGOs and journalists, particularly the online media, have embarked on ‘tailor-made sack campaigns’ to make way for the candidate they want to replace Emefiele. Surprisingly too, is the unpatriotic attitude some NGOs that enjoy annual subventions from these neo-colonialists. They have joined the fray, raising their voices to the roof calling for Emefiele’s sack apparently to satisfy their masters. They may not like the face Emefiele, but has

anyone come out with superior argument to fault his monetary policies. We cannot continue growing other economies and kill our own. Has Godwin Emefiele, and the CBN, decided to chart a new course for Nigerians, who are these detractors to say otherwise. The United States dollar is not Nigeria’s currency, why should we dollarize the economy? Why must we kill the naira? With some of the revelations coming out from the media lately about the CBN, it is also obvious that many of its staff may have been compromised and recruited into this unpatriotic endeavour. And as moles, they are likely to have been induced to compromise and undermine the system, while not ruling out the activities of the deposit money banks. Many of the managing directors of some deposit money banks have been undermining the CBN, and this is simply because they had expected Emefiele, being a former colleague, to churn out policies that will favour them. Under Emefiele, the CBN has accelerated the e-payment systems, thus making it difficult to perpetrate fraud hitherto rampant in the banking sector. The CBN through its Biometric Verification Number (BVN) has blocked avenues through which bank customers are duped of their hard earned money. Are these the sins of Emefiele? The clamour for his sack has assumed a dangerous tempo; and we need to thread carefully. It is quite obvious that many of the promoters of this evil campaign are those who felt shortchanged with the CBN pro-people policies who are trying relentlessly to arm-twist the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to heed their evil call. If Emefiele is removed, what would the promoters and their agents achieve? What would be the consequences of their action on the economy and the already impoverished Nigerians? Ms. Christine Largarde, the Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), when she visited Nigeria few months back, said Nigeria is an economy the 21st century is waiting for, if only the government can tackle and fix some defective structural challenges noticed in the economy. This is what Godwin Emefiele has been doing, even before the constitution of the federal cabinet. Let the campaigners sheath their swords and join hands with Emefiele and the President, Muhammadu Buhari, in redirecting the course of economy than pull him down at all cost. It is all about Nigeria, not Godwin Emefiele. Michael wrote in from Jos, Plateau State.

news

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Apology: CSOs withdraw suit against Buhari, ministry Clement Idoko - Abuja

coalition of Civil Society Organisations has withdrawn its suit against President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, over alleged illegal dissolution of the governing councils of universities. President Buhari had admitted that the blanket dissolution of the Federal Government’s Board of parastatals and agencies, including Governing Councils of Universities was in error, and the councils since restored. He also alluded to this during the National Executive Council meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held on Thursday, last week in Abuja, when he reiterated that the sacking of the governing councils was done in error. Buhari, said, “We gave a blanket order which we had to rescind when we said all boards are suspended or dissolved. We had to go back and lick our vomit in terms of universities councils because we found out that according to their laws, they cannot choose vice chancellors unless the councils sit and interview candidates who want to be VCs. “So, there is nothing wrong in saying sorry and going back on your decision. So, we said sorry and allow all the universities to continue with their councils. So, please, try to bear with us as we reflect on where we found ourselves,” he said. The CSOs accordingly, in a letter to Buhari, signed by its President, Mr Etuk Bassey Williams and Secretary-General, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim and obtained by journalists on Monday, in Abuja, described the President’s apology as a noble and timely action, which has put him on the right side of history. According to the organisation, while the Buhari’s decision to reverse an action that was taken in error was highly commendable, the constant embarrassment brought to his government by those who believe that it was still business as usual “should be ruthlessly addressed to serve as deterrent to others.” In the case filed at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, the CSOs, among other reliefs, also asked the court to declare as illegal, the sacking of 13 vice chancellors of Nigerian Univer-

sities and reinstatement of the governing councils of universities. While calling on the President to march his words with action as a way to tell a democratic story of a change government under President Buhari, the coalition said, “Nigerians are watching and anxiously waiting to see this open apology made by you come into fruition because much is expected of this government.”

The CSOs noted that the President’s remorse “will forever remain a point of exemplary reference for the present crop of African leaders that offering apologies or reversing mistakes is not a sign of weakness but a show of courage to thread on a path meant only for the brave.” The letter reads in part: “May we humbly remind you Sir that our coalition was the first to call your attention to this error

through the office of the Minister of Education when this decision was first taken as we observed that your action was predicated upon an ill-conceived advice that emanated from Mr Adamu Adamu. “It was after the failure of several appeals that this decision be reversed by the Minister of Education that we embarked on several peaceful protests to call the attention of all relevant stakeholders, including the

National Assembly to this fundamental flaw, which if allowed to stand, will set a very bad precedent capable of tainting your administration as one that has no regard for the rule of law. “This is one embarrassment too many by charlatans who are yet to understand that this change which is sweeping through all facets of the Nigerian society has truly come to stay. As a mark of respect and show of solidarity to your

Members of NASFAT, Oyo Zone, during a ‘Walk for Religious Harmony’, to mark the 21st anniversary of the organisation, in Ibadan, on Monday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE.

Tinubu created formidable opposition party in Nigeria —Buhari He is a pillar in Yorubaland —Fayose Leon Usigbe, Abuja; Sam Nwaoko, Ado Ekiti; Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel, Abuja; Shola Adekola - Lagos PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has warmly felicitated with the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as he clocks 64 years on Tuesday (today). According to a statement issued by Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, in Abuja, on Monday, Buhari believes the rising political profile of Senator Tinubu since he was elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1992, was a testimony to “his forthrightness, diligence and doggedness, the same qualities that had endeared him to the electorate and given him allround success as a private sector worker, a businessman and two-term governor of Lagos State.” It said as one of the pillars of the APC, the President commended the visionary leadership style of

the Asiwaju of Lagos, who is also the Jagaban of the Borgu Kingdom in Niger State, “for creating a formidable opposition party in Nigeria that worked vigorously within a short period to oust a party that had been in power for 16 years.” The President assured the national leader that his patriotism and commitment to democracy and good governance, and his generous spirit will always be remembered and appreciated by generations of Nigerians. Meanwhile, Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has described Senator Tinubu, as “a leader and pillar in Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole.” According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti, on Sunday, Fayose said Tinubu had over the years proven to be a great political figure in the country. “I heartily felicitate with Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he clocks 64 on March 29. Whether one

•As govs, others laud him at 64 likes it or not, Senator Tinubu has become a political pillar and leader not only in Yorubaland, but in Nigeria. “He is a great politician who takes well-calculated political steps. I and the good people of Ekiti State join millions of Nigerians and Senator Tinubu’s friends and supporters across the world to rejoice with him on this auspicious occasion.” Also, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on Monday, described Tinubu, as a formidable political force who has brought changes to the political landscape of Nigeria. The Speaker, in a press statement issued by his spokesman, Mr Turaki Hassan, said that the entire House of Representatives was also using the opportunity to salute Tinubu for being a great leader who has attained milestones in Nigeria. Likewise, eminent businessman and former governor of Abia State , Dr Orji Kalu, has congratulat-

ed Tinubu, adding that the front-line politician was a force to reckon with beyond the shores of Nigeria. According to the businessman-cum-politician, over the years, Tinubu has remained on the side of the masses in all ramifications, even as he added that the large cult-like followership of the APC chieftain was clear testament of his selflessness and large heart. In similar vein, Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has congratulated Tinubu, saying “On this occasion of your birthday, I join you and your immediate and political families in celebrating the abundant grace of God on your life.” He added that, “Your life has been an eventful one dotted by numerous achievements and accomplishments. Nigeria has benefitted immensely from your fountain of knowledge, wealth of experience, political sagacity and leadership acumen. The remarkable impact you have made in all spheres of human endeavour remains a reference point.”

administration, the Executive Council members of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups after an emergency meeting have decided to withdraw our suit at the National Industrial Court (NIC/ABJ/64/2016) filed against (the President) and the Federal Ministry of Education in respect to this matter.

FG has earmarked N3trn for projects in 2016 — Presidential spokesman THE Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Sheu, on Sunday, said the Federal Government has set aside N3 trillion for projects in 2016. Shehu disclosed this while speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of a dinner held to celebrate the child dedication of Mr Paul Ibe, the Head of the Atiku Media Office, in Abuja. According to him, the government of President Buhari will make sure that contractors are mobilised and paid for executing the jobs. He urged Nigerians to be patient with the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government as it would deliver. He added that “unlike what we have in the past, this government will award contracts and back them up with money to ensure their conclusion. “Nigerians will be happy in a short while; let us just have a little more patience.” The presidential aide, who said he attended the event to identify with the celebrant, who had been a long standing companion, noted that the Federal Government had saved more than N3 trillion from the Treasure Single Account (TSA). He said “Paul has been my friend for long; as a bureau chief and as editor; we have worked closely together for long. “When he decided to leave ThisDay Newspapers, he accepted to serve with me at Atiku Media office. “We were there as coordinator and deputy coordinator until my latest appointment.” On her part, Hajiya, Titi Abubakar, wife of the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, said that the hardship being faced by Nigerians at present would not be long.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

䤀一吀刀伀䐀唀䌀䤀一䜀

匀椀洀瀀氀攀䈀愀渀欀椀渀最

䨀甀猀琀搀椀愀氀 ⨀㜀㌀㜀⌀ 琀漀猀琀愀爀琀⸀

䘀漀爀洀漀爀攀椀渀昀漀爀洀愀琀椀漀渀Ⰰ 欀椀渀搀氀礀瘀椀猀椀琀眀眀眀⸀最琀戀愀渀欀⸀挀漀洀⼀㜀㌀㜀

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

agriculture IITA, Ekimiks organise agribusiness training for youths The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration with Ekimiks Nigeria Limited and L.A consult are organizing a 5-day agribusiness training for youth in Nigeria and other African countries under the framework of IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA). The training is a follow up to the first phase of training on Agripreneurial and Business Management organized by Ekimiks Nigeria Limited for IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) in 2015. The training is part of efforts by IITA and partners to engage youths in agriculture as several countries on the continent are turning to agriculture because of the burst in commodity prices especially crude oil. Tagged ‘Developing Strategic Skills for Agribusiness,’ the training will commence on the 29th of March to 2nd of April 2015, with an address by the Director General of IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga at the Conference Center of IITA in Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria.

Food insecurity:

UN’s EBAFOSA to feed 240 million hungry Africans Soji-Eze Fagbemi - Abuja

o combat food insecurity, climate change, ecosystems degradation and poverty reduction, the United Nation (UN) has launched the Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly

(EBAFOSA), in Nigeria. According to the UN, about 240 million people in the continent go to bed hungry; while malnutrition is affecting nearly 200 million people and is the cause of death for over 50 per cent of children below five years. The UNEP said that while the continent imports food worth $35 billion annually, it losses approximately $48 billion due to post harvest losses; adding that in Nigeria, while 75 per cent of tomatoes harvested yearly are being wasted, the government spends about $1 billion importing tomato paste. With the launch on Friday in Abuja, Nigeria has successfully joined other countries in the world to check mate the

effect of global food crisis. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, who was present at the event, alongside the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma and the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, said the objective of EBAFOSA keys into two of the six main pillars of the current administration’s development policy thrust and priority programmes which are economic and environmental sectors. He pointed out that among the objective of the government was to ensure food, security, optimal nutritional status and increase value of agricultural export under its real sector and agricultural

Dr Richard Munang, UNEP’s African Regional Climate Change Coordinator. PHOTO: Busani Bafana

reforms. Earlier in his key note address, Dr Richard Munang, UNEP Africa Regional Climate Change Coordinator, who said Nigeria is a country that is leading the way in environmental and agricultural development in Africa, added that “Agriculturally speaking, Africa holds 65 per cent of the world’s arable land and 10% of internal renewable fresh water sources. Africa’s agro-value chain is projected to be worth an estimated USD 1trillion by 2030. However, amidst this impressive postulation, the reality on the ground is appalling. “Poverty levels have hardly shifted. Almost one in every two Africans lives in ex-

treme poverty and under status quo, it is projected that most of the world’s poor will be living in Africa by 2030. As we speak, 240 million people in the continent go to bed hungry. “Malnutrition is high affecting nearly 200 million people and is the cause of death for over 50 per cent of children below five years. While the continent imports food worth $35 billion annually, it losses approximately $48 billion due to post harvest losses.” He explained that in Nigeria, while 75 per cent of tomatoes harvested yearly are being wasted, the government spends about $1 billion importing tomato paste.

Nigeria has no policy on livestock breeding —nias By Wale Akinselure The Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) has decried the lack of a well coordinated breeding policy as the bane of the development of livestock breeding in the country. Members of the institute who had converged on the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, for a special workshop said this was epitomised by the attendant lack of detailed animal production data, non-regulation of the animal breeding practice and non involvement of experts in the use of Assisted Reproductive technologies. Chairman, Animal Breeding and

Genetics Discipline, Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Professor Christian Ikeobi who spoke on behalf of President, Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Professor Israel Adu, warned that the rampant nature of artificial insemination by unqualified personnel threatened the continued existence of animals. Ikeobi prayed for the implementation of a livestock breeding policy that would ensure that only qualified reproductive physiologists, animal breeders and geneticists are involved in monitoring and evaluating the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies and coordinating efforts in breeding.

This, he said, would enhance animal production with a view to catalysing the production of food animals for Nigerians. “The average livestock farmer knows how to inseminate their animals. But there is need to involve qualified individuals. If artificial insemination is rampant, we may have diseases are introduced from the semen to the animal being inseminated and this may wipe off the whole flock and affect the neighbour’s flock. We have no policy to monitor the breeding and multiplication of animals in Nigeria.” Calling for monitoring of the breeding and multiplication of animals, the animal science stakehold-

ers bemoaned that unqualified personnel inseminate local breeds with imported semen of exotic foreign breeds without recourse to clear breeding objectives. In what they described as genetic erosion, they lamented that local varieties of guinea fowl birds, quails, ducks, turkey had become endangered due to inadequate conservation efforts and unregulated use of assisted reproductive technologies in animal production. NIAS prayed that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development see to the existence and implementation of a livestock breeding policy in the country. Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture

and Rural Development.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

We are importing improved pasture seeds not grass —Eze

Effective soil management can reduce poverty —Chude Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

COLLINS NNABUIFE spoke with the Director of Animal Production and Husbandary Services of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Egejuru Eze, on the recent news on the social media which said that the government was planning to import grasses into the country to feed animals.

Is the going actually planning to import grasses to feed animals in Nigeria? The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development did not say we are going to import grass to feed animals, what his said was that we are going to use improved pasture seeds/ cultivars to plant in Nigeria, because we have our soil that can support the growth of these pasture seeds, so we can say because we have grass in Nigeria, and we have seeds in Nigeria, there is no need to bring in improved seeds. Similarly, we have palm trees in Nigeria and we still import improved palm seedlings. What the Minister was saying was that we are going to look for those seed that have high productivity per hectare of land and also high nutritive value, that is what he wants us to bring in and add to what we have. A lot of researches have been carried out on the type of grasses that can grow in different areas, for example, Alfalfa grass thrives in temperate areas and we have temperate areas in Nigeria at the Mambilla-Plateau, Adamawa, Jos-Plateau and Obudu, so we are trying to exploit the use of good seeds in that areas for diary production. What do we need grass for in Nigeria? If we want to improve our dairy and beef production, we have to feed the animals very well, so in that case, we need improved pasture that has high nutritive value, and if herdsmen can get the improved pasture anywhere they are, this issue of cattle roaming in search for grass will stop, the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen will not be there, cattle rustling will be eliminated, so that is why is very necessary to improve the pasture we have in Nigeria. Is the planting of those

cused in the north? Different ecological zones will get there improved seeds which will be planted in those areas to add to what we have to improve the pasture we have in those areas. What other pasture seedlings will be imported apart from Alfalfa? Brachiaria is a grass that have been researched upon in Brazil, they took the Brachiaria from Kenya and Brazil worked on it for about 18 years and they have been able to increase the productivity of the Brachiaria that have made the pasture planted areas to reduce with increased beef production. We have problem with dry season in Nigeria, when the rain are going off, the grass dries up fast and the animals begin to follow the grass to the south, this Brachiaria seeds can thrive well during dry season it will sustain the animals. What are the financial benefits of this pasture seed importation? It is not about planting grass, further production will be commercialized, Saudi Arabia import pastures to feed their ranches,

and if improved pasture is invested in, young graduates can make business out of it, they can process it into hay and silage that can be exported and that can be moved from South to North, so this is some of the strategies and plans the minister have. After the first batch of pasture seed importation, are we still going to import more in the future? We don’t need to be importing when we have established, when we import, we also try to see where they best fit in as much as they have tried there and it has to be a gradual thing. Those grasses will be established and it will take about a year to fully establish them, or else the animal will overrun them and we will back to square one. So it has to be sustained and it will be systematic and there will be intensification of production, so it will not be that we just plant the grazing reserves and allow the animals to just graze it. There must be proper management of this pasture development. Apart from low quality grass, animal disease

Dr Eze

have been a major factor that reduces productivity in animals, what is the government doing to control disease among animals? We have a programme we call Expanded Breeding Programme where we intend to cross our local breeds with foreign breed that have the potential to produce large quantity of milk and beef, so it will improve the genetic

Tips for growing your vegetables in pots Use the right pots Select pots at least a foot in diameter for growing herbs. For larger crops, use pots at least 16 inches wide and deep, and preferably larger, so roots have room to spread. Wiener shopped yard sales to get a large collection of pots for little money. Use fresh potting soil every year. Grow vertically To keep tomatoes from sprawling, train them on bamboo spiral stakes. Strawberries dangle from a wire basket that hangs on the fence.

Choose easy crops Cherry tomatoes are among the easiest tomatoes to grow and are prolific producers. Herbs such as basil, rosemary, and thyme are other foolproof crops. Harvest regularly Instead of admiring your crops laden with fruit, pick regularly to promote new growth. Snip herbs and dry for later use by bunching them with rubber bands, then hanging indoors. Culled from sun. com

Nigerian Tribune

improvement of our breeds. We also intend to bring water which is very important to animals. We also intend to provide veterinary clinic, that’s why we want the animals to be in a particular area where they will get all these services and it will also help us to trace the animals in terms of disease control, production system and others.

The President of Soil Science Society, Professor Victor Chude has said that the Nigerian economy could grow faster and poverty reduced if there is effective management of soil in the country. Chude made this known in Cross River State, at the 40th Annual Conference of Soil Science Society of Nigeria. According to him, there is urgent need to stop soil degradation and develop framework for a sustainable soil management. “The sustainable use and management of Nigeria’s soils is linked to many different areas of sustainable development, poverty reduction, hunger eradication, economic growth and environmental protection. “Promoting the sustainable management of soils can contribute to healthy soils and thus to the effort of eradicating hunger and food insecurity and to stable ecosystems. There is an urgent need to stop soil degradation in its various forms and establish frameworks for sustainable soil management systems in the country,” he said.

Arewa young farmers holds agribusiness summit Collins Nnabuife - Abuja In line with the government’s effort to attract youths into agriculture, the Arewa young farmers are set to hold an agribusiness summit which is aimed at enlightening the youths on agriculture. Addressing journalists in Abuja, the National President of Arewa Young Farmers, Salisu Suleiman said that the summit will come up with policy statement that will attract millions of youths into the sector. “Our aim in this conference is to come out with a strong policy/statement that will attract millions of Nigerian youths into the sector now that government recognizes the potentials in agriculture as the only sector that can provide millions of jobs. We intend to come out with incisive recommendations that will ignite or provoke actions among all levels of government,” he said.

18 LETTERS TO THE

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letterstribune@yahoo.com or by sms to 08078891826. It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

For a viable petroleum sector in Nigeria

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari should cease being the country’s substantive Minister of Petroleum and allow an experienced energy professional take over. This country has far too many problems for the president to concentrate on, and adding the petroleum ministry to his assignment will only make him function less. I believe this is why the coun-

try is experiencing recurrent fuel scarcity. There are many energy experts who President Buhari can appoint to take over from him, and if we can’t find anybody, then there is nothing wrong if he looks beyond the shores of Nigeria for a qualified person. Nigerians are really suffering due to the recurrent fuel scarcity, and they don’t even mind if the petroleum minister is a Nige-

rian or not; what we want is the result. Therefore, I want the president to concentrate on the Nigerian economy in general as the chief executive officer, while dropping the post of the petroleum minister. If the president heeds this advice, then the new petroleum minister should focus on creating a stable business environment that will make it easy for investors to build refineries in

the country. It is unfortunate that we have less than four functional refineries in Nigeria, while Texas, a state in the United States of America, has about 27 refineries. We can then imagine how many refineries they have in the whole of the US. One of the ways through which we can bring in investors into our petroleum sector is by giving them tax holidays for a specific number of years. This will

help them to recoup the money they have invested in the project. Another way is by proviing the investors with land for the project. There are many communities in the country that will be willing to provide land for the construction of refineries, since they know that youths in their communities will benefit through being employed. Finally, the Federal Government needs to improve

the supply of uninterrupted power supply in the country. The truth is that Nigeria will only begin to develop when we have uninterrupted power supply. The government must do everything in its power to provide this so as to attract investors into the country. •Sam Adeona, Surulere, Lagos. samadeona2020@yahoo.co.uk

Akoko-Edo people are being marginalised THE people of Akoko-Edo in Edo State are mainly Yoruba, but it is unfortunate that they are being neglected and marginalised in the scheme of things in the state. In the civil service, or for infrastructural development, Akoko-Edo people are always overlooked, but during electioneering periods, politicians from all over the state rush down here to campaign. It is so unfortunate that Governor Adams Oshiomhole has a little time left

to making a lasting impact in Akoko-Edo, but those jostling to succeed him should come forward to tell us what they will do for our people if they win the coveted governorship seat. We cannot continue to support successive governments without having anything to show for it. If any politician wants to come to Akoko-Edo for canvass for votes, then he must tell us what he will do for us. •David O. Akande, Akoko-Edo.

Economy: It is everybody’s duty PERMIT me to use this opportunity to urge Nigerians to be patient with the Muhammadu Buhari presidency. It is not yet a year to the inauguration of this government, but some Nigerians have been demanding that the president perform magic to solve the country’s woes; this is definitely not possible. For several years, Nigerians experienced decadence in virtually all sectors of the economy, and we don’t expect President Buhari to clean up all the mess in less than a year. We need to be patient, and with time, we will know where we are headed under this administration. Having said this, I want to charge those in positions of authority to also do their best for this government; President Bu-

hari alone cannot change this country except everybody works hand-in-hand with him. All the ministers should also give their best for this country. Every public office holder who has been appointed by President Buhari to a position of authority should give more than 100 per cent for the development of Nigeria. President Buhari is just the public face of this government, but every other appointee has a stake in the success of the assignment at hand. If the president fails, then everybody else fails. I also need to charge Nigerians to be patient with this government, while government officials also do their best for the country. •Yakub Aishat, Kaduna.

CBN needs to support small businesses I want to use this opportunity to call on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under the leadership of Mr Godwin Emefiele, to compel banks to focus on lending to agricultural and small and medium scale businesses. This is important if we truly want to develop the country. I took time to go through

the names of some bank debtors published a couple of months ago in some national dailies, and I discovered that only few are small and agricultural businesses. Banks prefer to lend billions of naira to energy firms, but this will never help in the development of the economy. Real economic growth will only

be attained through the financing of small businesses. This is the only way we can’t create businesses in this country, but when our banks lend only to the big players, we will never solve the problem of unemployment. Lending to big businesses and large corporations

will only bring about big profits, but will not create more jobs for the people, and what Nigerian youths need more today are jobs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) even said it that Nigeria needs about 10million jobs in the next decade to develop. •Jimoh Mumin, Ibadan.

editorial

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

CBN and its specialists

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is reported to have hired 909 staff in two years without advertising the vacancies as required by the law. The dailies have been awash with the list of those hired in a secretive and underhand manner by the CBN. The list showed that those hired were the children and relatives of prominent politicians, government officials, top political party leaders and other persons of privilege. Many analyses have appeared in the media showing that the process was lopsided in favour of certain sections of the country, contrary to the provisions of the Federal Character Principle. Naturally, civil society organisations have expressed disappointment at the behaviour of the leadership of the CBN. The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of over 400 civil society organisations, described the recruitment exercise as a grand betrayal of the change mantra of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. It emphasised that the recruitment scandal points to a culture of lax corporate governance at the CBN. It therefore called on President Buhari to identify the perpetrators and punish them according to the law. On its part, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has demanded the immediate reversal of the alleged secret recruitment at the CBN because it breached the principles of non-discrimination, transparency, equality, meritocracy and objectivity enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and Article 7 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. In a letter to the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, it threatened to head to the court if the hundreds of employment letters issued in “the flawed recruitment” were not withdrawn within 14 days. The CBN, in response to public outrage over this apparent nepotism and discriminatory recruitment process through its acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, admitted the secretive process of the recruitments. He however tried to clarify the situation thus: “In the last two years, we have had cause to recruit specialists, and what the law says is that if we are going for that kind of recruitment, we should apply for waiver, so that we can do targeted recruitment.” Okoroafor added that the bank obtained waiver from the Federal Character Commission (FCC) “to recruit people of certain classes that we used to cover the shortfall in those states” that were not well represented at the apex bank. We think the explanation provided by the CBN is not plausible. It begs the question. Under the principle of corporate governance, the CBN is duty bound to make all appointments on the “basis of merit, through a fair and open selection process.” It should also be committed to the principles of

“fairness, credibility, equal employment opportunities, merit and optimisation of career prospects for currently employed staff” in its recruitment processes. Indeed, in September last year, the bank issued a statement signed by its former Director, Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Mu’azu, denying any general recruitment in the bank. Mu’azu emphasised that the bank would not embark on general recruitment exercise without the due process. “Whenever the bank is ready to do this, it will be duly publicised through its website and other media platforms available to it, without a fee,” the statement added. We therefore believe that the explanation recently provided on the recruitment saga is designed to deceive the public. Pray, are specialists to be found only among the children of the high and mighty in the society? Given the statement by Mu’azu, we call on the CBN to make details of its recruitment activities in the last two years public. These should include information on the processes observed in the recruitment exercise, the positions filled and the geographical spread of the beneficiaries. Happily, the FCC has promised to look into the matter. According to its Acting Chairman, the CBN has not been given a certificate of compliance for the people it employed secretly, meaning that the process of documentation is still ongoing. We call on the FCC to conduct a thorough and timely investigation of the matter to establish whether or not the due process was violated. The FCC must also establish if a waiver was granted to the CBN and in what respect. The FCC, being the body responsible for ensuring equity, fairness and balance in all employments into government establishments, must clarify the issue within the context of its mandate. The FCC is also empowered to prosecute the matter in a court of law where a breach has occurred. We trust that the FCC will clarify the matter. Where a clear breach of the due process is established, the exercise must be annulled. The Buhari administration must ensure that recruitments into government organisations based on nepotism and influence peddling are not allowed to stand. This means that the officers behind such crooked recruitment exercises must be punished to prevent a recurrence. Hiring relatives of top party leaders and powerful government officials as a strategy for job retention by leaders of government establishments must be discouraged. Recruitment processes that fail to advertise vacancies in order to allow opportunity for all qualified Nigerians to apply for jobs deepen inequality and may generate despair among the underprivileged who work hard to prove their mettle. The CBN must not be a club for the children of the rich, as this will only consolidate Nigeria’s current debilitating inequality.

AFRICAN NEWSPAPERS OF NIGERIA PLC Founders: Chief Obafemi Awolowo GCFR, SAN (1909 - 1987)

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

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

Ibadan Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08077227269; 08034135733 Lagos Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08055333067; 08033013177 South South Regional Office: No. 50 Ikwerre Rd., Mile 1, Diobu, P/Harcourt, Rivers State

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

GOT NEWS?

Abuja Office: Suites G2. 05-07, PEB04 Plaza, Plot 2027, Dalaba Street, Beside NAPTIP Headquarters, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja Advert Hot Lines: 08033199716; 08078891797 Kaduna Office: AN 20, Lagos Street, by Keffi Rd., Kaduna. Ikeja Marketing Office. Block C, First Floor, Motorways centre, Opp., 7up Alausa, Ikeja.

Contact: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com or call:08055069471, 08116954630

opinion

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

veracity

A collective dilemma

IGERIA has changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. It is evident in the way the sun scorches and palpable in the hesitant chirping of birds. Much is being lost and every Nigerian bears witness to this untoward hardship plaguing the nation. The young boy of today may never be able to obliterate these memories of stark dismay. The aged, who experienced firsthand the horrors of 1983, will smile a weary reminiscent smile, fraught with obnoxious memories while shaking their creaky skulls. It all began with the forging of Buhari’s magic wand, for every simple Nigerian had in utter naivety, believed that with one wave of that wand, all our “Jonathanian” woes would disappear. Alas, wishes never become horses because in Nigeria, beggars still depresingly walk without shoes! In a few months time, the President of change and his magic wand will have steered the ship of Nigeria for a year, but it seems we are lost at sea. We have no idea where we are headed, for our sailor, like Captain Jack Sparrow of the pirate ship, The Black Pearl, possesses for directions a compass that only points North and intends to chart the course of a technology savvy generation where people boast about owning cars with a Global Positioning System (GPS) and have all sort of smart devices for navigation. We may have to circumnavigate for another three years! What evil did unsuspecting Nigerians commit? Was trading in transformation for change a major faux pas? Why do Nigerians have to deal with such extreme form of hardship? If only Nigerians saw the future when last year, the president of change asked them to prepare for hard times, would they have unmade their decision to chant the mantra of change vehemently behind the president of change? “I really don’t know what he is up to, but he is fast losing the people,” those were the tragedy-filled words of an adept ‘change’ fan after he bought four litres of fuel for N1500 in Plateau. In the South West, a litre of petrol goes for as high as N150 and in the South South, it doubles.

with Vera Onana

veraonana@gmail.com 08054680688

The fuel queues are a similitude of an army of soldier ants, marching down a path of sand with intensity or better still, trying to climb up an anthill, exhuming severe competition as only the fit will survive. Getting fuel from a filling station in today’s Nigeria is the survival of the fittest and like Charles Darwin’s evolution theory, it is only a matter of time before the unfit is trampled in a stampede. How about electricity? We practically power our own homes and with the current fuel scarcity, perhaps only filling station owners would be capable of running generating sets through the night. Families, unable to purchase fuel fail to have access to water for in the typical Nigerian setting, individuals drill boreholes that provide their houses with water. Government stopped providing water decades ago and electricity provision is already threading that path as the energy crisis in Nigeria lingers. Nigeria totters at the brink of complete blackout as electricity generation dropped to 1580MW earlier this month based on data from the Nigerian Systems Operations Department of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Ironic isn’t it? One would have imagined that Nigeria’s power generation would have received an unequivocal spiritual cleansing, which, indeed, it is in dire need of, the moment ex-Lagos State super governor, Babatunde Fashola, got adorned with the apparel of a three-in-one office, minister of power, works and housing. Do you still remember what he said, on March 25, last year, at the 7th Bola Tinubu colloquium in Lagos? Quickly, let’s race down memory lane. That day, Fashola had strutted on the change party’s broom and with a smug expression, brandished the change party’s infallible successes in the power sector among others while celebrating Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a selfless party leader and the party’s self acclaimed MVP. Among his numerous utterances, was this striking statement: “We do not have power, not because it is difficult to generate. We have darkness because of incompetent people governing us. So as you go to vote on Saturday, remember that leaders are not elected to pray, but to be humane, compassionate and effective, all of which General Buhari embodies” Riveting oratory wasn’t it? So fraught with appellation and it did work like love portion for millions of oblivious Nigerians were literally swept off their feet and rallied behind the president of change. Please, if generating power is such a cinch like Fashola said, why are the mega watts dwindling like an overturned pyramid? Perhaps, the three-in-one apparel has subdued the genius in super man governor. Only providence knows what monster of hardship would confront the average Nigerian next, but in the face of it all, Nigerians should try to remain resilient. After all, the clamorers for change have likened our national predicament to that of the proverbial clay pot whose base must first get heated in preparation to receive the condiment. However, with all of these sad happenings, I shouldn’t be castigated and crucified upside down if I, at this point, refer to our Nigeria as a nation under siege, should I?

Iron deficiency as an emergency among Nigerians By Owolodun Babatunde

BY reckoning, iron deficiency anemia is a serious public health problem in nearly all developing countries and in subpopulations of industrialised countries as well. It is estimated that about two million people are iron deficient, and that this deficiency is severe enough to cause anemia in over one million people globally. About 90 per cent of all anemias have an iron deficiency component. Roughly 47 per cent of non-pregnant women and 60 per cent of pregnant women have anemia worldwide, and including iron deficiency without anemia the figures may approach 60 and 90 per cents respectively. Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) has blamed iron deficiency for high prevalence of anemia among Nigerian women of reproductive age. The society hinted that the country faces one of the largest burdens of micronutrient deficiencies in the world, with anemia and its health impact the most common. Specifically, 49 per cent of women of reproductive age have anemia, 24.3 per cent have low iron stores and 12.7 per cent of them are iron deficient. Iron deficiency anemia is a condition in which the red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying capacity is insufficient to meet physiological needs of the body. Iron deficiency when sufficiently severe, causes anemia. Severe anemia is also life threatening. Speaking on a premilinary survey findings commissioned by Unilever Nigeria focusing on iron deficiency anemia among women in Nigeria, Dr Folake Samuel, Senior Lecturer, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan, noted that the findings shows that although many Nigerian women are aware that we have rich iron sources of food in our environment and its benefits as well as the consequences of iron deficiencies, and a lot of them consume iron rich food, but however the consumption of iron rich food is still low and this calls for action and intervention.

Pregnant women, teenage girls and women of reproductive age are among the most vulnerable to iron deficiency anemia because of high iron requirements. Increasing iron intake during adolescence to prepare for pregnancy is crucial to decreasing the risk of iron deficiency anemia and negative birth outcomes. The key factors responsible for iron deficiency includes: dietary (low bioavailability of iron in the diet, insufficient quantity of dietary iron relative to enhanced needs during specific life phases such as infancy, adolescence, and pregnancy), life cycle (repeated pregnancies, bleeding associated with use of intrauterine devices (IUDs) for birth control and excessive menstrual bleeding.) and disease states (hookworm, schistosomiasis, causing chronic blood loss, processes that impair iron absorption and utilisation, mal-absorption syndromes and rare genetic conditions). The signs and symptoms of iron deficiency and anaemic condition includes, brittle nails, swelling or soreness of the tongue, cracks in the sides of the mouth, an enlarged spleen, fatigue, craving for nonfood items(such as ice, paint, starch), dizziness, weakness, drowsiness, restless legs syndrome (RLS), coldness hands and feet, shortages of breath. Some signs and symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia are related to the condition’s causes. In infants

and young children, signs of anemia include poor appetite, slowed growth and development, and behavioral problems and all these militate against active living and human productivity as iron is critical to learning process and energy for day to day activities. There have been numerous articles indicating the consequences of iron deficiency anaemia which are harmful to development and health throughout the life cycle. Generally, iron deficiency affects all persons by impairing cognitive performance at all stages of life, morbidity from infectious diseases is increased and physical work capacity is significantly reduced. Infants born of mothers with iron deficiency anaemia are more likely to have low iron stores and also there is convincing evidence linking iron deficiency anaemia to lower cognitive test scores. In Pregnant women, the risk of complications during birth is high. Also, Iron deficient anemic women have shorter pregnancies than nonanemic, or even anemic but not iron deficient pregnant women, the more severe the anemia the greater the risk of low-birth weight. One of the strategies to prevent iron deficiency anaemia is dietary improvement which involves consumption of iron-rich foods such as meat and organs from cattle, fowl, fish, and poultry; and non-animal foods such as legumes and green leafy vegetables. Similarly, focus should be upon foods which enhance the absorption or utilisation of iron. Another strategy is the primary prevention of iron deficiency during pregnancy which includes adequate dietary iron intake and iron supplementation. In an effort to improve the effectiveness of anemia prevention and control, World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) prepared guidelines for iron supplementation for pregnant women. •Babatunde is of the University of Ibadan.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

It’s wrong to say APC wasn’t prepared for governance—Abdulkadir

National Vice Chairman (North West) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and former Minister of Youth Development in the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Sokoto State-born Alhaji Imuwa Abdulkadir, does not share the belief that APC is having problems because it was not prepared to govern the country. He spoke to LEON USIGBE in Abuja.

there has been fluctuation, decline and depreciation of petroleum as a major source of income for many nations arising from world economic politics. So, it’s one of the purposes of the Buhari administration to diversify by focusing on agriculture and solid minerals. Thirdly, he will fight corruption and, of course, impunity. These are some of the areas specifically that he said he would first of all address in the first phase of his administration. If people are secure, they are confident to engage in meaningful ventures like agriculture and solid minerals and foreign investors also develop confidence in the country, especially those who want to invest in these sectors who are many. But you have to first of all give them the assurance of security. Again, when you are able to cleanse the Augean stable, it means you are putting a credible system of public service in place which will pave way for the second phase of his government because there will be a lot of saving; there will be a lot of discipline in the conduct of business, there will be a lot of delivery of other social services like healthcare and infrastructural development.

T is 11 months since the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been in power. How has it been? Just look at the circumstances of the evolution of APC, where we came from and where we are now and the fact that one party, the PDP, has been in office from 1999 to 2015, with a particular attitude to governance, witnessing party mismanagement and mis-governance. This gravitated to a situation whereby Nigerians were fed up as things were going from bad to worse, meaning Nigerians had to do a lot of housekeeping themselves. There was a lot of agitation, yearning for change, not just a change in leadership but a radical change from business as usual, the era of impunity, mismanagement of public funds; an era where public officers entrusted with public funds, with all sense of irresponsibility, did not care about what might happen to the country. There was insecurity. We had become more and more a consumer nation. So, Nigerians felt there must be a change. That was how the opposition, serious-minded politicians who are progressive by inclination decided to merge and form a formidable political party with a difference, a political party that could drive the process of change, a political platform that would enhance the betterment of Nigerians, a political party that would not just be a cosmetics change from Mr. A to Mr. B but a political party that would produce a leadership that is purposeful, serious, with integrity, a sense of responsibility in terms of accountability and that wish Nigerians well and safeguard their future. That was what brought about the candidature of Muhammadu Buhari, and so many others elected under the platform of the APC.

Many people believe that those behind APC merely used the integrity of Buhari to capture power, that indeed, APC was not prepared for governance. How do you react to that? To some extent, yes, you are correct. The party used Buhari because his credibility speaks for him. In any free, fair and credible election, anything that will appeal to Nigerians for good governance, Buhari has it. For that purpose, the APC and Nigerians accepted Buhari and voted him in as president. But that does not mean that the party or the people that formed APC were not ready to govern. The readiness can be borne out of the fact that one, there was this appreciation that things were in decay, there was total system collapse. Every Nigerian will agree that there was a system collapse, high level of corruption and impunity. Nigerians wanted somebody to cleanse that. You cannot cleanse impunity, you cannot get rid of corruption and mismanagement without having a credible leader who has a purpose. So, it’s a wrong assumption to say we were not ready for governance. What people have refused to appreciate is that the level and magnitude of the mess that Buhari met when he took over as president was too enormous to be dealt with in a couple of months for people to believe, yes, there is a new

Abdulkadir vista. If you look carefully, in the last nine months or so, the attitude of Nigerians including public servants have totally changed. Their attitude to work and their conduct have changed. And in government, you can see that there is no impunity. People say Buhari realised the magnitude of the rot and that was why he presented himself for election to fix things. But 11 months after, he is struggling to get out of the block. No blueprint on the economy for instance. Does it not worry you? The issue of blueprint is very clear. Even before he became president, not only him but all those who supported him to attain the position, including the APC itself, appreciate this and have taken stock. Many of us who are in the vanguard of this administration were at one time or the other participants in the previous dispensation. We were there and we saw, we knew what was happening to some extent. The problem is that the magnitude of what was happening before was so much. It increased everyday in a way that the abuse of public office the next day was bigger than the previous day. This issue is beyond formulating a blueprint for clearing the mess. Buhari defined what he intended to do before he became president. What he wanted to do was the issue of insecurity. You don’t need a blueprint because you already have the insecurity in place. It was the order of the day. Now, what you have to do is to arrest that situation. What Buhari is doing is to arrest insecurity and put in place a kind of roadmap that will secure Nigeria and its people. Secondly, on the economy, he acknowledged that he was going to address the economy for a shift from the oil sector. Everybody can see, if you are serious minded, that

At the moment, there is too much suffering in the country. The president alluded to that recently when he said after 11 months, there is nothing to show and he does not envy the APC which has been placed on the defensive. How do you respond to the fact that more Nigerians are suffering now than in the past? Yeah. This suffering is a backlash of what happened previously on the part of government. When Jonathan took over from Yar’Adua, the government was so unserious on economic development, stabilizing the economy or improving on the economy. There are so many things even a layman can tell you about the tendency of officials to grab from one purse to another into private pockets and into private use. Now that Buhari is here, there are a lot of local and foreign debts which are normal in any government in any case, but there is heavy reliance on oil and the world oil market has crashed. There is economic recession the world over, not just in Nigeria. Above all, you don’t have any savings. Let’s come to the APC. There are already altercations among key members of the ruling party. How can the APC successfully manage this power that it has got? What do you project, say in the next one to two years for the APC? It’s normal for any organisation, whether political or social because every member cannot be on the same page. But for the APC, what you are saying is all speculative. For instance, we know Kano State governor, Umar Ganduje is fighting with his predecessor, Rabiu Kwankwaso and there may be more of such skirmishes among the members around the country. Don’t look at it that way because if there is crisis between Mr. A and Mr. B, you don’t make it general saying that it’s what is happening all over. As far as I am concerned, in politics, especially Nigerian politics, there are always these kind of situations, a situation of disagreement among the party leaders. It’s our attitude to politics, partisanship in this country because parties are very relevant all the time. In other countries like America, once nominations and elections are over, the party goes to the background. Our own attitude and conduct in public office is very peculiar. Don’t consider some of those cases as an indication of the whole party being on fire. Yes, I agree with you that there are problems, but it is human to have problems here and there.

politics&policy

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

PDP yet to accept APC’s supremacy in Plateau —Bature

Honourable Rufus Bature is the Secretary to the Plateau State Government. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, the former lawmaker speaks on emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State, attempts by the administration to recover allegedly looted money, the debt profile of the state, and other issues. Excerpts:

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) government in Plateau State is about 10 months’ old, how has it

been? We on the Plateau want to thank God that he gave us the opportunity to serve the people of the state. For the past 10 months, it has not been rosy because all of us Nigerians know the situation in which this administration found itself: the dwindling in revenue from oil which Nigeria had been solely depended on. Federation allocation is now coming in trickles. And for this reason, we have to go outside what we get from the Federation Account to make up for salaries. We inherited crises in some parts of the state. Peace, which is sine qua non to the development, was not there. We didn’t find it easy because the tribes on the Plateau were at daggers drawn. The insurgency in the form of cattle raiders and other high profile crimes were the things we met on the ground. Therefore, it took us some months to study the situation, situate it and come up with palliatives that included bringing in the waring parties to the reconciliation table. What we discovered was that before we came in, there was no proper dialogue. The crisis was between the Berom and the Fulani in Barakin Ladi, Jos South and Riyom.The previous government did not create an atmosphere for proper dialogue but one of the first things Governor Lalong did when we came to power was to sit with these two groups. The problems were laid bare: both sides appreciated each other’s problems and they now saw reason to sheath their swords so that Plateau can move forward. We thank God that for the past 10 months, particularly in 2016, we have been having relative peace on the Plateau. Apart from one or two incidents that happened, the state has been enjoying relative peace, we thank God that we have found peace. In terms of outstanding salaries, we have been able to pay six months without the bailout, we have received half of the bailout and the remaining half will soon come and we intend to clear all the backlog of salaries with that. What we are left with now is the issue of gratuity and pensions. We have received N10 billion bailout for infrastructure development. Before we reach one year in office, we will tell the world that we are here to serve because that fund will be used strictly for development of the state. So, it has been tough and rough but we are focused. Many people in the state find this difficult to believe. How is it able to cope with its debt profile? The debt has been rescheduled, the Federal Government has taken over the debt, it will be paid in the next 24 years. If you look at the debt profile of the state and what is being deducted at source, definitely, it hampers development because the money which comes from the Federation Account is not enough to pay

salaries, not to talk of deduction to service debts. Are you saying the state can go ahead and borrow more? With the Treasury Single Account (TSA), some of the banks have a limit to what they can give as loans to any state. We as a government would not like to borrow, because if we go aborrowing, we would be putting this state into indebtedness, which our grand children might not be able to pay. Right now, we are thinking outside the box. Forget about the fund that comes into the state, let us look inward. How do we raise the revenue profile of the state? Mechanisms have been put in place and very soon, things will begin to fall in pleasant places. Whatever we collect as revenue from the people will be injected into the development of the state. My investigation revealed that since the present administration came onboard, the state Internal Generated Revenue has been nosediving. Shortly before your administration, the IGR was about N900 million per month but it has now reduced to N300 million. What is the government doing to improve on this ? What we realised was that the IGR was tied to ISPO. There were some loans that had already been collected and this is tied to the internally generated revenue. So, by the time the banks do their deduction, the state government is left with about N300 million. It is not as if they are not working. The last time we addressed the press, we had raised the profile to about N800 million but I am assuring that in the next three months, the mechanism that has been put in place will boost the revenue of the state. We want to complete the PLAGIS which has to do with lands. There are many applications waiting. From the Ministry of Lands alone, we intend that nothing less than N500 million will be generated for the state monthly to cover the gap occasioned by the dwindling allocation from the centre. We have other avenues we can harness for more revenue. Last week, there was a workshop in Abuja where states considered how they could amend the law on mining to generate revenue from mineral development which was in the Exclusive Legislative List and now the states are going to be allowed. The Minster had made pronouncements but there must be enabling laws to make sure that this takes place. There are other areas like company tax, ground rent and other areas where minerals could be tapped. We don’t want to continue to wait for monthly allocation before we do anything. We are considering the possibility whereby the IGR would be able to pay the salaries of workers in the state. The governor has repeatedly stated that his government would recover all the money allegedly stashed away by the previous administration. How far has the government gone with the recovery? Since last year, we have written to vari-

Bature

What we are left with now is the issue of gratuity and pensions. We have received N10 billion bailout for infrastructure development.

ous organisations saddled with the responsibility of bringing people to book. They visited us; people are reporting to EFCC and ICPC to answer questions. So, investigations are still going on. Based on findings by your government, how much is involved? It is a lot of money. For example, there was money that was released towards the tail end of the last administration that was supposed to be given to the small and medium scale industries, about N2 billion, that money suddenly disappeared. The Central Bank has written to us asking what we have done with the money, we told them we didn’t inherit the money. Those who received that money would have to go and answer questions. There are recover-

ies that had been done, money that were put in certain accounts were recovered. We intend that at the end of the investigation and the appropriate time, we would tell Nigerians how much we have recovered from who and what has been done with the money. APC is in charge of Plateau State. What is the party doing to woo more members, especially from PDP? People have not come to terms with the reality that power has moved away from PDP, they are still in the dark. They don’t believe that power has moved away from PDP. They are still being skeptical. But I want to assure you that by the time we start our developmental strides, people will move en masse. There are quite a lot of people that have come in, we don’t want to publicise this. There are people that are registering in villages and various wards. At the appropriate time, we will go round to thank the people of the state. That time, the defectors would all be received. Plateau issue has always been the issue of godfatherism. But how do you describe Lalong’s government? Who is the godfather?, it is God that is the godfather. People have not come to terms with that reality. We are only accountable to the people of Plateau State. We have elders, we respect them, what the government is doing is based on a collective decision by the people that brought change to Plateau State.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

leadership &

management with Sulaimon Olanrewaju

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

The 60-second

business coach PAGE 24

Quote LEADERSHIP

PAGE 24

Leaders’

forum PAGE 24

How organisations adapt to changes C By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

HANGE comes in two forms; planned or forced. A planned change is that which is initiated by an organization as a result of an envisioned future. Sometimes, sequel to studying the trend in the industry or out of a desire to increase sales, have a better market share or upgrade technology, an organization embarks on new

“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.” — Norman Schwarzkopf

ways of conducting its affairs. When a change is at the instance of an organization, coping with the fallout is not usually a problem because the organization would have thought through the issues and come up with strategies to handle a substantial part of the consequences of the initiative. Changes that are a product of organizational decisions are usually evolutionary. Continues on pg24

Osaretin Demuren, Chairman, GTBank

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

leadership&management Organisations and adaptation to changes

BOOK

Winning

Continues from pg23

Reviewed by Van Vu IN his book, “Winning,” Jack Welch offers a how-to guide on running a company from top to bottom. He touches base on company missions and values, leadership, competition, Six Sigma and the future of one’s career. He ties in personal experience and creates situational awareness to support his claims. The ultimate goal of this book is to teach people how to win. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, has had a multitude of experience in the business world. He’s traveled around the world to spread his knowledge on how to effectively run a company. In the first section of his book, he emphasizes on the importance of a company’s missions and values. In an indirect relation to Mary Parker Follet’s collaborative management, he states that, “everyone in a company should have something to say about values.” When everyone is on the same page, the company is able to run more smoothly and effectively. Welch then goes on to focus on differentiation. He states that, “differentiation among people is a process that requires managers to assess their employees and separate them into three categories in terms of performance: top 20 percent, middle 70, and bottom 10.” He believes in its importance because he finds it necessary to reward the top 20 percent, motivate the middle 70 percent, and get rid of the bottom 10 percent. When a manager knows his 20-70-10, he can make better decisions for the company based on that distinction among employees. He understands staff and employees and uses that information to maximize potential in company productivity. Welch uses his leadership experience to create a list of eight “rules” a good leader should follow: 1. Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team, using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach, and build selfconfidence 2. Make sure people not only see the vision, they live and breathe it 3. Get into everyone’s skin, exuding positive energy and optimism 4. Establish trust with candor, transparency, and credit 5. Have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls 6. Probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their questions

are answered with action 7. Inspire risk taking and learning by setting the example 8. Celebrate He believes that these are the key rules to being a great leader. Unlike Warren Bennis’ descriptions of leaders vs. managers, Welch believes that a manager and a leader should have the same characteristics. Welch is a big fan of Six Sigma. He believes that it can greatly improve a company’s operational efficiency, raise its productivity, and lower its costs. “Six Sigma accomplishes that by reducing waste and inefficiency and by designing a company’s products and internal processes so that customers get what they want, when they want it, and when you promised it.” He states that Six Sigma has two primary applications: remove the variation in routines and make sure complex projects are done correctly. In the first application, Six Sigma uses scientific management, but the second application requires more knowledge and training. “Six Sigma is meant for and has its most meaningful impact on repetitive internal processes and complex new product designs.” He then goes on to offer advice on how to find the right job, getting promoted and knowing how to handle “bad” bosses. He concludes his book answering questions that didn’t necessarily fit in the other chapters. These questions ranged from political issues to international business concerns. When answering these questions, he continually ties it back to the core values that he discussed in the first few chapters. The foundation of any stable company is based on their values and missions. By the end of the book, Welch has created the perfectly balanced company with “perfect” employees who are bound to create an endless amount of success. An idealistic concept, indeed; nonetheless, Welch has based this book on personal experience.

At other times, change is forced on organizations as a result of happenings they have no control over. This was the case when Professor Chukwuma Soludo, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), decreed an increase of the minimum paidup capital of banks from N2billion to N25billion within 18 months in 2004. This was a change that the banks neither expected nor had any control over. To say the least, it affected their planning and projections. It even affected the orientation of some of them. The change was revolutionary. Banks that had been controlled by dynasties had to be thrown open to other investors as many banks were forced to resort to raising funds at the stock market to shore up their capital. When that did not take them close to the N25billion target, some of them had to merge to weather the storm. However, while the situation threw up some very strong banking brands, it consumed others. Why change spells doom More often than not, changes that are forced on organizations either knock them off balance or knock them under. The scarcity of foreign exchange foisted on Nigeria as a consequence of the slide in crude oil price has had a telling adverse effect on manufacturing companies that depend on imported raw materials for their production to the extent that many companies in the food and beverage industry are already laying off employees. A number of other sub-sectors are equally affected by the development. Changes, especially external ones, disrupt the orientation of many individuals and organizations because of their inability to adapt to such changes. A Chinese proverb says that the wise adapt themselves to circumstances as water molds itself to the pitcher. Many people and organizations, rather than adapt to situations they cannot change, resist such situations only to find out much later that they cannot stop them. Others are slow in adapting to the extent that by the time they choose to adapt, they are unable to effectively ensure the required adaptation and this affects their survival. Failing to make the necessary adjustment or making the adjustment a bit late will always impact negatively on organizations. As observed by Charles Darwin,

Emmanuel Nnorom, CEO of Transcorp Nigeria

Kelvin Balogun, President, Coca-Cola Central East and West Africa

Olabukunola Williams, Coordinator, Nigerian Women in Agricultural Research for Development

Dr Sarah Alade, Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, CBN

it is neither the strongest of the species nor the most intelligent that survives but the one most responsive to change.

to occur, they must also learn to adapt to unforeseeable ones. These are some of the ways companies can adapt to changes.

How organizations adapt to changes Organizations that will last the distance must not only be able to predict changes that are likely

Right attitude to change Expecting things to remain the same over a period of time is unrealistic. The human community is dynamic, the business environ-

The current reality is the nemesis of future possibility… there is nothing that is so well done that cannot be improved upon .

ment is not stagnant, the technology is not static even the climate is changing. So, there is no way changes will not regularly occur. However, in spite of knowing this, many do not respond positively to change. The right attitude is to expect change to produce positive effects in spite of the attendant inconveniences. Change is to be seen as a springboard to the next level of operation. Change is often discomfiting and is thus repelled by many. But those who end up profiting from it are those who embrace it early and prefer to concentrate on its positives rather the negatives. If the right attitude to change is employed, change is a vista to endless opportunities. Change really is a new development that is an offshoot of the old. If it looks daunting or fearful it is because it is different from the familiar. Having this attitude will enable an organization to profit from it.

Being receptive to new ideas The normal human being is comfortable with the familiar. That is why people do not want to abandon what they are already used to. They reason that if a particular process has been producing a particular result attempting to change it will be tantamount to courting unnecessary problem. But great leaders don’t entertain such thoughts. They are cognizant of the fact that the current reality is the nemesis of future possibility. They also know that there is nothing that is so well done that cannot be improved upon. Consequently, they are receptive to new ideas. In fact, they go the extra mile to get new ideas, knowing that doing so opens them up to a world of new opportunities, new inspirations and new approaches to solve the challenges they face. So, instead of fighting the change or joining others to lament the situation, they welcome the change and study it to see how they can benefit from it. They know that on the flipside of a challenge are opportunities. They do not allow the challenge to rob them of the opportunities on the other side. So, they welcome the change with an unflagging conviction that it will be a window to a new world of hitherto unknown opportunities which would have been lost had there been no change. Being nimble Many large organizations are not run better than government ministries because of the series of stages that the decision making process has to go through. When a new trend is noticed, it takes forever for the organization to respond to it because a memo has to go from the unit head to the group head to the regional head to the headquarters where the executive management will also go into a series of meetings before a decision is eventually taken. Organizations caught in this web may find it difficult to adapt to changes because by the time headquarters gets down to taking a decision, events may have overtaken such decisions.

In this age and time, organizations must be agile; they must be able to respond swiftly to changing circumstances, the decision-making process must not be encumbered by red-tape. Different strata of management must be empowered to act on behalf of the organization to avoid its being swept away by changes. Creativity What forced change requires above other things from organizations is creative thinking; thinking outside of the box. The undeniable fact is that old thinking cannot solve new problems. But what most organizations do is to engage in the same old way of thinking even when the situation has changed and that is why many of them fail. Albert Einstein said a problem cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness (understanding, thinking, enlightenment) that produced it. The import of this is that since a thinking or a level of understanding created the current situation, unless the thinking changes and fresh thoughts are allowed, the same result will continually be produced. Consequently, the organization will fail to wriggle out of

the problem and may be drowned by the change. Essentially, creativity is doing new things or doing old things in new ways. Sometimes, what is required for an organization to position itself for benefitting from a change is just a tweaking of the process, a slight change in the direction or an injection of new thinking. But unless any of this is done the organization is stuck and may not be able to get out of the rut. It is for this reason that those who lead organizations cannot afford to be weak on initiative or creativity. If they lack the capacity, they should not fail to surround themselves with people who are sufficiently endowed in these areas. They should be smart enough to hire those smarter than they are. Ability to change strategy When the thinking changes, the strategy has to take a cue and follow suit. Just as old thinking cannot solve new problems, old strategy cannot also handle new challenges. So, the organization has to tinker with its strategy and tune it in such a way that makes it suitable for the current reality.

Final thought Adaptability is critical to survival of either human beings or human organizations. As noted by Darwin, those that will survive are not necessarily the strongest or the most endowed; but the most responsive to change. Change is inevitable. Change is unending. But change is not necessarily bad news. It is not a death sentence no matter the form it takes. Those who are usually destroyed by change are those who are so rooted in the familiar that when change comes, instead of adapting to it, they resist it and keep expecting the return of the status quo. That was the mistake of the dinosaur and that is why it became history. Dinosaur was so used to what was that it could neither comprehend nor cope with the new trend when it happened. While a number of other animals adjusted and adapted to the new reality, the dinosaur kept hoping that there would be a return to the status quo. But that never happened and dinosaur never survived the change. Those who resist change are usually swept away by it but those who embrace it are propelled to new realms.

THE 60-SECOND business coach

5 Things best managers do and don’t do By Victor Lipman EXCELLENT managers come in all shapes and sizes. They can be loud and quiet, extroverted or introverted, Type A or calm. Their management style can be as unique as personalities. But while elements of personal style may vary, there are absolutes one can point to about management substance. Accordingly, here are five things the best managers do – and don’t do. On the positive side, the best managers: Keep the big picture in mind They have a sound strategic mindset. They know their company’s business well, and ensure that the activities of their unit or department or division are always firmly aligned with broader initiatives and strategies. Are consistent in their behaviour People like and need predictability. I never minded working for someone who was tough, so long as he or she was predictably tough. Thus, you knew what to expect and count on in terms of behaviour and expectations. Problems arise for employees when a manager is erratic – for example, lenient and upbeat one day, and controlling and dour the next. Treat their employees’ time as if it’s as important as their own The best managers earn respect by being every bit as prompt with their own employees as they are, for example, with their own boss. It shows you value your employees as individuals – a feeling that in all likelihood will be mutual.

Are unafraid to question their own management As one colleague I used to work with put it: “If you’re just paying me to say what you want to hear – and not for my own opinions – then you’re paying me too much.” I’m not advocating cantankerous, difficult behaviour – just independent, honest thoughts when needed. Earn the trust of those they manage The best managers are credible and always true to their word. In short, trustworthy. On the other side of this equation, the best managers don’t: Become intoxicated by positional power A little power goes a long way; it’s easy to abuse. When too many people are too eager to please you, it’s tempting to take advantage of that. The best managers realize that positional power is a privilege, and wield it judiciously. Play favorites As obvious in theory as this point may seem, most managers will readily admit it’s simply human nature to enjoy working with some employees more than others. Some people are just more naturally likable; some always have a great attitude, while others equally talented may not have the same charm or charisma. But any natural tendencies toward favoritism should be resisted; it’s not only unfair – it’s a quick way to lose, or at least damage, the respect of your team.

Go off half cocked The best management decisions are rational and logical, not emotional. The daily frustrations of the job can easily lead one to impulsive decisions – they can even be cathartic (you’re fired!) – but hasty, angry decisions are rarely optimal for an organization. Avoid conflict Since a good amount of management involves addressing or adjudicating conflict situations, management is no place for conflict-avoiders. Resolving all types of conflict diplomatically and effectively is an integral part of the job, a core managerial skill. Feel threatened by the abilities of their employees The best managers are secure, and want to build a team of talented people whom they continue to develop. No less a business person than Warren Buffett is well known for wanting to be surrounded by “the brightest and most productive people” he can find. Based on my own modest experience, I couldn’t agree more. Since management is all about accomplishing things through others… the better people you have, the higher quality work your team or organization will produce. Net-net, there’s no single roadmap for effective management; there are innumerable ways to accomplish what needs to be done. That having been said (and this list is by no means exhaustive), there are different roads to travel to get where you need to go, and some roads are smoother and more direct than others.

leadership&management

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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

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

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34 I have read this passage of scripture several times in my Christian experience. I have even preached a few sermons on it. But always in respect to the woman at the well whose encounter with Jesus led to this statement that Jesus made to His disciples. However, reading the verse of scripture again recently opened a new vista that I had never seen before. It has to do with the nexus between activity and productivity. Activity is not alien to any creature. Everything in creation is dynamic. Even God who is seen as the only constant is dynamic in His operations. What we generally call laziness is not a lack of activity. It is simply activity in the wrong direction. In that sense, everyone is always doing something, even if it is sleeping! Let us examine more closely the passage quoted above. “My food is to do the will of Him that sent me...”. Food is the legitimate desire of every famished person. When a man is famished, he is incapable of any rational thought that does not include how his hunger would be satiated. It is interesting to note that Jesus had come to that well with His disciples. But even though He was no less hungry, He had stayed behind while all twelve of His disciples had gone in search of food! When they eventually returned with the food, they discovered that it was of no importance to Him. His countenance radiated with a satisfaction that physical bread could not have given. When they urged Him to eat something, He simply shrugged and replied, “I have food to eat that you have no idea about” As they wondered aloud to themselves who could have brought Him food in what was like the middle of nowhere, He made the statement quoted above. Every leader knows the exhilarating feeling that comes when purposeful passion is unlocked. When you are in the pursuit of a greater purpose than yourself, ephemeral satisfaction pales into insignificance. All your faculties are engaged and the last thing you remember is food. What you feed on becomes your sustenance. This is when the

Productivity

statement “Man shall not live by bread alone” really makes sense. It is what happens when your vocation has become more or less a vacation because the line between work and pleasure has become blurred! This is what happens when your consciousness of a purpose greater than yourself gives you a motive that provides a platform not only for activity but for expected outcomes. Without purposeful outcomes, activity soon becomes drudgery. Jesus defined this as THE WILL OF HIM THAT SENT ME. The WILL becomes a legitimate desire that is akin to food. When a leader has found his cause or his motive, that motive supplies the motivation required to sustain him through the most challenging of times. External motivation only makes sense when the internal dynamics are in place. Every activity therefore is calculated and follows a template that leads to a predetermined outcome. “And to finish His work”. The purpose that has birthed desire must transform to definite, strategic WORK that leads to a finish, where outcome and the original intention merge. Every activity should be designed to accomplish a goal - personal, corporate, pleasure, family, intellectual development, career, fitness/health etc. Productivity therefore is the relevant outcome of activity. Purpose is the strength of productive activity. An activity is deemed unproductive if it is not leading to the fulfillment of a set objective. The distinction between efficiency and effective is purpose. We may be caught in the web of organized activity (efficient) to the detriment of relevant activity. Productivity is determined by the finished product of activity. It’s not about what you started. It’s about WHY you started and how you finish. Productivity has happened when outcome matches original intention. Attending school for many years is of no value if no learning takes place and one has no certificate to prove that he has been engaged in that tryst. A car that is jacked up on all fours is suspended in space. Then you start the engine, engage gear and rev up the engine. The engine runs, the tyres turn, every function of the car is perfect (efficient). Energy is expended. Fuel is burnt.

The problem? It is working (active) but not moving towards any destination. A revving engine and moving tyres are not the primary purpose of a car’s activity. The car was designed to facilitate and hasten movement from one point to another (transport). If it is not doing that, it is not productive or effective. Peter Drucker, the management guru, has well defined the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is about doing things right but effectiveness is about doing the right things! Wages are determined and paid on the basis of value brought to work to produce a predetermined outcome, not for the hours spent. Value, not time spent, determines wages. Life is not the Guinness Book of Records. It does not reward longevity for longevity’s sake. If this had been so, Methuselah who lived nine hundred and sixty nine years would have occupied a more prominent place in history than Jesus Christ who only lived thirty three and half years. Life rewards significance. When Paul the apostle spoke about running according to the rules if he expects to be rewarded legitimately with a prize, he knew what he was talking about. He was making allusions to Nero the emperor who insisted on being crowned Olympic champion even if all that he did in the midst of an Olympic race was simply jump into the track at the finish line and insist that he had to be crowned winner. Everyone knew the truth but who dared argue with a demented Emperor who had butchered his own mother and wife and had gone ahead to set an entire city on fire while he played on his fiddle as the inferno raged! Check your life. What are the areas where you have expended or are expending energy and nothing is being accomplished? Pull back and restrategize. The activity may not be the problem but is there a connection between it and the predetermined end? If you cannot find any, you will need to retrace your steps. Life is too short to be lived with misplaced priorities. Every activity must begin with an end in mind! Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

You cannot afford not to have high-quality mentors MY mission and duty today is very simple. What is it? I am here this day to let you see that you cannot afford not to have good mentors in life, business and leadership. On the condition that you do not have anyone who is speaking into your life, you are missing a great deal. Does this sound like you? If your response is confirmatory, then this may be the reason why you are rootless, struggling and drifting in life, business and leadership. One of the major reasons why you lack authority to function as a leader is because you are not operating under the authority of anyone. The truth is; you cannot function in authority, if you are not under any authority. This is how it works in leadership. In Nigeria today, many youths want to function in leadership without following the leadership of anyone. This is one of the foremost reasons why we do have too many ineffective people in leadership today. For the umpteenth time, you shall lack the authority to lead, if you are not under anyone’s authority. Many youths want to lead those who are coming behind them, but they do not want to follow those who are ahead of them. The reality is; you cannot lead effectively those who are coming behind you, if you are not properly following those who are ahead of you. In my own life, once I can see that a leader is not following another superior leader; such a leader does not deserve my followership. Following a leader who is not a follower of someone who is superior to him or her is too dangerous! To drive my point home, today, in synopsis, I want to touch on the story of “Joseph”. On one good-looking and sun-drenched afternoon, Joseph’s father called unto him, wanting to send him on errand to “Shechem” from the “Valley of Hebron.” You know “Joseph” was always at the beck and call of his father. He was not a street-boy as most boys

of our day. I want to swiftly say to every emerging generation of leaders of our nation that staying at home to submit to your parents, study and get ready for the days of your showing to the whole world is inevitable. This is the time for you to shut the door behind you, so you can be meticulously ready, equipped and prepared for leadership in the days to come. Close to 25 years ago, I began to prepare for leadership. You cannot lead without being adequately and sufficiently prepared for leadership. When “Joseph” got to “Shechem”, he found out that his brothers were not there. As an effect of this, he became a rambler. And this continued until an unknown man found him and redirected him. Buddy, all you may need to get out of your present predicament in life, leadership and business may be a simple re-direction from a certain man. Just a simple instruction from someone who knows what you do not know may bring your suffering to an end. The problem with many young people is that they are looking for popular people as mentors. The truth is, being popular is not the same as being relevant and effective. Please understand me. I am not saying that it is off beam for you to look for popular people, but the truth is, what you need is not a pop idol, what you need is a relevant man/woman— who can be used by God to get you out of your present pickle in life, leadership and business. Failure and struggling will certainly continue in life, business and leadership until you get your own ‘certain man’, a relevant and effective mentor to re-direct you. What you need is leadership re-direction! This is very crucial and fundamental to your accomplishment as a leader in the days to come. Over the years, I have come to discover that every successful leader has mentors—who help guide them to the top. You want to get to the top in life, business and leadership?

Then you cannot afford not to have relevant and effective mentors. To help you further, here are some recommendations on how you can build better and more successful mentor-mentee relationships: Number one, you will need to clearly know your purpose in life. Why are you on earth? Where are you going in life? What are your core values? What problems are you on earth to solve? What are the problems you will need to solve before you can reach your goals in life? What areas of knowledge, skill, and expertise are you going to need to acquire to overcome all the obstacles and roadblocks on the path to fulfill your destiny? Answering these questions and more, will assist you to know what type of people can help you in life. Number two, you shall need to work hard, study, and practice continually to get better and better at what you do. To attract the best mentors, you need to develop a reputation for being an up-and-coming person in your field. If you are lazy, you will not be able to attract good mentors. No one wants to mentor a lazy person. Mentoring a lazy person is like casting one’s pearl and gem before a pig. Number three, when you meet with a potential mentor, explain that you want to be more successful in your field of life and would very much appreciate a little guidance and advice. Ask for an answer to a specific question, or a recommendation of a specific idea that the individual found helpful in the past when he was at your level. After the initial meeting, send a sincere thank-you note to the person. This shows that you value him and the time spent with you. After this, from time to time, let him or her know that you are making progress. No one wants to mentor someone who is not going to put into practice what he or she is being taught. Come next week, I am going to take this crucial issue further.

28 thesouth-west Continues from pg27

Adedeji argued that were the successive governments sustained the Awolowo’s agricultural policies and improved on them; the zone would not have lived at the mercy of the federal government’s monthly allocation. South-west, nay Nigeria, he stated, would have become a big player in cocoa production in world market and saved the population the current fear of uncertain future “Unfortunately, we threw away the opportunity and left the farm for the aged ones and allowed production to die a natural death. Also, our youths are impatient because of cocoa gestation period of between six and seven years. “That is why today we have them operating commercial motorcycles called okada. These are the youth who should be in the farmland. But because it is only lip service government pays on agric, farm is not attractive to them,” he said. Determined to reverse the trend and make cocoa production attractive, CRIN engaged in intensive research and came up with seedling with only three years of gestation. This is complemented by the development of what is called inter cropping. “We have come up with this to make it possible for farmers to plant crops such as cassava, cocoyam and plantain during cocoa gestation period. We are discouraging banana because it is too stubborn in the sense that it competes with cocoa,” he said. Francis Osoyemi and Odeloye Dapo are Ondo-based cocoa farmers. The duo are examples of frustrated farmers who pass through hardship to survive as farmers. Osoyemi and

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

South West:

Any hope for another cocoa house?

‘Cross River may soon overtake Ondo in cocoa production’ Elder Johnson Akinniyi is a cocoa farmer and merchant. He is the chairman of an Ondo-based cocoa interest group. In this interview with TUNDE BUSARI, he speaks on how South-west government can increase production. Excerpts: IS Ondo State still number one cocoa producing state in Nigeria with the pace of Cross Rivers State? Ondo State still takes the lead in Nigeria and that is a plus not only to the state but the entire South-west zone. What this means is that Southwest is blessed with arable land. But I must be sincere in my analysis so that we don’t end up deceiving ourselves. As you rightly observed, Cross Rivers is more serious and not pretending to be after Ondo in terms of cocoa production. I have visited the state and met an impressive agriculture policy by the government. They are into mechanised cocoa production when we are still practising the way our fathers did it over 100 years. Can you expatiate on what you saw in Cross-Rivers? There is what I should call a mass production of cocoa going on in that state. It is what can best be called cocoa revolution. It is a public-private arrangement which is working very well. Hectares of land are allocated and backed up with capital input. How would cocoa famers be happy? Why I am most impressed is that Cross-Rivers State is also an oil-producing state. This shows the government over there is more serious. Cross Rivers State Government, despite its oil, is really planning for the future. They are seriously organised there. They have agencies set up to look and cater for cocoa production just to ensure they achieve maximum output. Comparatively, is this not a threat to Ondo State? As I have just said, the threat is real. If they maintain the pace, I have no doubt in my mind that in a few years,

Elder Akinniyi they will overtake Ondo to become the highest cocoa producing state in Nigeria. Perhaps, then our people here will wake up and do what is right? What is the right thing which SouthWest governments are not doing as regards cocoa production? I observe that our people find it difficult to say the truth. But until we say the truth and damn the consequence of saying it, we would not get to where we should as cocoa producing zone. I am always amazed recalling how the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo used cocoa revenue to develop the former Western Region to the state of envy of other regions. Why should our successive government not consolidate on that and make oil revenue secondary to our cocoa? That is why I now say that the fall in price of crude oil may be a blessing to us if we see it that way, anyway? I see it as an opportunity for our government to reflect and return to farm and return to the good old days of Chief Awolowo government.

What is your experience as a cocoa farmer and merchant? The experience is better left than talked about here because one needs to be in the farm to see what an average farmer goes through. Does it make sense that our farmers still use old, aged implements like cutlass and hoe? Farmers suffer from different angles. After suffering to produce cocoa, they also face problem of storage. The process of harvesting, drying and carrying bags of cocoa to town is painful. The roads leading to farm are deplorable, a nightmare to drivers, especially during raining season. Lack of storage facilities forces them to sell immediately instead of preserving some to have appreciable price later. Going by this, young farmers are not attractive to take up farming. What then do you suggest to the government? Total cocoa rebirth and rehabilitation is my idea to sell to the government up to the federal level. We cannot continue to do things same way and not having same result. I am insisting on the farm settlement scheme of the Western Region days. Agric venture, if properly monitored, yields 100 per cent result. Invest in agric and reap bountifully. Government should refocus and end the practice of paper farmers. Enough is enough for political farmers who sit in the office and determine what goes to the farm. Farming is a practical thing. Back-toland scheme in form of the former National Directorate of Employment should be put in place to bring in the unemployed young ones back to farm. With adequate loan facilities and other assistance, the youths would make the desired difference in our search for increased cocoa production.

Nigerian Tribune

Dapo love cocoa production because it is the occupation they know best. But the pain with which they operate is threatening their continued life in the farm. The duo attribute their predicament to the government’s insincerity to developing cocoa production, revealing regular harassment by government agencies on the farm. They alleged that instead of the government to find a way of assisting them as it did in the Western Region days, government agencies harass them with threat of ejecting them from the farm. According to them, fungicides, herbicides and other agro chemicals needed to protect cocoa tree and increase production are out of reach. These chemicals, they disclosed, ought to have been made available to them at subsidised prices. “Government would not do that. All they do is office farming thereby abandoning us in the bush and in the hand of very bad roads that make accessibility difficult. It is bad that we still do farming the same way our grand fathers used to practise in their days. There is no improvement at all. Government should give us new seedlings to reduce years of gestation. We are tired because we are aging fast with the way we practise farming. CRIN, however, picked a hole in some of the claims of Osoyemi and Dapo. According to another Director, Dr Olayiwola Olubamiwa, despite some breakthrough the institute has achieved over the years, farmers don’t take the maximum advantage of the researches. He lamented that only few of them visit the institute for consultation. The director recalled the role which National Cocoa Development Committee (NCDC), subcommittee of which the former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Erelu Olusola Obada headed. The NCDC was inaugurated by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004 with a target of hitting 600,000 metric tons per annum and consequently take the place of Cote de ivore as number one cocoa producer. But the target was never met with production suffering a further slide. In 2014, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina had hoped for a progressive rise in cocoa production in Nigeria. According to Adesina, distribution of earlymaturing, high-yielding and disease resistant beans that mature in about 18 months to farmers would facilitate around 700,00 metric tonnes this year. The National Vice President, Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Cross River/Akwa Ibom zone, Mr. Godwin Ukwu, connected the drop in production to aging trees and lack of government support to rehabilitate or replant the cocoa and it is affecting production. “There is a difference between the government trying to do something and doing what it has to do. Last year, a lot of the seedlings did not get to many farmers,” he said. Although, according to him, other cocoa producing countries such as Ghana also suffered a drop in production, Nigerian government’s failure to ensure seedlings getting to the real farmers is a set back to farmers. Ukwu said if something was not done urgently about the production, demand would be more than supply, leading to more pressure on the farmers. Ondo rehabilitates 1,744 hectares of cocoa plantation Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, about three years ago, had envisaged dwindling in the fortune of oil in the country which is now taking its toll on the nation’s economy as he initiated moves to go back to the basic by introducing programmes that will lead to the rebirth of cocoa boom in the country, through a programme tagged “Cocoa Revolution Project.” (CRP) To achieve this, the Ondo State Government revisited the long abandoned Cocoa farm settlement established in Oda Village, in Akure Continues on pg29

29 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Cocoa: Can the S/W regain its lost fortune? Continues from pg28

South Local Government Area of the state and rehabilitated the 1,744 hectares of cocoa plantation in 1954. The state government also extended the rehabilitation of Cocoa farms to Idanre where the Cocoa Catalytic Industry which is used to preserve cocoa and had long abandoned in the hilly town, was rehabilitated and renovated, while cocoa farmers across the state are not left out in the effort to bring cocoa production to the fore. Speaking on the governor’s efforts at making cocoa production an alternative to oil, the Chairman of the CRP in Ondo State and a former Commissioner of Agriculture in the state, Dr Jibayo Oyebade said the motive behind the cocoa revolution by Governor Mimiko is not only to bring cocoa back to the fore but to produce beans which will reach its premium and increase the value of the beans at the international market, saying premium is producing highest quality of cocoa beans. During a visit to the farm, Dr. Oyebade said in achieving the idea of revamping cocoa business to boost the state economy and as a source of income, 1,110 seedlings were prepared per hectare at a spacing of three meters on line and three meters between the line stressing that ‘Dr Mimiko’s vision is not surprising because he knows the value of cocoa and grow up in cocoa production area. ‘He swung into action and the budget was sent to the council on three different sittings and it was approved and we were mobilised to go and demonstrate a pilot presentation of the idea of that budget and we started with the establishment of 1100 seedlings per hectare in the old cocoa of this plantation and establishment of new plantation in the forest area because the areas have been taken over by forest and this is more tedious to open up than the Virgin land ‘, he added. Dr Oyebade said that with the new technology employed in fermenting and treating cocoa which is different from the conventional method. According to him, the beans the farmers were producing before the advent of the Cocoa Revolution in the state is thrash, noting that the beans suffered a hundred percent reduction in the open market and said this accounted for the reasons cocoa from the country sells at lower price. He said with the approach embarked upon by the CRP, Cocoa from Ondo State was recently adjudged as one of the best in the world, saying “Our first chocolate product participated in the last chocolate outing in UK wherein 502 chocolate products all over the world gathered for laboratory test , bud test, quality control test and we came second out of 502 chocolate samples. Corroborating the Chairman of CRP, the Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Abdulazeez Oluboyo said the administration has created an enabling environment for agriculture to excel with a design to create employment for the youth. Oluboyo said the Cocoa project is not only to increase the production of cocoa in the state but to earn revenue that will sustain the state economy, saying that “apart from the fact that it generated employment, it also generates revenue. One of our heritages from the old Western State is cocoa plantation and it has been moribund for years. “This Oda Cocoa Plantation was established during Awolowo’s reign and ever since then previous administrations abandoned it, but when Governor Mimiko came on board, he did a lot to rehabilitate is and ensured that new plantations were established. “The last figure we got from that area is that up to 100 hectares of old cocoa plantations have been rehabilitated, while about 60 hectares of land of new plantation have been established. By the speed at which this project is moving, in four or five years, the whole 2,000 hectares of land for cocoa plantation abandoned by past administrations will be fully utilized.

Ambode

Aregbesola

Ajimobi “This will provide gainful employment for the youth and the farmers.” Why Kwara is not giving cocoa priority — Govt Kwara State is a member of the cocoa producing states in the country, despite the fact that the state does not produce the cash crop in tangible quantity. The state, which once hosted the meeting of the cocoa producing states in the past, has farmers in such local governments as Isin, Oke Ero and Ekiti in the Kwara South senatorial district producing the commodity, though

Mimiko not in large quantity. Findings revealed that cocoa farmers in these local government areas go to places as Ore and Ondo villlages in Ondo State to farm and produce cocoa for export. The Senior Special Assistant to Kwara State Governor on Agriculture, Mr. Aanu Ibiwoye, who spoke on the development, said the state only focused on crops it has comparative advantage, and that cocoa production is not among the crops. “As a state, we focused on crops that we have comparative advantage on. Yes, in few areas of the state, our farmers produce cocoa

Amosun

Fayose

but they are not producing in any large or tangible quantity. Today in Kwara State, there are six crops that we focus on based on our comparative advantage. And that’s the production of Soya beans, rice, maize, cassava, cashew and recently the state is looking at developing a market for castor. “Of course, some parts of Kwara State have comparative advantage for shea butter. But the state is presently focusing on development of the six major crops of food production and of course foreign exchange earnings. Continues on pg30

Mimiko resuscitated cocoa business in Ondo — Giwa Hon. Emmanuel Giwa is a member of Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the President of Ondo State Farmers Congress and also the state Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Ondo State chapter. He speaks with HAKEEM GBADAMOSI on the new innovations and development introduced by the Ondo State government in bringing back the good old days about cocoa production. Excerpts: YOU are one of the stakeholders in Cocoa production in the state, what are the efforts put in place by government to encourage cocoa farming and farmers in the state? Ondo State is known as a leading producer of cocoa in the South-West and Nigeria, this is one of the reasons the headquarters of Cocoa Association of Nigeria ( CAN) is in Ondo State. We appreciate the state government for resuscitating Cocoa business in the state. The cocoa board in Oda town has been reactivated to good standard after being abandoned by previous administrations in the state. The cocoa that we produced here now is rated as best in international market and we have been getting better patronage than before. The state government has embarked on aggressive orientation regarding how we can increase production of cocoa by providing to farmers good cocoa seedlings at cheaper rate. The only challenge we have in this regard is that the input is so scarce and farmers are ready to key into this development. We have modern techniques of growing cocoa that can start production within 24 to 30 months and this has been encouraging farmers to go back to cocoa farming. The marketing board that is responsible for the price fixing of cocoa has been scrapped, what is the effect of this on cocoa farmers? The scrapping of the board is a welcome development to farmers as it has positive effect because when the board was in existence, there were so many red tape regulations. Most farmers agitated for the scrapping of the board and since the exit of the board, farmers have started to have di-

out youths to embrace farming but they are not making the profession attractive as we have in other sectors. To get loan from bank is a tug of war, most of the banks are no longer interested in giving out loan to farmers because they know it is a long term investment. Those who are willing to give loans are offering double digit as interest and the terms for the loan too are killing and farmers are not always interested in getting loan to boost cocoa production in this area. I think if the government can step in to provide a better alternative by serving to be guarantor to farmers through their association and cooperative societies, it will cushion the effect rather refunding the loan through nose to these banks.

rect contact with the buyer. Nowadays, we can access our internet and check for the international or global Price of cocoa and we now experience uniform price. There is no disparity in price of cocoa from Idanre and Ile Oluji or Ifon. But when the cocoa board is functioning, they used to deceive farmers but with the technology we have at hand, fares have started dealing with buyer directly with no intermediary. And then, if you sell your cocoa to the board, you may not get your money for about six months or more while we have a lot of responsibilities to attend to. But now between two or three days, your money is in your account. What are the challenges confronting cocoa farmers? We are facing a lot of challenges especially when the government has been encouraging

In what ways can the government encourage these youths aside infrastructural facilities? Like I mentioned earlier, government should be ready to give out loans to these young farmers. There is need to drive our youths away from the Okada business and expose them to farming, but this should be done with provision of modern equipment and farming should be practised like we have in some developed and developing countries of the world. In this part of the world most of the farmers are old and there’s need to transfer and teach our children the rudiment of this profession before we step aside. Some young farmers were recently exposed to cocoa farming by the state government and the state government employed them at the end of the training and spared them across the local government in the state, this is commendable and more of these youths should be exposed to farming and be productive instead of looking for white collar job that is not there.

30 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Cocoa can finance all govt’s deficits if encouraged — Julius Olusuyi

The Managing Director of Ile Oluji Cocoa Processing Industry and former Chairman of Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria, Mr. Julius Olusuyi, in this chat with AKIN ADEWAKUN, vents his frustrations on government’s absolute neglect of the nation’s cocoa sector, arguing that if well harnessed, the sector is capable of being that long-sought alternative to oil. Excerpts:

Before cocoa becomes a thing of the past... Continues from pg29

“Cassava, cashew and shea butter have export potential but we cannot do all these at the same time. So, we just want to focus on the six major crops. Of course, with the ban on importation of certain food items, our processing capacity will develop and it will also help stimulate output from a lot of agricultural practices that we are engaging in. “The federal government is pushing a policy on cashew for export. The federal government is trying to do two million trees of cashew every year. We see that cashew can grow everywhere in the state. Cashew is growing wild in lots of places. And once we are able to create cashew plantation, we will generate employment and it is a key foreign exchange earner for the state. So, if we develop that market, the state can also earn foreign exchange from it. So those are the areas we think the state is going to focus on. These are areas where we have comparative advantage. ‘Ekiti igniting cocoa rebirth’ Cocoa farmers in state, who are mostly in the farms, and are elderly, have expressed their desire to see a true revolution in the crop and had also spoken of their desire to see the State truly move towards a regeneration of the crop for economic renaissance of the state. But the Ekiti State Government has said that it is building on the thoughts it has on making cocoa farming attractive. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Kehinde Odebunmi, told Nigerian Tribune on the telephone that the Governor Ayodele Fayose administration had come up with an initiative to create an enabling environment for the cocoa farmers. Odebunmi said the administration “we are trying to ignite a cocoa rebirth and we are about to start and the aim is to ensure that there will be increase in production.” He explained that the government was raising seeds, providing agrochemicals and has set to begin its novel “cocoa seed garden.” Odebunmi said: ‘Cocoa seed garden is designed to produce pods for farmers so that they won’t have to go to Akure or Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) in Ibadan for the same thing. That’s the major thing we are doing.” Continues on pg31

AS a player in the nation’s cocoa economy, how would you describe the environment in which you operate, especially in respect to government support? For me, I will say Cocoa has not been receiving adequate attention over the years and it is very unfortunate. The Nigerian cocoa economy, for a long time, has been focusing on the export of the raw materials, that is, just produce the cocoa and export. That has not allowed the cocoa economy to attain that fullness of its potential because the actual fact is that when you export your raw material, you are killing the industry; since it is the processing that will generate employment. In cocoa value chain for instance, and that goes for every agricultural product, there are two major areas in which you generate substantial employment - on the farm and in processing. Unfortunately, even on the farm, there has not been any serious attempt at formulating and sustaining policy. There are policies, but there are no institutions to run such policies. My challenge is that in Nigeria, we are not short of formulating policies. As we talk now, there is cocoa policy, but where are the institutions to run such policy? Nigeria fell from being the second largest producer of cocoa to about the fifth now, producing at the moment, about 25 per cent of what Ghana produces, and about may be one over eight of what even Ivory Coast produces. So talking about the environment, there has not been any environment because even as we are talking now there is no institution that is built to manage the cocoa economy. Ghana has cocoa board, Ivory Coast has a similar board, they organise and monitor the situation in their cocoa economy, but in Nigeria there is no such, everybody does what he likes and that is why today, Nigeria is producing less than 300,000 tonnes of cocoa. Ghana is producing over 800,000 tonnes of cocoa, Ivory Coast is producing over 1.2million tonnes of cocoa. But if the situation is this bleak on that side, what is Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria, which you were once President of, doing to bring some of the things to the consciousness of the government? My own association is Cocoa Processors Association, and our own focus has been that emphasis should be laid on two areas of the cocoa economy. There should be deliberate policy to boost cocoa production and there should be deliberate policy to boost cocoa processing because those are the areas you generate employment, those are the areas you have economic activities. The truth of the matter is that the major beneficiaries of cocoa export are not even Nigerians. The Nigerians playing in that area are just rent takers, they are just agents of those exporters. And for each tonne of cocoa that you export from this country, you are exporting the jobs of our university graduates. Why export your raw materials to service foreign industry when those things they are going to use the cocoa for there is what you

not handle that they export. The reverse is the case for us in Nigeria. It is only what the exporters don’t want that we grab. So the issue is we need a change of direction from the government. Long before now, we had been crying that oil would dry up, there is a paper that we wrote and we said all these things. Do you know that cocoa alone generated, in 2012 or thereabout, more than 30 per cent of non-oil export. So if a single commodity contribute that much to non-oil proceeds in Nigeria, I think nobody needs to tell us that such commodity requires a special attention, even dedicated funds. Look at the farms in Nigeria, what is their average size, what is their acreage? What incentives do the farmers enjoy? How competitive are they? What are the essential services that are provided to them? These are basic issues that must be addressed.

Julius Olusuyi will use it for here too? If they take the cocoa to Europe, Europe is going to process it the way Ile Oluji Cocoa Processing Industry does it, so why can’t government sit down and add value to our agricultural products so that we can generate employment around our farm? That is what I call industrializing our agriculture. You can’t industrialise our agriculture by moving away the nation’s raw materials. When I was the chairman of the Cocoa Processors Association, we wrote a paper to the last government, the government set up committees to look at encouraging processing. We did everything, we even wen as far as packaging a bill that will go to the national assembly to create an institution, to create an institution that will run the cocoa economy, but for the past six years now, we have been dancing round that. Nothing has come out it. When you talk of processing in Nigeria, which has been a major issue, there is no cocoa processing factory in Nigeria today that can operate at a profit, because we are not competitive. Let me give you an idea of what happens in this industry. this foreigners that come to cart away our cocoa to their own countries to process, with the connivance of some selfish Nigerians, because they are rent takers and they can’t see beyond themselves, when they come, somebody like me that is adding value and generating employment, will go to the bank to borrow at 16 to 18 percent, a foreign company coming to buy cocoa in Nigeria, comes with foreign loans, which he had sourced at about 4 per cent in his country to come and compete with me, and there is nobody protecting my interest here. There is no structure to say let’s give preference to our local operators, unlike you have in Ivory Coast and Ghana, where you have institutions that make sure that it is only those things adding value that they can

Do you know that if the government encourages the consumption of cocoa, its health budget will go down?

Is it not an irony that in spite of having cocoa in abundance in the South West, the number of cocoa processing industries in the region is very negligible, why is this so? Even those in the region are they functioning well? Is that enabling environment there for them to function, I say no. Nobody is investing cocoa processing again because the ones that are existing are just struggling to survive. In fact, they are not surviving. We have eight cocoa processing companies in the country and only three are currently in operation. But what is the way forward for the cocoa economy? The way forward is for the government to create an institution that will run the cocoa economy. We have proposed cocoa marketing board for Nigeria, which have been considered, which have been discussed, we have even gone to the extent of presenting it to the federal executive council during the last regime. Unfortunately, there was a rivalry between the Agric Ministry and its Trade counterpart as to who should be the driver, and that was what scattered the whole thing. Let the government be serious. There are three areas to face, let there be a deliberate policy targeting cocoa production, also let there be delibeate policy to encourage value addition, if you want to use your agriculture to generate employment, it’s not only on the farm. It is adding value to whatever you produce. And thirdly, there must be that deliberate policy to encourage cocoa consumption within the nation. Our people must see the benefit of consuming what we are producing. Why is cocoa a hot cake all over the world, it is because the Europeans consume a lot of this, and if it is not beneficial to them, they will not be consuming it. Why can’t we also promote the consumption of cocoa? We should create industries that will use cocoa to develop beverages, develop food, because cocoa is food, and I can say that it is one of the best food that God has given to mankind. Do you know that if the government encourages the consumption of cocoa, its health budget will go down, by at least 20 to 30 per cent, because some of the common diseases will be addressed, just by eating cocoa. This has been scientifically proved. So the government should sit down and create an enabling environment for the cocoa farmers to grow more, there are many incentives, let them have access to land, give them single digit loans that they can easily repay. So farmers need long term, low interest loan. They also need some form of subsidy. There is no country in this world that does not give subsidy to its farmers.

31 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

ation; employment generation; poverty alleviation; food security and foreign exchange earnings. “The effort of the government is so enormous and I can see the passion in our Governor. Even, you can see that in the Governor’s action at the just concluded National Economic Summit,in Abuja. The governor talked passionately about agriculture. “There is a target for cocoa production this year in the state and it is 5,000 hectares and we have desginated two places for this project. “It has been discovered that the soils there are good for cocoa production. We already have 50 hectares planted last year at Alagbagba in Odeda Local Government Area. Cocoa was inter-planted by Plantain and that Paintain is to have a shade because cocoa needs continous mositure. That one is still there. The Permanent Secretary identified climatic change as one of the challenges confronting cocoa production in recent times. Also, he mentioned disease infestation as another major factor militating against cocoa cultivation. Oladehinde, thereforen advised cocoa farmers to engage in irrigation farming so as to have a desired result.

Cocoa rebirth:

A wake up call for the S/W Continues from pg30

The commissioner added that they had planned to cultivate “20 hectares of cocoa seed garden,” saying “we are starting with 5 hectares this season and next year we would increase the hectarage and by the end of this administration, we would have laid the foundation for credible cocoa seed and revenue generation.” On when this would commence, he said “we are starting very soon because we have concluded with the experts that are coming from CRIN.” Cocoa Production: How Osun is strategising In Osun State, the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been making frantic efforts to revamp cocoa production in the state through the provision of enabling facilities and atmosphere that would assist cocoa farmers in having higher yields from the cultivation of the crop. Aregbesola, who recently had an interface with cocoa produce merchants hinted that his administration had identified 60 million active cocoa trees in the state, saying the crop and other prominent farms produce have great capacities to turn around the economy and fortunes of the state if pursued with renewed vigour. He said his administration will leave no stone unturned to make the state great again, hence the recent investment and research into Cocoa production and the focus on other areas of agriculture. Aregbesola, who disclosed that the state had gone further in her bid to boost cocoa production and agriculture with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on the development of agriculture and production of massive food production as alternative to reliance on oil sector, said the agreement involved releasing of 204.39 hectares of land in Ago Owu Farm Settlement to IITA for the purposes of conducting research and setting up demonstration farms for best farming practices. According to him, “IITA will also carry crop multiplication of cocoa as well as train the youth in the state in modern, commercial and profitable farming.

Osun government will establish commodity board that will be supervised directly by the office of the governor to ensure that Osun ranks among the best cocoa producers in Nigeria within the next two years”. Nigerian Tribune gathered apart from measures being explored to boost cocoa production in Osun, the government had also resuscitated the moribund Cocoa Processing Industry (CPI), in Ede by going into partnership with a Chinese company. Already CPI had taken off operations in Ede, but top government source informed our correspondent that the incumbent administration was only waiting for the industry to complete its works on its cocoa-based products so that it would be able to showcase the outcome of efforts geared towards resuscitating the organisation. The Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy to the governor, Mr Semiu Okanlawon also posited that “as a responsible government we realise how much fortune cocoa had brought to this country, but it was unfortunate that the crop had been abandoned”. He stated that “the reality facing Nigeria today made it mandatory and compelling that all efforts must be geared towards resuscitation of cocoa as foreign exchange earner. For us in Osun, we have identified 60 million active cocoa trees. “With that identification, we have been able to measure the capacity of our state and the need to enhance cocoa production, with a view to boosting our revenue generation, through the produce and other agricultural products, in which our state have comparative advantage”. “In no distant future, what we called “Cocoa Omoluabi” will emerge from Osun.

Nigerian Tribune

A cocoa farmer, Chief Amos Olabanji from Oriade Local Government, who spoke to our correspondent said “we are aware of what the state government is doing to assist cocoa farmers, but we want them to do more so that our efforts would not be in vain”. ‘Ogun set aside 5,000 hectares for cocoa in 2016’ The Ogun State Government said it will not relent in retaining its position as one of the leading producers of cocoa in the country. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Pastor Odeyemi Oladehinde, said the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led government had set aside about 5,000 hectares of land for the planting of cocoa in the year 2016. Oladehinde noted that government is not resting on its oars having attained the fourth position out fourteen cocoa producers in the country. The PS described cocoa as a money spinner crop that serves as revenue generation for government, saying that government had designated two places for cocoa cultivation in the state which are Alagbagba and Aiyepe in Odeda and Odogbolu Local Government Areas of the state. He said the state government cultivated 50 hectares of land for cocoa in the year 2015 in Alagbagba area. “Well, the Ogun State Government is not relenting in its effort in promoting cocoa production. Cocoa as a cash crop production is a money spinner. The State was rated 4th among the 14th cocoa producers in the country. “The focus of the state government under the leadership of Senator Ibikunle Amosun is solely on agricultural development because government sees it as a way of revenue gener-

The breakdown of the money indicated that N110 million was earmarked for the commencement of Youth Empowerment Programmes launched by the state government in Cocoa Production while N15 million is for one million cocoa seedlings for free distribution to farmers.

‘Oyo earmarks N125m to boost cocoa production’ During the planting season two years ago, Oyo State Government set aside the sum of N125 to boost production of cocoa. The amount, it was gathered, was meant to cater for some aspects of cocoa empowerment programme embarked upon by the Ajimobi-led government. The breakdown of the money indicated that N110 million was earmarked for the commencement of Youth Empowerment Programmes launched by the state government in Cocoa Production while N15 million is for one million cocoa seedlings for free distribution to farmers. Then, government was said to have distributed 640,000 and 350,000 metric tonnes of free seedlings to farmers in all the 33 Local Government areas of the state in 2013 and 2014 planting season. In the same vein, the Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria(AFAN), Oyo State, Mr Olumide Ayinla urged the state government to repeat the same feat on seedlings. He urged government to increased cocoa seedlings as they prepare for plantation. He said “the plantation seeding is approaching and I want to appeal to the state government to increase both the cocoa and cashew seedlings for farmers this season. Though sometimes, government provided some facilities in term of money for the farmers and to encourage young farmers to go into cocoa farming. “In this direction of encouraging both old and young farmers to go into cocoa farming, government policies need to be more friendly, realistic and timely. Today, unlike in those days that we have cocoa crops for around for years, we now have less and whatever government wish to do must come without stress. With this, the farmers will be able to plan for their season without delay.” The Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy to Oyo State Governor, Mr Yomi Layinka said Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s agricultural policy is to shore up the state’s internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Layinka is a statement said “The government’s current policy direction is to encourage all stakeholders to focus on agro-allied businesses, not only for food sufficiency and security but for generation of employment in the urban and rural areas. It is also being targeted as an alternative source of income to shore up the state’s internally generated revenue. Additional reports by: Hakeem Gbadamosi; Biola Azeez; Sam Nwaoko; Oluwole Ige; Yinka Olukoya and Tunde Ogunesan.

32 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Epe Club:

Fostering unity among Epe indigenes

The 42-year-old Epe club is waxing stronger by the day. TUNDE BUSARI, who recently visited the club house, reports

ROM Ajah or Ijebu-ode, a traveler coming to Epe would not but sight the white house carrying Epe Club inscription on the left side of the gateway. The white bungalow, sitting on an expanse of land, is the administrative office as well as recreation joint of members of the club. It is a confluence where elite of Epe extraction fraternise and unwind. It is also a decent hangout where assorted drinks are always in sufficient supply for the pleasure of members and their guests. The club is administered by an executive committee headed by the president who is ably assisted by other members, especially the secretary-general. There is a Board of Trustees as well as an Elders’ Council currently under the chairmanship of Otunba Adisa Osiefa. From 1974 that Epe Club was formed till date, it has remained a synonym for community development and youth empowerment. Not a few indigent students of Epe origin have benefited from the club’s annual scholarship award. Under the scheme, 100 students receive a sum of N25, 000 each to aid their academic needs. One of the achievements of the award is the healthy competition it generates among Epe students. The students, thus, always look forward to it as a means of helping their parents. Impressed by the impact of the award on the target students, the club has never had any cause to delay or withhold it. The pioneer President and other founding fathers like Engineer Shitu Ajilogba had a vision to produce many educated persons among Epe youths for the development of

the town. The current man on the exalted seat, Chief Lanre Rasak, is also passionate about the vision, hence his determination to also leave the legacy behind at the expiration of his tenure. Rasak is a delight to watch while directing the affairs of the club. His experience in private sector and politics naturally come to bear in his comportment and assertive voice which maintains high decorum among members. “At Epe Club here, there is no room for politics. This is one of the objectives of the founding fathers. We are all united irrespective of our respective political interests. This is the strong point of the club. And this is our driving force that boosts co-habitation here. Whatever issue you have, the moment you set your feet in the club house, you are relieved,” he said. Governor of Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode is among the Epe indigenes that

The club is administered by an executive committee headed by the president who is ably assisted by other members, especially the Secretary-General.

Chief Lanre Rasaq make up the club. Although the governor is faced with very tight schedule, he is not far from the club. Indeed, he is accessible to his fellow members and contributing meaningfully into the treasury of the club like every member does. Also, past and serving commissioners in Lagos State are members including other top shots in both public and private sectors. The Olu of Epe, Oba S.A Adewale rose to the throne from the club. This assemblage enriches the image of the club and makes it the favourites of young upward mobile Epe indigenes. President Rasak explains: “Clubs like ours are found in notable towns. They are expression of civilisation and a social statement. Giving back to our community is the reason these clubs are formed. Aside from our annual scholarship scheme, we do provide assistance to motherless homes and health centres. We also provide boreholes to the areas in need of potable water. Impacting in the life of our people is our responsibility to support government.” The Secretary of the club, Ogunlari Adeyemi is a pleasant officer to behold during any gathering of members. He needs no introduction to a first time visitor as he hops from one table to another and surrounded by members as need demands.

Adeyemi joined Epe Club when he was barely 29 years and the club is enjoying having such a young blood managing its secretariat. Currently working as Head of Exams and Record Unit (Academic Affairs) at Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Epe, the secretary is a round peg in a round hole taking into account the vigour with which he carries out his duty. Just two years after he became a member, he emerged the Assistant-Secretary, a position that prepared him for higher responsibility he is currently undertaking. “I came in with a mindset to understudy senior members of the club. I did not have it in my mind that I would become an executive committee member so soon. But when I was put forward for the post, I considered it an honour and did my best. This is a club which encourages the youth to take up leadership positions. “I am a beneficiary of this privilege. I am saying it again that the club is open to the youth at all time. Former President Prince Ademola Badejo facilitated my membership and he is always proud of my little contribution to the club,” he said. To Otunba Osiefa, nurturing the club to its current height is a worthy cause because of what the club means to the indigenes of Epe community. According to him, the pace at which the club moves gives an assurance of a greater future, especially with the coming of the youth who are doing well in their respective fields. “We are happy that we have a legacy which Epe indigenes are proud of. The club is not known for promoting discrimination or segregation. We operate like a big family and the entire community is feeling its impact,” he stated.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

infotech

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Bode Adewumi

m:08055001765 e:bodekafi@yahoo.com

Mobile technology: Crystallising Nigerian economy By Bode Adewumi

HEN the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) was first introduced in Nigeria, many did not realise that the world has moved to another level and that more magical developments would soon follow. At the time (2001), the two major players were MTN and the then Econet (now Airtel) and many Nigerians who caught the bug, a necessary one at that, did not know that more innovations would take place and that such will make life more meaningful to the world and Nigerians in particular. Today, the importance of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to the Nigerian economy is coming under very positive reviews because the sector has demonstrated its capacity to be a veritable avenue to bolster the economy. The President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration on resumption into office had highlighted the fact that the non-oil sector must be developed looking at the dwindling global oil prices. Commenting on the need for diversification in Nigeria economy, Mr Muda Yusuf, the Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “The imperative of economic diversification cannot be overemphasised, especially with the slump in crude oil price at less than $30 per barrel. “This development has profound implications for the fiscal viability of government at all levels. We need to urgently improve the capacity of the Nigerian economy to develop the non-oil sector through the creation of an enabling environment for investors in those sectors. The key is to improve the productivity and competitiveness of these sectors. We need to tackle issues of cost of doing business; better investment in infrastructure, funding issues, patronage of made in Nigeria products, policies that are investment friendly, strengthening of regulatory institutions, among others.” Economic analysts believe the potentials of shoring up Nigeria’s GDP and recording an appreciable increase can be helped with the support of the telecoms sector. In his analysis, Mr Ayo Teriba, the Chief Executive Officer, Economic Associates said: “the best way to think about revenue generation is growth. If you are able to stimulate growth you can count on more revenue been generated and the best way to stimulate growth is to ensure that investment keep flowing into sectors that need them. If you have steady flow of investments they are going to lead to growth that will lead to improved revenue for the government.” Expatiating, he said: “The telecoms operators have been a major source of revenue to the government and I do not think that government has previously raised any issue or conflict about their contribu-

From left, Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Adeolu Bajomo; Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr Frederick Udoaka; General Manager, Enterprise Marketing, MTN, Ms Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema; Executive Director, Business Development, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri and General Manager, Enterprise Sales, MTN, Mr Ladipo Nylander, at the launch of MTN Prestige Corporate Loyalty Programme in Lagos, recently. tions to the government purse.” Aside contributing to the purse of the government, the telecom companies have taken the bull by the horn in strategically empowering businesses in Nigeria, particularly the small and medium scale enterprises. Critical to these activities is the massive investment in telecommunication infrastructure by the telecommunication communication. For instance, MTN Nigeria projected these possibilities when it set out to invest in infrastructural development in 2003 to support the efforts of the government. “In January 2003, we commissioned the first phase of our digital microwave transmission backbone, Y’ello Bahn. Constructed at an initial cost of $120 million, the first phase of Y’ello Bahn spanned 3,500 km. The second phase which started in July 2003 extended the project to cover a total of 4,500 km. The length of the entire digital microwave transmission backbone currently stands at 11, 400km. This interconnects with Cameroun in Borno and Cross Rivers States and with Niger Republic in Sokoto State. In terms of distance and capacity, this makes the Y’ello Bahn Africa’s most extensive digital transmission infrastructure which has significantly contributed to enhancing call quality on the MTN network,” said Amina Oyagbola, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria. Still determined to make a difference, “we also embarked on the deployment of fibre optic cables across the country to boost the transmission capacity on our network. A total of 16,000 km (backbone, metro, NFE) have been covered with fibre-optic cables across Nigeria. This makes it the longest privately-owned fibre-optic cable ever laid in Africa and definitely one of the most modern” Oyagbola informed. When MTN Nigeria launched the MTN SME plus, MTN was determined to reduce to the barest minimum cost of operations

particularly in the areas of voice and data. The service provides lower cost on-net GSM Voice, Data and SMS bundles targeted primarily for the SMEs. Same is the MTN SME Data Share that allows business owners to buy data bundles and share with their staff. The service specifically designed for growing businesses allows them the ability to centrally manage internet usage per staff across their business. With continuous and extensive investment in infrastructure and a focus on innovation, MTN Business is able to deploy new and flexible services and solutions tailor-made to address customers’ peculiar business communication needs. In the MyOffice space, MTN Business continues to work with various partners to design and deploy solutions that are both affordable yet innovative meeting the need of the Nigerian small business enterprise. Another product that sits in the space of supporting the businesses is the MTN HyNet designed for small and mediumsized businesses that require high speed Internet connectivity for multiple groups of staff and suitable for businesses that have large data download requirements. MTN’s overriding mission is to be a cat-

Today, the importance of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to the Nigerian economy is coming under very positive reviews.

alyst for Nigeria’s economic growth and development, helping to unleash Nigeria’s strong developmental potential not only through the provision of world class communications but also through innovative and sustainable corporate social responsibility initiatives. For instance, as a CSR initiative, the MTN Rural Telephony project has enabled thousands of women particularly in the rural communities to be economically empowered. With the expanded infrastructure it has become easier to get to the people in these remote areas to do business and sustain themselves. Apparently, the initiative has been enhanced by further investment in infrastructure. In this regard, Oyagbola informed that “in 2010, MTN Nigeria (in partnership with Ericsson) commissioned the largest network switch centre in the world, capable of handling calls from up to 8 million subscribers at a time. The MTN network is coordinated from 117 switches spread across the country.” Appraising the initiative, Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, Founder Growing Businesses Foundation said: “I think if you look around, you will find especially in our country a plethora of problems. In those problems are the opportunities and the solutions. We can help big business understand that to do business, you can do it in a win-win fashion; it doesn’t have to be winner-take-all. It can be in such a manner that the big boys win but the small people win too. And at the end of the day, you are breaking a bigger pie.” Speaking on the resolve of the company recently, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr Ferdi Moolman, said the company had invested over $16 billion in Nigeria over the past 15 years of MTN Nigeria’s operations in the country, thereby contributing an estimated 4.5 per cent to its GDP.

infotech

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

NCC to auction 6 2.6GHz spectrum licences in May Stories By Bode Adewumi

HE Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it plans to auction six slots of 2.6GHz Frequency spectrums on 16 May, 2016 in Abuja. The planned auctioning was made known by Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, at the eWorld Magazine Forum, with the theme, ‘Expanding Nigeria Digital Frontier,’ in Lagos late last week. Danbatta, who was represented by Mr Tony Ojobo, Director of Public Affairs, NCC, in his keynote address, stated that the auctioning of the spectrums was part of the various initiatives to be used in expanding Nigeria’s digital frontiers. According to him, “Broadband is the next big thing in the world that would not only drive communication, but also economy growth of the world and as a country, we can’t be left out of that. And so, we initiated plans for it and envisage that within the next three to four years, we will achieve 30 per cent broadband penetration. “As I told one of the stakeholders that visited the Commission very recently, we are in a hurry to catch up with this desirable objective and therefore putting every effort on the table to ensure that we succeed. “We won’t be here discussing about this if there were nothing sufficient on ground that have made Nigeria and its ICT industry a talking point today. I think the current statistics in the industry is not worth repeating except to say that the voice segment of the market is almost conquered with a teledensity of about 107 per cent, while we have more than 152 million active phone lines across the country and within several networks.

From left, Mr Clement Nwankwo, Manager, Consumer Segment, Etisalat Nigeria; Mrs Ololade Shonubi, Head of Operator Business, Samsung Electronics West Africa; Mr Adeolu Dairo, Director, Consumer Segment, Etisalat Nigeria; Ms Olajumoke Okikiolu, Head, Product Marketing, Information Technology and Mobile and Mr Emmanouil Revmatas, Director, Information Technology and Mobile, during the launch of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smart phones in Lagos, recently. “We want to build on this and to achieve this, we have made it clear that there must be concerted efforts on the part of the regulator and the stakeholders, especially the investing community. We have outlined various initiatives, which we believe will contribute to achieving this objective. On

May 16, 2016, six slots of 2.6GHz Frequency Spectrums will go up for auction in Abuja. The winners of these auctions are expected to achieve nationwide roll out for wholesale and retails wireless broadband services across the country within a couple of years. We hope this will energise compe-

Collaboration with Korea on e-Govt will enhance transparency —Minister THE collaboration with the Korean government will enhance Nigeria’s capability for efficiency, transparency and accountability in governance, with its attendant benefits trickling down to the masses. The Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, who is the head of a 14-man delegation to this year’s 10th capacity building for e-Government in Nigeria

new era in home entertainment. Its IMAX-like curvature guarantees an amazingly immersive and comfortable viewing experience. Indeed, it is a point of pride that we were able to bring the OLED TV into the Nigerian market and we will continue to expand and improve our industry leading television technology.” “Despite the advent of 3D movies, bigger screens, 4D motion seating and ultra-premium cinemas, the traditional movie theatre is under threat from increasingly popular streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Critically-acclaimed shows like Game of Thrones and Break-

ing Bad have convinced viewers across the world that what’s on in their living room is just as exciting as whatever’s showing at the theatre. This rise in quality of television content has ushered in what critics have called, ‘The Golden Age of Television.’ In addition to the rich content available to today’s viewers, the explosion in the popularity of television as a medium for storytelling can be tied to the interactive power of smart TVs as well as recent strides in image rendering technology that allow picture quality to increase exponentially every few years.

tablishing an e-Government Master Plan; Capacity Development Programme (CDP) and establishing an e-Government Training Centre in Nigeria. According to a statement by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Mr Victor Oluwadamilare, the expectations of the minister is geared towards ensuring that Nigeria makes the best use of the opportunity of e- Government to increase the nation’s capability for efficiency, transparency and accountability in governance. This, he averred, is in tandem with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari, in his desire to turn around the fortunes of the country in laying a new and enduring foundation for a better future for the people. The minister, while addressing the course participants, congratulated them for their doggedness in the service of their fatherland and admonished them on the need to take advantage of the Korean government’s gesture in taking new initiatives that will impact the way the people are governed and propel Nigeria to greatness.

THE Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), managers of the country’s Internet real estate, is inviting the Internet community to choose the best as nominees for the 2016 .ng Web Awards were announced. NiRA says .ng the Web Awards co-located with its Gala Night will recognise the excellent achievements of members, stakeholders and the general public, “who have contributed towards building a sustainable economy using technology relevant to the Domain

Name System (DNS) industry.” According to NiRA, “winners for each category will be determined through online voting and decisions of a Competent Award Jury selected based on their relevance and expertise.” NiRA has invited the Internet community to vote for their preferred choice on the association website, www.nira.org.ng.” Based on the award criteria adopted for the 2016 .ng Web Award, the company or organisation must have been regis-

tered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and is doing business with a .ng domain name either at the second level or third level. The domain name must have been registered for at least six months. According to NiRA, “for the 2016 .ng Web Awards, all qualifying websites were considered irrespective of whether they are hosted locally or not.” The domain name managers said that winners in each category will gain access to the .ng Web

Benchmarking Invitational Programme, made these disclosures in Seoul, South Korea, last week. The Invitational Programme, designed for senior government officials, was put together by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The Korean global agency is investing $8.56 million for the implementation of the project. The project has three components: es-

How LG Electronics is redefining smart television LEADING electronics manufacturers are now intensely investing in research and development in order to come up with modern TVs that address various consumer needs. One of such companies is LG Electronics with its large array of game-changing TVs. The most impressive TV innovation at the 2016 CES surprisingly came from LG. The long time peddler of wild wacky and crazy expensive living room technology showed off a 4K OLED TV that is as thick as four credit cards. Nothing will be as revolutionary as the invention of TV except for the world’s first Curved OLED TV. Commenting on present TV trends, General Manager, Home Entertainment division, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Mr. Steve Ryu said: “We are fully committed to bringing next generation technologies to the Nigerian market. “The next-generation display technology and the advanced ultra-thin depth of 4.3mm come with a unique curved design which represents a new era in home entertainment. It must be seen to be believed. “Our groundbreaking OLED TV mark is the beginning of a whole

tition at that level, and force some of them who are resting on their oars in this segment of the market to wake up,” he added. Danbatta also said challenges confronting the industry were being taken care of, adding that the commission has started looking into these complaints.

NiRA unveils 2016 .ng web awards nominees

Nigerian Tribune

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S7 set to redefine mobile experience AS a testament to Samsung’s commitment to developing bestin-class products to meet the ever-changing needs of its consumers, the leading maker of consumer electronics has launched into the Nigerian market the most advanced smart phones in its stable, the Galaxy S7 Edge and S7. The devices were formally unveiled in Lagos, last week. Successors to Galaxy S6 Edge and S6, Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and S7 are a blend of premium components with the most advanced Samsung technology. They are imbued with incredibly intelligent cameras, and have set a new industry standard for design, craftsmanship and performance. Mr Paul Lee, Managing Director of Samsung Electronics West Africa, said that the new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge highlight the most refined phone experience ever by combining the latest technology that users expect from Samsung’s Galaxy series. Lee reiterated the company’s commitment to fulfilling its brand promise of inspiring the world and the future by bringing new and outstanding innovations to the doorstep of consumers. “Our innovative technology has adequately captured customers’ aspirations and desires,” he said. The Galaxy S7 has a 5.1-inch display screen, while the Galaxy S7 Edge has a 5.5-inch screen. They both feature Super AMOLED display, allowing for clearer videos and images with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 (Quad HD). Both devices have 200GB expendable memory augmenting their 32GB of internal storage. The devices also feature IP68 water and dust resistance, which prevent the devices from damage when submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes at a time. The S7’s waterproofing includes sealed ports. The S7 series come imbued with longer lasting batteries. While the S7 comes with an in-built battery of 3,000mAh, the S7 edge features 3,600mAh battery, large enough for a day or more. Another new outstanding feature is the always-on display where notifications, time, date or personalised screen are permanently shown on the screen even when the phone is off. This feature does not significantly impact the battery life.

Award Icon, which is available in various sizes and formats for inclusion on websites and marketing collateral. The 2016 .ng Web Awards nominees as announced by NIRA are: Technology Company of the Year recognises companies that have demonstrated excellence in innovation and a commitment to the technology community while embracing sound business fundamentals. This category is reserved for companies that have been established for more than five years.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

brands& marketing

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Akin Adewakun

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

Innovention 2016 and search for the truly African media Stories BY Akin Adewakun-Lagos

ne of the challenges Africans have had to contend with, over the years, has been its gross misrepresentation to the rest of the world by the Western media, who many have accused of being ‘permanently’ biased when it comes to discussing issues and politics concerning the continent. This development, to many, has contributed to the slow economic growth the continent had recorded over the years, despite its abundance of potential. The need, therefore, for Africans to begin to tell its own narratives, via its own media, many believe, has become imperative if the continent actually intends to take its pride of place on the global space. This thematic thrust again formed one of the highlights of this year’s Innovention Series, organised by Verdant Zeal, a marketing communications outfit, that featured professionals from different parts of the continent to identify the potential of the continent and discuss the next big thing for the continent. Not a few speakers at the event attributed the slow growth in the continent and the lack of self esteem among Africans to the fact that the continent had for a long time allowed the foreign media to help it tell its story. Delivering a key note address at the event, a professor of literature and African Studies at Carleton University Canada, Professor Pius Adesanmi, noted that while it is obvious that the continent is effectively involved in the ‘scramble for the future’, through the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063, a fifty-year envisioning of the future of the continent and her peoples, he however argued that for the continent to realise those lofty ambitions it has to set out in the agenda, it has become imperative for it to develop a truly African media platform, that would enable it tell its own narratives to the world. According to the university don, one of the challenges the continent had been having over the years had been its tacit surrender of the storytelling platforms to the west, noting that such had been responsible for the negative impression those western media

From left, Publisher, Vanguard Newspapers; Mr Sam Amuka, Executive Vice Chairman, Verdent Zeal, Dr Tunji Olugbodi; Chairman, Verdant Zeal Group, Mr Femi Oyewole; Guest Speaker and Professor of Literature Studies, Carlton University, Ottawa, Canada, Professor Pius Adesanmi and Executive Chairman, STB McCann, Sir Steve Omojafor at the 5th edition of Verdant Zeal Innovention Series 2016, held recently in Lagos Photo; Sylvester Okoruwa. had been able to create about Africa He argued that with its vast youthful population and immense mineral resources, Nigeria could be at the driver’s seat of the continent’s development if she is able to harness the huge potential this youthful population presents, through innovation, invention and knowledge. “If you compare the narrative voices in Europe 2050 and Africa’s Agenda 2063, the latter seems to be saying to the former: if you think that the nature and the order of things in the next fifty years are going to be the way you have programmed them in the last five hundred years, with you on the throne and me always groveling in poverty and backwardness at your feet, you’ve got another thing coming. “The race to the second half of the 21st century and beyond is going to be powered by genius, innovation, invention, and knowledge, and not by slave ships, Gatling guns, natural resources, and colonial punitive expeditions, in Africa,” he argued. He, however believes that such ambitions might be nipped in the bud if there are no

media platforms for the continent to vent its stories to the outside world. “When the Ebola scourge came, the Western media not only succeeded in giving it the African coloration, the continent also failed in actually celebrating how it was able to effectively deal with the scourge. “For instance, while Nigeria was able to effectively control the disease and nip it in the bud, the United States was actually at a loss when it eventually broke out in the country. Unfortunately, Nigeria was not celebrated for this because the continent has no such platform and whatever narratives that are churned out are from a rather biased western media. “The fact remains that Ebola was a fabrication of the CNN and Skypes of this world; since they determine African narratives,” he stated. In his contribution, the President of the Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria (AAAN), Mr kelechi Nwosu believes the average African’s self esteem had continued to wane over the years because the continent does not have a truly African mouthpiece. Nwosu, one of the discussants at the event,

Quill Awards, not restricted to Lagos media — Promasidor Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, Promasidor Nigeria has announced that the company’s Quill Awards, was introduced by the company to celebrate the nation’s media practitioners, and not practitioners from a particular zone in the country. The company’s Head, Legal/Public Relations, Mr Andrew Enahoro, who made this clarification in Lagos during an interview session, advised journalists in every part of the country who have quality write-ups and are yet to upload their entries for the awards to do so before the deadline of April 14, 2016. He warned that the company will not extend the entry window of the awards, which

began in January 14, 2016. Enahoro acknowledged that Promasidor had already received many entries for the different categories of the awards; but expressed optimism that many more entries would still be uploaded before entry closes. The seven categories available for journalists to compete for this year are: Best Report on Children and Nutrition; Best CSR and Industry Report of the Year; Education Reporter of the Year; Best Photo Story of the Year; Future Writer of the Year; Brand Advocate of the Year and Best Online Reporter of the Year. By providing the platform, Enahoro said Promasidor had judiciously fulfilled its own part of the promise.

“It is now left for journalists in different parts of the country to benefit from the credible platform created by Promasidor Quill Awards. If you feel that your work is good enough to merit an award then, you put it in. That is what it is all about – to encourage and reward excellence,” he stated. Enahoro explained that the decision of the company to introduce the e-platform for the entry submission was informed by the need to take care of journalists who are outside Lagos and the South West region. He added that with the e-platform, there is an instant acknowledgement of entries, while the website also has help lines and email addresses where issues are promptly attended to.

argued that for the continent to really realise its potential and remain an investors’ haven, it must have the courage to rightly tell its own stories. ‘We have to really market the continent and one of the ways of doing that is to own the media. As we can see, we don’t expect the CNN of this world to help us tell our stories, they only pick on our negatives. We need to explore our untapped potential and market it. We need to identify the skills that the world needs that we have and market them. “We need to have our strategic communication plan. Entertainment has done more for Africa than Africa Union. So we need to control the media to be able to tell these stories,” the AAAN boss argued. A creative industry professional and President of Chocolate City Entertainment, Audu Maikori, stated that in spite of the feats being recorded in the nation’s entertainment industry, the talents in that sector are far from being harvested. He noted that the environment had not been supportive enough for creativity to thrive. “No doubt the potential is there, but how are we harnessing them? Has government been supportive enough? For me, a situation where it takes more than one month to get a company registered cannot be said to be supportive of investment,” he stated. Explaining the rationale behind the Innovention Series, the Executive Vice Chairman/Group Chief Executive Officer, Verdant Zeal Group, Dr Tunji Olugbodi described the Innovention Series as a quest to empower Nigerians and enable them fulfill their potential, recognize and exploit their hidden opportunities. “Our countries face complex and longstanding challenges, lack of vision or good leadership, corruption and a host of others. “We have to deliberately plan to be great. There is a need for paradigm shift in the form of a re-orientation of minds to help re-engineer the nation towards development,’ he explained.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

property

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Chukwuma Okparaocha

m:08038984495 e:chukscop2005@yahoo.co.uk

Distressed buildings: Lagos’ avoidable calamities waiting to happen Chukwuma Okparaocha - Lagos

AGOS means many things to different people; for some it is the home of the ageless lagoon and the salty Atlantic. For others it is the abode of many historical objects that piece together the nation called Nigeria, while to others, it is simply the home of traffic gauntlets and endless hustling. Yet some see it as the land of distressed buildings and endless building collapses. Coming on the heels of the latest incidents of building collapse, which claimed no fewer than 10 lives, the Lagos State government again fanned into flames its seemingly already dying desire to rid the state of distressed properties. Tribune Property recalls that in 2011 when a series of building collapse incidents were recorded in quick succession in different parts of the state, the state government quickly swung into action and eventually identified about 80 distressed buildings. However, five years after, after yet another round of building collapse cases, the number of identified distressed building has snowballed into over 600, while in the last few months, over 30 of such buildings were identified at Ebute Meta area of the state alone. Indications are rife that this number will swell even the more, because the recently constituted agencies which is saddled with the responsibility of marking out such buildings, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has vowed to fish out all distressed buildings in the state. Tribune Property gathered that once a building, after several of such verification exercises, fails to meet certain requirements, it is deemed not safe for occupancy, while those currently occupying it would be expected to move out immediately. However, Tribune Property, which recently went round parts of the state where scores of such buildings are known to exist, observed that rather than leave, many occupants still choose to continue to live there. It was also observed that even the houses that can be deemed to have been evacuated often have shops carved out either within their premises or somewhere very close to them. Tribune Property recalls spotting one of such buildings recently at Mosalasi area of Agege, where it was observed that despite an ominous seal of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) pasted on the building’s main gate, and which was meant to warn residents to steer clear of the building, scores of businessmen and women still went about their business transactions within the building and its environs. One of such traders, who identified herself as Mrs Titilayo Amuda, revealed that after the seal was placed at the entrance of the property, nothing was heard from the building control agency that posted it there. When asked why she chose to disregard warnings to steer clear of the building, Mrs Amuda said, “They (LASBCA official) were

Distressed property at Kano Street here some days ago to place the seal on the gate, but since then no one has seen them. Therefore, it is only natural for people to continue to do what they were doing before the seal was posted. In any case, I am just a trader here; I don’t live here, therefore I don’t think I should be overly bothered by the agency’s action,” she remarked. Elsewhere, at Kadara Street in Ebute Meta, a resident, who identified himself as Denis Ogbe, admitted he was not happy with the idea of living in a house considered ‘unsafe,’ but he insisted that that was a risk he could not avoid taking because he had no money to move elsewhere. “I am not happy living in such a house, but at the moment there is nothing I can do about it because I do not have money to move elsewhere. There is hardly anywhere you go now and landlords as well as their agents won’t be asking you to pay rent for two years. My brother, let me just continue

There’s the need for increased public awareness while the government shares part of the blame because it has not implemented some of the earlier recommendations made by experts on building collapse.

to manage my life here until God answers me. But I know by God’s grace this house won’t fall,” he remarked. Tribune Property’s itinerary also covered Mushin, where an elderly woman, was seen selling various homemade things close to the entrance of a building that had been marked. Clearly not perturbed by the presence of a seal at the entrance of her house, the woman insisted that back in where she came from, there were many houses she knew when she was little and which had semblances of distress. But, according to her, many of such houses still exist today without any problem. In the view of a seasoned town planner, who is widely reputed to be the first female professional in West Africa, Mrs Kehinde George, the government has not responded well to earlier recommendations made by various committees set up to review every case of building collapse in the state, especially given the fact that people tend to build outside the original approved plans. “There’s the need for increased public awareness, while the government shares part of the blame because it has not implemented some of the earlier recommendations made by experts on building collapse. “Planning authority must also be friendly and approachable, as well as making their services cheaper. If people have easy access to good information at a cheap rate, they will be encouraged to go for it,” she recently insisted. In his own opinion, an ex-president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr Bode Adediji, once argued that the solution to the cases of distressed and collapsed buildings is that the government ‘must be dedicated to put an end to this course.’ “Since we have been recording such in-

cidents, no one has been made to face the law so as to serve as deterrent to others,” he stated. However, the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL) has advised property owners, especially distressed and dilapidated buildings in the State, to ensure that integrity and stability tests are conducted on their building to prevent sudden collapse of such buildings and unnecessary loss of lives and properties. The Acting General Manager LSMTL, Mr Rasheed Teslim Balogun, who stated this moments after a building at Alli Close, Mile 12, Ketu partially collapsed. He pointed out that the Agency would conduct a non-destructive test as well as study the structural elements of the building to examine and confirm the stability and the integrity on the remaining structure. He however advised all builders in the state to work with the Agency by conducting necessary tests before embarking on construction and ensure that standard materials are used for construction in order to avoid the recurring building collapse in some parts of Lagos. While imploring all builders in the state to abide with standard specification for the construction of any building, Mr Balogun maintained that the integrity test on all buildings at the Lekki Gardens as directed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, would help in revealing the true state of the hou ses. The Acting General Manager however appealed to all stakeholders in the built industry to do the needful by complying with all laws guiding construction processes especially the certification of building materials by the agency, reiterating that the current administration is ready to do all within its power to end the menace of building collapse in the state.

property ‘How infrastructural development can open Badagry for economic growth’ 38

Stories By Chukwuma Okparaocha Lagos

ESIDENTS of Badagry, a rustic and historic community in Nigeria, can now heave a sigh of relief as plans for massive infrastructural development there have been uncovered. According to information gathered by Tribune Property, the projected development in infrastructural amenities is expected to cover all 34 communities in Badagry and is expected to include the construction and rehabilitation of link roads and link bridges, as well provision of potable water and electricity. This move will be expected to yet again open up the historic community to economic growth and further improve its housing investments which have been speculated to

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

grow in years to come due to the expansion of the Mile 2-BadaryExpressway as well as the ongoing light rail project. Last week, the prospect of Badagry being Lagos’ centre of economic activities was again reignited when a lawmaker, Mr Setonji David representing BadagryConstituency II in the Lagos House of Assembly, unveiled eight boreholes in eight wards, in a project which is also expected to serve as the precursor of other developmental projects in the community. The boreholes are located in various wards in two areas of Badagry, the OlorundaLCDA and Badagry Central LGA. The project locations at Olorunda LCDA include Itakete Quarter, SingbomehCompound Age Mowo, New layout close , Ilogbo Eremi, and Ago Egun Quarters, Ibiye. The locations at Badagry Central LGA are

Ikoga Evening Market, Zungboji inAjara Yafin, Bobby area in Ajara Topa and Tozunkanmeh, Ajara Agamathen in Ward I, H, F and E respectively. The donation of the boreholes, with each equipped with a functional electricity generating set to help power it whenever there’s power failure, was part of efforts by lawmaker to mark the 2016 World Water Day in his constituency. In his chat with Tribune Property, Pastor Olusegun Odesanya, the Chairman, IbiyeTown Community Development Association (CDA) in Olorunda Local Council Development Area (LCDA) said that residents had been battling with poor water supply for years. The cleric said, “The challenge of water here is so much that we have started using this borehole long before today using our

Ongoing laying of asphalt at Lagos Abeokuta Expressway, Ile-Epo Oja-Gatankowa axis.

Ogun to plant 1.5 million tree seedlings THE Ogun State Government has reiterated its believe in the protection of the environment by stating its vision of planting no fewer than 1.5million trees in the state. The government said it was making this move bearing in mind the immense importance of tree-planting in the society, which aside its contribution to socio-economic development, is also useful for human survival as the climate changes from time to time. Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal, disclosed this while addressing newsmen after planting some tree seedlings as part of the programme commemorating this year International Forest Day tagged “Forest and Water” saying that the Ministry had began to distribute 1.5 million tree seedlings to the nine forest reserves in the State. Lawal said 2016 had been earmarked by the Ministry for massive tree Planting in the State as government had started distribution of tree seedlings across the three Senatorial Districts of the state. “For the government and the people of the state, year 2016 is a tree planting year, that is why we have stepped up the numbers of tree seedlings in our nursery sites from 700,000 to 1.5 million tree seedlings, so that we can have enough for distribution and planting in our forest regeneration exercise.” He explained that the distribution and planting exercise was expected to com-

mence around June this year during raining season, urging the people of the state to key into the free tree seedling distribution that would be provided by state government. Lawal said that it’s very pertinent for the residents to plant trees even in their immediate environment to prevent climate

change in the society, saying “The last man dies when the last tree dies.” It would be recalled that 200,000 tree seedlings had been earlier raised by the ministry but for the coming raining season, it has to raise it to 1.5 million to cut across the nine forest reserves in the state.

Nigerian Tribune

power generator for pumping of water. “Our problem is not limited to water, we don’t have good roads and we need relieve transformers. We commend Honourable Setonji for providing us with water.” But the lawmaker, remarked that he was aware that many people had no access to potable water in the area and that that informed his decision to provide potable water for residents. The lawmaker, who said that many ailments and diseases could be prevented by potable water, noted that he had drunk of the water and that it was good for human consumption. He said, “Water is life and it is one of the basic necessities of life. It is unfortunate that many people still walk long distance in search of water, water scarcity and stress is still on rise. When we provide clean water for citizens, they will be healthy and we will spend less money on healthcare. “In Badagry, most people do not have access to potable water and we cannot continue to look and live them in their plight. “I want to appeal to Governor Ambode to come to the rescue of Badagry people and other areas with water challenge,” he said. Setonji who is the Chairman, House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development assured the residents that government was working hard to improve electricity and roads. An elderly resident, Mr Jimoh Disu, a plumber, said the move by the lawmaker was a step in the right direction, as it would help put an end to the era of scarcity of potable water in the community. “For a long time we have been suffering from scarcity of good water, but this good move by the lawmaker is a step in the right direction and it will help to reduce the problem we face as regard water,” Disu said. The elderly man, however noted that the community was also suffering from bad roads, which he said had made life difficult for residents. Similarly, the women leader and Otun Iya Oja of Ibiye, Mrs Caroline Obaluwa, while commending the lawmaker for the gesture, said the lawmaker had shown “exemplary leadership” in remembering to give back to the community. At the Badagry Central, the Ward I Chairman, Ebudola Zongbosi, also lauded the lawmaker’s project, saying with the borehole, the era of residents travelling as far as 30km to access water had come to an end.

Property Investments

How to access government-approved building plans A few days ago, Tribune Property came out with an alarming report which indicated that as much as 500,000 houses in Lagos do not have government-approved building plans. But Tribune Property is aware that thousands of would-be house owners have over the years hinged this unwholesome development on the difficulty in getting approval for their dream houses, and often many proceed to start building their properties on their own. But building without necessary approval from the government can have adverse effect in the future, and as such, all builders should be told to resist the temptation of allowing needless bureaucratic bottlenecks by the government to stop them from do-

ing things the proper way. What is a building plan? They are the first tangible thing that depicts the picture of the buildings we have imagined. Without them, a builder cannot fully capture or see the reality of that beautiful four bedroom duplex with a swimming pool and a lovely garden or the 100,000sqm of parking space with tons of convenience stores meeting the needs of various individuals. They are the graphical representation of what a building will look like after construction and also helps in the process of evaluating the cost of erecting such a structure. In most countries, it is customary to ob-

tain a permit or approval from appropriate authorities and Nigeria is not an exception. A Building plan approval is necessary before construction can commence. This is to ensure that building complies with building laws and codes and to prevent people from just constructing as they deem fit. Hence, the very first thing to do when you want to commence construction is to obtain a Development Permit from the Lagos State Government and the office in charge is the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority (LASPPDA), a parastatal under the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. ... To be continued next week

news

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Agatu massacre: Idomas, cattle breeders meet

Say dialogue for peaceful resolution on course Adetola Bademosi - Abuja

O L L O W I N G the recent clash between the Idomas in Agatu Local Government and Fulani herdsmen in Benue State, the two warring parties have met and are currently holding dialogue for peace-

ful resolution. This was contained in a communiqué jointly issued in Abuja on Monday, by The I Idoma Initiative and the Miyetti Allah Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN). The communique, which was jointly signed by the Convener of the 1

Idoma Initiative (Ardon Zuru), Mr Paul Edeh and the national president, MACBAN, Alhaji Muhammadu Kiruwa, resolved to an immediate cessation of hostilities between the Idomas in Agatu and the Fulani nomadic community carrying out grazing activities in Agatu.

It also said that the national leadership of MACBAN will direct its Benue and Nasarawa states chapters to immediately direct all Fulani herdsmen carrying out grazing activities in Agatu to immediately withdraw and move to Nasarawa State while dialogue towards the

Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal (middle), laying the foundation stone for the new staff quarters, at the Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State, on Monday. With him is the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar (left) and the Osun State deputy governor, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori.

Effective democracy, panacea for insurgency, religious crises —Tambuwal EFFECTIVE application of tenets of democracy will promote religious harmony and tackle insurgency and feeling of marginalisation, Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has said. “Democratic governance can be used to effectively tackle problems of religious intolerance through the election of patriotic, selfless and people-oriented politicians into positions of authority” who in turn carry all sections of the society along in executing their mandates, the governor said in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Monday. Delivering a paper tagged: “Religious tolerance and the challenges of democratic governance in Nigeria”, at the Fountain University, Osogbo, Tambuwal said Nigeria can overcome the problem of religious intolerance if purveyors of violence and lawlessness are properly exposed and penalised by law enforcement agencies. He said there is the need for the citizenry to be p roactive in promoting good governance, fighting corruption and kicking against bad leadership within the limits of the law. According to him, promotion of “sincere and open discussions”, to be

championed by religious groups, leaders, security men and traditional rulers on areas of interests, agreements and disagreements will enhance unity and understanding. “We need to specifically mount robust enlightenment campaign that would foster inter-faith understanding. The tremendous achievements recorded

by the Nigeria inter-religious council need to be consolidated by finding more strategies that would promote its envisaged objectives. “There’s the need to control the many factors that are impacting directly or indirectly on religious disharmony such as unemployment, poverty, inadequate security, depletion of cultural values and bad

politicking,” he added. While noting that ethnic and religious harmony has been exemplary in the history of Nigeria, Tambuwal opined that disputes and conflicts witnessed over the years in Nigeria, have been more or less caused by poor education among the people, many of who are hoodwinked by unpatriotic people seeking power at all cost.

Otuoke Phase II Road project: Senate committee orders contractor to stop work Austin Ebipade - Yenagoa THE contractor handling former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Otuoke Phase II Road has been asked to stop work and vacate site for poor job performance on the 16 kilometre-road project. The chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) projects, Senator Peter Nwaobushi ,bemoaned the slow pace of work on a project as significant as the Otuoke Phase II Road, intended to connect the Federal University, Otuoke in Bayelsa State. This, Nwaobushi said in Yenagoa ,when the senate committee inspected the level of work done at the various NDDC projects sites in Bayelsa State.

The senate committee was aggrieved that the contractor on site, having received N600million mobilisation for the 16kilometre road project without any agreement with NDDC, reduced the scope to six kilometres, yet with no concrete work on ground to match funds released by the commission. At the Akenfa Carnal Bridge in Yenagoa, the senate committee admitted that the slow pace of work is predicated on the commission’s delay in disbursing 50 per cent balance of the total sum, including variation which they agreed to, upon the presentation of certificate. The chairman of the committee regretted that the project approved in 2010, with two and a half years

completion time frame, was yet to be delivered after six years, stressing that the inability to complete the project has forestalled the accelerated development of communities in Akenfa axis of the state. Nwaobushi averred that if the project is not completed, the initial 50 per cent mobilisation for the project would be wasted and the communities would continue to face problem of accessibility in the area. At the prototype university hostel project at the Niger Delta University (NDU), the committee lauded the contracting firm, Savrite Limited, for surmounting the inaccessibility problem and work pace in spite of the re-design, which includes drainage.

peaceful resolution of the conflict is ongoing. “We have agreed to continue to cooperate among ourselves and continue in this all important quest to dialogue and explore all efforts and avenues targeted at bringing about lasting peace.” The communique further urged the Federal Government to set up a committee that will include the leadership of the 1 Idoma Initiative and MACBAN. The committee will comprehensively look into the immediate and remote causes of the crisis with a view of finding a lasting solution. It suggested that the committee should be mandated to ascertain the level of destruction of lives and property from both sides. It reads in part;”While the Agatu youths should desist from patrolling the river bank until when better understanding is sought between the two parties. “The Federal Government should draw up a roadmap to commence the immediate reconstruction,rehabilitation and re-integration of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Agatu back to their various communities.

Religious Bill: el-Rufai not a religious biggot —Kaduna govt Muhammadu Sabiu - Kaduna KADUNA State government has said the criticisms trailing the religious bill sent to the state House of Assembly by Governor Nasir el-Rufai, were the handwork of mischief makers bent on politicising the bill, even as it said the governor is not a religious biggot. The views of the state government was made known through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Affairs, Mallam Uba Sani, in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna, on Monday. “We are not going to get tired of explaining to our people that all the policies, programmes as well as legislation currently being implemented or about to be implemented by the el Rufai-led administration will always be in the best interest of the state. “The governor has a deep knowledge of this state and how easy it is for people who do not mean well to orchestrate negative religious issues, given the seemingly sharp religious divide in the state.”

Nigerian Tribune

Buhari lauded over apology on dissolution of varsities’ councils PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been commended for his recent apology over dissolution of governing councils of universities in the country. The chairman, Governing Council of Alvan Ikoku University, Owerri, Honourable John Fasogbon, gave the commendation at the weekend, in a statement issued and made available to the Nigerian Tribune. Fasogbon, who described President Buhari as a God-fearing leader and a good listener, who attends to the yearnings of the people, said his apology was a round peg in a round hole towards the development of education sector in the country. He also gave kudos to the president for allowing the rules of law to prevail in accordance with the University Autonomous Act of 1993, “that the tenure of the council board shall be for four years”. Fasogbon, however, reminded President Buhari about the specialised universities that were established by President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the development was in line with the current international trend of developing specialised universities for the enhancement of professionalism for quality human capital development.

Assist Sabongari fire disaster victims, Shekarau tells govt Kola Oyelere - Kano FORMER Kano State governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has urged the state government to assist Sabongari Market fire victims when shops are eventually constructed in the market. The former governor equally solicited assistance from well-meaning Nigerians for the victims. Shekarau, who stated this in a statement signed on his behalf by Malam Sule Yau Sule, his Senior Special Assistant on Media, noted that the victims of the fire disaster needed the assistance of all and sundry. Malam Shekarau, however, called for special prayers to guide against re-occurrence of fire disaster in the state and the nation in general.

south-westnews

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Oba Sijuwade’s prayers culminated in my ascension to the throne —Ooni Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ojaja II), on Monday, disclosed that prayers of his immediate predecessor, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, culminated in his ascension to the throne of Oduduwa. Oba Ogunwusi, who became the 51st Ooni in September 2015, after the demise of Oba Sijuwade in a London hospital, made the disclosure at the renaming of Ife City Hall, in Ile Ife, after the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade. According to the monarch, his predecessor played a major role in his becoming monarch through prayers, recalling that in few occasions he had opportunity of close interpersonal contact with Oba Sijuwade, the late monarch always prayed for him. “Oba Sijuwade was not just our revered father he was a special creature and demonstrated his ability to foresee the future on few occasions I had interaction with him. I can confidently say he played a role in my ascension. On those occasions, he usually prayed from his heart for me. “The honour we are doing him today can never be at par with his contributions to the development of this land. His contributions to even this structure we are naming after him today was huge. Ife will continue to remember him for his great contributions to our development,” Oba Ogunwusi asserted. Earlier in his remark, the President, Ife Development Board (IDB), Professor Muib Opeloye, said Oba Sijuwade was being immortalised in recognition of the laudable role he played in the development of Ife and empowerment of the people. Opeloye, who hinted that the late monarch initiated the project and contributed immensely to its delivery, also commended the chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Babajide Omoworare, for contributing a sum of N12.5 million to the project. Responding on behalf of

Sijuwade’s family, Prince Aderemi Sijuwade ex-

pressed appreciation to the community for recognising the role Oba Sijuwade

played in putting Ife on the world map, assuring that the family will always be

willing to contribute to the development of the ancient town.

Easter fun seekers at the Trans Amusement Park, Bodija Ibadan, on Monday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE.

4 die in Ibadan road accident By Tunde Ogunesan

RAGEDY struck early Easter Monday in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, as four people reportedly died in an auto-accident around Uncle Joe area, Mokola/ Sango Road. According to sources, the lone accident involved a blue Corona car with registration number Lagos EKD 470 BJ. The car was said to have been coming from Dugbe axis of the road heading towards Sango axis. The car owner, according to sources, was returning from a night club. It lost control in an attempt to overtake another car in the convoy. At that point, the car hit a concrete on the median of the road, leaving four out of the five people in the car, a lady and three boys, dead on the spot. The fifth person, a lady, however survived with serious injuries. The only survivor was said to be on danger list at the time of filing this report. According to an eyewitness, some bottles of suspected hot drinks were reportedly recovered from the car. Sources also informed the Nigerian Tribune that it took officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the Nigeria Police, other security agencies and some people about an

hour before the remains of the victims were recovered from the already battered car. The Spokesperson, Oyo State FRSC, Mr Oluwaseun Onijala, however, said three male adults died while a lady who was critically injured was

rushed to the Oyo State General Hospital, Adeoyo, for treatment. He said the lone accident occurred around 2:00a.m. Mr Onijala declared that preliminary investigations revealed that the accident was as a result of speed limit violation and that the

driver of the car was driving under alcohol influence. The FRSC spokesperson said the three dead bodies had been deposited at Adeoyo mortuary while the only surviving lady is receiving treatment at the same hospital.

Declare state of emergency in Osun, SDP tells Buhari Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

OSUN State chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), on Monday, told President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in Osun following what it termed present high level of untimely deaths, hunger and poverty ravaging the people of the state. In a statement signed by the chairman of the party, Chief Ademola Ishola, SDP contended that information at its disposal showed that over 510 retirees in the state died in the last 18 months, while waiting for their entitlements. He noted that apart from the uncountable numbers of workers who lost their lives to avoidable deaths in the last one year due to financial difficulties, “many of them who have been confined to half salaries by Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the last eight months are

dying in silence.” According to him, “many of the sick people in the state who cannot afford private hospitals since the public hospitals have been ineffective since the sack of all the medical doctors, have now resorted to trado-medical centres for help.” Ishola stated: “Osun State will totally collapse economically and socially if Aregbesola is allowed to continue in office beyond July this year. The present poor allocation from the Federation Account to the state has shown that we cannot recover from this mess under Aregbesola, hence, the need for the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government at the centre to declare a state of emergency in Osun.” “In the whole of the federation, Osun is the only state that for two months (November and December

2015) received minus allocations while the January allocation of the state was as low as N6.2million for a population of over five million people. “We must not pretend that all is well with Osun. Indeed, all is not well as this state is almost ruined by Aregbesola’s government. Today, this state took a bailout of N34.9 billion which we will not finish paying until 2035, the rescheduled debt by Debt Management Office (DMO) of N88 billion is still there and several billions of naira being owed many of Aregbesola’s contractors. “Businesses are folding up in the state, many ablebodied beggars are now parading streets of major towns of the state and the state secretariat is now a ghost centre as many workers cannot afford transport fare to their various offices,” Ishola remarked.

Nigerian Tribune

Oriire LG to harness economic potentials THE Chairman, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Honourable Jacob Abidoye Bamigboye, has declared that the time has come for the council to develop its economic potentials to surmount the prevailing financial constraints. Bamigboye made the declaration at a meeting with political supporters and council staff at the secretariat, Ikoyi-Ile, recently. The chairman stated that the economic realities of the time demand from every individual and government at all levels to look inward on how to boost their economic base. He said the council would intensify efforts to promote and support tourism, vocational training, farming and entrepreneurship. Bamigboye, however, expressed gratitude to the state governor for his reappointment which he described as singular opportunity that would propel him to serve the people and go far better than ever before. The chairman, therefore, urged the people of the council to continue to support the APC-led administration to strengthen and enforce the change agenda. Earlier, the Head of Local Government Administration, Alhaji Bayo Raji, lamented the dwindling oil revenue which has drastically reduced allocation to all levels of government.

Muslim media practitioners appoint new executive THE Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Oyo State chapter, has reappointed Alhaji Wasiu Aliyu to lead the association for the second term. Alhaji Aliyu of the Ministry of Information, Oyo State Secretariat, Ibadan and his executive members assumed duty for their first two years tenure in July 2013. The Shura Committee had earlier dissolved the house and later decided that the executive members should run the association for one more term. The re-appointed executive members are Alhaji Wasiu Aliyu, Ministry of Information, Chairman; Alhaji Remi Oladapo, Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), Vice Chairman; Abdur Rofih, BCOS, Financial Secretary; Alhaji Mudathir Abd Rasheed, Splash F.M., Assistant Secretary; Alhaji Roy Adegbite, Ministry of Information, Chief Missioner.

news Braithwaite: My father jogged on Third Mainland Bridge days before his death —Son 41

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

ChukwumaOkparaocha-Lagos

HE second son of the late human rights activist and politician, Mr Tunji

Braithwaite, has said that his late father still jogged for hours on the Third Mainland Bridge just days before he collapsed and was rushed to St. Nicholas Hospital

where he eventually passed on. Olumide Braithwaite, in a chat with the Nigerian Tribune, which paid a visit to the house of the late

politician at 9, Beulah, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, said there was no sign that his health was going to fail him. Olumide, who failed to

Ambode expresses sadness, says Lagos has lost a great son Bola Badmus - Lagos

LAGOS State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has expressed shock and sadness over the demise of foremost nationalist and prominent lawyer, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, who died in a Lagos hospital on Monday at the age of 82. Ambode, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Habib Aruna, said Braithwaite’s demise was a great loss to both the state and the nation. The governor described the late nationalist as a detribalised individual whose example was worthy of emulation, saying Braithwaite was a man of the people, a typical Nigerian who was consistent in saying things

the way they were, not minding whose ox is gored. “He was very consistent in fighting for what he believed was right and fair to every human regardless of their ethnic leaning or creed, he was not one to shy away from taking a position that he strongly believed in.

“He was always consistent in creating independent platforms to fight for the interest of the common man,” the governor said. Ambode said as a lawyer, Braithwaite stood tall among his equals, which earned him respect not only in Nigeria, but across the globe, describ-

He had genuine concern for downtrodden —Mimiko THE Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has described the death on Easter Monday of foremost nationalist and legal luminary, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, as a great loss, submitting that the deceased operated in love and had genuine concern for the downtrodden. Governor Mimiko who stated this in his condolence

message following news of the death of the legal luminary cum politician said: “Dr Braithwaite’s death came to me as a rude shock because it was never envisaged that he was going to transit to the great beyond at this critical time in our nation’s history.” Mimiko noted that “it’s on record that the political and

He was a political leader —Afenifere Bola Badmus - Lagos

PAN-Yoruba socio-political organisation, the Afenifere, has mourned the passing of one of the foremost lawyers and a nationalist, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, describing the deceased as an iconoclastic political leader and social activist. Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin, said this in a statement, noting that, “Braithwaite, throughout his lifetime, was known for his principled stance on national issues and consistent defence of the rights of the oppressed people of Nigeria.” According to the group, Braithwaite’s last major outing was his membership of the 2014 National Conference where he

stoutly canvassed a confederal arrangement as the best constitutional order for Nigeria, saying his

death had brought a closure to a rich era of political sagacity and social crusading.

legal icon devoted his entire adult life to the emancipation of the common man in Nigeria through various platforms including his legendary Nigeria Advance Party (NAP), which he founded from his days as a student. “It’s no doubt that as many of us in Nigeria and the Africa continent who have consistently drawn from his wisdom and wealth of experience, as well as the masses on whose side he deployed his legal sagacity over the years, will greatly miss him,” the governor stated.

He was consistent in pursuit of his convictions —Atiku Kolawole Daniel - Abuja

FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Monday said the death of Nigeria’s veteran lawyer and politi-

cian, Mr Tunji Braithwaite, has robbed the country of one of its greatest giants not only in the field of law, but also in politics. Atiku, in a statement by

His death, end of another chapter in Nigeria’s history —Gani Adams THE death of elder statesman, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, marks a closure in another chapter in the history of our Nigeria, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) leader, Gani Adams, has declared.

A personal loss —Fasehun THE Founder and President of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Dr Frederick Fasehun, has described the demise of Dr Tunji Braithwaite as a personal loss. Explaining that the former presidential candidate of the National Advance Party (NAP) was a “personal friend and fellow democrat,” Fasehun said Braithwaite had an unparalleled passion for the development of Yorubaland in particular and

ing him as a consistent person and one of the very best of lawyers this country had ever produced. “He was one of the very best of lawyers this country has ever produced; he was consistent in the struggle to see the rebirth of a new Nigeria.”

Nigeria in general. “He was a legal luminary, human rights gladiator, constructive commentator and selfless philanthropist,” said Fasehun, who is also National Chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). “In Braithwaite’s death, I have lost a fellow soldier,” Fasehun said, adding “His death is a sad and painful death. He should not have died at this time of Nigeria’s political history.”

“Dr Tunji Braithwaite, though died at a ripe age of 82, his death at this point of our political life has robbed Nigerians of the opportunity to drink from his rich pot of wisdom. “As the last man standing from the political titans of the second republic, during which he founded the Nigerian Advance Party (NAP), Dr Braithwaite surely contributed his quota to the growth of his fatherland.

his media office in Abuja, maintained that he particularly admired the late Braithwaite because of his unwavering commitment to constitutional reforms, especially his agitation for restructuring of the country. The former vice president further explained that he shared in Braithwaite’s passion for creating a fairer federal system that would reduce the fear of too much power and resources at the centre at the expense of the federating units. The APC chieftain added that he keenly followed Braithwaite’s contributions on the issue when he was a delegate at the 2014 National Conference, adding that his consistency in the pursuit of his convictions was remarkable.

His death a rude shock —Women Arise THE Centre for Change and Women Arise for Change Initiative (CCWACI) said it received with shock the demise of a foremost nationalist and activist, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, describing the death as a huge loss to Nigeria.

CCWACI said this in a statement made available by its president, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, stating that the gap created by the demise of the late nationalist would be near impossible to fill, considering his immeasurable contributions to national development.

give more details of the events leading to his father’s death, however, described the late Tunji Braithwaite as “a nice person who fought for the nation and served with all his might.” He also described the late Braithwaite as a man who never wavered in faith. But information gathered by the Nigerian Tribune, indicated that the late Braithwaite collapsed and lost consciousness on Tuesday (March 24) which was just days after his Third Mainland Bridge jogging, and was rushed to the St. Nicholas Hospital on Lagos Island where he remained until his eventual death. This was confirmed by a woman, Yemisi, who identified herself as the wife of the deceased’s first son. She added that after spending almost a week at the hospital, the late Braithwaite gave up the ghost at around 9:00am on Monday. Nigeria Tribune also spoke with a number of sympathisers who continued to troupe into the residence of the late politician to register their condolences. One of such people was one Aminat Bello, who identified herself as ex-secretary to the late Braithwaite. Bello described the deceased as “a man of integrity who had an aura around him which made people to always want to be around him.” Similarly, another sympathiser and Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Summit Group, a human rights group which the late Tunji Braithwaite used to be part of, Mr Tony Uranta, said the deceased was “a peaceful and honest man who fought for the good course of Nigeria as well as the establishment of equality and the rule of law.” Quoting what he described as the late Tunji Braith-

Nigerian Tribune

waite’s favourite quote, Uranta said, “Without being restructured, Nigeria will not be able to be a great nation.” As at the time of filing this report more sympathisers were seen trouping into the residence of the deceased to give their condolences. The late Tunji Braithwaite was the founder of the Nigerian Advance Party. He was aged 82. Born in 1933, Mr Braithwaite was the youngest son of eight children. He was educated at CMS Grammar School, entering the school’s preparatory section in 1946 and completed his education seven years later. In 1955, he sat for his A-Levels at the London University at Kennington College, and enrolled in 1957/58 as a Law student at the Council of Legal Education in London. He was called to the Bar in 1961 at Lincoln’s Inn and thereafter signed the Rolls of Barristers at the High Court of Justice, London, before returning to Nigeria. One of his most celebrated cases was in 1977, when Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti instructed him to represent the Kuti family and get Beko and Fela out of detention, as well as seek redress over some rights abuse by the Olusegun Obasanjo-led military junta. Mr Braithwaite fought the case through the High Court to the Supreme Court, leading other notable lawyers, including Olu Onagoruwa and Alao Aka-Bashorun, among others. A lawyer, politician, prodemocracy activist, author, Mr Braithwaite was married to his childhood sweetheart, Grace Falade, in 1956 while they were undergraduates. He is survived by five children and many grandchildren.

He was a patriotic Nigerian —Kalu Shola Adekola - Lagos

FORMER governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Kalu, has expressed sadness over the de-

He was a true revolutionary —Keyamo FESTUS Keyamo has described Dr Tunji Braithwaite as a true and thorough revolutionary. According to the legal practitioner, the late Braithwaite used his revolutionary ideas to challenge the status quo and all anti-people policies of all regimes. “I came into close contact with him many times when we planned various protests in his house in Victoria Island.”

mise of famous lawyer and activist, Dr Tunji Braithwaite. He said that the deceased was a patriotic Nigerian, whose contributions to the social and political advancement of the country will not be easily forgotten. According to the former governor, Dr Braithwaite was an accomplished legal luminary, an astute politician and a resolute activist, who used his intellectual endowment in fighting for a just and equitable society. In a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, Kalu said: “The passing of Dr Tunji Braithwaite is painful as he died at a time the country needed his counsel on national issues.

news

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Rivers rerun: PDP wants Amaechi, army chiefs, others imprisoned Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

HE last is yet to be heard about the legislative rerun, held in Rivers State penultimate Saturday, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeks the committal to prison of former governor, Rotimi Amaechi, the chief of defence staff and chief of army staff , for deploying soldiers for the election. Others included the Brigade Commander of the 2 Army Brigade, Port Harcourt, Brigadier- General Stephenson Olabanji, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Aniedi Ikoiwak. The ruling party in the state and its chairman, Mr Felix Obuah, sought for the relief in a Motion on Notice filed by their solicitor, Kingsley Chuku, before the state High

Court Registry and dated March 22, 2016. The Motion on Notice was bought pursuant to Order XIV of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure), Rules 2009’ under the jurisdiction of the state High Court. River PDP and its chairman had, earlier, in Suit No PHC/601/2016, filed before the state High Court, sought to stop the aforementioned (as respondents) from deploying soldiers for the rerun election. Joined as respondents in the suit then were Amaechi (1st), Chief of Defence Staff (2nd),

Chief of Army Staff (3rd), Brigadier General Steve Olabanji, Brugade Commander, 2nd Amphibious Brigade, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt (4th), INEC (5th), REC, Rivers State (6th), the Governor of Rivers State (7th) and the Government of Nigeria (8th). Justice George Omereji of High Court 13 subsequently, in a judgment dated March 16, 2016, granted an interim injunction restraining the respondents from deploying soldiers for the exercise, in line with the fundamental rights of the applicants. He said the interim injunction was based on judg-

ment by the Appeal Court in 2015 in the case between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and others, detailing the non-involvement of the Army and the Armed Forces in elections. The presiding judge had subsequently adjourned till March 24, 2016 further hearing on the substantive application. However, the military authorities flagrantly disregarded the court order as soldiers were massively deployed and seen all over the state, monitoring the conduct of the legislative rerun. The respondents, in the

Motion on Notice, therefore prayed the court to grant them two orders namely that the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth respondents be committed to prison for disobeying the order made by the court in March 16, 2016. Secondly, the applicants (PDP and Obuah) sought for “such further or other order(s) that the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance”. The presiding, Justice George Omereji, still of the state High Court 13, had adjourned further hearing on the matter till April 14, 2016.

OAU ASUU members to parley with VC hopefuls EVEN though it is not within their purview to appoint vice chancellors, members of the Obafemi Awolowo University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, have set up a committee to organise a parley with aspirants to the post of the vice chancellor of the university. The interactive session, in the spirit of democratic ethos, is meant to facilitate communication between the academic community, which constitute the bulk of the workers with whom the eventual winner of the race would have to relate, and the intending occupant of the position. The interactive session will hold on Monday, April 4, 2016 at the Humanities Auditorium in Block 1 from 10:00a.m till 1:00p.m. The chair of the Organising Committee is Professor Sat Obiyan. The session will afford the candidates the opportunity to share their vision for the development of the 54 -year-old university, and also to answer questions from the lecturers. The event, which will be like a manifesto night which usually precedes elections, will afford the members of the academic community the opportunity to ask relevant questions that may have being agitating their minds on the candidature of the shortlisted applicants for the highest executive position on the campus.

CEPEJ commends NASS for 2016 Appropriation bill Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri

A Niger Delta-based nongovernmental organisation (NGO), the Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), has commended the National Assembly for passing the 2016 Appropriation Bill into Law. The group, through its national coordinator, Comrade Mulade, in a statement signed and made available to the Nigerian Tribune, on Monday in Warri, Delta State, tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure effective implementation of the budget. Besides, the Center urged the National Assembly to set up a special budget implementation monitoring committee to work in tandem with the various standing House Committees to ensure effective implementation of the budget by the executive.

Obaseki pays medical bills of indebted patients Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, performing the groundbreaking of World Prayer City to be sited at Idu-Uruan, Uruan Local Government Area, during a thanksgiving service for the outgoing chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) , Archbishop Cletus Bassey, at Destiny International Missions Incorporation, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.

IPAC raises the alarm over Kogi East senatorial rerun Yinka Oladoyinbo-Lokoja

THE Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Kogi State, on Monday, raised the alarm over the continued silence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the results of the Kogi East senatorial rerun, six weeks after the election was conducted. The council asked the commission to either declare the results or give a date for the supplementary election. Speaking with newsmen in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, the state chairman of IPAC, Ibrahim Itodo, said it was worrisome that the commission was yet to come to the public on the status of the election. According to the council, the commission should as a matter of urgency, declare a winner of the election held on February 20 or fix a date to conclude the election. It said it was unfortunate that INEC applied different rules for the same senatorial reruns conducted across the country. Itodo explained that the commission had, during the senatorial rerun in Abia State, said it was wrong to

declare any rerun poll inconclusive as a winner must emerge during such poll. “The council is calling on INEC to urgently declare the result of rerun conducted or give us a date for the supplementary election since Kogi is not in any crisis, we are pre-

pared and INEC should not hold us to ransom because Kogi East is the only zone not in represented in the Senate right now in the state. “It is a thing of worry to us as Igala/ Bassa federal constituency, after all a rerun is by a simple majority if that

does not hold water in Kogi, please, urgently give a date for the supplementary poll,” he said. It will be recalled that INEC had, on February 20, conducted reruns to fill the vacant seats of the Kogi East and Central senatorial district.

Kogi yet to get bailout fund—Bello Yinka Oladoyinbo-Lokoja

THE Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, on Monday, denied reports doing the rounds that the state had received its bailout funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The governor said his administration was committed to transparency and public communication to bring about a new way of doing things in the state. The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Kingsley Fanwo, said his administration would continue to pursue any measure that could ameliorate poverty among the people. “Kogi State has not secured bailout fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria as insinuated by some mischievous characters who lack the art of

objective opposition and syllogistic positioning on issues that affect the state. “I cannot continue to lament on the rot of the past. I was elected to bring hope to the people and not to dwell on the maladministration of the past governments in the state. “It is spurious to say we have secured the bailout fund meant for the state from the Central Bank of Nigeria. As soon as we receive the fund, we will announce to the whole world as part of the policy of my administration to run a government that will be in touch with the people. “This is the time to bond together to subjugate and conquer our common challenges as a state. It is not the time to spread falsehood that could dampen our progress. The sponsors of the rumour have

failed in their attempts at diminishing the growing acceptance and popularity of the Governor among the people who have shown tremendous appreciation to his policies, especially on public service reforms and cleansing,” he said. The Governor urged politicians to desist from playing politics with the welfare of the people, assuring the workers of the state of his commitment to improving their welfare and productivity. “It is not right to turn down the truth for political gains. It is the height of indifference to the yearnings and aspirations of the civil servants who have been eagerly awaiting the release of this fund. We are following the procedural processes to ensure we play our own part of the deal,” he said.

Banji Aluko-Benin City

In the spirit of Easter season, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Obaseki, has paid medical bills for over 25 patients at the Benin Central Hospital. The patients, who benefitted from the gesture, were those who could not pay their medical bills after receiving treatment from the hospital. Obaseki, who was accompanied by his wife, Betsy and other APC chieftains, visited the male and female Orthopaedic wards of the hospital. Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Omorodion Uwadiae, while thanking Obaseki, said it was not the intension of the hospital management to keep the patients because of their inability to pay their medical bills. The governorship aspirant also paid the bills for the prescribed drugs of some patients who could not afford them. Explaining why he choose to celebrate Easter at the hospital, Obaseki said he could not stay at home to enjoy when there were people detained at the hospital because of their inability to pay medical bills. “The spirit of Easter is about giving and celebrating the sacrifices of Christ,” he said.

43 communitynews Tuesday, 29 March, 2016 The situation at Illushi is getting out of control, lawmaker cries out banji aluko-benin city

HE lawmaker representing Esan South-East Constituency in Edo State House of Assembly, Honourable Festus Edughale, has raised the alarm over the level of insecurity at Illushi, declaring that the situation in the coastal community is getting out of control as destruction of life and property has become the order of the day. He said some elements in the area have held the community hostage, preventing the local government authorities from generating revenue from the community, which is the commercial hub of the council. Edughale, who spoke in Benin, said as a result of the development, election did not hold in parts of the community as thugs took over the area and threatened prospective voters. He said: “The situation at Illushi is really getting out of control. I don’t want to say that I’m getting frustrated because I don’t give up when it relates to issues that concern my people, their security and general well-being. “I convened a meeting and invited stakeholders because at that time, the corpse of a murdered youth, was still in the mortuary. For those who refused to turn up for the meeting, I tried to reach them through other means on the need for us to embrace peace. “It is unfortunate that we have not been able to achieve that. I will keep pressing for this because that’s the only way to go. The local government authorities have expressed frustration. Will I call it weakness or inability to tackle the problem through

dialogue and constructive engagement? “As we speak, the local government authorities are finding it difficult to col-

THE Chairman of Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr Adeniyi Adeagbo, has solicited the support of members of staff and the management team to move the local government forward. Mr Adeagbo was speaking during a meeting with principal officers of the council. According to him, “we are one team and we can only play well with a complete team. Team work is the key word because together we can achieve more.” He urged them to give him their total support in order to achieve his aims to

The lawmaker, however, expressed optimism that government would close in on troublemakers at the appropriate time, praising the

contributions of the Edo State Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee on the issue.

by wale akinselure

Residents of Soka in Ibadan, Oyo State, trying to cross the Maje Bridge, after the rain of Saturday.

Rig installation: Itsekiris, Ijaws, Ilajes ask for more employment slots ebenezer adurokiya-warri

ITSEKIRIS, Ijaws and Ilajes, under the aegis of Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje Coastal Communities, have requested more employment slots in the upcoming installation of a rig for the exploration of crude oil by Chevron Nigeria Ltd (CNL) in their area. The three ethnic groups said the seven slots given to each of them totaling 21 slots out of 110 slots earmarked for the job was abysmally low and did not represent the yearnings of the people. “The said rig, on arrival, will operate with about 110 employees and will also require the services of contractors to provide some

Itesiwaju LG boss solicits workers’ support By Gbenga Olumide

lect revenue from Illushi because the place is not safe. Records show that revenue of over a million naira is being lost on a weekly basis.”

Tewogbade residents laud lawmaker for fulfilling promise

improve the living standard of the people. The council boss disclosed that he had moved round the local government area and discovered where the shoe pinches, promising to embark on programmes that would bring development to the entire area. “We are laying the foundation for an enduring legacy, we are putting up a solid structure that would take time. Let us work together for a better tomorrow,” he said. Also speaking, the Head of Local Government Administration, Mr Ambali Muili, assured the chairman of the cooperation of members of staff.

materials and support services. “Of these 110 employees, we are reliably informed that the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje coastal communities were given only 21 slots (that is, seven slot each). “The remaining 89 employees have been sourced and employed from outside the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje coastal communities. This percentage is less than 30 per cent of the entire work force, a situation that is unacceptable to us. “We are not saying that workers cannot be brought from elsewhere within the country. The point we are making is that being the ones that bear the brunt of these oil and gas exploration and production activities, a sizeable percentage of the work force ought to come from among us. “This is not the first time rigs will be brought to the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje coastal communities for execution of jobs. The last rig that came to the area gave over 50 per cent of the work force needed to the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje coastal communities and they performed creditably well,” the ethnic groups noted in a statement signed by Uyaesan Amaju (Itsekiri), Timiebi Jones (Ijaw) and Ogunmuyiwa Atolagbe (Ilaje) and made available to Community News in Warri, Delta State. The ethnic groups frowned on what they referred to as marginalisation by the National Petroleum

Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) and Chevron Nigeria Limited, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to call to order a cabal, which they said, was behind their travail. According to them, “all contracts for supply of materials and services have been awarded, without recourse to, and without taking the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje coastal communities into consideration. “The least of these contracts, even for the supply of items like tissue papers, were awarded to contractors from outside the area under the pretext that these contracts were bidded for, and awarded to the bid winners.” They argued that “indigenes and dwellers of Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje coastal communities, over the years, have acquired the skills and expertise needed in the oil and gas industry and are capable of performing all the jobs that the rig may require.” The groups warned that unless the situation is reversed immediately, they might not be able to guarantee the safety of life and property of those alien to their communities’ sacred places, customs and traditions. But in a swift reaction, a group, the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC), has defended the National Petroleum Investment Management Services over the alleged marginalisation of the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje coast-

al communities. NDIMRC, in a press statement signed by its President, Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer (PRO), Stanley Mukoro, denied the existence of any form of cabal in NAPIMS. However, public relations officials of Chevron could not be reached, but a senior staff of the company, who craved anonymity, told Community News that the Local Content Policy of the Federal Government does not entail local host communities alone but the entire Nigerians in the award of contracts and jobs. “Local Content is Nigerian content. The policy does not say only people from host communities alone should be given contracts, but Nigerians as a whole. So, for them to be advocating that all the jobs should be given to them alone is wrong,” the official noted.

RESIDENTS of Tewogbade in Agbongbon, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area of Oyo State have lauded the lawmaker representing Ibadan SouthEast State Constituency II, Honourable Ademola Ige, for fulfilling his campaign promise to reconstruct their damaged pedestrian bridge. Honourable Ige recently inaugurated the reconstructed bridge which he constructed 11 years ago while he served as Chairman of Ibadan South-East Local Government Area. In his remarks at the event, Ige said the project was a bond between him and the electorate that must be executed. He, however, disclosed that the project was funded from his personal purse as government had not released money to the state lawmakers to execute constituency projects. While commending the contractors for the quality of the job done, Ige promised to spread dividends of democracy to other areas in his constituency. Speaking on behalf of residents, a community leader, Pa Iyiola Olaleye, thanked the lawmakerfor fulfilling the promise he made to them during campaign. He said: “Today, Honourable Ige has brought relief to us in view of the challenges we face, especially during rainy season, as a result of the collapsed bridge. He was the one that constructed the bridge 11 years ago when he was the council chairman and he is still the one that repaired it. Some politicians have come after he left office in 2007 to seek our votes but they neglected us after they got our votes. “This is the only thing we requested from him before the election and he promised to do it. So, here we are today to witness the fulfillment of that promise. He is the only politician that is taking care of us and we are grateful to him.”

FRSC wants motorists to brace up for rainy season THE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) advised motorists to begin safety preparations for the rainy season to ensure their safety on the roads. The FRSC Ijebu-Ode Unit Commander, Austin Ekele, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun. He said the warning was part of the strategic plans initiated by the corps to ensure sanity on the highways during the season. Ekele said that road acci-

dents occurred mostly in the rainy season because of the slippery nature of roads and unforeseen flood covered potholes. “We are entering another season of the year which comes with its own peculiar challenges for driving and general road traffic management. “It is very imperative to remind our motoring public to begin to adopt necessary measures to guard against crashes peculiar with the period,” he said.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

foreig naffairs

08116954632 with seyi gesinde foreignn ewseditor@gmail.com

Flights cancelled, property destroyed as storm batters UK

TORM Katie has battered large parts of England, leaving flights cancelled, property damaged and thousands of people without power. Flights bound for Gatwick and Heathrow were diverted to other airports and dozens were cancelled as gusts of up to 106mph hit the south of the country. More than 200,000 homes were without power at the height of the winds, with thousands still awaiting reconnection. A kayaker is feared dead after he capsized in the River Wey, Surrey. Surrey Police said the man had overturned at about 13:10 BST when the river was flooded, and “a large number of officers” were searching for him. The Environment Agency issued 20 flood warnings

and about 120 alerts across England in response to what it said were “rapidly rising” river levels in the wake of the storm. High winds from the storm left power lines damaged, with about 27,000 homes in England and Wales still without electricity at 17:00. Many properties will re-

main without electricity until Tuesday because of the scale of the damage, power firms have said. Travel disruption included the overnight closure of Dartford River Crossing and M48 Severn Bridge - which has now reopened - and delays to several train routes because of trees blown on to

tracks. Passengers on board planes arriving at Gatwick Airport have been describing their “absolutely terrifying” experiences as pilots had to abandon landings at the last minute.

Crane was bent over by winds in Greenwich, south-east London. PHOTO: PA

Cuban’s Fidel Castro slams Obama following historic visit RETIRED leader, Fidel Castro has accused United States President, Barack Obama of sweet-talking the Cuban people during his visit to the island last week and ignoring the accomplishments of Communist rule, in an opinion piece car-

ried by all state-run media on Monday. Obama’s visit was aimed at consolidating a detente between the once intractable Cold War enemies and the U.S. president said in a speech to the Cuban people that it was time for both na-

Fidel Castro

tions to put the past behind them and face the future “as friends and as neighbours and as family, together.” “One assumes that every one of us ran the risk of a heart attack listening to these words,” Castro said in his column, dismissing Obama’s comments as “honey-coated” and reminding Cubans of the many U.S. efforts to overthrow and weaken the Communist government. Castro, 89, laced his opinion piece with nationalist sentiment and, bristling at Obama’s offer to help Cuba, said the country was able to produce the food and material riches it needs with the efforts of its people.

otherNEWS

Syrian , Russian force battle Islamic State militants SYRIAN government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, battled the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group around Palmyra on Monday, after taking back control of the ancient city. ISIL’s loss of Palmyra on Sunday amounts to one of the biggest setbacks for the group since it declared a caliphate in 2014 across large parts of Syria and Iraq.

The Syrian army said the city, home to some of the most extensive ruins of the Roman Empire, would become a “launchpad” for operations against ISIL strongholds in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor further east across a vast expanse of desert, according to Al Jazeera. Syrian state media said on Monday that Palmyra’s military airport was now open to air traffic after the army cleared

the surrounding area of fighters belonging to ISIL, also known as ISIS.

Syrian Solders. PHOTO: REUTERS.

“We don’t need the empire to give us anything,” he wrote. Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution and led the country until 2006, when he fell ill and passed power to his brother, Raul Castro. He now lives in relative seclusion but is occasionally heard from in opinion pieces or seen on television and in photos meeting with visiting dignitaries. The iconic figure’s influence has waned in his retirement and the introduction of market-style reforms carried out by Raul Castro, but Fidel Castro still has a moral authority among many residents, especially older generations.

Faycal

Brussels attacks: Belgium releases terror murder suspect

A man known as Faycal C, the only person arrested and charged with involvement in the Brussels attacks, has been released for lack of evidence. Belgian media gave his name as Faycal Cheffou and said he was suspected of being the mystery third man seen in CCTV footage of the bombers. Tuesday’s attacks on the airport and the city’s metro system killed 35 people and injured more than 300. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Police have blocked off a Brussels square, Place de la Bourse, which saw clashes between police and nation-

alist protesters on Sunday. Officers told the BBC there was a “security issue”. People were allowed to stay in the square, where mourners have placed candles, wreaths and messages for victims of the bomb attacks. Of the 35 victims, seven have still to be identified, the country’s crisis centre said on Monday (in French). At least 12 of the victims are foreign nationals from the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and China, it said earlier. The death toll does not include three attackers, two of whom blew themselves up at the airport and one in the metro.

Mali arrests two in connection with Ivory Coast al Qaeda attack Authorities in Mali have arrested two men believed to be linked to an al Qaeda attack on a beach resort town in neighbouring Ivory Coast that killed 19 people earlier this month, military officials said on Sunday. Reuters reported that gunmen shot swimmers and sunbathers before storming into several hotels in the town of Grand Bassam, 40 km (25 miles) from the commercial capital, Abidjan, on March 13. “The information concerning the arrests of two suspects in the north of Mali is true,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Modibo Nama Traore, a military intelligence officer who said they had been

picked up by gendarmes and the intelligence service. Ivory Coast announced last week it had detained 15 people in connection with the attack, which was claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamist group’s North African branch. Ivorian officials named the suspected ringleader as Kounta Dallah, but said he remained at large. While Traore gave no further details of the arrests in Mali, a second intelligence officer said the two men were arrested separately on Saturday and Sunday in the towns of Goundam and Gossi in the northern Timbuktu region.

Sudan takes steps against child soldiers THE government of Sudanese President Omar alBashir says it has never used children in armed conflicts. But, Information Minister Ahmed Bilal says some of the rebels fighting against the government have been using child solders. This came after Sudan and the United Nations Sunday signed the Action Plan to protect children from violations in armed conflict. Bilal

said the only mistake Sudan made was not signing the action plan earlier, VOA reported. He said his government has evidence that some of the rebels have used child soldiers. “Maybe eight or seven years ago, we arrested about 83 of the children. We didn’t bring them to court because they were under age, and they are still using the children,” Bilal said.

In the past, the United Nations has accused both rebels and the government of recruiting child soldiers.

Sudan baby soldiers PHOTO: AFP

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016 45 SHOTS FROM THE 4TH SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC PHOTO: NIYI ALEBIOSU OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT IN IBADAN

From left, Chairman organizing committee, 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Open Golf Tournament, Chief Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, Managing Director/CEO, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Olaotan Soyinka, Captain, Ibadan Golf Club, Mr. Akin Funmilayo and the 2nd Vice Captain Ibadan Golf Club, S-I Salami Esq at the cocktail of the 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc. Open golf tournament in Ibadan.

Managing Director/CEO, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Olaotan Soyinka, giving the opening remarks at the cocktail to herald the 4thedition of the Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc Open Golf Tournament in Ibadan over the weekend.

From left, Executive Director, Marketing and Business Development, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mrs. Ugochi Odemelam exchanging pleasantries with Captain, Ibadan Golf Club, at Mr. Akin Funmilayo at the cocktail of the 4thSovereign Trust Insurance Plc. Open Golf Tournament held in Ibadan.

From left, Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up MD? Ugochi Odemelam, Executive Director, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc reaching out to Olaotan Soyinka, MD/CEO, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc during the cocktail of the 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc Open Golf Tournament held in Ibadan, Oyo State.

From left, GM, Finance and Admin, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Kayode Adigun, the overall winner of the 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Open Golf Tournament, Monday Edet of Ibadan Golf Club and the AGM/Head, Corporate Communications and Brand Management, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Segun Bankole at the just concluded tournament in Ibadan, Oyo state over the weekend.

From left, Tayo Ogundipe, Head, Business Development, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Akin Funmilayo, Captain, Ibadan Golf Club, Olaotan Soyinka, MD/CEO, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, MD, Boff & Co. & Chairman, Organizing Committee of the 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc Open Golf Tournament during the ceremonial tee-off of the competition. From left, The Captain Ibadan Golf Club, Mr. Akin Funmilayo presenting the appreciation plaque to the GM, Finance and Admin, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Kayode Adigun flanked by members of the club and the AGM/Head, Corporate Communications and Brand Management, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Segun

From left, Chairman organizing committee, 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Open Golf Tournament, Chief Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, GM, Finance and Admin, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Kayode Adigun, Captain, Ibadan Golf Club, Mr. Akin Funmilayo, AGM/Head, Corporate Communications and Brand Management, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Segun Bankole and the Regional Manager West, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Muyiwa Awodire during the presentation of the appreciation plaque to Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc on the successful hosting of the just concluded 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Open golf tournament in Ibadan.

Members of Staff of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, getting a feel of the appreciation plaque at the just concluded 4th Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc Open golf tournament in Ibadan, Oyo state.

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigeria/Egypt AFCON match:

How spectators stole show in Kaduna By Olawale Olaniyan, who was in Kaduna

OR the Kaduna State govenor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to be ‘smuggled’ into the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, last Friday, when Nigeria faced Egypt in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier was an indication that an ordinary fan should not complain of seeing ‘hell’ before he gained entry into the stadium. El-Rufai arrived at the stadium at 3:43pm and his presence was a morale booster for the Eagles, as the match was moved to 5pm because of the sunny weather. By 9am, a sizeable number of fans with match tickets were already at ABS arena and by 1pm, the stadium had been filled to capacity. In a bid to woo support for the Eagles, ElRufai paid for the match tickets as fans then qeued to collect free at designated centres on match day. The governor had made the announcement of the free tickets for the match in the early hours of the day through various radio stations in the state. This measure also enhanced the turn out of spectators for the match. Also, souvenir vendors were on hand to display various items such as Nigeria-branded shirts, vuvuzela, fez caps. Many fans with tickets later became stranded outside as they continued to beg the security personnel to allow them into the already filled stadium. When it dawned on them that they will not be allowed in, some of the affected fans overpowered the security personnel about 4pm to gain entry, while some of them had to sit on the sidelines while the game lasted. Also, journalists were not left out of the drama. Armed with the press accreditation cards received a day before the match, it was not easy for journalists to gain entry as well, as the security personnel failed to open the gate. By 1pm when this writer arrived in the stadium, there was no any avenue to gain entry until after an hour through the intervention of the spokesman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Demola Olajire. No fewer than seven journalists were allowed in through Olajire’s intervention. Some journalists were forced back to where they lodged as they could not bear the stress. “It is better for

One of Mikel Obi’s fans beat the security personnel and ran to the pitch to give the Chelsea star a hug. me to monitor the match on television instead of going through this stress,” one of the visiting journalists submitted during the gate drama. The media gallery meant for journalists to cover the game conveniently was also occupied by fans, as they claimed that they were in the stadium to cheer Nigeria to victory. According to Tribunesport findings, the match tickets paid for by the Kaduna State government cost about N40million. Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi also wooed fans to the stadium as Tribunesport was at the Eagles hotel lodge in the morning when he doled out free tickets to some of his fans who came to greet him. Before the kick off, the Eagles came out for a work out to feel the turf and in the process, one of Mikel Obi’s fans beat the security personnel and ran to the pitch to give the Chelsea star a hug. He was immediately arrested by the security personnel, but other fans were throwing objects such as bags of sachet water at the law enforcement agents to release the lanky fan who was eventually released. During the game, some of the spectators had to hang on the scoreboard, camera stands, floodlights, rooftops, while one of them even climbed on edge of the four

A cross section of spectators in the stadium during the match.

The fan (mid being led off dle) who encroached to m the pitch by the security eet Mikel Obi personnel.

monolithic floodlights. Some of the gates leading to the pitch were taken over from the security personnel and the fans almost infiltrated in the technical area, the sidelines and the photographer stands. Also, some including journalists got injured while some lost their valuables through the mad rush by spectators to gain entry. A former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph in his reaction through his facebook page said: “I was not afraid of the game yesterday (Friday) Nigeria against Egypt but was afraid of this scaffold not to come down, it would have been a disaster but thank God nothing happened, the authority should take note.” Interestingly, the Eagles on the day played under a new coach Samson Siasia and new captain, Mikel Obi, after Ahmed Musa relinquished the armband to him a few hours to the match. However, Kaduna fans were massive as they continued to root for the Eagles even when goal refused to come. After a goalless situation in the first half, Etebo Oghenekaro put the Eagles ahead in the 60th minute and this happened coincidentally at a time fans were hailing the Eagles to rise up and also booing the Egyptians to demoralise them. Some fans, with about six minutes left, were already leaving the stadium amid joy before Mohammed Salah snatched the leveller during stoppage time. Perhaps, goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, is yet to ‘blend’ as an African as he chose to play the ball not too far from his goal area with the hope that the Pharaohs will observe a fair play with defender Godfrey Oboabona

already on the turf. Before the Eagles knew it, a loose ball had located an unmarked Salah in the box who had all the time to neatly tuck the ball beyond the reach of Ikeme. “I am so happy for this result, the Super Eagles allowed us to play our game towards the end of the match because they thought they have won the match which cost them victory. Yes, the Super Eagles played better but they lost concentration towards the end of the game,” Ahmed Maher, head of the Press to the Egyptian Embassy in Nigeria, told Tribunesport after the match. One of the fans on the way out of the stadium, Umar Ahmed, lamented the result as he blamed Mikel Obi for being partly responsible for the result. “Mikel failed to motivate his colleagues because that is the role of the captain, he didn’t give his best as he used to for Chelsea, but I’m still expecting a good result from the Eagles when they visit Egypt,” a worried Umar told Tribunesport after the match. Another fan, Surajudeen Adamu blamed the Eagles for losing concentration which paved the way for Salah to equalise. “We should not have allowed Salah to have a breathing space because all eyes were on him and he still managed to score through our defensive error. “I think we controlled the match enough but went to sleep at critical moments. We fell to their (Egypt) antics, but it is never too late because anything can happen in football. “We trooped out in large numbers to support the Super Eagles but they failed us despite the commitment of our governor who gave us free tickets to watch this match. The Eagles must make us happy in Egypt on Tuesday (today),” Surajudeen said.

Some overzealous fans on the camera stands during the match.

tribunesport

Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Nigeria/Egypt AFCON 2017 qualifier Fans armed with tickets at the entrance of the stadium before the match.

Egyptian fans with their countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flags to support the Pharaohs at the state box.

Mikel at the post-match conference with Coach Samson Siasia.

Fans sit on the rooftops to watch the match. PHOTO: GOAL.COM

A Police horse rider on duty to monitor spectators at the stadium. PHOTO: GOAL.COM

Mikel at the post-match conference.

A cross section of spectators at the stadium.

ALL FOR EAGLES... Ijeoma Nwakanma Njoku a.k.a Gary Ikon Allah was on hand to cheer the Super Eagles against the Pharaohs of Egypt.

PHOTOS: OLAWALE OLANIYAN

SIDELINES

NO 16,467

TUESDAY, 29 MARCH, 2016

N150

A man in Germany refused to leave a store which caught fire as firefighters who were struggling to save lives were shocked to locate him in the smoke when he coughed, as he insisted he will watch the film 'Throbbin Hood' he paid for till the end. Just another proof that this world is full of crazy men.

Results: AFCON qualifiers CAR Zimbabwe Equatorial Guinea Sierra Leone

2 Madagascar 4 Swaziland 0 Mali 1 Gabon

1 0 1 0

2017 AFCON ticket:

We are going for battle in Egypt â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Mikel T By Ganiyu Salman

An Egyptian player (middle) beat Etebo Oghenekaro (left) to the ball during their last Friday's AFCON qualifier in Kaduna.

HE hope of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), would be ascertained today as they confront the Pharaohs of Egypt in a reverse fixture billed for the Borg El-Arab Stadium, Alexandria. With the withdrawal of

Adebayor returns against Tunisia EMMANUEL Adebayor has returned to Togo national team after ending his selfimposed international exile ahead of today's 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)

Adebayor

qualifier against Tunisia. The Sparrow Hawks will be desperate to return to winning ways when they host the North Africans today at Stade de Kegue, with three teams currently locked on six points in Group A after three rounds of fixtures. "Adebayor joined the national team yesterday after negotiations with FTF officials. He trained just like his teammates," Pierre Lamadokou, secretary general for the Togolese Football Federation, told AFP on Monday. "He will be with his teammates again on Monday afternoon for the final training session before the game against Tunisia." Adebayor played for Togo at the 2006 World Cup, their only appearance at the tournament, but has

made himself unavailable for selection on several occasions and criticised the "chaos" in the FTF. The former Arsenal star played for Togo in June last year, and turned down an initial approach from FTF president, Colonel Kossi Akpovy prior to last week's reverse fixture with Tunisia to focus on his club future at Crystal Palace. Tunisia is second in group A after three matches, level on six points with both Liberia and Tunisia, following last week's 1-0 defeat in Monastir. Only the 13 group winners are guaranteed places at next year's tournament in Gabon, while the best two runners-up also qualify. Gambia's Bakary Gas-

Chad from the qualification campaign, today's game has become a make or break one for the Samson Siasia-piloted side. The Eagles were a few seconds away from victory last Friday at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, courtesy of Etebo Oghenekaro's 60th minute strike, before AS Roma striker, Mohammed Salah struck during stoppage time. Egypt maintains lead in group G with four points as Nigeria follows with two points after the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had deducted all points earned from the games involving Chad. To Mikel Obi, Nigeria's new captain, the Eagles are going for a battle today as the 2017 AFCON ticket will apparently be won and lost in Alexandria.

A draw could however, keep the Eagles hope alive, as they have a home game left against Tanzania (in September), but will the Pharaohs who have missed three AFCON tournaments in a row, falter again moreso before their teeming fans? ''It's a massive battle that we are going for and there should be no illusion about it. We have to face reality and everyone has to give more than 100 per cent because we just have to qualify for the Cup of Nations. "We have to go to Alexandria and fight with everything we have. There are still matches to play and we have confidence that we will earn the ticket," the Chelsea star had told thenff.com after the game in Kaduna. For the first time, in the last five months, the Eagles

would have to play without Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, who has since returned to his base in England owing to ill-health; as South Africa-based Daniel Akpeyi is expected to take man the sticks against the Pharaohs today. Meanwhile, Egypt coach, Hector Cuper believes the Eagles will give his men a fight of their lives today. "We played a good game in Nigeria but so did they. We had some lapses and we will fix those before the next match. We need shots at their goal and have to get there quicker and more often. "Nigeria will come to Cairo and they want all three points, this means they must take risks. We respect them but are also ready for them," Cuper said.

... Eagles will surviveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Arase Saliu Gbadamosi-Abuja AS the Super Eagles file out today against the Pharaohs of Egypt in the reverse fixture of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in Alexandria, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase has expressed optimism that the Eagles will come out

unscathed. "We still have a lot of chances. Our boys played well (in Kaduna); that was a little slip. That should be expected in a match like that but I am sure we are going to qualify," Arase told Tribunesport in Abuja. Also, Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Sani Muhammed, believes

it is not yet over for the Eagles as far as the 2017 AFCON is concerned. "Hope is not lost. Surprisingly, they (Eagles) played well. I think if they had gone away with 1-0, complacency might have set in but as it is now, they are going to push the opponent away in Egypt to more pressure.''

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. E mail: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com Website: www.tribuneonlineng.com MANAGING DIRECTOR / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR: DEBO ABDULAI. All Correspondence to P.O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712. ABC Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 29/3/2016.