29th September 2015 by Nigerian Tribune

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,337 TUESDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER, 2015

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HID Awolowo was an iconic matriarch of Oduduwa —P13 empire —Ife chief

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Buhari urges world leaders to dismantle havens for corruption —P3 proceeds

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What my abductors told me —Falae •Confirms payment of ransom to kidnappers —P12

Heavy security presence as NASS resumes today •Senate awaits ministerial list •PDP moves to save Saraki

—P3

Nigeria’s policy affecting lifting of crude oil, Indian investor laments —P10 UNILAG students protest bedbug infestation of hostels —P8

From left, Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu; Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan, the Olugbo of Ugboland and Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran, at the Ikenne residence of the Awolowos, on Monday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE.

Oyo workers to get 4 —P41 months salary arrears before Friday —NLC

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915-2015)

PHOTOS: TOMMY ADEGBITE

9 1. From left, Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran.

6. From left, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu, representative of the Agura of Gbagura, Chief Nurudeen Oladele, Balogun Iraa and Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran.

2. The Alakenne of Ikenne, Oba Adeyinka Onakande and his Olori.

7. From left, Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and the chairman, Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation, Chief Amos Akingba.

3. From left, Senator Segun Bamigbetan Baju, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu, Balogun Bisi Omidiora, Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Chief Afolabi Ajomale. 4. From left, Justice Owolabi Shonoiki, Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu. 5. Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu and Chief Gunju Adesakin.

8. CAC coordinator, Remo, Ogun State, Pastor Malato Ikuesan (left) with Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu. 9. A cross section of the Interdenominational Christian Women Association Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World Day of Prayer, Lagos. 10. A cross section of students of Ikenne Community High School, Ikenne, with Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu.

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Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Heavy security presence as NASS resumes today Jacob Segun Olatunji, Ayodele Adesanmi and Kolawole Daniel -Abuja

HEAD today’s resumption from annual recess by federal lawmakers, security was, on Monday, beefed up in and around the National Assembly complex. Nigerian Tribune observed the two roads leading to the complex from the office of the Head of Service and the Federal Secretariat were barricaded, to allow for easy control of human and traffic control. In addition, it was observed that six patrol vans were strategically stationed at the main entrance of the complex, while heavy presence of armed policemen and others were noticed. A senior police officer at the complex told the Nigerian Tribune in confidence that the action became imperative, following the various unfavourable security reports on the possible attack and invasion of the complex by various interest groups in the issue of the trial of the Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal. “As security agencies, we should be on the top of the situation. We must maintain law and order and we don’t start doing that when the trouble starts. We have to plan ahead. This is exactly what we are doing,” the source said. Meanwhile, the chairman, Senate ad hoc committee on media and publicity, Senator Dino Melaye, on Monday, confirmed that the upper chamber of the National Assembly would resume from its six weeks break today. He dispelled speculations of a likely postponement of the resumption, adding that the Senate would commence legislative activities and was also set to welcome communication from President Muhammadu Buhari. Melaye, in a statement on Monday, said the Senate was committed to doing whatever would promote the unity, prosperity and well-being of the Nigerian people. The statement stressed that there would be no “stormy session” in the Senate on resumption as being speculated by a section of the media, since both the leadership of the upper chamber and all senators were at peace and were focussed on working

for the betterment of the country at all times. According to him, “I want to confirm that the

Senate will resume tomorrow (Tuesday) and that we are set to carry out all our legislative responsibilities.

“I also want to use this opportunity to announce the resolve of the Senate to do only those things that

will promote the unity, prosperity and well-being of the Nigerian people.” The Senate spokesper-

son added that the present challenges confronting the red chamber would be surmounted.

Buhari urges world leaders to dismantle havens for corruption proceeds Clement Idoko -Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has called on the international community to urgently redouble its efforts to strengthen mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption. Buhari, while addressing world leaders at the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations, also urged his counterparts to

do more to return stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin. President Buhari reaffirmed his administration's determination to frontally confront the twin evils of corruption and illicit financial outflows. He noted that that corruption, cross-border financial crimes, cyber crimes and human trafficking were major challenges of the 21st century which the

international community must work collectively to overcome. "Let me reaffirm the Nigerian government’s unwavering commitment to fight corruption and illicit financial flows. By any consideration, corruption and cross border financial crimes are impediments to development, economic growth, and the realization of the well-being of citizens across the globe.

"Nigeria is ready and willing to partner with international agencies and individual countries on a bilateral basis to confront crimes and corruption. "In particular, I call upon the global community to urgently redouble efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption and ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to

their countries of origin," the President said. President Buhari also proposed the adoption of peace as a seventh essential element of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted last Friday by world leaders in New York. "The Secretary General has grouped the SDGs into what he calls six “essential elements” namely: Dignity, Prosperity, Justice, Partnership, Planet and People."

PDP senators move to save Saraki Taiwo Adisa -Abuja THE Senate caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) might have resolved to save Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, from the barrage of attacks being heaped on him through his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune confirmed on Monday that the senators, at different meetings on Monday, resolved that the best they could do was to save the institution of the Senate from ridicule, especially following what was perceived as procedural error in the trial of Saraki so far. A source at one of the meetings said the PDP lawmakers reviewed the ongoing trial of the Senate president and concluded that the trial, so far, was more of “political persecution.” It was gathered that some lawyers among the lawmakers briefed the meetings on the legal procedures of the CCT. Sources also said the lawmakers raised the ruling of the CCT in the trial of former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, in 2011, where the court held that it was wrong not to have invited Tinubu and showed him the complaints about his submissions to the Code of Conduct bureau. It was resolved that the PDP would use its number to defend Saraki and prevent a situation where external forces would determine the fate of its principal officers at all times. It also emerged on Monday that the Code of Conduct Bureau might have commenced a probe of some pro-Saraki senators and contents of their submissions to the Bureau. It was gathered that the CCB had commenced investigations into the accounts of the 27 senators who were sighted at the CCT

last week. A list of the senators sighted at the tribunal included the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekwetemadu; Shaaba Lafiaji, Rafiu Ibrahim, Theordore Orji, Mao Ohuabunwa, Samuel Egwu and Ben Murray-Bruce.

Others were Senators Aliyu Wamakko, Kabiru Gaya, Tayo Alasoadura, Gilbert Nnaji, Samuel Anyawu, Foster Ogola Sonni Ogbuoji, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Isa Hamma Missau, Emmanuel Paulker, Obinna Ogba, Kaura Tijani and Clifford Ordia.

There were also Senators Ibrahim Abdullahi, Peter Nwaoboshi, Rose Okoh, Mohammed Ohiare, Gershom Bassey, Olaka Nwogu and Ighoyota Amori. It was gathered that the CCB activated the probe following a scrutiny of the records of the concerned

senators. But the spokesperson for the CCB, Iyabo Akinwale, on Monday, denied the allegation, saying that she was not aware of the said investigation. “I am not aware of anything like that,” she simply said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, being received by President of Korea, Park Geun-hye on his arrival for bilateral talks with the Korean delegation, as part of the side meetings of the 70th UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters, New York. With them are the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (left); Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bulus Lolo (right); Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Professor Joy Ogwu (third right) and the Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal.

Senate may get ministerial list tomorrow Clement Idoko -Abuja INDICATIONS emerged on Monday that list of ministers to be appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari is ready and will be forwarded to the Senate, requesting their confirmation. It was also gathered that the Senate might accordingly get a letter from the president, requesting for the confirmation of the nominees today or tomorrow. Buhari, who was inaugurated president on May 29, had been operating his government with he structure of the Federal Public Service without cabinet members. He had, at different times, said he was in search of Ni-

gerians with integrity to be part of his team to reposition the country. Ahead the submission of the list by president, the national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had summoned an emergency meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) to vet the list. According to a source, besides discussing the proposed ministerial list, the party leadership would brainstorm on the multiple crises rocking it. There has been anxiety that the president may not be able to meet the September deadline as he was quoted recently as saying that the month was

running to an end too fast for his liking. Indications, however, emerged that Buhari, currently attending the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York, had concluded work on the list. The list may be presented to the Senate before October 1, it was gathered. While reacting to an online report that Buhari had sent one of his National Assembly Liaison Officers, Senator Ita Enang, back to Nigeria with the list meant for the Senate, presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, told reporters in New York on Monday that he would not be surprised if the list was ready. He said it was within the

timeline given by the president himself. "I will not be surprised if the list is ready because it is within the timeline that the president gave. "He said he will name his cabinet in September. Today (Monday) is September 28, so if it happens that it is ready, it is within the timeline," Adesina said. When asked to give an insight into the number of nominees on the list, the presidential spokesman simply said "the constitution already gives you an idea of the number of people that can be on the cabinet, because it stipulates that we must have, at least, one minister per state."

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Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Monarch’s burial: No loitering at night, Calabar residents warned ruled for 12 years, reportedly joined his ancestors

recently, with a new monarch appointed before his

Ubong Anthony - Calabar

ruler in the state after the Obong of Calabar, and

ESIDENTS of Calabar, the Cross River State capital, have been warned against loitering at late hours as funeral rites of the Ndidem of the Quas, Ndidem Thomas Ika Ika Oqua 111 begins in the state capital. The new Ndidem of the Quas, Ndidem Patrick Inok Oqua Agbor v, who gave this warning in Calabar, on Monday, said traditional rites preceding the final burial of the former monarch would be carried out for two weeks, just as he appealed to both individuals and corporate entities to observe the tradition of the people. The late Ndidem Ika Ika Oqua, who was the second most powerful traditional

Work in progress on the Lagos light rail project at Iganmu Station, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN

demise was announced. Patrick Agbor, whose

Police arrest woman for dumping grandchild’s corpse in Osun Oluwole Ige - Osogbo A grandmother, whose identity is yet to be ascertained and a driver simply identified as Ade, have been arrested by the police in Osun State for allegedly dumping the corpse of a seven-year-old girl, Iyadun Ajayi, behind a building in Esa Oke, Oriade Local Government Area of the state. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the deceased’s mother, simply identified as Funke, recently divorced the girl’s father and married an Islamic cleric in Ilesa. It was also gathered that the girl, who was living with her mother and the Islamic cleric fell sick, but later died after concerted efforts made to save her failed. As a result of the development, Funke subsequently directed her mother (grandmother), a driver, one Kassim and her husband to dump the girl’s corpse at the back of her former husband’s house in

Esa Oke, with a view to implicating him. However, while attempting to dump the girl’s corpse, luck ran out on them, as some residents who sighted them raised the alarm, leading to the apprehension of two of them.

One of the residents, who pleaded anonymity, hinted the Nigerian Tribune that the incident happened on Thursday night, saying “we saw the people and challenged them to know their mission. We discovered that they came to

dump corpse of a girl at the back of her father’s house. “After checking the corpse thoroughly, we discovered that her private part had been removed, the two buttocks, the knees and ankles were also mutilated. We raised the alarm

Go to court, Odigie-Oyegun tells Sylva NATIONAL chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has told Chief Timipre Sylva, one of the contestants in September 22 botched primaries in Bayelsa State to go to court. “Mr Sylva can go to court because that is what the court is meant for,” the chairman said on Monday, in Abuja. The chairman made the statement while responding to newsmen, who asked for his comments on Sylva’s claim that he won the botched primaries. He said that the party had decided to conduct another

primaries on September 29. He added that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) deemed it fit to provide a level playing ground for all candidates who aspired public offices in the party. Odigie-Oyegun declared that the process which led to the September 22 primaries in Yenogoa did not meet the standard which the party had set for itself. He said: “We had serious security challenges and the process did not meet the standard which this party has set for itself. “We have no alternative,

but to stop the process by ensuring that the chairman of the panel was moved out of the venue with the help of security agencies. “We decided, thereafter, that there should be fresh primaries. “We have written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on our decision to conduct fresh primaries for the Bayelsa governorship election on Tuesday. “We are getting in touch with the Inspector-General of Police and all other security agencies to assist us in ensuring effective security.”

Avoid tribalism in governance, CAC president urges Buhari PRESIDENT, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Pastor Gabriel Lagunju, on Sunday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to avoid tribalism in his day to day running of the country, saying this has been the bane of the problem in Nigeria. He said this while delivering the sermon to mark the 2015 Annual General Convention of the church, with the theme: “The end time

events,” held at the CAC, Ile Anu, Alasepe, Ikire, Osun State. He stated that the country would continue to find it difficult to take its rightful place in the comity of nations, unless the fight against nepotism was taken seriously, such that Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnicity, would see themselves as one. According to him, Nigeria was blessed by God

with all that it needed to make it great, noting that the leadership of the country should make it a point of duty to work, so that all issues of tribalism would become a thing of the past. Pastor Lagunju, whose sermon was delivered by Pastor Henry Ojo, also called on the president to give more room for church in the country to grow, stating that the church was the

gate that could put a stop to the works of the devil in the country. He said: “I am appealing to President Buhari to avoid the pitfalls of the past administrations, by running away from tribalism and nepotism, so that the country can move forward. I believe that it is a known fact that tribalism had drawn the clock of the country back in many areas.

and two of them ran away, but the grandmother and the driver were caught and handed over to the police,” he stated. The Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Folasade Odoro, promised to find out from the police division concerned and call back. But she never did as of time of filing this report.

speech was read by a former Commissioner for Information, Ntufam Edet Okon Asim, appealed to residents of Calabar Municipal area, Odukpani, as well as Bakassi, to be wary of moving about in the night as traditional rites to observe the passage would be strictly followed. “We call on all institutions located within the precinct of our territory, both public and private, to observe this week, with respect for our departed king. There shall be no noise, but calmness,” the new monarch advised. While paying tributes to past traditional rulers before the fallen monarch, Ndidem Oqua Agbor recalled that the late Ika Ika Oqua had insisted that “every family in Qua land must have a graduate. “We pay tribute to man whose capacity transcended the engineering profession and who insisted that every family in Qua land must have a graduate. He fought for the liberation of our people and, therefore, deserves our respect,” Agbor noted. He, however, advised the people of the kingdom to take solace in the fact that the late Ika Ika Oqua lived a worthy life and left behind legacies that would last another generation.

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Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

PDP tackles Buhari over absence at UN meeting

•Says Buhari’s indifference will affect ministers’ performance •Urges CJN to keep watchful eyes on election tribunals Jacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, tackled President Muhammadu Buhari and his handlers in the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the absence of Nigeria’s delegation at an important meeting, at the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the issue of humanitarian crisis arising from the insurgency in Lake Chad countries, including Nigeria is the main agenda. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, on Monday, on “The Decline of democratic ideals in the country,” the national publicity secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, lamented that the international embarrassment further “asserts the ineptitude of the handlers of the president on national and international issues.” This came just as the party declared that the indifference of President Buhari to his yet-to-be appointed ministers would have their performances as he had already concluded that ministers were noise-makers, while the civil servants did most of the available jobs and responsibilities. The party also tasked the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, to keep watchful eyes on the Election Petitions Tribunals currently sitting across the country, to ensure that justice was done in all cases, as the APC had been allegedly boasting of taking over all the states won by the PDP at the tribunals. Speaking on the absence of Nigeria’s delegation at Chad Basin countries’ meeting, Chief Metuh said “whilst we reserve our comments on the numerous gaffes by the Nigerian delegation at the 70th United Nation’s General Assembly meeting, we decry the huge embarrassment caused by the delegation’s dereliction of duty, profusely manifested in the snubbing of a crucial meeting, where countries affected by Boko Haram insurgency sought international assistance for millions displaced by the scourge.” According to him, “whereas other affected Chad Basin countries were fully represented and had

fruitful discussions with officials of the world body, the government of Nigeria, which has the biggest challenge of displaced persons, was no where to be found. “Much more pathetic and shocking, but very revealing about the insincerity and ineptitude of those around the president was the disconcerting excuse by an aide to the president in trying to explain away this blunder. “Instead of admitting failure and apologising to

Nigerians, the Presidency sought to hoodwink the public by claiming that the meeting was not one of the official events for which the president and his delegation are in New York, but only for the official brochure of the meeting tagged: “High Level Event on the Lake Chad Basin”, to show that ‘high level representation from the government of Nigeria” was scheduled to make contributions at the meeting’.

“Further reports indicate that due to the importance of that meeting, it was broadcast on United Nations’ official online television and radio channels, while officials of world bodies have continued to register their disappointment in our country due to the incompetence of the APCled government. “It is disheartening to note that the same meeting the Buhari-led delegation shunned actually yielded

a fallout of $6.8 million announced by the United States as funding for regional aid efforts. “If not for possible insensitivity to the plight of those affected by insurgency, what other reason has this government for its absence from such a crucial meeting aimed at finding ways of bringing relief to its displaced citizens? “This is especially as the delegation to the United Nations General Assembly meeting achieved noth-

From left, an APC stalwart, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Professor Joy Ogwu; Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello of Niger State; Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi; President Muhammadu Buhari and others, during a meeting at the UN headquarters, New York, United States.

Military sustains coordinated joint assaults on terrorists Chris Agbambu - Abuja THE Nigerian Armed Forces have renewed commitment to continue the ongoing co-ordinated joint assaults on Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East until the operation of the guerrillas are totally impaired and collapsed. To this end, it said the

co-ordinated operation of the security forces in the contested area, designed to dismantle the technical preeminence and capabilities of the terrorist group would intensify. In a statement issued on Monday by the Acting Director, Defence Information, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, in Abuja, he said

terrorists should not be given the space to regroup and restrategise their campaign. He said the recent deployment of the Seventh Brigade of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad Basin would also ensure a total blockade of possible escape routes in the area to forestall further infiltration of the terrorist ele-

ments into the country and neighbouring countries. “Terrorists are, hereby, warned to stop their mindless acts of violence and embrace peace, in order that they might become useful citizens contributing positively to the socio-economic development of not just the North-East, but the country as a whole,” the statement read.

NUC requires N28bn to expand research network to federal, state varsities Clement Idoko - Abuja EXECUTIVE Secretary of National Universities Commission, Professor Julius Okojie, has said N28 billion is required for the second phase of the Nigeria Research and Education Network (NgREN) project. NgREN phase one is a World Bank-assisted project meant to create an elaborate infrastructural backbone to interconnect all research and educational institutions in the country and link them with other Research and Education Networks

worldwide, but with limited capacity. Okojie, speaking on Monday, in Abuja, explained that the first phase of the project was designed to interconnect only the 27 older universities in the country, in line with the scope of the STEP-B projects. According to him, this initial design and project estimate was funded by the World Bank to the tune of $10 million for implementation of Research Education Network in the 27 universities. Okojie spoke at the West

and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) regional workshop on Network Monitoring and Measurement held at National Universities Commission, Abuja. He said the NgREN project, when completed, would allow seamless knowledge flow between Nigerian educational institutions and their counterparts around the world. He lamented that Nigeria had lost the research culture for over 30 years and that the NgREN project was intended to encourage teach-

ing and research in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. He said: “What is delaying the second phase is that it will cost about N28 billion. We want a big leap. We can share video conferencing, teleconferencing and it is not just a pedestal research.” He said NgREN was set up, among other things, to provide cheaper bandwidth for member institutions, as well as provide network services and applications, such as identity federation, e-content, hosting, network security and bandwidth management.

ing, reminiscent of the July much hyped visit to the US, which also brought nothing, but diplomatic disagreements, also due to the ineptitude of the APCled Federal Government. “Even more disturbing is the diplomatic mixup, which resulted in the breach of protocol, crass ineptitude and monumental embarrassment in the late appearance of the President during the head of Vatican’s meeting with other world leaders. “This is most damaging to the image of the country, especially as we note that the damage did not arise out of disrespect for the head of Vatican, the Pope, but due to the incompetence of those around our beloved president. On the non-appointment of ministers 120 days President Buhari had assumed office, Chief Metuh said “from his hesitancy and comments, it is deducible that President Buhari never intended to appoint ministers, but rather prefers to run a monocracy and evidently does not value or respect those he would nominate as ministers. “Otherwise, how can anyone repackage the mindset of the president when he, in an interview with France 24 Television in France, stated categorically that his preference is to rule without a cabinet and denigrated ministers as ‘noisemakers’ and of no importance or value in the running of an administration? he stated. According to him, “given this worrisome outlook, it is obvious that the Presidency would not attach any value or importance to the ministers under the ‘new sheriff.’ Could this also be part of the reason for the relentless onslaught against the National Assembly, which must be weakened and prevented from playing its constitutional role of checks and balances in the system?” On the alleged boasting of the APC to take over all the PDP states at the tribunals,Chief Metuh said “we use this medium to draw the attention of the Chief Justice of Nigeria to various complaints by PDP members regarding the application of undue technicalities to deny them justice in elections tribunals and relevant courts.”

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Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Bailout: We only got N9.6bn out of N29bn requested —Fayose

kiti State governor, Mr Ayo Fayose, has said the state only got N9.6 billion out of the over N29 billion it applied for in the Federal Government’s bail-out funds for states. The governor, who spoke on Monday, in IkogosiEkiti, during the opening ceremony of a two-day retreat for commissioners, permanent secretaries and heads of agencies, also said out of the N5.6 billion applied for by the 16 local governments in the state, the Federal Government only approved N991 million. In a statement in AdoEkiti, by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, the governor made the clarification following in-

One-year old escapes kidnap in Ekiti Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti

A one-year old boy narrowly escaped being kidnapped in Ekiti State as his assailant was caught in the act by people in the vicinity. The suspect, Samson Olajide, escaped being lynched by angry youths after he was caught while trying to kidnap a one-year old boy at Efon Alaaye, in Ekiti State. Sources in the area claimed that Olajide was seen by a commercial motorcyclist, who was said to be defecating in a nearby bush at Ita-Imesi area of Efon Alaaye, as he struggled to squeeze the boy into a sack. They also claimed that the unnamed okada rider “quickly rushed to Samson and began to question him. When Samson couldn’t give reasonable explanation about what he was doing there and how he came about the little boy, the okada man slapped him and raised the alarm, which attracted his colleagues and people nearby.” The mob gave Samson the beating of his life, with some of them suggesting that he should be burnt to death. But some others suggested he should be taken before the community’s monarch, the Alaaye, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare, who was said to have pleaded with the youths to hand the suspect over to the police.

sinuations that the state government did not want to pay pensions arrears and gratuities of retirees. “You people know that I don’t hide anything from you when allocations come. We applied for N29 billion from the bail-out fund. It is to cover the August and September 2014 salary arrears left by the Fayemi government, leave bonus, pensions, gratuities and others. But for reasons we don’t know yet, the FG only approved N9.6 billion for salaries leaving other issues. “The 16 local governments applied for N5.6 billion and we did all the necessary papers and presented them to the appropriate authorities, but only N991 million was approved. We were later told by the Central Bank of Nigeria that about 14 states had similar problem

with the small amount approved for local governments. “I have since written to them to rectify the situation and I hope they will do that quickly. It is only the Federal Government that can explain why they only approved one item, salary, out of the many items we presented to them on the workers’ issue. We have nothing to hide and people should appeal to the FG to release the money in full. We know it is loan that we will repay with nine per cent interest,” he said. The governor also explained that the state had experienced a sharp decline in monthly allocations in recent time.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Akindairo Keji Evelyn now MRS. ADEGBULU MORENIKEJI EVELYN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

INVITATION TO TENDER

In compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, the National Assembly wishes to notify the General Public of its intention to solicit Tender from competent and reputable companies for the underlisted contracts being contemplated under 2015 Capital Projects: 2. Scope i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi. xii.

LOT 1S. Supply of Desktop Computers. LOT 2S. Supply of Photocopying Machines. LOT 3S. Supply of LED TV Ultra HDD (46”). LOT 4S. Supply of LED TV Ultra HDD (42”). LOT 5S. Supply of Shredding Machines. LOT 6S. Supply of Laptop Computers. LOT 7S. Supply of Refrigerators. LOT 8S. Supply of Palmtop Tablet Systems. LOT 9S. Supply of Water Dispensers. LOT 10S. Supply of office Furniture. LOT 11S. Supply of Utility Vehicles (SUV). LOT 12S. Supply of Settees (Complete Leather).

3. Tender Requirements Prospective Bidders are required to submit the following documents along with the completed Tender Document(s): i. Evidence of Valid Registration with CAC; ii. Evidence of Tax Clearance Certificate for the past 3 years (2012 – 2014); iii. Evidence of VAT Registration and Remittance; iv. Evidence of Audited Account for the last 3years (2012 – 2014); v. Evidence of Financial Capability/Bank Support (Original Copy); vi. Evidence of Execution of Similar Project(s) in last 3years (2012 – 2014); vii. Evidence of PENCOM Registration and Remittance; viii. Sworn Affidavit in line with the provisions of part iv, section 16, subsection 6(e-f) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 (Original Copy); and. ix. NSITF Certificate. 4. Tender Instructions I. Interested companies are to collect Bid Documents (Indicating detailed information) from the National Assembly Tenders Board (Room 1.279, Annex I, NASS Complex) upon evidence of payment a non-refundable fee of N20,000.00 (in Bank draft in favour of National Assembly); ii. Contracts will attract Bid Security of 2% of the Bid Sum - Bank Guarantee (For Bids in excess of N50,000,000.00); iii. Tender will be conducted through the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) Procedures as specified in the Public Procurement Act, 2007; iv. Existing Tender Fee Rates of National Assembly will apply and payable on submission of Bids: Contract Value above N5M N 20,000.00 Contract Value of N10M - N50M N100,000.00 Contract Value in excess of N50M N250,000.00 v. All Bids shall be assessed in full compliance with the instructions in the Tender Documents, which shall form the basis of Eligibility of Contractors for final consideration; and vi. Tender Document submitted late shall be rejected. 5. Submission of Bids I. A copy of Financial and Technical Bids shall be submitted (In addition to the Soft Copy). The documents must be paginated, initialed and sealed in separate 15x9.5 envelopes, marked appropriately at the left hand corner “Technical Bid” and “Financial Bid”.Both Bids (Technical and Financial) will be enclosed in a bigger envelope (properly sealed) and addressed to The Secretary, National Assembly Tenders Board, Three Arms Zone, Abuja. ii. To be registered and dropped in the Tender Box in the office of the Secretary Tenders Board not later than 1pm on Tuesday,27thOctober, 2015. 6. Bid Opening I. Bids will be opened at 1:30pm on Tuesday, 27thOctober, 2015 at the Department of Procurement and Supplies Conference Room (Room 1.271) Annex I, NASS Complex; ii. All prospective Bidders or their accredited representatives should endeavor to be present, please; iii. Any further information/clarification needed on the advert can be obtained from Room 1.271, Annex 1, NASS Complex. NOTE: iv. National Assembly reserve the right to reject any bid document; v. This invitation should not be construed to be as a commitment on the part of the National Assembly to enter into any form of contract with any company, enter into any communication with any company not found suitable nor shall it entitle any company to make any claim whatsoever from the National Assembly; vi. All costs incurred as result of this Tender Invitation and any subsequent requests for information shall be borne by the bidding companies; vii. National Assembly is not bound to accept the lowest Bid or any Tender; viii.The National Assembly also reserves the right to annul the bidding process at any time without incurring any liabilities and assigning reason thereof; and. ix. Technical Bids submitted will be assessed and only Tenders of those found responsive will be subjected for detailed evaluation.

Signed:

Management 28thOctober, 2015.

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Lagosmetro

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Edited By Lanre Adewole

08037863902 | olanreade@yahoo.com

Midnight fire ravages Ijora-Badia Olalekan Olabulo

Bug-infested mattresses displayed by the students. Photo: Naza Okoli

Traffic at the main gate after it was shut by protesting students. Photo: Naza Okoli

UNILAG students protest bedbug invasion in hostels •It’s a matter of personal hygiene — Mgt Naza Okoli

niversity of Lagos (UNILAG) students on Monday protested the invasion of their halls of residence by bedbugs, shutting both gates to the main campus at Akoka. The protest which began

as early as 3 a.m. from Mariere Hall grew as students from other hostels joined. It continued even when it began to rain at about 7.30 a.m. According to the protesters, the bedbugs had become quite common in the hostels, but an incident of that night was the straw

Railway mgt helpless as roof-top riding persists Tola Adenubi The menace of roof-top riding has become a regular phenomenon on most of the evening Lagos Mass Transit trains. This is even as Lagos Metro observed that the authorities of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) remain helpless on efforts to curb the menace. When Lagos Metro went round train stations Monday evening, it was observed that many young people still sat on the Lagos trains unchecked. It has been discovered that the security agents attached to the NRC are unwilling to embark on security operations in the evening for fear of being attacked by the young men who could be carrying dangerous weapons. However, it was observed that due to frequent security operations during the early hours of the day, the menace has gradually disappeared from the early

morning trains. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of many arrested rooftop riders are currently unknown as many are said to have paid different sums of money to be bailed out of police custody. Many are said not to have been prosecuted and this, according to observers is part of the reason the menace still persists.

that broke the camel’s back. “Last night, a resident of Mariere Hall screamed in the middle of the night, and his roommates discovered over 100 bugs on his body and bed,” one of the protesters who did not wish to be named said. “We usually use Sniper (insecticide) to kill them, but these days, they have become stronger than insecticides.” Another student said a recent fumigation exercise by the management had done nothing to stop the bugs. “Our hostel was fumigated recently, but that seems to have strengthened the bedbugs more,” he said. “The school management must rise to the occasion and ask the contractor why

they chose to mix too much water in their chemical, and also why they chose to be fraudulent. For many weeks after fumigation, the smell continued, but it was not effective. Rooms without bedbugs even became infested with bugs after the fumigation.” As at 11am on Monday, the protesters were still at the gate. Mattresses which they claimed were “bug-infested” were displayed on the road, the gates and some signboards. Meanwhile a statement issued Monday afternoon by the Deputy Registrar (Information), Mr Olagoke Oke, on behalf of the management, described the students’ action as “un-

warranted”, “unruly” and “condemnable”. “This unwarranted and unruly act of a group of

students is condemnable and should not be tolerated in a civilised community,” the statement read.

Baiyeku tragedy: How our boat

capsized —Poly student survivor Lanre Adewole One of the survivors of Baiyeku boat mishap, Abdul-Rasheed Kareem, a student of Kwara State Polytechnic, who is currently on industrial attachment with a survey firm in the area, said the outboard engine developed fault on their way to Baiyeku before the illfated boat ran into fishing nets and capsized. The Lagos State govern-

Lagbus park at Lagos Tollgate with broken fence and littered with waste. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

ment has, however, warned boat operators in the state’s waterways against over-speeding in order to safeguard the lives of passengers on water. The Baiyeku tragedy claimed five lives. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr Jafar Sanuth, gave this warning when he paid a condolence visit to the Baiyeku Community on Sunday after the boat mishap in the area. According to him, over-speeding puts the lives of passengers on water in danger, adding that they should also desist from overloading their boats. Sanuth advised them to embrace safety precautions, especially the use of life jackets and regular maintenance of their boats. “Boat operators should minimize their speed and avoid overloading. Water transportation remains safe and cost effective. Fishermen should put flags on their fishing nets on water for easy identification by boat operators,” he said.

Nigerian Tribune

Scores of makeshift buildings were burnt between Sunday night and early Monday morning as another fire incident ravaged Ijora Badia area of Lagos State. Several properties were destroyed in the fire incident, which put an abrupt end to the night sleep of hundreds of occupants of the Lagos community. The burnt houses were situated on Elemosho Street in Orunbare area of Ijora Badia and the fire was suspected to have started from faulty electric connection. Occupants of the burnt buildings, mostly Hausa people had gone to their different home towns for the Sallah celebration when the fire started. Residents of the area, who spoke with Lagos Metro blamed an unnamed Hausa man for illegal and faulty power connection. No fewer than 32 makeshift buildings, constructed with wooden materials were completely destroyed in the fire incident. The fire lasted for more than an hour before it was eventually curtailed by fire servicemen. A resident of the area, who simply identified himself as Raymond, while speaking with Lagos Metro said “the fire was noticed around 4 am. Nobody knows when it actually started.” He continued that “the fire might have started

from the faulty power connection from a Hausa man, who connected his apartment to the power supply in the area.” The chairman of the Ori-

An 86-year-old man and three security guards have been accused of stealing property worth N1.5 million. It was alleged that 86-year-old Ebenize Okpara, Joseph Akuwugwu, 38 and Kenneth Ukaegbu 33, broke into the residence of one Mr Ademola Edu and made away with his elec-

the area saved the situation. Rasak Fadipe, the director of the Lagos State Fire Service, stated that about 90 makeshift buildings were destroyed in the inferno.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State police command has arrested a national of Niger Republic for allegedly defrauding a United States of America-based Nigerian. The suspect, Shehu Usman, was arrested after he allegedly bolted away with

Ajinde Ayo Street off Suberu Oje, Oke Odo, Lagos State in need of good roads. PHOTO BY ALABA IGBAROOLA.

Messy roads killing our businesses — Ile-Epo community Akin Adewakun Traders, commercial drivers and others eking a living in Ile Epo community and its environs in Agbado, Oke Odo Local Council Development Area of Lagos, have called the attention of

86-year-old, others charged to court for robbery AyomideOwonibiOdekanyin

sunbare Community Development Association, Owolabi Mudashiru, while speaking on the incident, stated that the quick intervention of a gas station in

Nigerien arrested for duping America-based Nigerian

tronics and phones worth N1.5 million. The accused persons pleaded not guilty when they were charged before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court. In her ruling, the Magistrate, Mrs F. F George, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N100,000 each with two sureties each in like sum. George adjourned the case till October 22 for mention.

relevant authorities to the deplorable state of the Ile Epo spot of the Abule Egba-Iyana Ipaja Road, which they noted had continued to constitute a huge hindrance to the growth of businesses in the area. Speaking with Lagos Metro on the deplorable state of the road, a prominent yam seller in the area, Mrs. Raliat Yusuf expressed dismay that it was taking both the Federal Government and the state government some time before fixing the road which she described as “almost impassable.” “It costs me and my colleagues (other yam sellers), a lot of effort and money to bring in trailers into the market because of the bad portions in front of the market. Every truck owner avoids this area like a plague; nobody wants to put his vehicle on

this road because of the damage it is capable of wrecking on the vehicle. That is why the few that volunteer to come here are merciless when they want to charge us. “The road needs urgent attention. It is an eye-sore, to say the least,” she lamented to Lagos Metro. Also expressing his disgust on the state of the road, a commercial driver, Mr. Khadiri Yisa, argued that he and his colleagues were left with no choice than to review transport fares upwards in the area. “It is sad, but for us that is the way to go. Otherwise, how do we explain a situation where you find it very difficult to cover a journey you are supposed to make in 10 minutes in one hour? It is that bad. There is always traffic gridlock on that road and this is due to the deplorable state of the road, and nobody

seems to care,” he stated. Yisa wondered why the people were being left to suffer over that road after actively participating in the last elections that brought the governments of their choice, both at the centre and the state to power. “This is rather unfair,” he stated. Yemi, a private car owner who lives in Iyana Ipaja, but works for an Ota-based noodles-making company, described the state of the road as a nightmare. “This should not be happening in the 21st century. What I do now is to avoid the road and take an alternative route, though longer, to the office. I think the earlier the road is fixed, the better for road users in the area. A lot of precious time is being lost manoeuvring out of this pothole-riddled road,” he stated.

goods, estimated to cost N3million, belonging to Bonaventure Ezekwenna, who is based in the US. A police source at Pen Cinema police station, who pleaded anonymity, while speaking with Lagos Metro stated that the suspect used a bogey company in the United States of America to swindle his victim. The suspect, who claimed to be a clearing and forwarding agent, reportedly used a certain Plainair Clearing and Forwarding Company to attract the attention of US based Nigerians, who wanted to send goods to Nigeria. According to the victim’s report at the police station, he first met Usman in his office at 3677 White Plains Road Bronx New York 10467 on November 24, 2008. The victim added that he told the suspect of his intention to send a Toyota Camry with laptops to Nigeria and that Usman told him it would take only thirty days for the goods to get to his relatives in Lagos through his Lagos manager one Mrs. Aishat Ibrahim Suleman. The victim added that he paid all the necessary fees including $709 dollars to Usman for clearing and delivery with another $1,600 dollars for the container. He also added that it was, however, surprising that he could not receive his goods in Nigeria after some months that the goods left the US for Nigeria. The victim also added that he was later hinted by the secretary at the suspect’s office in the US that Usman had left for Nigeria. Ezekwenna continued that he traced the suspect to Nigeria, where he got him arrested him in Ikeja, after he allegedly avoided him for some weeks in Abuja. The suspect changed the story, when he told the police that the goods were in Benin Republic. Efforts to speak with the image maker in charge of the state police command, Joe Offor failed as calls to his mobile phone line were not answered.

businessnews

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Lagos trade fair to hold at 3 locations Gbemi Solaja -Lagos

Director of HarvestPlus, Dr Howarth Bouis, delivering a lecture on bio-fortification at the Conference Centre, IITA, Ibadan, recently.

Nigeria’s policy affecting lifting of crude oil, Indian investor laments

ndia’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) has revealed the difficulty it is facing in investing in Nigeria’s oil, saying nobody is willing to lift the country’s oil. BK Namdeo, HPCL director of refineries, said the energy company would be cautious in future investments in Nigeria’s oil. “We are finding it difficult to book a vessel to lift Nigerian crude …. We will be cautious in future while deciding about crude of Nigerian origin,” he told Reuters. He said his firm was unsure whether it would be able to lift a very large crude carrier of Qua Iboe crude on time, following refusal from investors to bring their vessels to Nigeria. “Nobody is coming forward to offer the vessel and whoever is willing to go to Nigeria is asking exorbi-

tant rates,” he added. According to Reuters, HPCL bought the 2 million barrels of Qua Iboe from Totsa, a trading arm of France’s Total, scheduled for lifting between October 7 and 8, 2015, lifting on a free on board (FOB) basis.

An expert in engineering insurance, former Managing Director, ACEN Insurance Company Ltd, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, ELSIMON Consulting Ltd (ELC), Mr Emmanuel Oyetoyan, has called on the government to ensure the prosecution of employers who fail to provide group life insurance cover for their em-

Fear as more farms report bird flu in Nigeria There have been seven more outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Nigeria according to the poultrysite.com, causing another round of fear after a respite of some months. All the outbreaks occurred on farms, mostly farms with layers and pullets. One farm also held broilers. Some of the poultry was housed in a deep litter system. The outbreaks were of the H5N1 serotype. Roughly 26,116 birds

Namdeo hinted that NNPC’s request of a letter of comfort from shippers, who would sail its territorial waters are making it all the more difficult to find a shipper. The Indian firm said it had chartered the Ridgebury Progress, an oil ves-

sel, but the owner refused to sign the “letter of comfort” sought by the Nigerian authorities. Earlier in September, President Muhammadu Buhari reversed a Julysanctioned embargo on 113 vessels sailing Nigerian waters, but the condition

The Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has announced plans for the 2015 Lagos International Trade Fair scheduled to hold in November. LCCI stated that in its bid to further promote trade and enhance the Nigerian economy, it had introduced two new exhibitions that will run concurrently at two different venues. The fair, which holds from Friday, November 6 till Sunday, November 15, will take place at the Tafawa Balewa Square, hosting the business to customer general fair; the Muson Centre, Onikan, will host the business to business and corporate exhibition (B2B Exhibition) scheduled to hold from Monday, 9th to Friday, 13th November, while the Freedom Park, Broad Street will host the creative industry fair, tagged Eko Akete, from Friday, 6th to Sunday 15th November. The 10-day event, with the theme ‘Enhancing value addition in the non – oil economy’, is expected to host numerous local and

Expert seeks prosecution of group life insurance violators Gbemi Solaja -Lagos

have been lost to the outbreaks, amounting to reduction in the number eggs, chicken and other poultry products being produced by farmers. Experts said if measures are not urgently put in place to checkmate the spread, it may worsen the circular flow of income and affect the livelihood of more poultry farming households. Over 7,000 birds died as a result of these outbreaks, and another 19,116 were destroyed.

Nigerian Tribune

ployees in order to secure the economy. Oyetoyan, in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, maintained that insurance was the only thing that could guarantee safety and security of the assets belonging to a nation, including human capital and therefore must be protected. He noted that though there was a law that states that anyone who employs more than seven workers must have group life insurance cover for them, some companies still flouted the law, adding that such companies must be brought to book. According to him, the PRA 2004 provides that “every employer shall maintain a Group Life Insurance policy in favour of each employee for a minimum of three times the annual emolument of employees and that premium shall be paid not later than the date of commencement of the cover.” Section 6b of the Act equally states that an employer that fails, refuses or omits to make payments when due shall be liable for payment of claims aris-

ing from the death of such employee for failing to arrange life insurance cover. He added that this provision has not only helped to reinvigorate the workforce within the industry, but has also enhanced profitability. “In a properly ordered economy, all these workers are insured so if any of them is insured, he is taken care of and if any of them dies, the family is compensated. The families who are compensated seize to be dependent on other, but if nothing is coming, you could imagine what will happen to them. So, every individual must be sustained by insurance because that is the only way the economy can remain buoyant and strong because when you reduce dependencies, social insecurity, social miscreant then the burden of the society becomes less. “An employer must insure every employee against accidents and this is a critical aspect the government must look into and ensure that employers obey the law by providing

adequate group life insurance for every employee against accidents and against sudden or natural death. “Group life insurance is very important; all these things have implications for the economy. A worker who in a factory suddenly drops dead, the family will come and take some compensation so that the children can go to school. “So every economic unit contributes to production. Human beings, factory, corporations, companies and so on and when something happens and impairs your sustenance, insurance comes in and sustains you. “All these means of production -- the factories, cars, roads, satellite -- are all national assets of development and when we lose them, we lose them but if they are insured, we are compensated, they are repaired and replaced and life goes on,” he said. He added that employees could have personal accident insurance, even if they were not working for anybody or organisation.

international companies from countries like China, Egypt, Japan, Ghana, India, European Union, Indonesia and Pakistan, not also excluding indigenous businesses. “In addition to these exhibitors, the LCCI has attracted many institutional partnerships from big corporates in Nigeria. These corporate organisations, having recognised the enormous value being brought into the economy by the fair, have supported it to ensure value delivery to all stakeholders,” LCCI said. The chamber added that it hoped to run an all inclusive fair in response to the yearnings of the business world, which would also accommodate all sectors of the economy and expose the potential of the Nigerian economy beyond oil. Speaking on the new additions, chairman, Trade Promotion Board, LCCI, Olawale Cole, said the chamber appreciated the enormous potential of the creative industry and had resolved to give a special focus to the rapidly growing segments of our economy. “In activating this resolve, the LCCI designed a special programme that will fully explore the business potentials of the creative industry and as well project it distinctly to the thousands of visitor that throng the trade fair annually”, adding that it had entered into partnership with the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA), it had also consulted with bodies like, the Performing Musician Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), among others. The chamber added that to support the development of entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, it had introduced the Lagos International Trade Fair MSMEs Development Forums in all the exhibition centres. According to the chamber, “Many small businesses have capacity deficit in various areas of their enterprises. This is one major reason for the failure of quite a number of them between their start-up year and the third year. One sure way of investing in the future of our economy is to increase the capacity of these entrepreneurs to create and manage businesses.”

businessnews

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigeria is benefitting from power sector privatisation —Chairman, Egbin Power Plant

R Kola Adesina, Chairman of Egbin Power Plc, says Nigeria has started benefiting from the dividends of power sector privatisation. This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Monday by Mr Alex Okoh, Head, Public Communications, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). According to the statement, the company’s chairman said that the organisation which was Nigeria’s largest generation plant, now generated above 1,000mw consistently into the National Grid. The statement reported the chairman as saying that it was the first time the plant would achieve such feat. ``This is the first time since inception of the power plant that it will achieve the feat because of the continuing investment and upgrade activities on the plant by the new investors - Sahara Power Group and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).” The statement recalled that eight years ago, the plant hit the 1,000mw mark for barely two hours and never attained it again until now. It also said that prior to the privatisation and handover of the plant in Nov. 2013, Egbin averaged generation of below 500mw due to the dismal state of its six units which at its lowest point had only two out of the six units operational. The statement said that since takeover, the new owners embarked on total overhaul of units 4, 5 and 1, allowing the units to peak at 220mw each. This, the statement said, was the installed capacity and that the plant “had never undergone any ma-

jor overhaul in its 30 years of operation”. Adesina was also reported by the statement as saying that Unit 6 of the plant, which had been un-operational for 10 years, had been successfully restored. It also said that the Turbine Vibration Monitoring Systems, which assisted in regulating the speed of the turbine in the event of vibration to avoid a cata-

strophic failure, had also been replaced. On the medium term investment plans, Adesina said that the major overhaul of Units 2, 3 and 6 in 2016 would complete the overhaul plan scheduled until the next scheduled overhaul in 2019. The statement said that Adesina attributed the achievements partly to the direct intervention of the

Federal Government, in its determination to resolve the power crisis which had resulted in recent improvement in gas supply. According to the statement, the chairman said that the Federal Government’s recent interventions in the gas situation had impacted on power generation positively. “This is driving the increase in power supply in

Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB President

President Muhammadu Buhari

Oil prices decline on dull outlook for demand Oil futures declined on Monday, as signs of slowing global economic growth fed worries about the outlook for energy demand. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November West Texas Intermediate crude CLX5, -2.87 per cent shed 87 cents, or almost 2 per cent, to $44.82 a barrel. November Brent crude LCOX5, -2.59 per cent on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell 97 cents, or

about 2 per cent, to $48.31 a barrel. The International Monetary Fund is likely to cut its target for world gross domestic product growth for this year and next due to slowing growth in emerging-market countries, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said, according to French newspaper Les Echos. The IMF was due to release an outlook later Monday. “The IMF’s likely revision comes on the heels of

another round of government reports from China showing industrial profits have declined,” said Daniel Holder, commodity analyst at Schneider Electric. “None of this is rosy for crude demand.” Slight production declines are starting to appear in the U.S., Russia, Norway and Mexico, but “these slowdowns are not nearly enough to balance the supply glut,” he said in a note. “As the market

AfDB president discusses new deal on energy for Africa with German Chancellor African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, attended a special dinner event with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday, September 25 in New York. Also in attendance were the Presidents of Tanzania, Liberia, Mali, Comoros, Benin and the Prime Ministers of Ethiopia and São Tomé and Príncipe. The discussions centered on how to improve information and communications technology for growth and development in Africa. The rapid growth in mo-

the nation, boosting socioeconomic development. ``Prior to this, we had invested heavily and had the plant ready to generate power at full capacity but there was no gas to do so. ``This is indeed a good development for the power sector in Nigeria,” he said. He, however, called for more dynamic policies and incentives for sustainable gas supply across the na-

bile phones and ICT opens up huge opportunities for mobile money transfers, financial inclusion, agricultural extension, market prices, transparent farm input distribution, addressing corruption, security, education, e-governance, e-health, enhanced political participation, empowerment of women, smart grids and improved payment systems. President Adesina discussed the new deal on energy for Africa with Chancellor Merkel and the

German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller; Germany’s Environment Minister, Barbara Hendricks, and the African presidents and prime ministers. It was agreed by all that solving Africa’s energy challenge, and unlocking its energy potential, are critical for any growth in ICT in Africa. The African Development Bank was applauded for its new vision to lead on solving Africa’s energy challenge. Chancellor

Merkel and all the African Presidents and Prime Ministers welcomed the New Deal on Energy initiative and the leadership of the Bank in working to develop the Transformative Partnership on Energy for Africa. In particular, President Adesina’s call for the establishment of a Bottom of the Pyramid Energy Financing Facility for Africa, to help provide access to clean cooking renewable energy for 700 million Africans, was welcomed by Chancellor Merkel.

realizes this, prices fall further.” For the week ahead, oil prices are likely to continue moving sideways, with WTI and Brent crude expected to remain supported at $44.28 and $47.63 a barrel, respectively, analyst Daniel Ang at Phillip Futures said. He said the key macroeconomic data to watch this week is the U.S. jobs report. If nonfarm payrolls data turn out better than expected, it should send WTI and Brent to trade at the lower end of the price range, Ang said. Oil is also pressured by recent underlying strength in the U.S. dollar after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen argued the case for raising short-term interest rates later this year. On the supply side, U.S. oil data set for th is week will be watched closely for signs of any pullback in response to low oil prices. Friday’s U.S. rig-count data from Baker Hughes showed the number of oil rigs fell for a fourth straight week.

Nigerian Tribune

12 news

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

What my abductors told me —Falae

•His kidnap, national disgrace —Akinrinade •As youths protest Fulani herdsmen’s activities in Ondo Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

ORMER Secretary to the Government of the Federation ( SGF), Chief Olu Falae, who was released last week Thursday by his abductors has narrated his ordeal in the hands of the hoodlums, desribing his experience as horrible. Falae stated this when the the Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade visited him in his hometown, Akure, on Monday. He said: “It is an insult to our race that a man like me could be abducted by a bunch of hoodlums. One of them even told me that after leaving them, if I go out and say nonsense, they will come back to kidnap me again. “Of course, six of them, with about three or four guns, every half an hour or so, would say ‘Baba, we are going to kill you, if you don’t give us money. “And on Wednesday, one of them came and said ‘look, we are going to leave here on Thursday morning and since we can’t leave you here alone, if we don’t get what we want, we will kill you’. “They said they gave me until 3.00 p.m. and if they didn’t get the money, they would execute me. “I thank God that at about 21 minutes to 3.00 p.m, one of them came and said ‘the money don complete.’ On the following morning, they said I should go and one of them took ropes to stitched my buba, which was already tattered, so it would at least stay on me and I wouldn’t look like a lunatic, when I was out of the place.” Falae said he was able to find a motorcycle when he came out of the bush to give him a ride to Owo town, which is about 30 kilometres away from Akure, where he was forcibly kidnapped for four days. “The place is about 10 kilometres from Owo town, between Owo and Ifon, and I walked most of the distance from my farm to that place. Miraculously, I was not tired, I was not hungry and I was not afraid of them at all,” Falae said. Speaking during the visit, Akinrinade described the abduction of Chief Falae by suspected Fulani herdsmen as a national disgrace and an insult on the entire Yoruba nation. He expressed worry over the rate of kidnappings in Yorubaland and called on

the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the incessant activities of kidnappers across the country. He noted that kidnapping business thrived in the South-West these days, saying criminals had penetrated the Yorubaland, describing Falae’s abduction as unfortunate. He, however, said the South-West region might be forced to protect themselves if the Federal Government failed to compel the security agencies to provide adequate security. Meanwhile, youths from the Akure Division, on Monday, took to the streets, demanding that activities of Fulani cattle rearers in the capital city should be curtailed. The youth, under the auspices of Akure Youth Coalition (AYC), a national and socio-political movement of

Akure speaking people in four local government areas in the state, which include Akure South, Akure North, Ifedore and Idanre, converged at the townhall and marched to the Deji’s palace to register their displeasure over the activities of Fulani cattle rearers in the area. The youth also moved to the state House of Assembly, carrying placards with various inscriptions, such as “Nomadic grazing must stop,” “Olu Falae is an elder statesman; respect our elders!” “Stop Nomadic herding now, give us a cattle ranch in the state for cattle rearers,” “Do not turn Akure into a tearful fiefdom, respect our land.” Speaking during the peaceful protest, president of the coalition, Mr Adekanbi Oluwatuyi, said the protest became imperative in order to register their dis-

pleasure over the activities of the Fulani herdsmen in the communities, saying it had been affecting the communities adversely. Oluwatuyi said as peaceloving youths of Akure kingdom, it was pertinent for them to express their dissatisfaction over the threats and acrimony perpetuated by Fulani herdsmen in the capital city and its environs. He said: “They (herdsmen) had continued to harass and intimidate our people on their farmlands with their cattle forcibly entering into farmlands and they descend on anyone who dares challenge or query their actions. “We are mindful of the fact that any Nigerian is guaranteed freedom to live in any part of the country as enshrined in Section 41 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. “We are, however, quick to

state that this does not confer on them the right to intimidate and violate the right of their host communities.” The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, lauded the youth for the peaceful protest and assured them that all relevant authorities would be contacted, while traditional institutions and stakeholders would meet to deliberate on a lasting solution to the problem. The monarch, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari and other security agencies for ensuring the release of Falae. In a related development, contrary to claims by the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, last week Thursday, that no ransom was paid to secure the freedom of the former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae, a family member,

General Alani Akinrinade (fourth left); Chief Olu Falae (fourth right) and his family members when Akinrinade visited him on Monday.

on Monday, said an undisclosed amount of money was paid before the septuagenarian was released last week Thursday morning. According to a family source, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune on condition of anonymity, the police had no input in the release of their breadwinner, saying the old man was released after the abductors confirmed that the ransom had been dropped at an agreed place. He specifically said the ransom was not paid directly by the family, but hailed the state government’s intervention in saving the former SGF on time, after sensing that the Fulani herdsmen who held Falae captive would not yield to their plea. He, however, could not state the amount paid for the release of the Olu of Ilu Aboo, where Falae is regarded as the traditional head, but confirmed that ransom worth millions of naira was paid. He added that he would not know where the ransom was taken to, but said Falae was brought out from the forest where they had been keeping him to Owo junction in the early hours of Thursday. According to him, the police only got wind of his release after Chief Falae introduced himself to some policemen on patrol, who subsequently took him to a near by hotel to freshen up, as the old man looked dirty and weary.

Military, MDAs owe power distribution companies N32bn Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos NIGERIAN military and various ministries and parastatals are owing the 11 distribution companies N32 billion debt for power supplied by the discos. The Director, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr Sunday Oduntan, disclosed this to journalists at the Stakeholders’ Forum organised by Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) in Lagos, on Monday. According to Oduntan, “the MDAs, especially the military, are owing us N32 billion and we have been calling for the payment of this outstanding, because money for utilities is being provided in the budget for the military. I want to appreciate the Federal Government, especially the Vice

President Yemi Osinbajo, who has called us to a meeting and assured us that the money will paid soon. “Gone are the days that the military will beat our staff when they go to disconnect power supply at various military cantonments due to non-settlement of bills. I can assure you that this government is very serious and sincere to providing stable power supply. We hope the money will be paid soon, because if we invest that money into the power sector, there will be a huge difference.” On the other hand, the management of EKEDC has called for the abolition of fixed charges, but costreflective tariff that will ensure power consumers pay for what they consume. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), EKEDC, Engineer Oladele Amoda, said his

company fully support the abolition of fixed charges and to this end, “we have written a proposal to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on the removal of fixed charges and awaiting its approval. Once the commission approves it, we will stop charging our customers.” Furthermore, he said one of the greatest challenges confronting electricity supply was lack of cost-reflec-

tive tariff and refusal of consumers to pay for electricity consumed. “We are not making profit right now. This is because the investors are not looking to recover their investment in the short run, but to break even. Maybe in the next few years, we will begin to make profit when everyone is happy with what we are doing. So, I would want to say that privatisation is the third best thing to have happened to Nige-

ria after Independence and democracy. “I am saying this because I was with the old National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). If not for privatisation, power supply situation would have deteriorated by now. Power sector was neglected for years, but new investors came to rescue the situation and turned it around,” he said.

FG declares October 1 public holiday THE Federal Government has declared Thursday, October 1 public holiday, to mark Nigeria’s 55th Independence celebration. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Mr Abubakar Magaji, made the declaration on behalf of the

government in a statement signed by the Ministry’s Director of Press, Yusuf Isiaka. The statement was made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja. Magaji, while congratulating Nigerians both at home

and abroad, thanked them for supporting President Muhammadu Buhari in his efforts to build a peaceful, united and virile nation. He urged Nigerians to use the occasion of the celebration to pray for peace and unity of the country.

13 HIDAWOLOWO(1915-2015)

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Olugbo, Bakare, others pay tribute to HID Awolowo She was an iconic matriarch of Oduduwa empire —Ife chief By Olayinka Olukoya and Moses Alao

HE leader of the Yoruba Obas Conflicts Resolution Committee and Olugbo of Ugboland in Ondo State, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan; a former deputy governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salmot Badru and the Presiding Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, were among those who, yesterday, visited the Ikenne home of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to commiserate with the family over the demise of its matriarch, Chief HID Awolowo. Others were the representatives of the Agura of Gbagura, Abeokuta, Oba Halid Olaloko; Justice Owolabi Sonoiki; Ambassador Gunju Adesakin; the Balogun of Ile-Ife, Chief Bisi Omidiora; Chief Bamigbetan Baju; former president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chief Abdul-Lateef Owoyemi and his wife, Abiola; Emeritus Professor Soga Sofola; principal, staff and students of Ikenne Community High School and members of the Remo Country Club. In his condolence mes-

sage, Oba Akinruntan said: “The loss of Papa Awolowo’s jewel of inestimable value cannot be quantified. The society at large will miss Yeye Oodu’a.” While fielding questions from newsmen, the royal father added that Mama was one of the most committed women in Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole, noting that since Papa Awolowo passed on, Mama held everyone from the Yoruba race together. “I was here over one year ago; we held a meeting here and Yoruba obas including the late Ooni of Ife were present and Mama presided over that meeting; we will miss that now. Who will rally us together now? We are looking at the children; I know they will emulate Mama. We will encourage them. “The courage and wisdom that Mama possessed make her a rare personality,” he said. According to the Olugbo, only God can provide another set of leaders who will galvanise the Yoruba race as the late Ooni of Ife and Mama Awolowo did, saying: “If a leader passes on, God will provide another. I am sure that another leader will emerge from among the royal

fathers and we pray that He will do the same in the case of Mama,” he said. Pastor Bakare, in his tribute, thanked God for Mama, noting that she was a consistent person all her life; totally dedicated to her husband and her family. “Like Papa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, described her as his jewel of inestimable value; that is who Mama Awolowo was to the family, to Western Region, to Nigeria and to all Black people in the Diaspora. “We thank God for her life. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints and because it is precious in God’s sight, her death was also precious in our sights. We also remember what the Bible says that the memory of the just is blessed forever; it is the name of the wicked that will rot. I hope others will learn from her life; she was a model,” Pastor Bakare told newsmen. Also speaking, Alhaja Badru described Mama Awolowo as the mother of all mothers, noting that her death was painful, considering the fact that plans were afoot to celebrate her centenary birthday. “She lived a life worthy of

She left an enduring legacy —Ex-Deputy Senate Whip FORMER Deputy Senate Whip and senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Hosea Ayoola Agboola, has maintained that Yeye Oodu’a, Chief HID Awolowo, left a legacy that will endure. Agboola noted that like her husband, Mama’s name and virtues would stand for a long time, “be-

cause she impacted on people’s lives and showed great examples to womanhood.” Agboola, who stated this in a condolence message made available to the Nigerian Tribune, noted that Mama lived a life of service to humanity and would be remembered for been a supportive wife and a role model for other women, especially wives

of public officials. Agboola said Mama did not only support Papa Awolowo to succeed but also sustained his legacies for more than 27 years after his demise. “Mama’s death is a glorious exit; it is the end of an era of exemplary leadership and passionate commitment to the Yoruba cause,” Agboola said.

emulation by all,” Badru added. Justice Sonoiki said Mama Awolowo was a real mother to the Sonoiki family, adding that the friendship between the Awolowos and Sonoikis did not have any political coloration. Justice Sonoiki said that Mama had a glorious exit. Chief Omidiora, who is the deputy chairman of Ife Council of Honorary Chiefs, described Mama as a mother and grandmother of the council of chiefs and an “iconic ma-

CHIEFTAIN of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), Chief Oladipo Jimilehin, has said that the life and times of the late matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty were filled with “lessons in morality, integrity, humility and selfless service to humanity and God.” Jimilehin, who is the legal adviser of YUF, said this on Monday in a state-

ment made available to the Nigerian Tribune, recalling that Mama was the chairman of the forum till her death on September 6. The YUF chieftain said the matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty ran a very good race, which she won adding that he had no doubt that a crown of righteousness awaited her with her Creator. “She has done her bit.

She gave her utmost best to us. She had run a very good race, she won. Therefore, I have no doubt in my mind that a crown of righteousness surely awaits her with her creator,” he said. Chief Jimilehin, a onetime Secretary to the National Constitutional Conference, commended the simple, but yet uncontroversial and scandalfree life Mama lived.

disciplinarian. Daniels-Smith, who was named Ikeoluwa by the late Soyode, said: “I know Mama quite well. She did not discriminate against me since the time I came into the family. She was loving and very kind to me; she was a strict disciplinarian but she was kind. I know that Mama was in heaven, she was a woman with a very large heart. “I was counting down to her 100th birthday celebration, but it pleased God for her to rest in the Lord.”

Mama should be celebrated —Ex-Island Club chairman Bola Badmus - Lagos

THE immediate past Chairman of Island Club, Prince Ademola Dada, has urged that the passage of Yeye Oodu’a, Chief HID Awolowo, should be seen as a “celebration and not as mourning because Mama lived a fulfilled life by using all her God-given resources to serve God and humanity.” Prince Dada said this in a message, while condoling

with the entire Awolowo family, the people of Ikenne, Yoruba nation and the entire country on the death of the matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty. The former chairman of Island Club noted with great admiration that the late Yeye Oodu’a was a strong pillar of support to her husband, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, saying she stood solidly behind her husband like a rock of Gibratar through out the

sage’s eventful and memorable political career. “Even after the demise of her husband, she held and sustained tenaciously his lofty ideals and philosophies, holding fort for him as the leader of the Yoruba nation,” he said. Prince Dada, therefore, prayed God to grant the soul of the deceased eternal rest and the family and the whole country the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

HID was a mother in Israel —Senator Alabi FORMER Pro-chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Senator Olu Alabi, on Monday, described the passage of Chief HID Awolowo as a devastating blow to the Yoruba race and the country. In his condolence message to the Awolowo family, the renowned medical doctor said Mama was not just a virtuous woman but also an uncompromising personality on issues of principles that exalt a nation. He recalled her contribu-

Her life filled with lessons in morality, integrity, humility —YUF scribe Bola Badmus - Lagos

triarch of the Oduduwa Empire.” Omidiora added that Mama lived an active life and died in active service to the Yoruba Empire and her family. In his condolence message, Owoyemi said Mama made a name for womanhood in Nigeria. Also commenting about Mama Awolowo, Miss Deborah Daniels-Smith, a Sierra Leonean adopted by one of Mama’s children, the late Mrs Ayo Soyode, described Mama as a loving mother and a

He also commended her for the admirable way she held the family and the political group Papa Awolowo left behind together since his demise 29 years ago. “The fact that Mama was the Chairman of the YUF till her death showed how determined she was in forging unity among the Yoruba, irrespective of political learning,” he said.

tion to the political career of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, nothing that she never wavered during very tempting moments. “This is one death that is too painful to all. The Yo-

ruba race and indeed Nigeria in general have lost a virtuous woman, a mother in Israel. She stood by Papa through thick and thin, with valour and Christian faith,” he stated.

A loss to the body of Christ —United Aladura Churches THE United Aladura Churches (UAC) has described the death of Chief HID Awolowo as a great loss to Nigeria and the body of Christ. In a release signed by UAC’s Director of National Issues, Mother Captain Yetunde Ukiri-Esho, the body described Mama as “a lover of God, a great worker in His vineyard, a true jewel, a unifying factor in Yoruba land and a mother in a million.” The body noted that Mama lived a life worthy of emulation, adding that her philanthropic and humanitarian deeds would be missed by all. “We commiserate with the Awolowo family, the people and government of Ogun State and all Nigeri-

ans on the passing on of a matriarch, an astute businesswoman, a trustworthy and disciplined woman and a true nationalist. The body of Christ will, no doubt, miss her untiring contributions and wise counsel. We, however, take solace in the fact that she lived a good life and she is resting with her Maker,” the release stated. UAC prayed that “God will grant the Awolowo family and Nigerians the fortitude to bear her absence.” The UAC comprises of white garment churches which include the Cherubim and Seraphim churches, The Church of the Lord (Aladura), Celestial Church of Christ and the Fellowship of Christ Disciples.

news

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Rivers APC urges Buhari to probe Wike over political murders •End your show of shame, Wike replies Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has called President Muhammadu Buhari to probe Governor Nyesom Wike over some alleged political murders in the state. Chairman of the party, Dr Davies Ikanya, in a statement made available in Port Harcourt, urged President Buhari to look into the murders associated with the 2015 polls, as well as alleged intimidation of the party’s witnesses at the governorship election petition tribunal, Abuja. Reacting however, Governor Nysome Wike described the allegations as outlandish and spurious and urged APC and Ikanya to stop what he said was a show of shame. He said the resort by Rivers APC to the use of fabricated tales and indecent commentaries, aimed at distracting his administration, was an unfortunate demonstration of total disrespect to the government and people of Rivers State. Making reference to a petition said to have been sent to the president and security agencies over some 97 murder cases, Ikanya said it captured the threat and present insecurity in the state. He accused the governor of having a lukewarm attitude to the situation, adding that it was a cause for concern that security agencies have not investigated or prosecuted anyone over the violence which he alleged characterised the March 28/April 11 elec-

tions in the state. The Rivers APC chairman recalled that former Governor Rotimi Amaechi had constituted the Professor Chidi Odinkalu Commission of Inquiry into the heinous crimes committed before, during and after the elections. He added that, “However, on assumption of of-

fice, Wike procured a court judgment barring the constituted Chidi Odinkalu Commission of Inquiry. “This action by Chief Wike and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) denied the people justice.” Reacting, Governor Wike said, Ikanya, by using a recycled press statement, had proved “that he is the

Bola Badmus-Lagos

a few days to the general election. Nigerians heard the Rivers State PDP raise alarm when the failed former governor took that action. “Mr Ikanya cannot continue to rehash same lies all over again. They were at the tribunal, tendered the same concocted photographs which were rejected.”

Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode (right), exchanging pleasantries with the state Chief Judge, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, while the Diocesan Bishop of Lagos and Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), The Most Reverend Dr Adebola Ademowo, watches, during the 2015/2016 Legal Year Service at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, on Monday.

NYSC shortlists 222 for national awards, disqualifies 71 Adetola Bademosi-Abuja

THE National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has shortlisted about 222 exCorps members for the President’s National Honours Award out of which 71 were disqualified. The disqualified corp members it said were disqualified based on findings

that they sought for concessional deployment during their service year. Speaking in Abuja, on Monday at the inaugural meeting of the 2015 President’s NYSC Honours’ Award, National Selection Committee, the Director General (DG) NYSC, Brigadier General Johnson Olawumi explained that any-

Ambode reiterates commitment to carry out legal reforms LAGOS State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has reiterated commitment to carry out legal reforms in the state, just as he assured that his administration would continue to lend support to the development, enthronement and quick dispensation of justice. The governor said this during a church service to commemorate the beginning of 2015/2016 Legal Year held at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, pointing out that the synergy of the executive and the judicial arms of government was key to the success of any administration. Ambode, while congratulating the members of the legal profession on the

mouthpiece of a desperate clan that viciously damaged Rivers State, but are only comfortable using propaganda to divert attention from their unfortunate and disastrous reign.” Wike added that, “It was under the failed Rivers State APC administration that known cultists were released from detention for political reasons,

beginning of another legal year, also assured of his continuous support for the legal profession. The governor also expressed appreciation to the church for continuously praying for the success of his administration, urging them not to relent as his administration would not let them down. The Diocesan Bishop of Lagos Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Reverend Dr Adebola Ademowo, while speaking earlier, acknowledged Ambode as the first executive governor to grace the programme commemorating the beginning of a new legal year since inception. Meanwhile, Governor Ambode on Monday restated the determination of his administration to

partner with the state judiciary, describing the judiciary as the most veritable instrument for attaining growth and economic development in the state.

one who will emerge winner of the Honours’ Award, must distinguish him or herself in the four cardinal areas of the NYSC operations. This includes; the orientation programme, primary assignments, community development service, winding up and passing out exercise. The DG, who spoke through the Director Corps Welfare and Inspectorate, Mr Michael Ahile said Corps members can be disqualified for the award despite their contributions to national development. The disqualified Corps members he said, “are people who sought concessional de-

ployment to states of their choice, these are people who sought for relocation to change from one state to the other, these are people who served in their own state of origin, these are people who used personal money or money from their family members to carry out projects even if they do well, they will not be considered because they have fallen short of the selection criteria. “We have 222 that have been brought forward for consideration and out of these, we discovered that 71 of them sought for concessional deployment, so they are automatically disqualified.”

Nigeria’s economy has been dispossessed —Abati Olayinka Olukoya-Abeokuta

FORMER Special Adviser on Media to the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr Rueben Abati, on Monday said that Nigeria’s economy has been dispossessed. Abati stated this while delivering a paper on “Media and Economic Renaissance” at a lecture organised to commence the 2015 press week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Ni-

geria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ogun State Council, Abeokuta. The former presidential spokesman lamented that the nation’s economy was on the verge of sinking and called for urgent and drastic step to salvage it, noting that over-dependence on oil could spell doom for the country. Abati urged the Federal Government to fill the gap that existed between Nigeria’s micro, macro and political economy.

“When we (Nigerians) left agriculture, we began to suffer from what is called oil curse. The risk of over-dependence on oil is affecting the people of Nigeria. The mentality of “sharing the national cake” is not sustainable. It is not healthy for national progress. “The whole politics of Nigeria is about who controls the oil industry and not about productivity and it is affecting our socio-political life.”

Nasarawa govt embarks on electronic tax collection Ademola Adegbite-Lafia

NASARAWA State Governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, on Monday, announced his administration’s determination to engage an indigenous consultancy firm to collect taxes through electronic card system due to gradual down turn of allocations from the Federation accounts to states since last September. Al-Makura made this announcement while meeting with the management of Telnet Regional Nigeria Limited in his office in Lafia, the state capital, promising to go extra mile in revenue generation, in order to avoid the situation in some states, in which civil servants were owed several months. According to him, “any state that does not embark on rigorous tax revenue generation, given the present economic reality is waiting for the doom’s day. The process for the new tax regime was initiated over a year ago by commissioning the firm to study the peculiarity of the state and how to effectively harness its tax revenue.

Gov Ganduje pays for release of 14 inmates Kola Oyelere-Kano

KANO State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje has paid for the release of 14 inmates of the Kurmawa Central Prison in Kano metropolis free, by paying their fines. Ganduje also gave each of the 14 inmates N5, 000 to enable them transport themselves to their respective home towns and villages. He announced the release of the inmates on Friday, in Kano, during a visit to the prison in Kano. According to him, the gesture was part of the state government’s efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the common man, especially those inmates who could not pay the fine. Ganduje noted that the release of the inmates follows the recommendation of the state committee on the prerogative of mercy and urged the released prisoners to be of good conduct after their reunion with their respective families. Responding, the Controller of Prisons in the state, Alhaji Ahmed Abubakar, commended the governor for the gesture.

news

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Court sentences septuagenarian, 47 others for contravening environmental law

Hakeem Gbadamosi-Akure

ORTY -EIGHT people including a 75-year-old man, Samson Ewema have been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour by a mobile court, for violating environmental law during the last Saturday environmental exercise. The septuagenarian and 47 others were arrested by members of the environmental task force in Ondo, Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State for contravening the environmental law. The accused persons, who were mainly hawkers and travellers, were arrested at various locations while some were accused of roaming about the

streets without participating in the exercise. According to the prosecutor and Principal Environment Health Officer in the Local Government, Mrs Elizabeth Akinfemisoye, the accused persons were found roaming the streets in the community and did not participate in the exercise, which contravenes

section 17 (h) of Ondo State Environmental Sanitation Law of 2004 and punishable under same section. Akinfemisoye also accused the offenders of obstructing the sanitation enforcement officers from performing their official duty at various locations in the Local Government,

during the monthly exercise and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 20 of the Ondo State Environmental Sanitation law of 2004 and punishable under same section. However, all the accused persons pleaded guilty to the offences, while Akinfemisoye informed the

court of her readiness to prosecute the case by inviting witnesses. After listening to the prosecutor, the Magistrate, Odenusi Fadeyi, sentenced each of the accused persons to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour or pay N5, 000 as an option of fine each in lieu of the sentence.

Lasun harps on improved education DEPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun has said that no nation can develop without education. He assured that the eighth Assembly; particularly the House of Representatives would do everything within its reach to improve quality of education in the country. Lasun stated this on Monday in his country home Ilobu, Osun State when he received about 15 National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) members serving in the community. He tasked the corp members to impact quality education on the students in the area. According to him, “We do not have any other thing to do than to give the younger ones sound and qualitative education. “What would interest me most is that you corp members serving here give your best and that the best should translate to good and qualitative education on the students in the community. “The only thing to do in our environment is to provide enabling environment for learning. It would be a thing of joy to see the students’ progress.” He also urged them to be good ambassadors and urged them to come up with programmes that would be of immense value to the people of the area.

Delta govt set to recover N2bn micro credit loan Alphonsus Agborh-Asaba

DELTA State government has embarked on the drive to recover the over N2 billion debt owned it by beneficiaries of micro credit loans in the state. According to the Secretary General of the state Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (DMSMA), Mrs Shimite Bello, the government will not rest on it oars until all monies owned by the beneficiaries were recovered. Mrs Bello stated this in Agbor, during a town hall meeting with the beneficiaries, where she told the debtors especially those of the N2 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) facilitated loan to brace up, or face the wrath of the law. Of the total debt, beneficiaries from Ika South and Ika North East Local Government areas of the state are indebted to over N200 million, thereby becoming the highest among the 25 local governments in the state.

Postgraduate fellowship Immediate past governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola, (second right); Chairman, Centre for 21st century Issues and co-author of the book, Lagos and the Struggle for Democratic Nigeria: Exploring Political and Socio-Economic Transition, Pa Alfred Ilenre (left); co-authors and members of the Centre, named Titilope Akosa (second left) and Razak Olokoba, during the presentation of the book to the Fashola at his Surulere, Lagos residence, recently. after Alex Enugu halts workers verification exercise due to security threat Ekwueme abroad THE on-going local gov- vide any security for us to exercise, said it would sured. ernment staff verification exercise in Enugu State ran into a hitch following alleged security threats in Nsukka Council. Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Edward Ubosi, who had led the 11-man staff Audit and Biometric Capture Committee to Nsukka Council Area, hurriedly left the venue as their security was not guaranteed. Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had recently set up 11-man staff Audit and Biometric Capturing Committee, for the 17 local government councils’ staff in the state with objective of fishing out ghost workers. It was gathered that the exercise, which had already been conducted in some council areas, produced shocking revelations. Speaking on the matter, Ubosi disclosed that when the committee arrived at Nsukka council secretariat around 10.00 a.m., it discovered that there was no arrangement on ground for the verification exercise. “The council did not pro-

conduct the exercise; so, we had no option than to leave since our security is not guaranteed. The hall shown to us to conduct the exercise is very small; and more so, no public address system was provided. It appears the HPM, the treasurer and the council chairman are at loggerhead,” he said. The Speaker, who vowed that nobody would be allowed to sabotage the

now hold on Wednesday as he had instructed the commissioner for local government affairs, ALGON chairman, and the local government commission in the state to resolve whatever problem in Nsukka council. “They are expected to report back to me before the end of work on Monday. I am optimistic that before Wednesday, all obstacles will be resolved,” he as-

Reacting to the incident, the Vice-Chairman of NULGE in Nsukka council, Mr Ikechukwu Eze described the inability of the Nsukka council to put adequate arrangement for the verification exercise as unfortunate. “Workers are not happy with the council. Primary schools and local government offices were closed on Monday because of this exercise,” he lamented.

Ondo 2016: Group rallies support for southern district candidate Hakeem Gbadamosi-Akure

A socio- political group within the Southern Senatorial Districts of Ondo State, known as Coalition of Southern Socio - Political Groups (CSSP) at the weekend stressed the need for the next governorship candidate to emerge from the area. The group which stated this at the weekend in a press statement signed by its Coordinator, Mr Adewunmi Adebisi said giving the Southern district priority to produce the next candidate will

ensure the principle of fairness, social balance, equity and justice in the state. According to him, the need for the clamour for a credible politician to take over the mantle of power from the incumbent governor, Olusegun Mimiko, became imperative in order not to short-change the people of the area in the next political dispensation. He said that there was a need to put an end to the socio-political imbalance and deliberate marginalisation of the Southern

Senatorial District, stressing the need for the 2016 gubernatorial election in the state to produce a southern politician as the governor of the state. He stressed that the District remains the economic bedrock of the state and must not continue to be short changed in the scheme of things, adding that the zone is endowed with a pool of seasoned technocrats, astute administrators, politician and development-oriented individuals needed to turn things around in the state.

Shola Adekola-Lagos

A new post-graduate fellowship has been named after Alex Ekwueme, the first elected Vice-President of Nigeria. The new post graduate fellowship is provided for Nigerians under the age of 40 and is available for the Dual Career Training Programme to obtain a PhD in Governance and Policy Analysis (GPAC). It will be offered every two years from March 2016 and the fellowship is aimed at shaping and empowering the next generation of Nigerian leaders. The programme is taught in the stimulating research community of the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and the United Nations University, UNU-MERIT, based at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Speaking on this, Dr Joe Abah, a Nigerian civil servant, who graduated in 2012 from the school said: “The GPAC programme offered me world class, cutting-edge research skills, delivered in a rigorous but flexible way.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Femi Ibirogba adefemi2007@yahoo.com 0811 695 4646

Professor Kolawole Adebayo of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNNAB), is the Director of Cassava: Adding Value for Africa II (C:AVA II), involving Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda, and sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation. In this interview with FEMI IBIROGBA,hee sheds more light on the C:AVA’s activities to enrich farming households through value chains in Africa.

HAT was C:AVA I all about? The focus of C:AVA one was to develop the high quality of cassava flour value chain used for confectionaries. The reason for doing that was to link farmers to companies that have the technology to convert cassava root to high quality cassava flour. But as we then continued with the second phase of the project C:AVA II, the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, which funds the project, gave us two primary conditions. Now the first phase tried to develop high quality cassava flour. How has the Federal Government policy or inability to get the cassava bill approved by the National Assembly affected the use of cassava in confectionaries? As I said, the focus of C:AVA I was the development of high quality cassava flour market but we have learnt lessons. You remember C:AVA project operated in five different countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda and we learnt lessons that reliance on government policy to drive any economic sector is not the best, even though having a supportive government policy environment always helps. So, what we learnt from there is that if farmers are ready to tap from the opportunities that are available around cassava, you cannot tie farmers to government policy and that is why when we were designing C:AVA II, I said two things changed. What were those things? The first is that the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation Agriculture Development Group said they wanted African leadership. Cassava is grown in Africa, the people who are going to benefit are in Africa; the Natural Resources Institute in the United Kingdom shouldn’t be the one leading. So, through a very consultative process, we selected the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (FUNAAB) to be the leader and I was selected to be the project director. The second thing that changed was, given the lessons that were learnt in C:AVA I, you can’t focus on product which is depending on government policy to run. That is why in C:AVA II, we opened up the range of products that cassava can go into . Now in C:AVA II, we work with high quality cassava flour, starch, ethanol, cassava for livestock feeds and aquaculture feeds so that we can work with companies which use cassava as raw a material to achieve all of these products. What it then gives us is that if, for instance, the policy on cassava inclusion in wheat flour is not moving very well, we can channel farmers to emerging market in ethanol.

Why cassava value chain can’t depend on govt policy

—C:AVA II Director

Ethanol is a product of starch and cassava is almost 90 per cent starch. So we now have alternative market and what it means is that, if you are a farmer who is growing cassava, you are not looking at one direction to sell your product. In fact, you can negotiate for a better offer. Now, that leads us to the type of event we are having today. As a farmer, the only way you can benefit from the opportunities available in cassava is to achieve very high yield and, in addition to that, reduce your cost.

Now, most of the farmers in Nigeria hardly get maximum yield because of inability to afford fertilizer and poor agronomical practices. What is C:AVA doing to get the farmers educated and assisted on weed control, planting spacing andd other agronomical practices that can increase their yield? One of the primary objectives of C:AVA is improving farmers’ productivity and we do that with the help of service providers. C:AVA is a project and every project has a life span. So, what we are doing this with national institutions in the involved countries which have a mandate for promoting cassava innovations. For instance in Nigeria, we work in 17 southern states where cassava is grown and the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs), which are the primary agricultural extension arms of the country, are service providers for C:AVA. What do we do? We expose them to all the opportunities for training so that they can then take the training back to the farmers.

Is it a trainer-of-trainers scheme? Yes. It is a trainer-of-the-trainers project. For instance in Nigeria, we have IITA as a partner and we have two middlelevel partners, which are Federal College of Agriculture, Akure and the Oyo State College of Agriculture in Igboora. So, what we do is, we get IITA to come in and train the two organisations with the ADPs in the surrounding areas. What then happens is that these ADPs can then go out to train their farmers. What C:AVA is doing differently is that traditionally, people do small adoption trial plot of 10 by 10 metres and then say okay, from this 10 by 10 metres, you can get this, from one hectare you should get this; they extrapolate. C:AVA is saying no to this. The logistics and the intricacies of managing hectare of farm are different from managing a small plot of 10 by 10 metres. So, C:AVA is saying that each of our demonstrations at FECA, Akure, FUNNAB and IITA will be one hectare. So, we have batches planted in different months of the year. We started from April and we planted every month thereafter. So what we then have is a full demonstration and we are recording every challenge that a farmer can face at every stage of managing this size of farm so that if you are a farmer and you have just one hectare, we can tell you the number of cuttings you will need to plant it, the number of labourers you will need, the number of vehicles you will load and every other thing you will go through. We are not just formulating things from theories. It is from practice. What we have done is that in Nigeria, there would be six

demonstrations, three at FECA and three at Igboora in Oyo State. We are doing this now to show farmers that if you do everything very well at the planting stage, this is how it will look like in the middle and what will be obtainable at the harvest time. The next demonstration stage will be in March next year, when we harvest the first plot of one hectare and everybody will see that if you do it properly, this is the obtainable yield. We are anticipating that nobody should get less than 40 tonnes per hectare. You can get up to 100, but if we improve from our current 10 tonnes per hectare to 40 tonnes, that is multiplied by four from the same hectare of land. Now that farmers get lower average yield per hectare, some farmers complain of inability to sell their produce. What if they get maximum yield; is there a ready market? At the industrial estate at Ota, there are five industrial cassava processors who are looking for raw materials. The one we are working produces ethanol from cassava and it uses 60 metric tonnes per day. At the current rate, most farmers are still harvesting 10 tonnes per hectare and most of our farmers have half a hectare farm. Is the price per tonne attractive enough? Now this is where the high yield becomes an advantage. If you have one hectare and you harvest 10 tonnes, even if you sell at N20,000 per tonne, that is N200,000 which you cannot get every year with cassava. If from the same farm, you get 50 tonnes at 10,000, that is N500,000. I is most likely your inputs: chemicals, weed management and labour cost would be the same, because it is the same size of land. Everything is estimated with the size of land. So, multiply your yield so that even if the price falls, you are still going to make more money. Now, the other goal which we are going to achieve by the staggering of planting is that you sell every month of the year. People make a mistake by wanting to plant 50 hectares of cassava in the same month. Who is going to buy 50 hectares of cassava in the same day and month? So if I have 50 hectares of farm, I will first talk to my buyer. I know what they want monthly, and then I will target that by planting five hectares over 10 months because cassava can be grown all over the year. So every month, I have only five hectares to sell and you remember the forces of demand and supply, if the supply is much, price will fall. This is another message that C:AVA is promoting. So what effort are you making to carry the media along in the plan to promote cassava productivity and value addition? I am glad that the Nigerian Tribune is here today. We also have some of your colleagues working with us on the project. For instance, we have a communication specialist who is directly involved in the project and in each of our institutions, we also encourage them to ensure that they have a communication office.

agriculture

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

W/African poultry producers fret over imports

EST Africa is getting stricter and stricter on poultry imports into the country, with Nigeria saying it has 180 million

birds in production, giving it capacity to meet local demand, while Ghana is set to receive assistance from the United States to boost its struggling poultry industry. This comes at a

time when South Africa and the United States are said to have reached an agreement on imports of chicken products into Africa’s second largest economy.

Some African countries have resorted to destroying contraband of imported chicken products as well as eggs to fight growing poultry imports. The National Veterinary

Research Institute says Nigeria is now able to meet local demand, with 180 million birds in production. “‘The commercial poultry are layers and broilers, while the backyard birds are usually for domestic consumption and small scale sales,” said Dr Ahmed Mohammed, Executive Director of the institute. He said of the 180 million Nigeria currently has in production, about 120 million birds are in rural poultry backyards while about 50 million of these are being produced by commercial growers. Dr Mahommed said: “The ban on the importation of poultry and poultry products” needed to be “strictly enforced to encourage local production.” Chicken farmers are being urged to approach the Central Bank Nigeria for loans to kickstart poultry production projects. In mid-September, Nigeria destroyed more than 2000 cartons of poultry products that had illegally been imported into the country. The Nigerian Customs Service has vowed to continue with seizures and destruction of smuggled poultry products, following up on an initial operation to seize and destroy illegally imported chickens and eggs in July. Poultry producers in neighboring Ghana have not been so luck as their industry is struggling and in need of assistance. Chicken growers are looking up to receive a boost from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to

offset its chicken importer status. Last year, the west African country imported 144 000 tonnes of chicken, lower from the 2010 imports of 200,000, mainly sourced from producers in the United States, the European Union and Brazil. Reports say Ghana’s poultry industry woes have further been compounded by hatcheries that are running at only 60 per cent of capacity, subdued by declining demand. “The project will contribute to increasing the supply of both meat and eggs to address evergrowing demand in Ghana”, Dr William Brown, Country Director of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, ADRA-Ghana was quoted as saying. The USDA has partnered with other organisations such as the American Soybean Association and the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health to put in place a project to boost the country’s poultry industry. The project will help avail ready access to improved poultry feeds, expert training and other inputs. The Ghanaian chicken producers had to import about 5 million day old chicks in the past year to cover for local production deficiencies. Information at hand shows that there are only about 6 hatcheries that are operational in the west African nation. The country also imported about 435,509 eggs during the same period, according to Stephen Ockling, deputy director for Ghana’s Veterinary Services. Source: PoultrySite. com

Agribusiness Book HarvestPlus boss offers panacea for micronutrient deficiencies By Femi Ibirogba THE Director of HarvestPlus, Dr Howarth Bouis, has said that developing and delivering crops that carry essential micronutrients required by the body cells to function adequately to target vulnerable population is key to solving the global problem of micronutrient deficiencies, also known as hidden hunger. Dr Bouis, who was in Nigeria on a working visit, said this during a lecture he delivered at the Conference Centre of IITA, Ibadan, recently. He highlighted

why mineral and vitamin deficiencies constitute a significant public health problem and efforts by stakeholders to address the problem through dietary diversification, supplementation to children aged zero to 59 months, food fortification, and biofortification. He described biofortification, which is the breeding of crops to increase their nutritional value, as the most viable and cost-effective strategy in the chain of solutions adopted by policy-makers. This is so because 75 percent of target vulnerable population lives

in the rural areas where they eat mostly what they plant and making the staple crops carry essential vitamin and minerals provides a great opportunity to reach them in a cost-effective and sustainable way. Delivering a lecture entitled “Bio-fortification of food staples: progress and future strategy,” Dr Bouis gave account of the progress HarvestPlus has made on bio-fortification project from conceptualization, breeding of crops, delivering of seeds to farmers for multiplication, production, value addition to select food staples, marketing

and consumption of food products in over 27 countries where the crops– cassava, maize, cowpea, sorghum, millet, wheat, rice, and orange sweet potato– have been released. Examining the consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, Dr Bouis said, “Available record shows that 375,000 children go blind every year and a sizeable others died due to vitamin A deficiency. Iron deficiency leads to impaired cognitive abilities that are not reversible while zinc deficiency increases incidence of severe diarrhea and stunting.

WRITTEN by some of the world’s leading goat meat scientists, and drawing from the most recent publications in the field, this book comprehensively covers the most important areas of goat meat production. Chapters discuss the role of genetics, breeding, reproduction, and nutrition in producing good quality, profitable goat meat. The mineral, amino acid and fatty acid composition of goat meat is also addressed, along with a discussion of its nutritive value, aimed at highlighting its health benefits

over other red meats. Students and researchers in animal science, animal production and meat science, plus goat meat producers and breeders need this material.

18 LETTERS TO THE

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letterstribune@yahoo. com or by sms to 08055001747 or 08054005323. It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

The incessant attacks by Fulani herdsmen

AST week, it was reported in the dailies, how Fulani herdsmen killed 20 people in a renewed attack in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, thwarting the efforts of Governor Simon Lalong, who had just constituted a committee in resolving the crisis that existed between Fulanis and communities in the state. It was also reported in the Nigerian Tribune Tuesday 22 edition, how Fulani herdsmen, who allegedly abducted former Secretary to the Government of the Federa-

tion (SGF) and chieftain of Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Olu Falae, demanded a N100 million ransom. States like Kogi, Taraba, Kwara, Ondo, Osun and Oyo, to mention a few, had quietly suffered, and are still suffering from attacks at the hands of Fulani herdsmen. Benue and Plateau states are presently battling with this menace. Initially, it used to be a misunderstanding between farmers and the herdsmen on grazing areas, with the former complaining of the destruction

Still on Nigeria’s power supply WHEN I talk with my friends who are based abroad, I am always surprised that there could be electricity for 365 days a year without blinking. I want to imagine a situation whereby this is what we have in Nigeria; it will definitely help in developing the country. Those whose professions rely on electricity, and had left it for okada because of the epileptic supply will definitely return. Businesses will also reduce the price of their products and services, as most companies in Nigeria today rely on generators for power supply. Only the generator dealers would be at a loss when we have uninterrupted power supply. I am, therefore, using this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to do everything in his power to give Nigerians uninterrupted power supply. Nigerians need uninterrupted power supply for economic development. We will never reverse our losses if we don’t get the power sector right. Apart from the economic aspect, uninterrupted power supply will definitely reduce crime. If an area is well lighted, criminals will think twice before carrying out their nefarious activities. It will also help reduce boredom; if someone is to stay at home, and there is electricity, such a person

will occupy himself with watching television, instead of thinking of carrying out crime. •Nelson Ekwale, UNIBEN, Edo State.

of their crops. But now, it has aggravated into a fight over right of ownership of farm land and areas of settlement, robbery and even kidnap. It will be recalled that in April 2009, the then Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, sent packing some Fulanis who arrived Wase area of the state without livestock and were said to be unable to speak English Language (not even the pidgin variety) or Hausa. Various reactions trailed this singular act of the governor; people queried why a fellow Nigerian should be expelled from any part of the country. About 100 members of the House of Representatives sponsored a motion condemning the Plateau state government over the expulsion. Dr Reuben Abati, in an opinion entitled: ‘The expulsion of Fulani in Wase,’ argued that not only should the Fulanis be allowed to

return, but should be compensated by the Plateau State government for the destruction of their tents and houses. The point is that, there should be in place a check on these people who claim to be Fulani herdsmen. Are they truly Nigerians? Because it is most glaring that this people do not understand patriotism. Before references are made to the laws of the land in defending people, we should first check if such people are truly citizens. What is the effort of the Nigerian Fulani nation to avail itself of these miscreants who claim to be part of them? If this upsurge is not tackled immediately, with an aim to finding a lasting solution, it will soon spread like a wild fire to other states of the federation, and just maybe then, we will be displaced internally by cohorts who claim to be citizens of Nigeria.

Aside this, acts of these miscreants could also lead to tribal war, especially abduction and assassination of leaders and respected persons in various communities as people will want to fight back. Therefore, the Federal Government should, as a

matter of urgency, look into this crisis before it extends into a war. •Fashakin Oluyomi Abraham, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State.

The deaths in Saudi Arabia I was saddened when I heard the official position of the Saudi Arabia government on the stampede that killed more that 700 people, including about eight Nigerians. According to the Saudi officials, African pilgrims caused the stampede, but a Nigerian who was performing the pilgrimage denied this claim, saying that the stampede started when a Saudi prince, with his entourage, arrived for the ‘Stoning the devil’ ritual. It is so unfortunate that

the world does not respect Africans. Why would the Saudi authorities deliberately lie that Africans caused the stampede? If Africans caused this year’s stampede, did Africans also cause previous years’ stampede? Did Africans also caused the crane accident in Mecca? Apart from Saudi Arabia, Africans are not respected all over the world. And why would we be respected when we keep begging the West for aid. We can’t administer our countries successfully without the intervention of the West. Even, before the general election in Nigeria, Western officials were always coming to see the former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, to allow the will of the people to prevail at the polls. The world feared that if Jonathan lost the election but didn’t reliquish power, then there would be war. Africans must learn to do the right things, and if not, we will continue to experience the insult we got from the Saudi officials. I am, however, happy with the position of the Nigerian government. Saudi Arabia should do more towards preventing stampedes during the pilgrimage. It shouldn’t start blaming a group of people for causing the deaths of others since this is not just starting. Finally, I want the African Union (AU) to take the Saudi authorities up on this. If we let it to go unchallenged, then our human dignity as Africans is at stake. •Dr Tajudeen Alalade, Ilorin, Kwara State.

editorial

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Abuse of siren

ECENTLY, the Nigeria Police said it would arrest and prosecute any person not listed in the categories of persons authorised to use siren in the country. The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, an Assistant Commissioner of Police who gave this hint, said that the Federal Government had in 2012 listed the categories of persons entitled to use of siren, and that the police would henceforth enforce the provisions in the government circular released on the matter. According to the Force spokesperson, those authorised in the said circular are: The President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker, state governors and service chiefs, General Officers Commanding, the InspectorGeneral of Police, Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, and state Commissioners of Police. Although, essential service providers like medical ambulance and fire brigade services, among others, which deal with emergencies that might be hampered if traffic is not cleared for their timely passage on the roads are not included, we are persuaded that use of siren by providers of such services is welcomed and must be permitted as it is the case globally. In as much as we do not have any indifference to the use of siren by the constitutionally–acknowledged and very distinguished office holders in the country as reflected in the list of legitimate siren users, we see the Police caveat emptor on the use of siren as quite interesting at a time like this when much of the harassment on our roads and highways is evident in indiscriminate use of siren by unauthorised police officers who blare sirens for no just cause and who by their characteristic effrontery and apparent audacity have become terrors to motorists and pedestrians across the country. Today, it is very common to see police officers in patrol vans meandering their way through traffic with the aid of siren; and, in the process of beating traffic illegally and objecting to joining traffic queues, thus causing much panic and inconvenience on the roads. It is sad that the manner in which the police had used siren unlawfully on the highways had been linked to many ghastly motor accidents in the country. The

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police have been very notorious for breaking traffic laws at will, and consequently infringing on the rights of motorists and pedestrians, through illegal use of siren. Just as the PPRO had said that the police is now bent on enforcing the rule on siren and prosecuting offenders, the sanity that is expected on our roads, as having to do with stopping illegal use of siren, must start with the police. Very disgusting it is also, to see some non-government functionaries often annoyingly acknowledged as ‘prime movers’ in various circles using siren in a society that is regarded as egalitarian. If the blaring of siren by such people is not upsetting enough, the ways in which the ‘poor’ road users are parked-off and reduced to tokenism whenever the ‘big’ people force their ways through in traffic with the aid of siren, speaks of a society in which oppression is on the rise. By whose authorities do such private individuals use siren? Does it mean that the so-called ‘influential’ characters take the law into their hands and care less about the implications of using siren unlawfully? It is even most painful that the lid provided by retinue of policemen that are sometimes in the convoy of the acclaimed ‘big people’ contravenes the principles of the rule of law. In the spirit of prosecuting siren use defaulters, the police must be very resolute and uncompromising in clamping down on these apparent oppressors on our roads and highways. Meanwhile, given the details of legitimate siren users, it is pertinent to remind the so-called ‘VIPs’ to be conscious of using the aid in civilised manners. It is inappropriate and unethical to deploy the use of siren in traffic to scaring off the citizens that the privileged officers are meant to serve and protect. It is irrefutable that so many innocent lives have been lost in accidents allegedly caused on the highways by panic-inducing blaring of siren and overspeeding of the convoys in which some state governors in the past and at the present had driven. This is regrettable. To this end, and towards ensuring orderliness in the country, while we endorse the said readiness of the police in fighting abuse of siren, we prompt the concerned authorities to start enforcing the policy with immediate effect, regardless of whose ox is gored.

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opinion

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Who will pick up the baton?

HE torrential downpour of accolades does not seem to be subsiding anytime soon. As a matter of fact, as each dawn breaks, thick clouds of unrivalled praise saturate the Ikenne sky. The heaven above Ikenne is weighed down by their weight and briskly, it breaks into another incredible downpour. Can the Efunyela Hall run dry of dignitaries? One can conveniently say, sans a scintilla of doubt, that little Ikenne, tucked safely in the heart of Remo, embedded in the core of Ogun, has met with a rapid volte face since Saturday, 19 September, when Mama Ikenne took her last breath. The throng, the scurrying of the crème de la crèmes to the tiny town, cannot be adequately captured by the oratory of the greatest speakers who walked the sands of mortality. One woman has knitted the stupefying diversity of Africa’s most populous nation into one, as friends, country men from all over the nation besiege the Efunyela Hall to register their condolences and render testimonies about the sage’s jewel of inestimable value. We dare not mourn her, yes; it would be a taboo to cry for Mama H.I.D for blessed is her generation, those who drank from the ever flowing fount of her wisdom. Those who witnessed, firsthand, the display of her doggedness in the midst of tornadoes, those who experienced her nurturing and smiled in her embrace for they have perhaps seen the last of the originals. However, we may weep for this generation, we may put on apparels of sack and cry our irises out for the 21st century. Where can we find one who will, like a river flows steadily through towns and cities and flourishes the life by its shores, nurture lords, kings, princes and tycoons like Mama H.I.D did? Some may say she was relevant because she married a visionary, a premier and a sage, but I will place a wager on what I hold so dear that she remained relevant even after his passing because she wasn’t a woman that lurked visionless in the shadow of her sire; she was an embodiment of one who had discovered her purpose and stood

true to her destiny. She was one who could, without the support of her sage, sail on the wings of turbulent storms and dock at calm shores. The sharpest grey matter will fail to all at once account for the words and adjectives that have been used to describe and qualify Mama H.I.D. So numerous that they would trigger a circuit break in the brains with the highest of IQs. What have we lost? An Amazon, a motivating force for change and a great stabiliser some have called her. Others have described her as the embodiment of pa-

veracity with Vera Onana

veraonana@gmail.com 08054680688 triotism, humility and integrity. Some eulogised Mama H.I.D as a woman of peace, a rallying force for the Yoruba nation, a founding mother of Nigeria, a role model for women in Africa, a true heroine, a bridge builder, a shining example of womanhood, the list of accolades is inexhaustible. Like the endless spiraling of an abyss in the midst of the sea, it spins endlessly. Mama’s death has left a nation orphaned and posterity has been cheated by her eternal voyage. A monumental loss, the recession of an era, a huge blow to the quest of unity…several other heart-melting phrases and clauses have been aptly employed to buttress the tragedy of losing an icon, but the harrowing of them all, that sends bolts of icy shivers down my spine, is the question that makes even the witty professors and the insightful clerics as quiet as a tombstone. Who can fill the vacuum Mama’s death has created? Not only has a vacuum been created in the Yoruba Kingdom, but the nation as well shares the loss. Over a decade ago, on her 85th birthday, Mama spoke of her expectations for Nigeria thus: “I am still praying for Nigeria, it is not the same as it used to be; it keeps going backward and forward.” Where do we find that woman that would pray for Nigeria like Mama did? As we prepare to commit Mama’s remains to Mother earth on her 100th birthday, we could begin the odyssey to find answers to that reverberating question. We may mount on eagles’ wings in desperation for impeccable vision and surge through the nation, combing every nook and cranny. Alternatively, we could form an allegiance with the dolphins so we can sail on their fins till we find who can pick up that baton Mama H.I.D dropped on 19 September, but while we are at that, I would relish memories of the first and only time I stood in the same room as Mama H.I.D. I would smile a reminiscent smile, one posterity will never have the fortitude of deciphering, for while we turn the planet over for who can fill those huge shoes, I had the privilege to stand in the same room with the last of the originals, half a dozen months before her exit.

Towards protecting the nation’s vulnerable By Akinola Iwilade

THE world of women and children are the most vulnerable in the sense that the decision making tool and ability to take personal decisions as regards their lives are dependent on men in the society. This is largely due to the public perception in the opposite direction, all over the known world except for few moderation in the Western World but the psyche is omnipresent in every known place humans dominate. The contributory factors for this are religion and culture. Women and children are vulnerable in freedom, vulnerable in norm and abnormal; just simply and complexly vulnerable. Problems or crises facing the world are of diseases; fundamentally occasioned by poor nutrition, lack of antenatal and post natal care, environment and above all poverty, access to education; education being a tool for proper and organised thought process founded on value for life and self-esteem, war: occasioned by perpetual and selfish lust for power and resource control in affected places around the world; AIDS and HIV: occasioned by poor nutrition and HIV virus, rape: occasioned by uncontrolled urge for sex and revenge for refusal of love advances, terrorism: occasioned by fanatical religious doctrines and at times statesponsorship aimed at territorial control occasioned by regional deprivation or historically laced resentment, national, regional and international boundary disputes and lastly and most recent The refugee crisis for which claim more lives than even war: occasioned by poverty caused by failure of leadership in Africa and the Middle East, war or insurgency and famine due to drought. These international concerns are the burden the

whole world have had to endure for decades with little or no progress to their end but the most vulnerable of the victims of these scourges are the women and children largely due to either indecision on their part or lack of willpower for or even the opportunity to take decisions based on options, with their rights and views paramount in issues that affect their lives due to domineering tendencies of men or general perception in their society. I will relegate this write-up to the most recent-the refugee crisis of the Mediterranean sea and countries with which it has shores. A pathetic look and sight of little and now imagined promising kids washed up the coastal bays is most horrific of a sight let alone the cause for such death. These children and probably their mothers were victims of “obedience to thoughtless fathers’’ and ‘’till death do us part syndrome’’ respectively. Till death do us part does not mean you

stupidly allow death take you both or at some very unfortunate instances where death leaves the initiator of dangerous voyage and snatch his Zombies. Oh Fela, I wish you were alive to render another Zombie song to the present scenario. The refugee crisis is a spill over of war-torn Middle East and poverty stricken African nations like Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Mali, Central African Republic, Yemen. Unfortunately our very dear Nigeria whose leaders, over the years, have inflicted hopelessness and lack of direction on our teeming energetic youths while living extravagantly on the ‘common patrimony’ unabated, is part of the factors responsible for the scourge. In my close observation of the refugee crisis through the interviews conducted on the migrants by various international media houses, I realised that while most of the mature men of countries with no serious war situation that could warrant emergency asylum chose that voyage voluntarily in anticipation for greener pastures, the women and children were victims of ‘’obedience to father’’ and ‘’till death do us part syndrome.” How can you describe a father who put his entire family on an obvious suicide mission? The extent of risk and vulnerability of women and children need the attention of any serious government and I hope the Muhammadu Buhari administration will arrest the situation not with the usual political rhetorics employed by his predecessors but with serious appeal and efforts to returning our stranded brothers, sisters, and above all our innocent children home earnestly, while simultaneously providing decent living alternatives in all the sectors. •Iwilade sent this article via gmail.com

iwiakinola@

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015 Femi Olukunle Coordinating Editor 08065167178

Catlle struggling with cars on one of the Abuja roads.

Christian Okeke - Abuja

phenomenon, whose halting seems to have defied efforts in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has to do with the manner in which cattle struggle with residents for available spaces. In satellite towns, it is always common sight to find herds of cattle occupying same roads used by motorists, and in some cases, taking over the entire roads. The situation creates some difficulties of sorts for road users who face

Cattle, residents fight for space in the city

the challenge of struggling for traffic with the animals. At city centres, the story is only but slightly different from what obtains in the satellite towns. Cattle rearers also violate Abuja

Master Plan by taking their cattle for grazing at the city centre. At a time, the situation became alarming as residents point out the security implication of the actions of the rearers. The residents

A herd of cattle besides a motorable road in the FCT.

Lotto to improve police welfare on the way —pg22

Security during Eid-el-Kabir: Residents commend law enforcement agents —pg22

had insisted that the FCT administration enforce the necessary laws and halt the practice. Certainly, their fear was that the city could face threats of being turned to grazing site and thus defaced. On June 5, 2014, four people were killed while 19 others were injured in a clash between Gwari farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Paiko near Gwagwalada after some herdsmen allegedly entered the farm of a Gwari man with their flock which resulted in the cattle destroying the farmer’s crops. Eyewitnesses’ account had it that the farmer’s kinsmen mobilised and attacked the herdsmen. That escalated the fracas which resulted in the casualties. To the residents, it would serve useful purpose to have the herdsmen restricted to the areas earmarked for grazing in the master plan. Achieving that, they insisted, was the only panacea to what could degenerate to faceoff between the residents and the herdsmen. Perhaps, it was that fear that forced the administration to warn the herdsmen grazing cattle in and around the Federal Capital City to desist forthwith or face the full wrath of the law. The FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr John Chukwu, gave the directive in his

office at Area 11, Garki I District. The Permanent Secretary reiterated that the directive became imperative considering the improper grazing of cattle in the city centre and its environs, thereby constituting public nuisance and hazards to road users. Chukwu emphasised that the practice had adverse effects on the environment and must not be allowed to continue, stressing that Abuja was the capital of Nicontinues pg22

CREW

1. Christian Okeke chidiabujatribune@yahoo.com 08030947856 2. Clement Idoko idokoajiga@yahoo.co.uk 08034412281 3. Kolawole Daniel kolawoledaniels@yahoo.co.uk 08030763782 4. Collins Nnabuife chideraacollins@yahoo.com 08039521408 5. Adetola Bademosi gloriaadetola@gmail.com 08182214290 Abuja Xtra email & GSM: abujaxtra@gmail.com 0805450140

abujaextra

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Lotto to improve police welfare on the way Christian Okeke - Abuja

HE National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) is currently working on development of a lottery scheme for officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force as part of the government’s contributions towards improving the welfare of personnel of the law enforcement agency. Already, the Director-General of the commission, Mr Adolphus Joe Ekpe, has met with the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase and intimated him of the plans. He told the police chief that the commission was impressed with the efforts of the detachment of police who had been working with it since 2010 in sanitising the lottery industry. The DG observed that their efforts had helped the commission in investigation, arrest and prosecution of illegal lottery operators as well as assisted in the recovery of prizes for lottery winners.

Solomon Arase, IGP Ekpe stated that the commission’s teams visited the Inspector General of Police to further enroll the collaboration of the Nigeria Police Force on areas of public enlightenment as well as in other areas that could

engender national development. He highlighted some achievements of the commission and its contributions towards national development, pledging that the regulatory body was determined to record

Security during Eid-el-Kabir: Residents commend law enforcement agents Christian Okeke - Abuja THE assurance that all security outfits in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were adequately prepared to be on top of any unexpected security breach during and after the last Eid-el-Kabir period paid off, as residents celebrated the festival without hitches. To that effect, residents of the territory have commended security agents in the territory for living up to their expectations. Before the sallah festival, the Permanent Secretary of FCT, John Chukwu, had given the assurance that adequate security would be provided in a statement by the FCT administration. He congratulated Islamic faithful across

the country, especially those resident in Abuja as they marked this year’s Eid-elKabir. With the celebrations now over and with no security hitch, the residents told Abuja Xtra that the security agents deserved commendation for improving security in the territory. Speaking, a resident, Musa Abubakar, noted that the territory witnessed peaceful sallah while security was provided at prayer grounds, recreational facilities and the entire territory. He said: “When we have this kind of safe celebration, it is good to thank God and then commend the security people “Their dedication these days is superb; one can really testify that there has been

improvement in security in Abuja of late “Don’t forget that people used to be apprehensive whenever there is a big event coming up, whether it is religious or political; may be because of the bomb incidences that we have witnessed here, but people are now much more confident that security and surveillance are working fine,” he said. Another resident, who gave his name as Halima, said she and her family enjoyed the last sallah despite the fact that she could not receive her salaries prior to the celebration. She said she was able to take her family to a recreation centre located at Maitama where they had a good time, devoid of security issues.

FERMA promises to rehabilitate more roads Christian Okeke - Abuja THE Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has pledged to devote more efforts towards fixing critical inter-state roads nationwide. The new leadership, at the agency, gave the assurance after receiving handover note from the former Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mr Gabriel Amuchi, who bowed out as the agency’s boss having completed his tenure. Amuchi was appointed by the former President Goodluck Jonathan on the 6th of September, 2011. The handover ceremony took place at the headquarters of the agency where the former FERMA boss said he was proud of his team as the percentage of road failure decreased significantly with good number of Nigerian roads being motorable. He, however, lamented that during his tenure, the agency witnessed a drastic reduction in budgetary provision for road works and called for an alternative and improved funding for the agency to enable it meet up with the expectations of Nigerians. Amuchi said he was taking responsibility of all that had happened during his administration and asked for forgiveness

from whoever he might have unintentionally wronged in the course of discharging his duties. He finally handed over to a transitional executive management committee with Mr Peter Odeh Ibu, as the Acting Managing Director/CEO. Others are Mrs B. A. Ilemore, Ag. Executive Director, Road Maintenance Management Services (RMMS); Mr. Joseph O. Oyinloye, Ag. Executive Director, Administration and Human Resources Devel-

opment; Mr. A. D. Ahmed, Ag. Executive Director, Planning & Engineers Services; Mr. J. A. Olawoye, Ag. Executive Director, West Operations; Mr Taiwo O. Koya, Ag. Executive Director, East Operations, and Mrs Fatimah Okei, the Ag. Executive Director, Finance and Accounts. While responding on behalf of the new management, the Acting MD/CEO, Mr Peter Odeh Ibu, commended the outgone MD/CEO and his team for working satisfactorily despite daunting challenges.

Cattle, residents fight for space in the city continued from pg21

geria and window through which the world saw the country. He said that all hands must be on deck to ensure adequate maintenance of the Abuja environment in accordance with the change mantra of the Federal Government. The Permanent Secretary thus directed the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to ensure full compliance with the directive against the grazing. According to him, Abuja city is not meant for cattle graz-

ing as there are designated areas for such activities in the Abuja Master Plan. He frowned at the practice by some residents who hawked animals, particularly rams, on major streets of Gwarinpa II District. Chukwu warned that the practice was also unacceptable because there were designated markets and areas for such activities. He instructed the AEPB to also ensure the immediate stoppage of the unwholesome practice by arresting and prosecuting defaulters in accordance with the law.

more achievements in coming months. Responding, Arase expressed his willingness to welcome any socially acceptable lottery scheme packaged for officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, as that, according to him, would serve as a source of motivation to the force. He told the Lottery Commission team that his style of policing was the type that aimed at winning the minds and hearts of Nigerians through community partnerships. He pledged that the Force would deploy all resources required to realise the efforts in sanitising the lottery industry. According to him, the force was prepared to support the lottery commission in the area of capacity building as well as security and protection of the commission’s facilities across the country. He stated that the Police Intelligence Group in Enugu could tailor some training programmes on intelligence to suit the specific needs of the lottery commission.

NAPTIP cooperative distributes items worth N30m to staff Clement Idoko - Abuja THE Staff Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society Limited of the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) has excited its members with distribution of over N30 million worth of household items. The items included televisions, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, microwave ovens, blenders, water dispensers, home theater, DVDs, washing machines, generating sets, gas cooker, power stabilizers, phones, Ipads, laptops and for the first time, tyres. President of the cooperative, Abdulwaheed Omotosho, said that this was the third phase in the purchase of household items from various vendors, namely, Samsung - MStone, Termocool PZ, Simple Links, G Jenerics and Haven Concepts for members. He said the items were purchased and supplied on demand, hence the inclusion of tyres for some members in the NAPTIP headquarters only. Omotosho noted that the cooperative was run transparently as withdrawals were timely attended to while loans were on first-come-first-serve basis and with digitalisation of the society activities, among others. He commended the Director General of NAPTIP, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, for providing right environment for the cooperative to thrive. Public Relations Officer of the cooperative, Mr Onuwoji Felix Aliyu, during the flag-off of the distribution, said the distribution of the items was in fulfillment of some of the promises made during the electioneering campaign. Responding on behalf of all other vendors, Mr Patrick Ohanta of Samsung MStone commended the executives for their foresight in seeing to the needs of its members. He said as civil servants, the gesture was the easiest way to acquire property because of the flexible way of payment which NAPTIP Cooperative executives introduced. Ohanta promised a robust after-salesservices and adherence to all the terms of agreement.

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

& management leadership

with Sulaimon Olanrewaju

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

Leadership Quote

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”

Reverse branding:

Mining the core - 3 The 60-second business coach

— John Maxwell

7 habits of unsuccessful executives

leaders’

Leaders and

forum

power of attitude

Avoid them, too!

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

Boo k re view

The only disability in life is a bad attitude – Scott Hamilton. cott Hamilton, a retired skater, gained global attention after winning the U.S. Championships and World Championships in skating four consecutive times from 1981 to 1984 and capping these with a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. But given his background, these feats would have been unimaginable. At the age of two, Hamilton contracted an illness that stalled his growth for a long while.

Continued on pg24

Dr Enase Okonedo, Dean, Lagos Business School

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

leadership&management

The leader and his attitude garded himself as disabled, believing that there was nothing he set his mind upon that he could not accomplish. Hence, his memorable words that the only disability in life is a bad attitude.

Peter Eshikena, MD, Friesland Campina WAMCO

Segun Ogunsanya, MD, Airtel Continues from pg23

The disease later corrected itself and he was able to grow but at the peak of his amateur practice, he only weighed 49kg and was just 1.59m tall. He later had serious battle with brain tumour and had to go under the knife a number of times. But none of these was able to put him down. He was not given any chance by many but he did not reckon with that; he rose above his limitations and conquered his world. After his retirement from skating, he became a television star. His strength was his attitude. He never re-

What is an attitude? An attitude is a viewpoint about situations, people or places. It is a belief that informs reactions to and handling of issues, circumstances and persons. It is a perception that shapes behaviours. It is what determines what is done and how it is done. Social scientists are of the opinion that no one was born with any particular attitude. So, attitude is a learnt behaviour. Attitude determines accomplishments; no one can outperform his level of attitude. Attitude is superior to aptitude. Aptitude alone does not determine success. If the aptitude is right but the attitude is wrong, the result will be far from being right. A study carried out by Stanford Research Institute confirms this. According to the findings, the path to success is comprised of 88 per cent attitude and only 12 per cent education (aptitude). But if attitude can be learnt, it can also be unlearned. Therefore, no one needs to enslave himself to a wrong attitude. Like a worn out shirt, a bad attitude should be shed. As the saying goes, a bad attitude is like having a flat tyre, you can’t go anywhere till you change it. Importance of attitude in leadership A leader is, among other things, a model. Many people shape their lives by what they hear or see the leader say or do. So,

the leader’s attitude determines that of his team members. If the leader’s attitude is right, this will percolate down to all members of the organization and the whole system is energized. With that, everything comes within the realm of possibility. If the leader’s attitude is wrong, he sends a wrong signal to the team and drains everyone of energy. Ordinarily achievable tasks become daunting. So, a leader must learn to choose the right attitude to avoid spreading poison among his team members. One other thing about attitude is that it determines the culture of an organization. Culture is not superficial; it is entrenched and once formed is difficult to change. Therefore, it is vital that a leader does not do anything that could sow the seed of a toxic culture in the organization. The attitude the leader needs Success does not happen in a vacuum; it is a consequence of embracing the right attitude. So, the following are some of the attitudes a leader needs to imbibe so as to facilitate organizational success. Positivity Nothing works like a positive attitude. Positive attitude produces optimism and unleashes latent energy. It dulls worries and fears and plays up possibilities. Having a positive attitude is making a choice to see a situation from the bright side instead of looking at it from the horrible side. It is a determination to see the glass as half full instead of half empty. Positive attitude puts the dividing line between a leader who is able to steer his people from adversity to prosperity and one

When leaders make their team members’ concern and comfort their priority, they completely win them over. When that happens, there is no limit to what the members can do to ensure the leaders’ success. Ifie Sekibo, MD, Heritage Bank

7 habits of unsuccessful executives By Eric Jackson THEY see themselves and their companies as dominating their environment This first habit may be the most insidious, since it appears to be highly desirable. Shouldn’t a company try to dominate its business environment, shape the future of its markets and set the pace within them? Yes, but there’s a catch.

Unlike successful leaders, failed leaders who never question their dominance fail to realize they are at the mercy of changing circumstances. They vastly overestimate the extent to which they actually control events and vastly underestimate the role of chance and circumstance in their success. They identify so completely with the company that there

is no clear boundary between their personal interests and their corporation’s interests Like the first habit, this one seems innocuous, perhaps even beneficial. We want business leaders to be completely committed to their companies, with their interests tightly aligned with those of the company. But digging deeper, you find that failed executives weren’t identifying too little with the company,

leader should show how every activity that is appreciated contributes to the overall objective of the organization. Calmness under pressure There are times when a leader comes under serious pressure. Everything turns topsy-turvy. Projections fail. Targets are missed. Sales are poor and all hell seems let loose. What the leader does at a time like this will either put the organization on the path to recovery or drive the nail into its coffin. At times like this, great leaders who leaves his people enmeshed in remain calm on the outside even if their adversity. Positivity is very important because they are experiencing turmoil on the inside. as Napoleon Bonaparte observed, a Having a crisis is not a problem; the leader is a dealer in hope. It is a leadreal problem is what is done about er’s responsibility to give his people what has happened. Jack Canfield, hope. He can only give them hope author of The Success Principles, when he is not hopeless himself gives a formula in that book thus; E and being imbued with a positive attitude with a belief that things will + R = O, where E stands for event, R stands for response and O stands for work out well is one sure way to outcome. According to Canfield the demonstrate hope. event alone does not determine what A leader with a positive attitude happens, it is the response to what believes the best in his team. He has happened that determines the does not concentrate on what is outcome. So, if there is a crisis and wrong but rather focuses on what the response to the crisis is right, a is right with the team. He does not positive change will follow the crisis. overstress what is not good about the product but emphasizes the edge However, if a crisis is followed by a negative response, it may lead to a his products have over others. He does not amplify what is wrong with cataclysmic change. the system but underscores what is good about it. Attitude of gratitude Everyone wants to feel loved and valued because the yearning for appreciation is innate to man. The easiest way to show that an individual is valued is to express gratitude to them. When this comes from the boss, it enlivens the people and encourages them to put in more effort. But showing gratitude, especially for activities that are regarded as run of the mill, does not come naturally to many people. Most leaders wait till a team member achieves an earth-shattering or a record-breaking feat before they are appreciated. That is not quite right because it is capable of sending a message to the team that their efforts are not valuable. However, while activities that are regarded as outstanding may attract incentives, those that fall into other categories should be noted and commended even if verbally. Gratitude should be the second nature of a leader. It should flow freely and the

Putting others first Any leader that wants to make a success of his leadership must always endeavour to put others first. In the book Leaders Eat Last, the author, Simon Sinek, says the success of every team is linked to the preparedness of the leader to sacrifice his comfort for that of his members. Sinek says instead of protecting their selfish interest, leaders who make a difference build a circle of safety that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside. According to him, by building this circle, the leaders earn the trust of the team members and this results in a situation where everyone has a feeling of belonging and all energies are devoted to facing the common enemy and seizing big opportunities. When leaders make their team members’ concern and comfort their priority, they completely win them over. When that happens, there is no limit to what the members can do to ensure the leaders’ success. Take the blame Many leaders often tend to look for scapegoats when things go wrong. They blame everyone else but them-

IT’S never a surprise to turn on the television, pick up a newspaper or open a book and learn that we live in an unending time of ever-increasing changes. We all know what these changes are: accelerating globalization, an overload of information, the drastic ascent of technology and science and the threat of growing competition — all challenges that will require new ways of thinking and learning in order to create a successful future. The Mind Really Does Matter! In Five Minds for the Future, author and noted psychologist Howard Gardner says that the mind — well, actually –– minds — does matter. By discovering how to think and learn in new ways, we achieve more success in the business and professional worlds.

Keeping an eye on the ball Great leaders never take their eyes off the ball; they remain committed to the original focus of the team and ensure that nothing is done to take them off course. They are conscious of the fact that they will be assessed based on what they do with the primary assignment. So, while they pay attention to other issues, they never allow themselves to be swayed off the original goal. They keep the vision in focus at all times.

Book review

5 Minds for the Future By Howard Gardner

selves for what has gone wrong. But great leaders don’t travel that route. A great leader takes the blame for failure and shares the credit for success with his team members. When things go wrong, what they say is, “I missed it.” But when they record success, they say, “We did it.” Great leaders sparingly apportion blame and generously give credit. That is an attitude of a leader who wants to build a strong team, boost morale and record great success. When a team member who made a mistake is encouraged by the leader to be more careful and to learn from the experience rather than being reprimanded, he becomes a devotee of the leader and goes to any length to work for his success.

In this fascinating and lively book, Gardner describes the cognitive abilities that will command a premium in the years ahead. They include: (1) the disciplinary mind; (2) the synthesizing mind; (3) the creating mind; (4) the respectful mind; and (5) the ethical mind. To illustrate the disciplinary mind, Gardner offers a story about famed Polish pianist Arthur Rubenstein, who worked very hard at his craft as a child prodigy, earning him the accolade of one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the 20th century. But as Rubenstein grew older, he stopped working so diligently, eventually giving up his discipline. Eventually, he realized he had to replenish his ability by using the two meanings of discipline — the mastery of his craft (the piano) and the capacity to renew it (by practicing). As Rubenstein told an ac-

quaintance, “When I don’t practice for a day, I know it. When I don’t practice for two days, the orchestra knows it. And when I don’t practice for three days, the world knows it.” Creativity Was a Mixed Blessing In describing another one of the five minds for the future — the creating mind — Gardner reminds the reader that being creative was not something that was always universally admired. Ancient Egyptian society, led by “creative” thinkers, evolved at a glacial pace. And the innovative scientist Galileo was denounced and imprisoned during the Renaissance, living out his sentence under house arrest until his death. Neither composer Johann Sebastian Bach nor artist Vincent Van Gogh were appreciated during their lifetimes. Freud, Darwin and Keynes also received more than their share of ridicule.

casually waved aside are more troublesome than they anticipated, these CEOs have a habit of plunging fullsteam into the abyss. For example, when Webvan’s core business was racking up huge losses, CEO George Shaheen was busy expanding those operations at an awesome rate.

tried-and-true methods. In their desire to make the most of what they regard as their core strengths, they cling to a static business model. They insist on providing a product to a market that no longer exists, or they fail to consider innovations in areas other than those that made the company successful in the past. Instead of considering a range of options that fit new circumstances, they use their own careers as the only point of reference and do the things that made them successful in the past.

The 60-second business coach but rather too much. Instead of treating companies as enterprises that they needed to nurture, failed leaders treated them as extensions of themselves. And with that, a “private empire” mentality took hold. They think they have all the answers Here’s the image of executive competence that we’ve been taught to admire for decades: a dynamic leader making a dozen decisions a minute, dealing with many crises

simultaneously, and taking only seconds to size up situations that have stumped everyone else for days. The problem with this picture is that it’s a fraud. Leaders who are invariably crisp and decisive tend to settle issues so quickly they have no opportunity to grasp the ramifications. Worse, because these leaders need to feel they have all the answers, they aren’t open to learning new ones. They ruthlessly eliminate anyone who isn’t completely

behind them CEOs who think their job is to instill belief in their vision also think that it is their job to get everyone to buy into it. Anyone who doesn’t rally to the cause is undermining the vision. Hesitant managers have a choice: Get with the plan or leave. The problem with this approach is that it’s both unnecessary and destructive. CEOs don’t need to have everyone unanimously endorse their vision to have it carried out successfully. In fact, by eliminating all dissenting and contrasting view-

points, destructive CEOs cut themselves off from their best chance of seeing and correcting problems as they arise. Sometimes CEOs who seek to stifle dissent only drive it underground. Once this happens, the entire organization falters. They are consummate spokespersons, obsessed with the company image You know these CEOs: high-profile executives who are constantly in the public eye. The problem is that amid all the media frenzy and

accolades, these leaders’ management efforts become shallow and ineffective. Instead of actually accomplishing things, they often settle for the appearance of accomplishing things. They underestimate obstacles Part of the allure of being a CEO is the opportunity to espouse a vision. Yet, when CEOs become so enamored of their vision, they often overlook or underestimate the difficulty of actually getting there. And when it turns out that the obstacles they

They stubbornly rely on what worked for them in the past Many CEOs on their way to becoming spectacularly unsuccessful accelerate their company’s decline by reverting to what they regard as

tribunebusiness

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

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

Reverse branding: Mining the core - 3

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 Although Jesus was primarily in the world to solve the problem of man’s separation from God through sin and to reconnect man to his divine origin, His strategy was not to condemn the sinner. By healing the people of whatever physical affliction their dalliance with sin had attracted into their lives, Jesus was sending a clear message about what He was offering as a preferred alternative to the experiences the people had hitherto been accustomed to. So, to jump-start the process, he first identified the oppressed and demon-harassed as His primary target for deploying His value proposition. Next on the strategy process is the personnel that would drive the strategy. Success is not a solo project. However, not everybody will be relevant to your strategy. Out of all the people that constantly milled around Him, Jesus only chose twelve to be in His think-tank. Proper staffing is an essential part of strategy deployment. A great product in the hands of a horrible marketer will produce disastrous economic bottom-lines. Having determined the human drivers of the strategy, it is pertinent to sit down and count the cost of the venture. In Luke 14, Jesus tells the story of the man wanting to build a tower. To ensure that his project does not fail, he would have to first sit down and consider the cost and thereafter ask himself if he would have enough to complete the project. Where essential resources are lacking, the best of project management skills would not provide a substitute. Furthermore, for strategy to make significant sense, the various processes involved must be identified and appropriately deployed. From the product line to the end-user, it is essential to have a road-map that narrows options, minimizes distraction and dissipation of resources and energy in the connection process. One other essential ingredient of an effective strategy is the

You must have read through loads of books and numerous pieces of writing on what thriving leaders do, but I doubt very much if you have read through anything on what they don’t do. Scores of people know what successful and unbeaten leaders do, but hardly do they know what they don’t do. It is wobbly to know what successful leaders do without knowing what they don’t do. This week, it is my job to unzip to you some of the things that successful leaders don’t do, so you too can avoid them in both your life and leadership. On the condition that you ask leaders of corporations, presidents of nations, board directors and vice chancellors about the most avertable and escapable causes of failure for leaders, you will probably get about a hundred different answers. Most will spotlight on lack of skills, capabilities, or experience. In reality, the answer has nothing to do with abilities or experience. It is all about behaviour. Now, I am not talking about the kind of failure we all experience over the course of our careers. In competitive markets, failure is inevitable. Remember, we gain confidence from success, but we gain wisdom from failure. I am talking about failure that is preventable, that never has to happen, that is intrinsic to the individual, not a result of outside forces. These are behaviours that political leaders, religious leaders, executives and business leaders should always avoid. They do not just diminish your leadership ability, your presence, your credibility, your reputation. Ultimately, they will come back to haunt you and be your undoing. Few behaviours are less leader-like than whining, making excuses, pointing fingers, or playing the blame game. It shows a serious lack of maturity, self-confidence, respect, and accountability. It is a very bad sign and you need to avoid it. One of the leaders I submit to does not embrace excuses. When he gives you something to do for him, what he is expecting from you is a result, not excuses. Successful leaders don’t give excuses; they deliver, no matter how difficult the job is. The more comfortable you are being genuine, speaking your mind, and being straight with people, the better. Strive to be the best version of you, not someone or something you’re not. Deceit is a slippery slope, and once you start down that path, sooner or later, it will come back to bite you. Thriving leaders do not start down the slippery slope of deceit. It is better to be rejected for telling the truth than to be accepted for telling lies. I do not care how high up the ladder you are, you are not the boss. We all serve others. CEOs are appointed by their boards. Business owners have customers. The minute you start behaving like some sort of supreme leader, you can kiss your success

marketing or promotion to be employed. Effective strategic marketing entails the deliberate creation of significant pockets of experiences over a vast area, the ripple effects of which eventually take over the entire market spectrum. Call it Yeast Marketing and you would not be wrong. When used in baking, yeast is required to make flour rise. However, a little quantity of yeast is all that is required to produce the desired effect. Yeast has the capacity to reproduce itself in a way that effectively makes it work round the entire body of flour to the point of visible impact. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 13:33 when He was talking about how the Kingdom He represented spreads its impact. Having created enough of such pockets of experiences, you can then add the hype and create a domino effect that becomes irresistible in the market. You may also term it the Volcano Factor in marketing. A volcano is an amalgam of molten lava gathering quantum and momentum in the underbelly of a rock over a protracted period of time until the volume and intensity of its heat can no longer be contained in the rock leading to an eruption that is an unstoppable lethal force. When marketing campaigns take the form of a crusade, anything is possible. In the mid-eighties in the city of Ibadan, a Christian crusade that had the largest crowd in the history of crusades in the city up until then was held. What drew the crowd? Several months before the date, the entire city had been saturated with posters and stickers that simply bore the inscription “I FOUND IT!” The posters were ubiquitously pasted in every corner of the city and everyone, without knowing what “IT” was, wanted the stickers on their cars and home doors. Radio announcements said nothing more than “I FOUND IT! What is it? Watch out!” Nothing about the event or the date. Everyone’s curiosity was aroused, irrespective of religious affiliation. By a few weeks to the time, practically everyone was in fever pitch anticipation. When the programme eventually took place, the Liberty Stadium venue was filled beyond capacity! I am not a customer of Sterling Bank. However, their concept of the “One Customer Bank” and the attendant campaign was something I found very attractive. I find no better way of describing the

leaders’ forum

way tactics should be deployed in a way that creates a “Waoh!” for the customer and an enhanced bottom line for your brand. While strategy has to do with the general ways and means of reaching the market, tactics help to actually make the connection between the problem and its solution. It is the nexus between the motive and the motivation. Tactics help us to provide tailor-made experiences for the consumer in a “One customer” fashion. Effective tactics do not roll out a one-size-fits-all generic approach to brand to consumer connections. Jesus never duplicated His tactics even though He never altered His message. Every miracle He performed was unique to the recipient. This created customer evangelists who made “marketing” easy because they did it free and generously too, even when He warned them not to publicize the encounter! He took relationship market into high gear by effectively connecting the needed to the needy in a way that made the needy feel important. With Him, even ‘nobodies’ became ‘somebodies’. In reverse branding, as vital as they are, it is not what we want to sell or how we sell it that is important. The ‘numero uno’ in the market is the consumer and what he needs, not what we foist on him and try to use buzz and razzmatazz to make him accept. We all like to buy but we hate being sold to! When people part with money for what solves their problems, what they pay is called a consideration, not a price! Jesus never advertised a miracle service. He simply did what He needed to do and people sought Him out. The principle is summarized in Mark 3:7-11 “...a great multitude when they heard how many things He was DOING, came to Him...” He fed the multitude first before telling them that He was the Bread of Life. He opened the eyes of the blind man in John 9 to demonstrate His being the Light of the world. He raised Lazarus from the dead to show that He was the Resurrection and the Life. Nobody present in any of those instances would ever forget the message of the brand! That is the essence of reverse branding! Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

with Ademola Adeoye 07067869718

leaders_forum@yahoo.com

Avoid them, too! goodbye. The day you start seeing yourself as a boss, you’d start losing your success as a leader. Successful leaders are servants, not bosses. Also, confident, competent, mature leaders never make empty threats. It is tantamount to a child throwing a temper tantrum. It destroys your credibility. Be decisive. Do what you say you are going to do or do not say it in the first place. Successful leaders don’t say what they are not going to do. If you want to become a successful leader in Nigeria and on this continent as a whole, you must discipline yourself never to say what you are not going to do. There will always be weak-minded yes-men who sugar-coat the truth and tell you what you want to hear. But if you hire and listen to them, that is the same as looking in the mirror and seeing what you want to see. It is living in denial. And it is one of the most common causes of leadership failure. Successful leaders do not surround themselves with yes-men, who sugar-coat the truth. Leaders who live in denial always end up in failure. Executives and business leaders who say what they mean and mean what they say usually have a dazzling, bright and successful future. And while some may achieve some measure of success by saying what they do not mean, in my experience, it never lasts. Nothing kills success more than that. I have seen many leaders who became successful and after a while, their success came to an end. Becoming successful isn’t the same as remaining successful. You want your leadership success to endure till you exit planet earth? Always say what you mean and mean what you say. I have seen and known lots of leaders with impressive and striking visions for their companies, government agencies and higher places of learning that were not supported by anything remotely credible or logical and had no chance of succeeding.

Their egos are so overinflated they think their magnificence alone can make it happen. Funny thing is, it never does. Do you want to become a successful leader? Avoid being a lone ranger. Whether it is sacrificing principles for greed, cutting corners, or failing to do the right thing out of fear of repercussions, as with deceit, it is a slippery sloop. You might get away with it once or twice, but it will catch up with you. John Lennon called it “Instant Karma.” I’ve seen it in action. It is real; believe me. Those who cut corners will always have their lives cut short. Failure can erode your self-confidence and make it hard to believe you will achieve a better outcome in the future. Most of the time, failure results from taking risks and trying to achieve something that isn’t easy. Emotionally intelligent people know that success lies in their ability to rise in the face of failure, and they cannot do this when they are living in the past. Anything worth achieving is going to require you to take some risks, and you cannot allow failure to stop you from believing in your ability to succeed. Lastly, complainers are bad news because they wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions. They want people to join their pity party, so that they can feel better about themselves. People often feel pressure to listen to complainers because they do not want to be seen as callous or rude, but there is a fine line between lending a sympathetic ear and getting sucked into their negative emotional spiral. You can avoid getting drawn in only by setting limits and distancing yourself when necessary. Think of it this way: If a person were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the second-hand smoke? You’d distance yourself, and you should do the same with complainers. A great way to set limits is to ask complainers how they intend to fix a problem. The complainer will then either quiet down or redirect the conversation in a productive direction.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

property

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Gbemi Solaja

m:07065220616 e:gbemisolaja@gmail.com

Ogun to repair access roads within army barracks Stories By Gbemi Solaja – Lagos

GUN State government has assured the Nigerian Army that it would assist in rehabilitating the access roads within the 81 Base Ammunition Depot, Nyangoa Barracks, Lanfewa, Abeokuta, just as it has also promised that it will soon commence the rehabilitation of the Lanfewa–Aiyetoro Road. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Mr Kayode Ademolake, who gave the assurance while playing host to the Commanding Officer, 81 Base

Ammunition Depot, Nyangoa Barracks, Lanfewa, Abeokuta, LT COL Ernest Christopher Ineme, said the state government would continue in its quest to make life better for its citizens. Ademolake who was quoted in a statement issued by the spokesman of the agency, Mr Ayokunle Ewuoso, said the state governor had already given his nod to the commencement of fencing of the barracks by the ministry. He, however, added that officials of his agency would soon visit the barracks to assess the extent of the state of the bad roads with the aim of beginning the rehabilitation as soon as all necessary

arrangements had been concluded. “I was planning to come to Lanfewa along with the officials of the ministry to assess the bad state of the road with a view to rehabilitating it and with your request it becomes 100 per cent necessary to branch into your command and get the place restored by the special grace of God. The ministry is always ready to assist you in that direction.” In his earlier remarks, Lt Col Ineme commended the state governor for his giant strides in the area of road construction and other spheres of human endeavour, noting that the construction of roads in

the state had truly earned it the appellation of “Giant Construction Site” “I am here to identify with the good works the state government is doing in the area of infrastructure development across the state and to also tell you some of our challenges in the barracks. Without telling me, within the short period I have stayed in Abeokuta I have seen the relevance of your ministry. In the course of my stay I have seen a lot of work going on and my major concern is Lanfewa and the barracks roads. Please I want the ministry to assist us by rehabilitating it,” he remarked.

Architects move to check quackery, elevate industry standard THE Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), has reiterated its commitment to maintaining professionalism and ethical conduct in the architecture profession, just as it promised to reduce quackery to its barest minimum. The Council stated through its registrar, Malam Mohammad Aliyu, in an interview with an online platform, stated that the association was also partnering with relevant government agencies to ensure that building plans were designed by licensed architects to eliminate quackery in the profession, adding that it was also going to reverse the negative trend through public education and sensitisation. “To reverse this negative trend, we must constantly remind ourselves of the adverse effect of our actions through education. ARCON is quite aware that education is a continuous process. “Let us begin by saying that the discerning man knows what to do in the process of putting up a befitting structure either for himself or for the general use of the public. He would not go to the roadside to procure the service of a quack because he knows that his safety and that of the public is paramount to him, before giving consideration to the huge investment and capital outlay of such project. He noted that the government should look closely into the building industry in finding solutions to the problem of un-

employment in the country” if the government were to address the issue of unemployment, I believe that the building industry which is vibrant can help sustain this drive. I also believe that other ancillary professions would gain enormously from this vibrancy if resources are properly harnessed. He advised the investing public to cross check with the council the status of any

person or firm they wished to employ for the design of their buildings. “Many Nigerians have lost their lives through the patronage of quack doctors and the use of sub-standard drugs. The profession of architecture is not isolated from this general malaise. The investing public needs to be reminded that whilst exercising their prerogative of choice they should also consider the cost-benefit anal-

ysis of not using the services of qualified architects in achieving their dreams. In addition , he stated that in addressing the menace of quackery , the Council had put in place the ARCON Project Registration Number (APRN) where building projects were assigned specific number with a view to identifying who and who was responsible for the design of a building project.

PMA 2015 coating show to highlight trends in paint manufacturing THE Paint Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMA) has stated that all is set for this year’s bi–annual Raw Material and Paints exhibition, just has it emphasised that the show would highlight advancements in coating technology to the benefit of the sector. The bi-annual event is tagged “PMA Nigeria 2015 Coating Show, with a theme entitled, “Enhancing Coating Quality for the Future.” Speaking at a press briefing recently, the Executive Secretary, PMA, Mr Jude Maduka, said the show would bring to the public galleria some of the most technologically advanced coating quality available in the industry. Scheduled for October 26 and 27 at the Sheba Centre, 20, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, the show is the fourth edition, which is intended to showcase the various raw materials, machinery, production and testing

equipment, packaging materials used in the production of paints, inks and allied products. The chairman of the association, Mr Rotimi Aluko, stated that the show would provide a platform for suppliers of paints raw materials and manufacturers of paints, inks and allied products in Nigeria to exchange ideas on current developments in the raw materials, equipment and technology for paint manufacturing. Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr Joseph Ikemefuna Odumodu, is expected to deliver a paper on the theme on the first day. Aluko said the DG’s presence has become important and the move was in a bid of meeting the objectives of the association in ensuring that quality products were produced and sold to users and maintaining value of money to consumers.

The show, according to the association, will attract exhibitors from different parts of the world, explaining that United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, South Africa, India, Korea, Middle East, China, Turkey, Singapore and Nigeria. The show is also opened to all manufacturers of paints, inks and allied products, architects, builders, real estate developers, chemical vendors/dealers, painters/applicators, and students. The association which boasts of over 30,000 employees on its payroll is a major stakeholder in the Nigerian economy with its input a vital part of other industries. The association was founded in 1982 with aim of promoting the welfare of its members, has contributed a lot towards the development of the Nigerian economy. PMA has a fair share in its contribution to the country’s GDP.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

brands& marketing

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Akin Adewakun

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

LASAA and the coming of Sanusi: Dawn of a new era?

OTHING would have been unusual in the appointment of Mr Mobolaji Sanusi as the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) by the state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, a few days ago; since many would rather see the development as in tune with the tradition of that desire by a new government to start on a clean slate. And one of the ways to achieve this is by effecting changes at the helms of affairs of its MDAs. But, for many, Sanusi’s appointment was rather unusual in a lot of ways. Besides catching stakeholders, who had been looking forward to the confirmation of Olumide Sogunle, the Acting Managing Director of the agency unawares, the drama that heralded Sanusi’s first day at the Alausa office of the agency, did not go unnoticed. The agency’s new chief executive, who was, until his appointment, a columnist with The Nation newspaper, was said to have resumed very early in his first day in the office before many of the staff of the agency and asked late-comers staff to be queried. And since expressing his displeasure at the attitude of the erring staff and vowing to sanction a repeat of such attitude in future, palpable fears are said to have gripped the rank and file of the agency’s staff, wandering about the policy direction of the new helmsman. “We don’t know what he has up his sleeves, but everybody is trying to brace up now. The situation to say the least is rather tense for now at the agency,” stated a staff of the agency. Why LASAA? The need to clean up the state’s outdoor space and make it in tune with its mega city status was one of the reasons advanced by the then Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to set up an outdoor advertising agency, to regulate and control the practice of outdoor advertising in the state. Though not without mixed feelings, the coming on board of the agency then was seen by stakeholders, especially members of the Outdoor Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (OAAN), as a ploy to make the body irrelevant, while at the same time running members out of business. While many practitioners are still struggling to recover from the agency’s reforms carried out by its pioneer chief executive, Mr Makanjuola Alabi, not a few believe that the agency’s advent had, in the past few years, reformed and sanitised the state’s outdoor space. Perhaps a glaring evidence that the agency has been able to make some positive impact is its replication all over the country by in other states of the federation. LASAA in the last four years The appointment of George Noah by the immediate past governor of the state, Mr Babatunde Fashola, in 2011, opened another chapter in the life of the outdoor ad-

From left, Group Managing Director Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, Chief Marketing Officer Interswitch, Cherry Eromosele, and CEO Interswitch Gambia, Vincent Ogbunude during the unveiling of Interswitch, a new corporate identity, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, recently. PHOTO: ALABA IGBAROOLA. vertising regulatory agency. For instance, many saw the administration of Noah as a clear departure from those of his two predecessors, especially that of the pioneer chief executive of the agency, Mr Makanjuola Alabi, whose policies many believed, saw to the vast tombstones of businesses in that sector while he held forth. Interestingly, Noah, to a large extent, was able to win the confidence and trust of stakeholders through effective bonding, especially with OAAN members. This is seen as one of the greatest achievements of that tenure. Unfortunately, just like his predecessors, he also threw in the towel when the ‘electioneering campaign chips’ were down. For instance, the cityscape witnessed the worst ‘desecration’ in recent times by political gladiators, in the build-up to the last general elections. It was obvious that the agency was at its wit’s end on how to effectively manage the chaos on the state’s

outdoor space then. Issues as Sanusi comes to ‘justice’ While many would still want to give the new administration more time before running its evaluation checks on it, not a few still believe that the state government has again failed to hearken to the yearnings of stakeholders, especially members of the Outdoor Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (OAAN), on their preference for a stakeholder to be at the driver seat of the agency. For instance, a member who would rather prefer to talk to Brands & Marketing on the condition of anonymity argued that it had been the wish of the association that state governments should always go for practitioners, whenever such appointments are to be made, since they understand the workings of the subsector better. “A practitioner would always know where the shoe pinches, since he has been there.

That is why a practitioner would always be preferred to a green-horn,” Mrs Maureen Umanah, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Options, once argued, in an interview with Brands & Marketing before the announcement of the Sanusi’s appointment. A new dawn at LASAA? Stakeholders would not want to stick out their necks whether the appointment of the new man would actually signify a dawn of a new era at the agency. ”For me, I can’t place his antecedents as far as this industry is concerned. We all know him as a journalist and somebody who has made his name as a columnist. So whether he would perform as an outdoor advertising industry regulator is left to your guess and mine. Nobody can really say, because he has not really been tested, not to talk of trusted. But I just believe it is in the interest of the industry to succeed,” argued the anonymous practitioner.

Capri-Sonne engages consumers with Minions Promo CAPRI-SONNE has announced its decision to employ a 360-degree marketing communication strategy to further engage its consumers in the ongoing Capri-Sonne Minions Promo. The Capri-Sonne promo has been deployed nationwide on regional and national television channels through a television commercial that has generated huge interest among consumers. Managing Director, Chi Limited, Deepanjan Roy, stated that the promo would provide children across the country a platform of fun and adventure, through various consumer engagements platforms. On social media, he explained that CapriSonne Minions games could be played on the Capri-Sonne Facebook page, while

young fans would have the opportunity to participate in the fun and adventure by simply finding exciting freebies in every carton of Capri-Sonne, purchased within the promo period and taking a selfie with the gift item. “They can upload the images to the CapriSonne Facebook page and get as many of their friends to like the picture and stand a chance of winning exciting gift items like playstation, tablets and lots more,” he stated. According to him, other consumer engagement platforms such as marketing activations in open markets and consumer activations like taste trials in schools and shopping malls had also commenced to create the excitement and buzz which the

brand is known for. “The Capri-Sonne Minions promo consumer engagements offer another platform to further reward our consumers. It is our belief that Capri-Sonne Minions Promo would continue to create an atmosphere of fun and adventure for millions of young fans across the country,” he added. The Minions is a 2015 3D computeranimated comedy film and a pre-sequel/ spin off to the Despicable Me franchise. Minions are small, yellow impulsive creatures with odd innocence that endears them to viewers and make them relatable. They have hundreds of thousands of fans around the world and have become a huge commercial success worldwide.

brands&marketing

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

HESGES Synergy launches new initiative for SMEs

Ishaq Mohammad, winner of N1 million of the Peak Reach for Millions Promo (right), receiving his cheque from Regional Sales Manager, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Michael Efereyan, at the prize presentation in Kaduna, recently.

MTNF reaches out to Nigerians with #WhatCanWeDoTogether? initiative

S part of efforts to reach out to more Nigerians, the MTN Foundation (MTNF) has launched a new initiative tagged “#WhatCanWeDoTogether? to celebrate its 10th anniversary. With the #WhatCanWeDoTogether? initiative the Foundation will implement 200 projects in 200 communities across 200 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria. “You can change your community for good with your phone, simply dialling a dedicated line or visit the website of the foundation. By partnering with the foundation, a community of your choice could be a beneficiary of any of 200 projects to be implemented in 200 communities across 200 LGAs in the country. These projects could be any of the following: provision of school furniture, boreholes, transformers or household items for orphanages,” stated the Executive Secretary of the foundation, Nonny Ubgoma, at the launch of the initiative recently. Nonny described the initiative as a demonstration of the foundation’s commitment to complement government’s efforts in ways that can improve project development in various communities across the country. On his part, the Corporate Services Executive of MTN Nigeria, Akinwale Goodluck, described relationship as a core value of the MTN business. “MTN and the MTN Foundation uphold the company’s core value of building and sustaining relationships. Looking at what the Foundation has achieved in a decade, relationship plays an integral part in the success story of impact on millions of Nigerians in the areas of Education, Health and Economic Empowerment,” Goodluck stated. He added that the value and successes the company had achieved in the time past had continued to inspire it to partner with Nigerians, by asking them to nominate any of these four projects: school furniture, boreholes, transformers or household items for orphanages, for their communities. “Through this nomination, a community

of your choice could benefit from one of these projects and we are going to implement this in 200 communities,” he said. According to him, entries for the initiative will end on the first week of October, this

year, adding that the foundation had spent over N13 billion over the last decade on 344 project sites across the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

A new initiative to boost the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and prospective entrepreneurs has been launched by HESGES Synergy Nigeria Limited, a business development and investment network that operates on a crowd funding template. According to Barrister Gboyega Adetunji, managing director of the company, the aim is to bring people of like minds together to create an unbreakable network that helps each one of them to achieve their individual goals and objectives. “Basically, we create a financial pool that helps members to fulfill their dreams. What individuals cannot achieve on their own and with their resources, they will be able to achieve leveraging on the strength of the group,” he stated. Adetunji, however, argued that the business model is not an investment scheme as it is known in Nigeria but a venture capital whereby subscribers with worthwhile business ideas but with no funds to execute are supported to get their ideas off their ground. “Our business at HS therefore is to bring different people together to form a network where each individual subscriber to the network will be paying a token amount every month. As a result, the network will fund any member who needs funds to execute a new business idea or grow an existing business,” he said.

PR consultancy must enhance clients’ businesses —Okeme THE President of Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria, David Okeme, has said that what clients nowadays want is public relations that can change the perception and societal behaviour with just one image, while at the same time enhance their businesses. Okeme, who is also the Brand Building Director at Unilever Nigeria, made the statement while sharing business insights on the topic, ‘What Do Clients Really Want?’ at the September 2015 edition of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria breakfast meeting in Lagos, recently. He explained that at the heart of clients’ expectation from any campaign was PR

that connects with the people and also delivers values that enhances growth. He explained that Unilever became the most competitive company in the world because it had developed a three-pillar strategy in creating brands, namely; putting people first, building brand love and unlocking the magic. According to him, “In putting people first, Unilever sees people as the reason for its existence and therefore creates brands that offer real value and provides solutions to everyday lives. Secondly, in terms of building brand love, we create a purpose that becomes a high level anchor that consumers buy into and thus enhance business growth. Thirdly, to unlock the

MarketingWorld Awards unveils nominees INSTINCTWAVE, publisher of MarketingWorld magazine, organisers of the Marketing World Awards in Nigeria, has unveiled firms and individuals that will be celebrated at this year’s edition of the awards, scheduled for the first week of November in Lagos. The awards, which is in its 5th year, according to the organisers, will again celebrate creativity and achievements of the marketing industry by rewarding outstanding performances across the integrated marketing communication industry. The CEO of InstinctWave and the Group Publisher of MarkettingWorld Magazine, Mr Akin Naphtal explained that firms and agencies had been nominated for awards in different categories like Experiential Agency of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Financial Brand of the Year, Outdoor Agency of the Year and Best Company in Customer Care and many more.

Naphtal believed the event would provide the much-needed opportunity for stakeholders to celebrate champions in the marketing communications industry; since the award in its usual manner will reward outstanding performances in the industry. “This year marketing space experienced a lull because of electioneering process in the country in the first few months of the year. Companies and agencies were sceptical in implementing plans, but at the end of the day great works still abound in the industry and must therefore be celebrated,” he argued. According to him, this year’s edition would also witness the introduction of some new categories such Africa Brand of The Year, Africa Brand Personality of The Year, Africa Airline Brand of The Year, Best Country in Destination Branding, Best Brand in Ghana and African Marketing Professional of The Year.

magic, the consumer must find the logic to believe in the superiority of the brand.” Stressing further on how the company puts those three pillars into use, Okeme shared video case studies of campaigns that were purposefully created to offer real value to the society, including one that led to the provision of safe water for a community. Since brand aligns ideas that both affect societal change and drive business simultaneously, Okeme said the challenge was for PR to create a point of convergence that connects with the society in order to remain relevant. “PR needs to get the point of convergence right in a way that is creative and strategic, to elevate PR from being a transactional activity which is how we have handled PR for quite some time, to a creative and strategic partner that brings about change in the society and growth in the business,” he stated. He advised PR professionals to explore the potential of using word-of-mouth to achieve consumer conversion in brand usage, adding that in some parts of the world, powerful PR tool yields positive results due to its authenticity and believability. In his remarks, President of PRCAN, John Ehiguese pointed out that the takeaway from the session was that practitioners needed to change their strategy paradigms and embrace creative and strategic story telling that creates convergence with society. “The learning from this session for me is the clarion call to practitioners to be more creative in their story telling approach that would ensure that people start talking about the brand and not necessarily the organisation,” Ehiguese said.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

infotech

anchor Bode Adewumi

m:08055001765 e:bodekafi@yahoo.com

Global broadband growth falls as 4 billion still offline —Report Stories By Bode Adewumi

ROADBAND Internet is failing to reach those who could benefit most, with Internet access reaching near-saturation in the world’s rich nations, but not advancing fast enough to benefit the billions of people living in the developing world, according to the 2015 edition of the State of Broadband report. Released last week, just ahead of the forthcoming SDG Summit in New York, United States and the parallel meeting of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development on September 26, the report reveals that 57 per cent of the world’s people remain offline and unable to take advantage of the enormous economic and social benefits the Internet can offer. Access to information and communication technologies, particularly broadband Internet, has the potential to serve as a major accelerator of development, with the importance of ICT connectivity specifically recognised in the new UN Sustainable Development Goals. With the 17 goals now firmly on the global agenda, governments and private industry both have a strong interest in finding ways to get people online, the report argues. The Broadband Commission comprises more than 50 leaders from across a range of government and industry sectors who are committed to actively assisting countries, UN experts and NGO teams to fully leverage the huge potential of ICTs to drive new national SDG strategies in key areas like education, healthcare and environmental management. “The UN Sustainable Development Goals remind us that we need to measure global development by the number of those being left behind,” said ITU Secretary-General,

Mr Houlin Zhao, who serves as coVice Chair of the Commission with UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova. “The market has done its work connecting the world’s

wealthier nations, where a strong business case for network roll-out can easily be made. Our important challenge now is to find ways of getting online the four billion peo-

Intel connects young girls and women to dreams in Lagos Sonuga, furthers the effort of the company to bridge the gender gap, empower young girls and women through technology. Speaking at the event, the Director of Intel’s Global Girls and Women Initiative, Suzzanne Fallender said that the internet is powering ideas across the world, yet a large number of those taking advantage of this platform are men. Starting with a goodwill message to the participants, Fallender expressed that the ‘She Will Connect’ programme was something

‘How SAP adoption can boost utilities’ efficiency levels’ AS energy moves from the centuries-old model of centralised generation and unlimited demand to distributive models and growing requirements to secure supply, it may be time to shift paradigms to big data and smart grids as a way out of the immense pressure currently bearing down the industry. This is according to Pedro Guerreiro,Head of Sales: Energy & Natural Resources at SAP Africa. SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software and software-related service revenue. With over 293, 500 customers including large global organisations, governments, educational

ple who still lack the benefits of Internet connectivity, and this will be a primary focus of the Broadband Commission going forward,” he said.

From left: Human Resources Officer, Igando-Ikotun Local Government Area, Lagos, Animashaun M.A; Intel Director of Global Girls and Women Initiative, Suzzanne Fallender; Executive Secretary, Igando-Ikotun Local Government Secretariat,Wale Azeez; Intel Africa Programme Manager, Suraj Shah and Intel ‘She Will Connect’ Ambassador for Nigeria, Titilope Sonuga, during a courtesy visit to the Igando-Ikotun Local Government Secretariat, Lagos, where young girls and women were trained on Digital Literacy by “Intel She Will Connect’.

INTEL is continuing in its mission to bridge the gender gap in technology, and empower five million girls and women in the next five years through its ‘She Will Connect’ initiative. Quite recently, the leading technology company held a digital literacy and entrepreneurship training for young girls and women in Igando/ Ikotun Local Government Area of Lagos. The training, which was led by Intel She Will Connect Ambassador for Nigeria, award-winning Poet and Engineer, Titilope

institutions, SMEs and subsidiaries, the company’s industry-specific applications are driving a business and technology revolution that currently caters to over 50 percent of the world’s enterprises. In a recent report, Guerreiro disclosed that the utilities sector is in the grips of a shifting reality occasioned by the overwhelming influence of technology which has put old business models under pressure to reinvent or be discarded by new mavericks. The challenge lies in the fact that energy is not a start-up service business that can shift in weeks or

Nigerian Tribune

years as it takes decades to effect significant change. He said: “Energy infrastructure is expensive, colossal and monolithic. Even as alternative sources and decentralised models appear, these are not changes that will happen overnight. In the new reality, data, audit and compliance must go together to secure new revenue for utilities. “This does not mean the energy sector has time on its side but quite the opposite. Giants turn slowly and, in an environment where every cent matters, that complicates things. Waste is never an option and efficiency is paramount.”

Intel was very passionate about. She stated: “I am so happy to be here with all of you, I came to see the trainees in person. I have worked with a lot of people in a lot of countries on this programme, and people who have been helping this programme for years will love to hear back from all of you on what you have liked about the training, what you have missed and what more you would like to get from the training. But I think the most important thing is doing things to justify the tools, because we know, once you have a chance to learn the skills, it will only be limitless what you are going to be able to do.” The Africa Programme Manager for Intel Corporation, Suraj Shah, who was also present, at the digital literacy and entrepreneurship training held for the young girls and women explained that, “Intel remains committed to empowering young girls and women through technology. We are helping women understand that, there is a lot they can achieve with technology, and these are indeed amazing things happen. We want to break down barriers, create interests and offer connections through technology.”

Truecaller, Truemessenger add new features AS part of its commitment to making life easier and mobile communication better and smarter, Truesoftware, owners of the Truecaller, Truedialler and Truemessenger mobile apps has announced the incorporation of new cool features into their mobile apps. According to Mr Alan Mamedi, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Truesoftware, the Truemessenger, which was launched globally last month, has been updated with an ‘Undo’ feature that enables users to undo sent messages. What this means is that users can now retract awkward or mistaken text messages from being delivered at the discretion of the sender. Mamedi said: “Everyone has experienced a texting mistake, or even been victim to auto-correct. Being able to undo messages has been available in email and social media, which makes it relevant in today’s way of communicating. In Truemessenger, you can easily identify who you are texting with, so of course it is important to cover all aspects of communication by adding an undo send option for your texts. Therefore, we have made it possible to take back that last message before it has had time to send”.

UN Broadband Commission affirms new focus on sustainable development goals

THE power of broadband to leapfrog development roadblocks and bring access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities should put high-speed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) network roll-out at the top of every country’s SDG strategy, according to members of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development, which met in New York Last week. Last week’s adoption of the 17 SDGs sees the Commission enter a new phase, with 22 new members drawn from a range of sectors including the global technology industry, government ministers, leaders in education and healthcare, and two additional UN bodies who join existing Commissioners from ITU, UNDP, UNESCO, UN-ORHLLS, WIPO and the UN Foundation. Established in 2010, as a top-level advocacy body promoting broadband as an accelerator of global development, the group is chaired by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helú, with ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao and UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova as coVice Chairs.

infotech

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

When stakeholders give praises, knocks to Cybercrime Law at Technology Times Outlook Stories By Bode Adewumi

XPERTS have continued to react to the Nigeria Cybercrimes Act 2015, the new law that was made to contain the growing spate of Internet offences by seeking to arrest, prosecute and sentence anyone found guilty of committing cybercrime and allied offences. The new law was commended for eventually coming to make the Internet a safer place but a cross section of experts and stakeholders also seek an improvement to the new legislation to complement efforts at combating Internet offences in Nigeria. This was the subject matter at the Technology Times Outlook Review of Nigeria Cybercrimes Act 2015, the thought leadership series that attracted various profession including legal professionals, the media and leaders in industry and government. Mr. Basil Udotai, the Managing Partner of Technology Advisors LLP, a specialty law practice that focuses exclusively on ICT and who delivered the thought leadership keynote presentation at the event, said that the new law is a welcome development for Nigeria. Udotai said that the new legislation is a major step forward in the nation’s attempt at making Nigeria’s cyberspace a safer place to live, work and play for the Nigerian Internet community. “For years, the Nigerian digital economy had carried on with the absence of a legal framework for cybercrime/cybersecurity; a glaring gap in law enforcement/national security framework as well as a debilitating weak link in our digital economy value chain”, he told attendees at the event. Udotai believes the enactment of the legislation is an attempt to bring Nigeria in line with global best practices and modern trends in the justice sector. According to him, “it is a truly ground-breaking with potentials to greatly impact jurisprudence and legal development; governance (eGovt); businesses and commercial activities; law enforcement and national security; foreign direct investment and economic growth.’’ He added that, “the Cybercrimes Act, though long in coming and beset with certain challenging components, may be applied to effectively tackle Nigeria’s cybercrime and cyber security challenges. But deliberate efforts have to be made by the key players; Office of National Security Adviser and the Office of Accountant General of the Federation working with stakeholders to make this a reality.’’ In his welcome address at the event, Mr Shina Badaru, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Technology Times said that the Technology Times Outlook thought leadership series is organised to refocus technology issues, policy and market trends that will foster innovation, job creation and overall economic growth for Nigeria. In today’s connected world, the Internet, which he described as the new domain after land, air and sea, it has imperative for Nigeria to keep the Internet a safer domain to live, work and play, added Badaru. According to Badaru, Technology Times Outlook was created in 2008 as a platform to promote thought leadership that continue to foster growth across the diverse segment of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Nigeria. Mr Emmanuel Edet, Head Legal Services & Board Matter Unit, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),

From left: Managing Director, FMDQ OTC, Bola Onadele; Country General Manager, IBM West Africa, Taiwo Otiti and Director, Lagos State Financial Systems Management Bureau, Abdulhamed Mustapha, at the IBM Business Connect 2015 held in Lagos. who also commended the enactment of the new law, cautioned that the definitions provided in the Act are “too specific” and may give room for offenders to devise other means of committing crimes outside the specific definitions of the law. Edet, a member of the Technology Times Outlook panel said that “one of the major challenges we had when going through the law was definitions. There is a danger of confusion when we use specific definitions’’ According to him, “definition of terms may be a problem in enacting this law. For example, if we say someone commits a crime with an ATM machine and in the future we have another machine that is not called ATM to commit fraudulent act, that means by definition the person has not committed any offence or done anything wrong.’’ He also raised the issue of the Cyber Security Fund provided for in the new law saying that, “there is nothing that defines what those funds are used for.” According to him, “there is need for the government to fully articulate all these issues and collaborate with the citizens to have a proper framework as to the workings of the Act.’’

If we are talking about cyber security, it should be regarded as our way of life, which means by implication that what is happening offline is also obtainable online.

He noted that the law is no doubt a welcome development but more needs to be put in place if we most win the war against cyber attacks in Nigeria. “It is a good law but it has fundamental flaws which should be addressed to comply with international standard”, Edet said adding that, “we (NITDA) have dealt with so many issues regarding the legal aspects of information technology in Nigeria. Basically, we try to put in place a legal environment so that information technology will be properly developed in Nigeria.’’ On his part, another panellist, Mr Olufemi Awoyemi, the Founder/ Chief Executive Officer of Proshare Nigeria Limited identified that with an estimated improved GDP contribution, it is obvious that the ICT industry is a key growth industry and as such deserves the design and execution of a well articulated cyber security law. According to him, “if we are talking about cyber security, it should be regarded as our way of life, which means by implication that what is happening offline is also obtainable online.” According to Mr Awoyemi, the core competence of Nigeria is not oil and gas, not banking; it is the ICT sector “because if we look critically into it, the ICT sector has the highest employers of labour in the country. “We may not have a perfect law but we don’t need to reinvent the wheel”, said Mr Awoyemi who suggested that Nigeria we should take a cue from other neighbouring countries like Ghana and Kenya that offer good mobile banking system backed by an effective legal framework. Ms Sola Salako, President of Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), who was also a panellist acknowledged the situation of Nigerian consumers and called for a united front in the fight for rights of consumers in the face of poor services by some technology companies. Salako particularly urged the legislators to clarify areas where there could be problems that would affect the take-off of the law while listing concerns such as ATM fraud, illiteracy and lack of awareness of the law. Speaking on the objectives of the event, Sola said it was to alert consumers to possible areas of vulnerability in transactions especially online, saying it especially seeks

to equip consumers with adequate information to help protect themselves from exploitation. “To address these issues, there is always a need for such a forum to evaluate the ubiquitous consumer issue encountered in the area of online services and also create an avenue for consumers, service providers, regulators, legal and sector consultants to connect, with a view to enlightening, empowering and resolving these issues as much as possible”, according to the CAFON President. She said CAFON, a non-for-profit organisation was gravely concerned as consumer advocates about the blatant case of neglect from the regulatory authorities and an alarming case of ignorance on the part of consumers most especially on how and where they can report cyber offences. “The Cybercrime Act should clearly state places or organisation where consumers could lodge their complaint each time they are defrauded such that they are protected from exploitation”, Salako added. Another panellist, Mr Alex Mouka, the immediate past Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Lagos branch in his intervention said the law is a radical piece of legislation but that it “is structurally deficient.” According to Muoka, “as a lawyer, when I reviewed the Act, I asked myself who was responsible for this legislation. I am sorry to say it is one of the irresponsible legal legislations I have ever reviewed. It is structurally deficient.” According to him, there is no structure in place to give life to the law. “It is surprising that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) responsible for the Act through an Advisory Council is not itself a member of that Advisory Council. This is real funny. I also wonder who administers the alternative taxation foisted on Nigerians by the creation of the Cybersecurity Fund under this Act,” he added. On his part, Mr Tobe Okigbo, the Chief Corporate Service Officer of Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, who gave a network operator’s perspective as a panellist at Technology Times Outlook said that the new law is risky from the compliance point of view.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

How real is agitation for Biafra? Jude Ossai - Enugu

T was on Sunday, September 13, 2015. Promoters of an independent state of Biafra again decided to vehemently proclaim their cause. Their primary objective that day was to commemorate the 16th year they launched the agenda. It soon became a test of will between them and security operatives who moved swiftly to check mate ‘separatists.’ At the end of the day, many of the separatists under the auspices of the Movement for Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led by Chief Ralph Uwazurike could not make a great impact on the vast majority of people, unlike during the last census exercise in the country, when a lot of Igbo from the South-East complied with a directive by MASSOB asking them to stay in an apparent passive resistance against the authorities. There are varying theories concerning the seeming passivity of Ndigbo to the 2015 edition of the MASSOB anniversary. Some claim that the proactive action of the security operatives negatively affected arrangements for the programme. Others say it is owing to the fear of the unknown by some sympathisers of the MASSOB cause who could not muster sufficient courage to publicly declare their support for the group. Perhaps, one major theory that has gained ground is the leadership crisis in MASSOB. It has led to some protagonists of the Igbo cause such as Benjamin Onwuka and Ndubuisi Kanu of the Radio Biafra drawing a battle line with Uwazurike. They accused him of having abandoned the real mission of the Biafra struggle. While Onwuka, a British trained lawyer,opted for a new organization, the Biafra Zionists Federation (BZF), Kanu and his supporters have declared their resolve to use the radio and television outfits of their body to propagate his Biafra philosophy, though the authorities have declared the media illegal. It is against this background that many, especially outside the South-East raised the poser: what do the Biafra agitators want? How do eminent Igbo sons and daughters perceive the call for Biafra? Historically, the idea for a republic of Biafra began following the 1966 military coup that terminated the First Republic. It resulted in mass killings in the North and retaliatory action in the South-East, after the Major Chukwuma Nzogwu-led coup d’ tact failed. So, late Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu declared a Biafra Republic which lasted for three years before the “No Victor No Vanquished” after the Federal troops had crushed the ‘rebellion.’ The end of the civil in 1970 necessitated a national reconciliation and integration programme by the Gown administration. Nonetheless, the Igbo have consistently cried of marginalisation in the scheme of things in the country. So, promoters of MASSOB and other groups have latched on the issue to further pursue their cause. To Despite their internal crisis, the agitators for Biafra majorly believe in non-violence to achieve

IGP Arase their goal of having an independent state. According to them, this was demonstrated by the Biafra Zionist Federation when it tried to deploy a radio station in Enugu to its cause. But the security operatives saw the attempt as an affront by the group against the constituted authority. They labeled the separatists as coup plotters who should be punished for treasonable offence. While the Leader of Biafra Zionists, Onwuka and others are in prison custody facing treason trial at the Federal High Court, Enugu, the Biafra Radio presenter, Kanu is on a wanted list of the Police. The clampdown on the groups by security operatives on September 13 led to the arrest of more than 25 members of MASSOB at various churches in Anambra State. The Anambra North Coordinator of MASSOB, Emmanuel Omenka, gave a detailed account of the incident. He said: “Those ar-

Ironically, many prominent Igbo leaders believe in the Biafra project but are afraid of embracing it in public for fear of losing patronage from the Nigerian authorities.

Uwazurike rested were my members; more than 18 of them. We are a non- violent body and have come to thank God for our existence for 16 years when the police, army and other security operatives stormed the church and arrested some of us.” The confrontation between MASSOB and the operatives had triggered spontaneous reactions from the rank and file of the organization. In a statement issued in Enugu, MASSOB’s Director of Information, Enugu-east Zone Anthony Ogbodo expressed strong reservations on the development. “We are not happy with the recent development, where our members were arrested, molested and the residence of our leader invaded by the police. We don’t use knives. We also don’t use guns, yet they keep intimidating our members with security agents. Over 50 of our members were picked by the police in Owerri. Nobody can try this in the West or Northern parts of the country.” Ironically, many prominent Igbo leaders believe in the Biafra project but are afraid of embracing it in public for fear of losing patronage from the Nigerian authorities. Even in Ohanaeze Ndigbo, while the parent body has continued to distance itself from the activities of the pro-Biafra group over the alleged marginalisation of Ndigbo, the youth wing of the pan-Igbo association, led by Okechukwu Isizugoro thinks differently. He said the situation of Ndigbo within the context of the Nigerian federation remained worrisome. He believed a certain cabal had not desisted from an agenda of marginalising the Igbo. “Recent happenings in Nigeria are leaving us with no doubt than to believe that the government is pursuing a Northern agenda. It shows that this government is not for everybody but for the North, otherwise,” he alleged. “Before now, we were shouting over lopsided appointments, where the South-East

was deliberately ignored, but the worst has come by the way of rewarding a man who aided a Northerner after he snuffed life out of over 44 Igbo indigenes and left over 70 others critically injured. Our questions are these: what effort has the present administration made to know the situation of the victims of that bomb blast? What effort has the government made to know that condition of the bereaved families, considering that most of them are breadwinners?” The deputy Secretary of the Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), Evangelist Elliot Uko, had recently tongue-lashed a Second Republic lawmaker, Dr Junaid Mohammed, over his cynical advice to the Igbo to declare a Republic of Biafra if they were aggrieved over appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari. Irked by utterances of the former National Assembly member, Uko who is the President of Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), said: “This statement confirms to the international community that the new administration could march along a very divisive path with the support of some persons in the North. That is, some people have sworn that equity and justice will not reign in Nigeria. I am sure the international community has taken note of that,” he said. He added: “Whether it is a deliberate policy of the North we don’t know, whether he will succeed or not in his quite spirited effort to make sure Nigeria does not survive, nobody knows. Before now, the feeling in some quarters was that the delegates to the 2014 National Conference made some far-reaching recommendations that if implemented, could resolve issues surrounding the agitation by MASSOB and similar organizations in the South-East. But with the fate of the Confab report hanging in the balance, some pundits argue the agitation might continue for some time.

33 politics&policy

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

As dual citizenship matter returns to political discourse in Oyo

ship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, has made a declaration of allegiance to such a country. On account of Sunmonu having sworn to an oath of allegiance to the UK government, they are praying the court to declare the office vacant for non-conformity with constitutional requirement and an order compelling INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to her. Also included in the reliefs sought from the court is an order of perpetual injunction restraining Sunmonu from parading herself as a senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial district. Marked as exhibit C, among the various documents accompanying the originating summons, is a certified true copy of Sunmonu’s nomination form in which she answered ‘yes’ to the questions relating to dual citizenship. Chief Titus Ashaolu, SAN is counsel for the claimants. It was gathered that hearing of the matter might have been fixed for late October.

By Dare Adekanmbi

ARRING last-minute change of plan, the Justice J.G Abundaga National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal will, today, deliver judgment, after four months of legal fireworks, in the petition filed by Accord Party’s candidate for Oyo Central Senatorial District election, Chief Bisi Ilaka, against the declaration of Senator Monsurat Sunmonu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the March 28 election. Ilaka, according to the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), polled 84, 675 votes to trail Sunmonu, immediate past speaker of the state House of Assembly, who scored 105, 378 votes. The two candidates are from Oyo zone with four out of the 11 local government councils that make up the district. Majority of the potential votes in the district are in Ibadan, the state capital, which has five councils, while Ogbomosho zone completes the figure with just two councils. A breakdown of the result showed that Ilaka swept the polls in the entire four councils in Oyo town, an indication of a solid home base support with votes from across party divide. Having quaked the Oyo zone with a resounding victory, attention shifted to the five Ibadan less city councils of Oluyole, Egbeda, OnaAra, Akinyele and Lagelu where Ilaka had hoped to have a repeat performance as in the 2011 polls. In 2011, Ilaka swept the polls in the five councils in Ibadan, a victory analysts linked traced to the wide acceptability of the leader of his party, Senator Rashidi Ladoja in the less city councils peopled by the poor. Ilaka came second in 2011 with a loss from Oyo zone, which allegedly voted for the candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Ayo Adeseun. However, in the 2015 election, the apple cart was upset in Ibadan as well as in Surulere and OgoOluwa, the two councils in Ogbomosho zone, where Sunmonu beat Ilaka and was ultimately pronounced winner of the election. But Ilaka rejected the result and headed for the tribunal where he is challenging the results of the polls in seven councils. The battle at the tribunal began on June 22 with a pre-hearing conference that stretched for weeks. The first litmus test for Ilaka’s petition was a motion for its dismissal by Sunmonu’s counsel. In his ruling on the application, Justice Abundaga said the tribunal would not shut the door against the petitioner but hear the petition on its merit and deliver verdict accordingly. That over, a counsel in Ilaka’s team, Wale Omoloye, filed a motion seeking the order of the tribunal to inspect the materials including the ballot papers which he said would be recounted and a report of the inspection brought before the tribunal. The order was granted as prayed with the APC’s request for joinder in the inspection also successful. Ilaka was given 12 days to open his case. Although he is entitled to 14 according to the Electoral Act, the reduction might not be unconnected with time factor as the tribunal is also adjudicating in a couple of other petitions. Unable to bring in the report of the inspection as well as other documents to not only maintain the petition but also prove his averments, Ilaka sought an extension of time, a request the tribunal refused and closed his case in its August 14 ruling.

Sunmonu Petitioner heads for Appeal Court One of the counsel in Ilaka’s team, Mr Biodun Abdu-Raheem, on September 8, filed an appeal against the ruling and is praying the Appellate Court to set aside the August 14 ruling of the tribunal which he said prematurely closed the petitioner’s case and denied him the right to fair hearing. Copies of a notice of appeal and a brief of arguments filed by Abdu-Raheem and made available to newsmen contain five grounds, among which is, that the tribunal erroneously applied the principles guiding its powers to suo –motu (voluntarily) close the Appellant’s case. The appellant said he had secured an order of the tribunal to inspect and get certified true copies of the electoral documents used in the election to maintain his petition, an order which he said INEC partially complied with. Dissatisfied, Ilaka’s counsel filed a subpoena dated July 9, which caused the appearance of an officer of INEC who did not appear with all the relevant documents before the tribunal and pleaded for more time to bring the remaining. The non-compliance of INEC with the order of the tribunal on the inspection and counting of ballot papers, according to the appeal notice, warranted the filing and service of contempt charge against INEC. Ilaka, in a statement last week, decried the delay by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, in constituting a three-member panel to hear the appeal filed since September 8 and give a verdict. Already, the tribunal had been served with a notice of the appeal. The dual citizenship twist Just as the camps of the petitioner and

the defendants were looking forward to today’s verdict, a new twist crept into the matter. Five voters from the senatorial district dragged Senator Sunmonu to the Federal High Court, Abuja, for allegedly being a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Nigeria.The voters, in documents made available to newsmen in Ibadan, last week, sued the senator for themselves and on behalf of the electorate in the district, in an originating summons filed in the suit FHC/ABJ/CS/760/201 on September 14. Issue of dual nationality, as it relates to election dispute, was first heard in Oyo since the Fourth Republic in the case filed by Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala against the election of Senator Abiola Ajimobi as governor in 2011. The claimants are Wahab Abiodun, Alhaji Bola Akinyemi, Chief Emmanuel Olajide, Chief Samuel Elegbede and Chief Thomas Ajao. They joined Sunmonu and INEC as defendants. Senator Sunmonu, it will be recalled, had worked as Home Officer or equivalent of an immigration officer with the UK government from 1989-2010 before leaving for Nigeria in 2010 to join partisan politics. The claimants are asking the court to declare that Senator Sunmonu lacks the requisite capacity to hold the office of a senator having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of United Kingdom against the letters and spirit of Section 66 subsection 1 (a) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Non-qualification to stand for the March 28 election is also one of the grounds upon which Chief Bisi Ilaka, Accord Party’s candidate, is challenging the declaration of Sunmonu as the winner of the election. Section 66 subsection 1 (a) states that “No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if: (a)…he has voluntarily acquired the citizen-

Whichever way the pendulum swings in today’s judgment, the issue on non-qualification to stand for the election on account of alleged dual citizenship filed in a fresh suit against Senator Sunmonu will surely not upend the disputation over the election.

Issue of dual citizenship argued at tribunal- Oyo APC The APC in Oyo State has described the issue of dual nationality raised in a fresh suit against Senator Sunmonu as an abuse of court process and “an evil plot to derail democracy.” APC, speaking through its Director of Publicity and Strategy, Wale Sadare, said the matter had already been included in the petition filed by Ilaka and was extensively argued before the tribunal. In the statement, Sadare said claimants in the suit were known members and chieftains of the Accord.“To set the record straight, the same allegation which formed the basis of the reported fresh litigation had been included in the petition before the tribunal and it was argued extensively. “Therefore, it could be concluded that the Accord Party jesters are all out again not only to waste the time of the High Court of Justice but also to abuse the court process as they just devised another means to remain in the news after the various tribunals might have refused all their respective prayers. “Neither Senator Monsurat Sunmonu nor anybody from the APC was aware of the purported suit until it was reported in some dailies on Friday and naturally, one begins to query its authenticity since no court paper had been served on the supposed defendant(s). “Those whose names were listed as plaintiffs are known card-carrying members and chieftains of the Accord Party who have always identified with Chief Bisi Ilaka, the candidate of their party in the Oyo Central Senatorial district election. . “Following his heavy defeat by Sunmonu in the March 28, 2015, Ilaka filed a petition at the tribunal which is set to give its verdict on the matter any moment from now. “Among the latter day challengers of the former speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly is the state administrative secretary of the Accord Party who was stopped from being illegally brought in as an emergency forensic analyst in the Ladoja vs Ajimobi governorship election petition case which is still on-going before the tribunal,” Sadare said. Whichever way the pendulum swings in today’s judgment, the issue on non-qualification to stand for the election on account of alleged dual citizenship filed in a fresh suit against Senator Sunmonu will surely not upend the disputation over the election.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

thegavel Governments have neglected Badagry —Lagos lawmaker Honourable Setonji David is representing Badagry Constituency 2 in the Lagos State House of Assembly. In this interview, he speaks on major issues affecting his constituency, the state and the country in general. BOLA BADMUS brings the excerpts:

The governor has said that the state would be operating the policy of single treasury account….. It is a very good policy, it shows transparency and that the governor wants to ensure that all the loopholes in the system are blocked. It also shows that this government means well for the state and everybody should encourage the governor to continue that way.

OU are representing Badagry. What do you think the area desires at this moment? There is quite a number of things Badagry desires. We are yearning for development. Civilisation in Nigeria started in Badagry. The first storey building in the country is in Badagry, it was built in 1842. The first primary school in Nigeria was built in Badagry, but we are at the lowest ebb in Lagos State now. So, we are yearning for development and we are begging the state government to direct policies towards the development of Badagry in terms of road construction, social amenities and infrastructure. We are not where we ought to be. The state government is trying, but we are begging them to look towards Badagry. How did it get to its present state, given what you listed as its pioneering role? It is not our fault that we are not treated well. How come we have not been given the right position in Lagos State? We should ask you that question. Development in Nigeria is driven by the government, but the government has not done enough for Badagry. If you are talking of tourism in Lagos State, we have so many tourist centres in Badagry. Some years ago, people used to come and enjoy at the beaches in Badagry. But now, because of the bad roads and some other factors, this has changed. We are now begging the government to come back to Badagry and develop the place for us and provide infrastructure such as roads and all other basic things. I am happy that the Badagry Expressway is being extended and it will be one of the biggest roads in Africa. However, we want the government to prevail on the contractors to work fast so that the project will not linger. Also, there is the problem of unemployment in Badagry. So many graduates in the area are not working. But if the policies of the government are directed towards the place, it will be better and there will be development in Badagry. Is Badagry suffering because it is a border town, as such towns are often neglected in Nigeria? I don’t know; I cannot say if that is the reason for its neglect. You know Lagos State is the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, so Badagry should not lag behind. When government policies are directed

David towards the area, things will change positively. The Badagry border is one of the key areas in the country, where the Federal Government is making so much money and they don’t plough the money back into the system. Also, people from neighbouring countries damage our roads, but the Federal Government is not helping the area. We are begging all of them to look towards Badagry and give it its rightful place in the country. What do you have to say concerning the seeming dull socio-economic activities in the state under the present state administration? I don’t agree with you that things are quiet. This is a new government and we are working to ensure that the right steps are taken so that we will not misfire. Government is a continuum and we must ensure that policies are well consummated. It is too early to start condemning the government, and I believe

strongly that it is working hard and by the time you start seeing those things, you will marvel. Even at the Federal level, President Muhammadu Buhari is taking his time. He is studying the event to make sure that the right steps are taken. The state government is also working to do its best. There are insinuations that the past government in Lagos should be probed. What is your view on this? We are moving forward, I don’t think that is necessary at all. We will not probe anybody. The opposition is just jittery and they are looking for ways to destabilise the government of the state. They want to come through the back door to get what they could not get ordinarily. They lost out and they want to destabilise the government. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will take the state to a greater height and create an impact that we have never seen before.

The Badagry border is one of the key areas in the country, where the Federal Government is making so much money and they don’t plough the money back into the system.

The Lagos State House of Assembly has been talking about a new Legislative Agenda. What do you think we should expect in the 8th Lagos Assembly? The 8th Lagos State House of Assembly will be one of the most vibrant you have ever witnessed in the state. We will make sure that this assembly gives the people of the state what they deserve. I want to assure you that everybody will enjoy this Assembly. There was a time many felt Badagry was for PDP, but you are representing the area on the APC platform. How were you able to achieve the feat? It is absolutely incorrect to state that Badagry is for the PDP. We are progressives. Go to the history of Badagry, we have always been progressives. The one you are talking about is an aberration; it happened by accident, Badagry is 80 per cent APC and the party will always win in any election done in the area. There is no PDP in Badagry. We started from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to Action Congress, Action Congress of Nigeria and now APC. It will be a miracle if the opposition wins in Badagry; it is traditionally a progressive area. People believe that the major industry in Badagry is smuggling. Why is a trend in the area? That is not true. The smugglers that ply the area are not from Badagry. We are basically farmers and fishermen, and we are well educated. Smuggling is not our business; people place emphasis on negative stories. The place is not a smuggling town. Some critics say lawmakers have commercialised the oversight function of the legislative arm of government. That is not true. The Lagos Assembly is the most vibrant in the country. It is made up of highly industrious people, and when we go out to do oversight duties; we do our work with passion. When we talk about the progress being made by the government, it is the legislature that is making the laws, so the process starts with us. Like I said, people always look for the negative side of issues. We are here to make progressive laws for the people of the state. What is your view on the call for parttime legislature? What we have now is good enough for us. Part time legislature is not good for the good governance of our people. It doesn’t matter if lawmakers go on recess as long as they sit for the number of days they ought to sit in a year; it is okay.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

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For enquiries, Lanre Adewole - 0811 695 4647 olanreade@yahoo.com

NHRC @ 20: A thriving dictatorship creation

HE National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was established by Decree No. 22 of 1995 now an Act of the National Assembly Pursuant to section 318 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. The establishment of the Commission is in consonance with the United Nations initiatives under ECOSOC, elaborated at World Conference on Human Rights in Paris in 1991 and approved by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 1993 in Vienna . Otherwise known as the Paris principles, the conference set out guidelines for the establishment and operations of National Human Rights Institutions and encouraged states to establish and strengthen such institution. Similarly, under the African Union Charter on Human and People’s Rights (section 26), member states signatories to the charter were also enjoined to establish National Human Rights Institutions for the purposes of propagating human rights. It was in response to these international obligations that the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria was established under the regime of the late Head of State General Sani Abacha on June 17, 1995. The First Governing Council of the Commission was inaugurated on 17th June 17, 1996 with Hon Justice Paul Kemdilim Nwokedi and Professor Mohammed Tabi’u as it’s first Chairman and Executive Secretary respectively. The establishment of the Commission evoked a lot of misgivings in the minds of many Nigerians and the international community. The notion that a military regime, which is essentially undemocratic and in the most part repressive, establishing a human rights institution provoked skepticism in many quarters. This is more so that the regime then was accused of committing very many atrocities bordering on human and fundamental rights. It was during this period that, Ken Saro Wiwa, the Ogoni Human Rights Activist was killed alongside some of his compatriots. So at inception in 1996 the first major challenge of the Commission was asserting the necessary autonomy and inspiring sufficient credibility for it to be taken seriously by Government, NGO’s, the generality of Nigerians and the international Community. However, 20 years on the line, the commission has justified its creation; nurturing an effective national institution and building its capacity for discharging wide range human rights mandate and asserting the necessary autonomy and independence. Here, kudos must be given to the inaugural Council members some of whom are late (May their Soul Rest In Peace), who worked tirelessly and under an enabling law with so many loopholes and defects that tended to frustrate the work of the Commission. The prospects of democracy which is heralded by the successful holding of the 1999 general election provided a new phase in the life and work of the Commis-

Chidi Odinkalu, NHRC boss sion. Although democracy in itself cannot guarantee human rights, democracy and human rights are inter-related and mutually reinforcing. Such mutual relationship has continued to be beneficial to both sides as a better atmosphere of understanding and co-operation is forged . The Commission has taken advantage of the goodwill it enjoys from civil society groups to build a viable relationship with functionaries, institutions and agencies both at the federal and state levels to advance the course of human rights in Nigeria. In the last 20 years, it has worked very hard and progressively to discharge its mandate of monitoring abuses promoting, protecting and enforcing the human fundamental rights of all irrespective of sex, ethnic or religious belongings or status. Through dint of hard work, the commission has gained national and international recognitions. Today, it is one of the few institutions that occupy an enviable position of ‘A’ status at the International Co-ordinating Committee (ICC) of National Human Rights Institutions. It’s Executive Secretary, Professor Bem Angwe who has taken the Commission to soaring heights is a member of the steering Committee of ICC as well as the Chairman, Network of National Human Rights Institutions,(NNHRI) West Africa. The erudite scholar and Professor of Law is currently providing institutional support to many Human Rights Commissions in Africa and West Africa. Back home, the Commission remains a

major pillar of our democracy, the hope of the common man and the home of the oppressed. It has pursued with vigor, a policy of spreading the gospel of human rights to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria through the establishment of 24 offices from an initial borrowed two-room office at the National Assembly Complex through to a rented building at Plot 800 Blantyre Street, Wuse II, Abuja in 1977. Today, Nigeria is a strong force to reckon with when you talk about human rights; from descent to despair, global isolation, international pariah status, the nation today is guided by sound human rights policies anchored around democratic tenets and this has earned her international recognition and respectability. The Commission has firmly established a viable and effective complaints treatment mechanism for allegations of human

It was during this period that, Ken Saro Wiwa, the Ogoni Human Rights Activist was killed alongside some of his compatriots

rights violations. The commission’s work of investigating complaints and assisting victims of human rights violation seek redress is undoubtedly one of its major important activities. With the amendment of the enabling law establishing the commission in 2010, the commissions efforts has been emboldened by the powers to enforce its decisions. In exercising this mandate however, it should be noted that the function is complimenting the role of the court of law which has the primary constitutional responsibility for human rights enforcement and protection. The Commission undertakes regular monitoring of the prisons, Police cells, Military cells and other detention centers with a view to ascertaining their compliance with minimum international standards. Arising from these visits were recommendations that ensured reforms, decongestion of Nigeria prisons and the fashioning of a new penal code for the country. Through this process, thousands of prison inmates languishing in long detentions without trials are released. Between 2012 and 2015 alone the Commission carried an auditing exercise of detention facilities in the Nigerian Police (NPF), the Department of State Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Custom Services (NCS), Nigerian Army (NA), National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (NDLEA), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and many others. In all these, the Commission’s findings, which include worsening condition of the detention facilities and rising cases of ungazzeted places of detention, were taken up with the relevant institutions . The opportunity provided by this 20th Anniversary is important for stock taking and self examination that could result to more future prospects for the Commission and the nation. However, there are obvious challenges confronting the commission foremost, of which is lack of adequate resources. For now the funds made available to the Commission is nothing to write home about compared to the enormous responsibilities placed on its shoulder. It is therefore imperative for Government to ensure that adequate funding is provided for the commission to take up squarely the challenge of promoting, protecting and enforcing the rights of Nigerians. In a multi-ethnic, multi religious society such as ours, respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights remains the basis of our survival as a nation. It is also one of those bench marks that make us members of the civilised societies. This is why greater appreciation and understanding by the people and government of the activities of the commission in very important. Looking back over the two decades; one can safely say that the NHRC has justified its establishment in the face of obvious daunting tasks. Oparah is staff of the NHRC

lawnews

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

4.324 hectare land: Court fixes October 6 for Onikoyi vs FG suit Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin -Lagos

USTICE Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos has adjourned till October 6, hearing in a suit over the ownership of a 4.324 hectare land in Lagos. On the said day, the court will hear the preliminary objection filed by Oba Onikoyi challenging the jurisdiction of the court, to entertain the suit brought by the Onikoyi Descendants’ Family. The family had approached the court for an order directing the Federal government to include it in future transfer of land and meeting pertaining to return of properties to the Onikoyi Royal Family. Specifically, the plaintiffs asked the court for an injunction order, restraining Oba Patrick Fafunwa, the Onikoyi of Ikoyi/Moba land from usurping the rights of the 10 branches of Onikoyi Family including sale of land and usage as his personal property. The plaintiffs asked the court for an order partitioning the 4.324 hectares of land subject matter of suit No: LD/769/12 into 10 portions for the 10

branches that make up the Onikoyi Royal Family. The plaintiffs include: Fatai Ogunlana Onikoyi Chief Muritala Adedoyin Elegushi, Alhaji Waliu Dimeji Sulaiman, Onikoyi Animashaun Abdulfatai Kolawole, Mufutau Adeshegun Onikoyi, Oyebode Shadeko, Halim Akinyemi Eshinlokun, Adja Ganiat Onikoyi Carew, Alhaja Taibat Jenmi-Owo and Idris Owoyele. Others are: Alhaji Bilikis Bombata, Lookman Adeshina, Alhaji Tinko Aderemi, Ganiyu Onikoyi, Bolanle Doherty, Alhaja Suliat Shodiya and Fatai Onikoyi Shina for themselves and on behalf of Fafunwa, Ojubiari, Kunayije, Ilumo, Idewu, Kugbamola, Aluko Ajose, Dosumu, Ajiwe and Adelo branches of Onikoyi Royal Family . Sued apart from Oba Patrick Ibikunle Fafunwa are: the Attornney-General of the Federation(2nd defendant), the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development(3rd defendant), the Implementation Committee of the White Paper on the Commission of Enquiry into the Alienation of Federal Government Property (4th defendant) and Unknown Persons(5th defendant).

Beyond the rituals of asset declaration IN my days in the University, I learned a catchy statement from a colleague. I cannot verbatim recollect the statement now. The statement is to the effect that politicians resort to facts when it suits them, when facts are not in their favour, they resort to the law and when it appears that the law is not in their favour, they simply shout! The nation was treated to the theatrics of the arraignment of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The legal team of the Senate President devised all the legal tactics to stall his arraignment. Not a few legal pundits felt uncomfortable with the tactics deployed by the legal team in a nation that is desirous of making things work within the rule of law compass and making our leaders truly work for us. The facts, as they are emerging are that our Senate President has some questions to answer with respect to what he declared as his assets in 2003 in line with the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act (hereinafter called “the Act”) when he wanted to contest for the position of the Governor of State of Kwara. Since the matter is now subjudice, we do not intend to dwell on its substance today.

From right, deputy governor of Lagos State, Dr Oluranti Adebule; Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo; former Commisssioner, Lagos State Ministry of Environment and celebrant, Dr Muiz Adeyemi Banire and his wife, Funmilayo, when Banire was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in Lagos, recently. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA. According to the plaintiffs’ statement of claim, the Onikoyi Royal Family in 1977 had an executive committee comprising of: the late Professor A. B. Fafunwa, Chief C. B. Onikoyi, Alhaji A.G Onikoyi, Alhaji A.F.

Onikoyi, Alhaji L. Kehinde Onikoyi and Prince R. Olatunji Onikoyi who were to handle the income of the family but due to their failure, a suit was instituted against them in suit No: LD/697/97 on sharing formula and judgment on

the matter was delivered by Justice A. Adeniyi on September 25, 2001. The plaintiffs also contended that the family instituted a suit No: LD/1172/93 against the Attorney-General of the Federation, NITEL, NIJA

ROSE Properties Development Co. Ltd., Executive Government of Lagos State and Attorney General of Lagos State over a 43.143 hectares of land and judgment was delivered by Justice Adetula Alabi in 2003 in favour of the family but the plaintiffs alleged that the land was sold by the executive committee in connivance with the Oba who was crowned in 2007. Furthermore, the Plaintiffs claimed that in 2007, a 4.342 hectares of land covered by water was allocated to the family by Lagos State Government but it was seized by the Federal Government and later settled out of court in suit No: LD/769/12 between the Federal Government and the Oba alone.

Former AG charges women on Will Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin A former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Dafe Akpedeye SAN has encouraged women on the need to have valid will. Akpedeye pointed out that only a valid will can prevent disputes, quarrels and litig-

Our reference to the case which has now become an integral part of the events that would be told in the history of democracy in our clime is to enlighten our readers about some legal issues thrown up by the legal drama. The Code of Conduct Bureau is established under the Act and is empowered under Section 3 of the Act to receive asset declaration from public officers and keep same in custody. It is also empowered to receive complaints of non-compliance or breach of the Act from members of the public and refer such complaint to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, where necessary to so do. It is odd when public officers would claim that they are not under any legal compulsion to declare their assets at the Code of Conduct Bureau. Section 15 of the Act provides that every public servant shall within 15 months after the coming into force of this Act or immediately after taking office and thereafter submit to the Bureau a written declaration of his assets and liabilities and those of his spouse or unmarried children under the age of twenty-one years at the end of every four years or at the end of his term of office; and in the case of a serving officer, within

ations. Citing the wrong ideals about making a will, the former AG said it is only when a will is in place that personal wishes continue to prevail long after testator has departed. “The African ideal on how death is perceived as a thing not good to talk about has

significantly affected the making of wills leading to litigation on deceased person properties. “A will enables the testator to determine who benefits and gains from his properties upon death. Where a person dies without making a will, the principle of succession will apply to de-

ceased person properties which can enable persons whom the deceased may not wish to benefit from his properties actually benefit or be deprived.” He stressed further that the testator has the opportunity to appoint persons whom he trust to carry out his wishes after death.

legal clinic

By Olatunde Femi Abegunde Esq.ACOArb

m: +234-0803 967 7683; +234-0809 401 7911 e: pinnacle.chambers@yahoo.com, femabed2007@gmail.com f: Olatunde Abegunde & Associates-Pinnacle Chambers

thirty days of the receipt of the form from the Bureau or at such other intervals as the Bureau may specify. Any false declaration shall be deemed as a breach of the Act and any property or assets acquired by a public officer after any declaration and which is not fairly attributable to income, gifts or loan approved by this Act, shall be deemed to have been acquired in breach of this Act unless the contrary is proved. The Code of Code Tribunal is established by section 20 of the Act. All infractions of the Act can be handled by the Tribunal and it has the powers to impose punishments which shall include vacation of office or any elective or nominated office, as the case may be; disqualification from holding any public office (whether elective or not) for a period not exceeding ten years; and seizure and forfeiture to the State of any property acquired in abuse or corruption of office. The Act has been in existence as a Decree since 1st January,1991 and it is one those laws which have been re-designated as Acts deemed as having been under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic

of Nigeria (as amended). Many people have questioned the timing of the arraignment of the Senate President before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. They hold the view that his arraignment is politically motivated. It is a view they are entitled to hold but such a view has no place in our criminal justice system. There is no time bar to criminal prosecution. The Senate President is not the only one whose ‘book of remembrance’ can be opened by the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal. All those public officers who cannot account for their stupendous wealth should be getting ready. It is not a defence for a man caught stealing a goat in the market square to say that he should not be made to face the consequences of his action to say that he should not be punished according to the law of the land simply because there are several other thieves who are yet to be caught. We wish the retired, serving and intending public servants all the best as they face the scrutiny of the law to which their actions, while serving us (or serving themselves?), are subjected.

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features

Editor: Bayo ALADE featuresdesk@yahoo.com 08055001747

Jaja Clinic

In the aftermath of protests that have attended the death of students of tertiary institutions often blamed on the inefficiency of their health centres, FESTUS IYORAH and FOLUSHO ANJORIN visited some campus clinics and sampled opinions of medical practitioners and students alike and came up with this report.

Tertiary institutions’ health centres as ‘death centres’?

fortnight ago, an event on the campus of the University of Lagos campus has brought to fore gaping holes in the manner in which the health centres in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are being run. A student of the institution, Oluchi Anekwe was on her way back to her hostel after seeing off her sister when a live wire fell on her and she was electrocuted. She was rushed to the university’s health centre thereafter. The young lady was reportedly still alive on arrival at the university health centre. Nkem, Oluchi’s sister, had told the media that “Oluchi was still alive by the time she was being rushed to the medical centre but the doctors and nurses refused to attend to her unless they saw her identity card was produced to confirm that she was a student. That was how the girl died there. The most shocking part was that when I got there, Oluchi wasn’t even placed on a bed; they wrapped her body and placed it on the floor. I told the doctor that it is wrong for them to have done that because sometimes the person could still be alive at that point.” Today, Oluchi is no more. Mayowa, a student of the University of Ibadan, is yet another victim who had died due to the nonchalant attitude of the university’s health centre. Mayowa had slumped while watching a football match at his hall of residence due to

The Polytechnic Ibadan health centre

The Polytechnic Ibadan health centre ambulances

poor ventilation. Narratting what happened on that fateful day, an eye-witness, a student who simply gave his name as Afeez, said the “JCR room where students watch football matches was crammed with students; owing to this fact, there was poor ventilation in room and Mayowa slumped due to the shortage of fresh air in the room. “Afterwards, he was quickly brought out of the JCR and students called the health centre informing them to come with their ambulance, but the ambulance delayed. “Twenty minutes later, Mayowa was rushed to the health centre, popularly known as Jaja Clinic via a private car. Unfortunately, he was not attended to swiftly owing to the fact that he was not with his health centre card we call ‘Jaja card,’” Afeez said. Mayowa’s death led to a peaceful protest which shut down academic activities in the University of Ibadan for two days. However, officials of the health centre rebuffed students’ position, stressing that Mayowa was brought in dead and there was nothing they could have done to save him. In his reaction to this issue, an official who pleaded anonymity told Nigerian Tribune that: “I was part of the panel instituted by the vice-chancellor to investigate what happened. We gathered that he was dead already before he was brought to the hospital.” He, however, added that the health centre was to blame due to their “slow response” Continues on pg38

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‘Most students complain about their poor services’

Mecical Centre, University of Lagos Continued from pg37

to Mayowa’s emergency case especially with the late arrival of the health centre’s ambulance. In other parts of the country, the situation seems to be no different. At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Tochi Uzor, a student said she escaped death by the whiskers when she was rushed to the university’s medical centre. Tochi said she was told that the doctor was not available and she was left unattended to. “I was stranded for three hours and they gave me an inferior drug making my predicament worse,” Uzor said. At the University of Benin, the vast majority of students passed a vote of no confidence in the university’s health centre established to serve both staff and students. They said they prefer the university’s teaching hospital, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) to the health centre. Victor, a student at UNIBEN told Nigerian Tribune that “they do not offer quality service at the health centre and this discourages students from visiting the medical centre. “Their poor service has been an issue that most students have been complaining about. Students prefer going outside to UBTH and other private hospitals for treatment. I once visited the place, it was clean with a number of staff but then students and staff don’t trust their services,” Victor said. Dr. Ola Adeagbo, is the Director of Medical Services, The Polytechnic Ibadan. He told Nigerian Tribune that he does not agree that most institution’s health centre be regarded as ‘death centres.’ “I don’t subscribe to that. The problem with students generally in higher institutions is that they are never satisfied; they are Oliver Twists and many of them that have such impressions have never been to the health centre of their institutions. There is nothing that you’ll look for in any primary health centre that you won’t find here, including resuscitative equipments, ambulances, and so on,” he stated. He said further that in his health centre, “We have four doctors and 15 nurses, just like in a general hospital. The problem with students is that they don’t want to be delayed for even two minutes at the health

centre. They want you to attend to them immediately they come in without you checking their medical history and they are never satisfied. “Medical treatments at the health centre is given free of charge. Some students take

Dr Adeagbo

Banjo Kehinde

The Hippocratic Oath which every doctor wherever they are in the world swears to demands that they do all they can to save lives. Once a patient comes under your custody you are responsible for that life. up to two or even three drips and some are admitted at the health centre for days for proper medication without paying; you can ask them. So, many who make such statements should ask those that have been there to enjoy the service before making such a fuss.” Dr Adeagbo claimed that The Polytechnic, Ibadan health centre was able to handle emergencies. “We are able to handle most cases. There are rarely cases that we can’t handle well because we have professionals and even good equipments like resuscitative equipment, there are drugs and injections that can be used to treat patients. So, we rarely refer cases; but if there is need for such, they are taken or referred to state government hospitals or tertiary health centres like UCH. We have working ambulances ready to convey them and the ambulances are accompanied by staff members in the rarely referred cases.” Asked if there had been any deaths at the polytechnic’s health centre, Dr Adeagbo said he could only recollect about one or two. “I have been here for about 15 years or so; I can say if there is any casualty it was due to students’ carelessness or the carelessness of their colleagues. I can say we’ve had only one, at most two, and it was due to carelessness on the student’s part. The boy had been sick in the hostel for about two weeks stooling

and they were giving him native herbs (agbo) right in the hostel without informing or even bringing him to the health centre. It was when the boy was almost dead that they now brought him and all efforts to resuscitate him proved abortive. Even the ambulance was already waiting to take him to the hospital if we were able to resuscitate him but he gave up the ghost because they brought him too late,” he said. Students of the polytechnic spoken to by Nigerian Tribune expressed some satisfaction with the health centre. One student who simply gave his name as Alaba, said, “Our school’s health centre is a health centre not a ‘death centre’ but they still need more facilities. Even concerning the workers there, they still need more experienced people that can work very well. Another student of the polytechnic, Banjo Kehinde, “Our health centre is a very good place in a conducive environment. They also have good equipment to take care of students.” Speaking on what standard procedures should be during emergencies, Dr Paul Metieh, Chief Medical Director of St Charles Specialist Hospital in Surulere, Lagos said, “Doctors are trained to save lives.” He said, “Emergencies do not need any delay at all. That person is in need of immediate attention and so the issue of card or no card should not come up. For a student, talking about payment should not come up because they are under the custody of the university.” Dr Metieh who was trained in the United States of America said, “The Hippocratic Oath which every doctor wherever they are in the world swears to demands that they do all they can to save lives. Once a patient comes under your custody you are responsible for that life. If you don’t do what you are supposed to do to save that life you will be held responsible.” He added that in the case of university health centres, “the authorities of the university cannot be exonerated because all that goes on in the health centre is the concern of the authorities.” A doctor in the University of Uyo who preferred to remain anonymous was of the opinion that showing a clinic card was needed “because every patient in the hospital has a file that contains the medical history of the patient. That card is necessary for the file to be traced so that the right treatment can be given to the patient.” In their study of university health centres, Obiechina G O, Ekenedo G. O., “Factors affecting utilisation of University health services in a tertiary institution in SouthWest Nigeria, the researchers aimed to determine the factors affecting utilisation of university health services in south west Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study it was concluded that high cost of drugs, non availability of essential drugs, time spent waiting for treatment, inadequate referral services and satisfaction with services were factors affecting utilisation of university health services among students in the region. In their recommendation for the study, they stated that “the university authority and the government should endeavour to make essential drugs available as well as post qualified and adequate staff to the university health services. In addition, the government should make necessary efforts to incorporate tertiary institutions into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) so that students above the age of 18 years can benefit from free treatment.”

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‘Most students complain about their poor services’

Mecical Centre, University of Lagos Continued from pg37

Dr Adeagbo

Banjo Kehinde

news 54 Nigerian pilgrims died in Mina stampede —NAHCON

IFTY-four Nigerians have been confirmed to have died during Thursday’s stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, News Agency of

Taraba gov, Speaker, others mourn emir Sylvanus Viashima - Jalingo

Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has described as unfortunate the death of the Emir of Zing and 2015 Hajj Amira in the state, Alhaji Muhammad Sambo Abbas, who died with two of his wives and several other pilgrims in Mecca. Ishaku said this when he paid a condolence visit to the bereaved palace in Zing where he said the death was a great loss to the entire people of Taraba and the peace mission in the state. He called on the family to take solace in the fact that the emir died in active service to God and humanity and left behind a lasting legacy. Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honorable Abel Peter Diya, described the late emir as “a true leader who saw good in everybody and had respect for all irrespective of religious, political, tribal and other affiliations.” The speaker urged the leaders in the state to emulate the virtues that stood the emir out and also called on the family, the Muri Emirate Council and the people of the state to accept the death as God’s will. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune from Mecca, the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Ardo Jika, said the emir was “a true believer in the Taraba State project.” Meanwhile, Chairman of the state Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Pastor Isaiah Magaji, described the late emir as a “man of peace whose primary concern was to ensure that people around him were constantly happy,” regretted that, “this year’s pilgrimage has witnessed so much disaster.” An elder statesman, Alhaji Abdulsallamu Bashir Burnu who was also at the palace to pay condolences to the family, called on the state government to immortalise the emir as a mark of appreciation for his great works toward peace in the state and urged the family to build on his legacies.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Nigeria (NAN) reported. The confirmation was given by Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar, Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), on Monday, at a news conference in Makkah. No fewer than 717 pilgrims died and 805 others injured in the stampede when the pilgrims trooped to perform the ritual of the

symbolic stoning of the devil. Mukhtar said 61 other Nigerian pilgrims were injured during the incident. He said 42 of the deceased pilgrims were transported to Saudi Arabia by state Pilgrims’ Welfare Agencies, while 12 came through Private Tour Operators. He said the deceased

were from Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Cross Rivers, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto, Yobe, Taraba, and Zamfara. The chairman also said that out of the injured 61 pilgrims, 16 were transported by Private Tour Operators and the remaining 45 by state Pilgrims’ Welfare Agencies. He said the commission

Turaki mourns Hajia Bilkisu Yusuf was still investigating to ascertain the number and condition of some pilgrims who have gone missing after the incident. Mukhtar said the commission had set up three committees to condole with the families of the deceased, arrange befitting burial for the deceased and to collate information from eye witnesses.

Buhari orders NAHCON, embassy to account for all Nigerian pilgrims PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the National Hajj Commission and the Nigerian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to account for all Nigerian pilgrims in the aftermath of the last Thursday’s disaster at Mina, Saudi Arabia. The presidential directive follows conflicting reports on the number of Nigerians who died or suffered injuries in the catastrophe, which claimed over 700 lives. President Buhari, according to a statement on Monday, was very concerned that days after the unfortunate incident, some Nigerian families are still grappling with uncertainty over the fate of their relatives who travelled to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj. The president, according to the statement, expects the National Hajj Commission to work with the various state pilgrim boards, Islamic organisations and private travel agencies involved in hajj operations to provide a verifiable report on the status of every Nigerian pilgrim in Saudi Arabia. President Buhari has also directed the Hajj Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the

Nigerian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to give all necessary assistance to Nigerians still receiving treatment for injuries suffered in Mina.

He prayed that Almighty Allah would receive the souls of the dead, comfort bereaved families, heal the injured and bring all sur-

We lost no pilgrim —Lagos board ChukwumaOkparaocha-Lagos

THE Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has said that no casualty was recorded among the pilgrims from the state in the stampede that occurred in Mina, Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of people died in the stampede on the way to Jamarat to stone the devil. The 2015 Amir-ul- Hajj for the state, Dr AbdulHakeem

AbdulLateef, said no single pilgrim from the state was missing when a head count was done at all the tents sheltering the over three thousand pilgrims from the state, in Mina, Saudi Arabia. According to him, “It was said by Saudi Authorities that the Nigerians that were involved are from the northern part of the country. However, Iran, Pakistan and other Arab countries

NIGER State Accountant General, Alhaji Shehu Kontagora, is among those that died in Mecca last week while performing this year’s hajj. Impeccable source close to the Government House in Minna, the state capital, said the remains of the late Kontagora was found in one of the morgues in the holy land. It was also suspected that the deputy Amiru Hajj,

have the major casualties.” While lamenting the loss of lives at Jamarat, Abdullateef prayed that Allah would grant the dead Aljana firdous as well as grant the families of the victims the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. The airlifting of the pilgrims from the state back home would commence on October 1 and end on October 6.

Appeal Court president mourns loss of 2 justices to stampede Lagos Appeal Court adjourns all cases Ayomide Owonibi - Odekanyin

PRESIDENT of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, has expressed shock on the death of two justices of the court in the hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia. This is contained in a statement signed by Mrs Sa’adatu Musa, Media and Publicity Officer, Court of Appeal and made available to newsmen on Monday in

Abuja. The statement listed the dead justices as Abubakar Jega and M.H. Alkali of Abuja and Ilorin divisions of the court respectively. It said that the president described their sudden passage as “huge losses not only to the judiciary but to the entire country.” Bulkachuwa said the two late justices had never been found wanting in the discharge of their responsibili-

Niger Accountant General among the dead in Mecca disaster Adelowo Oladipo - Minna

viving Nigerian pilgrims safely home, the statement, signed by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, concluded.

Abubakar Isa, was also among the deceased. Isa was a private legal practitioner in one of the legal firms in Minna as at the time he travelled to Mecca. Nigerian Tribune further gathered that the sad news of the death of the two indigenes of the state was received from Mecca on Sunday afternoon. It was also gathered that an unnamed staff of the Ministry of Finance in the state also lost his life during the stampede.

The Fidau for the repose of the departed was held for Abubakar Isa in Bida town on Monday with members of his family, friends and relations in attendance. Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary to the Niger State Governor, Dr Ibrahim Booba, has confirmed the story. He, however, described the incident as an act of God and appealed to their relations to take the matter as a necessary end that will come when it will come.

ties, adding that they were highly principled on the bench. “Justice Zainab on behalf of the justices and the entire staff of the Court of Appeal prayed Almighty Allah to grant the souls of the departed jurists Aljannah Firdausi. “She also prayed that God should grant their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses,” the statement said. Meanwhile, justices of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, yesterday held a minute silence in honour of their colleagues that died in the stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia. Justice Abubakar Abdulkadir Jega and Justice Musa Hassan Alkali, were among the pilgrims that lost their lives in the stampede during the symbolic hajj ritual of stoning the devil at the Jamarat Bridge outside Makkah, in Saudi Arabia. While Jega was the presiding justice of the Abuja Division, Justice Alkali was of the Ilorin Division.

CHAIRMAN of the Presidential Standing Committee on Continuing Dialogue for Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North and former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, has expressed sadness over the death of veteran female journalist and activist, Hajia Bilkisu Yusuf. In a condolence message in Abuja on Saturday, the former minister said he received the news of the death of Bilkisu with shock. He recalled that Hajia Bilkisu was a very active member of the Presidential Ad-Hoc Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North set up by the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan. According to Turaki, late Hajia Bilkisu, who was one of the casualties of the recent stampede in Saudi Arabia during the 2015 hajj, made many useful contributions to the successful completion of the Dialogue Committee.

Man bags 3-week community service for stealing rams during Sallah AN Ibadan Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting at Iyaganku on Monday sentenced a scavenger, Idowu Ogundiwin, to three weeks community service for stealing three rams valued at N125,000 on Sallah day. The Chief Magistrate, Mr A. A. Adebisi, who handed down the verdict, said the punishment should be served in the community where he committed the offence. “The community service is to be executed at the court premises from 9:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. daily.’’ Adebisi said the accused was convicted for stealing three rams after pleading guilty to all the three-counts. “He is hereby sentenced to three-week of community service, five days on each count from 9:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. daily and the accused should be coming from the prison everyday,” he ruled. He said the accused should be supervised by prison officials while serving the punishment. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Ogundiwin (31), of No. 10, Ajeigbe St., Ringroad, Ibadan, was arraigned on a three-count charge of stealing, conspiracy and stealing. He pleaded guilty to all the charges.

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Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Human activities harmful to environmental health —Professor Oyediran By Tunde Ogunesan THE Chairman, Board of Trustees, Nigeria Network for Awareness and Action for Environmental Health (NINAAFEH), Professor A.B.O.O. Oyediran, has warned that poorly built or maintained buildings, vehicles and roads, as well as poorly lit houses and roads are inimical to safe healthy environment. Professor Oyediran made this disclosure, on Monday, while delivering a paper titled “Environment and health” in a programme to mark this year’s World Environmental Day, organised by the department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, University of Ibadan, NINAAFEH and Zonta Club of Ibadan, held at Zonta House, Jericho, Ibadan. Oyediran, a former vice chancellor, University of Ibadan, noted that total environment consists of three major components - physical, biological and social, adding that humans have a reciprocal dynamic relationship with the environment. “The environment has a profound effect on them, and they in turn make varying alterations to the environment to meet their needs and desires.” He added that “the physical environment also includes the building in which human beings live and carry out their various activities, the vehicles in which they are transported and the roads which they ply. All these promote health if they are well built or constructed. On the other hand, poorly built or maintained buildings, vehicles and roads, as well as poorly lit houses and roads are inimical to health. “Human beings often alter the physical environment on a small or large scale. The effects or consequences may be anticipated or unexpected, desirable or deleterious, and beneficial or injurious to health. In addition, human activities have led to global warming with dire consequences,” he said. Corroborating him, Professor Sridhar Mynepalli from Department of Environmental Health, University of Ibadan, said an unhealthy environment increases mortality rate in Nigeria especially among children. He noted that girls are the most vulnerable saying, according to 2008 WHO commission led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, “a girl born in some countries could expect to live more than 80 years, but in others

just 45 years.” Sridhar said children’s health and safety and the protection of their environment is a highly important topic to all people in the world, saying International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH), who mooted the idea of World Environmental Health Day wants to highlight this and focus on how to reduce exposure from the surrounding environment by announcing this year’s theme of World Environmental Health Day. He added that children are one of the most vulnerable sections of our society compared with adults as children have low resistance to infection, poor diet and nutrition; chemical contaminations, air pollution from traffic as well as air pollution in general and other allied environmental hazards. Also speaking at the oc-

casion, President of Zonta Club in Ibadan, Professor Olufunke Egunjobi, who was represented by the vice president, Zonta International Club, Ibadan, Dr (Mrs) Funke Olatunbosun, said without a clean and healthy environment, human beings cannot survive, adding that environmental components, comprising air, water and others are created by God to support human existence. She maintained that the current climate change and global warming is traceable to man’s mismanagement of the environment when Ozone depleting substances created by man are depleting the ozone layer which protects the earth planet from the direct heat from the Sun. Other speakers were Dr Lola Adekunle who spoke on “ stakeholders in women and children’s health;” Pro-

fessor Paul A. Oluwande spoke on “Water and sanitation in the life of women and children;” Dr Elizabeth Oloruntoba on “Hygiene and the growing child;” Professor Modupe Onadeko, a retired professor and consultant from Reproductive & Family health, Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan on “women in the changing environment;” Dr O. Fawole on”Environment in health and disease; emerging concerns” and a student, Oyinkansola Fashanu of Ibadan International School, Ibadan, who spoke on “roles and responsibility of schools in sustaining environment and child health.” The audience was made up mostly of girls from some secondary schools in Ibadan. Some of the schools that

were represented at yesterday’s event include; St Theresa’s College; Ibadan International School; The International School, UI, Ibadan; Tobi International School, Jericho; All Saints College; St Anne’s College and St Louis Grammar School, Mokola, Ibadan. In her paper, Dr Adekunle urged the society to renege from worshipping money, thus creating problem for the larger society. In her presentation, which included video presentation on female genital mutilation, Professor Onadeko called on the audience, especially, the female students to stand up against female genital mutilation in future. She also called on members of Oyo State House of Assembly to pass a law banning genital mutilation in the state, saying “Oyo State has the highest rate of the menace in Nigeria.”

Fayemi, Canadian minister, others for Friends of Africa conference THE immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and International Trade, Michael Chan, have been named main speakers at the 2015 Friends of Africa Conference holding in Ontario, Canada on October 3rd. The focus of this year’s conference is: “The New Middle Class: Bridging Economic Disparities.” Fayemi’s paper will focus on the developmental initiatives of Nigeria’s newly elected government and how the middle class and growing businesses can unlock new business opportunities in Nigeria and the West Africa sub-region. According to the organisers, CASA Foundation, other speakers at the oneday economic development conference are Director, Canada Southern Africa Chamber of Business, Wayne Floreani; Board Director, Ontario Economic Development Council, Brian Love; and Mrs Olutoyin Oyelade, Managing Partner, Invcap Nigeria and President, ASA Foundation.

Adeboye’s wife, Ekiti Speaker, SSG, Raji-Rasaki bag RCCG awards From left, Professor P. A. Oluwande; Professor A. B. O. O. Oyediran; Dr Funke Olatunbosun; Mrs Adaora Ayoade and Professor Mynepalli Sridhar, during the 2015 World Environmental Day organised by the Department of Environmental Health Science, Faculty of Public Health, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Network for Awareness and Action for Environmental Health (NINAAFEH) and Zonta Club of Ibadan, held at Zonta House, Jericho, Ibadan, on Monday. PHOTO: YEMI FUNSO-OKE

Rivers guber: Army lied, INEC tells tribunal Insists election was successful, violence free Sunday Ejike - Abuja

HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday, accused the Nigerian Army of lying on oath before the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja. The electoral umpire alleged that the Army authorities, in a bid to discredit the outcome of the April 11, 2015 governorship election it conducted in Rivers State, sent soldiers that gave false evidence before the threemember panel of the tribunal, headed by Justice Ambrosa Suleiman. Soldiers, had in their separate testimonies before the tribunal, insisted that the governorship election in

Rivers State was marred by widespread violence. However, at the resumed hearing on the petition that was lodged by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate in the state, Dr Dakuku Peterside, INEC, produced eight witnesses that debunked the evidence by the Nigerian Army. The witnesses, called by INEC were all Presiding Officers that conducted the governorship election, told the tribunal that the election was peaceful, successful and devoid of any form of violence. It will be recalled that one of INEC’s witnesses, Mr Ebikoru Tebekaemi, the electoral officer that superintended over the governorship election at Obiakpo

Local Government Area in Rivers State, told the tribunal that, contrary to the evidence of witnesses that were produced by the APC and its gubernatorial candidate in the state, there was no incident of ballot snatching or multiple thumb printing of ballot papers at Obiakpo. Asked by counsel to the petitioners, Chief Akinolu Olujimi (SAN) if he was aware that there was a widespread rigging and hijacking of electoral materials by armed thugs, the witness said he was not aware that such incident occurred and insisted that election was duly conducted in 15 out of 17 wards in the local government area. Under cross examination by counsel to the petition-

ers, the witness, said he was not also aware that people were seen at a football pitch thumb printing ballot papers in favour of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It will also be recalled that the petitioners (APC and its governorship candidate) have closed their case after they called a total of 58 witnesses that testified that the election was marred by violence and widespread irregularities. APC and its governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside are challenging Wike’s election as Rivers State governor in the April 11, 2015 governorship election conducted by INEC. Further hearing of the petition continues today before the tribunal.

THE Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Kola Oluwawole; the wife of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Folu Adeboye, and other prominent citizens of Ekiti State, were among dignitaries honoured with the Christ-like Awards at the weekend. According to a statement by the Speaker’s Special Assistant (Media), Stephen Gbadamosi, the awards, presented at the one year anniversary of the RCCG, Ekiti Province 4, Mega Cathedral, was in recognition of the recipients’ contribution to the development of the church and humanity as a whole. Ekiti Speaker, Oluwawole, who was accompanied to the event by his wife, Pastor Mojirola, is a senior pastor of the RCCG and he reportedly bagged the award as a staunch supporter of the church and a philanthropic politician, who is the first Speaker to be produced by the RCCG in the state.

news

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Oyo workers to get 4 months salary arrears before Friday —NLC

hairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Oyo State, Waheed Oloyede, has said the state government will clear the four months arrears of salaries owed workers, before Friday. Olojede told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan, on Monday, that the issue of the arrears of salary was almost becoming a thing of the past. He explained that on receipt of N26.6 billon bailout funds by the state government from the Federal Government, the union held a meeting with the government on September 21. The NLC chairman said labour and government resolved that the amount should be used to clear the May, June July and August outstanding salary arrears of workers. Olojede said that government started the payment of

PDP ’ll win Kogi, Bayelsa guber elections —BoT secretary Ademola Adegbite - Lafia Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin, on Monday, assured PDP followers that the party would win convincingly in the upcoming Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections, slated for 22 November and 5 December, respectively. He gave this assurance in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, while speaking with newmen. “I want to tell you and the whole world that PDP government since its inception in Nigeria, has done a lot in fighting poverty, hunger, unemployment as well as youth and women restiveness, and promoting peace in the country. “Despite the defeat our great party PDP suffered during the March 28 presidential and national assembly elections by losing the presidential seat to APC, the PDP would bounce back and would win all positions at future elections in the country. “We have gone to Kogi and Bayelsa in respect of their governorship elections, and with all indications and what we have seen on ground, PDP will win Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial elections with clear margin,” he assured.

May salary on September 22 while that of June was paid on September 23, saying that majority of workers had collected May and June salaries. He said the Eid el-Kabir holiday affected the payment, and assured that the June salary would be paid to those who did not collect theirs before the festive period. Olojede said that for workers who had collected

their salary up to June, the union was working with the office of the AccountantGeneral, for the payment of July salary on Monday, adding that August salary would be paid on Tuesday. “I am assuring the workers that their arrears would be paid before the end of this week based on the agreement of the union with the state government which has started materialising.

“The union decided that the salary be paid on a monthly basis in quick succession so as to guide against any irregularities. “If it was paid at once, it would bring about some irregularities in the payment by way of short payment and can also be prone to fraud,’’ Olojede said. The NLC chairman said that the workers who complained of not receiving bank

alert, should check with their respective banks, noting that the delay in the alert might be from the banks. Olojede said the union had advised the Skye Bank, through which the state government was making the payment of the salaries, to ensure uniform distribution of the money to other workers’ banks, so as to address the complaints of the workers.

President, Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr Joe-Okei Odumakin; Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; Principal, Ojodu Junior Grammar School, Lagos, Mrs Adebola Kolawole and the president, Young Christian Women Association, Lagos, Lady Chikwue Ochiagha, at a sensitisation meeting on the implementation of the guideline on gender-based violence and young persons in Nigeria, in Lagos, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN.

AIGP warns police about extortion of money Ademola Adegbite - Lafia POLICE authorities, on Monday, warned their officers who derive pleasure in extorting money to perform lawful duties, to desist from such act, saying whoever was caught, would face severe penalty, no matter the rank of such erring officer. This warning was handed down by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIGP) in charge of Zone 4, Mr Yahaya Garba, while addressing police officers, during his familiarisation tour to Nasarawa State. The police boss, who announced that implementation of all pending promotions of officers would soon commence, further warned that the new police hierarchy had reached a compromise to flush out bad eggs among its officers, no matter their status. He, therefore, challenged them to be worthy ambassadors of the institution anywhere they found themselves, saying the police authorities was aware of their poor monthly salaries, adding it was the reason the authorities were making frantic efforts to improve police welfare. According to him, “the

management prioritises your welfare. The salary is poor and because of that, management is working seriously to ensure that the salary is increased to make it possible for you to take care of your wives, children, brothers, sisters and aged ones. If salary is improved,

it will make life more bearable for all of you.” The AIGP then directed all the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) to establish Police Community Relation Committee (PCRC) in their respective domains, saying the importance of the committee could not be overempha-

sised, adding that its members would help in fighting crime and criminality. Earlier, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Sani Muhammed told the AIGP that the PCRC had played a great role in combating crime, particularly at the rural communities.

Ajimobi, Adeboye, Ojo-Lanre others bag international tourism Awards OYO State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye and the Kenya Airways in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, among others, bagged International Tourism Awards. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Tourism Day was marked worldwide on September 27. The recipients bagged the awards at the World Tourism Day celebration organised by the Department of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, the University of Ibadan (UI) and the Young Professional Programme of Africa Travel

Association (ATA). Ajimobi bagged Tourism Personality of the Year; Adeboye was awarded Religion and Ecotourism Personality of the Year, while Kenya Airways bagged the Best African Tourism Airline of the Year. Other awardees were the University of Ibadan Vice Chancellor, Professor Isaac Adewole, the Nigerian Tribune Tourism Editor, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre, President, Nigeria Guild of Tourism Editors, Alhaji Haruna Tanko, the University of Ibadan Conservator-General of Parks, Dr Olajumoke Morenikeji. Others were Professor Ibukunoluwa Ayodele of UI, Mr Isamat Adebayo,

Managing Director, Basco Nigeria Limited, Mr Philip Areo, the Managing Director, UI Hotels, Mr Yinka Ayefele, Tungba Gospel Musician. Nigeria Resident Officer, ATAYPP, Mr Taiwo Oguntoye and his twin brother told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the recipients had been carefully selected for the awards based on merit and contributions to tourism development. The Director, UI Zoological Gardens, Morenikeji called on government to invest in tourism, which she said, would help to a greater extent in job creation and foreign exchange earnings.

LASU advises male staff to proceed on paternity leave THE Lagos State University (LASU, on Monday, advised its male staff members to proceed on paternity leave approved for Lagos State Public Service workers. The advice was contained in the university’s official bulletin, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. It noted that while deserving female members of staff of the institution had been proceeding on maternity leave, their male counterparts were yet to enjoy same. “The university authority hereby reminds members of staff (male) of the existing Lagos State Maternity and Paternity Leave approved for employees in the state’s civil service. “It will be recalled that the university authority at its meeting in September 8, 2014, considered and approved the implementation of the new Lagos State maternity and paternity leave for officials in the state’s public service,’’ it said. According to the bulletin, the male members of staff who wish to make official request for paternity leave are to do so on the first day of delivery of the baby.

Edo Assembly adopts 60-day business calendar THE Edo Assembly, on Monday, adopted a business calendar of 60 days for the first session, second quarter of the sixth assembly. Moving the motion for the adoption of the business calendar, the Majority Leader, Foly Ogedengbe, said the House would sit for 60 days in the second quarter. Ogedengbe said the House would sit for three days in September, 20 days in October, 21 days in November and 16 days in December. According to him, the House sat for a total number of 61 days in the first quarter which started in June and ended in August. “If we add the first quarter 61 days calendar to the 60 days business calendar for the second quarter, the house would have sat for a total of 121 days.” The Speaker, Victor Edoror, during the plenary, commiserated with the deputy governor, Pius Odubu, over the death of his mother.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Pope ends US visit with vow to ‘punish’ sex abusers

foreig naffairs

08116954632 with seyi gesinde foreignn ewseditor@gmail.com

AtUN,Obamacallsforglobaldiplomaticefforttoresolveconflicts

nited States President, Barack Obama called on the world on Monday to shun war and conflict and instead engage in new diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts across the globe. Obama told the United Nations General Assembly, “If we cannot work together cooperatively, we will all suffer the consequences. We will all be stronger when we work together.” Yet he also defended U.S. military strength and the U.S. campaign against Islamic State insurgents in the Middle East, saying the Islamic State group would never have a “safe haven.” He criticised Russia for its annexation a year ago of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and involvement in support of proRussian separatists in eastern Ukraine. He said Western economic sanctions against Moscow were necessary because no country could overlook the Crimean takeover “with impunity.”

Obama said there were “no simple answers” for ending four years of fighting in Syria, but said diplomacy must be used to “forge an agreement (for the Syrian people) to live together peacefully.” He denounced President Bashar al-Assad as someone “who drops barrel bombs on his people.” Obama said after so

much bloodshed and carnage, Syria cannot to return to pre-war status quo. He called for a transition away from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “Catastrophes like in Syria do not take place in countries where there is “genuine democracy,” Obama added. Earlier, U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon in-

sisted on a political solution to the crisis in Syria, which has been going on for more than five years, killed more than 250,000 people and is helping to feed the migrant crisis currently affecting Europe. Ban said five countries “hold the key” to a political solution in Syria: Russia, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran.

United States President Barack Obama addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. PHOTO: AP

Taiwan evacuates thousands as ‘super typhoon’ nears Taiwan has evacuated thousands of residents and tourists as “super typhoon” Dujuan headed towards the island, gathering strength on its approach to the east coast.

Torrential rains and high winds are forecast across Taiwan from Monday afternoon, with landfall predicted around 15:00 GMT. Almost 3,000 people, most of them tourists, were

People holding umbrellas in heavy rain as Typhoon Soudelor approaches. PHOTO: ABC

Pope Francis has headed back to Rome, wrapping up a visit to the US where he met victims of abuse by Catholic priests, visited a prison, and praised the family as a “factory of hope” during an open-air mass on the final day of his trip. He ended his trip late on Sunday in Philadelphia, where he told a group of victims of child sexual abuse that “God weeps” for their suffering. “I promise that all those responsible for the sexual abuse of children will be punished,” Francis told a gathering of bishops, after meeting for about 30 minutes with three women and two men who were sexually abused by clergy members. Saying he felt “deep shame” about the acts, Francis, 78, told the audience that “these crimes can no longer be kept secret”. The Catholic Church has been tarnished in recent years by worldwide revelations about paedophile priests and by allegations that its hierarchy failed to punish offenders and covered up their crimes for decades.

evacuated on Sunday from Taiwan’s Green Island and Orchid Island - popular with visitors. About 4,000 more were moved on Monday in advance of the storm. Eric Chu, New Taipei’s mayor, said the people were from vulnerable areas, including the hot spring town of Wulai, just outside Taipei. “In areas that could become isolated during the typhoon, sufficient rescue and communications equipment will be deployed in advance. We hope residents can cooperate with us,” he

said. Huge waves were already striking the northeastern coast by midday and fishing boats were called back to shore. Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan, reporting from Taipei, said strong winds have been hitting the capital city but there was only “little rain” as of 06:00 GMT. She said people celebrating an annual festival have been rushing back home before the typhoon. Operation of ports and train stations will also be halted in the afternoon.

of the theories we have been hearing for years and years, that has massive implications both for the potential for life on that planet and sustainability of humans.” NASA has found evidence of water on Mars in the past. In March, NASA said there was once more water on

These dark, narrow, 100-meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars are inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water. Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona (courtesy image)

NASA: Strong evidence of liquid water on Mars NASA scientists have found strong evidence of salt water streams on Mars, at least during the red planet’s summer, the space agency announced on Monday. The lines of “hydrated” salt minerals found would require water for their creation, and where there’s

liquid water, there could be life, even if it’s in microbial form. “Today, we are revolutionising our understanding of this planet,” Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters, said during a news conference releasing the findings.

Amid speculation before the announcement, Doug McCuistion, the former head of NASA’s Mars programme, told the Boston Herald, “If they are announcing that they have found easily accessible, freely flowing liquid water under the surface, which is one

otherNEWS

Blood Moon seen around the world

The perigee full moon, or supermoon, appears read during a total lunar eclipse over Wiesbaden, Germany. Photo; Fredik Von Erichsen/EPA

A rare supermoon graced the skies as sky-watchers around the world were treated to a spectacular work of nature as two astronomical phenomena converged: the supermoon and a total lunar eclipse, which takes

place when the earth moves in between the moon and the sun. The total supermoon lunar eclipse, also known as a “Blood Moon”, appears bigger and brighter than usual as it reaches the point in its orbit that

is closest to Earth. It has been more than 30 years since a supermoon combined with a lunar eclipse, according to NASA. The next total lunar eclipse will not be until 2018. The next super-

moon-lunar eclipse combination will not happen until 2033. The blood moon was visible from North and South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of West Asia and the eastern Pacific.

Spain’s Catalan separatists claim victory in local parliamentary polls Separatists in northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region claimed victory on Sunday in local parliamentary polls that could push the region toward a face-off with the central government over independence. Nationalist regional president Artur Mas spoke to ju-

bilant supporters late Sunday in Barcelona. “We have won,” he told crowds of flag-waving independence backers. He spoke with more than 80 percent of the vote already tallied. A key exit poll shows Mas’s pro-independence alliance “Together for Yes”

falling about five votes short of an absolute majority in the 135-member parliament needed to push toward their goal of independence by 2017. But a smaller leftist secession party known as CUP was shown likely to win another 11 to 13 seats. Ahead of the vote, the two

parties said such a result would allow them to unilaterally declare independence within 18 months. Under that plan, Catalan authorities envision approving their own constitution, and eventually creating a Catalan central bank and judiciary.

Spain’s national government in Madrid had not offered official comment on the outcome by late Sunday. But it has blocked a series of earlier Catalan independence initiatives, including a 2006 independence declaration that the Spanish Su-

preme Court ruled unconstitutional. The central government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said it will use all legal means to prevent secession, a move that the European Union has warned could result in ejection from the 28-nation trade bloc.

news Govs hail removal of Nigeria from polio-endemic list 43

Clement Idoko - Abuja

HAIRMAN of the Nigeria Governors Forum, the Zamfara State governor, Honourable Abdulziz Abubakar Yari has received with delight the news of delisting of Nigeria from polio endemic countries by the World Health Organization (WHO). The chairman acknowledged the contribution of all stakeholders at the state and local government levels that played key roles in actualising the historic feat. He added further that every parent that made their children available for polio vaccination in the past years should be proud of this achievement. A statement by Yari, on Monday, in Abuja, said the action of the parents would guarantee a polio-free Nigeria for the unborn generation. Governor Yari congratulated his governor colleagues and their depu-

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

ties, acknowledging their invaluable role at ensuring efforts regarding polio in their states got the desired political leverage. He said they demonstrated leadership by example by going out to supervise the supplemental polio campaigns, directing

polio meetings and also ensuring availability of the most needed counterpart funding. The governor recalled the decision of the Forum in 2012, that made deputy governors took charge of the day-to-day running of the polio programme in

their respective states, and thereafter reported back to their governors. He maintained that the Forum remained even more committed to its earlier decisions and cautioned his colleagues and their deputies against accepting any mediocre per-

formance and outcomes from the programmes, noting that otherwise Nigeria could lose its newly acquired global status on polio. He also acknowledged and appreciated the cooperation and support from the traditional and reli-

Nigerian Tribune

gious institutions, health workers, volunteers, international development partners and the Federal Government, and called for continued commitment and concerted efforts to get Nigeria certified polio-free in another 24 months from now.

NDLEA declares 2 officers wanted, stops their salaries Shola Adekola - Lagos THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has ordered the stoppage of salary of two officers said to have absconded from duty since August, 2015. The officers, Superinten-

dent of Narcotics (SN) Daniel Goska and Chief Narcotic Agent (CNA) Ndubuisi Ughor had been declared wanted following their sudden disappearance, after a drug suspect was nabbed with 74.4 kilogrammes of narcotics, at the Akanu Ib-

iam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu. Chairman/Chief Executive of the agency, Ahmadu Giade said that the agency believed in the rule of law, adding that it would treat anybody indicted under the law equally.

“The agency has taken necessary steps by stopping the salaries of the officers and declaring them wanted. Winning the war against illicit drugs demands that while dislodging drug cartels; we must ensure that members of

Siasia submits form, vows to transform Bayelsa By Victor Ogunyinka THE 35-year-old governorship aspirant in Bayelsa State, Moses Siasia has submitted his nomination form as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Movement

(PDM), with a pledge to “liberate the state from the shackles of oppression, debt and ineptitude leadership.” Siasia stated this in Abuja after submitting his expression of interest and nomination form to the

leadership of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and was received by the party’s National Secretary Dr Ifeanyi Igwe. Siasia reiterated his unwavering commitment to pursue the implementation

of policies that would create the enabling environment for employment generation, wealth creation, as well as giving impetus to education, health care delivery, urban renewal, agriculture and industrial development.

staff comply with best practice at all times. “Efforts are ongoing to charge the officers in line with the rules of engagement. The agency is moving forward and will continue to purge itself of undesirable persons who are deficient in discipline and integrity,” Giade stated. He added that no act of indiscipline and misconduct would go unpunished, stressing that the agency had made remarkable progress both in drug control, as well as respect for the rule of law, adding that it would resist any attempt to reverse the wheel of success.

fortherecord Herdsmen from Hell By Femi Fani-Kayode “Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better and the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph,” His Royal Majesty Haile Selassie 1, Emperor of Ethiopia. If there was ever a time to remember the words of Haile Selassie and speak out against evil this is it. With the abduction of the elder statesman and June 12th struggle hero, Chief Olu Falae, from his home by a group of Fulani herdsmen in south western Nigeria it is time for us to seriously consider the expulsion of all Fulani herdsmen from the southern part of our country. We thank God and commend the efforts of the Inspector-General of the Nigerian police that Chief Falae was returned home safely after a harrowing three days. Given his status in Yoruba land, had this not been so, there would have been cataclysmic consequences for the unity of our country. It is because we wish to avoid such a scenario that it is important that we get these marauders and vandals out of our territory as quickly as possible. This is especially so given the fact that, by Falae’s testimony, it is clear that the Fulani herdsmen that abducted him were working hand in hand with Boko Haram. These herdsmen have become the pests of our nation. They are like the east African tsetse fly: wherever they go they suck the life blood out of their hosts and, like the locust, they destroy everything in their path. They are like leeches: they indulge in a parasitic mode of nutrition and they suck the blood of the carcass until their victim is left for dead. Like the Arab Janjaweed, they are only known for the most hideous of things. This includes terror, intimidation, theft, murder,

rape, abduction, mutilation, the violation of the rights of others, the destruction of the land and crops of farmers and the destruction of property. Anyone that doubts this should ask the people of the north central zone what they have been suffering in the hands of these vagabonds for the last 50 years. This is especially so in Plateau, Benue, Niger, Kwara, Nassarawa, Taraba and Adamawa states. Yet, up until 20 years ago this was essentially a northern problem and it did not affect the south. Sadly that has changed. It has now become a national plague that knows no boundaries and whose poison threatens to consume us all. In the last few years the Fulani herdsmen have attacked, ravaged and pillaged many rural communities south of the River Niger. They have slaughtered and raped thousands of innocent people in the south-south, the south-east and the south-western zones of our country. We recall how, after a violent clash between them and some Yoruba farmers in Oyo State in 2000, General Buhari (as he then was) led a strong delegation of northern leaders to see the late Governor of Oyo State, Governor Lam Adeshina. On arrival Buhari put the following question to him: “why are YOUR people killing MY people?” Governor Adeshina was shocked with disbelief and he responded by telling Buhari that he was rather surprised that a former Head of State would refer to one ethnic group as “his’’ people whilst referring to another as someone elses’. He said that this was especially so given the fact that people were killed on both sides of the divide in what was a sad and unfortunate conflict. The abduction of Falae may well have brought things to a head because today virtually every self-respecting Yoruba man is calling for strong resistance to these

cattle-rearers whose activities have led to nothing but blood, tears and carnage. Yet there is an even more sinister dimension to this problem than most people care to admit. That dimension is best illustrated by the following question. Can there be any truth in the assertion that the Fulani herdsmen are nothing less than the vanguard and covert armed wing of the Fulani ruling class which has managed to infiltrate the south under the ingenious guise of selling cows? Are they sleeper cells of a much bigger army and a much wider cause? Are they, as Falae has suggested, working hand in hand with Boko Haram? If a major conflict were to arise would those sleeper cells be activated and would they commence the wholesale slaughter of the indigenous population in their host states? As painful as it may appear these are questions that we must ask. The fact that the herdsmen demanded for a N100 million ransom from Falae speaks volumes. The question is this: what do mere cattle-rearers want with N100 million? Even more instructive is the fact that when they were offered N2 million and they responded by saying that that amount would not be enough. Given all these, it is clear to me that we must begin to look at the wider picture. We must accept the ugly reality that there may be more to all this than meets the eye. This is especially so given the fact that up until the time of writing this piece, not one of Falae’s captors has been apprehended by the police and they seem to have vanished into thin air. One wonders what transpired. Were they granted amnesty or are they ghosts? Can there be any truth in the suggestion that there was some kind of official collusion in the abduction? Was it an attempt to put Falae, and by extension the Yoruba, in their place for vigorously supporting the idea of a national conference? Is it an attempt to in-

timidate those from the south west? Afenifere, the leading socio-cultural group of the south west of which Falae is a leading member, and the Yoruba people generally have a way of rising to the occasion when they are threatened, cheated or persecuted. History proves that. Worthy of note are the words of Dr Frederick Fasehun and Otunba Gani Adams, both leaders of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in this matter. Only the unwise would ignore their counsel. The question is this: who is pulling the strings from behind the scene and who is attempting to test our resolve and test the waters? Whatever the answer to these questions is, one thing remains clear. The days of killing people with impunity and stripping them of their lands and possessions are long over. It is most unwise for the Fulani herdsmen to continue to test the resolve of the people. Permit me to conclude this intervention with an interesting and relevant contribution from the famous British historian, writer and educationalist Dr T.R. Batten. He wrote: “The Fulani were at their most influential in Gobir. Then a dispute broke out between their Imam, Usman Dan Fodiyo and Sarkin Gobir Yunfa. The Fulani rallied behind their leader who encouraged them to defy their Hausa Chief. He began a jihad and fighting broke out. Thus the Fulani seized the country by force against the will of those who lived there. The enmity had nothing to do with religion for among those who fought (against the Fulani) were many Muslims. It was about the Fulani’s wish to seize power from the Hausas.” It follows that the herdsman and those that they represent conquer by infiltration, assimilation and guile. Those that doubt this should find out what became of the ancient Hausa kingdoms. May God deliver us from the vagabonds and vagrants in our midst.

communitynews

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Onire calls for upgrade of facilities in Ire-Ekiti Sam Nwaoko - Ado-Ekiti The Onire of Ire-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Adeleke Bobade, has called on the state governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, to look in the direction of Ire as he carries out infrastructural development in the state. Oba Bobade made the call while speaking at a reception for the 70th birthday celebration of a community leader in the town and Atunluse of Ire-Ekiti, Chief Oluwafemi Ajayi, at the Juliana Ajayi Memorial Public Library in the community. He lauded the governor for his forthrightness and hard work and urged him to remember the plight of the people of Ire, especially the deplorable Ilupeju-Ire Road and other roads in the community. The monarch congratulated the celebrant, describing him as a hard-working man with uncommon patriotic

zeal. Chief Ajayi, in his speech, thanked God for making him to celebrate 70 years and charged the people of the community to “join in the crusade to dismantle backwardness in our community.” While charging wellto-do indigenes of Ire to help in bringing further development to the town, Chief Ajayi lamented that “our retired senior citizens, professors and so on cannot live in Ire-Ekiti because of the near-total neglect of the town in terms of motorable roads, potable water, electricity and other social services.” Speaking on the public library he built 10 years ago and donated to the community, he said past governments had “neglected the expansion of public libraries which is often referred to as repository of human knowledge that prevents ignorance,” and advised that “local and state governments should encourage and support government/private par-

BVN: Group calls for sensitisation in rural communities A non-government organisation, Positive Relations Foundation (PRF), has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks, to take the Bank Verification Number (BVN) sensitisation drive to rural communities. The National Coordinator of PRF, Mr Obinna Nwaka, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, on Sunday. NAN recalls that the CBN, in a statement recently, said 32 million active bank account holders were yet to be captured in the ongoing BVN exercise as of September. Nwaka said the call for improved awareness became necessary, given the low level of awareness of the BVN registration in rural communities. He said many Nigerians, who resided in the rural areas, were not aware of the exercise and as such, were yet to be captured and might not be registered before the October deadline.

He said that in a bid to ensure that Nigerians keyed into the programme, PRF had been involved in creating awareness on the need for Nigerians to register. On the fight against corruption, Nwaka said it was important to also sensitise Nigerians on the implications of getting involved in corrupt practices. He said many Nigerians were unaware of the penalties for involvement in corrupt practices. “When the bill for cyber crime was passed, many Nigerians did not know the implications of violating that law. "Many Nigerians are still not aware that the Senate has passed the bill on cyber crime," he noted. Nwaka called on Nigerian youths to desist from social vices and urged government at all levels to formulate and implement policies that would empower youths economically.

ticipation in establishing public libraries.” He thanked Oye Local Government Area for taking over the Juliana

Ajayi Public Library “by paying the staff salaries” and solicited for “more qualified librarians and supply of books for readers

and we need generators, computers, ceiling fans and water dispensers.” While also calling for more support to turn the

library into an e-library, he said Nigeria needed credible and pragmatic leadership.

The Onire of Ire-Ekiti, Oba Adeleke Bobade, (with mic), directing the cutting of the 70th birthday cake of the Atunluse of Ire-Ekiti, Chief Femi Ajayi, who is being assisted by his wife, Temitope. Photo: Sam Nwaoko.

Flood: NEMA monitors water level THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the SouthSouth Zone has said it is monitoring the water level in flood prone areas to check any adverse effect on the people and the environment. The South-South Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr Benjamin Oghenah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that flood situation in the zone had not reached an emergency level. Some state governments in the South-South zone said they had taken proactive measures to check flooding should water level increase. Oghenah said in Port Harcourt that hydrologists check the flood level in the zone three times a week. “The flood level is rising everyday but it has not reached emergency level according to the information I received from the hydrologists that check it weekly. “We got information that the flood level in Agenebode, Edo State, has affected their farmlands; we pray that it will not get to their houses as we experience rain daily in the area,” he said. The coordinator expressed worry that sand

and dirt had blocked the drainage system in some states in the zone, making it impossible for rainwater to flow. “The drains in the SouthSouth Zone need to be maintained, to save the area from flooding. “They don’t have tools to evacuate sand and waste

from the drains and that makes it needful for government to intervene to maintain it and control flood,“ he said. Oghenah said those living along flood prone areas had not relocated since water level had not risen in the area, though there were speculations to that

effect. “States in this zone are making preparations in case there is flood because rain falls everyday. “Delta State has a place for people to relocate in case there is flood. Rivers State is also preparing a place among others,” Oghenah said."

Obiano donates gunboat, water ambulances to Navy, coastal communities GOVERNOR Willie Obiano has donated a gunboat to the Nigerian Naval Outpost in Onitsha, Anambra State, to increase its response rate in the efforts to wipe out crime in the state. The governor presented the boat to Navy Capt. Dika Kwabe, the Commander of the Naval Outpost, at Okoti Odekpe in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday, Obiano also donated 15 speed boats and seven water ambulances to provide ambulatory services in coastal communities in the state. He said the gesture was aimed at opening up the affected communities most of which had been cut off from the rest of

the state by lack of access to modern water transportation system. He said the effort was also intended to facilitate movement across the water channels in the state and bring the communities closer to the people on the mainland. According to him, the newly formed marine transport scheme will foster academic excellence for school children, who had endured extreme challenges in accessing quality education in those communities. Obiano said that apart from the speed boats, the seven water ambulances would come in handy in cases of emergency. In his reaction, Kwabe lauded the governor for

donating a gunboat to the navy, saying that the vessel would assist the command better in confronting criminals, who use the water channels in the state to carry out their unlawful activities. Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Education, Professor Kate Omenugha, said the launching of the marine transport scheme would facilitate the realisation of the target of Education For All by the state government. Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Akabuike, commended Obiano for providing the water ambulances. He said primary healthcare would no longer be the same in the state.

communitynews

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Monarch advocates constitutional roles for traditional rulers olayinka olukoya-abeokuta

A call has gone to the Federal Government to give constitutional roles to traditional rulers in the country to engender good governance. Making the call was the Olu of Imasayi, Oba Gbadebo Oni, during his 25th coronation anniversary held at Imasayi in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, at a ceremony organised by the Imasayi Development Union (IDU) in his honour. The monarch maintained that such roles would enable traditional rulers to contribute their quota to national development, noting that traditional rulers were closer to people at the grassroots. He submitted further that the wealth of experience of traditional rulers could not be quantified,

hence the need for the nation’s leaders to give them roles in the development of the country. He said: “Our leaders are not ready to face the reality of the Nigerian situation. People say the words of elders are words of wisdom. You see, definite roles have to be carved out for traditional rulers right there in the constitution. “The constitution of Nigeria recognises religion, free association and constitutional rights. So, a role has to be carved out for traditional rulers. We have already written and provided information on that. Government should consider this and do the needful. “But I tell you, if they are running government and they think that traditional rulers are not needed, then we have a long way to go, in finding solu-

Gov’s wife donates food, wheelchairs, tricycles to the physically challenged adelowo oladipo-minna

WIFE of Niger State governor, Dr Amina Abubakar Bello, has distributed wheelchairs, tricycles, and food items to people with disability in the state. The governor’s wife, who gave out the items to beneficiaries at the Abdulsalami Youth Centre, said the gesture was aimed at alleviating the sufferings of people living with disability and to give them a sense of belonging. She also said it was her own way of celebrating the Eid-el- Kabir, urging nongovernment organisations (NGOs) and corporate bodies to join in alleviating the sufferings of the people with disability in the society. “I hereby call on NGOs and corporate bodies to join us in our efforts to alleviate the sufferings of brothers and sisters living with disability,” she said. Dr Abubakar Bello also assured the people that the state government would carry them along, and ensure that they acquired skills to enable them fend for themselves rather than begging for alms on the streets. She, however, thanked

the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation for collaborating with the 36 states of the federation to provide support and succour for people with disability. The governor’s wife distributed 32 tricycles, 40 wheelchairs, 10 walking support, two crutches, 80 bags of rice and 40 cartons of vegetable oil.

tions to our problems.” Earlier in her address, the Chairman, Imasayi Development Union, Mrs Iyabode Ogunpola, observed that the town had witnessed tremendous development during the

monarch’s reign. She said, “Imasayi people are, therefore, proud to celebrate him today in great appreciation of the meaningful development, peace and progress he has brought

to the kingdom since he came to the royal podium 25 years ago. “Our vision is to design and implement blueprints for the development of Imasayi through activities that

Honourable Adebukola Ajaja, presenting the keys of the newly constructed classrooms to the Vice Principal of Adekile Goodwill Grammar School, Ibadan, Mr Saka Fakunle (left), recently. Photo: Olawale Olaniyan.

Former lawmaker donates classrooms to schools by olawale olaniyan

FORMER member of the House of Representatives, Dr (Mrs) Adebukola Ajaja, last week, donated three blocks of classroom to Adekile Goodwill Grammar School and Oke’Badan

High School, both in Ibadan, Oyo State. Ajaja, who represented Ibadan North East/South East federal constituency during the seventh National Assembly, expressed optimism that the school authorities would make judicious use of the facilities.

The former lawmaker, stated that education is paramount to her hence the construction of the classrooms. “What I’m doing today has been in my plan for sometime. There is need to create an atmosphere conducive to learning for stu-

Ofa lauds Okowa’s entrepreneurial scheme ebenezer adurokiya-warri

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Delta State, Chief Henry Ofa, has described the entrepreneurial scheme of the state government and re-invigoration of technical education as enduring programmes. Ofa said the two programmes would significantly check unemployment in the state. He said Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has, within 100 days, laid a solid foundation for the full implementation of his prosperity agenda for all Deltans in spite of the current economic realities in the country. According to him, unemployment has become a national issue. He added that one of the greatest impediment to its

will steadily improve infrastructural development, educational standard and healthcare delivery in our place of birth in line with the dreams and aspirations of the Kabiyesi.”

solution is the nation’s inclination to theoretical orientation in the education curriculum without emphasis on practical framework that will equip students to be self-reliant upon graduation from school. Chief Ofa, who was

adjudged the best commissioner in his time on the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), commended the governor for the work going on at Agbor, Ofagbe and Sapele technical col-

leges. He urged parents and Deltans to take advantage of the platform to equip their young ones with the necessary skills that would assist them in future instead of hoping for public service jobs that are in short supply.

Olu of Warri’s burial: Okowa promises govt assistance GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has assured that the state government would assist in the burial ceremony of the late Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II. The governor gave the assurance in Asaba when members of the Warri Traditional Council visited him to officially inform him of the death of the Itsekiri

monarch. Okowa, who sympathised with the people of Warri Kingdom on the demise of their traditional ruler, said the late Olu brought respect to the throne across the country. He said: “As a government, we feel very touched especially myself because l was with the Olu two weeks before his death and

we had merriment. l sympathise with you because l know it is a huge loss. “I congratulate the kingdom because you have been able to follow tradition and elected an Olu designate, Prince Godfrey Ikenwole Emiko. “We will be with you in the process of the final burial of the late Olu and the installation of the new one,” he said.

dents and one of the ways is to first have modern classrooms in place. “I embarked on this project while in office; this is not my first project. I have equally provided classrooms at schools in Elekuro, Odo-Oba,” Ajaja said before the presentation of keys to the Principal of Adekile Goodwill Grammar School. She stated that education deserves the attention of fair-minded individuals regardless of political affiliation. “No matter the political party we belong to, it is imperative to think of the future of these leaders of tomorrow and give them hope through qualitative education. “This is my state, so this project has nothing to do with party affiliation,” Ajaja added. Meanwhile, the Vice Principal of Adekile Goodwill Grammar School, Mr Saka Fakunle, thanked Honourable Ajaja for the gesture. He noted that the project would assist the students in no small way in the acquisition of knowledge.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

SPDC sponsors 3 Nigerian students to S/Africa for Shell Eco-marathon STUDENTS of three Nigerian universities have built cars they will race at the Shell Eco-marathon, Africa (SEMA) in South Africa on October 2 - 4, thanks to the sponsorship of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Joint Venture. The students, from the University of Lagos, University of Benin and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, collectively known as Team Nigeria, will join 40 teams from four countries to test the energy efficiency of their cars at the Zwartkops Raceway, near Pretoria. The event will be hosted by the School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Johannesburg. The Shell Eco-marathon competition challenges students in different continents (America, Europe, Asia and Africa) to build and race energy-efficient cars, and rewards those who travel farthest with the least amount of fuel. “The sponsorship of the students opens an exciting phase in our long-standing support for education in Nigeria,” said Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria. “In addition to awarding scholarships, building schools and donating science equipment, we’re challenging the leaders of tomorrow to begin to think about, and act on the difficult energy choices facing a rapidly increasing world population.” In 2014, the SPDC JV provided seed funding for the three universities and sponsored them to the European edition of the competition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. They also participated in the maiden edition of the Shell EcoMarathon Africa which was held in South Africa in 2014, with the University of Benin team winning the Best Designed Car award. SPDC organised a test drive at the Campos Mini stadium in Lagos in March this year to test the readiness of the students.

Martins nets 14th goal N igeria striker, Obafemi Martins continued his impressive goal-scoring form in the Major League Soccer (MLS) when he scored in Seattle Sounders 1-1 draw at Sporting Kansas City. Martins has now scored 14 goals in the MLS this season, just three goals shy of a club record he set last season. Sierra Leone’s Kei Kamara is the leading scorer in the MLS with 22 goals for

Martins

Columbus Crew. The former Inter Milan striker scored the opening goal of the game at Kansas City in the 32nd minute. Seattle Sounders are fourth on the Western Conference table with 46 points from 31 games, four points behind leaders LA Galaxy.

Para-athletes shut down National Stadium, Lagos ...Reject Bankole as president By Niyi Alebiosu THE National Stadium, Lagos was on Monday locked up for over two hours by para-table tennis athletes in protest against alleged marginalisation by the National Sports Commission (NSC). The athletes, no fewer than 25 who took to the streets with placards which had different inscriptions argued that the para-table tennis federation has not had any national competition or even attended any international competitions in the last three years, claiming that it was affecting their standard. Also, the embittered athletes demanded the removal of ACP Anderson Bankole as their president claiming that a special sport athlete should be made their president as it was before when Yemi Bamgbose was the head. Tribunesport further learnt that the athletes are also not pleased with the appointment of one Chinedu

Njoku as the head coach of the team appointed by the secretary Chinedu Ezeala ,instead of the coach who has been training them over the years. Spokesman of the athletes Yekini Salawu confirmed the development to Tribunesport by phone. “We are not happy with the way we are being marginalised by the parent body. Since all these years, we have not had any competition. Even our former president Yemi Bamgbose was frustrated out of office and Bankole was imposed on us, so we do not need him and we are using this medium to protest against his appointment. We want to be left alone so as to run our affair by ourselves without any interference as we have been doing in the past,” he said. Salawu continued: “When the issue of Paralympic qualifiers came up, we registered 15 athletes and we are sure of winning 11 medals at the qualifiers in

Morocco next month, but to our surprise, we were told that the NSC has reduced the number to three athletes and four officials. We were told that the NSC reduced the number because they don’t have money which is about N2.5million. This is because there is nobody to fight for us. Our secretary has been made redundant, she is not doing anything. She should be allowed to run the secretariat without hindrance. Bankole is not acceptable to us. He should

leave us alone to run our Federation.” Salawu stated that “Bankole came to address us, but he was talking about the list to the qualifier that he knew nothing about it, but we don’t want him and we told him this.” Meanwhile, Tayo Oreweme the director, National Stadium, Lagos, was not available during the protest as no NSC official was also on the ground to pacify the protesting athletes.

The protesting athletes at the entrance of the National Stadium, Lagos.

Heineken brings excitement to golfers at Nigeria Cup THE 2015 edition of the Nigeria Cup will tee off at the golf section of the IkoyiClub1938 this weekend, with Heineken, set to bring excitement to the week-long event. About 180 golfers are slugging it out in the finals of various events which the chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr Lanre Kalejaiye said commenced last Saturday with the theme ‘Seven Shades of Green’ to showcase “ a key value that defines who we are, and celebrate a different shade of our national colour – green.” Heineken has been part of the annual golf event to celebrate the country’s independence and the excitement that goes with it has been the talking point among participants and fun seekers. The senior brand manager Heineken, Ngozi Nkwoji noted that Nigerian Breweries through the brand has been partnering with Ikoyi Club for several years and is committed to the sponsorship. “Ikoyi club is a prestigious club and Heineken is the most international premium lager beer in Nigeria and I think it is a perfect match. Our involvement with golf is about value. We are committed to the development of our youth establishment young executives and wellbeing of Nigerians. “The game of golf apart from being a professional and recreational sport, provides our youths a platform for networking, socialising as well as development of the physical wellbeing. “Although we (Heineken) have a global identity with the UEFA Champions League, but when you look at your locality you will see what makes you a truly Nigerian and the Nigerian Cup in Ikoyi is truly a Nigerian tournament. “In other countries on the continent, Heineken identifies with events that relate to them and this is exactly what we are doing here today,” Nkwoji said.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915-2015)

PHOTOS: TOMMY ADEGBITE

9 1. From left, Chief Afolabi Ajomale, Balogun Bisi Omidiora, Senator Segun Bamigbetan Baju and Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu. 2. From left, Emeritus Professor Soga Sofola, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu and Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran.

6. From left, Chief Idowu Sofola, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye and Chief Tayo Soyode. 7. A cross section of the Remo Country Club members with Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran. 8. Otunba Lateef Owoyemi and his wife, Olori Abiola.

3. Former deputy governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salmot Badru, signing the condolence register. 4. Mr Adedayo Alao signing the condolence register.

9. From left, Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu, Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran, Alhaji Oladapo Soaga and Olayinka Awolowo.

5. From left, Justice Owolabi Shonoiki, Venerable Professor Obaro Ikime and Reverend Tola Oyediran.

10. Mr Obafemi Awolowo and his daughter, Jadesola with Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu.

SIDELINES

NO 16,337

N150

TUESDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER,

If ministers, as revealed by President Muhammadu Buhari, are noisemakers, then the incoming Minister of Information had better prepare hard for his role as Chief Noisemaker!

2015 AfroBasket: D’Tigress

Messi

in formality clash with Algeria

Barca is incomplete without Messi

By Ganiyu Salman NIGERIA women’s senior national basketball team, D’Tigress will today face Algeria in their last group game at the ongoing 2015 AfroBasket championship in Yaounde, Cameroon. A win could see the Nigerian team handled by Scott Nnaji finish as group B leaders provided the defending champions, Angola fail to beat Guinea today. However, Angola, Egypt and Nigeria, Sanni among other countries will certainly make it to the quarter-finals of the competition based on their exploits so far. As of the time of this report, D’Tigress are third on the table with five points as the outcome of their fourth group game against Senegal was being awaited. Angola is leading the pack with seven points from four games followed by Egypt also with the same number of points. Egypt had on Monday created another upset in the competition with their 53-52 win over Angola. D’Tigress given their pedigree according to bookmakers, would have an easy ride over their Algerian counterparts who have lost all their matches so far in the competition. Meanwhile, D’Tigress star, Olayinka Sanni has described the presence of legendary Mfo Udoka in their camp as a morale booster. Udoka, 39, who inspired Nigeria to its two consecutive wins so far (2003 and 2005) is in Yaounde to energise the glory seeking D’Tigress who are aiming at the third title. “For me, Udoka has been like my role model. When I came in, in my first year to play in 2006 she was there and she was kind of my mentor as we played the same position. And she helped me along the way. She gave us hope that we can play for our country and play professionally. “She has been a great inspiration for Nigeria’s women basketball and we look up to her. “We are happy that she is here to give us support, and hopefully one day she will be along the sideline coaching us,” she told fiba.com. Sanni who has played in the WNBA alongside Joyce Ekworomadu stated that their ultimate target remains how to make Nigeria return to the 2016 Olympics. “For us, we just to want try one more time to help our country to get to the Olympics. “Personally, I have been there (World Championship 2006). It’s just this one thing that we want to help lead Nigeria and the kids that are coming up. This is a great way to show that we are role models for them. For us, it’s just about play hard and help Nigeria where they want to be,” Sanni who is seeking her first AfroBasket title said.

Tonight’s Champions League fixtures Arsenal Barcelona BATE Bayern Munich

vs vs vs vs

Olympiakos Leverkusen Roma Dinamo Zagreb

Maccabi T. Avi Olympique Lyon FC Porto Zenit

vs vs vs vs

Dynamo Kyiv Valencia Chelsea Gent

—Enrique

C Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique has acknowledged that it is impossible to replace Lionel Messi, as the European champions face up to living without the four-time World Player of the Year for up to eight weeks. Messi suffered a tear in the medial collateral ligament of his left knee during lastSaturday’s 2-1 win over Las Palmas and looks set to miss Bar-

ca’s next eight games. “A player like Leo is irreplaceable,” Enrique said on Monday ahead of his side’s return to Champions League action at home against Bayer Leverkusen today. “In pre-season none of Leo, Neymar or (Luis) Suarez played, but our idea of how to play didn’t change. It is a challenge for us to be without the best player in the world, but it also provides an incentive for us.” Messi is expected to miss

La Liga games against Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, Eibar, Getafe and Villarreal, as well as Leverkusen’s visit and two clashes with BATE Borisov in the Champions League. However, Enrique is confident Messi will be fit for Barca’s first meeting with Real Madrid this season on November 21 at the Santiago Bernabeu. “Leo came in yesterday for the medical check-up and he looked good, he was in high spirits,” added the coach. “Time is in his favour.” Meanwhile, midfielder Ivan Rakitic is also hopeful that Mes-

si’s absence will act as a spur for his team-mates to take more responsiblity in the coming weeks. “Messi’s injury affects us a lot. It hurts not to have the best player in the world, but it also serves as motivation to win the games for him,” said the Croatian international. “We hope he returns as soon as possible.” Barca were held to a 1-1 draw in their first Champions League game of the campaign away at Roma a fortnight ago and Enrique insisted it is imperative they get all three points against group leaders Leverkusen at the Camp Nou.

Casillas voted as Champions League’s best IKER Casillas has been voted as the greatest ever goalkeeper in the history of the Champions League by Goal readers. The former Real Madrid icon, who joined Porto in the summer, saw off Juventus hero Gianluigi Buffon and exManchester United man, Peter Schmeichel, with the pair finishing in second and third place respectively. Casillas is set to break Xavi’s Champions League appearance record against Chelsea this week when he plays his

152nd game in the competition. To mark the occasion, Goal polled readers on who was the competition’s best ever goalkeeper since the tournament was re-branded in 1992. More than 50,000 readers from our 37 editions around the world tabled their votes - with Casillas taking 33 per cent of the ballot. Juventus star Buffon was second with 19 per cent of the vote, while Danish favourite Schmeichel earned 10 per cent.

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